Chapter 886: with translation of chapter title

Regarding Chen Wuji's tactics, Chen Li thought for a while and still felt it was improper: "All forces gathered in one place, indeed difficult to deploy; in such terrain, this is indeed the biggest obstacle. But after dispersing our forces, any of our Lìng could possibly face encirclement by several times the enemy, risk too high."

I know the reason the Family Head devised such tactics: the enemy army is limited by the roads, their formation is like a long snake, and coupled with insufficient supplies, their combat strength will certainly not be high.

But even if this is reality, our army should raise the enemy's deterrence power, using this as a basis to devise tactics; please, my lord, consider carefully.

Chen Wuji chuckled lightly, "Shi Yi Shu, do you still remember how we fought our first battle against the Canyon Wolf Qiang in the mountains back then?"

Chen Li's expression flickered slightly, and he instantly understood what Chen Wuji wanted to say.

If Chen Wuji hadn't brought it up, he would indeed have almost forgotten it.

That battle was truly splendid.

Chen Wuji's first battle, the Chen Clan Troops' first battle, but relying on the advantage of terrain and weapons, they successfully annihilated the Can Lang Qiang, not even a few sheep escaped.

Shi Yi Shu, our soldiers, especially the central army's soldiers, have long been accustomed to fighting in such big mountains; even if each camp fights on its own, they can still find directions in the mountains and sense the enemy's traces—this is our advantage. Chen Wuji said.

If we concentrate our forces in one place, this advantage of ours will be greatly reduced, affecting the deployment of each camp's combat power. I know what you're worried about, Shi Yi Shu, but you seem to have overlooked some of our strengths, such as the improved Shocking Heaven Thunder, and the fact that the entire army wears armor, each soldier equipped with a single crossbow.

In terms of weapons and armor rate, we are several times stronger than this Court Army; added to our familiarity with jungle warfare, I can say without exaggeration that being here is our home ground.

How this battle should be fought is not up to the Court Army to decide, but up to us! In this vast mountain, we are the hunters, and they... are merely the prey.

Chen Li Qian smiled slightly, "Indeed, I was insufficiently considerate, overlooking some things."

Shi Yi Shu, do you have no objections now?

No objections, the lord's arrangements are very meticulous.

Good, then let's proceed with this arrangement: tonight let the soldiers have a good meal, then rest early; tomorrow we'll go into the mountains to hunt.

Yes!

……

One night passed quickly.

The next day, before dawn, each camp's Bīngmǎ began to cook, and then, in batches, they assembled and marched into the mountains.

Yu Yan Chu stayed behind, coordinating with Chen Wuyi to organize the prisoners.

Chen Wuji didn't have to work hard to persuade this time; he simply appealed to emotion and reason, then gave two slaps, after which they became obedient.

Chen Wuji personally supervised the soldiers of all camps entering the mountains; only after the sun had fully risen did he lead the Jīnwèi yíng into the mountains. The Jīnwèi yíng were originally all cavalry, but for this battle they all changed from cavalry to infantry.

Black armor gathered in the luxuriant mountains into a black stream, winding from low to high and then high to low, twisting and turning through the complex terrain.

In midsummer, the forest is slightly cooler than outside, but only slightly; overall it is still extremely sultry. The humid moisture in the forest feels like boiled steam; a slight movement makes one's body feel sticky, and clothes cling to the skin in no time.

Even the Nan Jun troops, long accustomed to this climate, found it hard to bear after putting on heavy armor. By noon, each of them seemed to have been fished out of water, with sweat dripping from their armor.

Looking at the soldiers' reactions, Chen Wuji could already guess what state the Court Army would be in.

His subordinate Jīnwèi yíng were picked from the whole army, each a top-notch expert who had fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, possessing terrifying physical strength, and being natives of Nan Jun, they had long adapted to this climate to the bone.

As for the Court Army, over ninety percent are northerners; they are naturally unfamiliar with this scorching heat. Without mentioning anything else, just this environment is a dual torment of body and mind for them.

Wushuang, pass the order down: let everyone rest on the spot, drink some water, catch their breath. Chen Wuji found a relatively clean patch of grass and sat down.

Yes!

Sunlight poured down from above, casting spots of various sizes around.

Chen Wuji found a straight stick, sharpened it, planted it into the ground, then placed a stone on the tip of the stick's shadow as a marker.

The soldiers sat in small groups here and there; although the formation was scattered, none were slumped over, and there was no noisy chatter. Everyone silently attended to their own affairs, and those needing to communicate consciously lowered their voices to a minimum.

All of this, habits honed on the battlefield, have now nearly seeped into the bone.

Chen Wuji glanced around, satisfied, and lay down on the grass.

In just two short years, being able to bring forth such a unit, he felt he should be a little proud; perhaps this unit isn't quite the strongest elite under heaven, but it absolutely deserves to be called the elite among elites.

Unable to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up, Chen Wuji rested his arms behind his head, gazing at the vast canopy above, letting his mind wander for a moment; he was also a bit tired.

Although he trains martial arts every day without the slightest slack, his physical quality in the Jīnwèi yíng is merely average; more than half of them are far more robust than he is.

The sultry, humid air carried a rich scent of grass and trees, plus an unknown floral fragrance; smelling it made one feel at ease. Chen Wuji didn't know whether this scent truly had a calming effect, but for him, it was calming.

When he first crossed over, he was not used to this smell; now he has completely fallen in love with it, even becoming somewhat obsessed.

After lying for about two quarters of an hour, Chen Wuji turned over, placed another stone on the top of the stick's shifted shadow, then drew a line connecting the two stones, took the midpoint, and drew a vertical straight line.

These four lines respectively represent the four directions, the initial stone being west, and the rest following in order.

After determining the four directions, Chen Wuji then successively found the southeast, northeast, and the other four directions, then took out a compass, compared the two, and confirmed the exact directions.

In the mountains, the compass is often affected by special terrain and becomes imprecise; when necessary, one must also rely on simple methods such as gnomon shadow.

In such vast mountains, even a slight deviation in direction means having to travel many unnecessary miles.

Report!

A hurried, obviously deliberately suppressed voice suddenly sounded not far behind him.