Tiger Guards

Chapter 416 Finally Turned to Ashes
"Where to go!"

Gan Ning and Zhou Tai stood close together. Zhou Tai stepped forward with his knife and fought with a tiger warrior, while Gan Ning threw a meteor hammer shaped like iron caltrops at Dian Wei and Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was holding his sword, blocking the vengeful assassins gathered by Chen Rong. The noise from inside the curtain drowned out Gan Ning's shouts.

However, the meteor hammer was not affected by the sound waves and struck Cao Cao on the back of the left shoulder, causing Cao Cao to stagger.

He lost his balance and instinctively reached out with his left hand to steady himself on the ground.

The two spears pierced his chest but failed to penetrate.

He wore two layers of armor, making him look extremely bulky.

The two spears and halberds pierced and stabilized Cao Cao's body. Only then did he realize that his left arm was hanging limply, having been weakened by the meteor hammer.

At this moment, Dian Wei threw a flying knife at Chen Rong and his men at close range. The flying knife pierced Chen Rong's cheek, but Chen Rong continued to slash with his sword, as if he had gone mad.

Two tiger warriors grabbed Cao Cao from behind and tried to break out of the encirclement. At that moment, Zhao Ji drew a short spear from his waist and threw it silently at Dian Wei.

Dian Wei was also on guard, shrinking back to dodge. The short spear was powerful and swift, piercing the side of a tiger warrior just past Dian Wei's shoulder, breaking through his armor and slamming into him. The armored warrior was instantly unable to lift his sword, and his head was split open by the heavy broadsword with a ring pommel used by Gao Yanglong.

Gao Yanglong pulled the knife out of the other man's neck with both hands, and expressionlessly slashed diagonally at another Tiger Warrior.

Dian Wei threw the last throwing knife at Zhao Ji. Zhao Ji held his sword in his left hand and easily deflected the knife with the short spear he had just drawn in his right. The spear blade deflected the throwing knife, which spun and cut through a corner of Zhao Ji's cloak under his arm, then cut through the curtain wall and crashed into the armored soldiers behind it.

Zhao Ji raised his short spear and threw it at Cao Cao himself. Dian Wei grabbed the sword and halberd on his back with both hands, tore the hemp rope, and turned to hold the sword and hook halberd, but he didn't have time to draw his sword and break the short spear.

The short spear pierced Cao Cao's right chest, but it did not penetrate his armor. Instead, it caused Cao Cao, who was being pulled backward, to lose his balance, stumble, and tumble through the air.

The two tiger warriors pulled Cao Cao outwards with explosive force. In this half-breath burst, Cao Cao landed on his feet. Before he could regain his footing, Zhao Ji threw a short spear at Cao Cao again.

At this moment, Dian Wei had already gripped his long sword and hooked halberd, and together they knocked away the short spear.

At this moment, Gan Ning and others quickly retreated, clearing a path for Tiger Warriors, Cao Cao, and others to break through the encirclement.

Chen Rong and several other wounded warriors were also pulled back by their comrades, and then a volley of crossbow bolts was fired at close range. In an instant, Cao Cao, Dian Wei, and seven or eight tiger warriors were all hit by arrows.

With Dian Wei's skill, he could also predict the trajectory of arrows at close range.

However, with too many crossbows and poor visibility at night, Dian Wei could hardly predict the situation and therefore could not effectively block or dodge.

After the row of crossbowmen who were half-crouched fired, the standing crossbowmen unleashed another round of close-range barrage.

After they finished firing, the row of crossbowmen who were half-crouching picked up the spare crossbows on the ground, took a quick aim, and fired again without regard to the front or back.

Thirty-odd crossbowmen unleashed over a hundred powerful crossbow bolts in three volleys, with most of them hitting Cao Cao and his men, who were a dozen paces away.

Cao Cao's double-layered armor was finally pierced. Dian Wei, to protect Cao Cao, stood in front of the powerful crossbow, taking more than ten arrows with him, but still stood with his sword in hand, turning his head and shouting: "Run!"

As he turned around, Zhao Ji threw a short spear that flew past Dian Wei's side, piercing the neck of one of the men and killing the last lightly wounded Tiger Warrior.

At this moment, outside the curtain, Cao Cao's hundred-man guard, who were on guard around the campfire, also encountered a dense crossbow barrage from the darkness.

The brighter the campfire, the clearer the outline of the hundred-plus guards became; the weaker their ability to observe the area around the campfire became.

The blazing flames could also mask many inconspicuous noises.

As for the thousand-strong guard on the outer perimeter, Zhao Ji never took them seriously.

If Cao Cao were alive, these people would still fight desperately; the same principle applies when one is alive, one's trusted guards will fight with all their might.

If he dies, the guard's will to fight will also crumble and collapse.

Apart from a small number of loyal and devoted followers who would launch a desperate assault, not many people would fight such a meaningless battle.

Behind the curtain, Dian Wei stood in front of Cao Cao, brandishing his sword and halberd, occasionally waving them to thwart the probing attempts of Gan Ning, Gao Yanglong, and others.

Faced with Dian Wei, who had been hit by more than ten arrows, Gan Ning had no interest in fighting him. After probing Dian Wei and provoking a counterattack, Gan Ning retreated and stopped attacking, even hanging his meteor hammer at his waist.

More and more crossbowmen approached, and after firing their crossbows, they accurately sniped Cao Cao's wounded tiger warriors and followers.

