Chapter 1872: Arrow Formation
Zhao Hai calmly sat inside the h.e.l.l King’s s.h.i.+p. He knew that Jian Wuya would definitely endure. This was because Jian Wuya and the others still needed him. If he left, then the strength of the Great Realm of Cultivation’s army would definitely take a huge hit. It would be impossible for them to defeat the Heavenly Demons. He has already shown his ability to command.
Zhao Hai also knew that the more he was like this, the more the nine super sects wouldn’t let him off. The stronger he appeared to be, the greater the threat they would feel. So after defeating the Heavenly Demons, the nine super sects would definitely target him. But Zhao Hai was also waiting for that moment to arrive.
Sure enough, before long, the elders of the Heaven Sect returned to the first army. But Zhao Hai didn’t find the first elder who opposed him as well as Zheng Zimin.
Although the elders of the Heaven Sect were still visibly angry, they had no choice but to bear with it. When they saw Zhao Hai on the h.e.l.l King’s s.h.i.+p, the hatred in their eyes disappeared. Then an elder arrived in front of Zhao Hai and cupped his fist as he said, “I have seen Mister Zhao Hai. I am Luo Wei, an elder of the Heaven Sect’s outer hall. This time, we came back under the sect master’s order. Mister can rest a.s.sured. While we are in the first army, we will obey all of mister’s commands. Even if you order us to die, we will not hesitate. The sect master already removed the elder position of the person who caused trouble. Elder Zheng Zimin was also sent back to the sect. Is mister satisfied with this?”
Zhao Hai looked at Luo Wei and could feel the hostility that was hidden inside. However, Zhao Hai didn’t mind it. He just smiled faintly and said, “Good. I’m satisfied. Now let’s start the training.”
After he said that, Zhao Hai released his Undead to get familiar with the large artifacts. As for the Heaven Sect’s elders, they had been invited inside the h.e.l.l King’s s.h.i.+p.
Once everyone was settled down, Zhao Hai looked at them and said, “As elders of the Heaven Sect, you’re capable of increasing the size of your flying swords and using them as large artifacts. However, this is greatly dependent on your strength. Your large swords might not even compare to ordinary large artifacts. After all, you’re the only one controlling the large artifact. You’re the sole provider of spiritual qi. Over time, you would fall behind large artifacts that are powered with spirit stones.”
The Heaven Sect elders didn’t make a noise. What Zhao Hai said were already known by everyone in the Great Realm of Cultivation. Because the large swords were just enlarged flying swords, they couldn’t be supplied using spirit stones. Therefore, it didn’t have much energy to work with. Transcending tribulation experts wouldn’t be able to control the flying swords for a long time because of the lack of spiritual qi.
Seeing that n.o.body was talking, Zhao Hai continued, “But you have an advantage when it comes to flexibility and speed. Compared to normal large artifacts, your flying swords are faster and more agile. This is your greatest strength. I will a.s.sign all of you into one team. This will allow you to completely utilize your strengths.”
The Heaven Sect Elders changed their expressions a bit. They were afraid that Zhao Hai would order them to die. Being unable to disobey commands caused these elders to dislike Zhao Hai. Now that Zhao Hai was going to arrange them into one team, this meant that Zhao Hai wouldn’t kill them off. This surprised the elders of the Heaven Sect.
Zhao Hai looked at their expressions and smiled as he said, “Do you really think that I would send you to your deaths? If I really did, then wouldn’t I be helping the Heavenly Demons? When the large artifacts clash, don’t make a move. Without my order, none of you are allowed to attack. Even if Jian Wuya gives an order, ignore it. Even if all of the large artifacts are destroyed, without my word, you cannot make a move. Do you understand?”
The Heaven Sect Elders couldn’t help but look at each other. They didn’t understand what Zhao Hai was planning to do. Zhao Hai continued, “Wait for my order. You will be dispatched when the time is right. Your targets aren’t the large artifacts of the Heavenly Demons but the Heavenly Demons themselves. Your job is to attack the main army of the Heavenly Demon Realm and open a gap. Once that happens, our Great Realm of Cultivation would use this opportunity to divide the Heavenly Demons into two.”
It was at this point that the Heaven Sect Elders understood Zhao Hai’s plan. Zhao Hai’s plan wasn’t too complicated. In fact, after today’s battle, the people of the Great Realm of Cultivation understood the disadvantages when a hundred million army was separated. At the same time, complicated tactics are useless if they weren’t followed properly. The more people there are, the less effective complex strategies would become. Therefore, in such huge battles, the simpler the tactic, the better.
