I, Zhou Cang, am the number one tank in the Three Kingdoms.

The Cao army camp north of Runan City was a vast expanse of water.

On the battlefield between the two armies west of the city, Cao Cao's army was in complete disarray.

"My lord! Let's go quickly!" The messenger grabbed Xiahou Dun's horse, almost pleading with him.

Xiahou Dun remained expressionless. This time, he finally understood why Cao Hong's army had been completely wiped out last time.

The combined destructive power of this group of Yellow Turban remnants and Liu Bei's remaining forces was truly immense; they couldn't be treated as ordinary Yellow Turban bandits.

"Don't panic! Don't panic!" Xiahou Dun shouted unwillingly.

The sound was drowned out by the growing commotion of panic and Pei Yuanshao's increasingly loud drumbeats.

"Yuan Rang! This place is still on higher ground. Since things have come to this, why don't we charge into the city!"

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Dun turned his head sharply to look at Xu Huang, who had spoken, and the two exchanged a quick glance.

"Blow the horn! Blow the horn! The main camp is over, attack the city with the whole army!" Xiahou Dun shouted to the messenger.

Zhou Cang and Cao Hong were still locked in combat when they heard the chaotic shouts of Cao's army. They both stopped and saw the vast floodwaters rushing towards them from afar.

Cao Hong left with the words "I'll spare your life for now!" and hurriedly ran towards the central army. Halfway there, he suddenly heard the bugle call for a general attack coming from the central army.

Zhou Cang wanted to give chase, but given the current situation, a prolonged battle would be pointless; with few family members remaining, he decided to return first.

"This is bad! Cao Cao is relying on his military strength and is determined to fight to the death! We must not let Cao Cao's army into the city!" Zhao Yun realized what was happening and looked urgently at Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei, his eyes wide open, held his spear and nodded repeatedly at Zhao Yun.

At this point, they all understood how dangerous the situation was.

Not only do we need to stop Cao Cao's army from entering the city, but we also need to prevent the floodwaters from inundating the city, otherwise the people will all be doomed.

This means they will all become isolated troops, isolated troops at their own city gates—

Life and death are in the hands of fate!

"Close the city gates quickly!" Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun shouted urgently to those behind them.

Zhou Cang returned to the city walls and, seeing the gatekeepers still hesitating, shouted towards the city tower, "Pei Yuanshao, close the city gates quickly!"

Pei Yuanshao knew what the gatekeeper was hesitating about; it was simply that he couldn't bear to turn away his brothers, whose lives were in danger. But now there was no other way.

Thinking of this, Pei Yuanshao rushed down the city wall, ready to take matters into his own hands.

In a short while, Cao Cao's army had already arrived. In order to defend the city gate, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Zhou Cang led two thousand soldiers to hold the city gate tightly, but were surrounded by Cao Cao's army.

Neither side had any way out, and they fought with exceptional ferocity.

Ultimately, due to a misjudgment of Cao Cao's actions in the critical moment, the defenders of Runan were quickly decimated by Cao Cao's well-trained arrow and spear formations, and the encirclement tightened.

Seeing that the human wave tactic was effective, Cao Cao's army's morale soared, and everyone rushed to fight to the death. In a short time, the defending army was reduced to only four or five hundred men, and in many places, Cao Cao's army had even put up siege ladders on the city walls.

Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Zhou Cang had no time to worry about the siege ladders; they simply formed a crescent shape outside the city gate, directing the remaining soldiers to defend it to the death.

In close combat, it was inconvenient to fight on horseback, so Zhou Cang simply abandoned his horse and fought on foot with his long-handled sword. Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun also abandoned their horses and fought on foot, with each of the three guarding a corner.

After cutting down four or five fearless Cao soldiers, Zhou Cang glanced at the moat, which was rising rapidly.

While he was distracted, two crossbow bolts came flying at him. He dodged the first one, but the second one struck him squarely in the chest.

The crossbow bolt was extremely powerful; it pierced through the leather armor and embedded a third of it into the body.

