Chapter 2447: Contemplating How to Grow Stronger

“Speaking of this, let me say it again, you two aren’t even as good as their banner!” Li Jue mocked Guo Si and Fan Chou.

“If you bring that up again, I’ll be mad at you!” Fan Chou said angrily, rolling up his sleeves as if ready to fight with Li Jue. It was indeed a hurtful remark.

“You say that like you’re as good as their banner. Their banner can last an hour or two, while even at your full strength, you can’t last two quarters of an hour,” Guo Si replied with a dark expression. His eyes shifted as he turned to repulse Li Jue.

“Fine, none of us are as good as their banner. So tell me what to do now, mention that when we gathered our brothers, we could make Lyu Bu’s group flee, and now I feel they’re going to make us flee!” Li Jue continued to provoke Fan Chou and Guo Si, refusing to accept they can’t awaken their Talent!

This wasn’t nonsense from Li Jue. Back then, the Trap Formation wasn’t called as such; it was known as Lyu Bu’s trusted aide, under Luoyang City, where the Flying Bear with Military Spirit reduced Lyu Bu’s trusted aide to eight hundred men. Lyu Bu’s trusted aides had their warhorses dispatched and were renamed Trap Formation afterward.

If it weren’t for Lyu Bu’s extreme outburst and Gao Shun entering the Military Spirit state as Lyu Bu’s trusted aide, Lyu Bu might have charged to Dong Zhuo’s carriage, which would have been unbelievable to Li Jue.

Later, in the Battle of Chang’an, Fan Chou defeated Lyu Bu again, though the reason included the flat field battle confrontation, it was evident the Iron Cavalry had a significant advantage over the Wolf Cavalry initially.

Afterward, the gap between the two narrowed as the Wolf Cavalry grew stronger, and the Iron Cavalry continued to enhance. Nevertheless, Lyu Bu kept growing more formidable; even Gao Shun and Zhang Liao turned increasingly aggressive until the Wolf Cavalry’s combat power nearly matched the Iron Cavalry, and finally Lyu Bu ascended.

Li Jue and others breathed a sigh of relief; the Iron Cavalry finally didn’t need to worry about being surpassed by that group next door. Coupled with the Northern Frontier war, where the Iron Cavalry was granted great rewards, Hua Xiong’s main unit jumped to become a Military Spirit Legion. The Xiliang Iron Cavalry proclaimed to the Wolf Cavalry to wash their hands and sleep, as there was no hope for them to challenge our Xiliang Iron Cavalry in this lifetime.

Yet, who can tell me why hasn’t Lyu Bu ascended and returned, what is this manipulation, and meanwhile how come Zhang Liao and Gao Shun grow ever stronger while the Wolf Cavalry’s progression feels incorrect, slowly drifting towards them?

Now Li Jue can’t guarantee that even if he brings all Liangzhou faction brothers, they could defeat the violent Bingzhou faction under Lyu Bu’s leadership. Why do we seem weaker now as a Liangzhou faction? This can’t be, we must remain the fiercest, most aggressive faction!

We must suppress this trend, admit that Bingzhou produced an invincible military general, but never concede that Bingzhou folks fight better than us Liangzhou folks. We must be the best fighters; individually we might lose, but as a collective, challenge us numerous times, and we’ll fight numerous times, and never lose. This is our key to dominate the world.

“I don’t accept this!” Fan Chou pressed the wine bowl to the ground and stood up, “Tell me what exactly happened? Bingzhou used to be run all over by us, now we’re no match, what’s the matter!”

“I think it’s normal not to beat Lyu Bu.” Guo Si also put down the wine bowl, pondering this troubling matter during a major festival showed their concern.

“I agree on this, our Liangzhou group has never produced someone who could defeat Lyu Bu; our martial force was not that strong from the start. We repeatedly triumphed more due to our collective strength.” Li Jue spoke while chewing on an unidentified jerky.

“Is our collective weak now?” Fan Chou sneered, “If you remove Lyu Bu, Gao Shun, Zhang Liao, and we remove our General Commander, Bingzhou people would certainly be overwhelmed by our brothers.”

“The problem lies within ourselves.” Guo Si admitted after a moment, “Though the martial force of the generals is not significant in legion level warfare, of course, Lyu Bu’s case is entirely extraordinary.”

“Lyu Bu is extraordinarily strong. If we want to handle Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, we must first face an invincible Lyu Bu, which feels different from before. Previously we accepted he’d be the strongest, and ascending Lyu Bu is widely acknowledged to be superior, posing a great psychological pressure,” Li Jue said helplessly. This pressure was truly immense.

