The flames flickered, thick smoke billowed, and the entire manor was already filled with the wounded and the dead scattered across the ground.
Facing the wolf-like Yellow Turban soldiers, the civilians inside the manor fought fearlessly, desperately clashing with the Yellow Turbans…
but the Yellow Turbans were simply too numerous.
Like tidal waves, they surged in from all directions outside the manor toward the interior.
The manor’s militia, outnumbered and outmatched, gradually fell back.
At this moment, Xu Chu, gripping his horse-slashing blade, had already charged out from inside the manor.
Several clan warriors followed closely by his side, their momentum fierce.
Along the way, Yellow Turban soldiers would rush out from both sides to harass them from time to time, only to be cut down by Xu Chu’s sweeping blade.
From inside the manor to outside, Xu Chu had nearly slain over a hundred Yellow Turban bandits single-handedly, like an unstoppable fierce tiger.
Even so, Xu Chu’s heart remained extremely uneasy.
What use was it for him to fight so well alone?
The residents inside the manor were suffering casualties every moment, and the militia at the front lines already showed signs of collapsing.
At first, they had thought the attackers were Xuzhou troops, but after fighting his way from his own farmhouse, Xu Chu had realized these soldiers were not the Xuzhou warriors he had seen during the day.
Instead, they were a fierce and battle-hardened army of roving bandits, each one a desperate outlaw…
These bandits had wandered into the area and, to survive, had set their sights on the manor’s grain supplies.
But if they sought to survive, why did they refuse to leave any path to life for others!
Xu Chu gnashed his teeth, deeply hating this dark and chaotic world, official troops stole pigs, bandits slaughtered people.
Could Heaven still grant the common people even a little chance to live?
Although Xu Chu, relying on his own martial prowess, could completely carve out a bloody path of escape, what would become of his clan relatives and friends inside the manor?
Were they to be left behind to be massacred by the Yellow Turbans?
Xu Chu knew he absolutely could not abandon them!
By the light of the fires consuming the village, Xu Chu vaguely located the position of the enemy commander.
In the crossroads within the manor, a well-equipped squad of Floating Cloud Yellow Turbans surrounded a mounted armored general like stars encircling the moon.
Without a doubt, this was the leader of the Floating Cloud Yellow Turbans, the Sky-Severing Yaksha He Man.
To shoot a man, first shoot his horse; to capture bandits, first capture their king!
To save the civilians in the manor, there was only one path: kill him!
At this moment, He Man was still instructing his Yellow Turban captains on how to transport the manor’s grain and fodder.
Suddenly, from three zhang ahead, a series of miserable screams rang out.
The sounds were so wretched they seemed right beside his ear, causing He Man’s entire body to shudder with goosebumps.
He Man looked up and saw the Yellow Turban soldiers blocking his front falling one after another like felled saplings, collapsing into pools of blood with fresh blood spraying everywhere.
A burly giant of a man wielding a blade had forcibly carved a bloody path through the crowd, advancing steadily toward his position.
The edge of the horse-slashing blade seemed to split the vast night, like a meteor constantly smashing through the heads of one Yellow Turban soldier after another.
“Block him!!
Block him!” He Man cried out in alarm.
The Yellow Turbans’ torches illuminated Xu Chu’s resolute and ferocious face.
Facing Xu Chu’s unstoppable momentum, none of the Yellow Turbans had the courage to confront him head-on.
Who would dare risk their life against this demon star?
He Man panicked.
While ordering Yellow Turban soldiers to block Xu Chu, he pulled his horse back to retreat.
However, the distance between the two was closed in the blink of an eye.
Behind him was a wall of his own soldiers, and ahead was the incomparably valiant Xu Chu drawing near.
The excess Yellow Turban soldiers had instead become burdens blocking his escape route.
At this moment, He Man had nowhere left to retreat.
In this critical moment, He Man, forced into a corner, finally made his move: he saw that Xu Chu’s strength was unparalleled and he could not face him directly, so he had to resort to trickery…
He Man roared and hurled the blade in his hand straight at Xu Chu’s face.
Xu Chu swung his blade horizontally, striking the weapon He Man had thrown.
