Liu Bei POV
“So what is going on?” I asked again directly. Every part of our plan has been successfully executed thus far so our victory should be set in stone by now.
Yet why is she still so worried? Is she worried about what will happen after or is she worried about something else?
“Un…” She merely grunted and sank into silence as she looked ahead and only replied me after a long while, “Actually, I received a report just now that our forces outside the city were fighting a harsh battle.”
A harsh battle? Feng Xian should have brought all her troops, along with all the troops used in the various ambushes, along with her as she chased down the enemy. By right, the enemy should have reached their encampment by now and our troops should have caught up and are now forming up outside their encampment. If a harsh battle has already begun, then that means that the enemy did not choose to return to their encampment…
We have been fighting for a while now and we have used literally every card in our hand by now. Everything has gone well but we do not know about the losses on both sides yet so maybe that is the reason…
“Could it be that our numbers are lacking…”
Since the enemy has chosen to fight, does that mean that their troop numbers and morale are still relatively high?
“No,” Yuan Zhi immediately denied me, “I thought of that at first as well so I asked about the losses from soldiers at the tower who could see the entire battle.”
“What was the result?”
“The enemy has lost more than half of their troops while we only lost 3,000.”
“Then that means that we actually have a little more troops than they do right?”
Yuan Zhi wordlessly nodded in response.
Ah– The sky suddenly darkened and when I looked about, I realised that we were riding through a giant hole where the north gate once stood. There was a rough log lying nearby that was probably used to break it open. I wonder how Li Dian and the rest felt as they used a siege weapon to break out of the city.
“If everything went according to plan, then the enemy’s troop morale should be extremely low.” Yuan Zhi said softly as she looked ahead, “In fact, I never even thought that they could make it out of the city.”
“Then if there is a harsh battle taking place now, that means something unexpected must have happened.”
“Possibly.” Yuan Zhi said as she reached up and touched her red bandana.
“Could there have been reinforcements?”
“No, that’s impossible. There are none in Fan city and the main body of the southern campaign could not have been so fast.” Yuan Zhi once again denied me.
“… What other reason could there be?”
“…” Yuan Zhi remained silent. Looks like she does not have any idea on what could have caused difficulties for Feng Xian and the rest either–
“If my guess is right…”
“Eh?” Just as I was preoccupied with my thoughts, Yuan Zhi suddenly began to mutter but I only heard what she said in the beginning and asked her, “What did you say?”
“I was saying that if my guess is right–” Yuan Zhi seemed very nervous and gulped before she continued, “The reason why Lord Lu Bu and the rest are having difficulties could be because of… A formation.”
“Formation?” I asked, feeling bewildered.
*Dong* *Dong* *Dong* *Dong*–
I was going to ask her further but all of a sudden, deafening drum beats could be heard in the distance and the ground was trembling as sand and dust flew about. I looked ahead but could not see anything.
“Turn back~ Turn back at once!” The yells of several officers could be heard and as we went further ahead, we found that the dust and sand was kicked up by our only cavalry unit. Sand and dust along with out troops obscured our vision such that we could not see anything and were forced to stop and wait for them to pass.
“This is…”
“Cavalry that is preparing to charge.” Yuan Zhi said, her frown still on and her bandana slightly lower, “They should be trying to tear open a hole so that the troops can charge in and divide the enemy forces.”
Oh~ That should mean that the enemy is up ahead then and we are on the edge of the battlefield.
“That means that Feng Xian and the rest are planning to do a divide and conquer.”
When I took a closer look, I saw that there were only a hundred or so cavalry troops so not all of them were here.
“… Jia!”
Eh?! Not only did Yuan Zhi ignore me, she even galloped ahead into the sand cloud.
“Wait for me, Yuan Zhi.” I said as I swung my reins and entered the sand cloud as well.
Wu. In an instant, sand flew into my face and I was forced to close my eyes. I knew doing so was useless but I still raised my hand and swept ahead of me.
*Dong* *Dong* *Dong*
Just as I emerged from the sand, loud drum beats could be heard and I saw our troops standing in an orderly fashion ahead of me. I looked about and saw Yuan Zhi galloping towards the head of our troops and quickly followed after her. I could not see the faces of those standing at the head clearly but I could clearly make out Feng Xian with Wen Yuan standing beside her. As for Zi Long and Chen Dao, they were nowhere to be seen, probably because they led the attacking group we saw just now.
“Let me go!”
Just then, before Yuan Zhi and I made our way to where they were, a loud bellow came from the front. I looked over and saw that Feng Xian and Wen Yuan were indeed fighting. It seemed like Feng Xian was trying to move off but was held back by Wen Yuan.
