Chapter 203 - Turnabout Victory (1/2)

Chapter 203 Turnabout Victory

Translated by Gamer

“Someone! Bring me the Wolf Cavalry soldier’s armor for me to see!” Lu Su commanded as he looked at the equipment used by the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry. They had spears, s.h.i.+elds and heavy armors that looked similar to the ones used by the Urban Army on Wan Cheng. Those were heavy armors. They were not suitable to be used for defending the city. This is because while defending a siege, the battle may drag for a long time. Using such heavy equipment would make a person exhausted and it would be impossible to defend the city. However, the soldiers on Wan Cheng could fight while wearing these heavy armors for days.

Lu Su has long since wanted to look at the heavy armor but he did not have the opportunity. He ignored the sweat and blood on the heavy armor and picked it up. His heart immediately sank not because the armor was too heavy. On the contrary, the armor was too light! Lu Su estimated that the armor would only weight 20 jin at most!

Lu Su looked serious. “Give me your armor!” He looked at a nearby Sun Ce soldier and commanded.

“Yes!” Why would the military advisor want an armor? The soldier questioned in his heart but he still took off the heavy armor. Only a few of the common soldiers actually had armor. It was mostly plated with a bit of leather. It was only capable of defending their vitals. Other places like their arms were not properly protected.

As Lu Su weigh both armors in his hands, his heart sank further. The two armors weigh roughly the same. In his left hand, he held a light armor that could barely protect a common soldier. In his right hand, he held a heavy armor that protected almost every part of the body except the face and the joints. The armor even protected the soldier’s hips.

Despite one being a light armor and the other being a heavy armor, their weight was about the same. This was why Lu Su’s heart sank. He does not know how heavy the Yuzhou Cavalry’s equipment were but he suspected it would weigh at least 100 jin. Even after surrounding themselves with so many equipment, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry would still be more powerful than the Yuzhou Cavalry.

What does this mean! This means that the Wolf Cavalry only carried half the weight of the Yuzhou Cavalry. Both the soldier and the horse were carrying twice the weight! That Yuzhou Cavalry is now chasing the Wolf Cavalry. Had he known about this, he would not have ordered the Yuzhou Cavalry to chase the Wolf Cavalry as there would be too many losses. Heavy armor was not popular because it was too heavy. Only the extremely study soldiers would be able to wear it. Ordinary soldiers could barely walk much less fight if they wore heavy armors. Now Lu Bu’s heavy armors were as light as the common soldier’s light armor. Lu Su did not want to imagine how Lu Bu managed to ma.s.s produce these armors.

Now Lu Su can only hope that the Yuzhou Cavalry’s horses were better than the Wolf Cavalry’s horses. That way, they would have a chance of defeating the Wolf Cavalry. Afterl all, the Yuzhou Cavalry’s horses were all imported from Liaodong. Those with bad physical condition have all died at sea, leaving behind the strong horses. Lu Su did not believe Lu Bu was able to replenish his horses. This is because Lu Bu has offended Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. He would need to cross these two men’s territory to obtain horses.

Both Yuan Shao and Cao Cao would never give Lu Bu horses. This is why the horses used by Lu Bu could only be the leftover old horses or weak horses obtained from a n.o.ble’s black market. How could it compare to the fine horses from Liaodong? Thinking like this, Lu Su’s mood improved. After the defeat of the Wolf Cavalry, they could obtain all the armors from the Wolf Cavalry. A single set of heavy armor would cost about as much as a good horse. Not to mention that these heavy armors that were strong and light.

Lu Su wanted to take back these heavy armors for research. If the Jiangdong Army had these heavy armors, he would be able to find a way to ma.s.s produce this armor. That way, they would be able to offset the lack of horses.

*Dong dong dong* The sound of the horse galloping could be heard. The sound was followed by neigh. Lu Su knew that the outcome has been decided. The strong stench of blood was spread from the strong winds causing him to frown. As expected, there would be heavy casualties. The earlier battle already cost them two times the damage. Ever since the start of the chase, Lu Su already prepared himself to lose more than half of the Yuzhou Cavalry. However, if they could destroy the Wolf Cavalry and Lu Bu then it would be worth it.

They would become heroes of Jiangdong. The least that could happen would be Sun Ce feeling heartbroken and the n.o.bles vomiting blood. The army received heavy losses during the attack on Lujiang. As the n.o.ble families did not do anything, they would miss the reward. On the other hand, after seizing the Wolf Cavalry’s equipment, the Yuzhou Cavalry’s battle strength would double.

