Mythic version of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 7263 My First Life!

Chapter 7263 My Life!

"No, Gongjin, why did you go to the weapons production workshop? You've been gone for so long, and it's already dark. What happened? Did something strange happen there again?" Chen Xi asked Zhou Yu, who had a serious expression.

"It didn't take much time to read it, but a lot of time to think about it," Zhou Yu said with a heavy expression. Chen Xi couldn't hold back when he heard this. I told you to read it and think about the strategy and tactics, what the hell are you thinking about? Do you look like you're thinking about strategy and tactics right now?

Just kidding, just kidding. Looking at your expression, I, Chen Xi, can tell at a glance that you're not thinking about any of this. You're probably overthinking again, probably feeling that you're getting further and further away from me, Chen Xi. Can you stop with the fancy tricks? I just need a normal strategist to give me some tactics so I can quickly defeat the other side, not someone who wants to be some big shot's psychologist.

Especially those mentally unstable people like you, Zhou Yu, who have complicated thoughts and overthink things, if I were to give you a psychological treatment, I, Chen Xi, would lose two hairs.

"Forget it, stop overthinking it," Chen Xi said to Zhou Yu in an annoyed tone.

Zhou Yu looked like he was carrying a heavy responsibility, so heavy that he could barely stand up. He casually found a round chair and sat down. His previous spirited demeanor was completely gone, replaced only by exhaustion and self-doubt.

"No, Gongjin, are you sure you can handle this? When Guan Yu went to see him, he didn't feel any of this self-loathing. He even came back looking quite elated. But you went and came back looking like you were defeated in the Battle of Han Gui. Is it really that serious?" Chen Xi said helplessly to Zhou Yu. He didn't want to be a psychologist, but Zhou Yu was stuck in a rut and it seemed like he couldn't get out of it. He had to lend a hand.

Okay, Chen Xi admits that his intention in sending Zhou Yu to the production workshop of the God-Slaying Spear wasn't entirely good; he did intend to give Zhou Yu a warning. However, Chen Xi assures him that he absolutely did not want Zhou Yu to become the way he is now. Realistically speaking, Chen Xi still needs Zhou Yu as his strategist to advise him.

“Guan Yu might be excited, but I won’t. I see my fate of being eliminated in each and every God-Slaying Spear that’s being produced. All my efforts, military service, and training are meaningless in the face of such a large-scale force, especially the dense military formations that have existed since ancient times. When faced with such a force, once the numbers are overwhelming, we will be wiped out.” Zhou Yu’s eyes were somewhat empty and lifeless, and his words carried a sense of despair.

When Chen Xi heard this, he was not surprised but delighted, and even his eyes lit up. Zhou Yu was quite capable; he could see at a glance the extent to which the God-Slaying Spear would destroy the tactics currently used by the three great empires.

It's important to understand that in World War I, when artillery began to be used on a large scale, it took millions of lives for humanity to realize that densely packed battle lines against artillery were suicide missions. Were there no great generals at that time? Yes, but they couldn't reverse this inertia. It was only after millions of deaths that people finally realized that with the rise of artillery, dense battle lines were a dead end.

Zhou Yu was able to see this point, and he realized it simply by seeing the test, without any verification. He truly deserves to be called a great general.

"You've already identified the problem, so why don't you continue to consider it more deeply? Continue to innovate?" Chen Xi asked with a hint of teasing. "Logically speaking, now that you've seen this, you should start thinking about how to use new formations to deal with new types of warfare. Even if you haven't tested it, your analysis based on your ability to perceive this point should give you some direction."

"Was it useful?" Zhou Yu asked Chen Xi with somewhat empty eyes. "Someone in front of me prepared for this day a long, long time ago, right?"

Chen Xi stroked his chin, wondering if he was really that awesome. He had no idea.

Chen Xi did have the idea of ​​developing in this direction, but it was impossible to achieve in reality. Therefore, Chen Xi continued to follow the path that Huangfu Song, Guan Yu, and Zhou Yu had taken, without trying to innovate.

