Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1145: Chapter 1101: Flanked from Front and Rear

More than seven hundred of Ma Chao’s trusted aides fell, while over two thousand, nearly three thousand, Xianbei elite cavalrymen fell in this long spear blood-soaked charge. The mad blood path on the battlefield swallowed thousands of lives in just a short period of time.

Both sides lost over ten percent of their forces in just a short time, but the moment they turned to head back, the superiority became clear. Ma Chao’s personal soldiers were insanely bloodthirsty, while the Xianbei army was filled with fear. At the instant of Ma Chao’s renewed charge, more than a hundred Xianbei soldiers were already fleeing.

Roaring, galloping, all of Ma Chao’s personal soldiers followed him with a kind of mad momentum for another assault. Compared to the previous clash, this time was much easier; Ma Chao led his personal army in overturning the Xianbei forces, directly pushing back the Xianbei elite cavalry.

If the situation on the field were viewed from high above the sky, Ma Chao’s army was a blood-red, while the Xianbei army was a gray-white. The two torrents collided fiercely, but the Xianbei torrent was continuously stained by the blood-red, eventually directly collapsing under the bloodred torrent.

Ma Chao stabbed Duan Qiliang under his horse with one thrust. He now understood that those flashy tricks were meaningless; on the battlefield, one fatal thrust shouldn’t require a second one, simple and brutal is best.

Afterward, without saying much, he silently turned back and continued charging. He knew that the Xianbei army was so large that even if he broke through the vanguard and successfully challenged the vanguard, it’s unlikely the rear Xianbei army would receive news of his presence.

Originally, after killing Duan Qiliang, it was Ma Chao’s best opportunity to lead his army out of danger. However, after killing a wave of people, Ma Chao completely calmed down, knowing clearly that the strategy previously set by Cao Cao had definitely encountered a problem.

As for Cao Cao’s defeat, he didn’t consider it at all. If anyone in the world recognized wisdom and strategists, Ma Chao was definitely one of them now, so he knew that it was probably an unforeseen circumstance.

At the moment Ma Chao thought of the unforeseen circumstance, he recalled the horrifying scene of the Xianbei Royal Court that he witnessed: the Royal Court had been flattened. Such a major event, if the Xianbei received the news and withdrew troops, it wouldn’t be impossible.

[The Xun Family uncle and nephew, Minister Zhong, are all such powerful strategic minds, they probably wouldn’t lose to...] Ma Chao felt a little apprehensive, yet he was greatly reassured.

[Then surely they wouldn’t let the Xianbei easily retreat, which means they are waiting for an opportunity.] Ma Chao’s not-so-large mind slowly began to think. If he had been swept once by Fa Zheng’s intelligence, apart from an increase in sense of responsibility, the most obvious thing was that he knew how to use his brain.

[Should I gamble everything?] When this crazy idea emerged, Ma Chao’s heart pounded wildly.

”Gentlemen, can you still fight!” Ma Chao turned his horse and looked at all his personal soldiers.

”Fight, fight, fight!” The chaotic sound finally merged into one sentence.

”Good, gentlemen, follow me, after this battle, you will share this glory with me; whoever dies on the battlefield, their wife, children, and parents will be cared for by me, Ma Chao!” Ma Chao roared, then turned south, took a deep breath, ”We will definitely win this battle!”

Ma Chao let out a roar, then like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, charged towards the Xianbei Central Army, followed closely by over six thousand Qiang Hu Personal Guards who truly believed Ma Chao would lead them to victory!

As Ma Chao charged into the Central Army, Cao Ren and Ma Teng were engaged in low-intensity skirmishes with Kebinen and Mohuto. By now, Kebinen and Mohuto understood quite well that the opponent hoped to prevent them from leaving easily, but didn’t want to commit a large amount of troops.

Naturally, Kebinen and Mohuto relaxed, maintaining a slow but steady marching speed, retreating back to the prairie. Kebinen knew well they absolutely couldn’t fall into chaos; if they did, no matter how many tens of thousands of Xianbei there were, they would be doomed here.

As for this kind of low-intensity skirmish, about a hundred people die every day. Kebinen could still bear this level of loss; he thought about a swift counterattack, but it was not a wise choice at the moment to inflict pain on the Cao Army.

Hence, Kebinen continued to endure, waiting for the moment to return to the Great Prairie, and only at the last moment would he reveal his fangs.

This day, as usual, Cao Ren led his troops again to start a skirmish with the Xianbei army blocking them, and once again won, achieving victories every step of the way, yet there was no change in the overall situation.

This series of small victories seemed impressive, but it indeed didn’t change the balance of power between the two sides; Kebinen cautiously withdrew the rear army defense line, refraining from counteracting, no matter how many vulnerabilities Cao Ren showed, the enemy stood still, nearly inch by inch.

After Zhang Xiu intercepted the Xianbei Vice Army sneaking into the Great Wall, he immediately led his troops to catch up, proving that indeed the cavalry was fleet-footed and quick, quickly catching up with the Cao Army.

When Cao Ren saw Zhang Xiu leading his troops to catch up, he wasn’t surprised, but the sight of Zhang Xiu’s nearly intact Iron Cavalry clearly added a layer of seriousness.

Ever since Chen Xi publicly introduced saddles and stirrups, Cao Cao’s side quickly equipped them, and Zhang Xiu naturally outfitted his Iron Cavalry entirely.

With such equipment, for the mounted archers, their hands were entirely liberated; for the Tugi Cavalryman, they could finally use some unconventional tactics.

With Hu Che’er providing intelligence in advance, Zhang Xiu held the initiative, although Xianbei sent nearly twenty thousand troops, they were first blocked by Zhang Xiu head-on, then bitten by Zhang He from behind, the outcome was nearly instantly decided.

The fact was just so, Zhang He was indeed there to strike. Having personally witnessed Lyu Bu’s skills, the shadow of Guan Yu in Zhang He’s heart had dissipated significantly, naturally yearning for revenge, thinking of the great war in the west of Bingzhou and preparing to reap benefits.

With Zhang He’s abilities, he naturally understood that Cao Cao couldn’t lose, so he came ready to capture some horses to expand the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, readying troops for taking down Guan Yu.

Upon arrival, he didn’t encounter any routed soldiers but found a force of twenty thousand Xianbei, among which there were over ten thousand horses.

Zhang He naturally wanted to swallow them whole, but unfortunately, he only had three thousand Bingzhou Elite Cavalry under him, still a gift from Gao Gan before leaving, whether he could defeat them was one thing, but he came to prepare for revenge, hence his elites should not be needlessly consumed.

So Zhang He led his army, hanging around twenty miles behind the Xianbei army, using his occasional airborne scouting to determine their position, these men must be swallowed!

Zhang Xiu hadn’t expected Zhang He would linger just ten miles away, always observing. Upon discovering Zhang Xiu’s troops move out, Zhang He accelerated his march as well, almost biting from behind the Xianbei shortly after Zhang Xiu’s frontal clash with them.