Chapter 39 - Fengxiao vs. Fengxian (End)
Chapter 39 - Fengxiao vs. Fengxian (End)
Original by Bro Got a Gun, Translated by James, Bloodfalcon
"All army prepare for engage!"Guo Jia gave his orders. The spearmen readied themselves to the front in an offensive formation. Only Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao was able to look at an incoming cavalry attack and instead launch a counterattack.
"Infantry dared to assault the cavalry?!"Lu Bu was surprised. Usually whenever infantries encountered cavalries, they either flee from the cavalry or defend against them, never attack back.
"Something’s wrong!" Lu Bu was not the fool, Guo Jia was known as the sly genius so he’s definitely outstanding. It was impossible for him to make such a blunder! Once the cavalry break through and the infantry formation, then the infantries could only wait to be killed!
"It’s a bait!" Lu Bu immediately understood. These spearmen are a bait! Once Lu Bu attacks these spearmen, the archers would immediately shoot from behind and their shielded troops would force through the flanks, surrounding them and cutting out their path to escape.
”This is bad!” thought Lu Bu. The archers stopped shooting in a volley and turned to shooting straight at them.
"Their target is our warhorses!" Lu Bu shouted in surprise. “Whole army! Raise your shields! Protect the war horses!” Lu Bu really underestimated this Guo Fengxiao. Who would’ve expected that he would’ve found out their weakness so fast.
“Swoosh, swoosh!” Arrows fell like rain, one by one the horses dropped. Fortunately, the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry was armed with their large shields and thus did not suffer any causality. The ones with their horse shot immediately changed their horse. This was possible because they had less than three thousand soldiers surviving when Liu Mang brought back five thousand horses.
In no time, Lu Bu had lost no less than a hundred horses, causing him to have a great heartache. All of these horses were good horses. Every one of them could be considered a horse king! And now, however, they died in the charge.
“Humph! Although your cavalry are strong, it appears that your horses aren’t!” sneered Guo Jia as he saw the dead horses. Guo Jia then relay his command again “Order for archers, rapid fire, target warhorse!” Cavalry without horses, would it still be cavalry then?
”Guo Fengxiao!” Lu Bu’s eyes were flickering. He hold high his trident and commanded. “Increase speed! Increase distance!” Lu Bu understands that archer’s range is limited, so once they increased their distance, they will no longer be harmed.
”Retreating?!” Guo Fengxiao looked at the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry gradually getting further away. He wanted to intercept them; however he does not have the mobility of a cavalry unit. Although his army numbered a hundred thousand, he cannot do anything to Lu Bu.
“Clip clop clip clop!” The Bing Province Wolf Cavalry that was once retreating turned around to once again face their enemies. “Retreat? I, Lu Bu, never know the word retreat!” Ordinary archers can shoot a distance of one hundred and twenty steps, expert archers with training can shoot a distance of a hundred fifty steps.
Under Lu Bu’s leadership, the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry arrived at a distance of about a hundred and fifty steps from the archers, they turned around and immediately prepared for a long distance attack against the two flanks.
“What is he planning?!” Guo Jia frowned, he cannot comprehend Lu Bu's intention. “Bows?” All the soldiers of the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry took out their bows and set themselves ready to shoot their arrows.
A distance of a hundred fifty steps. It was a safe distance. A distance that cannot be reached by arrows. Did Lu Bu went crazy?
A breeze blew by Guo Jia’s face. It was a fresh and cool sensation.
“Wind!” Guo Jia suddenly open his eyes extra wide. “Wind! Gale!”
”That's right, Guo Fengxiao, it is wind!” Lu Bu smile faintly. Lu Bu had already taken into consideration of the wind’s movement when he prepared for his long distance attack. He noted that his cavalry was located at the origination location of the wind whereas the Cao army was located at the ending location of the wind. While a hundred fifty steps was the maximum distance an archer’s arrow could reach, however, in the event of a favorablel wind, that’s a different story.
”To not reciprocate is against etiquette! Brothers of the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry, unleash your arrows!” All of Bing Province Wolf Cavalry soldiers are expert mounted archers and with the advantage of wind, every arrow landed at Cao army main camp.
The first to suffer big casualties was the Cao archers who were hiding behind the main army. As they are the biggest threat to the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry, so Lu Bu’s very first step is to wipe them out. Additionally, these Wolf pups already had deep hatred for the Cao army’s archers. Thus, they were basically releasing arrows non stop.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Arrows were falling like the rain. Within the rain, blood flowers blossomed from time to time. Immediately the Archery Unit suffered major causalities. The hundred thousand strong Cao army suffered three thousand dead. The rest were also mostly injured.
“Bam!” Guo Jia spontaneously threw down his war fan and punch angrily against a pillar.
"Bing Province Heavy Cavalry!" Lu Bu had already raised his trident.
"Hungry! Starving!" The wolves once again went berserk under Lu Bu’s leadership “All army, charge!"
Guo Jia knew that when his archer unit was defeated, his plan was completely ruined. He wanted to use his spearmen unit as the bait, however, now that his fishhook had been gone, the bait had became fish feed.
