Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 128 The Death of Gao Shun, How Magnificent and How Tragic...

Zhang Liao stared intently at Cao Yan, whose face was a mess of blood, sweat, and dust, yet the struggle in his eyes was undeniable.

Who wants to die when you can live?
However, defecting to the enemy in the face of battle is ultimately a dishonorable act.

Zhang Liao pursed his lips and remained silent.

Cao Yan saw through Zhang Liao's thoughts and said, "Wen Yuan, there's no need to rush into a decision. Let's return to the city together and discuss it further."

Zhang Liao breathed a sigh of relief, then threw away his weapon and allowed the Cao army soldiers to bind him. He knew that struggling at this point was futile.

Seeing their commander's actions, the remaining soldiers also threw down their weapons and knelt down to surrender.

Cao Yan successfully won over Zhang Liao, but Cao Cao was still fighting a bitter battle.

These hundreds of elite troops have truly opened Old Cao's eyes today—like a knife scraping his butt.

He commanded several attacks, but all of them were defeated by the Trapped Camp.

The arrows were fired, but they couldn't penetrate the heavy armor of the Trapped Camp at all; it was like a dog trying to catch a hedgehog, with no way to get a bite out of it.

But this is outside Juancheng, which is Cao Cao's home ground.

Cao Cao, being a seasoned veteran, was quick-witted and soon devised a strategy to defeat the enemy.

He had someone bring him thick iron chains and securely fastened both ends to his warhorse.

Once everything was ready, Cao Cao's cavalry spurred their horses and charged at high speed toward Gao Shun's elite camp.

Those warhorses were incredibly fast and had tremendous momentum as they charged at full speed!
Several iron chains, like black lightning, swept across the Trapped Camp.

"Wow!!"

"Ahhhhh!!"

This force is beyond human resistance.

Wherever the iron chains went, the soldiers of the Trapped Camp were instantly swept away by the immense force, their once orderly ranks instantly disrupted.

Cao Cao's iron chain tactic was effective, throwing the Trapped Camp into chaos.

Immediately, Cao Cao said to Xu Chu beside him, "Zhongkang, go and capture that enemy general for me!"

"Your subordinate obeys!" Xu Chu raised his broadsword and roared, "Men, follow me!"

Five thousand Tiger Guard soldiers followed Xu Chu, shouting as they charged into the battlefield.

The Tiger Guards were Cao Cao's personal guards, each of them strong, healthy, and highly skilled in martial arts.

Although the soldiers of the Trapped Camp were brave, without their formation, they were ultimately outnumbered and gradually divided and surrounded by Cao Cao's army.

Gao Shun, however, continued to brandish his spear, charging left and right, trying to regain the footing of the Trapped Camp.

His face was covered in sweat and blood, but his eyes were incredibly determined.

Seeing that Gao Shun refused to give up even in dire straits, Xu Chu couldn't help but feel admiration for him.

With a sigh, Xu Chu dismissed the soldiers surrounding Gao Shun. He wanted to subdue Gao Shun himself, as a final act of respect for the warrior.

"I am Xu Chu from Qiao Commandery, the enemy general, please acknowledge my name!" Xu Chu's voice arrived before he did.

Gao Shun was disheveled and covered in blood.

His helmet was long gone, and the longsword in his hand was riddled with nicks and chips.

Upon hearing Xu Chu's question, he answered loudly in a hoarse voice, "I am Gao Shun, a Lieutenant General under Marquis Wen!"

Gao Shun had fewer than two hundred men with him, while the remaining hundred or so were divided and surrounded.

Xu Chu pointed the tip of his Fire Cloud Blade at Gao Shun and said, "You are a true man! Why not join my army? Our lord will surely value you highly!"

Looking at the tall, imposing, and menacing Xu Chu, Gao Shun knew he had no chance left.

Faced with Xu Chu's attempt to persuade him to surrender, he simply raised his shield, which was already half tattered, and his long sword, which was riddled with nicks.

Seeing this, Xu Chu shouted again, "I'll give you one more chance, will you surrender or not?!"

Unexpectedly, Gao Shun roared, "Kill!"

The soldiers of the Trapped Camp behind Gao Shun also shouted along with him:

"kill!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

Such integrity! Such loyalty! A sense of pity rose in Xu Chu's heart.

But you are so stubborn!

"Keng!!!"

A deafening clang of metal rang out, and Gao Shun, eyes closed, soared high into the air!
Having already exhausted all his strength, he was simply unable to withstand Xu Chu's full-force attack!
In the distance, Zhang Liao, who was following behind Cao Cao's soldiers and about to enter Juancheng, watched with bloodshot eyes as Gao Shun's body soared into the air, shouting, "Gao Shun!!!"

