Chapter 345: 345
Chapter 345 – Surrounded Zhao Yun
*SWUA*
Zhao Yun swiftly secured He Xing and the unconscious Liu Xie . However, he was still in the middle of Qiuliju's encirclement .
Qiuliju gestured, and his subordinates waved the signal flags .
Upon seeing the flags, their soldiers stepped backward and kept the distance from Zhao Yun, He Xing, and Liu Xie . However, they took out their bows and aimed their arrows at them .
Qiuliju sneered, "Congratulations, young warrior . You're indeed formidable . Alas, you're still too young and too reckless . Didn't you know that it's a taboo for fighting alone in the middle of a battlefield?"
Zhao Yun glanced around . The situation was terrible for him .
As Qiuliju had said, it was a reckless charge, but it was necessary to protect the empress from potential harm .
"I'm a bodyguard, and I'll die as a bodyguard! Reckless or not, that's none of my business . "
Qiuliju laughed, "Good! Very Good! Alright, I have a proposition for you . Why don't you serve me? You see, I'm not actually Gongsun Du's subordinate, but I'm a Wuwan Tribe leader . Why are you bother serving a lord whose country is about to doom by the hands of Xiongnu? Join me . I promise that I'll protect both of them like my wife and my children . "
Zhao Yun clicked his tongue in disgust as he turned to He Xing . She was watching them with a pale face as she feared that Zhao Yun might agree .
"I've made my decision . "
All soldiers smiled, thinking that this valiant warrior would join them .
"Good! For now, hand over the empress to us, and I'll reward you later . "
Zhao Yun sneered as he winked at He Xing . He whispered to her ear, "There are allies on the other side of the palanquin . I'll get you out of here . "
He Xing stared at Zhao Yun with widened eyes . She bit her lower lips and nodded . Following after Zhao Yun's instruction, she carried the sleeping Liu Xie and stood behind him .
Zilong took a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself as this might be his last battle .
'For the future of the people, Zhang Tong has to unify the country! Their existences are Zhang Tong's future!'
His eyes gleamed, and his thought was revealed by his expression, which Qiuliju noticed that .
Annoyed by Zhao Yun's attitude, Qiuliju clicked his tongue .
"Archers! Ki-!"
*WHOOSH*
An arrow penetrated Qiuliju's mouth, which it went through his right cheek to the left . It stopped him from finishing his sentences .
The source of the arrow was from Tian Yu, who was commanding a hundred soldier to assist Zhao Yun from afar . They were reorganizing soldiers to counter-attack against Qiuliju's troops .
'Chance!'
The split second that all soldiers got the attention on their injured commander, Zhao Yun dashed toward the direction of the palanquin where Tian Yu's forces were coming to rescue them .
The archers turned around as they sensed the movement, but they were too late .
*PU*
*PU*
*PU*
Zhao Yun's spearmanship left a hole on each neck of archers .
"RRRAAAHH!!"
*BOOM*
With a 210 degrees horizontal spear swing, Zhao Yun sent a dozen soldiers flying, creating a path to escape .
He Xing ran with Liu Xie in her arms, following after Zhao Yun's lead . She might be a few steps slower than Zhao Yun, but she had been preparing for a breakout after Zhao Yun's whisper .
"They're trying to escape!"
"After them!"
Qiuliju grudgingly pulled out the arrow from his mouth . The arrowhead left a hole on each cheek, which cold air got into his mouth .
Qiuliju bellowed, but his voice sounded odd . "Kill 'em all!"
Archers released their bowstrings and let loose their arrows . Their target was He Xing!
Sensing danger, Zhao Yun freed himself from the soldiers and got behind He Xing . He kicked two corpses of archers and use them as shields for the empress .
Arrows lodged into the dead bodies, but two of them scratched Zhao Yun's skins . Over 20 of them killed their allies instead of harming the three runners .
Worried about He Xing, Zhao Yun turned around to check her condition . Fortunately, she was unharmed, but the arrow rain terrified her .
"I'll protect you, your majesty . You'll be alright soon . "
"U-Um . "
Truth to be told, Zhao Yun had a scare . He was afraid that one of the arrows might slip through his defense and got her . Seeing that she and Liu Xie were fine, he continued to lead them further .
Qiuliju's archers loaded more arrows and aimed at Zhao Yun again, but they were afraid of hitting their allies .
Qiuliju bellowed, "Keep shooting! All infantries, block their path! You must capture or kill the empress at all costs!"
Qiuliju's footmen did not want to die, and they did not feel loyal to him enough to volunteer as a sacrifice . Thus, they shrunk back in fear and hesitation .
The archers also did not want to kill their friends and comrades, so they did not release their bowstrings . Only a handful of selfish soldiers fired their arrows .
Another arrow rain came at Zhao Yun, but they were less than the previous volley .
