The Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Lu Bu is good at being filial - Chapter 73



＜ The Path of Beasts and Asuras (3) ＞

In front, a large army is right before us.

The number is roughly estimated at about 10,000.

“Fewer than I expected.”

The number of enemy soldiers, primarily infantry, is less than anticipated.

“Isn’t that a small number for a vanguard?”

“Still, it’s few.”

Zhang Liao also gauged the number of soldiers, but the conclusion remains that it is indeed small.

“With 10,000, would that be two or even three lords? Zhang Liao, how many lords do you think have come out?”

“I’m not sure. If their banners were flying, we could tell by that.”

“Exactly. They’ve even removed their insignias that distinguished their colors.”

Has the coalition united into a single army?

There is no sign of the military banners and insignias that used to distinguish them from one another.

“Is Yuan Shao commanding the coalition as one? It doesn’t seem that way.”

“I think he might be too embarrassed to display his affiliation.”

“Are you ashamed?”

“Yes. Deep down, they know they are traitors. They are trying to hide their affiliation and their true identities.”

Jang Ryo’s words hold weight.

If they wanted to proudly announce their names, they would be waving their banners high.

“Indeed. They know they should be ashamed, yet they still want to conquer Luoyang.”

Heeheehee.

Jeokto stamps his feet on the ground, whining.

He seems to be throwing a fit, as if he wants to rush over immediately.

“Hey. You don’t need to whine; I’ll be there soon.”

I tapped Jeokto’s foot with mine and then turned my gaze to the commanders waiting behind me.

“We move according to the plan. Jang Ryo will lead a thousand cavalry on the right flank. Cavalry commander—”

There are currently three cavalry commanders.

“Go Sun. You will lead seven hundred in the center and follow me.”

“Understood.”

Cavalry commander Go Sun will follow me as my subordinate.

The remaining thousand.

They are not from Byeongju, but they have received support from Dong Zhuo.

“Seo Yeong.”

“Yes, General.”

Cavalry commander Seo Yeong from Yangju.

While the cavalry did not perform particularly well in the defense of Sasugwan and Horogwan, this wide plain is where they can truly shine.

“You will take charge of the left flank. Follow the instructions I gave you earlier.”

“That….”

“When the center breaks through the enemy’s front, we will shoot down the scattered soldiers following behind.”

I checked the strap of my helmet with the back of my hand and pointed towards the enemy lines.

“It’s not a ‘charge’ but a ‘breakthrough.’ If the center cannot break through the enemy lines, the left flank will circle around the enemy and head towards the target point. Seo Yeong, where is the target point?”

“The target point is the area covered with ‘bamboo fences.’”

“Alright.”

While Jang Ryo and Go Sun already understand Byeongju’s tactics well, it is the first time for Seo Yeong and the Yangju troops to engage in Byeongju-style combat.

“Seo Yeong. We do not wave our banners.”

“…….”

“Only relying on the senses of the commander leading the cavalry, I roam the battlefield.”

It could be said to be a beast’s way of fighting, but this thing called ‘feeling’ in battle cannot simply be explained in words.

“I’ve given you the big picture, so the details are up to you and the Yangju army.”

I pointed to the quivers strapped to the backs of the Yangju cavalry, including Seoyoung.

“You can do it, right?”

“Of course, General Bi.”

“Good. It seems they’re getting a bit anxious over there as well….”

Clink.

“Go first.”

I turned the reins of the red earth and kicked my thigh with my foot, gripping the Hwa-geuk and leaning my upper body forward.

“I will lead the right flank, follow Jang Mun-won!”

Jang Ryo drew his twin swords and made a wide sweep to the right.

Go-soon quickly signaled the cavalry with a few gestures, and the soldiers of the Byungju cavalry grasped their spears and followed me.

Dum, dum, dum.

The sound of drums resonating from the enemy camp.

The shield soldiers raised their large iron shields in front, and behind them, the spear soldiers extended their spears.

Cavalry are caught by spear soldiers.

If those soldiers are firmly holding their shields, it won’t be easy to break through.

A perfect phalanx.

From the front, it looks like an iron wall in a straight line.

It resembles a square turtle curled up in a defensive posture.

Solid, but—

‘It’s not impossible to break.’

It’s doable.

* * *

“Haha, look at that.”

One of the lords, Jang Cho of Gwangneung, chuckled softly as he looked at the soldiers of the Byungju.

“With just 3,000… not even that many troops, they come out like that to face us head-on. Isn’t it laughable?”

“…….”

The armed man holding the spear did not respond to Jangcho’s words.

“Hey, General Muncho.”

His name is Muncho.

“I have come forward among the lords like this, and Lord Won has instructed you to assist me, yet why do you respond so coldly?”

