The Surface Shows Signs of Victory and Defeat

The warhorse snorted, raised its neck, and its mane fluttered in the breeze. Qiu Yan, sitting on the horse, looked up to feel the wind direction.

This seemingly simple action actually involves a complex process.

He had mobilized his entire mind and body, increasing the sensitivity of his senses, using the touch of his skin, the smell of his nose, and the sights in his field of vision to capture the shifts in wind force, the changes in light, and the ebb and flow of sound.

This information is perceived and transformed into feelings and sensations in the mind. Then, through consciousness, it interacts with the Incense Faith within the Divine Spirit Body, categorizing and calculating, turning perception into precise data, and reorganizing it to construct a "model" in the mind.

This instantly constructed a small part of the changing landscape in Qiu Yan's mind, so vividly that the mountains, rivers, and flat areas seemed to be right before his eyes, allowing him to pinpoint the army's location and have a clear understanding of the environmental factors.

However, no matter how sensitive one's perception is, or how many factors one can capture, it is impossible to visualize the entire vast land spanning dozens of miles in one's mind.

In reality, after being enveloped in the glory of the General-Selecting Platform, the avatar became even more realistic, and even the field of vision for ten miles was reduced to that of an ordinary person. As a result, simply relying on sight is definitely not enough to understand the terrain of the battlefield.

"The Military Contest on this General-Selecting Platform is indeed subject to many constraints. The forces on both sides maintain a certain balance, but this is slightly inconsistent with the rules that have been observed before. Therefore, there must be underlying differences that can be exploited to create a fundamental imbalance of power."

"Furthermore, one's inner insights and Original Spirit can be directly visualized through visualization to provide assistance! However, this is clearly subject to certain limitations; not all troops can be manifested."

"However, apart from that, the connection between this consciousness and the Gravel Soldiers has not been severed. It can still link its own consciousness with the soldiers, making command and dispatch much easier. Relying on the Incense-Division Method and the analytical ability of Incense Faith, a mere thousand people won't require much computational power or be a significant burden..."

As Qiu Yan was thinking, Qiu Yi's voice came from beside her.

"General, we should send scouts to investigate. We need to know the enemy's location first!"

His adjutant had fought alongside him for half a year in the Military World created by that Military Miscellany, and the two had long since developed a tacit understanding. After Qiu Yan entered this place, he quickly noticed that his soldiers had all transformed into independent consciousnesses and merged into the sand around them.

Through a mysterious mental connection, Qiu Yan can extend his consciousness into his soldiers, issuing orders and gathering timely information.

"Where is the enemy?" Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes, revealing a rather peculiar expression. "Alright, send scouts ahead first. We'll set up defensive fortifications first, and then..." As he issued the order, Qiu Yan also transmitted a message directly.

"Hmm?" Qiu Yi was taken aback, showing surprise. He then nodded and relayed the various orders. Soon after, groups of two or three scouts ventured deeper into the Lin Zhong.

Immediately afterwards, Qiu Yan dispersed his consciousness, merging it into the minds of nearly a thousand soldiers!

In an instant, a multitude of thoughts surged forth, bringing with them a flood of information that assaulted Qiu Yan's consciousness with overwhelming force, like a burst dam. However, after merging into his consciousness, they were drawn into the Incense Faith of his Divine Spirit Body and were quickly quelled.

Suddenly, it was as if mud and rocks had been thrown into the sea, leaving no trace.

At the same time, everyone in the entire army trembled slightly, emitting faint fluctuations of thought. These fluctuations were originally different, just like the different personalities of each person, but they were quickly drawn together by a force, and the fluctuations tended to be consistent and synchronized!

On the other side, the fluctuations emanating from this instantly caused the expressions of Household Ancestor Chen and Guo Ji, who were watching the battle from the edge, to change drastically.

"That's interesting."

After his initial surprise, Guo Ji regained his composure. "Ordinary Military School commanders, even those tempered by the battlefield and capable of dividing their minds into several routes and managing multiple battles, still have their limits. Human strength has its limits. If they are connected to too many people, they will inevitably be disturbed by the chaotic information, affecting both decision-making and analysis. In severe cases, it can even directly impact their consciousness, causing their soul to dissipate and leaving them disoriented."

As he spoke, he glanced at Ancestor Chen beside him. "The most I've ever seen was a single thought split into three hundred parts. You, a junior, have split your consciousness into nearly a thousand parts at once. That's truly extraordinary. This skill alone is enough to make me take notice."

The seemingly simple phrase "get my attention" represents a form of recognition. From initial indifference to surprise, it only takes a moment to change one's attitude.

"Hahaha," the Household Ancestor Chen chuckled, shaking his head. "This kid is still the same; every time we meet him, he always manages to surprise us." He also glanced at Guo Ji. "If you want to keep an eye on him, you might as well pay close attention; it will make your trip worthwhile."

