Chapter 268
Chapter 268 – Result of the Skirmish, Beginning of the Siege
Before Gao Shun crossed to the other side, they had created a bridge with mud and soil instead of using logs and planks . It took them an entire hour to fill a portion of the moat to make a passage, but it was worth their times as it was sturdy enough for his army to rush across it .
Thanked to their hard work, Gao Shun quickened their return and caught Yan Liang and Wen Chou by surprise .
'I've got them!'
Yan Liang had begun charging toward Lu Bu, but they did not form any defensive array against Gao Shun .
Yan Liang had a tunnel vision when he ordered his cavalries to cross the bridge again after Gao Shun had retreated . He stared at Lu Bu Army as he was waiting for the right time to strike, but he forgot that Gao Shun was still around .
Even if they could turn their horses around to intercept Gao Shun Army, they lacked preparation, and their men had limited number of tactic choices . At best, they could switch from their long [I-Line] array into a weak wedge formation or a one-fang formation .
On the other hand, Guo Shun rushed in with the flexible crane wings formation, which could turn into a different array or they could detach their wings at any moment .
Yan Liang's face fell . He waved his right hand and pointed to Guo Shun, signaling to troops to change direction and rush at the ambushing cavalries .
"Turn right to wedge! Penetrate their formation and breakthrough!" Shouted Yan Liang .
At the same time, Guo Shun gave his command, "Take out your hand crossbows! Detach to two wings and avoid the contact! Fire your crossbows at their horses once they rush pass us!"
The two cavalries rushed at each other, but Guo Shun's crane wings troops separated their formation into two, running away from Yan Liang's charge .
Guo Shun riders on each wing aimed their hand crossbows at the horses of Yan Liang's soldiers and pulled the trigger, following with muffled whistling sounds .
Although many arrows were coming at Yan Liang Army, most of them were deflected by the armors of the horses .
3,000 Small bolts managed to hit one-fifth of Yan Liang's men, which 500 of them collapsed on the ground with their riders while the rest galloped along with the pack, carrying their injuries from the arrows .
As they passed each other, Yan Liang's eyes scanned through the passing horsemen of Guo Shun, searching for the general of this army . It did not take long for him to find Guo Shun, who was in the middle of the crowd .
The bloodshot eyes of Yan Liang imprinted Guo Shun's image into his brain as he swore that he would get back on this person .
"Head west! Go and rescue Wen Chou!"
At the same time, Guo Shun also roared, "Head West! Don't let them get away!"
.
Beyond the tattered battleground where fires and broken oil barrels scattered around, Lu Bu Cavalry rushed at Wen Chou's troops, which were in porcupine formations .
"Give me spears!"
As Red Hare King was galloping toward the groups of shields and spears, Lu Bu took several spears from his subordinates . Just like what Friday did to Sun Fang, Lu Bu threw the spears at the groups .
The spear velocity and speed created a whistling sound and followed by a loud boom .
Lu Bu spear penetrated the shield and killed a soldier in the formation .
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
Five more spears broke through five shields and destroyed the formation of the groups, creating an opening .
"Men, after me! Form wedge!"
*BOOM*
Lu Bu swung his halberd and sent a disarrayed group of porcupine flying . Ten burly spearheads who followed after Lu Bu did the same with the other porcupine groups, which cut a path for the weaker horsemen .
The layer of porcupine spearmen was brokethrough, and Lu Bu reached the field of archers, who were firing their crossbows at Li Feihong Army .
The arrows from Li Feihong Army had stopped the moment Lu Bu Cavalry collided with the porcupine layer of defense .
"You will not pass!"
Wen Chou bellowed as he galloped his horse forward, charging at Lu Bu .
'Idiot!' Li Feihong laughed as he predicted what would happen to Wen Chou .
*BOOM*
A simple swing of Lu Bu's crescent halberd sent Wen Chou and his horse flying backward even though Wen Chou blocked it .
The warhorse of Wen Chou staggered but regained its balance in a second . Wen Chou's hands were shaking from the numbness, and his elbows felt the tingling electricity .
"Such power!" (Author: Kono Powa!)
As if a grim reaper had descended, Lu Bu and his Red Hare chased after the stunned Wen Chou . Meanwhile, Lu Bu Cavalry did not follow after him as they went into the pack of archers, killing everybody in their sight .
"Don't you underestimate me!"
Wen Chou bellowed and retaliated, waving his halberd at the oncoming Red Hare's face to cripple the horse .
*CLANK*
The halberd was deflected by the crescent halberd .
"Didn't your mother teach you not to harm innocent animals!?" Bellowed back by Lu Bu before he repeated his swing .
*CLANK*
*CLANK*
Wen Chou could not strike back as Lu Bu pushed the pressure on Wen Chou with his power . Each clash of their halberd caused sparks to fly, and Wen Chou could feel that his hands and arms were losing strength as it continued .
After 10 parries, Wen Chou kicked his horse to change its direction .
'I have to run! This is a real monster!'
The smiling face of Lu Bu distorted when he detected Wen Chou's eyes .
"Ha! This is all you've got? A general position doesn't suit you, you might as well change your career and work as a chambermaid for your lord!"
