Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1823 - 1816: Concentric Circle Banner Formation

Chapter 1823: Chapter 1816: Concentric Circle Banner Formation

Just as he turned around, having taken no more than two steps, he heard a sigh from behind: "General, with mere steps you seek to block my thousands of elite Cavalry—truly a poor strategy, unable to attain lasting victory!"

Upon hearing this, Jiuyun Shuang snorted coldly, then turned his horse around and said with a cold smile: "Then why not give it a try? See if my thousands of infantry are superior or if your iron Cavalry can withstand."

"I use ten thousand Cavalry to chase a thousand infantry, although victorious, it is still defeat, which mars the face of the Heavenly Dynasty. We all wish to serve faithfully to the Heavenly Dynasty, hoping the General would cease the fight. Better to establish troops, so that my tribe and the Heavenly Dynasty do not lose the essence of monarch and ministers."

"You all always like to play this card, but the Heavenly Army has long been abolished. Either surrender, cut strings and break arrows, or fight a battle, to decide victory or defeat."

Although these Yipa always talked about establishing troops, Jiuyun Shuang gave them no such opportunity.

It’s not that he didn’t dare to fight, but rather he saw no need to, wasting morale pointlessly.

A major feature of Dongsheng’s new military reforms is the complete abandonment of the battalion Generals primarily recruiting Cultivators, with commanders united in their roles.

So, now none of the new military units have Generals specifically leading troops in charges.

Although being the chief commander, Jiuyun Shuang is indeed a Cultivator, his two brothers and numerous deputies are also mostly Cultivators, but this is not a reason for them to engage in duels with enemy forces.

After all, nowadays with commanders united, a General not only charges into battle but also commands troops in combat. If the General is decapitated by the enemy, then the whole army will be thrown into chaos.

Toto’s intention is obvious, even if they really fight, it’s best to just lightly spar, letting a few Generals and their subordinates have a bout, to control losses.

In his view, this is a tradition with a long history.

Not only do Generals sent by the court like to do this, but the Jiuyun Clan guarding the Northern Province also likes to do this.

It’s like a duel on a platform, determining life and death and superiority with a few individuals’ life and death, determining the final outcome of two armies.

Though he had also heard that the Dongsheng army suffered a huge loss in West Outer Heaven, being beaten by the Demon Clan and losing over a thousand Generals, he still stubbornly believed that the Dongsheng army would follow old traditions and duel with them.

However, Jiuyun Shuang’s mind was clearer.

Even though the Dongsheng army has been reformed into the new army, as long as the command structure still consists of Cultivators, they could indeed agree to Toto’s conditions.

But the question is, what is their purpose in this expedition?

Of course, it is to eliminate the threat of the Yipa’s three tribes.

And to eliminate the threat of the Yipa’s three tribes, not only must their economic strength be weakened but also their military power.

Thus, rather than worrying about a few individuals’ losses, he is more concerned about how to devour the Chiwo Tribe’s twenty thousand elite Cavalry.

Because as long as he can devour this elite Cavalry, the Chiwo Tribe will be severely weakened, essentially losing the bargaining chip to negotiate with the Dongsheng Empire, and can only choose to obediently surrender.

For the Wen Family’s court, as long as the Yipa’s three tribes retain a vast number of Cavalry, the court can never trust the three tribes’ compromise. Only when the three tribes completely lose their bargaining chip, the court would dare to formally accept their surrender.

Using a few thousand to devour twenty thousand elite Cavalry seems thrilling when thought about. But Jiuyun Shuang feels that with aerial support from Kunzhou, as long as they can withstand the charge from the Yipa Cavalry, they could potentially defeat these supposedly unbeatable Cavalry.

He’s prepared for the worst-case scenario: even if five thousand troops suffer losses exceeding two-thirds, he must devour those twenty thousand elite Cavalry. Even if it’s trading one musketeer for one Cavalry, he feels it’s worthwhile.

Because before they came, Cheng Ziang had already clearly stated to him that the greatest advantage of musketeers is the short training cycle. As long as the court can ensure sufficient reserve troops supply, his army can quickly receive replenishment and re-enter into combat.

Hence Jiuyun Shuang isn’t afraid of losses. For him, even if the whole army dies leaving only a few Generals, as long as the enemy is completely annihilated, it would be a great victory.

