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"Have you captured Cao Cao alive?" Gan Ning asked Chen Dao and Wei Yan.
"No," the two responded to Gan Ning with a salute.
"Chase chase chase, after killing throughout the night I just managed to kill a fellow named Cao Chun, yet before we could take that small unit prisoner, Xiahou Yuan disrupted us, and these bastards are breaking out everywhere! Which one is Cao Cao in the end?" Gan Ning ranted frantically. He and Taishi Ci had dispersed their troops to catch prisoners, and after all this fighting, he still didn’t know whom he had killed.
"General Guan recognizes Cao Cao. We should continue to decimate Cao’s troops and seize a large number of prisoners; that too is a significant achievement," Wei Yan said to Gan Ning with a clasped fist, expressing respect for Gan Ning who was only a few years older but whose strength, capability, and courage were objects of his immense admiration.
"Let’s just capture prisoners..." Gan Ning buried his head in his horse’s mane, "Damn it, I don’t recognize Cao Cao, so how can I catch him! Right now, among the entire Cao Army I only recognize Xiahou Dun whom I blinded in the left eye, as well as Xiahou Yuan. Other people could run past me and I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart!"
"General Gan, did you say you blinded Xiahou Dun in the left eye?" Chen Dao asked with a clasped fist.
"Yeah, that guy got his left eye blinded by me. He just scooped the eyeball out and ate it, a real tough one!" Gan Ning said, after rubbing his head in the horse’s mane for quite a while.
"But though his face was covered with blood, I saw both his eyes were there," Chen Dao said with a look of disgust, astonished at such ruthlessness.
"Inner Qi Manifestation, heaven knows if he scooped out someone else’s eye to put into his own socket, the sicko!" Gan Ning’s mind raced and he instantly understood, "That’s just disgusting."
"What do we do now?" both Wei Yan and Chen Dao looked to Gan Ning.
"Now the troops are all scattered, with everyone catching prisoners across the mountains. We might as well do the same. If Boss Guan, with more Regular Soldiers than us roadblock troops, lets Cao Cao escape even though he recognizes him, I would despise him!" said Gan Ning in a bandit-like tone.
"General Guan would never make a mistake. As long as Cao Cao comes at him face to face, death is certain!" stated Wei Yan determinedly, then as if remembering something, "Right, General Gan, didn’t you encounter Xiahou Yuan earlier? Why not pursue and slay him?"
"I was chasing Xiahou Dun, and Xiahou Yuan is Ziyi’s opponent. Right now, Ziyi is very angry. Although he pierced Xiahou Yuan with an arrow through the chest, Xiahou Yuan managed to kill a large number of his trusted aides, so I let Ziyi chase Xiahou Yuan while I went after Xiahou Dun. And as you’ve seen, I don’t know if it’s an illusion or what, but the one-eyed Xiahou Dun became somewhat stronger than me," Gan Ning pondered the situation and sighed.
"Indeed, Xiahou Dun might have ambushed us just now, but he blew us away with one strike and took away the person who might be a big general from the Cao Family. Turning back with a spear, he sent the ground flying with dust; his strength is beyond my match," said Chen Dao gravely. n𝚘𝚟𝚙u𝚋.co𝚖
"Whether we can match him or not doesn’t matter. They’re both doomed, because the direction they ran toward is where Boss Guan has set the ambush, and our military exploits are slipping away," Gan Ning sighed.
"Spare those who surrender!" Gan Ning yelled in all directions.
The fleeing Cao troops were taken aback, but they did not lay down their arms; they continued to flee desperately, as the previous Annihilating Kill Order from Liu Bei’s Army to wipe out the Cao troops played a crucial role in their perseverance.
"..." Gan Ning felt somewhat embarrassed, and then took the lead, charging into the scattered units of the collapsing Cao Army, capturing the routed soldiers.
Meanwhile, Xiahou Dun was fleeing towards Pengcheng with Cao Hong, then not half a mile out, they veered to the left.
