Chapter 56

Chapter 690: The Result of a Cunning Plan (1)

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Guo Jia led a hundred cavalrymen of the Shanggai Army and disrupted the supply unit's cavalry. Even though the supply unit didn't have many cavalrymen, dozens of them still fell helplessly.

"Abandon the wagons and form a defensive line!"

The commander of the supply unit, Lin Man, gathered the guards and laborers in the center. He intended to use the wagons as a wall to hold off the cavalry.

However, the Shanggai Army only cut down the supply unit's forces and then stopped their offensive. There were no signals or horn calls. But as Guo Jia retreated, it was natural for the Shanggai Army, who were guarding him, to retreat as well.

The problem was that the enemy soldiers had no way of knowing this. Lin Man was no different.

'Even if they are only a hundred, the way they moved without orders shows that today will be more ominous than auspicious!'

Lin Man was not a particularly brave general.

Moreover, he was at an age where he should be retiring and watching his grandchildren. However, he was given the task of leading the supply unit because of his exceptional command skills.

While he might not have been adept at setting up battle strategies and leading soldiers against the enemy on the battlefield, he was skilled at organizing civilians and blocking surprise attacks.

Even now, he had managed to gather his forces in the center without significant losses and used the wagons to create a wall to fend off the Shanggai Army's attack.

But this was still within Guo Jia's expectations.

Guo Jia could only mobilize a hundred cavalrymen of the Shanggai Army. It was impossible to annihilate the supply unit with such a small force.

Guo Jia, who knew this, launched the attack to drive the supply unit towards Hongmen.

As Guo Jia's forces retreated, Lin Man took out a map from his robe and unfolded it.

One of his subordinate generals asked, "Commander, what should we do now? Please give us orders!"

Lin Man fell into deep thought.

'Should we hold this position until the Red Armored Soldiers return? Or should we move to a more defensible area now? Or should we retreat?'

There were three options. The first was to hold this position until the Red Armored Soldiers returned.

In fact, no one in the Guanxi Army doubted the bravery of the Red Armored Soldiers. However, the problem was that they were archers.

Moreover, the main force of the Guanxi Army was not fighting Lu Bu but was engaged with the central army in Hanguan.

It was possible that Lu Bu, who had no immediate enemy to fight, had moved a large army.

The visible enemies were not all there could be; there was always the possibility of a surprise attack from another direction.

Indeed, they had just been attacked by Guo Jia's forces.

'If Lu Bu's forces are really only one-fifth of the Red Armored Soldiers, they wouldn't have separately dispatched cavalry to attack the supply unit. If they had forced a detachment to attack us despite lacking the strength, why didn't they set fire to the wagons?'

Lin Man's reasoning was logically sound. However, the world doesn't always follow logic.

Lin Man took the bait.

'The Red Armored Soldiers won't return quickly, and this terrain is not suitable for defense. We need to move away.'

Lin Man's gaze swept over the map. Then, his subordinate general urged him again.

"Commander, please give us orders. If we delay, we won't be able to control the soldiers."

* * *

Lin Man was usually a calm person, but now he found it hard to resist the urge to grab his subordinate by the collar and shake him.

His hand instantly grabbed the subordinate's collar.

"Just a hundred men. How many soldiers do we have? Why are you making such a fuss over a mere hundred cavalrymen?"

"Commander! We are a supply unit. There are only a few experienced fighters, and most are old soldiers and laborers."

The Red Armored Soldiers were guarding the supply unit. Therefore, it wasn't necessary for the guards and laborers to be skilled in combat.

After all, the supply unit's job was to transport supplies, which was a given.

"Since the fight has already started, do you think the enemy's spears and swords will avoid us just because we are old soldiers and laborers? We are heading to Hongmen. Move quickly before the enemy arrives!"

Lin Man chose Hongmen.

It was the closest and most open place, reducing the risk of ambush.

"Commander, what about the wagons?"

"We'll take the wagons."

"Taking the wagons will delay us. Commander, please reconsider. We need to move before the enemy returns."

But Lin Man did not accept his subordinate's plea.

"If we don't deliver the supplies on time, we will all die. Unless we are attacked by fire, we won't abandon the wagons and flee!"

Lin Man moved the supply unit towards Hongmen.

The distance to Hongmen was only about ten li. However, considering the slow pace of moving the wagons, the ten li felt like a thousand.

"Be on high alert! We don't know when the enemy will attack again!"

As the Guanxi Army's supply unit turned towards Hongmen, Shang Kai, who had been watching from a distance, loudly reported to Guo Jia.

"Master, the enemy has started moving towards Hongmen. Should we go to rescue the main force now?"

Shang Kai urged Guo Jia to go and rescue Lu Bu because the supply unit was heading to Hongmen as Guo Jia had hoped. However, Guo Jia shook his head.

"General Wei Yue will have taken care of the situation there. Don't worry."

"How can I not worry?"

"General, what do you have to worry about with Red Earth and Heaven's Halberd at your disposal? General Shang, we must continue to pressure the supply unit. Follow them at a distance. This is an order."

Shang Kai's eyes turned red with anger as Guo Jia repeatedly ignored his pleas.

It was easy for Shang Kai to deal with Guo Jia, whether Guo Jia had once been a wandering knight or not, he was no match for Shang Kai.

However, Shang Kai did not want to cause a mutiny. He just wanted to clarify the responsibility. This way, he could hold Guo Jia accountable later if necessary.

