Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 410 Battle of the Boundary Bridge
The rhythm of the war drums became rapid.

The defenders at the border bridge parted to the sides, creating a passage for an attack.

Yan Liang led his troops across quickly. On the other side of the bridge, they did not see Liu Bei's troops, but defensive structures such as chevaux-de-frise and half-walls were still there.

It certainly looks like there's some internal strife, otherwise why would they have left all the defensive structures intact, yet not a single person in sight?
The firelight ahead clearly revealed Liu Bei's army formation.

Yan Liang had already witnessed the opportunity – the cavalry formation on the left flank of Liu Bei's army was showing signs of abnormal crowding, with flags askew and a noisy battle underway.

This is clearly an internal conflict.

Yan Liang gestured to the messenger behind him: "Vanguard Battalion, break through the enemy lines!"

The vanguard infantrymen lowered their spears and began their charge.

The vanguard battalion was generally not cavalry, but heavy infantry, while the cavalry were on the left and right flanks. Cavalry was not used for frontal assaults.

The cavalry commander, Wen Chou, was speeding toward the right flank, clearly having also witnessed the chaos on Liu Bei's left flank.

Meanwhile, amidst the "chaotic" ranks of Liu Bei's army, Zhao Yun's entire face was hidden beneath his helmet's visor.

He still habitually stood on a small mound, calmly estimating the speed and distance of Yan Liang's assault troops.

The Xuanjia cavalry around Zhao Yun appeared to be jostling and pushing, with their banners askew, but in reality, each of them was helping their warhorses relax and turn around.

Liu Bei's central army was also pushing towards the side of the Xuanjia cavalry, but their weapons were not pointed at the enemy. They all leaned forward and shouted battle cries, like springs being compressed.

"Three hundred paces..."

Zhao Yun murmured, and amidst the clamor of battle cries, only the guards beside him could hear his voice.

Qu Hou beside him lowered another flag that was already crooked, making it look from a distance as if it had been cut down.

"Two hundred paces... Raise your crossbow!"

Qu Hou, who was beside Zhao Yun, lowered another flag.

"One hundred paces!"

On the mound, the last flag beside Zhao Yun was felled.

Zhao Yun suddenly raised his spear and pointed it forward: "Armored Cavalry! Break Through the Formation!!"

The sound of war drums and horses' hooves rang out at the same time.

The seemingly chaotic military formation instantly unfolded as if it had burst open.

The soldiers on the outer perimeter spread out to the sides in unison, like fish scales, to make way for the Xuanjia cavalry that had been waiting in the wings to charge.

Zhao Yun spurred his horse, and the warhorse shot off like an arrow.

The elite armored cavalry behind them charged in a scattered fish-scale formation, all their lances lowered at the same moment.

"Po Jun" is the command of the Xuanjia Cavalry to break through enemy lines with cavalry. Zhao Yun charged towards Wen Chou's cavalry.

"kill!!"

The commotion deliberately created by Liu Bei's army was instantly replaced by a series of orderly battle cries, like thunder.

The flags, which were originally crooked, were all raised high at the same time.

This time, Tian Yu's crossbowmen did not form a battle formation, but were instead distributed among Liu Bei's army.

The first volley of crossbow bolts was unleashed from Liu Bei's army; thousands of armor-piercing arrows flew in gentle parabolas toward Yan Liang's vanguard.

"Guorang, hold the line! Brothers, follow me!"

Liu Bei did not command from the central army, but appeared at the very front of the formation wearing full armor, looking no different from the armored soldiers.

His task was not to command the central army, but to be the vanguard general. In this battle, Liu Bei did not have a central army; under his command was only the great director Guo Jia.

Liu Bei drew his twin swords and led his elite guards in a frontal charge towards Yan Liang's banner.

Yan Liang's vanguard fell in large numbers to the crossbow bolts; the armor-piercing spikes fired by the powerful crossbows could not be stopped within a hundred paces.

