"It seems this ti, victory is ours!" Hua Xiong pointed his Great Sword straight at Juo Yi, deliberately saying "ours" instead of "mine."
Juo Yi suppressed the fury rising in his chest. He, too, had commanded the Xiliang Iron Cavalry in the past, but never such a massive number. This clash had made it abundantly clear to him just how formidable the elite troops Dong Zhuo once used to dominate the land truly were.
Leading the Vanguard under the cover of Heavy Crossbow fire, Juo Yi retreated directly eastward. Yuan Shao was over there. No matter what happened, protecting Yuan Shao was the top priority!
"General, shall we pursue them?" After a salvo of crossbow fire cleared the way, Hua Xiong, clutching the wound on his chest, hesitated. Despite the ferocity of the Vanguard's assault, nurous Iron Cavalry soldiers went down during their final wave of attacks before retreating. Even Hua Xiong himself had been hit by an arrow shot by Juo Yi.
"No, first annihilate Yuan Shao's Army's Rear Army completely and prepare for the next engagent!" Initially opening his mouth to issue a command to pursue, Hua Xiong recalled Chen Xi's reminders and the ssage Li You had entrusted Sun Qian to deliver—that he should focus on breaking the enemy's formation before killing their troops.
After issuing his orders, Hua Xiong charged directly into the Left Wing of Yuan Shao's Army. During this ti, Wen Chou, at Guo Tu's insistence, had already abandoned his skirmishes with Gan Ning's Right Wing and was leading his troops back to Yuan Shao's side. Protecting Yuan Shao was paramount!
"Clang!" Hua Xiong's Horse-Cutting Blade struck Wen Chou's Long Spear. Already weaker than Wen Chou in strength and still nursing injuries, Hua Xiong's attacking montum wasn't fully built up before colliding with Wen Chou. Under these circumstances, Hua Xiong had no choice but to grit his teeth and fight on.
After only a few dozen exchanges, Hua Xiong found himself hard-pressed to hold his ground. Had he been uninjured, he wouldn't have feared Wen Chou. Unfortunately, injury had brought misfortune when he ran into Wen Chou.
As Hua Xiong debated retreating to avoid wasting ti and waiting for reinforcents, two more figures suddenly ca charging forth.
"General Wen, hurry and rescue our Lord!" Zhang He shouted loudly. Earlier, as Hua Xiong was tearing through Yuan Shao's Rear Army, Zhang He had just finished a cavalry skirmish against Zhao Yun, catching sight of Hua Xiong's charge. A chill ran down Zhang He's spine at the spectacle!
Before encountering the White Horse Cavalry, Zhang He never imagined cavalry could be so swift. Before encountering the Wolf Cavalry, he never imagined cavalry could be so formidable. But upon witnessing the Iron Cavalry, Zhang He only thought one thing: they weren't even in the sa league!
That was ten layers of defense—ten solid layers, manned by Hebei's toughest soldiers. Yet the mont Hua Xiong charged in, Zhang He felt as though those layers of defense were paper-thin!
In alarm, Zhang He launched a final charge without waiting for his mounted troops to regroup.
After clashing with Zhao Yun's personal soldiers, Zhang He and Gao Lan led nearly two legions of cavalry directly toward the "Yuan" banner. Zhao Yun quickly responded, leading his depleted troops to pursue relentlessly, biting at Zhang He and Gao Lan's Rear Army.
Compared to Gao Lan, Zhang He was more adept at quick decisions in chaotic situations. Spotting an unfavorable developnt, he imdiately chose a cost-exchange maneuver, sacrificing half his forces to launch a desperate assault against Liu Bei's Central Army, which was shifting formation and preparing an attack.
This was why Liu Bei's Central Army didn't follow up Hua Xiong's decimation of Yuan Shao's Rear Army with an all-out assault. Zhang He's suicidal counterattack forced Zhao Yun to turn back and guard the Central Army, while Wuu Anguo, who had held back until now, had no choice but to lead his own personal soldiers into the fray.
As a result, Yuan Shao's Army narrowly avoided collapse from Liu Bei's full-force assault. Unfortunately, the Wolf Cavalry who executed this sacrificial act were either killed in battle or entirely captured.
Nonetheless, this bought Zhang He and Gao Lan a slim opportunity to escape. It also spared the Lyu Brothers on Yuan Shao's Right Wing from a catastrophic blow.
Seeing Zhang He and Gao Lan closing in, Hua Xiong felt a headache coming on. He was already struggling to deal with one Wen Chou, and now two more opponents were joining the fray. Not dying here would be a miracle!
Initially, Hua Xiong planned to stall Wen Chou until reinforcents arrived so they could deal with him together. But instead of allies, more enemies appeared. Resolving to waste no more ti, Hua Xiong mustered his remaining strength and unleashed a ferocious slash, forcing Wen Chou to retreat montarily before turning his horse and fleeing.
Wen Chou watched Hua Xiong retreat but did not dare pursue. Answering Zhang He's shout, the three of them charged in unison back toward Yuan Shao's Army.
The trio's combined assault was unstoppable by ordinary soldiers, allowing them to break through to the periter of Yuan Shao's main camp. However, at this mont, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Gao Lan encountered their true opponents.
With one swing of the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, blood splattered across the battle robe as Guan Yu stood firmly in Wen Chou's path. Wen Chou struck, and the two clashed briefly. Zhang He and Gao Lan, recognizing the urgency of the situation, did not hesitate and slipped past.
"Those two—how about one each?" Gan Ning, ignoring the considerable energy he'd expended earlier using a restorative Legion Talent, spoke up as he noticed the sowhat fatigued and unstable Zhang He. As he spoke, Gan Ning launched his attack, hurling his Horizontal River Iron Chain to entangle Zhang He.
"You're not getting away!" As Zhang He prepared to charge through, a chain ca flying from a distance. With a sideways sweep, Zhang He deflected the Horizontal River Iron Chain, but the next mont, the chain curved back and snagged his Long Spear.
"Hmph, one each it is. Co and fight !" Drenched in blood, Xuu Chu stepped forth wielding a Great Sword to block Gao Lan. His well-built, muscular fra left no doubt—he was a true warrior!
Seeing Guan Yu, Wen Chou was filled with anger and rushed forward, wielding his Long Spear with fury. Yet despite his rage, the successive blows had cleared his mind; rescuing Yuan Shao was the foremost priority now.
Launching a fierce assault to prevent Guan Yu from counterattacking, Wen Chou seized a fleeting opportunity and retreated toward Yuan Shao's command camp.
On the other side, Gao Lan avoided prolonged combat, withdrawing after trading fifty moves with Xuu Chu. However, as he retreated, exhaustion overca him, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Among the three, only Zhang He seed to have an edge. While Gan Ning's attacks were unpredictably strange, he had consud significant Qi Power earlier. Once Zhang He adapted to Gan Ning's tactics, the latter quickly fell into a disadvantage.
But Zhang He wasn't foolish. Seeing Wen Chou retreat, Gao Lan withdraw in pain, and Guan Yu and Xuu Chu approaching rapidly, he steeled himself. Despite Gan Ning's spear striking his arm, Zhang He knocked Gan Ning's Horizontal River Iron Chain aside in one decisive move and fled before Guan Yu and Xuu Chu could intercept him. (To be continued. If you enjoy this story, please visit Qidian to vote and show your support. Your encouragent is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)
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