“Actually, thinking too much is pointless, the man is indeed strong, even to the extent of direct confrontation being fatal. But in legion warfare, that level isn’t undying.” Fan Chou slowly said, “Our current issue is Xiliang Iron Cavalry’s invincible status being shaken, leaving us unable to contend with another invincible force.”

“Previous Lyu Bu was invincible too, but he ran around because our army was invincible. Now, the primary reason isn’t Lyu Bu growing stronger, but the Wolf Cavalry strengthening enough to shake the Iron Cavalry’s position. Lyu Bu has merely maintained strength sufficient for self-preservation against us as a group.” Guo Si remarked discontentedly.

“Alright, let’s not discuss personal strength, Legion Talent, as it is New Year’s.” Li Jue looked at his two brothers. “Pay attention a bit, without it, our Xiliang Iron Cavalry lacks the strength to face enemies on this battlefield.”

“The issue is I still don’t understand what Legion Talent truly is!” Fan Chou said headache-laden, “Can you tell me how you initially awakened Legion Talent?”

“I merely saw that Eagle Banner and felt aggrieved; how could a dead object possess Legion Talent while I didn’t? Then, raging within, I awakened Legion Talent.” Li Jue sighed, not understanding why, but upon seeing that Eagle Banner, a rush of fury sparked awakening.

“I feel it shouldn’t be this way, Zhiran, not considering Legion Talent, you and I command the same brothers, yet I can only be half as good as you,” Guo Si frowned, unable to comprehend why Legion Talent evaded him.

“What are we lacking?” Li Jue sat cross-legged, folded his hands, and watched the wine cup with furrowed brows.

“Oh, even during New Year’s, we can’t have peace,” Fan Chou lamented, “Missing something crucial; with Legion Talent, defeating Zhang Liao’s legion shouldn’t be an issue. The Wolf Cavalry might be versatile, but for us, it’s akin to having only weaknesses instead of strengths. What are we really missing?”

“Iron Cavalry cannot be enhanced, and we cannot awaken Legion Talent. Cloud Solidification is unlearnable, so what now?” Guo Si lamented, feeling if there’s no improvement, they’d be out of the historical trend, which was hugely frustrating.

As Li Jue and the others fretted over their predicament, Wei Yan similarly pondered his own issues. Following the Western Asia battles, Wei Yan realized his shortcomings. Though Legion Talent was powerful, without absolute recognition, it fell short compared to Elite Talent.

“Solutions are necessary. Talent is good, but its application matters more; the previous method lacked advantage. I need a better approach to Legion Talent utilization.” Wei Yan sat on the ground pondering; his coordination with Zhuge Liang momentarily surpassed Dual Talent Elite, nearing Military Spirit Soldiers in quality, but at enormous cost.

[Either I grow stronger, extending this change’s duration constantly, or find another way to compensate current abilities, infinitely nearing Military Spirit but not reaching that level yet; also, my Legion Talent’s coverage has a limit.] Wei Yan contemplated his issues with closed eyes, realizing the Western Asia battlefield greatly progressed their skills.

Sima Yi watched Cao Zhen flawlessly conduct military formation dispatch, revealing amazement, for Cao Zhen was ordinary, struggling exceptionally during studies, yet mastering rapidly now.

“How about it, Zhongda?” Cao Zhen excitedly asked Sima Yi.

“Fair enough.” Sima Yi responded indifferently after a pause, “I’ll teach you another military formation, solidify it into your own.”

Cao Zhen felt a bit disappointed, though didn’t show it, respecting Sima Yi immensely for his wisdom and capability.

“Military formations have two extremes: Infinite Change and Infinite Unity, both oppositional and unified, evolving in a process,” Sima Yi calmly spoke, sharing lessons acquired from Zhuge Liang. Since Zhuge didn’t prohibit transfer, sharing non-original content with Cao Zhen carried no burden for him.

Sima Yi leisurely explained, while Cao Zhen intently listened, memorizing each word. Currently, he hadn’t envisioned surpassing this man in military command dispatch, merely following his guidance in a new pursuit.

[Military formations are merely processes.] Sima Yi left the core approach and methodology of military formation dispatch with Cao Zhen, then departed while Cao Zhen pondered his words standing still; formations as mere processes.

Sima Yi was relatively reliable, despite underlying reasons, handing Cao Zhen not a complete military formation but a core and methodological approach, unrestricted externally. Such methods were challenging yet learning yielded permanent mastery.

With only the core to rely upon, external deduction was self-driven; composed formations might escape identification as derived without examining core components even by creator. Thus mastered formations offered thorough internalization.