Chapter 1103: Power of Battle Formations

Feng Yuanhai and the others had never experienced war, let alone witnessed the power of military formations.

To them, it was simply a matter of arranging who would charge forward and who would defend in the back; to them, it was something that could be settled in less than fifteen minutes.

However, such a simple matter, Ye Liuyun actually put them through an ordeal all night, which is why they found it ridiculous.

Feng Changming had been keeping an eye on their performance all along.

The formation Ye Liuyun drilled last night, he had observed carefully; it could indeed greatly reduce the members' death rate, and also greatly improve attack efficiency.

At this moment, he already felt amused and disappointed by the ignorance of Feng Yuanhai and the others.

He also couldn't be bothered to watch their clownish performance any longer, and directly called a halt to their conversation.

"All right, enough talk, let's start today's trial. After you enter the Secret Realm, spread out: Yuanhai takes the left route, Wanxing the middle, Liuyun the right; you must not cross each other's boundaries, otherwise your training eligibility will be cancelled."

After making the announcement, he drove them all into the Secret Realm, letting their results speak for themselves.

After entering the Secret Realm, Ye Liuyun immediately ordered everyone to get into formation and move forward to explore.

"Scout ahead!"

At Ye Liuyun's command, two disciples mounted flying ferocious beasts and went ahead to scout.

"Haha, they really made it look like the real deal!"

Feng Wanxing, just before they split up, also threw out a mocking remark.

However, Feng Yuanhai and Feng Wanxing dared not defy Feng Changming's words in the slightest; they also separated from Ye Liuyun and headed toward their respective directions.

Ye Liuyun paid no heed to their mockery. Meanwhile, the members on his side held their breath, eagerly awaiting the formation to show its power.

"Ahead there is a small group of monsters, about eighty or more, at the Mid-stage Creation level."

"Perfect, let's use them for practice; everyone maintain formation and advance."

They maintained formation and charged toward the monster group.

Upon getting close, the monsters also spotted them and let out strange howls as they charged over.

"Archers, ready!"

At Ye Liuyun's order, a row of disciples holding bows immediately stepped forward and formed a line to shoot arrows.

The dense arrow net was several times more effective than individual shooting; the monsters charging ahead were all hit and fell to the ground, none spared.

The monsters' charging speed was immediately affected, slowing down somewhat.

"Wow, the effect is this good?" a disciple behind exclaimed immediately.

"Don't make noise, it will affect the archers' performance!" Ye Liuyun immediately called out to stop them.

The members who had been chattering instantly fell silent.

"Block!"

Seeing the monsters drawing ever closer, the archers could not hold back such numbers.

Ye Liuyun then began issuing orders for defense.

The archers immediately shot while spreading out to both sides, while another row of disciples stepped forward.

Each used their own True Essence attributes to block the monsters' charging speed.

In an instant, walls of fire, ice, Demon Qi and other True Essence attributes were unleashed, completely stopping the monsters' footsteps.

"Charge!"

Ye Liuyun seized the opportunity and had the members charge forward.

"Maintain formation, watch your coordination!"

Ye Liuyun did not join the battle; instead, he stayed behind to observe the formation's effectiveness and occasionally reminded them to improve.

A three-man squad charged too fast, clearly outpacing the others, and was immediately surrounded by the monsters.

"Archers, support!"

He first shot an arrow over to indicate the direction for the archers; then the other archers also shot over, relieving their encirclement.

That three-man squad immediately realized their mistake and retreated.

The charging squads were also organized in teams of three, with one member wielding a spear-type weapon to draw the monsters' attention, while the other two coordinated the attack.

The effect was very clear: three against one, with someone restraining the monster, almost every squad could take down a monster in just a few moves.

After the monsters' charge was blocked and halted, they lost their momentum; like ferocious beasts, once their momentum drops, their attack power weakens.

Moreover, being surrounded by three attackers, they were wiped out quickly.

"Prepare to pursue! The several squads behind the charging troops immediately released their ferocious beasts, mounted them, and stood ready to launch."

When the remaining monsters fled, Ye Liuyun immediately issued the order to pursue.

The pursuing members were paired in twos, letting their ferocious beasts jointly attack a monster, each strike sure to hit.

"At this moment, a member, greedy for glory, saw a monster about to run off and immediately abandoned his teammate to chase after it."

"His teammate, still thinking they were cooperating in the attack, suddenly saw his companion disappear, immediately exposed an opening, and was counter-attacked by the monster."

"Fortunately, Ye Liuyun timely shot an arrow, killing that monster."

"Meanwhile, the member pursuing the monster also faced the monster's desperate resistance."

"His mount, the ferocious beast, was fiercely clawed by the monster, letting out a miserable 'ao' howl, instinctively turned and fled, exposing the rider's back to the monster, frightening the member into a cold sweat."

"And his former teammate, after being rescued by Ye Liuyun, had not yet recovered his composure."

"Moreover, he still resented his teammate for abandoning him and putting him in danger, so he merely watched from afar without coming to help."

"Fortunately, that member's ferocious beast fled fast enough; the monster didn't catch up, and was intercepted by the arriving charging squad, which killed it, saving the member's life."

"After being rescued, that member raised his hand to kill his own ferocious beast, but Ye Liuyun shouted him down."

"Re-form the ranks!"

Ye Liuyun first had everyone re-form their ranks, then sent out a scouting squad to patrol the surroundings, before beginning to summarize the battle experience together with everyone.

He first had everyone comment on the formation's power. Seeing the effect, they all gave unanimous praise, and their trust in him grew even stronger.

Then he began summarizing the shortcomings, letting everyone improve them.

Now that everyone has witnessed the power of the battle formation, they naturally accept his proposal gladly.

Next, Ye Liuyun again criticized the rashness of that assault squad.

Finally, he dealt with that greedy, rash team member.

"You first abandoned your companion, putting them in danger, and also broke the cardinal rule of pursuing the enemy. That monster was fleeing for its life; once pursued, it would naturally fight back desperately, which is why I paired two people together to coordinate the attack."

"Originally this could have been zero casualties, but your actions have stained the whole team."

The disciple, however, argued slyly: "It's because my beast was so useless that it fled the battlefield!"

"It's not the beast's fault. When attacked, a beast's instinct is to evade. You killed it, so its future combat ability will be even weaker. All of this is the result of you breaking the rules, disregarding teammates, and taking reckless risks alone."