Liu Bei POV
Even if they die in the battlefield, that is fine, as long as they can maintain the adrenaline high, they will continue to feel invincible. It truly is an addictive feeling. In contrast, it seems like Zi Long and Yuan Zhi are not affected by it and have full control over themselves. I would very much like to attain that level as well but it’s too difficult. I do not have Zi Long’s years of combat experience and I cannot possibly leave and train like what Yuan Zhi did.
Alright, that’s enough of random nonsense. How do we break out of this situation?
Before my adrenaline high fully subsides, I should use my immature and messy thinking to help jolt Zi Long and Yuan Zhi into a solution. It’s not like they have a plan now anyway so there’s no harm trying.
“Yuan Zhi, Zi Long!” I yelled out as I charged ahead and overtook them by several paces. It was a very strange feeling when I charged to the head. Though I was a little afraid of the enemies in front of me, they scampered away the moment I neared them, giving me a boost to my confidence.
“Ah… Xuan…” Zi Long was about to yell out my name when she realised that she should not.
“Does Lord Shamoke have any suggestion?” Yuan Zhu asked as she looked up at me.
“Well then, since you called me Shamoke, and that name sounds like I’m a brute, I will propose something that befits that name.” I said as I continued to charge ahead, feeling like my adrenaline was surging once again.
“Please do.” Yuan Zhi said after she and Zi Long exchanged puzzled glances. Well, it’s not like I am going to propose something that is particularly complex.
“What I mean is, since we are in a dire predicament anyway, why not charge against the formation and try to break out?”
“Impossible,” Yuan Zhi shook her head, “As described earlier, the enemy troops are highly mobile and will change their formation to make it so that we cannot make it out. If we try to charge, we will only further accelerate our eventual demise.”
“How will we know that if we don’t try?!” I yelled out. As I predicted, Yuan Zhi, Zi Long and even Chen Dao stared at me with pitiful and sad gazes. I was still thinking that Zi Long would berate me but it seems like I am not even worth that huh?
“This is not a game. It was a big risk for me when I led over 1,000 troops inside. Now we have almost 4,000 troops with us. If we try and fail, the consequences will be dire!” Zi Long said in frustration.
“But if we don’t do something soon, we will all die.” I continued, further enraging Zi Long who opened and closed her mouth. It seemed like she wanted to subject me to her usual tongue lashing but she held herself back.
However, even though I know that my proposed idea is naive, I still have no intention of taking back my words.
“… Ah.” Yuan Zhi suddenly uttered a small cry which drew the attention of Zi Long and I.
“Yuan Zhi, what’s the matter?”
Yuan Zhi looked up at the skies for a long while before lowering her head and looking at me, “Xuan De, your plan might work.”
“Un?” Zi Long uttered in surprise, “Lord Xu Shu, why you as well…”
“I understand what you want to say.” Yuan Zhi interrupted Zi Long and looked at her, then at me and closed her eyes before she continued, “I had the same opinion as Lord Zhao Yun in the beginning. It is indeed true that thinking that way is far too naive.”
Wu… Even though Yuan Zhi seems to be on my side, hearing her say that about me does not make me happy at all even if that is the truth.
“Then why…”
“Because I found that I forgot something.” Yuan Zhi interrupted Zi Long again as though she had become infected by Huang Zu after using her gourd. When Yuan Zhi finished, Zi Long waited for Yuan Zhi to continue.
As for Yuan Zhi, she shifted her gaze to the enemy and looked into the distance before giving us orders, “Slow down everyone. We are a little too fast now.”
Only now did I realise that I had made everyone ride and run faster in my hot-blooded rush and hurriedly slowed down.
“100-man general!”
“Here!” Several officers answered Yuan Zhi’s sudden call immediately.
“You lot, bring your troops and try to charge against the enemy on that side. Pull back immediately if you can’t get through.”
“Yes!”
Eh? What does she want from this?
“Telling a few hundred men to try to break out? That won’t work.” Chen Dao said with worry.
“I… Know that it won’t work.” Yuan Zhi nodded, “That’s why I’m telling them to… Come back when they can’t go any further.”
“Is there a need for that?”
“Un, it’s a test.” Yuan Zhi replied as she continued to look about, “Does everyone remember the report from the courier before?”
“The one about Lord Lu Bu tearing through the enemy formation?”
“Un,” Yuan Zhi nodded and smiled, “We might be in a dire predicament here but it’s only been 15 minutes and Lord Lu Bu should have drawn away a sizeable number of troops with her actions.”
“Ah…” Zi Long uttered as she came to a realisation, “Since they tore across, that means that a good amount of troops should separated from the formation.”