*Dong dong dong* The soldiers seen as heroes to Lu Su finally appeared over the horizon. Their blood stained figure, broken armor and tired horses showed how brutal the fight was.

“Why is there so few left?!” Lu Su’s opened his eyes wide. Out of the 5,000 cavalries were dispatched, only a few hundred remained. Was the Wolf Cavalry so powerful? This Lu Bu is truly a capable person.

The remaining hundred Yuzhou Cavalry soldiers went over to Lu Su. Some of their faces were solemn and some of them were still dripping with blood but they did not care about it. In their eyes, there was a look of determination.

“N?” Lu Su had a feeling of unease. Aren’t these the Yuzhou Cavalry that have returned from combat? Although the casualties were heavy and only a few hundred out of 5,000 remained, didn’t they win? Their faces should have expressions of relief for escaping death or joy from defeating their enemies. Most of them should also have expressions of hope for the rewards. They should not have a bloodthirsty expression. Did they not recover from the battle? There were some soldiers that could not recover from the effects of war. Some were caused by the death of the fellow officers while others got stimulated from the blood. There are also many other possible reasons.

“Military advisor! Look! Look at the war banner!” As if wanting an interpretation, one of the deputy generals quickly told Lu Su about this detail.

War banner? Lu Su frowned. The war banners were not erected but were hidden in the crowd. What about the banner?

“They did not raise their war banner!” The deputy explained. The war banner was a mark of the army. Sometimes, the banner fell down and caused the morale to drop or caused the misunderstanding of defeat in the battle. This is why in some battles, an expert marksman will try and shoot down the banner to lower the morale of the enemy army. Now the Yuzhou Cavalry was putting their banners sideways instead of raising it.

“Perhaps they are tired!” The war banner was heavy and soldiers often take turns to carry it. Perhaps after the tragic victory, they were all tired and decided to go back to camp and rest.

“No! No!” The deputy did not know how to explain. The flag was black! It is because it was black! “Military advisor! What is the color of our war banner?”

“It is mainly red and complimented with purple.” How could Lu Su not know this. Jiangdong’s main troops were mostly navy but their advocate the virtues of fire. This is because the old lord of Jiangdong advocate the virtues of fire. This is why their banner is mostly red.

“But look! That flag is black!” The deputy said as he pointed towards the cavalry.

“Black!” Lu Su finally understood his unease. It was not just the color of the flag. Zhang Kai and Tais.h.i.+ Ci were missing. If the army were victorious, these two men should be at the front of the cavalry. However, Lu Su could not see their figures. Even if they had perished, their corpses would be at the front, wrapped with black robes.

“Enemies! They are not the Yuzhou Cavalry! They are the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry!” Lu Su suddenly noticed. He finally realized what those bloodthirsty expressions were. Those were eyes of hungry wolves.

“Enemy attack!” Lu Su shouted in a loud voice. “Battle formations!” Lu Su still kept calm. He knew that retreating is not possible. Their only way out is to stop the charge of the cavalries by rallying the soldiers and the use of formations.

“They noticed!” From the back of the Yuzhou Cavalry, one man in a black robe shouted. “Then we will just storm it! Wolves! Begin the hunt!” The man threw away his black robe revealing a bloodstained gold armor. He also held a bloodstained halberd.

“Lu Bu! Lu Fengxian!” Lu Su felt like he just swallowed a housefly. He had waited here for the Yuzhou Cavalry to return victorious. In the end, he met with bloodthirsty people with the eyes of wolves.

Yes. The few hundred soldiers were the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry. They were burning ominously and wanted to spill the blood of their enemies. This is because they have lost a lot of their fellow officers. Out of the 1,500 soldiers dispatched, only 400 soldiers survived. The dead must be avenged!

“Raise the banner!” Lu Bu said coldly as his wound continued to bleed. Yes. Lu Bu was injured by Tais.h.i.+ Ci and Zhang Kai. He took a risk and got himself injured by Tais.h.i.+ Ci so that he could kill Zhang Kai. As Lu Bu was injured, he was a delicious opponent to someone like Tais.h.i.+ Ci. Unfortunately, an injured beast is terrifying. After Zhang Kai’s death, Tais.h.i.+ Ci still wanted to slay Lu Bu because the Wolf Cavalry is about to be finished. They were also surrounded. The only thing left to do was to kill them.

Unfortunately, Tais.h.i.+ Ci saw the thing he does not want to see the most. The horses that were stabbed by the soldiers could not take it anymore. On top of that, they were now fighting in close combat and were fighting the Wolf Cavalry.