Chapter 346 Separated (1/2)
Chapter 346 – Separated
Once Qiuliju died before all of his subordinates, their morale crumbled. A portion of Qiuliju's men ran away from the battle while the ignorant ones were still fighting against Tian Yu's battalion.
”Don't run! As long as we kill that guy and get those woman, we'll win!”
A voice came from behind the battle lines. It was from a subordinate general under Qiuliju.
Because of the sudden command, the encircling soldiers regained their sense. No one deserted from the army anymore.
Wang Men, an officer under Gongsun Zan, had conspired with Gongsun Du to rebel against his lord. He was also an agent who had been exchanging information with Cheng Yu, the senior advisor of Cao Cao, which he learned about the coming of the empress.
At first, Gongsun Du, Wang Men, and Qiuliju wanted to kill Gongsun Zan and took over his forces and territories. Things changed when they learned about the empress convoy.
Gongsun Du did not want the empress because of lust. He tried to sow seeds of chaos within the country, so everybody could be busy fighting each other. Then, he would slowly expand toward the south as he could consolidate his new kingdom's foundation.
As long as the empress and Liu Xie were dead or missing, all warlords would go crazy over who would be the next in line for the throne, and many of them would eventually crown themselves like how Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao did.
Now, Wang Men gazed at the exhausted Zhao Yun and the terrified He Xing. If he could capture or kill the empress, his promotion would be guaranteed.
”Archers, shoot at them! Target your aim at that woman!”
Although Wang Men and the archers coordinated well, their preparation time allowed Zhao Yun to get up on his feet.
After Zhao Yun killed Qiuliju, he managed to steal his horse. He leaped and sat on the horseback and rode it to the empress.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please clickfor visiting.
”Your Majesty, please get on the horse.”
Zhao Yun extended his hand, and He Xing grabbed it, getting on the horse with her son. She sat in front of Zhao Yun with Liu Xie in her arms.
Liu Xie regained his consciousness at this moment. He looked around in confusion.
”What happened here?”
”We are under attack, but we will flee from here soon.”
”O-Okay!”
After they got on his horse, Wang Men hastened his order.
”Fire! Fire now!”
*SWOOSH*
*SWOOSH*
*SWOOSH*
A volley of arrows covered the sky once more.
”Hmm!”
Zhao Yun kicked the sides of his horse, rushing it forward. It charged at the soldiers before them in reflex.
With a horse, Zhao Yun got away from the hail of arrows.
*POEK*
*POEK*
*POEK*
The horse also ran over several archers, opening the path again.
Finally, Zhao Yun and others broke through the encirclement.
”We got out! Just a little more, your majesty!”
”U-Um.”
As they broke out to the north, they had to journey southeast if they wanted to regroup with Tian Yu and others.
However, Wang Men and others were still eyeing on the empress. They had to get away from here first.
”ZILONG, TAKE THE EMPRESS AND GET OUT OF HERE!”
Tian Yu bellowed again. Though his battlefront situation was not favorable, he was more worried about Zhao Yun and He Xing.
Zhao Yun bit his lower lips as he galloped toward the north, heading toward Lu Zhi's location.
.
Wang Men glared at the fleeing Zhao Yun with hatred. Had Liu Yi not lusted for He Xing's body, they could have killed both Liu Xie and He Xing right there, and they would have completed their mission.
He turned toward Tian Yu, who seemed to be Zhao Yun's acquaintance.
Tian Yu and his force were left with less than 700 soldiers after the short fight, and he should have more men on the east side, who were fighting with Tadun's remaining soldiers.
Wang Men examined his remaining troops. There were still over 3,000 remaining.
Judging the pros and cons if he continued fighting, Wang Men did not think that trading more men against these Gongsun Zan's remnants was worth it.
”All units, retreat! We are going northward, and we'll rejoin with the main army!”
.
= Lu Zhi and Gongsun Du's battlefield =
Gongsun Du was using a hit-and-run tactic with his horse archers while Lu Zhi formed a fish-scale phalanx formation to protect his men from arrows.
Gongsun Du's horsemen panted, and their arms trembled as they were exhausted from the repeated shooting.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhi's men were still fresh as they had done nothing but defending. His soldiers might have run out of arrows to retaliate, but Gongsun Du's men were donating theirs to Lu Zhi's side.
*PONK*
*PONK*
*TINK*
Sounds of iron arrowhead hit with iron shields continued as if someone was playing a musical instrument.
”Hu.”
The soldiers under the shields inhaled and exhaled in a rhythm. After defending for a while, they could predict Gongsun Du's volley timing.
The calm Lu Zhi, who stood behind the shield wall, observed the general situation. Since he could not fight against horse archers, he ordered his men to stand guard, waiting for an opportunity or Gongsun Du's mistake.
As the stalemate continued, a fleeing horseman with a woman and a child approached them from the south.
Since Lu Zhi could not see the face of the horseman, he thought they were a civilian family who had run away from the south battle.