Shang Kai clenched his teeth and spoke through gritted teeth.

"Master, I will follow your orders now, but if anything happens to the main force, I, Shang Kai, will not stand idly by."

Guo Jia responded without backing down.

"We will definitely revisit this conversation after the battle is over."

A mutiny doesn't always require a sword. By challenging the authority of a military commander, Shang Kai's words were a form of mutiny.

However, Guo Jia didn't really intend to hold Shang Kai's words against him.

'The person who should be worried about the commander's safety is a military strategist, not a general like Shang Kai...'

Guo Jia was as concerned about Lu Bu's safety as Shang Kai was.

This operation used Lu Bu as bait, and the opponent was the Guanxi Army's top archer, the Red Armored Soldiers. No matter how brave Lu Bu was, if the Red Armored Soldiers targeted him, there was no way to avoid danger.

* * *

Lu Bu and the archers were in a dire situation.

Only Lu Bu was charging through the rain of arrows, while the rest were losing many soldiers to the fierce archery of the Red Armored Soldiers. The survivors had stopped their horses and were hesitant to charge.

Instead, they all dismounted, using their horses as shields to avoid the arrows and drew their bows to make weak counterattacks.

The arrows were concentrated on Lu Bu, but Red Earth didn't get hit by a single one. In contrast, Lu Bu had over a dozen arrows embedded in his body.

Although he had been hit by over a dozen arrows, fortunately, none of them were fatal.

Of course, his forearm, which he used to protect Red Earth, had three arrows embedded in it.

Red Earth responded to Lu Bu's consideration by showing its divine power. It ran along the slope of the cliff, completely avoiding the Red Armored Soldiers' arrows.

'Such an unbelievable horse...!'

Che Zhongwang was so shocked that his eyes nearly popped out. What horse in the world could run like Red Earth?

Zhang Shi, without waiting for Che Zhongwang's permission, led his subordinates forward to block Lu Bu.

"Our Red Armored Soldiers are not ordinary archers! Show them what they are up against! Charge!"

At Zhang Shi's command, the Red Armored Soldiers put down their bows and drew their swords, advancing towards Lu Bu. However, even if their sword skills were as remarkable as their archery, they were no match for Lu Bu, who wielded Fangtian Huaji on Red Earth.

"Indeed! This is what I wanted! I will show the world that I, Lu Bu, am unmatched in close combat!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Heaven's Halberd cut through the air, slicing the Red Armored Soldiers into pieces.

"Can't even handle one man? I will reward the one who brings me Lu Bu's head and request a promotion from the lord!"

Che Zhongwang was determined to get Lu Bu's head, even if it meant sacrificing his soldiers.

The biggest reason was that Lu Bu was the enemy commander.

No matter how the battle unfolded, the outcome would ultimately be determined by who could capture the enemy commander's head first.

Che Zhongwang's words ignited a greedy gleam in the eyes of the surrounding Red Armored Soldiers.

"Lu Bu's head is mine!"

"Lu Bu will fall to my sword, don't covet it!"

The Red Armored Soldiers shouted bravely and surged towards Lu Bu.

But the more they did, the more excited Lu Bu became.

"The more, the better. Come on! I'll take on as many as you can throw at me!"

The gorge was so narrow that even if the men stood shoulder to shoulder, they could barely fit thirty. Moreover, with the intense archery now over, this place was practically Lu Bu's domain.

However, the opponent was the Red Armored Soldiers, arguably the strongest regular troops Lu Bu had ever faced.

While the Red Armored Soldiers were continuously falling to Lu Bu, Zhang Shi was determined not to let this breakthrough end in a disgraceful defeat recorded in the annals.

He gave a silent command to his subordinates. The phrase "one man, one kill" was apt for this situation. Despite just a glance, his subordinates understood his intent.

The powerful warlords of the land had a special unit called the Commander Assassination Squad.

As the name suggests, this was a special unit tasked with intercepting and eliminating enemy commanders. While they could use light infantry or heavily armored soldiers, the Red Armored Soldiers had a unique method.

They used iron nets.

* * *

'Time is on my side! Once they step into this narrow gorge, they will be annihilated.'

Lu Bu was delighted as he cut down the enemy soldiers, knowing that the lightly armed Dangyegi were steadily building up their achievements under Wei Yue's leadership.

Moreover, this gorge had only one entrance and one exit, leaving the Red Armored Soldiers with no hope.

The Dangyegi had a clear advantage in breaking through, which was exactly what Lu Bu's forces hoped for.

However, the resistance from the Red Armored Soldiers was fierce.

They used their numerical superiority to try to break through the gorge's entrance and exit while charging at Lu Bu with the intent to take his head.

At the center of this resistance was Zhang Shi's Commander Assassination Squad.

The Red Armored Soldiers' secret weapon was the iron net. As Lu Bu cut down the Red Armored Soldiers, the Commander Assassination Squad closed in on him. Then, they threw their iron nets at him all at once.

The first few nets were torn apart by the crescent moon blade of Heaven's Halberd, but Lu Bu couldn't cut all of them. After all, Heaven's Halberd was not a sword that could cut through iron.

Lu Bu was ensnared by the iron nets, unable to move. He tumbled to the ground, entangled with Red Earth.

"Ha ha ha! How does it feel to be caught in an iron net? Bring me Lu Bu's head quickly!"

Zhang Shi shouted triumphantly. However, Lu Bu still had the Sword of Kings, Lüelu.