What is going on? Was Feng Xian that eager to join the battle? I felt puzzled at this and looked about in the meantime as I rode on.
Un?! I felt puzzled when I saw the enemy formation for the first time since I left the city. All the troops were running about in a circular manner. Their speed was not very quick but they were running in an orderly manner. Behind them, there was a row of troops playing drums and yelling out commands. I initially thought that the drum beat was for boosting troop moral but it seemed rather different. The beat was strange and kept changing as though it was used to send out commands to the troops.
Un? Wait, where were our troops that had just gone to attack the enemy? Why can I not see them at all?
I frowned and looked about for a while before I found that our troops were deep behind enemy lines and were surrounded. What happened just now? They were clearly a mobile strike force yet how did they get surrounded so quickly? What did Li Dian and Cao Ren do?!
“Lord Lu Bu, Lord Lu Bu!” Yuan Zhi began yelling as we approached them.
Feng Xian was frowning heavily and only after Yuan Zhi had yelled at her for a long while did she finally look over. When she saw Yuan Zhi, she sighed and when she saw me, she bit her lips.
“Lord Xu Shu. Lord Shamoke is here as well huh?” Wen Yuan seemed anxious as well but she saluted and greeted us when she saw us.
“Let’s dispense with pleasantries for now.” Yuan Zhi said as she came to a half beside Feng Xian and Yuan Zhi. She then reached up to touch her bandana as she looked at the enemy formation, “What’s the situation? I heard that it has become a harsh battle.”
“It’s not optimistic at all.” Wen Yuan said as she shook her head, “It’s a good thing that we did not go all-in and sent a batch of troops in first instead. Unfortunately, I think the first batch has been wiped out by now.”
It’s that serious? I began to get nervous and turned to look at the enemy formation. We were on a slightly elevated slope so the view was clearer and wider now. And only now did I recognise what the enemy was doing. They were doing something that we in the 21st century do every morning during winter at school.
Running laps.
Yes, they were running laps around an invisible track. And it seems like they were running around in small groups too as the main formation was split into many smaller formations.
“Which batch was the most recent one?” Yuan Zhi asked.
I looked at the enemy formation again and saw that there were friendly troops trapped inside the formation.
“The second batch.” Wen Yuan said and paused before she continued further, “This one was led by Lord Zhao Yun and Lord Chen Dao.”
Liu Bei POV
“So what is going on?” I asked again directly. Every part of our plan has been successfully executed thus far so our victory should be set in stone by now.
Yet why is she still so worried? Is she worried about what will happen after or is she worried about something else?
“Un…” She merely grunted and sank into silence as she looked ahead and only replied me after a long while, “Actually, I received a report just now that our forces outside the city were fighting a harsh battle.”
A harsh battle? Feng Xian should have brought all her troops, along with all the troops used in the various ambushes, along with her as she chased down the enemy. By right, the enemy should have reached their encampment by now and our troops should have caught up and are now forming up outside their encampment. If a harsh battle has already begun, then that means that the enemy did not choose to return to their encampment…
We have been fighting for a while now and we have used literally every card in our hand by now. Everything has gone well but we do not know about the losses on both sides yet so maybe that is the reason…
“Could it be that our numbers are lacking…”
Since the enemy has chosen to fight, does that mean that their troop numbers and morale are still relatively high?
“No,” Yuan Zhi immediately denied me, “I thought of that at first as well so I asked about the losses from soldiers at the tower who could see the entire battle.”
“What was the result?”
“The enemy has lost more than half of their troops while we only lost 3,000.”
“Then that means that we actually have a little more troops than they do right?”
Yuan Zhi wordlessly nodded in response.
Ah– The sky suddenly darkened and when I looked about, I realised that we were riding through a giant hole where the north gate once stood. There was a rough log lying nearby that was probably used to break it open. I wonder how Li Dian and the rest felt as they used a siege weapon to break out of the city.
“If everything went according to plan, then the enemy’s troop morale should be extremely low.” Yuan Zhi said softly as she looked ahead, “In fact, I never even thought that they could make it out of the city.”
“Then if there is a harsh battle taking place now, that means something unexpected must have happened.”
“Possibly.” Yuan Zhi said as she reached up and touched her red bandana.
“Could there have been reinforcements?”
“No, that’s impossible. There are none in Fan city and the main body of the southern campaign could not have been so fast.” Yuan Zhi once again denied me.
“… What other reason could there be?”
“…” Yuan Zhi remained silent. Looks like she does not have any idea on what could have caused difficulties for Feng Xian and the rest either–
“If my guess is right…”
“Eh?” Just as I was preoccupied with my thoughts, Yuan Zhi suddenly began to mutter but I only heard what she said in the beginning and asked her, “What did you say?”