“Hmph.”

Muncho let out a scoff at Jangcho’s words.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even know you were a lord.”

“What, what did you say?!”

Being openly insulted to his face, Jangcho could only redden his face and was at a loss for words.

“I thought you were just accompanying the Taesoo Jinryu, so I assumed you were his brother.”

“That’s right! It is true that I am Jinryu’s brother! But I am also the Taesoo of Gwangneung, a lord!”

“Umm….”

Muncho did not voice the thought of ‘Where is Gwangneung?’.

Instead.

“We are in the midst of battle. Look ahead. The soldiers of Byeongju are stealthily approaching.”

He pointed to the front, indicating the lord, Gwangneung Taesoo Jangcho.

“A wounded Leopo has emerged. The soldiers of Byeongju have also come out with a resolve to fight to the death.”

“Ha! But in the end, they are cavalry. To our Gwangneung soldiers, cavalry is nothing. Moreover….”

Jangcho pointed to the archers near Muncho.

“Since Lord Won has even provided support for the archer unit. According to military strategy, if you want to win, you must prepare more soldiers than the enemy.”

“Umm….”

“And with Lord Won’s strongest warrior, General Muncho, what do I have to fear?”

“Mm.”

Muncho nodded his head vigorously.

“General Muncho. Do you know why I was the first to step forward among the lords?”

“…Why is that?”

Though he wasn’t particularly interested, Muncho asked while gripping his spear.

“Because this moment is the perfect opportunity to make my name widely known.”

Jangcho raised his bow.

“Your brother is over there behind the bamboo fence that the enemies set up and fled. While I may be worried about him… I, Jangcho! Cannot remain just the brother of Jangmak forever!”

Soon, the soldiers beside Jangcho raised the blank military flag high, and the archers all aimed their bows straight ahead.

“When none of the eighteen lords step forward, this Jangcho will be the first to fight the enemy.”

“…….”

“If I succeed, I will be king; if I fail, I will be a traitor. Yes, a man must challenge himself, even at the cost of his life, when the time calls for it.”

“Is that what you mean by now?”

“Of course! The moment my name, Jangcho, spreads throughout the world is today!”

Jangcho smiled broadly.

“I will hunt down the wounded Lu Bu and ascend to the throne of the King of Guangling!”

Kwahak.

“The enemy is approaching!! All archers, prepare to shoot as the enemy draws near—”

Jangcho’s bow.

“Should…?”

It began to slowly tilt to the left.

“Isn’t it straight ahead?”

The vanguard of the enemy.

Lu Bu’s horse was galloping diagonally.

* * *

Heehee!!

While running, it gradually turned to the right.

Not running straight ahead, but diagonally, extending the spear widely to the side.

The spear was lighter than before.

Thanks to that, the red earth also rushed forward much faster than before.

I don’t know who the vanguard general or lord is, but if he has no intention of revealing his name.

‘He should just die.’

Dum, dum, dum.

The rapid sound of drums.

Behind the spearmen, soldiers holding bows can be seen briefly.

Shield bearers and spearmen lead the formation, blocking the advance with archers.

It is a basic yet certain tactic.

If the enemy advances straight ahead, piercing like a sharp point.

“Uh, uh?”

The gaze of the enemy soldier visible between the spears shifts to one side.

The tip of the bow, which was about to shoot diagonally toward the front, slowly begins to turn toward our right flank along with the gaze.

Hee hee hee!

But it is already too late.

The enemy cavalry had not been charging in a straight line since the beginning; they had been advancing in a curved path.

Not a direct charge.

A powerful swing extending far to the right.

“Watch out, they’re coming from the left!!”

An officer from the enemy camp shouts urgently.

The archers also turn their bodies toward us while pulling back their bows.

Pababak.

A rain of arrows is shot forth.

The fact that they started shooting wildly without any orders means that someone must have lost their composure and released the string, prompting others to follow suit.

It won’t reach.

Those on the enemy’s right flank are too far away.

Those in the center and left flank are unable to shoot arrows—

“Oh, they’re coming!!”

It is already too late.

Hee hee hee!

The enemy cavalry lets out a loud shout.

Despite being frightened by my charge, several soldiers at the front extend their spears, but neither I nor the enemy cavalry hesitate.

Pa-aat!

Just before being pierced by a spear, the enemy cavalry leaps powerfully upward.

I stretch my upper body to the side and swing my weapon down forcefully.

Screech!

I leap over the spear soldier’s spear and slice his neck.

The soldiers’ gazes follow me, and the enemy cavalry lands with its front legs extended between the soldiers’ formations.

A leap that easily surpasses human height.

It was a moment when one could understand why the red soil was called ‘Red Rabbit.’