"Oh? Brother Chen is so confident?" Guo Ji was slightly surprised. Although he was surprised that Qiu Yan could be distracted by nearly a thousand things, an excellent commander needs more than just that. There are many other factors that constrain him. In the current Military Contest, the situation is not favorable for Qiu Yan. He did not think that Qiu Yan could achieve any amazing results.

It should be noted that from the positions of Guo Ji and the Household Ancestor Chen, the view spanned most of the battlefield. It could be seen that the area had been transformed into a dense forest and mountainous region, with a small plain in addition.

However, both armies are currently in the mountains and forests. Qiu Yan's location is in a narrow area between two mountains, which allows him to deploy his troops, but his cavalry force of more than three hundred strong horses is unable to maneuver effectively.

"In that case, the cavalry formation becomes meaningless," Guo Ji commented. "Unless he can force the enemy to a decisive battle on a plain, there might be some uncertainty. In comparison, the cavalry formed from tigers and leopards can traverse forests and rivers, giving them a significant advantage."

Various ideas were also brewing in Qiu Yan's mind. The difference was that his understanding of the battlefield and the military competition at the command platform was not as comprehensive as Guo Ji's. So, on the surface, he was trying his best to collect information and improve his mental model.

"On the surface, my chances of winning here are slim. I can only rely on the terrain. These scouts are connected to my consciousness, so I can also detect what they see and quickly issue commands. Based on the terrain model I constructed using my previous perception of wind, light, and sound, they can move through the Lin Zhong more smoothly. And the information they obtain can be fed back to further supplement and improve the terrain model..."

While Qiu Yan was thinking, he issued a series of orders, which were then sent to the soldiers, instructing them to divide the work and cooperate to build simple defensive fortifications.

Due to the urgency of the situation, the enemy situation was still unclear, and the terrain was not yet fully understood. Therefore, the fortifications were not as elaborate as setting up a camp. Instead, they consisted of simple traps and facilities designed to slow down the enemy's advance and transmit messages.

Although the terrain changes and the location may shift, making it difficult to pinpoint the enemy's location, Qiu Yan had already prepared a hidden plan before the battle. This plan was intended not only as a trump card but also to test the rules. Now that he has a better understanding of the rules of Military Contest, he is increasingly certain of his Original Edition idea.

"Sometimes, what determines the outcome of a war is not the fighting on the battlefield, but rather something happening somewhere outside the conflict. Often, the outcome is already largely decided before the battle even begins. The outcome of this Military Contest is actually..."

As his thoughts raced, a sudden sharp pain shot through his consciousness, jolting Qiu Yan awake. The two scouts connected to his consciousness abruptly lost contact, turning into two grains of sand that fell to the ground, their consciousness already weakened, making further communication impossible.

Qiu Yan knew that two soldiers had been defeated. If it weren't for Qiu Yan's sliver of will protecting them, the scout's consciousness within the sand would have dissipated completely. However, in the instant the scout's consciousness weakened, a scene still appeared—

Those were two fierce tigers waving their claws, and through the cold light, you could see the figures of two burly riders on their backs.

"This must be Lu Hu's scout. Even if he can't connect his mind to all the soldiers like I can with divine incense, he must have some connections with the scouts to keep track of the battlefield. He must know about the scouts' battle now. In that case, we should start implementing the rest of the plan..."

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Qiu Yan issued several orders, which the soldiers immediately responded to and took action.

"Hmph! That man's scout has been discovered, which means we can pinpoint his approximate location! However, he'll probably try to confuse me and create chaos so I can't find his exact location, after all..."

On the other side of the mountain forest, amidst the rocky thickets, Lu Hu sat atop a snow-white tiger, a cold smile on his face.

"I was startled by that kid before, but it was just a bluff. Visualizing weapons is difficult, but it must be adapted to the situation. It's not that the more difficult the visualization, the more useful it is. Military Contest in the Military Ranks World is like playing chess, but it's much more complicated than a chess game."

As he pondered, he raised his hand and waved it, and rows of Tiger-Leopard Cavalry moved in perfect unison, their mounts trained to move as if they were extensions of their own arms.

Although these soldiers and generals manifested from the sand and gravel, their origins were equally extraordinary. They were not created out of thin air. In fact, none of the Gravel Soldiers they commanded, including Yuchi Leiting and Zhou Meng, were formed out of thin air; they all had some origin.

" In the General-Selecting Military Contest,' the terrain changes every time the game begins. In environments conducive to sieges and captures, those siege machines can be incredibly useful. But now it seems he made a mistake! In the Lin Zhong, supplies and provisions are already difficult to move, let alone such complex siege machines! This is heaven's help! Hiss..."

In a flash, Lu Hu felt a sudden pang of pain in his heart, as the damage to his consciousness had been aggravated.

"Once we overcome this challenge, we can reclaim our Original Spirit, absorb the person's consciousness and memories, and recover. For now, we must be patient."

Lost in thought, he and his several groups of Tiger-Leopard Cavalry entered the Lin Zhong, but he didn't notice a shadow spreading beneath his eyes...

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