Roughly twenty percent of the Zhou Army soldiers who had set up the Spirit-Absorbing Magic Formation collapsed. The baleful aura generated by the formation dimmed considerably with them, and the formation nearly broke outright.
These Zhou Army soldiers had... died suddenly.
The odds of dying suddenly after going three days and nights without sleep were actually fairly low, but that depended on the circumstances.
If someone was older, went three days and nights without sleep, and happened to be mentally overstimulated and emotionally agitated, a cardiovascular or cerebrovascular incident could very well cause a brain hemorrhage, resulting in sudden death.
Unfortunately, the Zhou Army soldiers manning the formation met every condition.
They were veterans of a hundred battles. Strong fighters, certainly, but no longer young men.
Combat prowess reflected a combination of physical fitness, skill, and experience. Soldiers in their thirties and forties, seasoned by years of battle, possessed solid skills and rich experience, putting their fighting ability at its peak. Yet they were already well past their physical prime. They could beat a young fellow in a fight, but could not outlast him without sleep.
As for mental overstimulation and emotional agitation, those went without saying. This was a battlefield, thick with killing intent, ironclad horses and glittering blades. With the Shang Army poised to charge into the formation at any moment, how could they not be tense? How could they not be worked up?
And so, disaster struck.
Wen Zhong's nose for battle was exceptionally keen. He reacted at once, swiftly marshaling his troops and commanders to charge the formation. At the same time, however, he involuntarily glanced at King Zhou.
Could this be the strategy His Majesty spoke of for defeating the enemy? Had his earlier actions truly been aimed at a specific target?
After turning it