'Even so,' he thought, 'the enemy is right before us.' In his heart, Niu Yang was cursing Xiao Jing and his men, but he forced himself to calm down. He put on a fawning smile and tried to reason with him.
"My lord, we're facing a great enemy. We must take them seriously..."
Hearing this, Xiao Jing nodded and said earnestly to Niu Yang, "You're right. We must take them seriously!"
"Zhou Cang!"
"Here!"
"Xu Tai!"
"Here!"
"I order the two of you, with Zhou Cang in command and Xu Tai as his second, to lead 30 Wind Cavalry and 150 elite local militia—a force integrated from surrendered Yellow Turbans and our own elite militia. Are you confident you can break the Yellow Turbans and rescue Da Liu Town?!"
Xiao Jing issued his command.
In his mind, sending two Tier Seven generals, Zhou Cang and Xu Tai, along with 30 units of Tier Two heavy cavalry (the Wind Cavalry), against a disorganized Yellow Turban Army whose forces averaged Tier One and whose strongest member was no more than Tier Four... this was already taking them *very* seriously.
After all, once the power gap became large enough, sheer numbers meant nothing without the aid of battle formations or tactical spells. To a High-Tier general, they were just lambs to the slaughter.
'It's over!' Niu Yang's face was a mask of utter despair.
'What is wrong with these people?!'
'Thirty-something men charging an encampment of over three thousand?'
"Soldiers, with me! Charge!"
"KILL!"
While Niu Yang's face was ashen with despair, Zhou Cang was already leading his troops in a charge.
A cacophony of battle cries erupted.
Niu Yang's heart had been filled with despair and even resentment. He seethed internally, 'I'll just watch and see how you all die!'
But in the next moment, his expression began to change.
First came the shock, as if he were witnessing monsters. This was followed by sheer disbelief, which finally settled into a state of being completely and utterly dumbfounded.
...
The Yellow Turbans besieging Da Liu Town were no disciplined army, but they at least had a basic level of vigilance.
Numerous rebel sentries patrolled the wooden palisade encircling the Yellow Turban camp. The clamor from Zhou Cang's brazen, head-on charge instantly drew their attention.
"Who goes there?"
"Look out! We're being attacked! Inform the Chieftain, quickly!"
Before he could finish...
Suddenly, several arrows flew from the trees, striking the sentries. Two of them fell dead on the spot, while a third, though wounded, scrambled to flee back toward the main camp.
Another arrow flew through the air, felling the badly wounded rebel.
"Keep charging!"
After taking out the sentries, Zhou Cang's face remained impassive as he spurred his horse onward.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Although Zhou Cang had dealt with the sentries swiftly, the commotion had still alerted the Yellow Turbans in the main camp.
The sound of war drums thundered across the entire encampment.
"To arms! To arms!"
Amidst the roars of the Yellow Turban Soldiers, the entire camp erupted into chaos.
"Dammit!"
Zhou Cang cursed under his breath. It was unlucky, but he didn't hesitate, leading his troops in a direct charge toward the heart of the Yellow Turban camp.
It has been an eternal truth since ancient times: to catch the rebels, you must first catch their leader.
"Die!"
"All who stand in my way shall die!"
Relying on his immense strength, Zhou Cang was unstoppable.
Any Yellow Turban who dared to stand before him was cleaved in two by a single stroke of his saber. It was a terrifying and gruesome sight.
Xu Tai was no slouch either. From atop his horse, his spear skills were on full display. With thrusts and lunges, he left dozens of Yellow Turban Soldiers dead in his wake.
"Cough, cough... help me..."
"So... so terrifying..."
The Yellow Turban Soldiers who had rushed to the scene saw Zhou Cang's terrifying presence, like that of a Demon Lord of Chaos. Glancing at the mangled bodies of their comrades, they were all struck with terror.
A third of their courage vanished on the spot, and they hesitated, not daring to press forward.
Some of the shrewder men who had been conscripted by the Yellow Turbans saw Zhou Cang's ferocity and began to quietly slip away toward the family quarters in the rear.
With Zhou Cang leading the charge, the small unit's momentum was unstoppable.
Soon, they broke through the outer ring of Yellow Turban Soldiers and reached the inner section of the camp. In the distance, the main command tent was now visible.
But now, they ran into trouble.