“I was saying that if my guess is right–” Yuan Zhi seemed very nervous and gulped before she continued, “The reason why Lord Lu Bu and the rest are having difficulties could be because of… A formation.”
“Formation?” I asked, feeling bewildered.
*Dong* *Dong* *Dong* *Dong*–
I was going to ask her further but all of a sudden, deafening drum beats could be heard in the distance and the ground was trembling as sand and dust flew about. I looked ahead but could not see anything.
“Turn back~ Turn back at once!” The yells of several officers could be heard and as we went further ahead, we found that the dust and sand was kicked up by our only cavalry unit. Sand and dust along with out troops obscured our vision such that we could not see anything and were forced to stop and wait for them to pass.
“This is…”
“Cavalry that is preparing to charge.” Yuan Zhi said, her frown still on and her bandana slightly lower, “They should be trying to tear open a hole so that the troops can charge in and divide the enemy forces.”
Oh~ That should mean that the enemy is up ahead then and we are on the edge of the battlefield.
“That means that Feng Xian and the rest are planning to do a divide and conquer.”
When I took a closer look, I saw that there were only a hundred or so cavalry troops so not all of them were here.
“… Jia!”
Eh?! Not only did Yuan Zhi ignore me, she even galloped ahead into the sand cloud.
“Wait for me, Yuan Zhi.” I said as I swung my reins and entered the sand cloud as well.
Wu. In an instant, sand flew into my face and I was forced to close my eyes. I knew doing so was useless but I still raised my hand and swept ahead of me.
*Dong* *Dong* *Dong*
Just as I emerged from the sand, loud drum beats could be heard and I saw our troops standing in an orderly fashion ahead of me. I looked about and saw Yuan Zhi galloping towards the head of our troops and quickly followed after her. I could not see the faces of those standing at the head clearly but I could clearly make out Feng Xian with Wen Yuan standing beside her. As for Zi Long and Chen Dao, they were nowhere to be seen, probably because they led the attacking group we saw just now.
“Let me go!”
Just then, before Yuan Zhi and I made our way to where they were, a loud bellow came from the front. I looked over and saw that Feng Xian and Wen Yuan were indeed fighting. It seemed like Feng Xian was trying to move off but was held back by Wen Yuan.
What is going on? Was Feng Xian that eager to join the battle? I felt puzzled at this and looked about in the meantime as I rode on.
Un?! I felt puzzled when I saw the enemy formation for the first time since I left the city. All the troops were running about in a circular manner. Their speed was not very quick but they were running in an orderly manner. Behind them, there was a row of troops playing drums and yelling out commands. I initially thought that the drum beat was for boosting troop moral but it seemed rather different. The beat was strange and kept changing as though it was used to send out commands to the troops.
Un? Wait, where were our troops that had just gone to attack the enemy? Why can I not see them at all?
I frowned and looked about for a while before I found that our troops were deep behind enemy lines and were surrounded. What happened just now? They were clearly a mobile strike force yet how did they get surrounded so quickly? What did Li Dian and Cao Ren do?!
“Lord Lu Bu, Lord Lu Bu!” Yuan Zhi began yelling as we approached them.
Feng Xian was frowning heavily and only after Yuan Zhi had yelled at her for a long while did she finally look over. When she saw Yuan Zhi, she sighed and when she saw me, she bit her lips.
“Lord Xu Shu. Lord Shamoke is here as well huh?” Wen Yuan seemed anxious as well but she saluted and greeted us when she saw us.
“Let’s dispense with pleasantries for now.” Yuan Zhi said as she came to a half beside Feng Xian and Yuan Zhi. She then reached up to touch her bandana as she looked at the enemy formation, “What’s the situation? I heard that it has become a harsh battle.”
“It’s not optimistic at all.” Wen Yuan said as she shook her head, “It’s a good thing that we did not go all-in and sent a batch of troops in first instead. Unfortunately, I think the first batch has been wiped out by now.”
It’s that serious? I began to get nervous and turned to look at the enemy formation. We were on a slightly elevated slope so the view was clearer and wider now. And only now did I recognise what the enemy was doing. They were doing something that we in the 21st century do every morning during winter at school.
Running laps.
Yes, they were running laps around an invisible track. And it seems like they were running around in small groups too as the main formation was split into many smaller formations.
“Which batch was the most recent one?” Yuan Zhi asked.
I looked at the enemy formation again and saw that there were friendly troops trapped inside the formation.
“The second batch.” Wen Yuan said and paused before she continued further, “This one was led by Lord Zhao Yun and Lord Chen Dao.”