[Damage taken, Stamina -28, Attributes increased]

[Stamina: 148/196+28]

[Strength: 100+28]

【Intelligence: 42】

Morale: 80+20

Despite being shot in a vital spot, Zhou Cang's blood surged, and with a roar, he changed his defensive stance. His longsword danced up and down, cutting down several soldiers charging at the front before he stepped forward with a tiger-like stride, holding his longsword horizontally to block the spears and carrying a row of Cao soldiers back half a step.

[Damage taken, Stamina -10, Attributes increased]

[Damage taken, Stamina -15, Attributes increased]

[Damage taken, Stamina -8, Attributes increased]

Spears and daggers slashed at Zhou Cang's arms and torso, only to be mercilessly severed by the Mo Dao... Zhou Cang's stamina quickly surged to 247, and his temporary martial prowess also soared to 151.

Come on! Come on! Come on, everyone!

"Waaaaah!" Zhou Cang was covered in blood, with corpses piled up like mountains in front of him. He used his hands and feet to climb up the mountain of corpses, preparing to jump into Cao Cao's army to fight to the death, when the flood finally rushed in front of him.

The force of the water was beyond human control. Although Xiahou Dun and his men were determined to fight to the death, the impact caused both armies to fall and their horses to tumble.

In particular, the siege ladders that Cao Cao's army had painstakingly erected and the siege engines that had only reached halfway became deadly weapons in the face of the flood, falling apart and crushing countless people.

Along with the turbid floodwaters came Liu Pi and Gong Du's troops, who charged in on bamboo rafts, slaughtering their way through the enemy ranks until their swords were dulled.

In an instant, the area outside Runan City was plunged into chaos and wailing, resembling a living hell.

Not long after the Runan "naval force" joined the battlefield, they discovered that the most troublesome task was not clearing out the defeated soldiers, but identifying and stopping the drowning dogs who were desperately trying to climb onto the bamboo rafts, regardless of friend or foe...

Gong Du, with his sharp eyes, quickly pulled Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun from the floodwaters.

"Pfft—Wow!" Zhang Fei poured the water out of his mouth, then looked at the equally disheveled Zhao Yun and laughed heartily.

"That was exhilarating! That was exhilarating! Hahahaha!" Zhang Fei said as he casually stabbed a soldier who was trying to climb onto the bamboo raft to death with his spear.

"Thump~ thump~ thump~ thump~ thump thump thump!"

The war drums sounded again from the city tower. When Zhang Fei looked over, he saw Pei Yuanshao beating the drums.

This means the city is safe; Cao Cao's army has not been able to breach it, nor has the floodwaters entered.

The only one who is missing is Zhou Cang.

In fact, Zhou Cang was an excellent swimmer. In the original story, he even captured Pang De alive in the water when Guan Yu flooded the seven armies.

Zhou Cang was wreaking havoc in the water, but when he realized he was about to miss his chance to kill Cao Hong, he bravely dived into the water to search for Cao Hong...

The cleanup and clearing of the battlefield continued until the next morning.

After the battle, the results were tallied. Nearly three thousand bodies of Cao Cao's soldiers were found, including those who died in battle or drowned. Countless others were swept away by the flood. The garrison of Runan City also suffered heavy casualties, with only a little over three thousand soldiers remaining in the city. Fortunately, nearly two thousand of Cao Cao's soldiers were captured. If some of them could be incorporated into the army, it would at least be considered a Pyrrhic victory.

"Still no sign of Yuanfu?" On the city wall, Zhang Fei, who had been resting for an hour, frowned as he looked at Pei Yuanshao, who had just finished his work.

Pei Yuanshao, with red eyes and huge dark circles under his eyes, shook his head.

He hadn't slept a wink all night; the workload of cleaning up the battlefield and dealing with prisoners of war was immense, especially after such a flood.

"You should go and rest. I'll go out and take a look." Seeing Pei Yuanshao's haggard appearance, Zhang Fei patted him on the shoulder and went down the city wall.

"Yide!" As soon as Zhang Fei stepped out of the city gate, he saw Zhao Yun leading a dozen or so cavalrymen back from outside the city.

