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Chapter 403
Chapter 403 - Guan Yu's Nostalgia
At the center of Yuan Shu Army, Guan Yu observed the battle in solemn.
"Send two more units. Attack the center!"
As Li Ru used the superior quality of Xiliang units and cataphracts units to pressure Cao Cao's flank battalions, Guan Yu added more fuel to the flame by sending more units to the center.
Two battalions of 5, 000 men, a total of 10, 000 soldiers, marched forward. These men carried swords and shields, which were the standard weaponry of Yuan Shu's infantry.
Moreover, Guan Yu was a brave general who always fought alongside his men. He went together with the 10, 000 men.
Extended from his back were 4 white wings, giving the infantry morale that they were following a deity to war.
Guan Yu's men did not rush. They paced was firm and steady as if they had been trained for years. In reality, they had only received a brief training for a few months after they were conscripted.
Still, these men were confident because of their commander.
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
A loud noise came from the other side, sending fright to the men.
Guan Yu's eyes sharpened as he could see small projectiles, small round black balls, coming at them at high speed.
"SHIELDS UP!"
Despite Guan Yu's attempt to command his men to protect themselves, the undertrained troops failed to react to the cannon's grapeshots. Hundreds of round ball punctured into the skulls, chests, arms, and legs of over 300 men.
Rain of arrows followed after the cannon shells. Shadow of several thousand bolts covered the sky.
By instinct, Guan Yu released a warcry.
"RRRRAAAAAHHHHH!!"
His voice created a vibrating shockwave to the sky. The wave of Guan Yu's voice became an invisible barrier, which protected him and all troops in the range of 100 meters around himself. Unfortunately, his unrefined skill could not protect everyone.
Many arrows found its target and caused a heavy casualty onto Guan Yu's men. Combined with the first volley of cannons, 3, 000 men fell before they could reach their enemies.
"CHARGE!!"
Undaunted by the projectiles, Guan Yu led the charge. All survivors bellowed "SHA" as they ran, placing their shields before them and raising their swords overhead.
.
Cao Cao frowned as he witnessed Guan Yu's superpower, which was similar to the abilities of otherworlders.
"It seems I made a mistake of not believing in that daoist."
Cao Cao regretted not taking the full cup of Zou Ci's elixir. Had he drunk the other half content of the container, he might have gotten a similar ability like Guan Yu.
'Since Guan Yu is here, that means the other two are somewhere in this vicinity. Has Liu Bei joined Yuan Shu in this timeline?'
As Cao Cao observed the battle between his center units and Guan Yu's units, he smiled, feeling the nostalgia of seeing Guan Yu again. They had a love-and-hate relationship in the other timeline, but Cao Cao still respected this god of virtue.
"Send Dian Wei and Xu Chu to intercept Guan Yu. Tell them not to push for the kill. Occupy him and buy times for our troops."
.
Before Guan Yu, no Cao Cao's soldiers could stop his rampage. Similar to Lu Bu, anyone who stood in front of him was cleaved in half.
Each time Guan Yu's glaive was swung, five to seven people were cut down, sending their severed torsos or limbs into the sky. As he bathed in blood rain, Guan Yu paved the way for his subordinates.
Soon, two tough men charged at Guan Yu.
*CLANK*
*CLANK*
He managed to parry two giant hammers that came for his head. Guan Yu took two steps backward to look at his opponents.
Dian Wei and Xu Chu
Memories came back to Guan Yu as he recalled his frequent dreams. It was a world in a different timeline that otherworlders did not exist.
There was a time when he had surrendered to Cao Cao. During that period, he came to contact with many Cao Cao's officers. Xu Chu was one of them. He was known to be the successor of Dian Wei, who was honored as Cao Cao's best bodyguard.
As fate had pranked on them, both bodyguards were working together as one, fighting against him.
'I remember you, Xu Chu. You always talked about your senior and cried like a baby. '
In his dream, Xu Chu wept a lot when he mentioned the deceased Dian Wei. All his subordinates and his colleague had to cheer him or distract him from the topic to calm him. Even Cao Cao found it annoying to please this bodyguard.
It was a nostalgic feeling. Guan Yu's killing intent dispersed as he looked at his former comrade with a warm smile.
'It must have been nice to be able to work with your respected senior again, right?'
Two hammers arrived at Guan Yu again.
The god of war focused his sense into his glaive. With one swing, two heavy hammers were swatted away like insignificant flies.
The feedback force threw Xu Chu and Dian Wei off their stance. They jumped backward in a panic.
"Go home, Xu Chu, Dian Wei. I'm not your enemy."
Xu Chu and Dian Wei frowned as they were confused. Still, they recalled the order of their lord that they were supposed to buy times.
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
Cannons from Cao Cao's side continued to shoot. As Guan Yu got stuck with Xu Chu and Dian Wei, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu assisted Cao Cao in organizing their units, counter-attacking against Li Ru and other horsemen.
As the deafening sound of death throe and metallic clanking noise was ongoing, Guan Yu, Xu Chu, and Dian Wei had a staring contest.
In Dian Wei's mind, he paid no attention to Guan Yu's out of place words.