Now, the Heaven Sect Elders knew that Zhao Hai truly wanted to defeat the Heavenly Demons. He wasn’t just using the Heavenly Demons to weaken the strength of the nine super sects. Thinking of the ruckus they made earlier, the elders couldn’t help but be embarra.s.sed.
Zhao Hai saw their expressions and knew what they were thinking. He smiled faintly and said, “Alright. Don’t think too much about it. All of you are from the same sect, so your coordination should be good. But remember, your task will be to break through the formation of the enemy’s army. This task is very important. I can only teach you a simple formation. From now until the battle, you will train in it. The name of this battle formation is the arrow formation…..”
Arrow formations were one of the simplest army formations. But not everyone could maximize the power of this formation. The biggest feature of the formation was the arrowhead pattern of the troops. And like an arrow being let go from the bow, the formation has only one characteristic. It was a formation that never looked back.
Once the arrow was released, it could only plow forward and kill people. This made the arrow the most offensive weapon. This aggressiveness was also shared by the arrow formation.
The Heaven Sect Elders were sword cultivators. And sword cultivators were known for their offensive strength. Because of this, Zhao Hai planned to have them use the arrow formation.
The people of the Great Realm of Cultivation believed in using magic formations during battles. There were even sects that had magic formations that could be used by large armies. The Heaven Sect was one of these sects.
Such formations were formidable, but they were more suitable in small and medium scale battles. It was useless during battles involving millions of troops. Army magic formations were very complex. Also, magic formations weren’t known for their offensive strength. Therefore, Zhao Hai took out the simple arrow formation for the elders of the Heaven Sect to use.
The arrow formation wasn’t very complex, but it also requires some coordination. Every person in the formation needs to be in the proper location. If there was a mistake, then the arrow wouldn’t fly as far and wouldn’t hit its target.
Zhao Hai explained the arrow formation in detail to the Heaven Sect Elders. He also pointed out the areas where they need to pay attention to during the charge. The elders of the Heaven Sect listened carefully. It was a battle formation they had never seen before. It was the most suitable for charging through the battlefield.
After explaining the formation, Zhao Hai took the elders out of the h.e.l.l King’s s.h.i.+p and then led them to a s.p.a.cious area to begin their training. Their goal for the training was to polish their coordination as well as introduce them to all sorts of changes in the battlefield.
Although the arrow formation was very simple, it needed some effort when it came to coordination. It must also be known that the arrow formation was a dangerous battle formation. The formation needed to be sharp. This meant that the tip of the arrow would be the most dangerous part. The tip of the arrow would be the very first point of impact. Because of this, the a.s.signment of those on the tip was organized in advance. Once the person who acted as the tip died or was incapacitated, then they needed to be replaced as soon as possible. This was the time where everyone’s coordination would be tested.
The elders of the Heaven Sect might be from the same sect, but it was rare for them to work with each other. Fortunately, they have similar battle techniques and experience. They have some understanding of each other’s capabilities. After a period of training, they could finally use the arrow formation in a decent manner.
Two days were very short. Fortunately, both sides suffered heavy damage during the previous battle. Both used this opportunity to lick their wounds. This made the two-day period very peaceful.
After two days of training, the Undead have also gotten used to operating the large artifacts. And with Lizzy and the others in command, Zhao Hai believes that the Undead would give the Heavenly Demons a surprise in the battlefield.
Naturally, Zhao Hai was directing most of his attention towards the Heaven Sect’s elders. In Zhao Hai’s view, the battle between the large artifacts would be like two infantry armies facing each other head to head. The result for these two would depend on each army’s strength and weapons. As for the elders of the Heaven Sect, Zhao Hai would have them act as cavalry troops that would break the army’s formation whenever they were dispatched. They would become important factors directing the flow of the battle.
Two days later, when the army was a.s.sembled, Zhao Hai had no plans on hiding his strategy. He placed all of the large artifacts in front of the army. He also didn’t bother using the Stellar Transformations Great Formation. There was no need to do so. After all, although the stellar transformation formation was good at defense, it didn’t have good offensive capabilities.
After seeing Zhao Hai’s move, the Heavenly Demons immediately understood what he was trying to do. They quickly prepared their large artifacts and placed them in front. Both sides reached a tacit understanding that the battle would begin with a clash between large artifacts.