"Zilong! How is it?" Zhang Fei asked anxiously.

"Cao Cao's army fled all the way to Gucheng, gathered their remaining forces, and has already begun to retreat back to Xuchang." Zhao Yun pointed to the northwest from his horse.

"Hmm, very good, let's not pursue them then." Zhang Fei nodded, looking thoughtfully at the chaotic battlefield.

"Hmm, is there any news about Yuanfu?" Zhao Yun asked Zhang Fei as he dismounted.

Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "No, Zilong, go and rest. I'll wander around."

Zhao Yun nodded helplessly and went back to the city.

Overall, Zhang Fei was very satisfied with the victory in defending Runan, where he won with fewer troops.

After this battle, Cao Cao would likely be unable to spare troops for further attacks in the short term, and they were finally able to establish a foothold in Runan.

Now, Zhang Fei's biggest worry has returned to his elder brother, who has been imprisoned by Yuan Shao.

At this very moment, on the front lines of Guandu, in a military tent within Cao Cao's army camp.

Liu Ye sat on a stool, looking at the bamboo slips in his hand with some disbelief.

After repeatedly checking the text, he looked up at a man who looked like a fisherman and asked, "Is this true?"

The fisherman said, "Sir, this is absolutely true. I personally saw Yuan Shao and Liu Bei walking out of the tent hand in hand the day before yesterday."

Liu Ye nodded, took out a bag of money from his sleeve, handed it to the fisherman, and gestured for him to leave: "If there is any unusual activity, come and report back to me."

The fisherman knelt down to express his gratitude, and no sooner had he left than Liu Ye immediately summoned a servant and said, "Go and invite General Zhang Liao here immediately!"

When Zhang Liao rushed into the tent, Liu Ye was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back.

"Ziyang, what's the matter that you're in such a panic?"

Liu Ye didn't speak, but simply handed the bamboo slips to Zhang Liao, who looked puzzled.

"What? Yuan Shao suddenly released Liu Bei?"

Liu Ye nodded, walked to the entrance of the military tent, glanced outside to make sure there were no unauthorized personnel, then lowered the curtain before saying to Zhang Liao, "This matter is of great importance; Guan Yu may face unforeseen circumstances!"

Zhang Liao asked, "Does Ziyang mean that Yunchang will betray his side in the face of battle?"

Liu Ye stroked his beard and said, "This matter is still uncertain..."

Zhang Liao pondered for a moment and said, "I know Yun Chang's character well. It is absolutely not Yun Chang's thing to betray his side in battle, especially since Liu Bei's family is still in Xuchang..."

Liu Ye said, "Hmm... This matter is of utmost importance; we must immediately inform Xu Du and request the Prime Minister's decision!"

Zhang Liao nodded and said, "As instructed by the Prime Minister, please have Ziyang write a letter about this matter, and I will send someone to deliver it to Xudu immediately."

Liu Ye said, "I have already written the letter. Wen Yuan, please go and make the arrangements!"

After Liu Ye finished speaking, he picked up a piece of silk cloth from the table. He had already made preparations before Zhang Liao arrived.

Just as Zhang Liao was about to leave, a man suddenly lifted the curtain and rushed in. It was none other than Guan Yu, the general leading the army in Cao Cao's camp.

Guan Yu slammed his Green Dragon Crescent Blade into the ground, his phoenix eyes slightly widened as he surveyed the two men, stroking his long beard and letting out a cold laugh: "How much longer are you two going to keep this from me?!"

Zhang Liao, feeling somewhat guilty, replied, "Why do you say that, Yun Chang?"

Guan Yu lifted the tent flap and sneered, "Hmph, come out and see for yourselves!"

"Oh?" Zhang Liao and Liu Ye were puzzled. They quickly walked out of the military tent and looked towards Yuan Shao's camp.

Upon seeing this, the two of them suddenly changed color!

In the opposite camp, next to Yuan Shao's main flag, a dozen soldiers were pulling another flag up onto the flagpole.

The large flag unfurled in the wind, clearly displaying several large characters:

General Liu Bei!