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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Silverriver
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I received Cao Cao’s spear and led one thousand cavalrymen towards Yuan Shu’s army. As Cheng Yu had said, Yuan Shu’s army from Shouchun numbered a staggering forty thousand.
Forty thousand… The enemy forces stretched as far as the eye could see, from the soldiers clashing with Cao Hong’s troops to the units at the rear. In this era, armies numbered in the tens of thousands, sometimes even hundreds of thousands, or even millions, if we were to believe the legends.
So, I had to think positively. The majority of the enemy were infantry, and we were a highly mobile cavalry unit, about to strike at their flank.
“The enemy is in sight! Prepare to charge!”
“Yes, General!”
Hearing myself addressed as “General” as we galloped towards the enemy filled me with a surge of adrenaline. At this moment, I felt invincible.
I charged towards the masses of Yuan Shu’s soldiers. I could see Cao Hong’s troops holding the line against the enemy. They fired arrows and drew the enemy’s attention, providing us with cover.
Cao Hong’s five thousand men were fighting fiercely against Yuan Shu’s forty thousand, who had just arrived from Shouchun. We had to strike hard while the enemy’s attention was diverted.
“Charge!”
Shields were raised, and spears leveled. If I fell, I would be trampled to death without a sound.
I gripped the saddle with my legs, holding on tight as my horse charged forward. I swung my spear at the enemy soldiers coming into view.
-Crash!
The deafening sound of the impact reverberated through my ears. The sound of horses crashing into the enemy lines was overwhelming. And the horses, like living battering rams, didn’t stop after the initial impact, but pushed forward relentlessly.
Yuan Shu’s Army ——-> X <--- Cao Hong’s Army
(Cao Xiu’s Cavalry)
Cao Hong was engaging Yuan Shu’s army head-on, and our cavalry charge into their flank was going exactly as planned.
“Gah!”
“Ugh!”
With each swing of my spear, enemy soldiers fell, bleeding. I didn’t even need to aim.
The spear was heavy, but its iron shaft made it a devastating weapon. Even a glancing blow could shatter bones.
“Capture the enemy general! Fifty pieces of gold to the one who brings me his head!”
Amidst the chaos, I heard the order to kill me. I didn’t know who gave the order, but I would kill anyone who came at me.
I wasn’t here for a game. I was fighting to survive.
-Whoosh
“Huh?!”
A flash of light caught my eye, and I instinctively turned my head. A spear grazed my helmet, missing my face by inches. If I hadn’t reacted, I would have been impaled and thrown from my horse.
“He dodged…?!”
-Thud
I thrust my spear at the soldier who had attacked me, piercing the gaps in his flimsy armor. He collapsed, bleeding profusely.
I continued my assault, swinging my spear, stabbing and bludgeoning enemy soldiers who dared to approach.
I didn’t feel tired. My head and chest burned with a fierce energy, and I fought like a man possessed.
“Young Master, watch out!”
“!?”
-Swish
-Slash
“Gah!”
A cavalryman suddenly appeared behind me, shouting a warning. He swung his halberd, cleaving an enemy soldier in two, splattering blood on me and my horse.
“There’s the enemy general! Kill him!”
“Seize his horse and drag him down!”
“There aren’t many of them! Don’t be afraid of the cavalry!”
More enemy officers rallied their troops and surrounded us. But the cavalryman who had saved me sprang into action.
“You’ll have to go through me!”
He was short but stocky, his build suggesting considerable strength. He stood before me, mercilessly cutting down the soldiers who charged at us. This small but powerful warrior was single-handedly holding back the enemy infantry.
His valiant fighting reminded me of a crucial fact: A well-trained cavalryman was a formidable force against conscripted infantry, capable of taking on a hundred men.
“Young Master!”
“…Ah!”
I had been momentarily distracted by the fighting around me. I snapped back to attention and thrust my spear at an approaching soldier, piercing his throat. He gurgled and stumbled, and I brought the shaft of my spear down on his head, knocking him to the ground.
“Focus! We’re in the middle of a battle!”
Another cavalry officer, besides the short, powerful warrior leading the charge, rushed to my aid.
“Young Master Wenlie, if we continue charging like this, we’ll be surrounded and wiped out. We need to form a defensive formation!”
“Can cavalry even form a formation?”
“Halt the charge and regroup immediately! The wounded can retreat to the center, and those who have recovered can rotate back to the front lines!”
“D, do it!”
“All units, form a defensive formation! Hold your ground and regroup!”
With my permission, the officer quickly rallied the scattered cavalrymen. Despite our valiant charge, we were still only a thousand strong.
They obeyed the officer’s command and regrouped around me, their armor and weapons stained with blood.
Forty thousand enemy soldiers surrounded us, but our eyes were filled with determination.
Our morale was high. We could still fight.
I gripped my spear tightly, surrounded by my cavalrymen. The two officers flanked me, protecting me as we fought.
“You pups! Do you think numbers alone will win you this battle?”
The short, powerfully built officer with the halberd roared, his voice echoing across the battlefield, challenging the forty-thousand-strong enemy army. The other officer, a master spearman, continued to offer me advice, his precise thrusts targeting only the enemy’s vital points.
I was grateful for their presence.
“Young Master, you are the commander. Give us your orders.”
“Wait, just a moment…”
We had a brief respite after the intense fighting. I needed to think. A straightforward cavalry charge would only result in us being overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
How could we win this? One thousand against forty thousand… how could we possibly…?
Think. We were cavalry. Cavalry meant mobility and destructive power. And I wasn’t alone. I had two incredibly skilled warriors at my side. And the cavalrymen under my command were Cao Cao’s elite troops, fighting valiantly against the conscripted infantry.
“Young Master!”
“I have… two ideas!”
“What are they?”
“One, we retreat now, find another weak point in Yuan Shu’s lines, attack, and then retreat again, repeatedly striking at their flanks. That way, we can utilize our mobility and support Uncle Cao Hong’s troops.”
“So, we change our approach from the rear?”
“Two, there’s been someone shouting orders to kill me. That must be the enemy commander, isn’t it?”
One thing was certain in any battle, in any era.
No matter how strong or numerous the enemy, the key to victory was taking out their commander.
“I can hear his voice, so he must be nearby. I suspect he’s near that banner.”
I could see a large banner amidst the dense ranks of Yuan Shu’s army.
“If we take him out, I think the entire army will retreat. Can we do it?”
“Hmm, a cavalry charge towards that position…”
“With four hundred… no, three hundred cavalrymen, it might be possible.”
The master spearman seemed hesitant, but the short, stocky officer with the halberd was confident we could do it with three hundred men.
“My uncle, our lord, Governor Cao Mengde, gave me this spear and ordered me to stain it with the enemy commander’s blood!”
“Then we’ll assist you. It seems doable.”
“Young Master, if you decide to attack, aim for the right flank. That’s closer to Commander Zilian’s position, so he’ll be able to support our movement.”
I nodded.
“Are my lieutenants ready to follow my command?”
“Lieutenants?”
“From this moment on, you two are my lieutenants. We’ll discuss your official positions later!”
I would lead the charge. And by taking out the enemy commander, I would rally the cavalry and charge into the forty-thousand-strong army once more.
I had made up my mind. I would capture the enemy commander and turn the tide of the battle. I would attack to survive.
Wasn’t that common sense for a warrior?
“All units, charge!!!!”
I raised Cao Cao’s spear and charged towards the enemy horde.
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Being a general is wild. 🏇💨