“Yes. This is something very simple that we failed to realise because we were mystified by the enemy’s formation.” Yuan Zhi replied as she lightened up and lookedt me, “This is thanks to this brutish general.”
“Hahaha, no way.” I laughed but then quickly stopped as I asked, “So what does that all mean?”
“That means that the enemy troops surrounding us is likely to be just slightly more than half of their entire force.” Chen Dao seemed to get it and explained, “That means we have virtually no disadvantage charging against them since we have almost 4,000 troops with us.”
“Ah, I understand now. That means the enemy strength is the same as ours, correct?”
“Yes, that. Hai, your ability to understand has not improved in the least.” Zi Long said, not forgetting to insult me as she did so, “So the only uncertainty that is preventing us from acting is the enemy’s numbers right? If they do indeed have the same strength as we do, then we can do as Shamoke proposed.”
“That is why I did a test.” Yuan Zhi smiled as she replied.
“Report!” A rather urgent voice came from behind and when I turned back, I saw that it was one of the 100-man generals Yuan Zhi had summoned before.
“What’s the status?” Yuan Zhi asked as she was the one who gave the orders.
“We couldn’t make it out! It’s my responsibility!” He said with anguish.
“No, that’s fine.” Yuan Zhi said as she waved her hand dismissively, “Let me ask you, were you surrounded and attacked? Were you the only one who made it out?”
“Ah, not at all.” He shook his head, “The enemy troops only blocked us but did not surround and attack us.”
“Un un un un.” Yuan Zhi nodded over and over, seeming overjoyed at what he said, “Then how far did you get before you were forced back?”
“We managed to get…” He replied and trailed off as he narrowed his eyes and thought back, “About 50 paces.”
“Good.” Yuan Zhi said as she patted her thigh. She really does not seem like a cultured individual at all and seems like a completely different person from how she usually is. Is this the effect of liquor?
“You may leave now.” Yuan Zhi said as she dismissed him, “If we should prevail, I’ll promote you when we return.”
“That’s fine right?” Naturally, this sort of thing could not be done at anyone’s whim so she asked Zi Long. I took a closer look at the 100-man general and found that he was one of Zi Long’s troops. It’s not like there is a clear marker. His serious expression that looks like Chen Dao’s is enough for me to tell.
“That’s fine.” Zi Long accepted easily.
Liu Bei POV
Even if they die in the battlefield, that is fine, as long as they can maintain the adrenaline high, they will continue to feel invincible. It truly is an addictive feeling. In contrast, it seems like Zi Long and Yuan Zhi are not affected by it and have full control over themselves. I would very much like to attain that level as well but it’s too difficult. I do not have Zi Long’s years of combat experience and I cannot possibly leave and train like what Yuan Zhi did.
Alright, that’s enough of random nonsense. How do we break out of this situation?
Before my adrenaline high fully subsides, I should use my immature and messy thinking to help jolt Zi Long and Yuan Zhi into a solution. It’s not like they have a plan now anyway so there’s no harm trying.
“Yuan Zhi, Zi Long!” I yelled out as I charged ahead and overtook them by several paces. It was a very strange feeling when I charged to the head. Though I was a little afraid of the enemies in front of me, they scampered away the moment I neared them, giving me a boost to my confidence.
“Ah… Xuan…” Zi Long was about to yell out my name when she realised that she should not.
“Does Lord Shamoke have any suggestion?” Yuan Zhu asked as she looked up at me.
“Well then, since you called me Shamoke, and that name sounds like I’m a brute, I will propose something that befits that name.” I said as I continued to charge ahead, feeling like my adrenaline was surging once again.
“Please do.” Yuan Zhi said after she and Zi Long exchanged puzzled glances. Well, it’s not like I am going to propose something that is particularly complex.
“What I mean is, since we are in a dire predicament anyway, why not charge against the formation and try to break out?”
“Impossible,” Yuan Zhi shook her head, “As described earlier, the enemy troops are highly mobile and will change their formation to make it so that we cannot make it out. If we try to charge, we will only further accelerate our eventual demise.”
“How will we know that if we don’t try?!” I yelled out. As I predicted, Yuan Zhi, Zi Long and even Chen Dao stared at me with pitiful and sad gazes. I was still thinking that Zi Long would berate me but it seems like I am not even worth that huh?
“This is not a game. It was a big risk for me when I led over 1,000 troops inside. Now we have almost 4,000 troops with us. If we try and fail, the consequences will be dire!” Zi Long said in frustration.
“But if we don’t do something soon, we will all die.” I continued, further enraging Zi Long who opened and closed her mouth. It seemed like she wanted to subject me to her usual tongue lashing but she held herself back.