Like before, Zhao Yun raised two corpses and shielded He Xing .
*PU* *PU*
*PU* *PU*
No arrow got through the human shield . They survived another volley, but the encirclement array resumed its formation, trapping Zhao Yun and He Xing again .
Zhao Yun turned around to check the previous escape route . Unfortunately, it was covered by Qiuliju's men .
"No matter how many you are, I won't fail!"
*BOOM*
Another ten men were swept away by Zhao Yun's spear swing, and blood rain poured down .
Qiuliju's men were terrified by Zhao Yun's outburst . They kept falling back as they avoided fighting with him head-on . Yet, a few courageous soldiers charged at Zhao Yun and He Xing, planning to kill both of them .
"IN YOUR DREAM!"
*SWUA*
*SWUA*
Zhao Yun danced backward as if he had an eye behind his back . His after-images of spear thrust and his power-swing cleaned the field again .
Witnessing the unrivaled spearmanship, the legs of the surrounding soldiers turned into jellies .
Because of fear, no more soldiers attempted to charge at Zhao Yun and He Xing, but they still kept their encirclement formation .
Zhao Yun stared at these soldiers with a frown . This stalemate was favorable to him, but it harmed them in the long run . Once they regained their morale, Zhao Yun was not that confident that He Xing could get through this unharmed .
Meanwhile, Qiuliju had enough of his men's incompetence . Frustrated, Qiuliju kicked the sides of his horse, trying to lead the charge himself .
Suddenly,
"ATTACK!!"
"KILL!"
"SHAAAA!!"
Warcry echoed through the battlefield, but they were not from Qiuliju's side .
It was from Tian Yu's men!
Tian Yu and the few hundred surviving soldiers had gathered stray troops and formed a thousand-man battalion . They created a footman wedge array and ran at the encirclement around Zhao Yun .
Qiuliju also had to shift his attention to Tian Yu . He led a detached platoon of a thousand soldiers to engage the oncoming charge .
A thousand infantries of Tian Yu and Qiuliju's Wuwan soldiers collided!
As Tian Yu fought against Qiuliju's soldiers, he shouted, "ZILONG, HANG IN THERE! WE'RE COMING!!"
Hearing the voice of Tian Yu, Zhao Yun swallowed his tears of joy and motivated himself .
'This is not over yet! I'm not alone!'
"AAAARRRRRHHHH!!!".
As a response to Tian Yu, Zhao Zilong released his warcry as he charged at the wall of soldiers on more time .
"Hiiikk!"
"He's coming again!"
"STEP BACK! STEP BACK!!"
In desperation, many soldiers decided to throw their weapons at Zhao Yun instead of fighting him in melee combat . As a result, spears were thrown at him as if they were javelins .
'SHIT!'
This was the worst-case scenario that Zhao Yun never wanted to experience . Once these soldiers started throwing spears, all infantries would transform into ranged-soldiers, which could threaten He Xing's safety .
Moreover, Zhao Yun could not parry throwing spears as he did with arrows!
*CLANK*
*CLANK*
He managed to divert two spears from himself . However, three more spears came toward He Xing .
The empress ducked as she pressed Liu Xie under her body .
*SWOOSH*
*SWOOSH*
*SWOOSH*
The spears missed! Had the empress did not dodge them, she would have died .
Zhao Yun's heart was on his throat . That was too close!
When Zhao Yun sighed a relief that both He Xing and Liu Xie were alright, Qiuliju detached from the combat against Tian Yu and galloped to this direction .
"SHA!!"
Inspired by his panicking soldiers, Qiuliju threw his spear at He Xing!
In desperation, Zhao Yun got in front of He Xing as he parried the oncoming spear .
*CLANK*
The spear was diverted from the mother and son, but Zhao Yun lost his momentum .
Qiuliju charged at them as he pulled out his secondary weapon, a long sword .
"DIE!!"
Zhao Yun pulled He Xing and Liu Xie out of the charging horse's path and braced the impact .
Qiuliju's sword missed all of them, but his horse rammed against Zhao Yun's chest .
The valiant youth spat a mouthful of blood, but he managed to catch the horse rein . By the momentum of the horse charge and the horse rein, Zhao Yun swung his entire body onto the back of Qiuliju's horse while the owner was dumbfounded by the maneuvering .
Qiuliju tried to stab Zhao Yun, but he could not as his lower body was facing the opposite direction where Zhao Yun was standing .
"RAH!!"
Zhao Yun pulled Qiuliju from the horseback as both of them fell on the ground . He caught Qiuliju's wrist and disarmed the long sword .
"YOU!"
An elbow slammed onto Qiuliju's face . With the momentary chance, Zhao Yun snatched the long sword and thrust downward at Qiuliju's face .
*SOEK*
The sword dug into Qiuliju's forehead, which it penetrated through his skull .
The Wuwan tribe leader fell!
