Double penetration: This Three Kingdoms has dragon energy

Chapter 155 Dragon Qi Clash

The central position of the Xuzhou army had become a scene of utter devastation.

Of the 40,000 soldiers from Xuzhou in the central army, more than half were lying on the ground groaning in pain.

This result left everyone on both sides dumbfounded.

Zang Ba and Zhao Yu need no further explanation.

They had no idea what the Yuan family's military camp in Tianmen Mountain represented, and they never dreamed that this seemingly unremarkable military camp would possess such powerful offensive capabilities.

Wang Lang, who had some understanding of Yuan's military camp, also did not expect that Yuan's military camp was so powerful.

They were able to kill tens of thousands of Xuzhou soldiers and seriously wound nearly 20,000 Xuzhou soldiers in an instant!
This power is at least equivalent to five top-tier first-grade secret techniques!
Ji Qiu and Xi Zhong were equally shocked.

Ji Qiu was just as shocked as Wang Lang, as they hadn't expected the Yuan family's army to be so powerful.

Although I had always heard Xi Zhong talk about how powerful Yuan's army was, I had never seen it with my own eyes.

Therefore, the extent of the strength of Yuan Shikai's army has always been somewhat unclear.

Now it's clear.

As expected of the powerful force used by the Yuan family to suppress the emperor in Luoyang, it is indeed exceptionally powerful!

No wonder Xi Zhong was confident that he could withstand Xuzhou's 100,000 strong troops with only 3,000 strong soldiers!

Of course, while marveling at the strength of Yuan's army, he also began to reassess the strength of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu deep down.

Although he had never underestimated these two, he had never paid them much attention either.

Especially as their own strength has grown, they have become increasingly less concerned about them.

However, it now seems that their danger level needs to be raised again.

The Yuan family's military camp was built by the Yuan family. Since they were able to build the first Yuan family military camp, they could build the second one!
Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu inherited almost the entire legacy of the Yuan family.

Furthermore, as the political landscape evolved into a period of warlordism, the power of each of them surpassed that of the Yuan family in the past!

After all, no matter how powerful the Yuan family was back then, they always had to restrain themselves due to the suppression of the Han court.

Unlike now, when there is absolutely no restraint.

So don't be fooled by the fact that each of them now only has two prefectures; their overall strength is probably greater than that of the Yuan family back then.

They must have the ability to rebuild Yuan Shikai's military camp!
If Ji Qiu doesn't understand the true situation and rashly starts a battle with these two, he'll likely end up getting humiliated.

Finally, there was Xi Zhong, who was also somewhat shocked by the destructive power of Yuan's army camp.

Although they had long known that the secret techniques sealed in Yuan's army camp were extremely powerful, they never expected to be able to obtain such a powerful technique during the Warring States period.

I thought I would only kill three or four thousand Xuzhou soldiers at most, but I never expected that I would directly cripple the enemy's 40,000-strong central army.

Of course, there are many reasons for this result.

Firstly, the other side initially did not know that this was Yuan's military camp, so they were caught off guard.

The location chosen by the Xuzhou soldiers was the most suitable spot to unleash the Ice Crystal Arrow Rain.

However, the Qiankun Transformation technique in Yuan's army camp was specifically designed to counter the Xuzhou soldiers, so that location was also where the Qiankun Transformation technique was most powerful.

Secondly, the Xuzhou soldiers belong to the water element, while the Qiankun Transformation belongs to the earth element. Both belong to the five elements, and earth overcomes water. Therefore, the Qiankun Transformation secret technique can inflict additional damage on the Xuzhou soldiers.

If the Danyang soldiers, who were attacked by the Qiankun Transformation, were the ones who belonged to the fire element, even if they were caught off guard, the destructive effect would not have been so astonishing.

Thirdly, this is not the first Yuan family's military camp, but the second Yuan family's military camp.

The Eight Trigrams Formation truly lives up to its reputation as the top-tier dragon energy formation; its powerful enhancement effect is truly astonishing.

Thanks to the enhancement effect of the Eight Trigrams Formation, the gap between Yuan's army and Xuzhou's army widened to 20% on top of the original gap.

This is the fundamental reason why Yuan's army achieved victory in one move!

"Damn it, aren't the Yuan family and Ji Qiu mortal enemies? How did their military camp fall into Ji Qiu's hands?"
With Yuan's army being so powerful, are there no weaknesses?

Mr. Jingxing, do you know how to break through Yuan Shikai's military camp?

Recovering from the brief shock, Zang Ba hurriedly ordered the central army to retreat and regroup, then roared in exasperation.

Wang Lang frowned and said in a deep voice, "The Yuan family's military camp is a peerless dragon weapon that the Yuan family has painstakingly researched over hundreds of years."

It is said that they even received the support of the gods in Heaven when they were researching dragon artifacts.

Ten secret techniques are sealed within this military camp, five for defense and five for counterattack.

Each defensive or counter-attack technique corresponds to one of the five elements.

