Chapter 44

At the beginning of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the number of Yellow Turban followers was mainly divided into 36 regions by the Great Peaceful Teacher Zhang Jiao, totaling no more than 300,000 people. However, after the rebellion broke out, the number of Yellow Turban followers in various regions surged to over a million! It might even have far exceeded this number. Where did these additional hundreds of thousands or even millions of Yellow Turban followers come from?

A part of them were the impoverished masses who could no longer bear the hardship, while another part were the bandits and outlaws that Zhao Futu encountered now.

These people, under the banner of the Yellow Turban Army, engaged in banditry and plundering without any purpose or organization. They were like locusts, pillaging, killing innocents, and robbing anyone's wealth, whether they were officials, wealthy merchants, or ordinary civilians. Almost anyone could become their target. This led to the entire Central Plains becoming their enemy, and the Yellow Turban Army, after its initial sweeping momentum, rapidly weakened!

As time went on, the number of such bandits and outlaws within the Yellow Turban Army increased, and the trend of the Yellow Turban Rebellion's defeat became increasingly irreversible!

...

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Zhao Futu quietly lurked nearby, watching the group of Yellow Turban bandits who had surrounded his people.

These people were not the real Yellow Turban Army. They used the name of the Yellow Turban Army but engaged in banditry and plundering. After a brief reconnaissance, Zhao Futu discovered that their attributes were completely different from those of the others:

"Yellow Turban Bandit (Small Leader):

Height: 168 cm, Weight: 65 kg.

Basic Attributes:

Strength: 15 points

Agility: 12 points

Intelligence: 6 points

Stamina: 18 points

Spirit: 6 points

Perception: 10 points

Willpower: 9 points

Charisma: 3 points

Skills:

Formation Battle Technique lv3: Increases personal melee attack power by 15%, increases personal health by 15%, automatically masters basic melee techniques, and automatically masters basic footwork.

Combined Battle Technique lv1: When using the Combined Battle Technique, additionally increases personal melee attack power by 10% and personal health by 5%.

Small Leader [Rank]: Passively increases one main attribute by 1 point, passively increases personal health by 10%, and additionally increases the Formation Battle Technique by one level."

...

Although they belonged to the Yellow Turban Army, the attributes of these Yellow Turban bandits were completely different. They were stronger than ordinary Yellow Turban followers but not as strong as the regular Yellow Turban Army. These people were previously bandits and outlaws who, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, quickly changed their appearance and joined the ranks of the Yellow Turban Army. However, they did not dare to attack Han Dynasty soldiers and only dared to plunder wealthy merchants and officials. It was precisely the existence of these Yellow Turban bandits that turned the Yellow Turban Rebellion into a thorough peasant uprising!

The two sides were in a standoff.

The Yellow Turban followers, the Yellow Turban Army, and the Yellow Turban bandits had significant differences.

The Yellow Turban followers were purely made up of the impoverished lower class, with low combat capabilities and almost no equipment. They rebelled because they were unwilling to die. The Yellow Turban Army, naturally, were the disciples of the Great Peaceful Teacher, organized into the regular 36 regions, commanded by the leaders in various regions, and equipped with better weapons and higher military discipline. Their goal was to overthrow the Eastern Han Dynasty, and among them were the most combat-capable Yellow Turban Warriors, who were even more powerful after being blessed by the Great Peaceful Teacher Zhang Jiao!

The Yellow Turban bandits, as the name suggests, were bandits and outlaws who used the name of the Yellow Turban Army to plunder. Their goal was to take advantage of the chaos to seize wealth.

These people had slightly higher combat capabilities than the Yellow Turban followers but were not as strong as the Yellow Turban Army. There were no Yellow Turban Warriors among them because they had not been recognized by the Great Peaceful Teacher Zhang Jiao and had not been incorporated into the 36 regions. Although they used the name of the Yellow Turban Army, they did not follow Zhang Jiao's orders and thus did not have the Yellow Turban Warriors who had been blessed by the Heavenly Master of the Taiping Dao!

