Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

At the same time, Gu Rubing turned to look at Zhao Yun and Ma Chao and gave them instructions in a solemn tone.

"Zilong, Mengqi, you two are the most agile. You are responsible for guarding this area! We must not be discovered by the enemy's patrols or sentries! Otherwise, all our plans will be in vain!"

"I understand!"

"I'm more than happy to accept this order!"

Zhao Yun and Ma Chao responded in hushed tones, without the slightest hesitation.

The two exchanged a glance, and then, with a flicker, they vanished silently behind the jagged rocks, like phantoms disappearing into the shadows. They stealthily moved in two different directions, like the most vigilant sentinels, providing early warning for the lurking team.

The waiting time felt exceptionally long and agonizing. All that could be heard was the howling of the eerie wind and the faint hum of energy emanating from the distant main altar.

The light from the central pillar seemed to grow increasingly dazzling, and the energy fluctuations became stronger and more unstable, as if a giant heart was beating faster and faster, and something terrible could happen at any moment at the top of the pyramid.

Gu Rubing's ominous premonition grew stronger and stronger, like a noose that was tightening.

Finally, at midnight, when the sky was completely dark and only the eerie green and dark red light of the main altar illuminated the surroundings, a truly strange scene unfolded.

Two figures, almost blending into the darkness, drifted back to their hiding place like wisps of smoke; they were Zhao Yun and Ma Chao.

“My lord,” Zhao Yun’s voice remained steady, but his speech was slightly faster as he quickly drew a rough diagram on the ground with pebbles.

"The perimeter deployment has been basically identified, and patrol intervals and routes have been recorded. In addition, an anomaly has been discovered in the southeast corner area near the mountain wall."

The energy barrier there appeared slightly thinner than in other areas, and the patrolling divine army passed by at intervals that were about a quarter of an incense stick's time longer than in other places.

My subordinate suspects that it might be the location of some auxiliary formation base, because the terrain is treacherous, relying on the mountainside, so the defenses are relatively lax.

Ma Chao added.

"I also observed that side; the mountain walls are steep and difficult to climb, but for experts, it is not entirely impossible."

Moreover, that location conveniently avoids direct views from most of the towers.

Almost at the same time that Zhao Yun and Ma Chao reported back, the strategist Wu also whispered with a hint of suppressed excitement.

"My lord, I have made a discovery! I used my compass to sense the earth's energy and the energy of that beam of light, and I discovered that every hour, the energy of that towering beam of light experiences an extremely brief and almost imperceptible fluctuation!"

Just like... just like a living creature breathing! At that instant of energy fluctuation, the protective array enveloping the main altar would dim its light for a fleeting, extremely subtle moment! Although the change was minuscule, the pattern was undeniable!

A potential weakness! A regular energy fluctuation gap!

A chilling glint suddenly flashed in Gu Rubing's eyes, like lightning streaking across the darkness! Opportunity might be hidden in this fleeting moment!

Without further hesitation, he immediately summoned all the core generals, including Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Huang Zhong, to his side, forming a circle around them. In a low and rapid voice, he began to deploy the next step of the action plan, which was like dancing on the edge of a knife.

"A direct assault is not advisable; only a surprise attack with elite troops will suffice!"

Gu Rubing's gaze swept across the resolute faces of each general.

"Our goal is to take advantage of the next energy fluctuation cycle to tear open a gap at that potential weak point in the southeast corner! And then strike straight at the heart—the central pyramid!"

"Yun Chang and Yi De, you two are responsible for leading the main force to exert maximum pressure after the breakthrough is achieved, creating maximum chaos and attracting the attention of the enemy's main force!"

"Zilong, Mengqi, follow me, form the spearhead, infiltrate through the breach, and charge straight at the pyramid!"

"Hansheng, you occupy the high ground on the outside and provide long-range support with the Evil-Slaying Arrow. Prioritize eliminating the sorcerers on the tower and those glowing crystals, disrupting their energy nodes!"

"The rest of the soldiers, follow closely behind, widen the breach, and hold off the reinforcements!"

Meanwhile, in another direction far from here, the remaining main force, under the command of several lieutenants, began to deliberately create some subtle noises—simulating the rustling of wild animals, the soft sound of kicking pebbles, and even using special tools to make short calls similar to those of night owls.

These commotions were amplified in the quiet night, successfully attracting the attention of several patrol teams on the perimeter. They cautiously moved and investigated towards the source of the sound, inadvertently creating a valuable opportunity and opening for the raiding team in the southeast corner.

