"Dong!"
"Dong!"
"Dong!"
Accompanied by the slightly impassioned sound of war drums, the able-bodied men who had charged far ahead suddenly awoke.
Was this the drumbeat to recall troops?
Although they had only been trained for a little over a month, they could still distinguish drumbeats.
Therefore,
They abandoned the pursuit of the fleeing Yellow Turban soldiers and slowly retreated towards the city gate of Zhuo Commandery.
However,
Before they could even reach the city gate, they saw their leader galloping towards them on horseback.
"Quick!"
"There's a high-ranking Yellow Turban officer here. Brothers, quickly capture them!"
"We absolutely cannot let him escape!"
"Huh?"
Hearing their leader's shouts, the able-bodied men were somewhat bewildered.
A high-ranking Yellow Turban officer?
Didn't you kill them all? Are we supposed to get the leftovers?
However,
When they saw the figure who was still handling the situation with ease under the pincer attack of two men, the able-bodied men immediately became excited.
There really is a big fish?
What are we waiting for then?
Charge!
With fierce battle cries, the able-bodied men directly surrounded Qin Feng and his men.
Seeing this,
Liu Bei, while relieved, quickly urged his horse into the fray.
"Second brother, third brother, I'm here to lend you a hand!"
"Elder brother?"
Hearing Liu Bei's voice, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who were already struggling to fend off their opponents, became anxious.
What was going on?
Had their elder brother lost his mind?
This wasn't a one-on-one duel where the more people meant victory!
In such a confined space, it was difficult not to cause friendly fire.
Their opponents didn't care; any casualties they inflicted would be a gain.
But what about them?
However,
Before Zhang Fei and Guan Yu could speak, they heard Liu Bei whisper,
"Hurry and go!"
"Leave this to the brothers. You should go down and recover from your injuries first!"
"Ah?"
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who were already somewhat puzzled, were now even more dumbfounded.
Leave it to them?
To die?
This wasn't even a proper send-off for death!
If you were to say it was in the midst of a large army, then handing it over to them would be acceptable.
But they only had five hundred men in total!
Were they enough for him to kill?
Of course!
Despite their hearts being filled with doubt, their movements were not slow in the slightest.
Before Qin Feng could react, they had retreated to a safe distance.
Immediately after,
The able-bodied men who had been waiting for their chance, howling, charged forward.
"What the heck?"
"This is unsportsmanlike!"
Qin Feng, who had been somewhat confused, was now caught off guard.
Who does this?
The duel hasn't even ended, and you're launching a full-scale assault?
Are you bullying me because I don't have enough men?
Damn it!
Hating him in his heart, Qin Feng attacked without any hesitation.
"Pfft!"
"Boom!"
"Die for me!"
After sweeping away six or seven able-bodied men with a single戟 (ji - a type of polearm), a series of system notification sounds rang in his ears.
"Ding~! Congratulations to the host, you have killed one Zhuo Commandery able-bodied man and obtained: 100 suits of refined iron armor."
"Ding~! Congratulations to the host, you have killed one Zhuo Commandery able-bodied man and obtained: 100 Bing Tie sabers."
"Ding~! Congratulations to the host, you have killed one Zhuo Commandery able-bodied man and obtained: 100 Jing Gang spears."
"Ding..."
"Quick, turn it off!"
Annoyed by the noise, Qin Feng signaled the system to turn off the notifications while impatiently urging,
"System, when will my reinforcements arrive?"
"They're here!"
"Hmm?"
Before Qin Feng could ask further, he felt a slight tremor from the ground.
Then,
Dust billowed up on the official road outside Zhuo Commandery.
"This, this is..."
Liu Bei, who had been hiding outside, preparing to wait for his able-bodied men to exhaust Qin Feng's stamina, was suddenly overjoyed.
"Second brother, third brother, reinforcements, our reinforcements are here!"
"Reinforcements?"
Hearing the approaching hoofbeats, Guan Yu asked curiously,
"Elder brother, wasn't it said that reinforcements wouldn't arrive for at least two days?"
"Uh..."
Liu Bei's smile faltered, and he said hesitantly,
"Perhaps, perhaps the intelligence was wrong? Or perhaps they rushed here at top speed?"
"Perhaps..."
A shadow inexplicably fell over Guan Yu's heart, and he stared intently at the dust on the official road.
Closer!
Even closer!
As the ground trembled more intensely, the cavalry within the dust revealed themselves.
Black clothing,
Black armor,
Dark warhorses,
And,
The seemingly familiar halberds they held in their hands.
"Truly an elite force!"
Looking at the imposing cavalry not far away, Liu Bei sighed with emotion,
"When will we be able to command such an elite force?"
"Big, Big brother..."
Guan Yu, who had ridden up to Liu Bei's side, said with reddened eyes,
"Don't you find the attire of these cavalrymen somewhat familiar?"
"Familiar?"
Liu Bei paused, then looked more closely, and began to recall in his mind.
"Hiss~!"
"This, this is..."
After recalling for just a second, Liu Bei swallowed hard and turned his head stiffly towards the battle formation behind him.
"That, that Yellow Turban bandit?!"
"..."
Guan Yu remained silent, as the actions of the cavalry answered for him.
"Charge~!"
"Charge~!"
"Charge~!"
With shouts full of killing intent, the cavalry charged towards the Zhuo Commandery able-bodied men like tigers entering a flock of sheep.
In just an instant,
Nearly a hundred able-bodied men fell under the iron hooves of the cavalry charge.
Facing the cavalry's charge, the Zhuo Commandery able-bodied men had no power to resist.
Let alone counterattack.
They didn't even know where to run.
Qin Feng in front, cavalry behind, neither was to be trifled with!
"It's over!"
"Completely over!"
Watching everything unfold before him, Liu Bei's expression was one of stunned disbelief.
These were all his dreams!
His dreams of achieving fame and success!
Now,
The dream was shattered!
Shattered by a Yellow Turban bandit who appeared from who knows where!
"Elder brother~!"
Guan Yu sighed beside him, his voice full of dejection,
"Let's leave first, or we might not be able to get away!"
"Leave?"
"Where to?"
Liu Bei shook his head bitterly and turned to look at his two brothers.
"Second brother, third brother, you go. This elder brother will accompany them in death!"
"Elder brother~!"
Zhang Fei, whose heart was also heavy, had tears welling up in his eyes.
"Let's go!"
"As long as we three brothers are still here, this setback is nothing!"
"Isn't it just a little bit of money?"
"I have more!"
"When we have the chance, we can go to my home and sell off those fields and things!"
"Third brother..."
Having received a satisfactory answer, Liu Bei no longer spoke of staying to accompany them in death, and looked at his two brothers with tear-filled eyes.
"Elder brother is sorry to you both. It's all because elder brother is useless!"
"Alright!"
"Let's hurry and go!"
Zhang Fei, finding the conversation increasingly disheartening, urged his horse towards the adjacent official road.
"Elder brother, let's go to Fanyang to hide first, and come back after these Yellow Turban bandits leave!"
"Excellent~!"
Liu Bei, who also rode up, nodded readily.
As long as they could shift the blame!
Wasn't it just some able-bodied men?
As long as his third brother supported him, he could have as many as he wanted!
However,
Before they could get far, another wave of dust began to rise on the official road.
Liu, Guan, Zhang: "..."