My Cultivation Starting from Archery

"Everyone."

In the midst of tension, Nie Yuan stood up and said, "I have a plan."

"Oh?"

Prince Qi quickly asked, "General Nie, what is your strategy to defeat the enemy? Please, do tell."

"In a confrontation between two armies, gaining an advantage is nothing but using your strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses, something the enemy evidently understands well."

Nie Yuan paced back and forth as he spoke:

"Whether it's the first encounter during the foggy surprise attack."

"Or today when they intentionally didn't use large ships to engage in decisive battles, only using small boats to stir up chaos, it is the same."

"Chen Sansi utilizes the agility of his small boats to attack the sluggishness of our large ships, coupled with the waves created by formation magic, our formation truly struggles to maintain its structure."

"Therefore..."

"To resolve this issue."

"Why doesn't our army employ the Iron Chain Link tactic?"

"Iron Chain Link?"

Prince Qi asked, "General Nie, please elaborate?"

"Regarding the Iron Chain Link tactic."

Nie Yuan explained with a nodding head, "First, we arrange our large and small ships in formation, then connect them with Mystic Iron Chains, securing them firmly!"

"In this way, the gaps between the front row gigantic warships can be greatly minimized, then start the Water Control Array together, array linked end-to-end, our naval forces would resemble pushing forward a massive water wall, preventing the enemy from easily breaking into the formation!"

"Even if occasionally one or two manage to slip through, they wouldn't be able to disrupt our formation."

"At that time, our army can advance boldly, the enemy will surely retreat!"

"..."

After hearing this, Prince Qi pondered for a moment and then repeatedly praised, "Ingenious, ingenious!"

Yan Hongyuan asked, "Lord Zhou, what do you think?"

"Hmm~"

Zhou Rong pondered, "General Nie's strategy is sound, but..."

"Is Zhou Lang still worried about fire attacks?"

Prince Qi seemingly noticed his concern, "We have the Water Control Array, the fire could be quickly extinguished even if it started internally, what's there to fear?!"

"Your Highness makes a good point, so..."

Zhou Rong made a strategic decision, "Iron Chain Link is feasible, but initially connect only a few passageway large ships, other warships and small boats remain as they are, engage in battle tomorrow, then decide subsequent actions based on the situation."

"Caution is a good thing."

Nie Yuan praised, "Zhou Lang's arrangement, although may not severely damage the enemy, should secure the best anchorage and land camp ahead."

"Then it's up to General Nie to make the arrangements."

Zhou Rong tossed the Commander's Token into Nie Yuan's hand and proceeded to assign tasks to other generals.

After these arrangements, he dismissed the dancers and musicians and, with a cup in hand, went alone to the deck to drink.

"Young Master, be careful of assassins."

An old servant from the Zhou Family came to his side, cautiously surveying the surroundings.

"No problem."

Zhou Rong gazed into the dark river, speaking, "Uncle Duan, tell me, if you were the main general of the enemy camp, what method would you use to break our naval forces?"

"Fire attack, naturally."

The old servant answered, "Our ships are enormous, and most vulnerable to fire."

"Indeed, the fire attack."

Zhou Rong squinted, "So, how does Chen Sansi intend to use this fire?"

"Actually, I believe the Young Master is being overly cautious."

The old servant said, "They already tried the fire attack last time, which didn't succeed, moreover under the Water Control Array, even the Immortal Masters' spell fire can be quickly extinguished."

"Perhaps."

Zhou Rong held the wine cup, sinking into contemplation.

No matter the fire, burning the ships from outside isn't possible.

Then...

How will Chen manage to ignite the fire from within?

Plant people on their ships?

...

Next day.

The Imperial Navy made meals at midnight, and launched an attack at dawn.

Rebel army scouts early detected movement, shooting signal arrows into the sky.

The Beiliang Army quickly responded.

Still relying on a limited number of big ships to hold formation, small boats darted like fish towards the enemy to repeat old tactics.

However.

Just as they came within a hundred-zhang distance of the enemy vanguard, towering Mystic Iron Chains suddenly rose between the Imperial Navy's first line of giant ships!

Dense Mystic Iron Chains spanned like iron cages between ships, followed by Water Control Array's water walls rising continually, like copper walls advancing powerfully towards the enemy.

The Beiliang Army's charge pressed onward.

But this time.

Only a portion of sea falcon small boats managed to slip through the gaps of tower ships, most were intercepted and unable to pass.

With insufficient numbers, they couldn't form Dragon King Sacrifice Array internally, instead they deployed the array on the outskirts of the Imperial Navy formation, stirring huge waves again, yet the effect was greatly reduced.

These tower ships originally had Second-Tier Water Control Array protection, coupled with Iron Chains, although still affected, the impact was minimized, allowing them to continue forward.

Small boats without Water Control Array still couldn't demonstrate their combat effectiveness.

The fourth encounter, lasting two hours, ended up being a draw.

Both sides lost over a hundred ships each and roughly eight thousand soldiers each, a stalemate.

"Zhou Lang," Prince Qi suggested, "Even implementing the Iron Chain Link tactic on a few Feiyun ships today worked remarkably well, if we link all the large and small ships, we would surely triumph without obstacle!"

"Indeed!"

"In today's battle, the enemy still tried fire attacks, but under the Water Control Array, they had no effect at all!"

"Chen Sansi's tactics are deceptive, delays will complicate things!"

"Why not directly attack to seize the front dock tomorrow, securing a favorable position!"