Chapter 883: The Decisive Battle Part 8

Soon, Yuan Shao's army, which had surrounded Liu Bei from the rear, was driven away by Zhang Yan and his large contingent of troops. Following Lu Su's orders, Zhang Yan divided the Black Mountain Army into ten squads to continuously harass Yuan Shao's forces on the periphery. The goal was not to kill the enemy but to disrupt their sensory perception, causing them to make mistakes.

At this moment, Liu Bei’s vanguard had already breached Tian Feng’s defensive lines one after another. However, the repeated breaches had exhausted legendary generals like Guan Yu, Gan Ning, and Xu Chu, and their once unstoppable momentum was gradually being worn down.

When they reached the tenth defensive line, Liu Bei’s vanguard finally found themselves in a stalemate with Yuan Shao's army, under Tian Feng’s hopeful gaze.

In that instant, Liu Bei’s army, which had been advancing towards its peak, suddenly saw its momentum plummet. The Yuan Shao army, whose morale had been low, began to rise after the death of the vanguard's elite and the counterattacks from both flanks!

A deafening sound of bowstrings vibrating was followed by nearly a hundred of Liu Bei's vanguard troops falling. The elite vanguard, clad in bright red armor and with red tassels on their helmets, burst forth from their defensive formation.

“Kill Guan Yu first!” Ju Yi drew his sword, pointing it at Guan Yu with bloodshot eyes, and roared. In an instant, the vanguard let out a furious roar, pushing Liu Bei’s forces back with a determined spirit.

At the same time, Wen Chou and the Lü Kuang brothers, unable to contain their anger and pain, led their troops to attack from the sides, intent on slicing Liu Bei into three parts. They fought fearlessly, leading a sudden counterattack that suppressed Liu Bei's army.

The vanguard’s frenzied counterattack quickly raised the low morale of Yuan Shao's troops. As Ju Yi pushed back Liu Bei’s forces, the morale of Yuan Shao’s soldiers rapidly climbed. Their banner in Hebei still stood strong. Although Yan Liang had died in battle, Ju Yi was still alive!

“Kill!” At this moment, Ju Yi’s casually wielded long sword had nearly the same destructive power as Guan Yu’s. In just a few moves, he cleared a large area.

“Hmph!” Guan Yu sneered. Although he was somewhat wary, someone had to stop Ju Yi in this situation.

“Clang!” Before Guan Yu could act, Gan Ning's Horizontal Iron Chain sent three vanguards flying and then struck directly at Ju Yi.

“General Guan, I’m not good at commanding, so I leave it to you,” Gan Ning said, cupping his fists from a distance. Without waiting for Guan Yu’s response, he charged towards Ju Yi. As he did, he noticed that the three vanguards he had previously struck down had already gotten back up.

Guan Yu glanced at Gan Ning, who had already charged ahead, and without saying much, mobilized his troops to attack with all their might. Even though the opponents were elite vanguards, Guan Yu could only force his way through at this point.

“Gan Ning?” Ju Yi said coldly. Ignoring Gan Ning’s response, he charged forward with the intention of killing his opponent right there.

Gan Ning swung the Horizontal Iron Chain from a distance, aiming the spearhead at Ju Yi with an unusual precision. He knew well that fighting Ju Yi under these circumstances was not ideal, which is why he had no intention of getting too close.

“Pfft!” As Gan Ning’s Horizontal Iron Chain was slashed, it twisted, and Ju Yi quickly dodged, but a blood mark was left on his cheek.

Ju Yi, enraged, immediately summoned his military spirit to enhance himself. He slashed at Gan Ning but found his sword deflected by the Horizontal Iron Chain, which then wrapped around and nearly bound him.

At the same time, as Ju Yi summoned his military spirit, Liu Bei’s army launched a counterattack, killing over a dozen of the vanguard.

“Strength and speed alone are worthless if the technique is poor. If it were a direct confrontation, it might have some merit!” Gan Ning mockingly observed Ju Yi, his face full of arrogance.

In reality, Gan Ning knew he was dancing on the edge of a knife. Although Ju Yi was bolstered by his military spirit, he was still just a weak practitioner of inner energy, and his power ignored the suppression of the cloud energy. This was why Gan Ning had taken over the fight with Ju Yi.

Of course, if Ju Yi had a large amount of military spirit, even Gan Ning with his inner energy might not easily win. However, Gan Ning was confident in his own abilities. He enjoyed taking risks but did not seek death. Ju Yi’s use of military spirit would undoubtedly affect his vanguard, and once the vanguard fell, even Ju Yi’s sky-reaching methods could not change the tide.

“Damn it!” Ju Yi slashed but found his sword diverted by Gan Ning, and noticed that due to his summoning of military spirit, several of his own soldiers had died.

“Swish!” Gan Ning controlled the Horizontal Iron Chain from several meters away, skillfully manipulating it so Ju Yi could not get close.

[No more delays. I must crush Liu Bei’s army first!] Ju Yi slashed through the Horizontal Iron Chain, then bent down to dodge the twisted chains, and retreated from Gan Ning’s combat range.

Ju Yi had originally thought that while he dealt with the main general, his own vanguard would naturally defeat the enemy soldiers. However, the current situation showed Ju Yi that if he continued to delay, there might be unforeseen changes!

Although the vanguard was fierce, Liu Bei’s main forces were no pushovers. Despite suffering heavy casualties, they withstood the vanguard’s breakthrough with the resilience of the Tiger Guards, who disregarded losses. Subsequently, Liu Bei’s selected elite, over a hundred of them, charged into battle.

Despite this, Liu Bei’s forces still did not gain any advantage. The over a hundred elite warriors managed to kill only about three hundred vanguards, while suffering more than half of their own losses, highlighting the vanguard’s brutality.

Ju Yi retreated. Although Gan Ning considered stopping him, he hesitated and ultimately abandoned this suicidal idea. Now, he was limited in inner energy, and while holding off the enemy was feasible, rushing in to fight was definitely courting death!

Seeing Ju Yi retreat and lead the vanguard to attack Liu Bei’s army's defenses, at the same time, Yuan Shao’s rear forces, under Tian Feng’s command, began their counterattack. Gan Ning no longer hesitated, withdrawing to his main force to block Yuan Shao’s left flank from attacking his right side.

“Gan Lan, I’m leaving my flank to you. Do whatever it takes to stop the enemy’s assault. Before our army breaks through Yuan Shao’s forces, do not let the enemy cut off the central army!” Gan Ning issued a death order to his subordinate general.

“I will never allow the flank to be breached before I die,” Gan Lan said calmly, fully aware of the dire situation. He then led three thousand men to charge towards the right side.

[If reinforcements don’t arrive, I’ll fight you to the death!] Gan Ning cursed fiercely in his heart. He had already realized the dire situation. If Liu Bei’s front lines couldn’t pierce Yuan Shao’s rear, it would only be a matter of time before the entire army was surrounded!

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