Chapter 332: 332
Chapter 332 – Fall of Wen Chou
Although this maze formation could devour Wen Chou's 30,000 horsemen into a trap of encirclement, they paid the price to complete this stratagem .
Facing the direct charge of the heavy cavalries, even knights in steel plate armor suffered injuries from the horse-charge . Furthermore, these warhorses wore bronze armor, which made the impact heavier than the usual .
As a result, several frontline knights felt as if they were hit by a truck, and they suffered internal injuries . The unlucky ones lost their footing and got repeatedly stomped by warhorses to death .
Still, these pay-to-win armors saved the life of the soldiers as no sharp halberd and spear could get through their thick steel plates .
In a few minutes of crashing, a thousand knights died from the charge impact, and over five thousand of them suffered injuries, such as broken bones or internal bleeding .
In exchange for that, all Wen Chou's 10,000 surviving troops were trapped in the middle of their army . The rest had either devoured by the maze or was still being stuck outside of the array .
"Damn you, Zhang Tong! Come and face me like a man!"
In desperation, Wen Chou challenged Tong into a duel .
Tong watched the battle from the most rear of the formation . He ignored the challenge, but he sent messages to his men .
"Don't bother capturing the general . Kill!"
Crossbow platoons on the back switched their weapons to javelins . Like the Roman soldiers, they raised their shield to blockade the horsemen while they threw the spears their enemies .
Most of the javelins could not penetrate into the double armor layers of these heavy cavalries . As armored riders in this era wore hard leather armor with sewed bronze armor, most of them did not suffer any injuries from arrows or projectiles .
However, these armors only protected the vital areas of their body .
Many javelins could still find the gaps between armors and pieced into the bodies of the horsemen, including the warhorses . By the first volley of javelins, another thousand horsemen fell .
"RRRAAAAHHH!!"
Wen Chou bellowed in anger . His horse charged at the nearest soldier while his halberd sent two knights flying . The direction he was heading was the location where Tong was .
"ZHANG TONG!! I SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU THAT DAY!!"
Wen Chou kept sending all knights around him flying . As he was the only competent fighter, knights with spears and shields surrounded him in a few minutes, isolating him from the rest of his troops .
Though surrounded, Wen Chou still put up a fight like a cornered dog .
Tong rode out to see this old acquaintance . Between them, several hundreds of knights gathered in a pack, blocking Wen Chou's path .
Gazing at the desperate Wen Chou, Tong also felt melancholic .
Wen Chou was the one who taught Tong about military tactics in his early days when he fought against Han Fu . Although Feng Ji plotted against him at the end of that battle, Wen Chou was the only one who thought of Tong as a potential ally .
"You should have joined me when I asked you and Yan Liang that day . You can still do so today . Surrender, Wen Chou . We can still work together . Yuan Shao is not the end of the world or the last lord you can serve . "
"I DON'T WORK FOR THE IMMORTALS!! THIS WORLD BELONG TO MAN!! THIS COUNTRY IS NOT THE BATTLEGROUND FOR IMMORTAL TRASHES LIKE YOU!!"
Tong bit his lower lips .
Wen Chou was right . He and the other reincarnators should not have been sent here to interfere with their fates . As all otherworlders had changed the historical timelines and events, all residents here suffered difficulty .
Though Wen Chou and Yuan Shao were fated to lose and die in this civil war, they should have been living a comfortable life in the Northern provinces this year .
It was Tong's fault for ruining Yuan Shao and Wen Chou's life .
"I'm sorry . "
Tong pulled out his pistol and aimed at the struggling Wen Chou .
*BANG*
The 9mm bullet went through the skull of Wen Chou, ending this great general life .
"I'll bear this sin with me till the end of my soul . I'll carry your grudge, and I'll take them to the assholes behind this reincarnation . "
>
>
>
Tong ignored the notification . He turned to Jia Xu and Xun Yu, gesturing them to finish this battle .
Xun Yu nodded in understanding . He bellowed, "Soldiers of Wen Chou! Your commander is dead, and you're surrounded . Surrender now, or you'll face the same fate as your commander!"
Typically, these soldiers should have cowered in fear when they lost their commanding general . However, this did not happen with Wen Chou's army .
"NEVER!"
"WE'LL DIE WITH OUR GENERAL!"
"REVENGE!"
These elite troopers of Wen Chou were loyal to their general, and they refused to surrender in the face of death . All surviving riders charged toward to Tong's location, planning to kill Tong and revenge for their master .
Xun Yu and Jia Xu stared at these warriors in astonishment and pity .
"What a waste of resources," Jia Xu lamented .
Xun Yu shook his head, "Foolish bravery . "
Tong did not say anything . He simply stared at the dying soldiers, getting killed by the knights one after another .
Because of their struggle, the battle, which should have ended in a few minutes, lasted two hours .
It was already 2 PM when they killed the last Wen Chou's soldier .