With a clang, He Man’s war blade flew off at an angle, and Xu Chu’s body also momentarily halted, his momentum slowing.
At the same time He Man threw his weapon at Xu Chu, his figure had already leaped down from his mount.
While everyone was astonished by his act of discarding his weapon to hinder Xu Chu, He Man actually rolled and crawled, curling his body and tumbling under the feet of the crowd to the rear of the Yellow Turbans…
even further back.
In this way, a thick new wall of soldiers formed in front of He Man once more.
He was not even afraid of being trampled to death by his own men.
“Pah!
Does a rat like this deserve to be a commander?” Xu Chu watched as his prey escaped using such underhanded means.
Both angry and furious, he cursed loudly.
He Man’s face reddened upon hearing this.
Just now, to avoid Xu Chu, his embarrassing roll-and-crawl had been seen by everyone.
In a few days, it would spread throughout the army, and he would become the first laughingstock among the Yellow Turbans.
“Kill him for me!!” He Man, ashamed and enraged, no longer cared about losing face.
No matter what, he had to eliminate this fierce brute to vent the hatred in his heart.
Dozens of Yellow Turban guards wielding pu dao blades charged from both sides in unison.
Their pu dao formed an iron net woven of crude iron, blocking Xu Chu’s path of retreat.
Behind the pu dao, several figures flashed out, Yellow Turban archers, each holding a two-stone strong bow, nocked arrows and aimed at Xu Chu’s back, loosing powerful shots.
Xu Chu did not even glance at these men.
He turned and swung his weapon left and right, deflecting the sharp arrows.
Then, with a hum, his body suddenly charged forward…
His massive frame moved extremely fast, like a wild bull.
Wherever his body passed, he directly sent five men flying, smashing a gap into the wall of Yellow Turban pu dao soldiers.
The Yellow Turbans, led by He Man, all felt their courage fail…
What kind of monster was this, so difficult to deal with?
“What are you all staring at?
Kill him!
Quickly kill him!
Everyone attack together!” He Man had never expected to encounter such a troublesome opponent in a farming manor.
He issued orders hoarsely.
Several more Yellow Turban soldiers charged straight at Xu Chu.
Six spearmen attacked from four directions simultaneously toward Xu Chu.
Xu Chu showed no hesitation.
He first raised his left arm to clamp down on two incoming long spears, then held his horse-slashing blade in one hand.
Swinging his arm, he executed a half-circle sweep with thunderous force, a move that swept a thousand soldiers.
The horse-slashing blade struck the weapons of the four long-spear Yellow Turban soldiers, and the enormous power directly sent them flying.
There were no fancy techniques or tricks, purely brute force.
Among them, two were directly shaken to death.
He Man pursed his lips.
He had never imagined this tough bone would be so hard to gnaw!
However, he had now also realized that Xu Chu was the leader of this manor household and the soul of these residents.
Even if he could not kill him, as long as he pinned him down here, the others inside the manor would be no problem!
This manor had at most a few thousand people, with the elderly, weak, women, and children making up six or seven tenths.
The able-bodied men who could fight numbered at most over a thousand.
His side had nearly ten thousand troops.
Wiping them out was only a matter of time.
At this time, more and more Yellow Turban soldiers arrived from all around to support, completely encircling Xu Chu without leaving the slightest opening.
They simply used their weapons to pin him down from all directions…
No matter how valiant Xu Chu was, what could he do in this situation?
Even if he could kill many by himself, what use was it?
Xu Chu faced death with equanimity, fearlessly.
His horse-slashing blade once again swept heavily forward, and three Yellow Turban soldiers fell in response.
But at the same time, the Yellow Turban soldiers behind him seized the opening.
Several hacking blades struck toward the gaps in his rear.
Although Xu Chu turned to protect his vital points, two blades still landed on his broad, thick arms, leaving two heavy bloody marks.
He Man screamed madly: “Yes, just like that!
Trap him!
Trap him to death!
I don’t want him alive!” At the exact moment He Man shouted, a heavy horn blast suddenly sounded from the rear of the Yellow Turban army.
“Wuuu~~~!” The sound was deep, seemingly slow yet actually swift, spreading through the night sky.
The horn carried a fierce, intense killing intent.
He Man’s face instantly turned pale.
