All-Heavens Game, the Strongest Player

Chapter 5: First Attempt at "Strategic Deployment"

"Actually, as long as the three of us join forces, even if the players on the warlord side want to deal with us, Yuan Shao and the others won't agree. Because the warlords are just a bunch of rabble, there are hardly any capable fighters among them. Without us, they are no match for Dong Zhuo at all!"

Jia Tong continued.

"Given enough time, I am confident that I can make Lü Bu betray us. Then, by uniting him with Gongsun Zan, we can form an alliance of five forces. Even if we face all the other warlords, we will have nothing to fear!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

It's true that Jia Tong's goal is to "secure a top-three finish and strive for first place," but there's definitely a catch in the matter of joining forces to dominate the top three.

Putting aside other considerations, the strategic plan to turn Lü Bu against Liu Bei was not a good thing for either himself or Cao Cao, nor was it a good thing for Liu Bei.

It's worth noting that in the original story, Lü Bu died at the hands of two men.

Knowing the storyline, wouldn't players use it to their advantage?
In an effort to win over Guo Liang, Jia Tong mentioned Gongsun Zan, who, given Liu Bei's relationship with Gongsun Zan, would indeed be a great asset.

It can counterbalance Lü Bu.

But if the five parties form an alliance and three forces are created, and Cao Cao is the only one without allies, how can he possibly succeed?
"The only ones who are truly effective are Cao Cao and Liu Bei, right?" Chu Xiu pondered for a moment before speaking, "If Cao Cao's camp directly allies with Liu Bei, they can control the other warlords. The absence of Sun Jian is not a big deal!"

He is threatening.

We're warning Jia Tong: if you don't put away your ulterior motives, we're not playing with you anymore!

After all, only Cao Cao's command and the bravery of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were indispensable. As for Sun Jian, he was not much of a threat in the campaign against Dong Zhuo!
"But your situation is also the most difficult!"

Jia Tong retorted sharply.

Immediately afterwards, the three parties began to argue, from the initial strategic direction to the subsequent distribution of benefits.

Ultimately, it all boils down to the question of "how to divide the heads".

This is also why the same faction cannot tolerate a second person: as long as the generals are controlled under the Zhuge Liang template, no matter who kills another player, the kill belongs to the commander.

Under the general template, the head of any player killed by the direct subordinate troops also belongs to the commander.

But if there is a second player, then it's not so certain.

They'll steal kills.

"It's all about skill. Whoever gets the kill gets it!" Guo Liang said. "The three of us are all 'Martial Marquis' class, we don't have any combat ability ourselves, we all rely on troop deployment. When the time comes, whoever's soldier picks up the kill gets it, it's fair, right?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu and Jia Tong both looked at him.

That means: If you really think we're stupid, we'll team up and take you down first!

With Guan Yu and Zhang Fei under his command, who the hell could compete with Guo Liang for kills? In the end, both Sun Jian and Cao Cao might end up doing all the work for Guo Liang!

"So how exactly should we divide them? We can't just arrest them all at once and then behead them one by one, can we?"

After some final wrangling, they agreed on a "mutual alliance and independent hunting" agreement: when facing threats from other players and natives, the three would advance and retreat together, but when taking the initiative to attack, each would kill their own prey and not interfere with the others.

Even when "kill-stealing" occurs, it's all based on skill, and no one is held accountable.

When it's necessary to work together to hunt.

How to allocate the personnel will be discussed separately.

"Then it's decided. The specific details of the alliance will be discussed by Sun Jian, Liu Bei, and Mengde," Chu Xiu said.

Upon hearing this, Guo Liang and Jia Tong nodded and left.

Go back and report to your respective superiors.

But after they left, Cao Cao spoke up, saying, "These two are not to be trusted. Once their so-called 'five-party alliance' is achieved, and you and I are in danger, even if they don't come to our aid, it won't affect them!"

As one of the later hegemons, he saw things very clearly.

Alliances are predicated on external enemies being powerful enough to pose a threat. But if Liu Bei were to join forces with Gongsun Zan, and Sun Jian with Lü Bu, they wouldn't be afraid of Yuan Shao and his allies. Would they still include Cao Cao in their alliance then?

"At least before Lü Bu betrayed them, they were outnumbered and outmatched, and wouldn't easily break their alliance!" Chu Xiu smiled and said, "As for us, as long as we arrange the 'divine retribution' three days from now, we can take off in one fell swoop and fear no one anymore!"

In addition to kills, killing players who have previously claimed kills will also earn you "bounties," which are awarded in the form of skill points.

It cannot be used as a "person" to level up, but it can be used to add skill points.

Therefore, it is easier to break through skill levels than character levels.

After all, it's only level three.

He had read the skill descriptions; each level of skill improvement represented a qualitative leap.

If he can be upgraded to level four, five, six, or even higher, his minor move "Feather Fan East Wind" can even transform into a real "East Wind", and "Red Cliff Heavenly Fire" can also become a real heavenly fire!
"Everything is up to the strategist!" Cao Cao said.

Then, he led Chu Xiu to his "Tiger and Leopard Camp" and said proudly, "Don't underestimate my Tiger and Leopard Cavalry just because they only have two thousand men. Every one of them is a well-trained elite. If we were to maneuver across the plains, we could easily defeat an army of one hundred thousand!"

Cavalry was the heavy firepower of the era of cold weapons.

Basically, the combat effectiveness of a large army is reflected in the number of heavily armored cavalry.

Cao Cao's two thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were all heavily armored cavalry.

"Your cavalry is much stronger than I expected!" Chu Xiu said.

He also thought that Cao Cao should be very weak at this time, with few soldiers and few generals and strategists.

But this is not the case.

When the warlords were attacking Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry had already become a force to be reckoned with. Even compared to the later Tiger and Leopard Battalion, it only lacked some grooms, attendants, and grain transport officers, and the main force was not much smaller.

Two thousand heavy cavalry is no small number.

Later, while pursuing Dong Zhuo, he was ambushed while making a solo run, and his more than 10,000 troops were reduced to only 500 men, while the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry also suffered heavy losses.

It took a lot of time to rebuild it.

"That's for sure. I wouldn't dare say we're invincible, but even against Dong Zhuo's elite Xiliang troops or Lü Bu's Bingzhou army, we're not afraid at all!"

After Cao Cao finished speaking, he gathered his soldiers and had Chu Xiu try out the drills.

The next moment, as if they had come to life, Cao Cao's army suddenly gained an inexplicable spirituality.

Both the formation and morale have improved significantly.

More importantly, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, which was originally an elite force but lacked something, now had its missing piece.

"This is... the spirit of the army?"

Chu Xiu realized that he seemed to have underestimated the passive skill of the Zhuge Liang template. Although it could not completely replicate Zhuge Liang's military tactics, it had some of Zhuge Liang's spirit.

It also has hidden effects.

This allows him to understand military tactics and learn military formations more quickly—this is not limited to the "Wuhou" profession; other professions should also benefit from the ability to learn martial arts quickly.

"So, even if they're still at level zero, some people will be able to unleash extraordinary strength after three days?"

Even a level-zero Lu Bu, a plain Lu Bu, is still Lu Bu.

With that template, it's not an ordinary person who can stage an accident to extort money!

"Wait, my innate ability seems to also apply to passive abilities?"

(End of this chapter)