And the moment the enemies were startled was precisely when the vanguard could leap into action the most.

Rustle, rustle!

Swinging the spear alternately left and right, I thrust it backward to cut down the shield soldiers of the formation.

“Ugh, uaaah!!”

One of the enemy soldiers in front lunged at me with a spear—

Heeheehee!!

With the appearance of a black horse charging from behind, the rider swung the spear and lightly severed the enemy’s neck.

“Breakthrough!!”

At Gohsun’s shout, the cavalry of Byeongju-gun surged forward on my left and right.

Unlike the front line, which was armed with spears and shields, the soldiers in the rear were poorly equipped to respond to the charging cavalry.

Puhwaak!!

Starting with Gohsun, blood splattered to the left and right of the galloping cavalry.

I quickly scanned left and right.

On the right flank, Zhang Liao was already turning much wider to the right than us.

As for the left flank—

‘They’re a bit slow, but are they keeping up well?’

Seo-young’s unit had hesitated for a moment, but they would soon be charging in behind.

This place was Bangjin, one of the corners of the square.

“Die!!”

One of the allied soldiers thrust his spear forward.

Not at me, but at the cavalry of Byeongju-gun—the horse.

“Kuuk!”

The cavalry hastily swung his spear to protect the horse, but another soldier next to him thrust his spear at the cavalry.

“Die…!”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Puhwaak!!

I thrust the spear through the cavalry’s waist, cutting the spear shaft, and twisted the spear to behead the enemy soldier.

“General!”

“Run. Quickly.”

“…Yes!”

The cavalry calmed the horse again and charged forward, while I observed the enemy’s movements and tapped the ground with my left leg.

I draw a square map in my mind.

The map resembles a Go board, with white stones positioned squarely in the center.

Entering at 5 o’clock.

Following behind, Gosun and the central army advance at 11 o’clock.

“Wow!!”

Jangryo charges from 3 o’clock to 12 o’clock.

Gosun and the central army split the half they created once more.

“Y-Yes, General!”

Seoyoung, who followed behind, tries to slow down.

I pointed to the path that Gosun had opened.

“…Yes!”

Seoyoung runs along the path that Gosun had cleared.

Gosun and the central army continue to charge, swinging their spears to deliver finishing blows to the injured soldiers on either side of the fallen troops.

‘Tsk.’

In the gaps along the path, I see some of the fallen soldiers from the enemy.

Their numbers are far fewer than the allied forces lying on the ground, but the enemy is not a bunch of fools sitting idly by to be slaughtered.

They are armed with swords, spears, and arrows.

They can bring down horses and stab at the charging cavalry.

There is no war without death.

There may be battles with fewer deaths, but a battle where no one dies is impossible.

From noble mtl dot com

Then, as always.

‘I have no choice but to kill as many as I can so that my allies die less.’

Ka-ang.

I deflect an arrow.

I had been standing by, waiting for Seoyoung’s unit to escape, and in the meantime, the enemy archers targeted me and shot arrows.

“Look, there’s Yeop! Shoot the one on the red horse!!”

Before they shoot, we charge first.

From 5 o’clock to 6 o’clock, and then making a large circle clockwise.

“Ho, you’re coming alone?!”

“Charge, thrust the spear!”

Among the half of the troops that Go-soon has split, it is my role to crush the remaining enemies on the opposite side where Jang-ryo is smashing the soldiers.

Heehee-hing!!

The enemy troops are running.

I dash between the soldiers.

The enemy soldiers thrust their spears, but those spears only stab at the red trajectory left by the enemy troops that have already passed.

Puhwaak!

And blood splatters from their necks.

Wherever the enemy troops run, I swing my weapon, Hwa-geuk, left and right, beheading them.

Only the neck.

The one mounted on the horse accurately strikes the vital points that can be most easily targeted against the infantry, killing the enemy with minimal movement, again and again.

“Mon, monster…!”

Puh-uk.

The answer is with Hwa-geuk.

As I kill and kill indiscriminately left and right, the enemy troops begin to change direction.

‘9 o’clock.’

It’s about time to join the rear of the central army.

Without glancing to the left, I lowered my body to the right and swung Hwa-geuk as if sweeping with a broom.

Boo-woong!

I cut through spears, behead, and sever arms.

Nothing gets in the way.

As long as I adjust the width to avoid hitting the bones, I can make them bleed profusely and lead them to death.

Whiiing.

A fire arrow flies in from the 1 o’clock direction.

I retrieve Hwa-geuk and charge forward, joining the rear of Seo-young’s Yangju cavalry.

“General Ye!”

“Run, forward.”

“Yes, yes!”

The Yangju cavalry breaks through the enemy’s formation.

