Mythical Three Kingdoms

The private soldiers of the aristocratic families were far inferior to Liu Bei’s garrison soldiers, but the private soldiers had the advantage of striking unexpectedly before they assembled, landing a few sneaky blows here and there. Little by little, they also managed to kill a considerable number of garrison soldiers.

As for the core urban management troops, there wasn’t such an issue. Even when they were broken up into teams of five, the shields nurtured to the extreme were not something the private soldiers with simple knives could handle.

”You are courting death!” Mann Chong suddenly appeared in the street, roaring as if in a rage, with a sword in his grip, clad in a thick silk robe. He burst forth and with a single stroke of his sword disemboweled a private soldier, then followed with a kick to the chest of another private soldier opposite him.

”Attack, kill that bastard Mann Chong for me!” An aristocratic family member, seeing Mann Chong fighting fiercely, shouted excitedly, ”Today is the day that cruel official dies!”

”My death day? You die first!” With that, Mann Chong raised his hand and fired a small crossbow, nailing the babbling aristocratic family member to the spot.

On the other side, standing on the high platform outside Jingling Palace, Jia Xu twitched visibly as he watched the active Mann Chong below. Indeed, there were no civilian officials in the Han Dynasty; those who held office could fight, and that was the reality. But it was rare to see someone as capable in combat as Mann Chong.

”His martial skills are somewhat better than the average military officer, aren’t they?” Xun Yue also appeared dumbfounded. No wonder it had been said that someone needed to pretend to be a fool; Mann Chong had taken on the task, and it turned out that he really could fight!

”Zhao Yue, Qin Qi, Lian Yue, He An, you four deputy commanders, each of you take a hundred men and let the other side understand that numbers are not everything!” Mann Chong raised his hand and fired another crossbow bolt, directly killing a fully-armored soldier from Yuan Shao’s Army, then turned to the men behind him and issued his command.

”Understood!” Zhao Yue and the others saluted, then with expressionless faces, holding up their great shields and lowering their bodies, they directly charged forward.

”Die!” Qin Qi, with his great spear, swept horizontally, knocking over several enemies in front, and a bright silver radiance emerged on him. Though their numbers were vastly reduced, the military spirit still remained!

”Open!” Lian Yue cut diagonally with his sword, severing the arms of several men opposite, then bent down and rammed forward, stabbing his long sword into the abdomen and chest of his foes.

”Kill!” He An, wielding double knives, led his soldiers straight into the enemy’s army, spinning the blades rapidly and unreservedly showcasing his formidable killing power. His comrades at the back did their utmost to block the enemy’s counterattack, allowing the four leaders with their four teams to plow four lanes straight down the central boulevard, enduring the rain of arrows and weapons, slaughtering the enemy with no injuries.

Then more urban management troops surged forward, pushing from the central street near the center, brutally grinding down Yuan Shao’s Army and the rebelling private soldiers of the aristocratic families towards the vicinity of North First Street.

”It has begun,” Li Youu said, watching the blaze at Fenggao City from ten miles away. ”Leave six hundred men; the rest start moving. Show no mercy to the rebels!”

”Understood!” The elite urban management troops saluted and then, with their weapons, quickly melted into the night.

”Follow me to raid the houses. Tonight, any family with secure walls but without private soldiers guarding it will be taken down!” Li Youu issued his icy command, then led the rest of his veteran soldiers straight to East Fenggao Gate, with aristocratic family shops to the southeast and aristocratic residences to the northeast.

”Sima Ling, what brings you to my Zhang Clan’s home?” Madam Zhang said with a cold smile to Sima Ling in front of her.

”I come for the lady,” Sima Ling replied slightly bowing, ”My lord Yuan Benchu needs the lady’s help.”

”I’m not interested. The Zhen Family only engages in fair transactions and does not partake in the power struggles of the feudal lords.” Zhang Clan’s alluring eyes half-closed as she directly refused Sima Ling.

”I’m afraid that’s not for you to decide, madam.” As Sima Ling advanced with his knife, intending to take Zhang Clan hostage, all he saw was a flash of blood, and then nothing at all.

”Hmph, having experienced the incident with Zhao Zilong, how could our Zhen Family not be cautious? A mere brute dares to threaten us?” Zhang Clan scoffed coldly, glancing sideways at her maid. Although unable to achieve Inner Qi Manifestation, reaching the Qi Refining to Gang level with enough money was certainly not an issue for the Zhen Family.

”Seal the gates of the house. If anyone dares to intrude tonight, they shall be shown no mercy!” After all, Zhang Clan was in charge of her family, and she retained the necessary authority.

”Hmph, do you think a mere few hundred soldiers can withstand my great army?” Gongsun Du watched in shock as wave after wave of silvery-white energy gathered together, pushing back his army, which was many times larger than his own.

”Gentlemen, it’s been a long time since we’ve been on the battlefield and forgotten the feeling of combat. Why not see who can capture that soldier with the red plume on his helmet today!” He An lifted his knife and pointed at Gongsun Du.

”I’ll take this man’s head,” declared Qin Qi, sweeping his great spear and charging towards Gongsun Du.

”What a joke, as if I’d let you have it. The general has given me honor and a position; how could I not repay him? The head is mine!” As Lian Yue spoke, he too surged forward, and behind him all the soldiers erupted with a tiger-like ferocity, brandishing shields and long knives as they pressed forward with the ease of slaying chickens.

”Indeed, they are my most elite forces!” Liu Bei watched as his few hundred enforcement officers, facing an enemy ten times their number, moved through them like prowling tigers among sheep, exuding a commanding presence as if they owned the territory.

”Now it’s time for me to cheer you on in person!” Liu Bei rolled up his sleeves, grabbed the drumstick, and pounded fiercely, ”Boom, boom, boom!”

The three dull drum beats echoed through Fenggao City. In the next moment, they were answered. The sparse silvery-white Cloud Qi, due to the lower numbers, suddenly intensified. At the same time, a large, denser mass of Cloud Qi appeared from the north—reinforcements had arrived!

”Brothers, exterminate these rebels!” He An bellowed, ”Our lord is personally rallying us, kill them!”

The reinforcements that stormed into the city unleashed astonishing power under the might of the drum beats. Armed with knives and shields, they cut through the opposition like a hot knife through butter and took down Gongsun Du from behind before he could react, ending his life.

”Dammit!” He An spat, his knife not long enough to reach Gongsun Du in time to claim the kill before a bunch of soldiers beat him to it.

”There’s still a big fish left. Those guys are setting fires everywhere, seems like they want to spread us thin. Alright then, teams of ten, anyone caught setting fires shall be shown no mercy!” Mann Chong surveyed the scattered fires without much concern, knowing that Chen Xi had anticipated these events when designing the city.

”Good, I haven’t had my fill of killing yet! Decurions lead, teams of ten each; anyone setting fires shall be shown no mercy!” He An said coldly.

Thanks to the demobilization system continuously enforced over the years at Mount Tai, all the old soldiers who stayed on were nothing but ruthless killers, and today, they finally demonstrated their might. (To be continued. If you like this book, please vote for it at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)