Chapter 32

Trigger faction mission: Rescue the Southern Uprising Army.

Rescue the Rebellion Army:

The Southern Uprising Army has been struck by a combined attack from the Qing court army and the White Lotus Sect, now suffering defeat; the Qing court army and the White Lotus Sect have set up a heavenly net and earthly trap to capture the fleeing rebels.

As a member of the Rebellion Army, you should now go rescue them.

Mission information: Rescue as many Rebellion Army members as possible from the pursuit.

Mission reward: For each surviving Rebellion Army member, you gain 100 Zongwang disaster coins and 5 points of Rebellion Army reputation.

"No wonder the Rebellion Army camp is Purgatory difficulty; we're weak on our own and get ganged up on by other factions—it's truly a despairing discovery!"

Mu Yi sighed, thinking the Rebellion Army camp wasn't a great choice; he had hoped to rely on a strong ally, but now he finds himself the one being relied upon.

"Oh no, don't die!"

As Mu Yi watched, he saw a young man collapse nearby and immediately grew anxious; those were all hard‑earned Zongwang disaster coins, and even clearing a simple Goblin Disaster dungeon only yields 100 of them.

"Don't panic, brother—I'll save you!"

Seeing Mu Yi charge forward with a big saber, the Qing soldiers instantly went on alert; no matter how you look at it, this blood‑red figure is a dangerous threat.

"Form up and prepare for battle!"

The squad leader shouted, and the team members instantly fell into their respective roles.

"Zongwang notice: Under battle formation suppression, all your attributes are reduced by 5%."

"Zongwang notice: Under battle formation enhancement, the Qing soldiers' attributes are increased by 10%."

Mu Yi felt his steps suddenly grow heavier, and upon seeing the Zongwang notice, he widened his eyes in surprise.

He never imagined his first encounter with a military strategist's battle formation would be like this.

As a proper inheritor of the military strategist lineage, being suppressed by the Qing soldiers' battle formation is unacceptable.

"Die, all of you!" Mu Yi exploded in anger, feeling as if he were experiencing the disgust that even heavenly gods and earthly deities feel.

"Bang!"

Mu Yi brought his blade down hard on the shield raised by a Qing soldier.

The iron‑bound wooden shield shattered instantly, sending wood chips flying.

The soldier holding the shield had no time to react before Mu Yi's furious strike cleaved his chest, leaving a deep gouge.

"You have slain an Eight Banner soldier, triggering the related achievement: 'Cut Down the Eight Banners' (0/1) – not yet completed."

Achievement description:

Kill 1,000 Eight Banner soldiers (1/1000).

Achievement reward: Eight Banner Treasure Box (Blue).

The dungeon prompt updated with a new message, but Mu Yi had no time to look at it.

Unlike the frantic, swarming goblin horde, the Eight Banner soldiers coordinate with clever teamwork.

Just as Mu Yi felled the shield‑bearer with a single blow, two spears shot toward him like venomous snakes striking.

They remained calm, ignored their fallen comrade, and exploited Mu Yi's moment of exhausted strength to deliver their most powerful thrust.

"Time Confusion!"

Mu Yi's speed surged; he twisted to dodge the two spears and countered with a bolt of lightning that struck the archer who was nocking an arrow.

Having entered the accelerated state, Mu Yi cautiously kept his distance, recalling the goblin priest from the Fate Simulation Universe—if not for his attribute surge, he might have fallen to that foe.

Yet the coordination of these soldiers surpasses even that of elite goblins.

Seeing the soldiers cling tightly together, Mu Yi momentarily didn't know where to strike; attacking any one seemed to invite a counterattack.

Moreover, when the lightning struck the archer, a mysterious force seemed to arise; the opponent possessed an energy akin to inner qi, so the bolt that should have killed them failed to unleash its full power.

No matter how he thought about it, it seemed the enemy always had a chance to trade life for injury.

"We can't drag this out; they already hold absolute advantage on the battlefield, and that flash of lightning will surely draw more Eight Banner soldiers if we linger!"

"We must finish this quickly!"

Mu Yi raised his formation blade; thunder roared again, sweeping toward the Eight Banner soldiers. As he had judged, an unknown force weakened the magical damage, yet several soldiers still fell into paralysis.

"Time Confusion!"

Activating time acceleration a second time, Mu Yi's form flickered like a ghost behind the Qing soldiers; before they could turn, his formation blade sliced diagonally, cleaving the archer holding a bow in half at the waist.

"Zongwang notice: The battle formation suppression has been lifted, and the enhancement effect has disappeared."

As the information refreshed, a dazzling burst of lightning erupted once more.

"Boom!"

This time, the mysterious force did not appear, and the remaining three Qing soldiers were instantly chopped into charred lumps.

"So is the ability to resist magical bombardment due to the battle formation?"

Mu Yi grasped the key point: the enemy cannot actively mobilize their internal energy unless they form a battle formation, which then enables them to resist magical damage.

His ability to wield inner qi with ease is thanks to his mastery of swordsmanship; at first, he too could not actively summon his inner qi.

This made Mu Yi even more curious about battle formations, since the author of that earlier book never mentioned their underlying principles.

Meanwhile, the detailed books on battle formations available on Zongwang are generally expensive; though he has long coveted them, his purse is empty and he cannot afford to see them.

Indeed, spending all his wealth to buy a challenge ticket and join the Kyushu dungeon was his best decision.

Even the low‑level lackeys know this; he is certain to find information on battle formations within this dungeon.

Regarding the four major schools of military strategy, he is still a complete blank when it comes to the art of military power and scheming.

"Can you still stand?" Mu Yi glanced at the youth who had severed an arrow with a dagger and bandaged his own wound, then asked casually.

"I'm fine; I don't know where you come from, but you saved me, so you're a brother of our Rebellion Army!"

The youth struggled to his feet, and Mu Yi noticed that his leg injury appeared to have truly healed.

Is it a medicine? Or something else?

Mu Yi looked at the youth with some doubt; this kind of healing ability beyond imagination shouldn't belong to this group of beaten, head-in-hands, scurrying Rebellion Army.

"If you can still move, then if you have courage, grab your weapons and follow me! If you lack courage, go find a place to hide in the town ahead!"

Mu Yi looked at the figure appearing in the distance and said to Li Tian.

"Are you going in?" Li Tian asked in surprise, but Mu Yi did not answer.

Watching Mu Yi's retreating back, Li Tian gritted his teeth, picked up the bow and arrows and swords and spears on the ground, and followed after Mu Yi's back.