"Heh." Zhou Yu said with a hint of mockery, "A celestial being is a celestial being. You must have been preparing for all this since the early days of Yuanfeng, waiting for this day to come. Chen Zichuan, are you deliberately putting on airs in front of me? Is it interesting?"

Chen Xi looked at Zhou Yu with a question mark on his face, but he didn't say anything. He just made a gesture of invitation, indicating that if you can talk, then talk more. He wanted to hear it!

"Hmph!" Zhou Yu's eyes barely regained some luster. He said it again: when he got into a fight with Chen Xi, even if he was not in the mood, he would force himself to be. Losing was acceptable, but losing without style was not! This was something Zhou Yu had to maintain in front of Chen Xi!

"After inspecting the production workshop of the God-Slaying Spear, I started thinking about the military innovations that would be necessary after this thing appeared. Later, I realized that the simplest approach after its emergence is to disband dense battle lines and begin sweeping attacks, infiltrations, and flanking maneuvers, or rely on our own control of the terrain to cross the front lines and attack the rear, establishing small-scale footholds. After all, this thing will definitely spread in the future," Zhou Yu said in a deep voice, while Chen Xi silently applauded. This guy was indeed impressive.

“Theoretically speaking, the area where this kind of thing is most suppressed should be complex terrain, because complex terrain will make it impossible for this thing to lock on, and the range of use will be very limited. But then I discovered a bug.” Zhou Yu’s expression began to turn ugly. “No matter how complex the terrain is, it is meaningless for the Steady Shield Guard, and this thing is designed to be paired with the Steady Shield Guard.”

What is this if not cheating?

After realizing this, Zhou Yu began to think carefully and finally discovered an incredible fact: the Shield Guard was not only advantageous in opening up new terrain, but in complex terrain it completely suppressed all other troop types. If all else failed, they could just throw the God-Slaying Spear at their own feet. Since they wouldn't die from the explosion, the enemy would definitely not be unharmed.

As for the accessibility issues caused by overly complex terrain, the Steady Shield is designed for all-terrain accessibility. Not to mention complex terrains like urban areas, even complex terrains like swamps, mountains, and jungles are all as easy as walking on flat ground for the Steady Shield. In other words, the Steady Shield doesn't care about terrain issues at all.

A unit type that doesn't care about terrain, paired with weapons that can wreak havoc as long as terrain is overcome—what kind of setup is this? This is utter domination!

What Zhou Yu saw even further was that Chen Xi, after more than a decade, had finally transformed reality into a form that he could easily beat up.

All that talk about military strategy and tactics, all that talk about strategic command, it's all nonsense. What I, Chen Xi, want is a simple and brutal sweep. For the past ten years or so, I've been defining the rules of war in this world, and now, I finally have the ability to define those rules—Zhou Yu, go and see for yourself what's really going on where you used to laugh at me, Chen Xi!

"Let me start by saying that you're overthinking it. I didn't mean to mock you," Chen Xi said sincerely. Although Zhou Yu's analysis suggested that he had indeed been trying to distort the war mechanism of reality since the beginning of the Yuanfeng era, and that it had finally had an effect, producing amazing results, Chen Xi patted his chest and assured him that he had never thought that way.

At most, based on his subconscious understanding of how war develops, he subconsciously tries to guide things in that direction. But he doesn't actually try to distort or change it, or to mold the rules of war into the mechanism he wants. Chen Xi can honestly say that he has never done that. He is just subconsciously trying to move in that direction.

But the subconscious is the subconscious, that's not Chen Xi!

"Tsk!" Zhou Yu looked at Chen Xi with a hint of sarcasm. He didn't really believe Chen Xi's words. It was normal for someone to be able to think ten steps ahead for every step he took. In addition, the most important thing was that, in Zhou Yu's opinion, without actual combat, he really couldn't find any loopholes in this guy's setup.

