Zhang Chen's pupils contracted. He knew that under the demonic arts, victory would be impossible today, so he shouted, "All Soldiers, do not panic! Rear becomes front, slowly retreat, maintain formation! Cavalry, cover the flanks! Archers, volley of arrows!"
Zhang Chen issued commands one after another, and all the Soldiers strictly maintained their formation without chaos, slowly retreating. Those Soldiers trapped in the fierce wind endured the sand, struggled to open their eyes, barely found their direction, and retreated outwards.
Seeing Zhang Chen about to retreat, how could Guan Hai agree? He pointed his precious sword, and the sandstorm instantly swept over, immediately trapping countless Soldiers within it again.
Following closely, low roars came from within the sandstorm.
"Ah!"
"Who! Who bit me! Uwah!"
...
Screams rang out one after another, and Zhang Chen and all the Generals couldn't help but be greatly startled.
Everyone saw clearly that a group of strange Soldiers suddenly appeared within the sandstorm. These people's behavior was bizarre, their movements extremely stiff, and they had no weapons in their hands. Their method of attack was to pounce and bite the opponent!
Even more bizarrely, these people couldn't be cut by swords or pierced by arrows.
But they were all in tattered clothes, without even a piece of armor. How did they manage this?
A physical body could certainly not do this. Could it be demonic arts again?
Thinking of this, Zhang Chen's brows furrowed, and he ordered, "Full army retreat!"
A sudden change occurred, and the army fell into chaos. If they didn't retreat now, and the sandstorm continued to expand, there would likely be a danger of the entire army being annihilated!
Zhang Chen made a decisive decision and led the troops back.
After running for more than twenty li, Zhang Chen led everyone back to the Quliang Great Camp.
In this battle, Guan Hai relied on demonic arts to win, and the troops Zhang Chen had painstakingly gathered suffered considerable losses.
Zhang Chen was both heartbroken and resentful. But this was not the time for grief. Zhang Chen ordered each camp to count the casualties while also ordering heightened alert to prevent the enemy from raiding the camp while riding on their victory.
In the evening, Ju Shou arrived at the tent in a hurry. As soon as he entered the great tent, he excitedly said, "Lord, the wolf smoke has risen, the great matter is accomplished!"
"Oh?" Hearing this, Zhang Chen quickly got up and left the tent.
Indeed, a column of wolf smoke slowly rose in the northwest direction.
This was exactly the signal he had agreed upon with Dong Zhao beforehand. Once Zhao Commandery was pacified, they would light the wolf smoke to send a message.
Although he didn't know the specific situation, Zhao Commandery was settled, so he had no worries about the rear.
What needed to be done now was to think about how to deal with Guan Hai's demonic arts.
Zhang Chen summoned all the Generals to enter the tent for discussion.
This was the first time everyone had encountered such a situation, and for a while, they couldn't make up their minds.
After a while, Qu Yi said, "Lord, Zhang He fought against the Yellow Turbans with General Huangfu last year and witnessed the demonic arts of that rogue Zhang Bao in Quyang. Zhang He's memory is still fresh. At that time, that Zhang Bao performed arts with a sword, causing great wind and thunder. Afterwards, a mass of black energy descended from the sky. Within the black energy, there seemed to be thousands of Soldiers and horses charging, causing our army to suffer a great defeat. Zhang He believes that although Guan Hai's demonic arts are different from Zhang Bao's, they should be of the same origin."
Zhang Chen nodded, thinking to himself that the Yellow Turbans' arts mostly came from The Essential Arts of Pacifying Heaven, and must be of the same origin. So he asked, "Then how did General Huangfu break the demonic arts?"
Qu Yi said, "It's quite simple. They just took defiled things like pig, sheep, and dog blood. When he was performing his arts, they splashed it down, and the wind and thunder ceased, and the sand and stones stopped flying. As for those thousands of Soldiers and horses, they were merely paper figures and straw horses!"
Hearing this, Zhang Chen was immediately overjoyed and said, "Since that's the case, quickly go and prepare!"
"Lord, if we follow this method, I'm afraid it will be difficult to break it!"
Suddenly, a voice came from outside the tent.
"Who!"
"Who dares to peek into the great tent!"
Just as they were speaking, Gao Shun stepped forward quickly, left the great tent, and in a moment, led a person in.
Gao Shun pushed the person heavily and shouted, "Audacious madman! You dare to peek into our army's commander's tent! Speak, are you a spy sent by the Yellow Turban rebels!"
The person stumbled from the push, nearly falling to the ground. He quickly steadied himself, straightened his clothes, and bowed to Zhang Chen, saying, "Lord, I am not a spy. I did not wish to see the people of Wei Commandery slaughtered by the rebels, so I risked my life to sneak into the Military Camp and come to offer a good plan to Lord."
