Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 167 - 162: Searching for Flaws

Chapter 167: Chapter 162: Searching for Flaws

Returning once again to the Cavalry Trial Illusion, Zhao Haiping was feeling rather conflicted.

He had indeed found a general solution to the trial by consulting historical records, but it was precisely because he understood the method that he felt the task was impossible to complete.

It was like looking at a difficult Olympiad math problem.

First, you try to solve it on your own for a long time, without any clue.

Then why not take a look at the standard answer?

Upon examining it, the answer is clearly written: you do this first, then that, and finally this other thing. In short, this leads to a specific solution.

After reading it, there’s only one feeling.

Oh, so that’s how it is... Damn! It’s still totally impossible!

Zhao Haiping now had only one thought.

At least the foot soldier players had some experience in riding horses without stirrups in the foot soldier trial instance, which, though difficult, still allowed for some struggle.

What about the other players?

To have scholar players also play the role of General Qin and slay enemy generals in formation?

Wasn’t that a bit too preposterous...

Of course, from a gameplay mechanic standpoint, since players were riding Chi Ji and using General Qin’s body along with receiving the enhancement of some golden talent, plus the ability to infinitely restart...

In theory, any player who put in sufficient and prolonged effort could replicate General Qin’s tactics.

It was like giving a typewriter to a monkey; given enough time, the monkey could type out a specific masterpiece.

But... exactly how long this specific time would be, whether it was infinitely long, that’s hard to say.

However, looking at it from another angle, the players filtered through this process would certainly be among the top riders.

Because riding without stirrups is inherently much harder than riding with them.

If you could ride without stirrups, wouldn’t you become one with the horse the moment you rode a battle steed equipped with them?

Just the thought was invincible.

Overall, foot soldier players would have a slight advantage, but the other three classes couldn’t be said to stand no chance. Whether or not to pass the trial depended entirely on one’s own riding skills.

Certainly, a large portion of players might try hard and still be unable to pass the trial, but that was normal, as the cavalry troops had always been the elite of the elite.

If you couldn’t pass the trial even by copying the answers, then there was no point in obsessing over riding skills; it would be better to patiently await additional subsidiary classes in future updates from the developers.

Of course, for Zhao Haiping, it was imperative to secure his identity as a Cavalry.

This time, Zhao Haiping did not continue to choose the "Sea of Blood on the Mountain of Corpses" talent but switched it out.

He had realized that in this scenario, the talent of Sea of Blood on the Mountain of Corpses was actually not very meaningful.

Once surrounded or at a disadvantage, it was basically equivalent to mission failure.

So, it was better to go for talents that could help tear through enemy formations and increase the odds of a successful raid.

He looked once more at the newly refreshed talent skills.

[Xin·Spear Mastery (Gold): Your spear skill is correspondingly enhanced.]

Zhao Haiping thought for a moment and eventually chose "Attention to Detail" from the three skills of "Attention to Detail," "Aggressive Pressure," and "Spear Mastery."

All three skills were useful.

The talent "Aggressive Pressure," although a disappointing choice in the assassin instance, could exert tremendous psychological pressure on the enemy’s Deputy General and soldiers amidst thousands of troops, making it easier to tear through their formation; and "Spear Mastery" was even more useful, significantly enhancing combat ability since after all, the weapon General Qin used was essentially a very long spear.

But Zhao Haiping believed that "Attention to Detail" was more useful.

Because the first step in slaying enemy generals in formation was to charge into their ranks. And the prerequisite for charging into enemy ranks was that one must clearly see where the breach in the formation was.

Blindly charging into an intact formation would quickly lead to being surrounded, rendering good spear skills useless.

After selecting his talent, the Trial Illusion resumed its operation.

The initial part of the storyline hadn’t changed much; it was just about scoping out the battlefield from a small hill in advance, with the autumn wind howling and the banners fluttering, as the two armies clashed.

At this point, the Deputy General suggested that the enemy’s formation was disorganized and that it was an excellent opportunity to lead a charge and requested to launch a raid.

Then, Zhao Haiping mounted his horse, gave the command, and the full assault began.

But this time, Zhao Haiping did not rush to mount his horse; instead, he observed for a while longer.

The "keen observation" truly lived up to its reputation as a Xin-class golden talent, with immediately apparent effects.