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"Yuanrang, why are you heading in this direction?" Cao Hong, flanked by Xiahou Dun, asked in perplexity.
"To meet up with the Strategist!" Xiahou Dun kicked a Xiliang Soldier off his horse and put Cao Hong onto the horse.
"Are you alright?" Cao Hong looked at Xiahou Dun, whose face was covered in blood.
"I won’t die, I encountered two strategists while breaking out earlier. I asked Miaocai to protect our Lord and the Strategist and leave while I drew Gan Ning and Taishi Ci away. Now that they haven’t caught up, we must hurry and meet with the Strategist," Xiahou Dun said as he wiped the fresh blood from his face, his left eye bloodshot.
"That’s good. I’ve bought Brother Bonan a lot of time, so there should be no problems. Let’s also hurry to meet with the Strategist," Cao Hong said as he hurried after Xiahou Dun.
"Zihe has been sacrificed," Xiahou Dun said with a mournful tone.
"What! How can that be? The Strategist’s disguise should have made people underestimate or even ignore the presence of those few hundred men due to their harmlessness," Cao Hong said in shock.
"Gan Ning rammed right into him! In the chaos, Zihe engaged Gan Xingba in combat, by the time I went to their aid it was already too late. Then, I drew Gan Ning over to this side, allowing Miaocai to catch up and guard the Strategist and the others," Xiahou Dun was not as intelligent as a strategist, but his loyalty led him to make the correct choice. If he hadn’t lured Gan Ning away, Liu Bei’s Army would have surely gathered in numbers.
"Gan Xingba!" Cao Hong’s eyes flashed with a hint of blood.
"Hurry and help me rescue our Lord. I fear if we delay, Taishi Ci will discover the crux of the matter!" Xiahou Dun said no more and led a dozen riders in the direction Xiahou Yuan had fled earlier.
On the other side, Qin Shao took the moment when Cao Hong led his troops to block the enemy to hastily form his troops into an assault Fish-Scale Formation, ready to launch a desperate charge against the last ambush with a do-or-die spirit.
Qin Shao was grateful that Cao Cao’s civilian colonies in Yanzhou had barely procured a lifeline for the people of Yanzhou. Because of this lifeline, the people of Yanzhou extraordinarily supported Cao Cao. This was similar to the intense combat power that erupted from Liu Bei’s soldiers after being forced to fight a back-to-water battle, for them, Cao Cao was their savior.
"Only one ambush remains ahead, soldiers, follow me to fight to the death! Our fate rests on this moment!" After swallowing dry rations, Qin Shao brandished the Yitian Sword and roared at his soldiers.
"Willing to follow our Lord to the death!" a trusted aide beside him shouted.
Humans by nature are followers, and given that Cao Cao provided these soldiers and their families a chance at life, they were already exceptionally devout. As the ancients said, "A drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring, a day’s grace should be returned with a lifetime of loyalty," these people were all deeply indebted to Cao Cao. Otherwise, even with Cheng Yu’s Spiritual Talent, they would not have remained so devoted to Cao Cao.
Upon hearing Cao Cao’s words and with another shout from the trusted aides, coupled with Cao Cao’s propaganda about Liu Bei’s orders for the bloody massacre of Xuzhou without sparing a single life, which mainly resulted from the actions of Guan, Zhang, and Zhao, all the soliders turned red-faced as they roared to the sky, their cries merging into one sentence, "Willing to follow our Lord to the death!"
"Advance!" Posing as Cao Cao, Qin Shao let out a thunderous roar and charged toward Pengcheng on horseback, determined to hold back the enemy even if it meant dying here, confident that five thousand brave and fearless soldiers would be able to hold the enemy off for an hour without a doubt.
As Qin Shao’s roar echoed, the Cao Army suddenly burst out with a blood-colored Cloud Qi, the will to survive and repay their debt combining into a solemn momentum as the entire troop charged toward Pengcheng. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)
