Chapter 15

Arrows fell like a dense rain, covering the sky and the earth.

In shock, Guan Yu suddenly heard the sound of arrows piercing the air in the darkness. His keen senses as a skilled warrior immediately made him realize that arrows were coming.

Almost instinctively, Guan Yu swung his Green Dragon Saber to form an iron curtain, protecting his entire body.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The rain of arrows shot towards him, but were deflected by Guan Yu's saber, scattering in all directions.

Guan Yu's martial arts were profound, and this mere rain of arrows could not harm him. However, the Liu army soldiers behind him were not so fortunate.

In the darkness, they could not see where the enemy arrows were coming from, and in a moment, a large number of them were shot down.

Cries of agony suddenly rose.

The three thousand Liu army soldiers were thrown into chaos, with heavy casualties, and the scene was a mess.

"Damn you, young Yuan Fang, you dare to use such a despicable trick. I, Guan Yu, will make you pay tenfold for today's defeat!"

In a fit of rage, Guan Yu secretly vowed but did not dare to linger any longer. He quickly turned his horse and ordered the entire army to retreat.

The Liu army, already demoralized, did not wait for Guan Yu's order. They turned and fled, trying to escape the dense rain of arrows, in a state of utter disarray.

In the center of the camp, Yuan Fang stood on his horse, leisurely listening to the enemy's cries of pain.

"Liu Bei must be in charge of Pingyuan. The one leading the troops this time is either Guan Yu or Zhang Fei. Both are formidable warriors. Targeting them to achieve my first victory is truly the best choice..."

The sound of hooves interrupted Yuan Fang's thoughts. Hao Zhao galloped over and saluted, saying, "Lord, the enemy cannot withstand our arrow attack and is retreating from the camp."

"Coming here was easy, but leaving is not an option!"

Yuan Fang drew his sword and pointed it towards the enemy, shouting, "Pass my order: the entire army will attack. Give them a thorough beating. The more you kill, the greater the reward. Kill—"

With the promise of rich rewards, the blood of the Yuan army soldiers boiled to the extreme.

"Kill—"

"Kill—"

Amidst the deafening roars, five thousand Yuan army soldiers charged out, brimming with fighting spirit, surging from all directions towards the defeated enemy.

Generals Zhu Ling and Hao Zhao were even more eager to fight, each leading their troops into the enemy ranks.

The Yuan army soldiers, like tigers among sheep, slashed their sabers at the fleeing enemies, and their hooves mercilessly trampled over the bodies of the fallen.

Wherever the Yuan banner passed, rivers of blood flowed.

Amidst the carnage, Yuan Fang also rode his horse, swinging his saber, pursuing and killing the enemies.

To carve out a place for himself, merely directing from the rear was not enough. At times, the commander must also lead the charge to boost morale.

Yuan Fang understood this well, so he joined the battle, personally engaging in the slaughter to hone his skills.

He also wanted to test the results of his intense martial arts training over the past month.

As the saber swept through, one enemy after another fell under the cold blade, and Yuan Fang grew more excited with each kill.

"It seems the Tiger Step Fist is indeed effective. My strength and reaction time have greatly improved. With further refinement, I can complete the flesh tempering and begin the tendon contraction training..."

Yuan Fang grew more excited as he thought, his saber slicing through the air, reaping the heads of the Liu army soldiers.

Not far away, Zhu Ling witnessed Yuan Fang's fierce slaughter and was greatly astonished by the rapid improvement in Yuan Fang's martial arts.

Earlier, when he saw Yuan Fang personally leading the charge, he was worried about Yuan Fang's low martial arts skills and feared for his safety, quickly leading his troops to protect him.

But he did not expect that after just one month, Yuan Fang's martial arts had improved so much that he no longer needed protection.

"How can the Second Lord's martial arts improve so rapidly? It's something I've never heard of. Could it be that the Second Lord is a martial arts prodigy?"

Zhu Ling was shocked and puzzled, and his respect for Yuan Fang grew.

At that moment, as Zhu Ling followed Yuan Fang, fighting side by side, a sense of pride began to stir in his heart.

Under Yuan Fang's leadership, the five thousand soldiers fought bravely, ruthlessly crushing and pursuing the defeated enemy, chasing them for over ten miles until they were driven into the forest. Only then did Yuan Fang call off the pursuit.

The sky was already bright, and Yuan Fang returned to the Galing camp in triumph.