What is a massacre? It’s when a group of heavy cavalries rush into a group of spearmen. With only spears as their weapons, the spearmen simply cannot penetrate the defense of the cavalries. On the ontrary, the cavalry was able to easily penetrate the defense of the spearmen armed with plank armors. Even if they were to encounter the few officers that possess metal armor, they could still easily kill them in a couple rounds of bouts.
During the slaughter, Lu Bu saw an acquaintance, Li Dian! Although Li Dian is heavily injured during siege of Kaiyang, the spearmen unit was his squadron. Therefore, even though he was heavily wounded, he would still lead his soldiers.
Although they say revenge is a dish best served cold, Lu Bu doesn’t agree. He believes to take his revenge immediately.
“Li Dian, thou still recognize I?!” Lu Bu with his horse arrived in front of Li Dian. Li Dian was already in imminent danger. His infantry soldiers cannot withstand the force of Lu Bu’s cavalry. If not for his person guards who persistently protecting him. He, Li Dian, would likely had already died in the chaos.
"Lu Bu!" Li Dian smiled very bitterly. He knew that he can’t escape today. Had it only been the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry, Li Dian still believe that he would be able to escape using his martial abilities, however, Lu Bu was the one who came!
Even with Xu Chu, Xu Huang and himself together, they were not a match for Lu Bu. And now, he is only alone, how can he hope to survive?.
“Your memory’s not bad!” Lu Bu smiled.
"Clang!" Li Dian dropped his weapon to the ground and said “Marquis of Wen, Dian knew that he cannot escape death, but before I die, Dian would like to plead a final request to Marquis of Wen!” Li Dian was already severely wounded in Kaiyang and had joined the battlefield in this wounded state. Now that he encountered Lu Bu, it was completely totally impossible for him to escape.
"Had you accepted your fate?!"Lu Bu said while looking at Li Dian. On the battlefield, a general’s weapon is his life. If you threw down that weapon then that means you had already given up your life. “Speak, I shall hear!”
"It is not that I accepted my fate! Dian just didn’t wish cause more casualties!" said Li Dian. "Dian can commit suicide in front of Marquis of Wen, but Dian also request the Marquis of Wen to please allow my eight personal guards to live!"
"General!" Hearing Li Dian’s words, the eight personal guards who were next to him grew anxious. “We will fight to the death to protect general!” Do they not fear when encountering Lu Bu? They were all afraid! In Kaiyang siege, the originally one hundred strong personal guard unit was left with only them eight. However, how could they possibly exchange their general’s life for their own?
"And if I refuse?!" On the battlefield, the most important personnel to each general were their fellow soldiers, their personal guards. Seeing them, Lu Bu remembered how Hao Meng, Song Xian, Wei Xu and Hou Cheng. They were all at a point Lu Bu’s personal guards. Had he been in Li Dian’s position, would they protect me to death? Would I exchange my life for theirs?
"If Marquis of Wen refuses, then Dian can only fight the Marquis of Wen to the death!" Said Li Dian after taking a deep breath. His complexion was pale, his body was still severely injured and he was currently fighting his tiredness.
"Good, I promised you!"Said Lu Bu after thinking a while and with closed eye. ”You die and these eight men may return to the main army!”
”In that case, Dian gives his thanks to the Marquis of Wen!” After saying that Li Dian took up the long blade that he threw to the ground. This time, he wasn’t planning to fight back; instead, he was going to commit suicide.
”General you cannot! You cannot!” The eight guards started panicking. They wanted to go forward and seize Li Dian’s blade. However, Li Dian’s martial skills were above them. He was also their commander; thus they revere him and dared not do such.
”Could it be that you all are not listening to my orders now?!” Li Dian stared at them angrily. “Scram! All of you, scram! Return! Live and help this Dian take care of his old father and mother!”
"General!"
"Poof!" A blood flower blossomed mid air. The long blade was covered with their commander’s warm blood. Li Dian, dead!
"You all, return!" Lu Bu saw the Li Dian who just committed suicide and felt a bit disturbed.
"Return?! He he!" The remaining Li Dian bodyguards one by one knelt down in front of Li Dian's corpse. ”General, we deeply regret for unable to fulfill your final wish! We are unable to help you take care of your old father and mother! Please wait for us below, we shall follow you immediately!”
"Poof! Poof! Poof!” Eight kneeling corpses appeared in front of Li Dian’s corpse. Their blood sprayed all over Lu Bu’s face.
Lu Bu licked his lips "this blood turned out to be warm!"
In the midst of Cao main army
Guo Jia said "Lu Bu, Lu Fengxian, deserving of the title of God of War!" as he looked toward the front with flickering eyes. The spearmen battalion was already pushed all the way back to the main camp. Amidst the air, Lu Bu and Guo Jia’s gaze met.
"Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao, you’re pretty good too! The stratagem of the sly genius! The scheme that took away this Lu Bu’s Xu Province!" Lu Bu’s brows were also raised.
"In that case, we shall fight again!"
"Certainly!"