This horn, cast from heavy bronze iron, was all too familiar to He Man…
It was the unique rhythm of the Han dynasty’s official troops…
Its meaning was simple and clear: attack!
Now this damned horn was sounding from the rear…
What did it represent?
He Man turned his head in terror to look behind him!
The Han army’s shield soldiers and long-halberd soldiers were divided into four columns, led respectively by two colonels and two commandants.
Like mountains roaring and seas surging, they stabbed straight into the rear formation of the Yellow Turbans!
At this moment, the Yellow Turbans were entirely focused on how to capture Xu Manor.
The grain and livestock inside the manor had reddened their eyes and clouded their reason…
The Han army, which had been lying in wait with weapons ready, had become a lethal dagger that could take their lives in this situation!
The rear, completely undefended, was quickly smashed into four segments by the four columns of Xuzhou troops, forcibly tearing open three breaches.
Han army soldiers poured continuously into their formation.
In the central army of the Xuzhou forces, Tao Shang and Mi Fang observed the battle ahead together by torchlight.
This was Tao Shang’s first time witnessing a real war up close: although the sky was pitch black and only torches provided illumination, the scenes of fierce fighting inside the distant manor still faintly entered his vision.
Blades piercing bodies and spraying chilling blood, the heart-wrenching wails of those nearing death, all of it twisted Tao Shang’s insides, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.
To put it plainly, he felt like vomiting…
But as a supervising officer, Tao Shang absolutely could not make a fool of himself before the entire army.
Even if he wanted to vomit, he could not.
Tao Shang turned his head and looked at Mi Fang beside him.
Mi Fang had only just experienced his first battlefield as well…
He was even less composed than Tao Shang and vomited directly.
Glancing down at the filth Mi Fang had vomited onto the ground, Tao Shang nudged his horse a bit to the side.
Too dirty…
too disgusting.
“Brother Mi, in your view, what are our chances of victory in this battle?” Tao Shang beckoned a soldier holding a torch closer, narrowed his eyes, and continued gazing into the distance.
After vomiting, Mi Fang wiped his mouth directly with his hand, a sight that once again made Tao Shang frown.
Mi Fang, however, felt quite good about himself and said, “Although the Yellow Turbans fight well, their formation is already in chaos and they are trapped inside the manor with no easy escape.
Our Xuzhou army is, after all, the official troops of the province and commandery.
Our weapons and equipment far surpass those of the bandits, and we are attacking after resting.
This battle will surely end in complete victory!” Tao Shang nodded.
He believed Mi Fang’s words.
Although Mi Fang had almost no battlefield experience, he should understand quite a bit about the military equipment and formations of this era.
It was not that he himself was particularly studious, but given his family background, lessons on military strategy and formations would not have been neglected since childhood.
One must not underestimate those military texts on bamboo slips.
Books in this era were precious items.
In times when people could barely eat their fill, with printing still lagging, reading was the greatest luxury!
As they spoke, the Yellow Turban forces had already fallen into complete disarray.
Just as Mi Fang had said, facing the sudden assault of the Xuzhou army in this state, the Yellow Turbans had no power to resist.
Seeing He Man hastily commanding his troops to turn and defend against the Xuzhou army, Xu Chu’s bloodstained face could not help but show a grim smile.
At this moment, he no longer cared why those pig-stealing troops had come to help him…
The urgent task was to quickly organize the manor’s warriors to reverse the declining situation.
Xu Chu took the opportunity to retreat back into the manor.
Finding two blood-soaked militiamen, he raised his voice and said, “Gather all the brothers who can still fight here.
Follow me and charge forward along the bandits’ retreat route…
Move the elderly, weak, women, and children to the rear of the manor.
Do not let them fight on the front lines anymore.
Go quickly!” As Xu Chu’s orders spread, the militiamen and civilians inside the manor were invigorated.
Like ghosts who had circled through hell and returned to the world of the living, in an instant, those organizing troops organized troops, and those relocating the women and children relocated them.
Everyone in the manor acted swiftly and orderly according to Xu Chu’s commands.
As time passed and with the arrival of the Xuzhou army, the offensive and defensive positions of the three sides reversed, and the counterattack battle of Xu Manor also began.