"Fight to the death, no retreat!" Chen Xi's soldiers, even after being pierced by long spears, fiercely grasped the spears and desperately used their swords to chop at the enemies' horses' legs.
So soldiers, risking being trampled into minceat, even rolled directly under the horses' bellies, severing the horses' legs with their own lives to halt the cavalry's charge.
Gradually, the cavalry's speed slowed, but the number of Chen Xi's soldiers also dwindled. There were even cavalry that charged all the way to the front of Chen Xi, but any who ca within ten steps of him fell from their horses.
"Get out of my way!" Xuu Chu swung his blade, sending several of Yuan Shao's officers flying, and with all his might carved a path through the resisting masses of the Lyu Brothers' army.
"Pfft!" Xuu Chu's shoulder was hit by an arrow in a mont of carelessness, yet he didn't even glance at the arrow and gutted the officer in front of him with a single stroke, then decapitated another on his side, and with the strength he had left, he picked up a spear that he had previously severed and threw it fiercely forward, skewering three n.
With such ferocity, soon nobody dared to block Xuu Chu's path. However, the war soldiers of the Lyu Brothers had already joined up with Wen Chou's Army, and were fiercely encircling the few remaining soldiers of Chen Xi.
At this point, Chen Xi had stabilized his defense line, and Wen Chou was no longer making a suicidal charge. It seed he wanted to rely on the large army to annihilate Chen Xi, who was surrounded in the center, especially since the "Chen" character on that large flag was too conspicuous and, after all, even Xuu You had not expected Chen Xi to personally lead the troops.
"Strategist, we must leave quickly!" Xuu Chu, after breaching the encirclent, roared in the direction of Chen Xi. To create this pathway, his forces had suffered significant losses.
"No need," said Chen Xi, his eyes coldly staring in the direction behind Wen Chou, "Reinforcents have arrived!"
Zhuge Liang and Fa Zheng, upon receiving the signal arrow report from the scout cavalry, imdiately led all the reserve soldiers to pour out of their base according to Chen Xi's command. Still, it took so ti to arrive due to the distance.
"What a pity," Xuu You frowned upon seeing the arriving forces, noting that, although the desired effect had been achieved, letting Chen Xi get away still felt unsatisfactory.
"It seems he was well prepared, but he probably didn't expect to exchange cavalry for infantry," Xuu You looked back at Liu Bei's Army, which had previously spread out for march speed and now had regrouped into formation. The change between the real and the feigned within the formation was clearly designed to counter the cavalry.
"Wen Chou, try to shoot him down!" A trace of ruthlessness flashed in Xuu You's eyes as he ordered Wen Chou.
"It won't work. I've tried before. His spiritual capacity must be enormous, as all arrows within ten ters of him naturally veer off in another direction. Also, there were soldiers who previously managed to reach him, only to inexplicably fall down," Wen Chou shook his head, indicating the impossibility of slaying Chen Xi.
"What about the command banner? In this situation, at best we can claim a minor victory," Xuu You turned his head to ask, feeling great regret that they couldn't kill Chen Xi. With just a slight disadvantage inflicted upon their opponent, Xuu You wouldn't be content.
"No good. All arrows aid at the command banner have been deflected. There must be another master by his side," Wen Chou said with a serious expression.
"If we continue the fight, we won't win. He was prepared in advance, and in this battle, I can only claim a minor victory at best. Although my strategic goal was not focused on this front, retreating like this truly leaves feeling rather dissatisfied," Xuu You sighed.
"Then just keep killing; our army might not be devoid of the chance to annihilate the enemy," Wen Chou said, completely ignoring the huge wound on his body, his eyes bloodshot.
"The hope is too faint," Xuu You shook his head, looked up at the moon that had already shifted westward, then turned to look at the still-bleeding huge wound on Wen Chou's body, and let out a long sigh, "Since the strategy is achieved, there is no need to exhaust our forces like this. Increase the distance, the distance between both sides, I'm going to et with Chen Zichuan, see what his current speech and mannerisms are like, so as to better handle him in the future."
Upon Xuu You's order, though Wen Chou was reluctant, he still obeyed the command. Imdiately, Wen Chou and Lyu Kuang's supervision of the fight sounded the gong rapidly, and then quickly widened the gap with Liu Bei's Army. Similarly, Chen Xi did not order his wounded soldiers to continue the fight and cling to the enemy; instead, he also commanded his troops to retreat and form up in preparation.
Soon, Zhuge Liang and Zhang Yan's troops united with Chen Xi's remnants, shielding the soldiers in the middle, with spear blades poised directly at each other, creating a tense and somber atmosphere.
"Zichuan, are you alright?" Zhuge Liang and Fa Zheng, observing the situation on the battlefield, knew that things hadn't gone well previously.
"I'm fine," Chen Xi said, without hiding the coldness in his eyes as he swept over both, then silently turned his head to stare at Xuu You across from him.
"Will Marquis Chen under the command banner dare to co out for a eting?" Xuu You, looking at Liu Bei's Army that had grouped together into a faint semicircle, felt his heart sink, but his face remained calm.
"Jizhou Assistant Official, Xuu Ziyuan?" Chen Xi rode forward, directly stepping out of the military formation, and for the first ti, spots of blood appeared on his clothes; under the moonlight, the bloodstains on his white shirt looked eerily abnormal.
"Military Advisor," Xuu Zhu looked extrely tense, but then saw Chen Xi slightly gesture with his hand, making Xuu Zhu tighten up inside, though he did not follow on horseback as he used to.
"An obscure figure, to be so highly regarded by Marquis Chen, fills my heart with joy," Xuu You said, clasping his hands in the direction of Chen Xi, his tone was calm and his deanor elegant. But his every move made Chen Xi acutely aware of a kind of mockery.
"Are you Xuu Ziyuan?" Chen Xi frowned. The mockery in Xuu You's behavior and expression did not reveal any dissatisfaction within him. The victor had the right to mock the loser, and at least at this mont, that was indeed the case.
"If I weren't Xuu You, who does Marquis Chen think I'd be?" Xuu You's elegant silk robe fluttered in the night breeze, revealing an air of an immortal descending to the mundane world.
"Now it seems like it," the wind carried sand over as Chen Xi nodded slightly, preventing Xuu You from seeing his expression clearly.
Although Chen Xi was surprised that Xuu You was nothing like the image from the reports, this ethereal hermit-like deanor, coupled with the commanding presence that pointed out landscapes, was entirely different from what had been said about a greedy and ill-governed figure in the reports.
"Hahaha, people often say Chen Zichuan prepares for a rainy day. Who would have thought that I would seize the Jig River Crossing, take Chiping for myself, and turn the granaries in Feicheng into a torch," Xuu You laughed wildly, not attempting to conceal his actions at all.
"Oh, but what are you trying to say? That you defeated Chen Zichuan at Linyi?" Chen Xi asked calmly.
"Do you still want to fight another battle here, and for the sake of your own face, send the lives of your soldiers to their graves on this ground? You must know that, even now, your army's strength is inferior to mine, not to ntion the number of cavalry is even smaller than my forces," Xuu You said, laughing wildly, his voice so loud it was almost heard by all the soldiers in front.
(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to vote for it on Qidian ). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian to read.)
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