Vol 9 Chapter 169 (1/2)

Chapter 169

VOLUME 9 CHAPTER 169: DON’T TELL ME THIS IS THE SIEGE OF XINYE (18)

Li Dian POV

“Lord Cao Ren!!” I yelled as I galloped towards Cao Ren’s figure.

“Un? Lord Li Dian… And Lu Xiang?” Cao Ren too galloped towards us as she turned back.

“Ah… Lu Xiang is…” She exclaimed as her eyes bulge when she neared us.

“Ah…” I could only utter a single syllable in reply and nodded.

I looked about but did not see Lu Bu and asked, “Where is Lu Bu?”

And when I looked at Cao Ren, I was shocked. She was completely covered in cuts from head to toe. Her clothing was almost completely torn and there were just spa.r.s.e bits of cloth all over. The wounds were not deep but the pain must be unbearable.

“I exchanged about a dozen bouts with Lu Bu.” Cao Ren said as she somehow squeezed out a smile, “But just as I reached my limits, a wave of our troops came charging out from the alleys. Lu Bu saw that the battle situation was unstable there and went over to command her troops. And that is how I still have my life.”

Cao Ren smiled bitterly when she finished but when she saw Lu Xiang sitting in front of me, her smile all but vanished.

“Lord Lu Xiang… Hai…” Cao Ren tried to say something but did not know what to say and merely called out Lu Xiang’s name and sighed.

“Lu Xiang has asked me to bury her outside Fan city when we return.” I repeated what she told me, “And when we return, I hope to ask for rewards for her on her behalf.”

Cao Ren bit her lips but did not show her sorrow otherwise. She was like her elder sister and would never reveal any pain or sorrow on the outside but she was undoubtedly sad right now nonetheless.

“I understand.” She nodded and then had a serious expression on as she looked about, “But right now, we need to finish this battle…”

“Ah…” I understood what she meant.

I looked about and saw that our troop numbers had greatly diminished. Even though they had better gear and numbers, things were not going well at all and our losses were likely far beyond my most pessimistic expectations.

It’s not surprising. Just as we were about to seize an easy victory, enemies began streaming down from the walls. It is understandable that our troops would panic. And later on, there were traps and ambushes in the alleys and at our. As such, the 3-4,000 of our troops out here are under a tremendous amount of pressure. As time went by, the losses we suffered began to stack up and our only hope is for the troops in the middle and at the rear to win.

If we could eliminate all the troops that ambushed the troops in the middle, that would relieve a lot of pressure from our army and we would be able to eventually win.

“Lord Cao Ren, do you know how many of ours came out from the alleys?”

“Not many.” Cao Ren shook her head and sank into thought, “Probably less than 500. I saw a 300-man general amongst them.”

Un… Then we have no idea how the troops in the middle are doing yet. But there might be hope…

“Lord Li Dian! Lord Cao Ren!”

Un? Just then, a rather frantic voice came from behind Cao Ren. When I looked over, I saw a rather worn out 100-man general running over on foot. Just looking at her face was enough to tell me that she did not have any good news.

“What has made you panicked like this!” Cao Ren yelled and frowned when she saw her.

“Lord Cao Ren! The troops in the middle–”

“Softer! And give me a quick summary!” Cao Ren seemed alarmed when the soldie

r was about to deliver her report in a loud voice so she yelled back and the soldier jumped back in fright.

I could already guess what she was about to say but I still prayed that things were not like I thought they were.

“Lord Cao Ren, Lord Li Dian…” She said softly, so softly that we could not hear and I had to stare at her lips.

“– The troops in the middle have fallen!”

Ah–