However, even in actual combat, Zhou Yu believed that there shouldn't be much of a problem, because the Solid Shield Guard had been tested for so many years without any issues. Although many veterans preferred to switch the Solid Shield Guard to heavy armor to enhance their survivability when they got to the battlefield, in reality, without any special mechanisms, the Solid Shield Guard's strength was still adequate.

Switching to heavy armor is simply a basic human instinct, a desire for greater survivability. But if, in the future, you don't need to switch to heavy armor and can kill your opponent faster and more quickly with the Steady Shield Guard, then veterans will vote with their feet whether to choose the Steady Shield Guard or the Heavy Armor Shield Guard.

As the saying goes, veterans know best which type of soldier survives the most on the battlefield, and they also know best which talents are best suited for survival and combat. After all, once you're there, you're risking your life, and it's clear at a glance who survives and who dies!

"Hey, don't disbelieve me, I really didn't!" Chen Xi said with a reassuring smile, seeing Zhou Yu's expression.

"Keep making things up, I'm listening," Zhou Yu said dismissively. He repeated his earlier statement: a little banter with Chen Xi would restore his composure. After all, Zhou Yu had seen this monster Chen Xi for many years and had come to understand him somewhat. Even though he was yelling and screaming, his body was still weak. Therefore, the God-Slaying Spear assembly line only dealt a temporary blow to Zhou Yu; it wouldn't fundamentally change him.

After all, he's suffered too many setbacks over the years, and his body has become weak. He can't become weak again now. He understands that he's reached the highest level, and there's no higher level to go, so he just needs to take a break.

"Alright, let's be honest. This is indeed my idea. Watching you guys fight is dizzying. You're always considering this and that, and you have to think about the opponent's every move. It's really brain-draining, especially for older people. After a battle, they're often half dead. So I was thinking of seeing if we could simplify it and make it less mentally taxing." Chen Xi arrogantly admitted Zhou Yu's previous ramblings. From now on, subconsciously, Chen Zichuan is also me, Chen Xi!

"Why didn't you say so earlier? Is it really that interesting to pretend in front of me?" Zhou Yu waved his hand, calming down once again. After all, it was the truth, and there was nothing more to say. Chen Xi was this kind of superman, and Zhou Yu had long understood and fully realized it. Why should a person compare themselves to such a god, right?

"That's basically it. Now, let's talk about how to fight the demon god with this. We'll need it to fight the Kushan Empire later!" Chen Xi was too lazy to explain to Zhou Yu. "I, Chen Xi, don't care about taking a few more blames in my life. I'm lonely at the top!"

In short, Chen Xi struck a few poses. Since Zhou Yu was there, it wouldn't matter if he acted crazy a few times.

"Well, to put it simply, this batch of God-Slaying Spears seems a bit too weak against the Demon God, but a bit too powerful against the Kushan Empire," Zhou Yu said, frowning. "Was it poorly designed?"

"We haven't really designed it much. We'll produce a batch first, and then we'll have Zhao Shuang and the others calculate the logistical burden of this version. After all, you know this thing needs to be left to stand and used quickly, which are all logistical issues." Chen Xi stopped pretending and became calm and composed.

"I see. In that case, I can only say that this thing might be less effective against demons. To accurately assess its effectiveness, we'll probably need to have the veterans from this batch conduct on-site testing. Ideally, those with the ability to record secret techniques should record the effects for evaluation," Zhou Yu said in a deep voice. Based on his test results, he estimated that the current version of the God-Slaying Spear was somewhat lacking in power.

“That works too. Besides, those veterans from Rome who are still living under the Han dynasty have also come here. They’ve been offered a reward in Chang’an: a box of top-quality silk for killing a demon god. And this time, it will be delivered directly to the demon god, not by the Duke of Ganassis.” Chen Xi nodded, also feeling that it was necessary to have the elite veterans test it out, otherwise the power of this thing was indeed hard to determine.