That night, the Yellow Turban followers who followed Zhao Futu out numbered about 150, with 80% of them being the Yellow Turban Army and the rest being some lucky Yellow Turban followers. Among them was one Yellow Turban Warrior and over ten Yellow Turban Squad Leaders, all of whom were skilled fighters who had broken through the encirclement with Zhao Futu. Therefore, although the number of Yellow Turban bandits was greater, both sides were still in a standoff and had not yet engaged in combat!

"Is that their leader?" Zhao Futu glanced and made up his mind.

He walked out directly, drawing his fine steel longsword, his steps steady and powerful, his body covered in dried blood, looking fearsome!

The Yellow Turban bandits who had surrounded the Yellow Turban followers immediately knew he was not one of them. A few of the bandits looked at his fine steel longsword and recognized it as a high-quality weapon, their faces showing a greedy look. Three or four of them stepped out of the encirclement and approached Zhao Futu. When Zhao Futu appeared, the surrounded Yellow Turban Army became restless, and several of the Yellow Turban Squad Leaders who had fought alongside him were ready to act, but they were stopped by the Yellow Turban Warrior.

However, seeing the Yellow Turban bandits approach Zhao Futu with ill intentions, more than half of the Yellow Turban Army drew their weapons and prepared for battle.

Now that the army had suffered a major defeat, Zhao Futu, who had led them to break through and find a path to survival, was their mainstay!

"Clang!"

As the two sides approached to within ten steps, Zhao Futu did not even bother with idle talk and lunged forward, his fine steel longsword slashing down with a fierce blow, immediately cutting through the weapon of a Yellow Turban bandit with ill intentions and slicing into his collarbone by more than an inch. With a swift twist of his sword, he decapitated the bandit!

The faces of the other Yellow Turban bandits changed in shock, and they retreated in fear.

Zhao Futu, not letting up, continued his charge, a horizontal slash, a side cut, and a backslash, quickly dispatching the remaining Yellow Turban bandits!

The blood gushed out and flowed beneath his feet, but he paid no attention, wiping the blood from his sword on the bodies on the ground, then stepped forward toward the shocked Yellow Turban bandits.

He might not be a match for the famous historical generals, and even a military captain might be his equal, but these ordinary Yellow Turban bandits were no match for him! With his strength of 21 points, he could easily overpower these bandits in terms of force, and with the Silver Cross Sword Technique, as long as he could overpower his opponent in force, few could withstand more than three strikes in combat!

"You wear the Yellow Turban, but you are truly bandits!"

"Using the name of the Great Peaceful Teacher to plunder and kill innocents, and now you dare to rob the followers of the Great Peaceful Teacher. Today, I will cleanse the ranks for the Great Peaceful Teacher!"

With a roar, Zhao Futu drew the Desert Eagle from his waist and fired at the nearest Yellow Turban bandit leaders.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Perhaps a famous historical general could instinctively block a bullet with a weapon, but these Yellow Turban bandit leaders were not so capable. Zhao Futu's shots immediately resulted in two deaths and one injury. At a distance of less than 100 meters, the two Yellow Turban bandit leaders who were shot in the head failed the 'critical hit death exemption' and died instantly!

"Cleanse the ranks!"

"Cleanse the ranks!!!"

The Yellow Turban Army, who had been surrounded and were already seething with anger, had been restrained only by the large number of the bandits. Now, hearing Zhao Futu's words, they remembered that they were still followers of the Great Peaceful Teacher Zhang Jiao, different from these Yellow Turban bandits. These bandits daring to demand weapons and food from them were no different from traitors within the Yellow Turban Army. With the righteous cause of cleansing the ranks, even the Yellow Turban Warrior who had previously restrained them could not hold back.

With a roar, he charged at the leader of the Yellow Turban bandits!

Zhao Futu, having killed several people in succession, was invincible, and the Yellow Turban Army's morale soared. The muffled sound of the Desert Eagle shocked many of the Yellow Turban bandits. Although the bandits were numerous, they were actually being suppressed by the Yellow Turban Army in the actual combat!

"Kill!"

"Follow me!"

"Let's kill that traitor leader!"

Zhao Futu, applying what he had learned, roared and led over ten Yellow Turban Squad Leaders to charge at the leader of the Yellow Turban bandits.

...