Chapter 55

Liu Pi saw a black-faced, muscular man come out from the city gate, shouting, "Who are you? Where are Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun? And that Liu Yao, quickly call them out. I won’t fight with no-name soldiers."

Zhang Fei, upon hearing this, instantly flew into a rage, "Hey! How dare you call my lord by his name! Watch me, Old Zhang, pierce you with several transparent holes." With that, Zhang Fei spurred his horse, holding his eighteen-foot spear, and charged at Liu Pi.

The poor Liu Pi was directly stunned by Zhang Fei’s loud voice and hadn’t even reacted when Zhang Fei was already in front of him.

Zhang Fei quickly thrust his spear at Liu Pi’s face. Liu Pi, unable to react, instinctively dodged to the side, avoiding the vital spots, but was still hit on the right arm by Zhang Fei’s spear. He spat out a mouthful of blood and fell off his horse.

"Quick, save me, charge forward." Faced with death, Liu Pi no longer cared about his status and hurriedly called for help from the Yellow Turbans behind him. He also ran towards the rear while shouting.

Before the Yellow Turban soldiers could come to his aid, Zhang Fei had already spurred his horse forward, "Hmph, you still want to run, die!" With that, the eighteen-foot spear pierced Liu Pi’s heart. Liu Pi fell to the ground, dead.

The Yellow Turban soldiers were stunned. They never expected their invincible General Liu to be defeated in just two moves. For a moment, they stood there, at a loss.

"Kill, charge forward!" Zhang Fei roared and led his thousand-strong assault camp to charge at the Yellow Turbans.

"Oh no, a ghost, save me!" The Yellow Turbans, seeing their commander dead and the ghost-like giant charging towards them, all dropped their weapons and ran back.

Zhang Fei and his men pursued them for a kilometer before Liu Yao’s signal to retreat called them back to the city wall. In the end, they killed over two thousand Yellow Turbans and captured the head of their general, Liu Pi.

"Ha ha ha, Yi De, you have killed a major general of the Yellow Turbans today. You deserve a great reward," Liu Yao said with a laugh as Zhang Fei approached.

Zhu Jun stepped forward, patted Zhang Fei on the shoulder, and said heartily, "Good job, big guy. You have done a great deed today. Come, I’ll treat you to a drink."

"No, no, Old Zhang doesn’t drink anymore," Zhang Fei quickly refused, still clearly remembering what happened a few days ago. He also secretly glanced at Liu Yao, seeing no reaction, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Yao, of course, saw Zhang Fei’s small actions and was very satisfied with his performance today.

"Since the Yellow Turbans dare to provoke us so openly, if we don’t counterattack, it will seem like we are afraid," Liu Yao said with a cold smile.

"You’re right, Your Highness. We should teach the Yellow Turbans a lesson. They are too arrogant," Zhu Jun said with a face full of anger.

"Ha ha, I have my plans, no need to worry," Liu Yao said with a smile, a familiar curve appearing at the corner of his mouth. Huangfu Song and the others, seeing Liu Yao’s confidence, did not ask any more questions. As for Zhang Fei, Tian Feng, and the others, they knew the Yellow Turbans were about to suffer.

On the other side, in the main tent of the Yellow Turbans.

Peng Tuo was drinking happily, waiting for the news of Liu Pi’s great victory. Bo Cai was drinking with him, but secretly preparing to mock Peng Tuo.

"Report... General Liu Pi, General Liu Pi he..." A Yellow Turban soldier ran in, perhaps out of fear, unable to finish his sentence.

Peng Tuo, already half-drunk, squinted at the messenger and slurred, "Did Liu Pi win? Where is he? Tell him to come, I want to reward him."

"No, Commander, General Liu Pi, he, he..."

"What happened to him? Speak quickly!!!" Peng Tuo asked, sensing something was wrong.

The Yellow Turban soldier gritted his teeth and said, "General Liu Pi was killed by a black-faced giant in just two moves."

"What!!!" Peng Tuo, hearing this, sobered up instantly, his face full of disbelief. Liu Pi had never lost in all these years. Now he was killed in just two moves. How strong was the enemy general? Peng Tuo couldn’t even imagine.

Bo Cai sneered, looking as if he had known all along. He had seen the strength of that black-faced giant. Liu Pi had little chance against him.

"What to do, what to do." Peng Tuo paced back and forth, muttering to himself, his worry evident on his face.

"Stop pacing, Peng Tuo," Bo Cai said.

Peng Tuo, remembering Bo Cai, rushed over and grabbed him, tears streaming down his face, "Brother Bo Cai, it’s all my fault. I should have listened to you. What should we do now?"

Bo Cai, seeing Peng Tuo, shook his head helplessly. Although they didn’t get along, they couldn’t afford internal strife at this critical moment. "Peng Tuo, to be honest, I don’t have a good plan. The only way is to besiege Changshe. With so many people in Changshe, if we can surround it for a month, they will run out of food, and Changshe will fall on its own."

"Good, good, good, I’ll follow Brother Bo Cai’s advice," Peng Tuo agreed without hesitation. He had relied on Liu Pi’s bravery to build his reputation in Runan. Now that Liu Pi was dead, he could only rely on Bo Cai.

Bo Cai, hearing Peng Tuo’s words, was overjoyed. Peng Tuo’s words meant he was ready to swear allegiance to him. This meant he was now the leader of the Yellow Turbans in the east.

However, Bo Cai didn’t know that their hard times were just beginning. Liu Yao’s reputation as a smiling tiger was not for nothing.

At the beginning, Liu Yao sent Zhao Yun to challenge them. Seeing it wasn’t the black-faced giant but a fair-faced young man, Bo Cai relaxed and sent a minor general to face him. The outcome made his eyes bulge. In less than three moves, the minor general was pierced through the chest and fell off his horse. Bo Cai quickly retreated to the camp, not daring to come out.

After that, Gao Shun and Huang Zhong also came to challenge. Bo Cai, not believing that every one of Liu Yao’s men was so strong, sent out two more minor generals. But they were also killed. From then on, no matter how much Liu Yao’s army challenged, Bo Cai refused to come out, hiding in the camp.

Seeing his first plan fail, Liu Yao had a second plan.

Every night, starting at the first watch, Liu Yao sent out a thousand-strong assault camp, divided into ten groups of a hundred each, to alternately raid the Yellow Turban camp. Their goal was not to kill but to harass. Once the Yellow Turbans came out, the assault camp would immediately retreat. The Yellow Turbans had no horses and couldn’t catch them, only watching helplessly as they escaped.

After four or five nights, every Yellow Turban soldier had dark circles under their eyes, including Bo Cai and Peng Tuo. They even slept in light armor. The Yellow Turban sentries yawned and dozed off, completely losing their focus.

The entire Yellow Turban camp lost its morale. It was already May, and the weather was getting hotter. The Yellow Turban camp was listless and dispirited.