Zhang Chen sized him up briefly. He saw that this person was about the same age as himself, with clear features, looking refined and fair-skinned, but wearing the uniform of a cook Soldier. It seemed he had been lurking in the army for many days.
"Who are you, and what plan do you have to offer me?"
The person bowed again and said, "I am Guo Fengxiao from Yingchuan. I heard that the Yellow Turbans intend to seize Wei Commandery, and Lord is leading troops to resist them. Therefore, I snuck into the Military Camp to help Lord break their demonic arts!"
"Guo Fengxiao? You... you are Guo Jia?" Hearing this, Zhang Chen's expression changed dramatically. He suddenly stood up and scrutinized him from head to toe.
【Name: Guo Jia】
【Possesses Traits: Ghost Talent (Gold), Clairvoyance (Red), "Book of Mystic Armor" (Gold), Heavenly Jealousy (Red)】
【Ghost Talent (Gold)】: You possess outstanding intelligence and judgment, capable of responding flexibly in complex situations, making accurate predictions, and having foresight. (Greatly increases success rate of strategies, greatly increases damage dealt to the enemy)
【Clairvoyance (Red)】: You can see into people's hearts and plan flawlessly. (See through all strategies, discern what the opponent is thinking.)
【"Book of Mystic Armor" (Gold)】: You have received a heavenly book bestowed by an immortal and have cultivated the art of Qimen Dunjia.
【Bound: Heavenly Jealousy (Red)】: Bound trait, each time Clairvoyance is used, lifespan is reduced by one year.
Zhang Chen was deeply shaken by Guo Jia's traits. Two gold and two red, this was the first time he had seen such a person.
The 【Ghost Talent】 trait goes without saying. Guo Jia was truly worthy of the name. Throughout his life, he repeatedly implemented strategies, and none failed.
As for 【Clairvoyance】, planning flawlessly and seeing into people's hearts, this was indeed true. Among the things related to him, the most miraculous was predicting Sun Ce's death by an assassin's hand, which was no different from foreknowledge. It seems this was the work of 【Clairvoyance】.
It's just that such divine and ghostly means inevitably reveal heavenly secrets, attracting Heavenly Jealousy. No wonder each use reduces lifespan. Guo Jia's early death in his prime was likely related to this.
Zhang Chen looked at Guo Jia, his eyes revealing intense excitement.
The Generals around him couldn't help but feel suspicious. They had never heard of Guo Jia's name and didn't know why Zhang Chen was so moved.
"Sir Fengxiao, please forgive me for my rudeness." Zhang Chen bowed and said, "May I ask what plan Sir has to teach me?"
At this moment, Gao Shun said from the side, "Lord, this person's background is unknown. Whether he is trustworthy needs to be thoroughly investigated. What if..."
"Ah, Xiaofu, don't be overly suspicious. If Sir Fengxiao had ulterior motives, he could simply stand by and watch us be defeated by Guan Hai's demonic arts. Why would he go through the trouble of coming to see me?" Zhang Chen said, "Sir is a person of great talent, and we should treat him with courtesy."
Guo Jia heard this and smiled, "Lord is truly humble, I admire that."
"Sir, if you have any plan, please tell us quickly."
Guo Jia smiled slightly and spoke slowly, "Lord, what you said just now is correct. Guan Hai's arts are indeed from the same source as Zhang Bao's, both originating from The Essential Arts of Pacifying Heaven. This The Essential Arts of Pacifying Heaven was obtained by Zhang Jiao when he entered the mountains to gather herbs and encountered an immortal. However, things of the immortal realm are not so easy to learn. Besides comprehension, one also needs immortal destiny. Neither is dispensable. Zhang Jiao encountering an immortal is his immortal destiny. Zhang Bao is Zhang Jiao's younger brother, so he naturally also has immortal destiny. Unfortunately, his comprehension was insufficient, and he only cultivated minor arts. Therefore, using things like pig, sheep, and dog blood can break it."
Guo Jia paused, then continued, "Guan Hai, however, is different. He is Zhang Jiao's personal disciple and the leader of the thirty-six Yellow Turban commanders. This person has excellent comprehension. Although he lacks immortal destiny and cannot achieve great mastery, he is still much more powerful than Zhang Bao. It will be extremely difficult to break his arts using that method again!"
"Then, according to Sir's opinion, what should be done?"
Guo Jia said, "I once received three volumes of a heavenly book from the immortal Left Ci. I request that when Lord engages in battle with him again, set up an altar in a place where the battlefield can be seen. When his demonic arts begin, I can perform arts to break them."
Zhang Chen was surprised upon hearing this, thinking to himself that there was no record in books that Guo Jia possessed such abilities. But then again, not seeing a record doesn't mean it doesn't exist. His traits were clearly written on him.
Thereupon, Zhang Chen immediately praised, "I didn't expect Sir, at such a young age, to be proficient in the art of Qimen Dunjia! Truly a great talent!"