Yan Liang's pupils suddenly contracted.

He saw the 'chaos' in Liu Bei's army, and he also saw Liu Bei's army suddenly change formation.

Like a tiger's fangs bared after gathering power, it still looks uneven, but its murderous aura is overwhelming and suffocating.

This is an elaborate trap.

"Halt! Regroup! Raise your spears!"

Yan Liang roared fiercely, trying to adjust the formation at the last moment.

But the hundred paces were covered in an instant, and it was too late to stop the charge and reorganize the spear formation.

On the left flank, the cavalry had already torn apart Wen Chou's cavalry.

The sounds of metal clashing, tearing, bones shattering, and screams of people falling from their horses filled the air.

The cavalrymen at the front had no time to parry or dodge; under the immense kinetic energy, they either perished together or were impaled and fell from their horses.

Spears broke, warhorses neighed and crashed together, and cavalrymen on both sides were thrown off, but the vast majority of them were Wen Chou's men.

In this era, the only cavalry capable of confronting the Xuanjia Cavalry was Zhang Fei's Wufeng Battalion's Imperial Guards.

Zhao Yun was the vanguard of the Xuanjia cavalry. Instead of a head-on collision, he slightly deviated from his direction and cut in from the side and front of Wen Chou's cavalry.

With each thrust of the spear, an enemy would fall from their horse.

Just as a cavalryman raised his ring-pommel sword, Zhao Yun's spear tip pierced the gap between his neck armor and helmet, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Zhao Yun flicked his wrist, shoving the corpse aside. He swept his spear horizontally, deflecting another thrusting halberd. He then thrust the spear shaft out with his other hand, striking an enemy rider in the face from the side.

His skillful marksmanship looks incredibly light, but only his enemies know how difficult it is to dodge that seemingly effortless shot.

Zhao Yun charged forward quickly, with the cavalry behind him following closely, wielding their long swords to widen the wound that Zhao Yun had already torn open.

The battlefield quickly descended into a chaotic melee of close combat, with Liu Bei leading his armored soldiers into the breach opened by Zhao Yun. Long weapons became ineffective at this point, and broadswords and short halberds became the main weapons.

This close-quarters combat was when the casualties were heaviest, and Liu Bei's troops also began to fall in large numbers.

Liu Bei brandished his twin swords and charged forward. Relying on the superior quality of his armor, he neither rode a horse nor used a shield, but personally led the vanguard to break through the enemy lines.

With their lord so brave and fierce, the troops were naturally not to be outdone. They charged forward with their lives on the line, looking like madmen.

Many of the armored soldiers even charged out—directly rushing into the enemy ranks, desperately hacking and slashing with their twin swords. They could only stand for a moment before falling into the enemy ranks, but they could disrupt a large part of the enemy's formation.

Those who are enshrined in the Martyrs' Shrine, whose names are inscribed on the Heroes' Monument, who enjoy the incense offerings of the nation, whose family genealogy is recorded in a separate volume, and who are offered sacrifices as the first animal to be sacrificed every year.

Why would I be afraid of death?

The enemy's vanguard was also elite, and most of them were wearing armor.

The blade struck the iron armor, sending sparks flying and leaving deep dents, but it wasn't necessarily fatal.

But Zhao Yun, leading the cavalry from the side, was too deadly... No enemy could withstand him for even a single round.

With Zhao Yun slashing at the enemy from the side, whether he could kill them with a single blow was no longer important, because the enemy already had an uncontrollable panic in their eyes and was already retreating.

From the side, he's an invincible devil; from the front, he's a bunch of reckless madmen...

"Stop him!"

Wen Chou roared and turned to personally block the armored cavalry general who seemed to be moving through an empty field.

Zhao Yun was not some white-robed young general; on the contrary, Zhao Yun's attire on Liu Bei's side was extremely ferocious.

He was already tall and strong, and when he went into battle, he would always be covered in black armor, with his helmet and mask making him look like a fierce ghost.