The fifty-one raiders lurking behind the cold rocks held their breath, suppressing their aura, heartbeat, and even blood flow to the lowest possible level, as if they had become part of the rock, merging with the surrounding deathly silence.

Guan Yu stood tall and imposing, holding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. His phoenix eyes were completely closed, yet an invisible and powerful inner force was quietly gathering and compressing around him, like the suppressed calm before a storm, all for that earth-shattering strike.

Zhang Fei crouched on the ground, his muscles taut like steel wires, brimming with explosive power. His eyes were fixed on the light screen in front of him, like an ancient cheetah poised to pounce on its prey.

Zhao Yun knelt on one knee, held his gleaming silver spear horizontally, the tip of the spear pointing slightly at a black-robed sorcerer in the distance who happened to be facing away from him and was chanting softly to maintain some kind of barrier, locking onto the empty space behind him.

Huang Zhong lay prone behind a boulder, his iron-framed bow fully drawn, a specially made evil-repelling arrow nocked on the string, the talismans engraved on the shaft faintly shimmering with a golden light under the shadow of the evil light, ready to be unleashed.

Ma Chao's spear pointed diagonally at the ground, his body leaning slightly forward like a fully drawn bowstring, his handsome face filled with icy calmness and an impending burst of frenzied fighting spirit.

Gu Rubing stood at the very front of the crowd, his gaze sharp and fixed on the terrifying pillar of light that pierced through heaven and earth in the center of the main altar. He was highly focused, trying his best to perceive the most subtle changes and rhythms in the flow of its energy.

He knew that success or failure would hinge on the next dozen or so breaths!
Time crawled slowly and laboriously in the suffocating silence, each second feeling like being tortured on a scalding knife, so heavy that it almost made one's heart stop beating.

suddenly!

Right at the very moment of the transition from midnight to day!
The massive pillar of light that stirred up the wind and clouds flickered almost imperceptibly with its stable and surging energy flow!
It was like the heartbeat of a giant suddenly becoming disordered!
At the same time, the complex runes that flowed like living things on the huge protective light screen that covered the entire altar also experienced a momentary stagnation and pause, and the light of the entire light screen dimmed slightly to the naked eye!
This interval is extremely short, perhaps only two or three breaths! But for a top-level expert who is well-prepared, it is enough!
"Now!" A fierce glint flashed in Gu Rubing's eyes, and he roared inwardly!

Almost at the same moment his mind raced!
Guan Yu, who had been concentrating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them!
In that instant, the sharp light that shot out from his eyes was like two real lightning bolts, piercing through the darkness before him!

The immense inner strength that had been suppressed to the extreme within him erupted like a volcano that had been dormant for thousands of years!

"hold head high--!"

The Green Dragon Crescent Blade let out a dragon's roar that shook the very soul, as if it came from the highest heavens!

A brilliant blue light shone on the blade, and a massive blue blade aura, condensed to its extreme, dazzling and seemingly capable of splitting the heavens and the earth, instantly took shape!
The blade energy, carrying the supreme will to sever everything and destroy all laws, tore through the dense darkness and evil energy with the force of splitting the heavens and earth, and fiercely slashed towards the protective light screen in the southeast corner that had just shown a trace of dimness and stagnation!
"boom!!!!!!!"

A deafening, earth-shattering roar suddenly exploded in the deathly silent night sky, the sound waves spreading wildly in all directions like a tangible shockwave!

The cyan blade energy violently collided, eroded, and annihilated with the flowing runic light curtain!
It burst forth with a blazing light a thousand times more dazzling than the sun! A surging torrent of energy swept outwards, churning up and vaporizing all the rubble and dust on the ground!
The incredibly sturdy protective light barrier, under Guan Yu's supreme attack—a strike that combined his life's cultivation and exploited the only weakness—shook out with a piercing, shattering sound, like glass breaking! The light barrier twisted and rippled violently, and finally—

"Crack... Boom!"

A massive gap, several meters wide, was forcibly torn open, with light fragments constantly falling from its edges! The seemingly indestructible outer shell of the Penglai headquarters had finally been forcibly broken!

"Follow me!"

Gu Rubing swung his longsword forward, the sound like the clash of metal!

He took the lead, his inner energy surging forth, his figure transforming into an unstoppable stream of light, the first to break through the chaotic gap where the energy had not yet completely subsided, and fiercely charged into the core area of ​​this dragon's den and tiger's lair!

"kill--!"