Initially, when Zhao Haiping looked towards the enemy formation, he only saw horses’ hooves striking the ground, dust flying, flags fluttering, and crowds of people—chaos, in short, where nothing could be discerned.

Now, however, he could detect some clues from within the disordered ranks.

In some areas, though seeming chaotic, the soldiers actually moved quickly with an evidently higher fighting will. These men, if they were to change formation, would surely do so the fastest, and were likely also the strongest in combat.

In other areas, though appearing tightly defended, closer inspection revealed that the soldiers’ morale was low, with many hesitant and lacking the will to advance.

This was, in fact, a normal phenomenon in ancient warfare.

It was impossible for the entirety of a large army to consist of elite or veteran soldiers; a significant portion of the troops were simply filling ranks.

Warfare at this time did not boast many professional soldiers as most troops would fight during wartime and till the fields in times of peace.

Hence, for a commander, how to deploy these soldiers became a crucial issue.

The general principle was to have the elite and veterans lead the charge while the less capable were positioned behind them. This way, if the vanguard succeeded, the rearguard could pursue the defeated foe, training new recruits into seasoned fighters during the process.

This was also why collapses like a house of cards occurred frequently in the era of cold-weapon warfare.

Once the frontline of veterans and elites were defeated, the soldiers in the rear had little fighting spirit and could do nothing but flee in a rout. Most casualties in cold-weapon battlefields didn’t occur in frontline clashes but rather stemmed from the pursuit and slaughtering of the retreating side.

Even Gao Yi, a famous general of the time, could not defy this fundamental principle.

He was commanding his forces to attack the crossing when he saw General Qin’s troops launch a surprise attack and had to reorder his formation.

And this was the perfect opportunity.

"General, please give the order!" the Deputy General urged once more.

Zhao Haiping felt he had observed enough and nodded, "Alright, follow me to the charge!"

Mounting his horse, he led the officers in a fierce advance!

Riding without stirrups was still uncomfortable, but he forced himself to adapt.

Zhao Haiping even had the notion of returning to the third phase of the Trial Illusion for foot soldiers and once again grasping the aptitude for skilled equestrian archery. After practicing enough in the foot soldier instance, he would then continue with the Cavalry instance.

That seemed like a good strategy.

Once again, when they got approximately ten miles from the enemy, the enemy began to move.

"Dark Sand" the game’s Trial Illusion always worked this way: the trial’s enemy actions were never exactly the same, but the deviations were not significant.

It allowed players to benefit from knowing the trials by heart while also preventing them from becoming too reliant on it and forcing them to adapt to emergencies.

"General Qin! Chi Ji is too swift, and we can’t keep up! Our formation is in disarray. If the General is encircled, it would spell trouble!" The Deputy General cried out in alarm again.

This time Zhao Haiping did not slow Chi Ji down but shouted, "The enemy is changing formation, and the chance of battle is fleeting—who can afford to reorganize?

"All men, charge with all your might! To cut down the enemy general and achieve great deeds, the time is now!

"Charge!"

Zhao Haiping, with those words, fiercely clamped his legs on the horse’s flanks, pointed his long spear forward, and rapidly advanced towards the enemy ranks.

The Deputy General, elite Cavalry, and infantrymen following him had no choice but to dash with all their might.

Gradually, their formation naturally took the shape of a V-shaped Formation.

Zhao Haiping, playing the role of Qin Kaiyun, acted as the arrowhead, with the Deputy General and elite Cavalry behind him fanning out to pierce the enemy formation like a steel cone.

"Let the approaching soldier announce his name!"

A warrior from Gao Yi’s side approached rapidly, intending to intercept.

Zhao Haiping was clear that these warriors he was encountering were definitely not Gao Yi.

Gao Yi wouldn’t be at the forefront of the formation; he’d be inside, and the position of his command flag could roughly determine his location.

So, when the warrior attempted to intercept, Zhao Haiping didn’t skewer him off his horse like last time. Instead, he tried to turn the horse’s head to slightly avoid the officer and continued to charge towards the diagonal front.

Soon, one of his own Deputy Generals stepped forward to engage the enemy officer.

Zhao Haiping couldn’t help but feel a surge of delight: Just as expected!

It was unrealistic to cut down every approaching officer—by the time he reached Gao Yi, it would already be too late.

He should just push forward directly, leave the minor soldiers for the Deputy General to contend with, and make his way to Gao Yi as swiftly as possible!