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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Silverriver
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“Hun, remember this well. A mounted warrior can become a match for a hundred men.”
“Always grip the horse firmly with your legs, observe the battlefield from your vantage point, and charge forward resolutely. Unless they are highly trained, the enemy will be unable to evade you.”
“A horse is a sensitive animal.
If it senses your fear, it will try to protect itself and flee.
But if you are determined to charge, it will charge with you, anywhere, to survive.”
Those were the words of my teacher, who had trained me in horsemanship for years, preparing me for the chaos and helping me achieve success and fame.
His teachings suddenly came to mind amidst the chaos of the battlefield. What I had learned back then had transformed me from ‘Hun, the Warrior of Wu Commandery’ into ‘Cao Xiu, General of Cao Cao’s Army.’
“Gah!”
“Hold the line! There are only a thousand of them!”
And now, I was Cao Cao’s spear!
I swung my spear wildly, cutting down anyone who dared to approach. The spear, so heavy at first, now felt like an extension of my arm as I fought to survive. I had lost count of how many I had killed.
“Young Master, are you alright? If you’re tired, I’ll clear the path.”
The powerfully built officer with the halberd cut down the soldiers in front of me. The halberd was indeed a devastating weapon on horseback, capable of cleaving through multiple opponents.
“Huk, huk!”
I had momentarily relied on the officer to clear the path, intending to catch my breath, but my heart pounded in my chest. I had been so focused on charging forward that I hadn’t noticed my own exhaustion.
“Young Master, you’ve pushed yourself too hard. We’ll clear the path together.”
“If this were Lü Bu… would he be able to break through these lines effortlessly?”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“What about Guan Yu? Or Zhao Zilong?”
“I know Lü Bu, but who are the other… No, that’s not important right now!”
I spurred my horse forward again, spear in hand. The cavalry’s momentum was incredible. We trampled the enemy infantry, pushing towards the enemy commander’s position.
Just then,
“Young Master, the enemy commander has reacted to our presence.”
“What?”
“The banner is moving, and I see dust clouds kicked up by cavalry.”
That meant the enemy commander wasn’t retreating but coming towards us.
“I think I understand…”
“?”
“He’s coming to kill me, hoping to boost his army’s morale by defeating the general leading this small cavalry unit. I appreciate the sentiment.”
The enemy commander, despite having forty thousand men, was targeting me, hoping to turn the tide of the battle by killing me. That simplified things.
I was going after him, and he was coming after me. He must be a competitive man.
“Young Master, then the situation is even simpler. These men have risked their lives to follow you. They can handle the enemy commander’s guards.”
“Halberd Lieutenant!”
“?”
I called out to the short, stocky officer with the halberd.
“The enemy commander is approaching with his guards!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of them!”
He swung his halberd, longer than his own height, with effortless grace, cutting down the enemy soldiers blocking our path.
I left it to my two lieutenants and charged forward, spear held tightly. My horse, breathing heavily, mustered its remaining strength and galloped onward.
We reached the enemy commander’s position, marked by the large banner. As expected, about one hundred enemy cavalrymen blocked our path, and the infantry, who had been scattering like leaves before us, began to retreat.
They were clearing a path for a cavalry-on-cavalry clash.
“You Cao Cao dogs made it this far, but you’ll die here!”
A young general, in his mid-twenties, a few years older than me, shouted at us. Judging by his newly grown beard, he was the commander here.
“Lieutenants!”
“Leave it to us! We’ll crush them!”
At my command, the three hundred cavalrymen charged, expending their remaining energy. I joined the fray, narrowly dodging an incoming sword. Moving too much on horseback created openings, and I quickly raised my spear.
“Gah!”
-Neigh!
I struck the horse, not the rider. The horse, impaled in the neck, reared and bucked, throwing its rider to the ground.
I had learned something in that instant.
A cavalryman’s weakness wasn’t the rider, but the horse!
Realizing this, I targeted the horses of the approaching enemy cavalry.
I pierced the neck of the first horse, and the second rider, seeing this, tried to evade me. But that created an opening, and I thrust my spear into his leg.
“Agh!”
“If not the horse, then the rider’s legs!”
I was learning quickly on the battlefield. It was something I could never have imagined in my previous life, but I was killing to survive. Nothing more.
“You bastard!”
“!?”
-Clang!
The young enemy general charged at me, spear raised. His direct approach made him an easier target.
“Is this what they call a duel?”
“What? A duel? What nonsense are you talking about?”
Ah, right. The term “duel” wasn’t commonly used in this era.