Before Tong and all his knights could clear the battlefield and retreat, Yuan Shao's main force arrived . Also, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei caught up with them as well .
The tiring knights would have to face more battalions of new enemies!
Xun Yu grimaced . He shouted, "All reserve battalions, shift to the front! All front battalions, rotate your duties and move behind! Form array, hurry!"
.
Yuan Shao, Tian Feng, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei stared at the aftermath of the battle with widen eyes .
The elite heavy cavalries of Wen Chou were no more, leaving behind with only corpses of the riders and horses .
Observing the dead bodies, not many odd-looking knights lay on the ground . Comparing the number of dead bodies, they could roughly count that there were only a few thousand knights dead .
On the other hand, Wen Chou's 30,000 men had been wiped out .
Yuan Shao could not believe what he saw, "This is impossible!"
Tian Feng clicked his tongue, "It can happen . Each battle can end within a few hours, and the result varies . Wen Chou must have fallen into the enemy's maneuvering trick or a trap . "
"Then, what now!? Look at their numbers! There are at least 40,000 or so over there but we only have 20,000 footmen! If we include Liu Bei's militias, we have 23,000 soldiers!"
"We're not necessary at disadvantageous . If we can prolong this battle and drag Zhang Tong here for half a day, Yan Liang and his 50,000 men should come here and reinforce us . "
"Didn't we ordered him to attack Tao Qian? Will they have enough strength for another battle!?"
Tian Feng harrumphed, "I'll send a fast horse to our ally forces . We'll command them to rush here within today! For now, let's send Liu Bei and the others to harass Zhang Tong . "
"Can they do it? They're only a few troops . "
"Their generals seem competent . Let them taunt Zhang Tong into a duel . "
Tian Feng sent two fast horses toward the east . One was sent to inform Yan Liang to assist them ASAP while the other rushed to the minor lords, telling them to come here instead .
Yuan Shao rode toward Liu Bei and his brothers personally . Upon seeing Liu Bei again, he cupped his fist and bowed, "Lord Liu Bei, we've managed to trap Zhang Tong's forces here . Now, we'll need your assistance . "
Liu Bei looked at Yuan Shao with curiosity . He wondered what this aristocrat schemed this time .
"What can I do for you?"
"We have sent our general to fight Zhang Tong, but it seems he has lost . We would like to borrow your valiant generals and ask you to challenge Zhang Tong to a duel in the open . "
Liu Bei frowned, "My brothers are injured from the battle of Hulao Gate! Their wounds have not even healed yet, and you want them to join another battle!?"
"My strategist has formed a new plan . We plan to draw Zhang Tong into the open and kill him in the guise of a one-on-one duel . I'm sorry that I have to request you this, but we don't have anyone stronger than your generals . Please help us, Lord Liu Bei . "
Hearing that his sworn brothers were better than Yuan Shao's generals, Liu Bei was elated . He nodded, "I'll ask Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to deal with Zhang Tong immediately . I think they can handle it!"
"Thank you! We're counting on you!"
Completed his scheme, Yuan Shao withdrew to his army .
Meanwhile, Liu Bei turned to Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, "You heard it . Do you think you can fight Zhang Tong? If you can't, we'll withdraw from this alliance and let Yuan Shao deal with Zhang Tong himself . "
Guan Yu closed his eyes and evaluate the pros and cons if he should participate in this battle . However, Zhang Fei laughed and accepted the task right away .
"I'll deal with that son of a whore! An immortal? Pfft, he's nothing without that sorcery . I'll get my revenge for that day!"
Guan Yu rode in front of Zhang Fei, "Don't be reckless, Yide . We couldn't even kill him that day when we fought him together . You won't be his match in a one-on-one fight . "
"Hahaha! That was a few years back! I have a feeling that I can kill him today!"
Zhang Fei was confident . As he inherited Jiang Man's [Kindness] and awakened his virtue soul by an accident, Zhang Fei's injuries had already healed, and he felt stronger than before .
It was the effect of a one-wing immortal . Once Zhang Fei got another wing, his current strength would be double!
Guan Yu groaned, "I won't stop you then . I'll jump in there if you are at a disadvantage . "
"I know!"
Zhang Fei rode to the front of Yuan Shao battalions and faced the preparing troops of knights . The shiny steel plates irritated Zhang Fei as he thought that Tong's soldiers were all cowards for wearing thick armors .
"WOI, ZHANG TONG! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AND FIGHT ME!"
The bellow of Zhang Fei shocked the knights . His voice alone was so loud that their eardrums hurt .
"YO SISSY CAN'T FIGHT LIKE A MAN, SO YOU ARE WEARING EXTRA ARMOR? WHY DON'T YOU ALL WEAR DRESSES, SO YOUR MAMAS CAN BE PROUD OF THEIR DAUGHTERS!?"
Zhang Fei continued to taunt, calling Tong's soldiers pussies .