Chapter 203 Battle of Shangdang – Aftermath (1/2)

Chapter 203 – Battle of Shangdang – Aftermath

The Red Hare jogged back to the west cliff. Lu Bu had lost his motivation to continue fighting in this battle, so he left the cleaning up jobs to his subordinates again.

He looked toward the battle at the wall. It seemed to be over already after the Imperial soldiers had noticed the arrival of another force. The soldiers on the wall gave up and surrendered while the troops below the wall also shouted and begged for their lives.

Lu Bu shook his head. These men were pathetic to give them his attention.

'Where is their leader on these insects?'

Lu Bu darted his eyes left and right, searching for someone who stood out from the rest. Seeing that everything around him was nothing but corpses, a deep frown appeared on his face.

'Don't tell me, I've killed that scum already?'

He had not realized it yet. The man with the decorated armor who Lu Bu cleaved into two earlier was Wang Kuang. The governor of Henei was slain before anyone was aware of his identity.

While Lu Bu looked around the corpses as he had nothing else to do, he sensed the familiar aura from the north. He turned his head toward the direction where Zhang He and his men stationed.

'That aura again. The awakening process isn't over yet?'

'I see. He isn't awakening. He's simply growing from this battle.'

'I have to spar with him after this. This battle is too boring. My hands are still itching for a proper fight.'

...

...

From a distance away, Zhang He and his 10,000 men disengaged from the combat. They withdrew back from the battlefield the moment they had noticed the movement from the west cliff.

He had to retreat and avoided Jinyang Army. Had they stayed, they might have been mistaken as Imperial soldiers and caused unnecessary friendly combat.

After giving spaces to Lu Bu and the others, Zhang He ordered the perimeter sealed to cut off the Imperial soldiers' path to escape. During the process or organizing a new formation, he witnessed Jinyang Army strength in a war. He watched the combat scene in shock as their horsemen were stronger than he had imagined.

At first, Zhang He thought they would be similar to the Imperial Heavy Cavalry unit that he had seen in the past. Contrary to his impression, they displayed overwhelming power, discipline, teamwork, and their commanders' leadership.

What terrified Zhang He the most was the existence of the lone horseman who had charged into the enemy formations alone. Because that person cleaved the square formations of several battalions in half, the armored cavalries had it easy turning the panicking Imperial soldiers into mincemeat.

'They're completely different from us. Their horses were well equipped with armors. Their men even wore full-set of bronze mails under those Xiangnu clothes.'

Zhang He also noticed the similarity and the difference between their horse charge and his army maneuvering. Jinyang Army did not utilize the horse charge tactic by ramming their horses first and killing the enemies later. They thrust and swung their polearms to protect the front of their horses, allowing their partners to continue running forward without stopping.

The horses sometimes rammed into the standing dead bodies or injured soldiers from time to time, but they rarely collided with a living soldier.

The eyes of Zhang He glittered as he gained enlightenment from seeing the action of the elites.

'I'm not at a level that I can call myself a first-rate general yet! I'm nothing but a third rate wannabe!'

'I will never stop learning! I will never stop improving!'

'My army can do better! They have to be more discipline. Their equipment has to be forged! My sergeants are still inexperienced. My soldiers still lacked training.'

'How can I call myself a legend if I can't turn my soldiers into legends!?'

A new fire had been kindled in Zhang He's heart.

While his morale was increasing, the routed soldiers of the Imperial Army ran toward their direction.

Because Zhang He and his men lined up in a straight formation, covering all exit from the valley, the fleeing men despaired after seeing such a scene.

”We surrender! Please don't kill us!”

”Please let us live! We won't fight anymore!”

”Save us!”

…

…

Zhang Yang managed to track Zhang He's troops to the slope where they rushed down the mountain. He planned to charge down to chase after Zhang He Army as well, but the earthquake and the appearance of another unknown army stopped them on their track.

The governor forgot to order his men and observed the battle in shock. The army in Xiangnu clothes destroyed the Imperial Army like they were nothing. The infantries and arrows could not do anything to the horsemen's armor or the bronze armors of the horses. Like a wave, they simply charged and broke all formations, creating a chaotic scene.

By the time the Xiangnu horsemen reached the east cliff, the Imperial Army had turned into scattered mobs, running around in a panic.