Zhang Fei let out a deafening roar, thrusting his eighteen-foot spear forward like a black thunderbolt, and crashed into the gap right after Gu Rubing!
Zhao Yun moved with his spear, transforming into a silver lightning bolt that flashed past in an instant.

Under Ma Chao's cover, Huang Zhong quickly occupied a high point near the breach, and his bowstring was once again fully drawn.

Ma Chao's spear moved like a dragon, carrying the fierce momentum of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry. He was the last to charge in, and then his spear flashed, instantly piercing through two Divine Army guards who rushed to the breach after hearing the commotion!

Fifty elite assassins, like fifty tigers unleashed from their shackles, filled with overwhelming killing intent and a resolute belief in death, surged into the heart of this demonic territory, following the bloody path torn open by their commander and generals!
The deafening roar and energy storm as the breach was forcibly ripped open were like a ripple into still water! The nearby patrolling Divine Warriors and two black-robed sorcerers finally snapped out of their shock and hastily attempted to organize a resistance.

However, the elite team led by Gu Rubing was too fast!
Zhao Yun moved with the speed of a startled swan. The instant he rushed into the gap, his gaze locked onto the two black-robed sorcerers who were raising their staffs and chanting incantations, trying to guide energy to repair the gap in the light barrier!
He shouted, and the bright silver spear emerged like a venomous dragon from its lair, transforming into two silver rays that were almost indistinguishable!
"Pfft! Pfft!"

The two sorcerers' spellcasting abruptly stopped, a burst of blood erupting from their throats almost simultaneously. Their eyes widened in disbelief and horror as they collapsed to the ground, the light on their staffs instantly extinguishing.

"Get out of my way!"

Zhang Fei roared like thunder, his eighteen-foot spear carrying immense power, unleashing a ferocious sweep!

Two Divine Warriors who had just charged forward with their weapons were swept away by this unparalleled force, their weapons and bodies flying. They crashed into the black wall beside them like broken sacks, the sound of bones cracking clearly audible. It was clear they were going to die.

Almost simultaneously, Huang Zhong, who occupied the high ground, twanged his bowstring repeatedly!
As if guided by eyes, the three arrows, accompanied by a piercing sound, pierced the throats of the sentries on three distant towers who were leaning out to sound an alarm or launch an attack!

The body falling from the tower temporarily delayed a wider alarm.

However, the commotion of the battle that erupted at the breach and the energy barrier that dimmed and fluctuated violently in an instant could not be completely concealed!
"Whoosh—buzz—!!"

A sharp, piercing shriek, seemingly capable of drilling directly into the brain, suddenly rang out from the depths of the main altar, and then spread rapidly throughout the entire complex like a plague!
This is the highest level intrusion alert!

The headquarters instantly erupted into chaos, going from its previous relative tranquility to complete uproar!

More and more, like a black tide, the Divine Army surged out from all directions through passages and buildings!

They were silent, yet filled with a suffocating killing intent. Their eyes gleamed with a sinister light, like sharks that had smelled blood, as they closed in on the gap!

The black-robed sorcerers who were patrolling the fixed routes also stopped in their tracks, raised their staffs, and chanted obscure and difficult incantations!

In an instant, all sorts of strange magical lights illuminated various parts of the main altar—

Without warning, a ghastly green flame erupted from the cracks in the stone slabs in front of Gu Rubing's group; a dark green poisonous mist spread from some pipes, carrying a strong corrosive effect.

A chilling, biting wind suddenly appeared, whipping up pebbles from the ground, like countless icy knives cutting into the skin!

These spells were not intended to kill directly, but rather to slow down, disrupt, and divide their assault team!
"Watch out for magic! Form a protective barrier and charge!"

Gu Rubing shouted and swung his sword, shattering an arrow that had shot from the shadows and was entirely composed of dark energy. The chilling aura emanating from the arrow made his arm go numb slightly.

Without further orders, the fifty-odd elite soldiers who had stormed in immediately formed an extremely tight wedge assault formation with Gu Rubing and the Five Tiger Generals at its core!

With these six peerless warriors as the sharpest arrows, they launched a desperate charge towards the central pyramid, the very heart of the headquarters!

The battle instantly entered its most brutal and intense phase the moment they stepped inside the headquarters!

The resistance encountered along the way suddenly intensified several levels! The Divine March Army, like emotionless puppets, charged forward wave after wave, completely disregarding their own casualties, using their bodies and weapons to form walls of flesh and blood, frantically blocking the advance of the Arrow Formation!

Their armor was incredibly tough, and their strength was immense; it often took several times the effort to completely kill one of them. (End of Chapter)