Chapter 888: The Decisive Battle Part 13

“He's so hard to kill!” Xu Chu scratched his head as he spoke.

“That’s normal,” Guan Yu responded with just two words. This was an elite Inner Qi Separation cultivator, not some common soldier. Once they decided to run, it was extremely difficult to stop them.

Even the weakest Inner Qi Separation cultivators were formed after countless trials, far removed from the likes of non-combatant immortals.

“To kill an Inner Qi Separation cultivator, you must defeat them before they can react. If you can’t decide the outcome within ten moves, unless you have overwhelming strength like Lü Bu, you can only win, not kill,” Guan Yu said after a moment of silence.

“That’s right,” Gan Ning said helplessly. “Let’s deal with Yuan Shao first before anything else.”

On the other side, after retreating, Hua Xiong led his troops to charge toward Liu Bei’s central army. Under the pressure of a pincer attack, they finally managed to capture all the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry that Zhang He had sent out.

“Greetings, my lord!” Hua Xiong cupped his hands in salute to Liu Bei.

“Zijian, I owe you much. Without you, things would have been much worse. But I heard you were with Zichuan in Puyang. How did you get here so suddenly?” Liu Bei asked, clearly pleased with the blood-stained Hua Xiong.

“The strategist sent me to assist you,” Hua Xiong replied, bowing respectfully.

“My lord, we must not waste any more time. Let Zijian gather all the cavalry. Yuan Shao’s reinforcements are on their way!” Jia Xu suddenly interrupted.

“Yuan Shao’s reinforcements?” Liu Bei was startled. “Zijian, gather the cavalry and prepare to deal with Yuan Shao’s reinforcements.”

It was clear that Liu Bei had immense trust in Jia Xu’s judgment. Without any hesitation, he gave Hua Xiong the order.

“Do not worry, my lord. After we broke through Yuan Shao’s main army, I had already redirected the majority of my troops to crush the scattered remnants of Yuan Shao’s rear army. This was to clear the battlefield and prepare to confront Yuan Shao’s reinforcements, fully shattering their confidence,” Hua Xiong replied firmly. He had received this instruction repeatedly, first from Chen Xi, then from Sun Qian, and again from Jia Xu. It was impossible for him not to take it seriously.

“Can the cavalry still handle such intense combat?” Liu Bei asked, slightly astonished. He had seen the iron cavalry before, but this time, under Hua Xiong’s command, they had reached a level where they could disregard nearly all elite forces. Their combat power had surpassed all expectations.

“With saddles and stirrups, the iron cavalry can now fully utilize their strongest combat methods. Against any elite force in the world, we have no fear,” Hua Xiong said, his rare pride showing.

“I leave it to you, then. I have preparations to make as well,” Liu Bei said, patting Hua Xiong’s shoulder before leaving.

After watching Liu Bei depart, Hua Xiong led his troops around to the rear of the battlefield. There, the Xiliang cavalry, with their ferocious strength, had cleared a large section of the battlefield, and every surviving cavalryman had a fierce glint in their eyes as they moved menacingly through the open space.

With Hua Xiong’s arrival, the morale of Yuan Shao’s main forces, already engaged in a fighting retreat, plummeted further. The earlier display of power from the Xiliang cavalry had made it clear to everyone that once they were in motion, no amount of desperate resistance could stop their side from collapsing.

Fortunately, Yuan Shao still had Shen Pei, Tian Feng, Wen Chou, Zhang He, Gao Lan, and Jiang Qi holding the line. Although Yuan Shao’s army was losing morale, they gritted their teeth and fought on, hoping for a chance to escape.

At that moment, the sound of galloping hooves, like the beating of drums, filled the air. A cavalry unit bearing the flag of the Xun family appeared a few miles away.

“Reinforcements have arrived!” Wen Chou, who had the best eyesight, shouted excitedly when he saw the flag. Soon, everyone saw the arrival of Chunyu Qiong leading the Wolf Cavalry.

“This is bad! General, we must prepare to retreat. Hua Xiong was already prepared for this!” Shen Pei exclaimed. Initially relieved by the sight of reinforcements, he was soon struck by a dreadful realization and shouted to Yuan Shao.

“What?” Yuan Shao froze for a moment, then saw Hua Xiong’s already prepared forces. Realizing the situation, he gritted his teeth and roared, “Break through to the west! Trust You Ruo! He’ll handle this!”

With Chunyu Qiong’s cavalry now on the battlefield, Guan Yu, Xu Chu, Gan Ning, and Zhao Yun all mustered their strength to intensify their attack. However, Yuan Shao’s generals relied on their dense defense to hold on.

“Zhongjian, after a volley of arrows, charge straight into the enemy’s eastern encirclement! Break through at any cost!” Xun Chen ordered the moment he saw the chaos of the battlefield. He also noticed the saddles and stirrups on the Xiliang cavalry and immediately understood the significance of this small but decisive factor. Liu Bei had waited to use this until the most opportune moment to gain a decisive advantage.

Chunyu Qiong, with a heavy heart, prepared his Wolf Cavalry. Having fought countless battles on the Guanzhong battlefield, he dreaded the thought of facing Hua Xiong, but he knew that this battle would determine his future wealth and status. There was no turning back now.

Following Xun Chen’s instructions, Chunyu Qiong took the huge risk of speeding up his cavalry’s charge. After a volley of arrows, the Wolf Cavalry clashed with the Xiliang iron cavalry. In a single charge, a quarter of the Wolf Cavalry was cut down, while the casualties among the iron cavalry were less than 20%.

“Charge!” Chunyu Qiong, clutching the wound on his chest, roared as he led a desperate charge into the Liu Bei army’s encirclement of Yuan Shao, pushing through the rain of arrows. Thanks to Shen Pei’s foresight, they managed to successfully extract Yuan Shao from danger.

“Lord, go quickly!” Ju Yi shouted, already prepared for the worst. With the Wolf Cavalry holding off Hua Xiong, the vanguard could escape, but with Guan Yu and the others pursuing from behind, Yuan Shao’s escape would be doomed if no one stayed behind to delay them.

After sending Wen Chou to escort Yuan Shao to safety, Ju Yi led the vanguard in a suicidal charge against Liu Bei’s forces. As elite death soldiers, they had already steeled themselves for death upon entering the camp. Under Ju Yi’s leadership, they unleashed their full combat potential.

With sorrowful determination, the vanguard launched a fearless counterattack against Liu Bei’s forces. These loyal warriors from Yan and Zhao fought to the death, and with just over a thousand men, they managed to hold off Guan Yu’s army of more than ten thousand.

“Thud!” A single arrow pierced Ju Yi’s left chest. Zhao Yun slowly lowered his precious eagle bow. With Yuan Shao’s forces now in retreat, Zhao Yun was free to use his Inner Qi, and it took only one arrow to kill the defenseless Ju Yi.

“Kill!” With his heart shattered, Ju Yi roared as he took a step forward. In the next moment, countless arrows rained down on him. Stumbling forward a few steps, he murmured to himself in a voice only he could hear, “My lord, I can no longer follow you. In the next life, I hope to serve as your subject again. You must escape…”

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