If viewed from the sky, the soldiers who had built a barricade would clearly show signs of having split into three paths.

“Ah, ah…”

The allied soldiers begin to tremble.

With faces as if they had seen a ghost, they look at me and then at the center of their own camp.

A scene of bloodshed.

Just by scanning with the eyes, the number of casualties appears to exceed several hundred.

With a single breakthrough, hundreds of enemy soldiers were trampled to death by cavalry.

“Th-That monster!!”

One armed soldier screams particularly loudly.

“Kill that man! To whoever kills him, I will grant my gold!”

Seeing the dazzling helmet, he must be a lord.

“You’re mistaken.”

I turned my body and thrust my spear into the neck of a soldier sneaking up from behind.

“You should have ordered them to flee if you thought you couldn’t handle it.”

“Flee-“

“Of course.”

The moment I pointed behind me.

“I can’t just let you flee.”

A red flame surged behind the enemy vanguard.

“Th-That is…!”

“The bamboo fence that was laid on the way here. It was a barrier to stop you.”

With oiled cloth and a rain of fire arrows, even winter bamboo can ignite and burn like firewood.

“That is not to hinder your advance, but to block your retreat.”

Waaah─!!

With the roar, cavalry are charging from the direction of the wall of fire.

“Jang Ryo is coming.”

The right flank of Jang Ryo, swinging his dual blades, is coming in from the 12 o’clock position, while Go Sun’s center is descending from 1 o’clock to 3 o’clock.

“This can’t be happening…! This is so absurd…!”

The nameless lord, in confusion, is unable to give proper orders.

“Kill, kill Yeopo!! I said to kill that monster!!”

Only issuing commands that would not be fulfilled, I had exhausted my life.

It seemed that they had borrowed troops, but soldiers who could not be controlled could not be called an army.

“Three.”

“What, what?”

“Two.”

“What do you mean—”

“One.”

The moment all three fingers I had extended folded down.

“You should have looked around, not at me.”

With a whoosh—crack!

Jang Ryo, who had dashed out from among the soldiers, swung his dual blades in a cross, beheading the enemy commander.

“The enemy commander has been defeated by Jang Mun-won!”

Jang Ryo wrapped the enemy commander’s head with his dual blades and raised it high.

Two collisions.

The enemy corpses that I caught a glimpse of with my eyes were nearly a thousand, no, even more.

However, in between, I could see the fallen soldiers of Byeongju-gun.

Suppressing something that was rising within me, I swung my weapon forward.

I do not say to surrender or to run away.

“Ugh, uaaah!! Please save me!!”

If the soldiers themselves wanted to give up fighting and flee, I would not intentionally pursue them.

“Y-you’re dead!!”

Swish.

The enemies who still aimed to swing their weapons at us only killed and killed again.

If this continues, our army will win.

And my role is to block the variables for that victory.

“Kraaah!”

In the midst of the demoralized allied forces, an armed man rushed out urgently.

“I, Mun Chu, will take you on!”

Mun Chu.

A name I recognized.

Wonsul told me.

As the core power of Wonso, the left and right arms of Wonso.

“You’ve come to the battlefield even after being struck by a sword from a headless man! This Muncho will kill you and elevate our lord’s name!!”

Muncho charges forward.

Perhaps to boost the soldiers’ morale, he rides in, swinging his spear wildly.

“Kraaahhh──!!”

Trampling over the corpses of the dead soldiers, Muncho’s gaze is solely fixed on me as he shouts.

“General!”

Jangryo hastily tries to steer his horse, but I pointed to the other side and briefly held onto Hwageuk.

Bluurr.

The moment Jeokto was about to leap forward, I lightly pressed down on Jeokto’s waist with my foot and tilted Hwageuk.

“Just because I’m injured.”

I can see it.

The gap as Muncho approaches head-on.

“You haven’t become stronger than me, have you?”

I leaned my body back significantly, slightly pulling Hwageuk and gently thrusting it toward Muncho while holding on tightly.

Boo-woong!

Muncho’s spear passes over my hair.

Hair flowing out from between my helmet gets cut and scattered by the spear.

Gugugugu.

The sound of the horse running gradually fades.

Jeokto lightly rolls its feet on the ground, and I lifted my body, which had leaned back as if to fall, and lightly swung Hwageuk to the side.

“You’re slow. Even noticing that.”

Chwa-ruk.

I shake off the blood stuck to Hwageuk.

“If you want to face me, you should bring Guan Yu or Zhang Fei with you.”

Under Jeokto’s feet, Muncho, with his mouth open as if to shout, is looking at me.

Puhwaaak!!

A fountain of blood erupts from behind me.

Soon, Muncho’s body falls heavily beside the horse that has come to a stop, crashing to the ground.

“Next.”