Only Cao Cao and Dian Wei remained before the crossbowmen withdrew.

After the situation was brought under control, Kong Rong quickly went to Zhao Ji's side: "That traitor Cao is vicious and dared to assassinate the Grand Marshal! Is the Grand Marshal alright?" "He was almost shot in the heart by a flying knife."

Zhao Ji raised his left arm, revealing the cloak and sleeves worn under his armpit and behind his shoulder, both of which were torn by flying knives.

Zhao Ji also sheathed his sword and then said to Kong Rong, "Lord Wenju, it was my negligence in disciplining the army that led to my neglect of Zang Gong's former officials. I never imagined they would be so eager for revenge that they attacked Cao Jiande. I intended to frighten and reprimand Cao Jiande so that he would realize his mistake, repent, lead the army to punish the rebels, serve the court, and become a loyal minister. I never expected him to misunderstand, and Dian Jun, under his instructions, even wanted to kill me."

Kong Rong carefully observed the cut on Zhao Ji's sleeve and cloak under his left armpit: "This was truly dangerous. I will certainly recount this matter in detail before the Emperor."

At this moment, Cao Cao spat out a mouthful of black blood, his right arm trembling as he pointed at Kong Rong, his eyes filled with malice and ferocity, as if only in this way could he leave Kong Rong with a deep enough memory of terror, so that it would become Kong Rong's nightmare in the future.

Zhao Ji looked at Dian Wei: "Lord Dian, Cao Jiande is seriously injured and beyond saving. Are you really going to let him suffer like this?"

Dian Wei turned to look at Cao Cao, and Cao Cao looked up at Dian Wei with difficulty. Cao Cao's expression was so complicated that Dian Wei could hardly understand it.

I really don't understand how Cao Cao could show such a weak expression when it was clearly difficult to save him and there was no chance of saving him.
Do you think that if we beg for mercy now, they will let us go?
Upon seeing this, Zhao Ji said, "I have heard that Cao Jiande is skilled in poetry and prose. Now that he is about to die, I will compose a poem to commemorate Cao Jiande."

Kong Rong also found it novel, and Mi Heng felt that this kind of thing was even more meaningful. He cupped his hands and said, "I would like to hear the Grand Marshal's masterpiece."

"Though the divine tortoise lives a long life, it still has an end; the flying serpent riding the mist will eventually turn to dust."

"An old steed in its stall may still aspire to gallop a thousand miles; a hero in his twilight years may still cherish lofty ambitions."

"The waxing and waning of life are not solely determined by Heaven; the blessings of nurturing one's health can lead to longevity."

Zhao Ji, with a clear and resonant voice, chanted loudly while shaking his head: "How fortunate I am, to sing and express my aspirations! How fortunate I am, to sing and express my aspirations!"

Cao Cao coughed up another mouthful of black blood, his expression filled with resentment and regret.

He pointed at Zhao Ji, wanting to speak, but couldn't stop coughing. His lungs were injured by the gunshot, and he was having difficulty breathing, his face turning red.

Zhao Ji sighed: "Let this poem be called 'Though the tortoise lives long, all men must die. Some deaths are heavier than Mount Tai, others lighter than a feather.' Life is often unsatisfactory. I only hope that you gentlemen will take Cao Cao as a warning, and not do evil because it is small, nor neglect good because it is small. Be careful, be careful."

After saying this, Zhao Ji extended his hand to Han Shu, who handed him a short spear.

Zhao Ji threw himself at Cao Cao, pinning him to the throat and piercing through.

This time, Dian Wei did not stop him. Looking back at Cao Cao's still convulsing corpse and his still moving eyes, Dian Wei raised his sword and halberd and slowly walked towards Zhao Ji.

The other guards stepped forward with spears and halberds to block Dian Wei, but Dian Wei did not swing his spears or halberds; he simply pushed forward against them.

The guards with spears and halberds couldn't bear to stab or slash Dian Wei's face with their weapons, so they just pressed their weapons against Dian Wei's chest.

After his attempt failed, Dian Wei took two steps back, and the sword and halberd in his hand fell to the ground, exhausted.

He let out a few deep breaths, still looking at Zhao Ji.

"I will take good care of Dianjun's affairs after his death."

Zhao Ji made a promise, and Dian Wei then closed his eyes, pulled a crossbow bolt from his thigh, held it upside down with both hands, and pierced his own throat.

With a surge of hot blood, Dian Wei fell backward, convulsing on the spot.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Ji said to Han Shu beside him, "Dian Jun should be cremated separately and buried at Longshan. If I am able to be buried in the future, let Dian Jun be buried with me. It is a pity that I could not serve such a loyal and brave warrior in life. In the afterlife, with his assistance, I will not be without him as a heroic ghost."

"Here!"

Han Shu responded loudly, took off his cloak, and stepped forward to cover Dian Wei with it.

At this moment, the other guards also stepped forward and began to drag the corpse away, while others brought yellow soil to cover the bloodstains.

Cao Cao's head was immediately cut off and handed over to Gan Ning to persuade Cao Cao's guards to surrender.

If this applies to the guards, it goes without saying that it applies to other armies as well.

However, given the great distance, they would most likely follow Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong, Xun Yu, and others north to join Yuan Shao.

It doesn't matter anymore. Whether they run away or not, Zhao Ji is going to the eastern part of Yanzhou to wipe out Cao Cao's foundation.

(End of this chapter)