Looking around the battlefield, Yuan Fang saw that from Galing to here, the ground was covered in blood and bodies. The blood had soaked into the earth, forming large, revolting pools of dark red mud.

The blood-soaked ground extended southward, spreading out to the east and west, with countless mangled limbs and shattered heads scattered on it, like embroidery on a red carpet.

The victorious Yuan army soldiers, their spirits high, waved the heads of their enemies and their blood-soaked weapons, laughing and shouting on the battlefield.

In the southern forest, the remaining defeated Liu army soldiers were terrified by the Yuan army's display of power, still in a state of shock.

Guan Yu stood on a slope, his brows deeply furrowed, his face as dark as iron.

Seeing his demoralized troops and hearing the enemy's cheers outside the forest, Guan Yu felt a sharp pain in his heart, and a fierce anger burned within him.

"At the Tiger Gate, I, Guan Yu, could defeat even Lu Bu. Today, I was outsmarted by a young Yuan. Yuan Fang, you wait. I, Guan Yu, will avenge this humiliation!"

Gritting his teeth and making a solemn vow, Guan Yu could only retreat with his defeated troops along a small road towards Pingyuan.

When the sky was bright, Yuan Fang returned to the camp with his victorious army.

Counting the casualties, about a hundred of his soldiers had died, and over a hundred were injured.

Yuan Fang ordered the medics to treat the wounded and allocated money to bury the fallen soldiers and provide generous compensation to their families.

In this battle, Yuan Fang's troops had only about two hundred casualties, but they had killed over a thousand Liu army soldiers and captured over five hundred.

The troops under Guan Yu's command were elite soldiers that Liu Bei had trained for years. The five hundred captured were all strong and experienced veterans.

These captives were a significant asset, and Yuan Fang ordered Hao Zhao to integrate them into his ranks, gradually absorbing and incorporating them into his own forces.

In addition to the captives, the battle also yielded a large amount of weapons, including a hundred sets of iron armor.

It was important to note that Yuan Fang's two thousand troops were second-line forces, with the poorest weapons and armor. The soldiers wore leather armor, and only Yuan Fang and a few officers wore iron fish-scale armor.

Iron armor provided much better protection than leather armor. If the soldiers had a set of iron armor, their survival rate on the battlefield would be greatly increased.

These hundred sets of iron armor were a significant gain for Yuan Fang.

However, Yuan Fang was not greedy. He immediately ordered fifty sets to be distributed to the meritorious soldiers and officers.

The officers and soldiers who received the iron armor were overjoyed, praising Yuan Fang for his fair rewards and increasing their loyalty to him.

As for the remaining fifty sets of iron armor, Yuan Fang had other plans.

After the battle, Yuan Fang ordered Hao Zhao to select fifty brave and loyal soldiers to form his personal guard. Yuan Fang rewarded these fifty guards with the iron armor.

Clever rulers always had a highly loyal and combat-effective personal guard, like Cao Cao, who had Xu Chu and Dian Wei leading a personal guard that had saved his life several times.

Yuan Fang, understanding the importance, naturally followed Cao Cao's example, forming a highly loyal personal guard and equipping them with the best gear.

With all these arrangements made, the entire camp was immersed in the joy of victory.

Yuan Fang set up a small banquet in his tent and invited Zhu Ling to join him.

After a few drinks, Zhu Ling could not suppress his curiosity and asked, "This great victory is truly satisfying, but I am really curious, how did you deduce that the enemy would attack the camp rather than Galing City?"

Yuan Fang smiled faintly. "Actually, I have to thank my elder brother for this victory."

Zhu Ling was taken aback, his face full of confusion, not understanding what Yuan Fang meant. How could this victory be related to Yuan Tan?

Yuan Fang then explained how he had intercepted Guo Huai, gotten him drunk, and found a letter from Yuan Tan to Liu Bei. He then used this information to lure Liu Bei into attacking the camp, all of which he clearly explained to Zhu Ling.

"My elder brother revealed the strength of my troops to Liu Bei and told him that you, Wenbo, would not follow my orders at a critical moment. Knowing this, Liu Bei naturally chose to attack my camp."

Yuan Fang's words left Zhu Ling increasingly shocked and angry.

Slam!

Zhu Ling slammed his hand on the table, angrily cursing, "The First Lord, for his own selfish reasons, could do such despicable things, colluding with the enemy. It is truly hateful and infuriating!"