Xu Chu was different. He tilted his head to the side and innocently asked his opponent, "What do you mean by we're not your enemy?"
"ZHONGKANG!! PAY ATTENTION!!" Dian Wei yelled at his junior.
"I-I'm sorry!"
Guan Yu snickered, "I meant what I said, Xu Chu. My enemy is Zhang Tong, not you or Cao Cao."
"Then, why are you fighting us?"
"ZHONGKANG!!" Dian Wei bellowed again.
Guan Yu sighed, "Leave it at that, Dian Wei. You'd better tell your lord to retreat. All of you might have been tricked by Zhang Tong."
Dian Wei snorted, "What do you know. You're working for a traitorous self-proclaimed emperor! I don't want to hear that from you."
"Then, do you know that Zhang Tong's men haven't crossed the river yet, right?"
"That's none of our business."
Guan Yu took out a scroll, which he had written in advance. He threw it to Xu Chu, "Give this to Cao Cao. Tell him that I have a proposition for him."
Xu Chu caught it and nodded, "Sure!"
Dian Wei's face twitched. He glared at Guan Yu in suspicion. Since this enemy was making their job easier to accomplish, Dian Wei did not mind playing along.
.
While Guan Yu, Xu Chu, and Dian Wei got stuck in the center of the battlefield, Cao Xiu and Li Dian had troubles trying to keep up with the heavy cavalry cataphracts and the fierce charger Xiliang troops.
Li Dian was forced into a melee fight with the armored riders as they threatened to flank the center battalions. As light cavalry was no match against the armored ones, his forces were killed one after another.
Cao Xiu did better in the latter half of the combat. As Xiliang cavalry units had lighter armors than the cataphracts, his men managed to cause damages to the chargers.
Still, both generals failed to suppress the flank attackers and were forced to retreat.
Yet, Cao Cao, Guo Jia, and Cheng Yu did not reveal a sign of anxiety. They smiled as if everything was going according to their plans.
Guo Jia monitored the flank that Li Dian had fought. He sent a signal, and his men ignited arrowheads of their ballista bolts in flame.
All archers at the flank aimed at the direction of fleeing cavalries.
On the field where the fleeing ally units were retreating, Cao Cao's men had placed several black sacks there.
They were Pu Jing's developed gunpowder!
Li Dian baited the cataphracts into the prepared traps.
The hidden ballistae fired their burning arrows, and the arrowheads found one of the gunpowder sacks.
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
The ground erupted while the unsuspected cataphracts were caught in the explosion.
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
A similar incident happened on the other side. Cao Xiu drew the Xiliang chargers to the prepared trap and caused an explosion.
.
The gunpowder explosion alarmed Guan Yu, who had never experienced the devastation of hot weaponry.
At this moment, Dian Wei believed that Cao Cao had the upper hand. He laughed, "Surrender, red face! You are no match for my lord!"
Guan Yu returned the mockery with a grin, "I can't serve him, not now anyway. Well, Xu Chu. Don't forget to give that to your lord."
Without waiting for the reply, Guan Yu turned around and shouted, "Retreat! The enemy is using sorcery!"
.
Li Ru watched his men getting slaughtered one after another with an indifferent expression. As he knew that these Xiliang cavalries and cataphracts were copied beings without life and soul, he did not mind losing them to wither down Cao Cao's forces.
Still, watching the new weaponry of Cao Cao at work was a unique experience for the strategist.
'Even Cao Cao is using sorcery like Zhang Tong or Khan. They really influenced future warfare. '
While Li Ru was mumbling to himself, he did not forget to gesture, telling his aide to follow up instead of retreating.
Unlike the soft-hearted generals who cared for their soldiers or the long-term management, Li Ru placed all his chips into one gambling.
'Win big or go home. That's that. '
During the first hour of the fight, Li Ru had sent in three waves of cavalry while Guan Yu had taken 10, 000 to engage against the center army of Cao Cao.
He still had 15, 000 Xiliang cavalries, 5, 000 cataphracts, and 20, 000 infantry. They were more than enough to pressure Cao Cao with another big wave.
*BWOOO*
Four units, which numbered 20, 000 horsemen, galloped forward, charging toward the flanks of Cao Cao Army. They ignored the tattered Cao Xiu's units and Li Dian's units, which shocked Cao Cao's forces.
20, 000 footmen, which separated into four battalions, also rushed toward the center. They ignored the retreating group and Guan Yu and charged at the enemy.
Although Guan Yu was reluctant to continue fighting, he rejoined the battle as he wanted to save his men's lives.
Even Cao Cao raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had thought that the enemies would have retreated after the display of explosive weaponry.
He was impressed, "That's quite a strong mind their general has. Who is it that is leading Yuan Shu Army?"
At this moment, Xu Chu passed the note that Guan Yu had given him to Cao Cao. Dian Wei also informed his lord about their commanders.
"We only saw two banners. They were [Guan] and [Li], my lord."
Cheng Yu confirmed the report, "I think he's Li Ru. He's a former strategist under Dong Zhuo, but he joins the Xiongnu during their invasion along with Ma Clan."
| ← Ch. 402 | Ch. 404 → |