Lu Bu was tired of Wen Chou's cowardice and his mediocre horseback fighting skills . He tightened his grip on his halberd, gathering more strength to finish Wen Chou .
*BOOM*
The explosive sound caused Lu Bu to stop on his track . Someone had thrown a bomb bag at his direction, but he missed the target . The flash of gunpowder blinded Lu Bu's sight for a second, and he could feel several small pieces of objects hitting his armor .
The bomb was from the surviving soldiers of the porcupine formation groups who had decided to rush back to save their generals .
Wen Chou took this chance and rode back toward his spearmen . As he checked the status of his other men on the battlefield, most of his archers had been slaughtered by Lu Bu's cavalries and Li Feihong's archers .
"Retreat east! We're outnumbered!"
Red Hare King was still stunned from the explosive power . It shook its head and snorted as if it was trying to regain its sight and recover from the dizziness .
Lu Bu recovered faster than his horse . Since the horse could not move, he glared at Wen Chou, who was retreating with his few surviving spearmen .
Out of frustration, Lu Bu roared, "Archers, take them down!"
Li Feihong's archers and Lu Bu's cavalries pointed their crossbows at Wen Chou and his men, sending all ammunition . All arrows and short arrows made their ways and took out hundreds of the spearmen .
Wen Chou's face was black . He came here with 5,000 men, but there were about 20 to 30 men around him left .
This battle was a failure . Jinyang Army did not take the bait as Zhang Liao was still in the fortress .
*RUMBLE*
"Chou!"
Yan Liang shouted as he and his horsemen arrived at the area where Wen Chou and his men were .
"We have failed! Lu Bu didn't take the bait, and Zhang Liao is still in the fort . We have to retreat!"
Yan Liang assigned horses for the surviving spearmen as they turned around to head toward the east .
*BWOO*
A horn sound came from the further away from the west . An army with Zhang flags appeared on the horizon .
"Zhang? Is that Zhang Liao?"
"Is Zhang Liao out of the fort?"
Wen Chou and Yan Liang glanced at each other .
"Let's hurry back . Let's try to lure Lu Bu with our remaining men," Suggested Wen Chou .
…
Guo Shun regrouped with Lu Bu and Li Feihong along with his men .
Upon seeing the facial expression on the face of Lu Bu, Guo Shun did not dare to speak . Traces of blue veins and distorted wrinkles on his skin could be seen .
"I . "
"Hate . "
"Gunpowder . "
Lu Bu only muttered three words, but it was more than enough for Li Feihong and Guo Shun to understand his mood .
Red Hare King regained its strength . It neighed and shook its head in frustration . Its eyes also glared at the retreating army of Yan Liang as if it was an angry lion .
Lu Bu patted its head and questioned, "How are our men?"
"Terrible, we've lost one-third of our infantries . About 500 of our cavalries also died because of their bombs," Li Feihong answered while he clenched his fists . The majority of the infantry casualties came from his mistake when he fell for Wen Chou's trick .
"And, who's coming behind our back? Zhang Liao?"
"No, that's Lu Zhi in a disguise of Zhang Liao . Jia Xu has sent him here . "
"What is he planning?"
Li Feihong looked at the east where dust was getting thicker . It was a sign that a large army was mobilizing .
"Pretending that nobody is defending the fort . He wants the enemy to attack our base . "
A few minutes later, Lu Zhi and 5,000 armored cavalries joined them .
"Sir Lu, Sir Li, Sir Guo . I've brought a new order from Sir Jia . "
…
…
Wen Chou and Yan Liang had sent a messenger to tell Tian Feng about their founding .
They had spotted Zhang Liao Army .
"Are you sure this is correct?" Asked Tian Feng .
"Yes, sir! Lord Wen wrote this himself!"
Tian Feng hesitated . He thought, 'It's a bit too easy . But a successful bait is still a success nonetheless . '
Tian Feng wrote several orders and passed it to the messenger .
…
…
After Lu Zhi had arrived, the situation above the north fort entered a stalemate .
Julu and Jinyang combined force of 15,800 soldiers, which got through the previous fight, stationed behind the moat and formed a defensive array .
Wen Chou, Yan Liang, and their 2,500 remaining heavy cavalries returned to the other side of the moat and regrouped with their 20,000 men of reinforcement, led by Gao Lan who had escaped from the battle earlier .
As their archer towers and trebuchets were still on the other side, Lu Bu and Lu Zhi could not pursue as they were vulnerable to their archers and their towers .
The same applied to Wen Chou, Yan Liang, and Gao Lan . Lu Bu still had his trebuchets and ballistae stationing within the army, which intimidated Yuan Shao forces .
Though the battlefront above the north fort entered a stalemate, Feng Ji and Te Langpu led several battalions, consisted of 40,000 men, to the front of the north fort with their siege weapons .
At first, they stood still to intimidate the defenders . However, a new order from Tian Feng arrived .
Feng Ji read the order and laughed .
"He wants us to attack the fort right now . What do you think, sir Te?"
"Attacking now or later is the same . Let's get this over with . "