The purpose was to use the principles of mutual generation and restraint contained in the Five Elements secret art to deal with and construct the entire military camp's defense and counterattack system.

If we're talking about flaws, there really aren't any major flaws.

To conquer Yuan's camp, besides relying on overwhelming force, using methods outside the Five Elements might save some effort!

"Beyond the Five Elements? Where can we find power beyond the Five Elements?"

"We only have two powerful armies under our command: the Xuzhou soldiers, a strong water-based army, and the Danyang soldiers, a strong fire-based army," Zang Ba said with a worried expression.

The soldiers of Danyang belong to the fire element, while the soldiers of Xuzhou belong to the water element. The alternation of fire and water is an extremely reasonable combination of troop types.

However, they were all restrained by the Yuan family's army camp, which possessed the attributes of all five elements!
Wang Lang sighed softly, "Then there's only one way: a direct assault."

However, given the strength of this Yuan family's military camp, even if our army launches a strong attack, we may not be able to take it!

General Zang, now that things have come to this, I actually think we should consider withdrawing our troops first.

We did not expect that Ji Qiu would actually possess this Yuan family military camp, and now, caught off guard, we have suffered a heavy blow.

The current situation is extremely unfavorable for us.

The slightest misstep could lead to the complete annihilation of the army.

If our army is completely wiped out, not only will we be unable to suppress Ji Qiu, but it may also lead to the fall of Langya and Donghai prefectures into Ji Qiu's hands.

Therefore, the wisest choice at present is to withdraw the troops first and then plan accordingly!

For Wang Lang, his main purpose in supporting Tao Qian's attack on Ji Qiu was actually to curb Ji Qiu's development and prevent Ji Qiu from occupying his hometown, Donghai County.

Because once Ji Qiu occupies Donghai County, according to the system of Ji Qiu's forces, he will inevitably uproot the Donghai Wang clan.

Therefore, for him, whether or not he could defeat Ji Qiu was not important; what mattered most was protecting Donghai County and preventing Ji Qiu from occupying it.

Zang Ba's army of 100,000 included not only Tao Qian's 30,000 Danyang soldiers, but also 70,000 Xuzhou soldiers from Langya and Donghai prefectures.

Once the entire army is wiped out, the military strength of the two counties of Langyan and Donghai will be completely eliminated.

When the time comes, Ji Qiu will be able to take these two prefectures with almost no effort!

Therefore, no matter what, he had to ensure that this large army would not have any problems!
"Withdraw the troops? Consider the long term? That's absolutely impossible!" Zang Ba immediately rejected the suggestion. Although he knew in his heart that Wang Lang's suggestion was indeed the most appropriate one at the moment.

But this was also a suggestion he absolutely could not accept.

First, in terms of personal grudges, he and Ji Qiu have a blood feud that cannot be resolved and can only be ended by the death of one of them.

However, in the previous two years, he had repeatedly requested Tao Qian to send troops to attack Ji Qiu, but Tao Qian had refused each time.

Tao Qian finally agreed to send troops this time, and this may be his only chance to get revenge. He absolutely cannot give up easily!

Secondly, from a personal perspective, he was the commander-in-chief who led the troops this time, but now he has not achieved any merit and has caused the army to suffer huge losses.

If he were to retreat to Xuzhou in this state and end the war, he would be branded with shame.

His standing in Tao Qian's eyes will plummet, and he will never again have the opportunity to lead troops independently.

Third, at this point, he had not yet reached a point of complete despair.

Although he lost nearly 30,000 soldiers, he still had 70,000 troops and was still capable of fighting.

Moreover, the previous loss was caused by negligence, and now that he is on guard, he will not give the other party such an opportunity again.

The war that follows will enter a stalemate, with Ji Qiu's side competing in terms of the depth of their dragon energy.

On this point, I absolutely do not believe that Ji Qiu is stronger than him.

After all, he had Tao Qian behind him, and Tao Qian had already occupied the entire territory of Xuzhou and had considerable control over the whole of Xuzhou.

This gave Tao Qian a great deal of dragon energy.

In contrast, Ji Qiu only had six counties under his command in Qingzhou.

Moreover, the three prefectures of Pingyuan, Jibei, and Beihai are all newly acquired and should not provide much dragon energy.

How much dragon energy could Ji Qiu's original three counties of Taishan, Qi, and Le'an provide for him?

Therefore, he is undoubtedly the victor in this war!

Therefore, Zang Ba decisively ordered: "All soldiers in the central army who are still capable of fighting shall be incorporated into the rear army. I will soon command the front and rear counties to launch an attack on the enemy camp!"

Following his orders, more than 10,000 soldiers with combat capabilities in the central army were reassigned to the rear army.

Thus, the rear army once again possessed more than 40,000 soldiers from Xuzhou.

Meanwhile, the 30,000 Danyang soldiers at the front were also ready for battle.

In Yuan Shikai's military camp.

