Vol 8 Chapter 42 (2/2)

I stared at aba us lady but she seemed to be very troubled by what I said and thought for a long while before slowly saying, “They… Aren’t actually an ambush by Jing state! But–”

Ah, then I understand. That means they are the troops from the exercise.

Since time is of the essence, I better hurry over. There isn’t much else to know as well, I thought as I received a long wooden pole from a soldier nearby.

I twirled it about and tested it. Apart from being light to the point of weightlessness, it’s a rather fine wooden pole.

“I’ll be leaving then! Don’t worry, I’ll pick up the halberd on my way back so abacus lady need only look after Red Hare!”

“*w.a.n.g*!” Red Hare remembered to give me a farewell. What a good kid.

*Jia*! On my command, the cavalry within our contingent charged forth behind me.

Abacus lady seemed to be yelling at me from behind but I don’t have the spare time to bother about her.

Jing state losers! Since you aren’t satisfied with a simple defeat, I’ll give you lot a thorough thras.h.i.+ng!

*Tatatatatata*– A continuous wave of horse hoove footfalls entered my ears. They aren’t many, but it’s a heartening sound nonetheless. From the sounds, it seems like there are about 30-40 with me.

That’s enough.

Ha~~

Ah, I’m still a little tired. I shouldn’t have stayed up all night last night.

I tiredly looked about as I struggled to keep my eyes opene but I couldn’t catch a glimpse of enemy or friend anywhere in the distance.

… Could we be lost?

Ah, I’m lost again.

“Oi, anyone knows where the enemy position is?” I didn’t want to open my mouth and ask but if I didn’t do so, I would only get even more lost.

“Lord Lu Bu, they should be in the southeast!”

“… Where.”

“Lord Lu Bu, over there.”

*Jia*! I swung the reins and hurriedly galloped in that direction.

Un… I’ll remember that this direction is the southeast. I won’t forget, probably.

“Lord Lu Bu! Look!”

Un? All of a sudden, a soldier yelled out. I hurriedly squinted as I looked forward ans saw a cloud of swirling dust near a small hill.

I swung the reins once more and ascended the small hill and saw, just 100 paces away, that there were several contingents clas.h.i.+ng. It was chaotic but there was 1 side that was clearly retreating as they fought.

Un? The general at the head of that side is– Wen Yuan?

It’s definitely them! That side is ours!

“Everyone, get ready and wield your weapons, we will be charging down shortly.”

“But… All we have in our hands are wooden batons?”

Someone wearing the plate armour that looked like what a brigadier general would wear spoke up to me just as I finished.

“What’s wrong with wooden batons? Wooden batons are enough even for actual battles. Of course, you must all first abandon your fears. Without fear, you won’t die.”

And besides, this isn’t a real battlefield.

“Is everyone ready?”

I don’t know if it’s because of my encouragement, but be it male or female, they all had their heads low as though they were coming to a realisation and looked at me with resolute eyes as they nodded.

Ah, they are so serious. That’s good. Every battle must be taken seriously or an exercise would lose its meaning.

“Good! Then let’s– Charge!!!!” I yelled out as I swung down my reins and led the charge down the hill.

Aaaaaaah!

The several dozen cavalry charged down together with me and yelled out as they did so, perhaps more heroically than any other cavalry I’ve ridden together with.

As the sound of thunderous horse hooves grew more dense, the enemy neared.

“Troops at the side!! Look out!!” Their troops at the wing had already taken notice and were diverting troops towards us.

“Wen Yuan! I’ve come!!” I yelled out loudly, and felt like there was a commotion which I believe meant that Wen Yuan and the rest should have heard me.

If possible, I would prefer that my voice is a little softer as I’m still a girl after all.

But now isn’t the time to bother about this. What’s important is to have Wen Yuan stop retreating and form a united front with us.

500 against 2,000 isn’t such a big deal. It’s not like we haven’t faced against such odds after all, so what is there to fear?

As we neared the defending enemies, several long spears emerged from the wall of s.h.i.+elds.

Ah, they really went all out huh. But even so, I won’t be touched by these fake spears.

Yaaaaaa! I yelled as I twirled the wooden pole in my hands.

I focused my sights on a certain area in the wall and concentrated as I brought my weapon behind me–

Now is the time!

I swung forward with the wooden pole. Though it doesn’t feel as good as with the double-sided halberd, I could still feel the exhilaration i always get from cutting through the air.

And in the next instant, the wooden pole clashed with the spears.

— Waaaaa!!!

And in the next instant, cries from behind the wall of s.h.i.+elds could be heard. In the blink of an eye, almost the entire front row were sent flying. The ones behind were also knocked back by the shockwave and keeled over backwards.

As for the fake spears, they were all broken.

Of course, the wooden pole in my hands were completely destroyed and all there remained was a wooden splinter.

“Hmph! They couldn’t even withstand more than a single blow!”

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