It’s worth noting that the five thousand infantry led by Jiuyun Shuang do not include the personnel of the Kunzhou fleet.

Because Dongsheng Empire’s Kunzhou fleet has its own system and belongs to a completely different system from the infantry it transports.

Although it’s military reform, many habits of the Dongsheng army are still continued, like claiming forces.

Jiuyun Shuang claims to lead ten thousand to pacify the Yipa’s three tribes, which means he leads ten thousand infantry and Cavalry, excluding the personnel of Kunzhou fleet.

And on the battlefield, the five thousand infantry led by Jiuyun Shuang include all ground combat forces and not the aerial firepower support.

Thus, in reality, the forces Jiuyun Shuang can command are not only ground troops but also include the aerial fleet.

This is also the main reason he dares to confront the twenty thousand Cavalry with just a few thousand troops.

The talks broke up unhappily, both sides returned to their camps. From this perspective, both sides adhere to the rules fairly well, abiding by the rule of not decapitating envoys.

Toto hadn’t returned to the tribe for long when everyone heard the continuous sound of melodious horns. Accompanying the horn sounds, the Chiwo Tribe’s twenty thousand Cavalry began dispersing into several groups, spreading to the sides like opened arms.

"Form the circle formation!" Seeing this, Jiuyun Shuang quickly turned and shouted loudly at his soldiers.

Under his command, accompanied by intense drumbeats and whistles, thousands of infantry began to orderly form five concentric circle formations.

The concentric circle formation, also known as the concentric circle banner formation, is divided into five circle formations, consisting of three parts, the foremost shield soldiers, the next line spear soldiers, and finally the musketeers.

Though called shield soldiers, each carries a long spear as well, with the spear butt diagonally inserted into the ground, the spear shaft resting in a prepared notch on the shield to withstand Cavalry charges.

To counter the threat of Cavalry, this infantry unit can be said to have perfected anti-charge tactics. Even the muzzles of musketeers hang with brightly shining bayonets, forming the final anti-charge array.

Four lesser concentric circle auxiliary formations surround the largest central circle formation, Jiuyun Shuang rides a tall steed, holding the central position in the main formation, his deputies are distributed in the surrounding auxiliary formations, holding their commands.

Above them are more than ten Kunzhou varying in size quietly suspended less than a hundred meters above the ground, with their bellies showing rows of densely packed cannon ports, the dark cannon mouths pointing towards the ground.

From the sky, twenty thousand Yipa Cavalry left only a few thousand to guard the tribe, the remainder dispersed into several groups, spreading around.

Frontal assault has never been the correct tactic for Cavalry; they actively maneuver encircling, seeking to envelop these thousands of infantry, find their weak points, then strike suddenly.

However, what they face is a rootless army without a clear ground rear.

There’s a saying, paratroopers are born to be surrounded.

This Dongsheng army landing on the plains is the same; from the moment they land, they are in a surrounded state with no rear, no backup. Only by defeating the enemy in front can they have a chance to board and retreat.

The four slightly smaller concentric circle auxiliary formations protect the central circle main formation, making encircling Yipa Cavalry unable to find any flaw, forced to run back and forth in circles.

A team of several hundred attempted to approach the circle formation for projection. After two rounds of projection, many arrows hit the shields, and quite a few in the circle formation were struck, wailing as they fell.

Yet the Yipa didn’t enjoy their advantage for long, as Jiuyun Shuang, always watching Cavalry movements, evidently noticed this and shouted loudly while pointing at the bow Cavalry: "Northeast Wind Formation Flag, firepower delivery!"

The Wind Formation is one of the four auxiliary formations guarding the main formation; these four formations are called Wind, Fire, Mountain, Forest.

And on the basis of the concentric circle formation, the Dongsheng army adopted Cheng Ziang’s suggestion, with each formation set with eight flags, each indicating eight different directions, allowing more vertical command of shooters to fire in any direction.

With Jiuyun Shuang’s order, the flag bearer in the northeast direction of the Wind Formation began to wave his banner, guiding the Kunzhou in the sky to adjust cannon fire direction.

With preparations calibrated, as shouts echoed, the sky was once again covered with white smoke, a dense rain of shots following to bombard the ground.