Cao Yan also saw this scene not far away, and then heard Zhang Liao's hoarse cries, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Untie Zhang Wenyuan and bring him to my side," Cao Yan said to Dian Wei.

At this moment, Guo Jia said, "Zian, isn't it unsafe...?" "Don't worry, Zhang Liao isn't that kind of person."

Dian Wei quickly brought Zhang Liao over.

As expected, although Zhang Liao was grieving, he did not do anything out of line.

Cao Yanling gave Zhang Liao a horse and then said to him, "Come with me, let's go see Gao Shun off on his final journey."

Zhang Liao suppressed his grief and bowed to Cao Yan, saying, "Thank you, General Cao, for your mercy."

"Bang!" Gao Shun's body crashed heavily to the ground, making a dull thud as he struck the earth.

The entire battlefield fell silent instantly.

Even the Tiger Guards behind Xu Chu couldn't help but stop their shouts of encouragement.

Loyal and courageous people have always been respected.

A full dozen or so breaths passed before the soldiers of the Trapped Camp finally reacted.

"General!" They rushed forward desperately, surrounding Gao Shun and protecting him.

It must be said that Gao Shun's vitality is truly tenacious.

Despite enduring such an intense battle and being struck head-on by Xu Chu, Gao Shun was still alive.

The soldiers of the Trapped Camp helped Gao Shun to his feet with difficulty.

At this moment, Xu Chu stepped forward alone and came to Gao Shun and the soldiers of the Trapped Camp.

"Gao Shun, you have lost."

"Cough, cough!" Gao Shun coughed up blood incessantly, the blood running down his lips and soaking through the iron armor on his chest. "Cao Cao's army is elite, my defeat is not unjust..."

"My lord is determined to protect the peace of all people under heaven! Are you willing to submit to my lord?"

"Cao Cao?"

"That's right!"

Gao Shun shook his head without hesitation and said, "Unfortunately, my world is too small; it can only accommodate one lord, Marquis Wen."

Xu Chu pondered for a long time before finally sighing and saying, "What a pity."

Upon hearing Xu Chu's sigh, Gao Shun suddenly broke free from the support of the soldiers in the Trapped Camp, staggered forward two steps, and said:

“I am not afraid to die, but my brothers in the camp should not die with me in vain. If I order them to surrender, can General Xu spare their lives?”

Xu Chu sheathed his longsword, nodded, and said, "I, Xu Chu, swear on my Fiery Cloud Blade that I will do everything in my power to protect the safety of General Gao's brothers!"

"Very good!" Gao Shun nodded, then turned to his men and said, "I have already made an agreement with General Xu that those who surrender will be spared. Today, I lay down my armor, and I have not failed in my duty to fight..."

Before he finished speaking, Gao Shun had already slowly closed his eyes.

The last ray of sunlight brushed past his lowered eyelashes, and Gao Shun's head drooped heavily.

The soldier supporting his arm suddenly let out a heart-wrenching cry: "General!"

"General!! You can't abandon us!" Nearly two hundred figures staggered and knelt down on the blood-stained ground at the same time.

"When we followed the general into battle, we swore to live and die together!" A sergeant in the front row, whose left eye was wrapped in a blood-stained cloth, suddenly drew his sword and said, "Now that the general is dead, how can I have the face to live on alone?"

After saying this, he drew his sword and committed suicide, his warm blood splattering onto the ground at Gao Shun's feet.

"General, wait a moment, I'm coming!"

"On the road to the underworld, I will continue my journey with the general!"

"Pfft!!!"

"Pfft!!!"

Bloodstained ring-pommel swords, chipped longswords, and even broken spearheads were used as weapons for suicide.

All of the more than one hundred soldiers of the Trapped Camp committed suicide, willingly following Gao Shun in death.

Intermittent cries could be heard from afar; they came from another group of soldiers in the Trapped Camp, who had been divided and surrounded by Cao Cao's army.

Bound by ropes, they knelt on the ground, watching helplessly as their comrades fell in the setting sun, tears mingling with dust, leaving streaks on their faces before falling to the ground.

The setting sun, like blood, swept across the battlefield.

Gao Shun remained kneeling, as if protecting his subordinates who had followed him with their lives.

More than two hundred corpses surrounded him, forming a broken circle, as tightly packed as the battle formation they had arranged in life.

just this time,
There will never be another bugle call to charge.

A will to charge into battle!

How magnificent!

What a pity!

(End of this chapter)