NOVPUBWhen Cao Cao set off on his campaign, the battle between Hao Meng and Yann Liang had already begun. Compared to the likes of Houcheng and Wei Xu, who were hardly among the best of the Eight Valiant Generals, Hao Meng, as one of Lyu Bu’s valiant generals, was indeed not to be underestimated. Especially when Hao Meng fought desperately, with the cooperation of his trusted aides, he mustered the Cloud Qi with all his might to suppress Yann Liang’s combat power. By a desperate counterattack, he barely managed to slow down Yann Liang’s onslaught.
"Attack!" Hao Meng cast aside his horse lance and, brandishing his Horse-Cutting Blade with all his might, hacked towards Yann Liang while bellowing like a madman. Unlike Houcheng and Wei Xu, who were intimidated by Yann Liang’s ferocious combat power, Hao Meng had realized that if Yann Liang captured his Command Banner, it would mean certain death, but fighting Yann Liang head-on still left him with a slim chance to live.
After flicking away Hao Meng’s trusted aides with his heavy spear, Yann Liang’s emanating Spear Light directly shattered Hao Meng’s battle armor, and the residual Qi Force left swathes of bloody marks across Hao Meng’s chest.
"Kill, kill, kill!" Hao Meng, as though he had gone mad, frantically slashed at Yann Liang, his eyes blood-red. If he didn’t fight with all his might he would die, but by fighting with all his might he still had a slim chance to live.
"Surrender!" Yann Liang snapped Hao Meng’s Horse-Cutting Blade into two with his spear, and with the momentum unexhausted, he struck Hao Meng’s Dayuan Horse beneath him so hard that its brains burst. Hao Meng rolled off his horse but managed to grab one of Yann Liang’s trusted aides off their horse in the process, and with great effort climbed atop another.
"Surrender, Hao Meng. In consideration of your manhood, if you surrender, I shall certainly recommend you to my lord Yuan Gong!" Yann Liang said, staring intently at Hao Meng. While Yann Liang saw his opponent as considerably weak, he couldn’t help but regard Hao Meng more highly for his will to fight against all odds.
...
Hao Meng’s heart wavered, thinking it better to live a wretched life than to die a good death. He had never considered himself a hero who would rather die than surrender; he had lived always striving for a better life. Now seemed like an opportunity. However, just as he was about to speak, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a large flag.
"We men of Bingzhou would rather die standing than live on our knees!" Hao Meng roared, waving his Broken Sword as he charged at Yann Liang. That cry of despair ignited the fighting spirit in the demoralized Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry.
"Seeking death!" Yann Liang, in a rage at being offered a kindness yet rebuffed, thrust directly at Hao Meng.
"Boom!" A loud clamor sounded as the mounted Yann Liang was forced back several steps. He looked up with solemn eyes at the military general before him who, despite his attire of a common soldier, exuded a pressure no less imposing than Lyu Bu’s.
"Break out to the west. The Vanguard Camp will breach Juo Yi’s defense within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. You lead your troops and wipe out those miscellaneous soldiers," Gao Shun, standing aloft, instructed Hao Meng, looking sideways.
"Yes!" Hao Meng replied, his hackles raised, thinking to himself that if he had surrendered earlier, he would be headless by now. In that moment, Hao Meng was as humble as Cao Xing.
"Hebei’s Yann Liang!" exclaimed Yann Liang, as fighting intent surged within his eyes.
"Valiant but futile!" After ensuring Hao Meng’s complete safety, Gao Shun, covered in Cloud Qi and standing high in the sky, glanced at Yann Liang and sneered before flying away.
A gust of wind blew by and it took a moment for Yann Liang to realize that the man had flown away; he had been disdainfully dismissed by a master who, enveloped in Cloud Qi, could actually fly...
"You little thief, seeking death!" Yann Liang, with his limited brain capacity, finally realized he’d been tricked, and so his eyes turned blood-red as he roared angrily to the sky.
Gao Shun, expressionless, soared across the entire battlefield and had to be thankful for the thinness of the Cloud Qi, for without it, even with the Military Spirit empowering him, he couldn’t have flown out. n𝚘𝚟𝚙u𝚋.co𝚖
"All troops, charge and break through them!" Gao Shun bellowed. The Eight Hundred Heavy Infantry split into two groups: one heading toward Juo Yi’s direction, the other directly towards the enemy’s military formation.
"Thud thud thud!" A series of frenzied explosive sounds erupted as the Vanguard Camp charging at Yann Liang’s formation tore a huge gash through their ranks, and then they cut a bloody path through the enemy like slicing through melons and vegetables.
The other part of the Trap Formation had already encountered the Vanguard head-on. Both sides began with heavy crossbows leading the charge, but after a round of deafening blasts, the Trap Formation emerged unscathed, stepping over the bodies of the first wave of Vanguards, and then, dressed in Silver Armor, bore the counterattack and calmly slaughtered their adversaries amid their startled gazes.
"Kill!" Seeing the Hebei Army regaining their senses and turning back to charge against them, the decurions of the Trap Formation raised their great swords and slashed at the enemies rushing towards them. A dozen silver streams of light flashed by, clearing out a swath in front of the Trap Formation, who then continued their advance. The Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, surrounded and caught in the midst, saw their Command Banner and suddenly their morale surged!
Compared to Gao Shun’s side, where it was like cutting melons and vegetables, the other part of the Vanguard Camp had encountered true adversaries. Juo Yi personally led the Vanguard Death Squad in a head-on collision with the Trap Formation, but the Trap Formation didn’t falter much, even when face to face with the elite troops.
"Whose troops are these?" Juo Yi, eyes cold, led his men forward, too preoccupied with the battle to worry about the dispatch of the Hebei Army.
Ironically, if Juo Yi hadn’t caught a glimpse earlier by chance, he probably wouldn’t have noticed a troop massacring his most elite Vanguard Death Soldiers. The scene was akin to an adult beating a child.
The fighting methods of the Vanguard Death Soldiers were all countered by the Trap Formation with a great shield upfront and then a slash to kill. Shooting arrows? The enemies didn’t dodge at all; they bore the Vanguard’s crossbow bolts and arrows and then pinned the Vanguard down with a return arrow.
This scene, when Juo Yi saw it, nearly made his eyes pop out of his sockets. He couldn’t believe this was possible; his Vanguards were being bullied to death. Enraged, Juo Yi activated his Military Spirit and led his trusted aides into the fray.
"Military Spirit." Li Ren, Gao Shun’s deputy, spoke with a hint of pleasant surprise in his eyes. Since the Flying Bear Army, they hadn’t eradicated any army possessing a Military Spirit. The Trap Formation had to grow strong quickly by defeating powerful enemies.
"Kill!" Juo Yi’s Vanguards were now completely enveloped in Blood Qi. The previous extensive slaughter had greatly strengthened their accumulated Blood Qi, Killing Intent, and Evil Qi.
Without any command, all members of the first line of the Trap Formation drew their swords at the same time and slashed through the blood mist formed by the Vanguards, leaving a trail of silver light that shattered a small part of the Blood Qi. However, this time the Vanguard suffered no casualties.
"Seeking death!" Juo Yi sneered. The next moment, all the Killing Intent of the battlefield converged upon the Vanguard’s military formation, solidifying into blood arrows in the sky, while all the soldiers’ weapons of the Vanguard gleamed with a tinge of blood.
"Not bad, not weaker than the Flying Bear Army we had wiped out before." Li Ren said with a cold smile. But unfortunately, it was just this level of strength; the Flying Bear had already been annihilated. Compared to years before, the Trap Formation had now become even more powerful. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
