Vol 9 Chapter 169 (2/2)

When I realised what she had said, my mind went blank and I almost lost consciousness and had difficulty breathing.

“What happened?” Cao Ren asked.

“Our troops are scattered and isolated. Efforts to try to gather enough troops to take a stand have failed.”

Completely scattered huh… There is little doubt that the enemy which knows the city well would have the upper hand. I never thought that my idea of having the troops in the middle reinforce us at the front by going through the alleys would work against us.

No… It is also thanks to the enemy having commanders in the ambush in the alleys that has allowed them to so easily defeat us.

“I see. I got it.” Cao Ren replied as she frowned and bit her lips even tighter.

“Zhang Liao and Guan Yu huh…” I said, guessing who must have commanded the ambush and s.h.i.+fted my gaze between Cao Ren and the 100-man general.

“How are our losses over there?”

“More than half and we still don’t know the enemy’s numbers.”

“Isn’t that easy to calculate?” Cao Ren replied, “The city defence, Zhang Liao and Guan Yu’s troops. There should be less than 10,000 of them.”

“Perhaps even less.” I added, “Lu Bu’s troops is more than the 2,000 Guan Yu said and is closer to 3,000.”

Then is the enemy force that is engaging the troops in the middle close to 10,000 as well? No, that cannot be right. I feel like I am missing something. My mind continued to whir at top speed but I could not solve this problem.

No matter what, it seems like our troops in the middle and back numbering in excess of 10,000 have fallen to the enemy which numbers much less…

Just thinking about it makes it discomforting and difficult for me to breathe. This feeling was the same I had in the first battle but it was much more intense this time.

“My lords, what do we do now?” The 100-man general asked the most crucial question at hand now.

Yes, what do we do now? This is probably something that all of our troops are thinking about right now.

Right now, the battle situation is leaning heavily against our favour thanks to our command. But now was not the time to think about punishment. We need to think about how we can bring our troops out safely and how we can overturn the situation.

I looked about and saw that the troops here were scattered as well. Even though we still had superior numbers, I could not see much of a will to fight in the eyes of our troops. Instead, I saw fatigue and fear.

We were suffering heavy losses at the front and the middle and until now we still do not have a clear idea of the enemy’s strength. If we go on like this, I would have to give us negative points. No, if we go on, I might not even have the right to give points…

“Lord Cao Ren.” I called out to her and turned to look at her as I made the resolve in my heart.,

“…” She did not reply and had a severe expression on.

I believe she knows what I want to say but it is difficult for the decision maker to have the resolve to do what she needs to. The bulk of our 30,000 strong elite vanguard has now been lost after a 2 lost battles and 1 win. We also lost 2 capable generals as well. If we were to retreat just like that, we would not have any gains to show for these losses. But…

“Lord Cao Ren.” I called out to her again and she looked at me with the traces of tears in her eyes. I could not bear it but as her lieutenant, I had to tell her what she needs to hear, “We need to put an end to this.”

Cao Ren looked down and sank into silence at my words. Just as I thought that she was unable to make the resolve, she replied and nodded, “… Un. I understand.”

She then looked at Lu Xiang with sorrow in her eyes. She probably feels responsible for Lu Xiang’s death.

Just then, Cao Ren raised the spear in her hands above her head and yelled, “All troops!”

Everyone, including the enemy, looked over while they continued to fight.

“The battle is over, turn around and retreat swiftly now! Retreat out of Xinye!” Cao Ren roared as she pulled her reins and made her horse rear up its front legs, making a majestic image that did not fit the situation.

In the next moment, her horse landed and she galloped off into the alleys where the troops in the middle were with me in tow. I looked at the troops behind and saw that they had begun to retreat.

The battle has indeed ended. No, perhaps it might be more correct to say that the entire battle of Xinye has ended.

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