"The Azure Sky is already dead! The Yellow Sky shall now rise!"
The fanatical Yellow Turban slogan rang out.
In an instant, several hundred fanatical Yellow Turban soldiers appeared before Zhou Cang and his men.
If Xiao Jing had been there, he would have been able to see the details of these Yellow Turbans on his status panel.
[Troop Type]: Yellow Turban Strongman
[Level]: 66 (2734/13300) (Elite Veteran)
[Class]: Infantry
[Potential]: Common (Gray, gains 0.3 free Attribute Points per level)
[Attributes]: Martial Power: 22.5 + 5 (Elite Soldier Bonus) + 2 (Yellow Sky Shall Rise), Martial Intent: 3, Morale: 7 + 2 (Yellow Sky Shall Rise)
[Skills]: Proficient Saber Technique, Basic Defense
[Traits]: 1. Yellow Sky Shall Rise (Yellow): A believer in the Yellow Sky, morale is easily bolstered (when bolstered, temporary +2 Morale, +2 Martial Power).
2. Great Peace Across the Land: Damage taken -10%.
[Summary]: An elite of the Yellow Turban Army...
In other words, with all these buffs, this fanatical unit of Yellow Turban Strongmen had a Martial Power of 29.5, making them effectively Pseudo-Tier Three.
Zhou Cang wouldn't have given a single Pseudo-Tier Three soldier a second glance. But facing nearly three hundred of them, even he felt this would be tricky.
He knew he could defeat them, but it would inevitably delay him from killing the Yellow Turban chieftain. This would give the leader time to escape, tarnishing what should be a great victory.
With this in mind, Zhou Cang quickly made a decision. He turned to Xu Tai behind him and said.
"I'll take the Wind Cavalry and hold these Yellow Turbans back! You take the men to the main tent and capture their chieftain!"
Xu Tai didn't hesitate. He cupped his fist and declared, "As you command!"
With that, he led the elite local militia toward the command tent.
Seeing this, the Yellow Turban Strongmen tried to give chase, but Zhou Cang and his Wind Cavalry intercepted them, his face a ferocious mask.
"Trying to stop me from earning merit?!"
"Then I'll be happy to entertain you all!"
With that, Zhou Cang raised his saber and began cutting down the Yellow Turban Strongmen while commanding the Wind Cavalry to pin them down, preventing them from reinforcing the command tent.
The Wind Cavalry numbered only thirty units and were merely Tier Two.
Yet, facing hundreds of near-Tier Three Yellow Turban Strongmen, they weren't at a disadvantage in the slightest.
Their fighting style was incredibly ferocious. They relied on their heavy cavalry armor, their 'undying' trait, and the sheer force of their charge.
The Wind Cavalry completely ignored the attacks from the Yellow Turban Strongmen, trading blow for blow.
No! It wasn't trading blow for blow!
As armored heavy cavalry, the Wind Cavalry possessed high defense and devastating attack power when charging. They could take down a Yellow Turban Strongman in just two or three strikes.
In contrast, the Yellow Turban Strongmen's attacks barely scratched the Wind Cavalry.
This led to an almost comical scene on the battlefield.
Thirty units of Wind Cavalry were actually overwhelming more than two hundred Yellow Turban Strongmen!
"The rebel chieftain is dead! Surrender now!"
Just as Zhou Cang and the Wind Cavalry were in the thick of the fighting, a loud shout suddenly rang out.
He looked over and saw that it was Li Ye, that brat, holding up the bloody, severed head of a burly, side-burned man as he called for the Yellow Turbans to surrender.
'Heh, that lucky brat,' Zhou Cang thought, feeling a bit resentful.
'If it weren't for these Yellow Turban Strongmen, the glory of taking the enemy's head would never have fallen into that brat's hands.'
'Damn it, I lost out.' The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Zhou Cang's face filled with killing intent as he stared at the remaining Yellow Turban Strongmen. "Are you going to surrender or not?" he growled.
If these Yellow Turban Strongmen still didn't know what was good for them, he was about to go on a killing spree.
With their leader dead, the fanatical zeal of the Yellow Turban Strongmen began to fade. They exchanged glances.
They looked at the Wind Cavalry circling them, then at Zhou Cang, who was glaring at them like a tiger stalking its prey. With faces full of bitterness and resignation, they spoke.
"We... are willing to surrender!"
...