-Crash!
“Ugh!”
Right. I was in the middle of a battle. Getting distracted like this could get me killed.
“You!”
The young general was a skilled spearman, aiming for my throat. But after exchanging a few blows, I knew.
I could win this.
Whoever you are, I’ll defeat you and make my name known!
I raised my spear high and brought it down. He blocked the blow with his spear, but he stumbled, and as he tried to recover, I seized the opportunity.
“Young Master, watch out…!”
“?!”
Suddenly, I felt myself falling.
“Young Master!!!”
My horse collapsed beneath me. I saw what had happened.
While I was focused on the duel, someone had shot my horse with an arrow.
“Damn it!”
As my dying horse fell, the enemy general charged towards me. There was only one thing I could do.
If I fell, you fall with me!
Without hesitation, I plunged my spear into the chest of his horse.
-Whine
The horse, unable to even cry out, stumbled and collapsed, bleeding. The enemy general, caught off guard, fell from his horse.
“Gah!”
-Thud
He landed hard, his foot still caught in the stirrup, unable to get up.
“This is the end…”
I leaped from my falling horse, intending to finish him off, but suddenly, numerous enemy cavalrymen blocked my path.
And our own cavalrymen charged forward.
“Young Master! Are you alright?”
It was the spearman lieutenant, with a fresh horse. I quickly mounted the new horse and prepared to fight.
But then, something unexpected happened.
“They’re retreating! They’re retreating!”
“They’re falling back!”
The enemy army was collapsing from the center. The ten thousand men under the young general’s command were routing.
“Pursue them! Capture the enemy general…!”
“Young Master!”
The spearman lieutenant stopped me.
“?”
“We’ve reached our limit. We’ve barely secured a retreat route. If we pursue them, even if we capture the enemy general, we won’t make it back alive.”
“…”
“Wounding the enemy general and forcing him to retreat is already a significant victory. Let’s call it a day.”
“Damn it! There’s no other choice.”
I listened to my lieutenant and prepared to retreat. We withdrew without pursuing the retreating enemy, and they didn’t pursue us.
Since we had broken through their center, Cao Hong’s troops, facing the vanguard of Yuan Shu’s army, had also gained the upper hand.
“Young Master, we’ve accomplished our mission. Let’s go.”
“There’s no helping it… Alright.”
He led me back to safety. And by surviving a charge deep into the enemy lines, I had proven myself in this battle.
Thanks to our cavalry charge, Cao Hong’s army had forced Yuan Shu’s forces to retreat, achieving a great victory on the first day of battle.
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“Reporting to the Governor. I led one thousand cavalrymen and struck at the enemy’s flank, attacking the enemy general. Unfortunately, I was unable to take his head, only forcing him to retreat.”
“AHAHAHAHA! I knew you could do it, Wenlie!”
Cao Cao laughed heartily and embraced me.
“Oof?!”
I was glad I had washed myself and changed into clean clothes after removing my blood-soaked armor before reporting to him.
“We have another warrior in our family. Excellent work.”
“I’m ashamed I let the enemy general escape.”
“Zilian, Zixiao, Miaocai. Did you hear? This boy charged into the enemy lines with only one thousand cavalrymen, intending to take the enemy general’s head.”
The generals, exhausted from the day’s battle, commented one by one.
“It’s his first battle. He’s fearless because he doesn’t know any better. He’ll be more cautious after a few more battles.”
Cao Ren seemed to underestimate me, clicking his tongue and shaking his head as if to say, “He’s still got a lot to learn.”
“Just not panicking in his first battle is an achievement. I hope he didn’t address the soldiers with respect out of nervousness.”
“Uh, well…”
Cao Cao always asked that question. He disliked any sign of weakness or deference to those of lower status.
“So, what did the others think of Wenlie’s performance?”
“If he continues fighting like this, he’ll make a decent shock trooper. Thanks to him, we had an easier time today.”
Cao Hong’s assessment was more generous, but “a decent shock trooper”… Was this level of reckless charging the norm for cavalry commanders in this world?
“Now, now, aren’t you all being too harsh on Wenlie’s first battle? I think he performed admirably as a general.”
As expected of Xiahou Yuan. I had always preferred the Xiahou clan over the Cao clan among Cao Cao’s followers.
In any case, the first day of battle ended in a decisive victory for Cao Cao’s army. This was Cao Cao’s sixth consecutive victory in Xu Province.
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Wenlie discovers the fastest way to win a battle.
stab the horses, survive a duel, and hope your boss doesn’t ask too many questions! 🐎💀
