There’s something today, so I can only update at midnight...
"I will remember this vengeance and one day repay it tenfold!" Lyu Bu shouted as he did not turn back and sped off in another direction, becoming a tiny dot in under a minute while riding Red Hare at high speed.
Shortly after Lyu Bu left, the Xiahou brothers and Le Jin, who was supporting Cao Hong, hurried over and seeing Guan, Zhang, and Zhao standing guard, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Yunchang, Yide, Zilong!" The Xiahou brothers said, bowing with their fists clasped.
"Lord sent us three ahead out of concern for Lord Cao, who was pursuing Minister Dong alone and might encounter danger," Zhao Yun said as he saw Guan and Zhang watching him, so he clasped his fists and explained, "The four of you should hurry to regroup the routed troops to protect Lord Cao as he returns to the main camp. This place is not safe to linger in, and we three need to help Lord defeat the Xiliang Iron Cavalry."
"Thank you, Lord Xuande, for your assistance!" Cao Cao sighed, but still maintained his composure, giving the three a bow and left with a sense of disappointment.
On the other side, Chen Xi sighed looking at the cavalry stretched out in a long line across the plains, thinking, Is this the so-called Xiliang Iron Cavalry? Competing for merit to the point of losing formation is just asking for death, isn’t it?
"Is this the Xiliang Iron Cavalry?" Chen Xi asked Hua Xiong.
"That bastard Lyu Bu is definitely doing this on purpose. Since when has he ever led his Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry !" Hua Xiong cursed vehemently.
Chen Xi shrugged and did not speak, having come to this world for so long, he had thoroughly understood something: Indeed, there are masters in this world, but even more so, there are ordinary people. It’s laughable to expect to draw energy from food when there’s not even enough to eat!
Thus, although the physical quality of the common people in this world is strong, it barely matches the physical quality of special forces in later times. As for Inner Breath, it’s almost nonexistent, but fortunately, the potential is strong. With proper training and enough to eat, one can still cultivate a bit of Inner Breath.
However, this little bit of Inner Breath is basically useless, it can only make one slightly stronger than before, but against the likes of Guan, Zhang, and Zhao, it has no effect whatsoever.
If you look at it this way, no matter how many people there are, none is as important as a top general. But this is a grave mistake, for when soldiers form up and their Qi connects into one, they cancel out the stray Qi outside, which means that forming up or maintaining formation allows the army to not be at much of a disadvantage against generals, and even might kill a general if the soldier fights to the death.
Therefore, formations are very important for an army. If they charge into battle chaotically like pigs, tens of thousands might be beaten down by a few thousand well-ordered troops.
The current situation is that the Xiliang Iron Cavalry have turned their well-formed Spearhead Formation into a messy and elongated mess, losing the momentum they once had. The Qi over their heads had also become disorganized, and pieces of it kept disappearing. Is this really the world’s finest elite? How can they be so much worse than the White Horse Soldiers?
Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun did not return too late. The Xiliang Iron Cavalry was in complete disarray, ready to be captured.
"Zilong, lead your White Horse Righteous Followers and teach these idiots a lesson!" Chen Xi said angrily, feeling somewhat ashamed to be taking command of such trash.
"Yunchang, lead the soldiers to attack their center; Yide, take your soldiers to block the vanguard—we shall devour the entire Xiliang Iron Cavalry!" Chen Xi arranged furiously, "Zijian, get ready. The moment you think you have the situation under control, act immediately; otherwise, I will not order a cessation."
Zhao Yun led one thousand three hundred White Horse Soldiers as they mounted their horses, and then a visible white Cloud Qi emerged above that troop. Following Zhao Yun’s Qi as the center, it swiftly condensed together, and the whole troop became unified even before they launched an attack.
"White Horse Soldiers!" Zhao Yun’s Bright Silver Spear lightly tapped his helmet, then he took the lead and launched a charge toward the Xiliang Iron Cavalry!
"Kill!" Guan Yu and Zhang Fei roared in anger, leading their own soldiers into the fray. Atop each of their heads was a green glow and a dark glow, engulfing the entire troop within.
"Boom!" Guan Yu struck so effortlessly that it nearly matched the power of his previous full-force blow, a green light ruthlessly severing the Xiliang Iron Cavalry.
"This is what it means to be a general; a general without soldiers is nothing but a weakling." Chen Xi watched the attacks of Guan, Zhang, and Zhao, unable to help feeling emotional. With the added strength of soldiers, a military general’s power could greatly increase. Similarly, the more soldiers they command within their limits, the stronger they become. However, once they exceed that limit, it turns into a burden, not only preventing them from becoming stronger, but also disrupting formations and lowering the overall strength of the troops due to inefficiency in command.
After three moves, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry were completely bewildered. If the formation were still in place, those three moves would have only killed a hundred or so men at most. But now, with the formation scattered and no collective Qi to distribute the damage, even though Guan, Zhang, and Zhao intentionally didn’t target crowded areas, the death toll was already over three hundred.
"Everyone, lay down your arms!" Hua Xiong, riding a yellow-maned horse, leaped out from the crowd and shouted loudly, "I am Hua Xiong! Those who are wise will drop their weapons for me. Look at you lot—what a joke! With Laozi here, look what you’ve become! Damn it, you’ve even lost the formation, seeking death! Bah, bah, bah! Surrender, all of you surrender!"
Hua Xiong’s shouting quickly devolved into dialect as he was speaking to his own townsfolk. After cursing them out, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry universally surrendered.
With their Chief General Lyu Bu gone, and their troops thoroughly bewildered, not to mention the former Xiliang’s number one Valiant General and previous direct superior Hua Xiong calling for their surrender, a leading figure caused all the soldiers to submit. After all, what did it matter where they served as soldiers and ate their meals? If they disobeyed and were killed, it would be all over.
"Hei Wa, are you an idiot?" Hua Xiong went up and slapped the leading officer, knocking the fellow off his horse, and then started kicking him, "What did I teach you back then, you damn dog? Forgot it all? Er Gou, you too. Do you want to die? You’ve lost the formation and still pursue? Seeking death, looking to reincarnate, huh!"
None of the officers who were beaten dared to resist, simply taking the beating from Hua Xiong, "Get up, follow me to meet Lord Xuande. I will no longer follow Minister Dong. What about you?"
"We will follow the General’s command!" The officers hurriedly responded.
"Let’s go. Minister Dong is no longer the commander we used to drink with back in Xiliang. We don’t need to die for him anymore. Over the years, we have paid back what we owed him. At most, in the future when we face him on the battlefield, we will just avoid him by a wide margin!" Hua Xiong helped the officers up and said.
"My Lord, these are officers who were once under my command, and some of the Xiliang Elite Cavalry who came this time were also formerly my Private Troops." Hua Xiong saluted Liu Bei, "Their abilities are not as they have appeared this time. Please give them another chance, my Lord!"
"Zijian rest assured, the defeat of your subordinates this time was due to Lyu Bu’s eagerness for quick success; it has nothing to do with them. With the General’s Order given, how could these men disobey?" Liu Bei smiled and indicated he was not concerned about the matter.