The changes in the Xuzhou army could not be kept secret from Ji Qiu and Xi Zhong, who were constantly conducting aerial reconnaissance using drones.

Xi Zhong chuckled and said, "My lord, just as you predicted, Zang Ba is indeed persistent."

However, given the fortification of Yuan's military camp, the current Xuzhou army lacks the capability for a strong attack.

So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he'll likely be competing with our army in terms of sheer power and resources!

"Compete in terms of dragon energy reserves? Fine! If he chooses other fighting styles, I might not be able to handle him, but when it comes to competing in terms of dragon energy reserves, I'm not afraid of anyone!"

"Don't even mention Zang Ba, even if Tao Qian himself came, he would still make him leave in a sorry state!" Ji Qiu said with a nonchalant smile.

The so-called competition of dragon energy reserves is actually a competition of who has more dragon energy in their possession.

The essence of military formation techniques is nothing more than dragon energy.

Whether it's the ice crystal arrow rain from the Xuzhou soldiers or the fiery clouds from the Yuan clan's camp, both require the expenditure of dragon energy to unleash.

At the same time, as long as there is enough dragon energy, it can be cast continuously!
These two secret techniques are mutually restraining, and one side can completely overwhelm the other by using overwhelming force, allowing the other side to defeat the other with more dragon energy!
However, what Ji Qiu is least worried about now is actually this kind of combat suit that consumes dragon energy.

Although his territory is not large, his population is very large.

Even without counting the newly acquired three prefectures of Beihai, Pingyuan, and Jinan, the total population under their control exceeds eleven million!

If these three counties are included, the total population under his rule is already close to thirteen million!
But how many people are there in Xuzhou?
The total population of Xuzhou is slightly larger than the original total population of Qingzhou, but the difference is only slight.

It's around four million!

In addition, with Ji Qiu's unique governance model, the amount of dragon energy that can be collected from an individual citizen is at least four times that of Xuzhou!
At the same time, Zang Ba was merely a general under Tao Qian, and Tao Qian could not possibly allocate all the dragon energy to him.

With such fluctuations, the gap between the two sides has widened even further.

It has to be said that Zang Ba actually dared to compete with Ji Qiu in terms of dragon energy foundation; he really has a lot of courage!
But it's not his fault.

Why couldn't he have access to this data?

So the battle to deplete the dragon's energy officially began.

Zang Ba ordered his 40,000 Xuzhou soldiers to stand at a distance and unleash a rain of ice crystal arrows at Yuan's camp.

This is not the optimal position to cast Ice Crystal Arrow Rain; it only allows Ice Crystal Arrow Rain to deal 70% damage.

However, the advantage is that it can avoid the Qiankun Bian attack from Yuan Shikai's army camp.

Therefore, the Yuan family's army camp stopped using the Qiankun Transformation technique and instead used the perfectly timed Fire Cloud Heaven Secret Technique to deal with wave after wave of ice crystal arrows.

At the same time, Zang Ba also ordered the vanguard of 30,000 Danyang soldiers to use the secret military formation technique, Burning Heaven Technique, to attack Yuan's army camp.

The Heaven-Burning Technique is a powerful, explosive secret technique that can unleash raging flames to attack enemies dozens of feet away.

Blazing flames gathered in mid-air, condensing into a three-legged fire crow phantom hundreds of feet tall.

When the fire crow flaps its wings, countless sparks burst forth from the edges of its feathers, turning the dark sky into a sea of ​​fiery brilliance.

An endless sea of ​​fire engulfed Yuan's army camp.

But this did not do anything to Yuan's army camp. Just as the boundless sea of ​​fire was pouring down, the ground around the camp shook violently, and the surging river water, like a dragon emerging from the abyss, converged from all directions, condensing in mid-air into a high, azure water curtain.

Above the water curtain, nine lifelike water dragons coiled and swam, exhaling cold air and instantly lowering the surrounding temperature to freezing point.

The sea of ​​fire and the curtain of water collided with a deafening roar. In an instant, the world seemed to be split in two, one half crimson like a purgatory, the other half dark blue like a frozen abyss.

The scorching flames clashed fiercely with the icy water, sending plumes of white steam soaring into the sky with a deafening roar.

The phantom of the fire crow twisted violently under the impact of the water curtain, the sparks on its wings kept dying out, and its huge body gradually dissipated amidst its mournful cries.

Ripples spread across the surface of the water curtain, and nine water dragons roared with their heads held high, spewing out icy breaths that pierced the sea of ​​fire like sharp swords, extinguishing the remaining flames one by one.

This is precisely the water-based defensive secret technique sealed within Yuan's military camp: Water Curtain Heavenly Splendor!

Zang Ba continuously unleashed Ice Crystal Arrow Rain and the Heaven-Burning Secret Technique, while the Yuan Clan's army continuously unleashed Fire Cloud Heaven and Water Curtain Heavenly Splendor.

Both sides were clashing, a fierce and intense battle, and the dragon's energy was being rapidly depleted.

(End of this chapter)