"The Roman veterans are coming, should we give them to them too?" Zhou Yu asked with some caution. In Zhou Yu's view, this was a strategic weapon, and it wouldn't be good if the Romans saw it.

"The God-Slaying Spear has been around for quite some time now. Rome and the Kushan Empire have known about it for a long time, but knowing that it exists and knowing that it can be mass-produced are two different things. Besides, the fact that the Romans came is a form of help, so there's no need to get bogged down in this." Chen Xi said in a deep voice. He was a man who could maintain his dignity in these matters. After all, with over four hundred scattered demon gods, to be honest, even without the Romans, the Han Dynasty would have had a hard time dealing with them. This thing was far too tough.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Jiang Guang and Zhao Ying were able to kill the demon god in a short time. In reality, for most veterans, demon gods are extremely difficult to deal with. Even for most fifth-level warriors, there is a high chance of failure when facing a demon god without self-awareness.

This is not the previous grand martial arts exercise, where there was no concept of "death or injury." This is a life-or-death struggle in reality. Every veteran who has reached the fifth level of forging is an elite from various empires. Even for a top empire like the Han Dynasty, the current stage has been stimulated by the grand martial arts exercise—that is, through discussions among elites from all over the world, some talents have been simplified and sublimated, making advancement easier—and through the reattachment of severed limbs, all the veterans who had previously been injured and forced to retreat have been recalled. Including those at the fifth level, there are fewer than 1,500 veterans at or above the fifth level of forging.

With such a small force, and some of them stationed at the Ganges and others at various locations, only three or four hundred people could actually be transferred to Jiangling. Among these three or four hundred people, fewer than forty teams could form two-person teams that could reliably face the demon god and survive in case of unexpected events.

This is also why Chen Xi was willing to accept the Romans' goodwill. After all, the veterans sent by Rome were mostly at the fifth or sixth level of strength. Once they arrived, they could go to Yunmeng and fight the Demon God head-on. Even if something unexpected happened, they would only need to receive compensation. Although the veterans of the Han Dynasty also only needed to receive compensation if they died, the problem was that Chen Xi still did not want these precious talents to die.

Therefore, Chang'an offered the Roman veterans a reward of a small merit for slaying a seven-fold demon god, along with a box of silk. They also received double pay during the battle and all injuries were reimbursed. In short, the Han Dynasty spared no expense, so the Roman veterans all came down.

Of course, for the Roman leaders, small merits were not important, and double pay was just so-so. A box of top-quality silk was very important, especially since it was clearly priced. For every seven-fold demon god killed, Chang'an would give them a box, which was directly in their hands, making these Romans very satisfied.

After all, the military campaign to capture the Huns had made the Roman veterans realize how ruthless Ganassis and Elias were. They turned tribute silk into premium goods, and premium goods into superior goods. They were truly beasts!

So recently, Elias has been cornered several times because of the issue of accepting bribes, which seems to have caused public resentment. However, the good thing is that Elias is extremely powerful, and the public resentment issue can't be resolved by Elias. The fine silk is still in Elias's chest. The problem is that Elias is furious with Ganassis: "What do you mean my tribute silk was replaced with the finest silk? Ganassis, you beast!"

In short, it was against this backdrop that the Romans arrived in Jiangling. Guan Yu even attended a banquet in place of Chen Xi to welcome the Romans. After the welcome, these volunteers would be sent to the battlefield. It can only be said that the Romans were raising a very high banner: for all mankind. Not bad, not bad at all.

"Keep an eye on those veterans lately, and have them kill as many of the wandering demons as possible, and also conduct some testing," Chen Xi said to Zhou Yu in a deep voice.

"Alright, is there anything else?" Zhou Yu asked in a low voice.

"Among the demon gods, there are corrupting demon gods that may affect veterans. Remember to have Zhang Huang check them; this is a serious problem," Chen Xi warned with a hint of gravity.

　Those with tickets, please cast your votes! It's almost the end of the month!

(End of this chapter)