However, even though I know that my proposed idea is naive, I still have no intention of taking back my words.
“… Ah.” Yuan Zhi suddenly uttered a small cry which drew the attention of Zi Long and I.
“Yuan Zhi, what’s the matter?”
Yuan Zhi looked up at the skies for a long while before lowering her head and looking at me, “Xuan De, your plan might work.”
“Un?” Zi Long uttered in surprise, “Lord Xu Shu, why you as well…”
“I understand what you want to say.” Yuan Zhi interrupted Zi Long and looked at her, then at me and closed her eyes before she continued, “I had the same opinion as Lord Zhao Yun in the beginning. It is indeed true that thinking that way is far too naive.”
Wu… Even though Yuan Zhi seems to be on my side, hearing her say that about me does not make me happy at all even if that is the truth.
“Then why…”
“Because I found that I forgot something.” Yuan Zhi interrupted Zi Long again as though she had become infected by Huang Zu after using her gourd. When Yuan Zhi finished, Zi Long waited for Yuan Zhi to continue.
As for Yuan Zhi, she shifted her gaze to the enemy and looked into the distance before giving us orders, “Slow down everyone. We are a little too fast now.”
Only now did I realise that I had made everyone ride and run faster in my hot-blooded rush and hurriedly slowed down.
“100-man general!”
“Here!” Several officers answered Yuan Zhi’s sudden call immediately.
“You lot, bring your troops and try to charge against the enemy on that side. Pull back immediately if you can’t get through.”
“Yes!”
Eh? What does she want from this?
“Telling a few hundred men to try to break out? That won’t work.” Chen Dao said with worry.
“I… Know that it won’t work.” Yuan Zhi nodded, “That’s why I’m telling them to… Come back when they can’t go any further.”
“Is there a need for that?”
“Un, it’s a test.” Yuan Zhi replied as she continued to look about, “Does everyone remember the report from the courier before?”
“The one about Lord Lu Bu tearing through the enemy formation?”
“Un,” Yuan Zhi nodded and smiled, “We might be in a dire predicament here but it’s only been 15 minutes and Lord Lu Bu should have drawn away a sizeable number of troops with her actions.”
“Ah…” Zi Long uttered as she came to a realisation, “Since they tore across, that means that a good amount of troops should separated from the formation.”
“Yes. This is something very simple that we failed to realise because we were mystified by the enemy’s formation.” Yuan Zhi replied as she lightened up and lookedt me, “This is thanks to this brutish general.”
“Hahaha, no way.” I laughed but then quickly stopped as I asked, “So what does that all mean?”
“That means that the enemy troops surrounding us is likely to be just slightly more than half of their entire force.” Chen Dao seemed to get it and explained, “That means we have virtually no disadvantage charging against them since we have almost 4,000 troops with us.”
“Ah, I understand now. That means the enemy strength is the same as ours, correct?”
“Yes, that. Hai, your ability to understand has not improved in the least.” Zi Long said, not forgetting to insult me as she did so, “So the only uncertainty that is preventing us from acting is the enemy’s numbers right? If they do indeed have the same strength as we do, then we can do as Shamoke proposed.”
“That is why I did a test.” Yuan Zhi smiled as she replied.
“Report!” A rather urgent voice came from behind and when I turned back, I saw that it was one of the 100-man generals Yuan Zhi had summoned before.
“What’s the status?” Yuan Zhi asked as she was the one who gave the orders.
“We couldn’t make it out! It’s my responsibility!” He said with anguish.
“No, that’s fine.” Yuan Zhi said as she waved her hand dismissively, “Let me ask you, were you surrounded and attacked? Were you the only one who made it out?”
“Ah, not at all.” He shook his head, “The enemy troops only blocked us but did not surround and attack us.”
“Un un un un.” Yuan Zhi nodded over and over, seeming overjoyed at what he said, “Then how far did you get before you were forced back?”
“We managed to get…” He replied and trailed off as he narrowed his eyes and thought back, “About 50 paces.”
“Good.” Yuan Zhi said as she patted her thigh. She really does not seem like a cultured individual at all and seems like a completely different person from how she usually is. Is this the effect of liquor?
“You may leave now.” Yuan Zhi said as she dismissed him, “If we should prevail, I’ll promote you when we return.”
“That’s fine right?” Naturally, this sort of thing could not be done at anyone’s whim so she asked Zi Long. I took a closer look at the 100-man general and found that he was one of Zi Long’s troops. It’s not like there is a clear marker. His serious expression that looks like Chen Dao’s is enough for me to tell.
“That’s fine.” Zi Long accepted easily.
