As Zhou Yu was speaking, he suddenly felt a cold wave sweeping across the area. The fog that once enveloped the entire river quickly transformed into frost, and even the sky began to freeze due to the dense fog. Ice shards started drifting down, and the unprepared Zhou Yu's navy felt their bodies becoming less responsive in this sudden chill.
"Now it's up to you!" Zhuge Liang, sensing something amiss, immediately stopped using his spiritual talent. Although his face turned pale, he did not feel his lifespan depleting as he had feared. Leaning on the side of the ship, he burst into laughter.
"This sensation..." Chen Xi wrapped himself in his spiritual power, reaching out to touch the falling ice flowers from the sky. For the first time, he wondered if such power truly belonged to this era. If calling forth wind and rain was impressive, then making it snow in the heat of summer was certainly beyond ordinary abilities.
"Hahaha! Zichuan, this is the first time I've seen you look so shocked. Isn't it just a snowstorm in midsummer?" Zhuge Liang laughed heartily, clearly pleased with Chen Xi's astonished expression.
"Charge forward! Take advantage of their confusion and crush them!" Chen Xi, quickly recovering from his initial shock, shouted orders to Gan Yi. Regardless of how Zhuge Liang had accomplished this, it was an excellent opportunity—a perfect chance to strike!
"Full speed ahead! Ram their ships, sink them!" Gan Yi bellowed with all his might.
This sudden turn of events gave Gan Ning's forces a crucial opportunity. Although Gan Yi had previously ordered everyone to prepare for the cold, most of them hadn't taken it seriously. However, the slight mental preparation was still better than nothing.
As a result, Gan Ning's troops were in a much better position than Sun Ce's men, who were dressed in light clothing. The sudden drop in temperature made Sun Ce's soldiers' armor stick to their bodies, causing severe discomfort due to the drastic change in temperature.
Meanwhile, Lü Fan quickly realized that the situation had taken a dire turn. He knew that only someone like Gan Ning, who carried a large amount of supplies, would have extra clothing. Even the regular troops would not have prepared warm clothing for battle. Let alone the water bandits—they were armed with small weapons, and their so-called armor was just layers of thin hemp clothing, offering no protection against the cold.
Zhou Yu had originally planned to purge the disobedient bandit leaders from his forces, so it was no surprise that they hadn't been provided with additional resources.
Once Zhuge Liang, using Fazheng's spiritual talent, accurately deduced Zhou Yu's intentions, he wasted no time in employing Lu Su's talent, utilizing the fog to trigger the frost ability.
To put it simply, if Lu Su's spiritual talent were used to make it rain, the prolonged process of high-altitude rain would have dissipated most of the cold. But by directly harnessing the fog within a radius of several miles, turning the height of summer into a freezing winter wasn't just a possibility—it was a reality. Though the effect wouldn't last long, it was perfect for an ambush or a charge.
"Spread out! Frontline ships, advance! Rear ships, retreat!" Lü Fan shouted. At that moment, his only thought was to abandon the frontline ships to save the main force of the navy.
After giving his orders, Lü Fan began his efforts to disperse the freezing fog. The biting west wind slashed at him like knives, but he had no time to dwell on the pain. If he couldn't break through this icy fog, Sun Ce's navy would either be annihilated or suffer heavy losses.
Lü Fan unleashed his spiritual power, and a significant portion of the freezing mist was dispersed. However, Chen Xi quickly focused on him, and the cold mist that had just been driven away surged back, leaving Lü Fan covered in frost.
"Damn this weather!" Gan Ning shivered as the frost swept over him, instinctively releasing his inner energy. Nearby, Zhou Yu suddenly sensed that Gan Ning, who had been concealing his presence, was now dangerously close. Zhou Yu's expression turned grim.
"Not good, Youping! Prepare to sound the gong and retreat! The enemy is attacking our central forces!" Zhou Yu shouted to Zhou Tai, realizing that this was no time for battle. His soldiers were already freezing, and most had lost their combat effectiveness. Only by gathering their forces and fully activating their army's talents could they resist the spiritual assault.
"This fog is the biggest problem. Without it, the cold would have dissipated long ago. But now, it's only growing colder. And with Chen Zichuan here, we can't dispel this cold!" Pang Tong grumbled with a dark expression. He wasn't personally worried, as the cold caused by spiritual talents could be blocked with spiritual power.
"We're in trouble this time!" Zhou Yu said with a bitter smile. "I made a mistake somewhere. Though I don't know what went wrong, the situation doesn't look good."
Zhou Tai leaped from his ship, leading dozens of small boats in the direction Zhou Yu indicated. However, it was clear that most of his men were already half-frozen. If it weren't for the fog trapping the cold, it would have dissipated by now. Instead, it continued to chill them to the bone, leaving many soldiers shivering uncontrollably.
"Who goes there? Name yourself!" Zhou Tai stood at the bow of his ship, shouting into the fog. He knew that stalling for time was their best chance—if Zhou Yu's forces could regroup and retreat quickly, they could minimize their losses. Small boats were fast, so as long as they stayed together and didn't scatter, they wouldn't suffer too much.
"Zhou Youping! Hahaha! Thank you for pointing out your exact location. Now, let me send you to feed the fish!" Gan Ning's wild laughter echoed across the river. Zhou Tai's heart sank, and then he heard Gan Ning shout, "Ram them! I don't care what's in front of us—just smash through it!"
Gan Ning's fleet, enveloped in a deep blue military aura, surged forward with enhanced speed and strength. Ignoring whatever lay ahead, they charged full steam ahead, as Gan Ning had ordered.
A series of cracking sounds rang out as Gan Ning's ship collided with the enemy vessels. However, the ship's speed didn't decrease at all—after all, a large ship ramming into smaller ones was unstoppable.
Amidst the continuous snapping sounds, Gan Ning didn't even notice the cloud-covered Zhou Tai as he was crushed into the river. His ship then rammed into the middle of Zhou Yu's large vessel with a resounding crash, splitting it in two. But this impact finally brought Gan Ning's ship to a halt.
"Archers! Ballistae! Fire at will! Don't conserve your arrows! Whoever kills Zhou Yu will be rewarded with a hundred thousand coins and a large ship!" Gan Ning shouted, struggling to stay on his feet after the violent collision with Zhou Yu's ship.