Especially after his face was stained with blood, the fang carvings on his mask looked extremely terrifying.

Zhao Yun's tactical objective was very clear—to instill fear in the enemy, to make them flee, and to force them to disrupt their troop structure, thus creating a better opportunity for Liu Bei's armored soldiers.

Yan Liang's vanguard was completely disrupted by his own chaotic cavalry.

Yan Liang could only watch helplessly as his own troops were turned upside down, their formation completely disrupted, the vanguard battalion could no longer hold out, and Liu Bei's personal guards had already rushed in front of him.

Wen Chou was still trying to organize his troops to intercept Zhao Yun, leading several dozen cavalrymen, shouting as they drew together.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Yun took the bow from the Victory Hook, nocked an arrow, and drew the string.

The arrow pierced through the chaotic battlefield and struck Wen Chou squarely in the face.

Fortunately, Wen Chou's attention was on Zhao Yun. Upon seeing this, he immediately bent down, and the arrow pierced through a squad leader behind Wen Chou, entering through his throat and exiting through the back of his neck.

Wen Chou roared and charged forward, but Zhao Yun raised his spear to thrust, and Wen Chou blocked the first thrust.

But Zhao Yun ignored him completely and rushed past Wen Chou, scattering Wen Chou's troops behind him with a series of thrusts.

The morale that Wen Chou had just managed to build up instantly crumbled.

Panic began to spread like a plague throughout Yan Liang's headquarters.

The masked cavalryman, covered in blood, moved like a ghost, causing chaos and defeat wherever he went.

Zhao Yun now looked like a bloody monster.

Liu Bei led his armored soldiers in a very tough battle, suffering heavy casualties, and even Liu Bei himself was injured.

But the enemy's eyes were already filled with despair.

Guo Jia stood on the mound where Zhao Yun had been observing, and seeing that the enemy's vanguard was showing signs of retreat, he immediately ordered the rear guard to sound the horn for a general offensive.

The enemy's collapse began when the first cavalryman turned his horse around in fear.

"Run!" "Don't go and get yourself killed!"

"That's a demon!"

Yan Liang's vanguard collapsed even faster than Wen Chou's cavalry.

Panic often stems not from defeat by a powerful demon, but from the demon turning its attention to oneself...

This is the true power of a fierce general; many enemy soldiers would tremble at the mere sight of Zhao Yun.

Liu Bei led his army forward, shouting battle cries. Yan Liang's vanguard was completely disorganized. The surviving soldiers were driven only by the instinct to survive, and they turned around and fled desperately towards the boundary bridge they had come from.

Yan Liang was very unwilling. He was surrounded by the army and didn't even have a chance to go out and fight.

But the vanguard collapsed just like that!

They lost too quickly, without even a chance to adjust.

This is what you call frustrating...

Seeing the enemy retreating, Zhao Yun raised his spear and shouted, "Hold on to them! Don't stop!!"

The momentum of the defeated soldiers must be utilized. Zhao Yun stayed close behind the fleeing soldiers, driving them away like a herd of panicked livestock.

Liu Bei also led his armored soldiers to chase after the enemy, and even deliberately slowed down the pace to specifically kill those who ran slowly.

The defeated army swept away Yan Liang's central army. Yan Liang personally led the supervising team and killed more than a dozen fleeing soldiers, but still could not turn the tide.

The curtain was rolled up, the central army was in chaos, and in order to save their lives, they had no choice but to rush towards the boundary bridge with the fleeing soldiers.

Yan Liang knew that the situation was hopeless, so he could only turn around and run away.

In a desperate attempt to survive, the routed soldiers charged onto the bridge, scattering the infantrymen who were trying to block their path.

Only by crossing the boundary bridge can one survive...

There is only one road.

The routed soldiers became the vanguard of Liu Bei's army in breaking through the border bridge.

(End of this chapter)