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

The city of Runan was bustling with activity late at night.

Zhang Fei, along with Pei Yuanshao, mustered troops at the drill ground overnight. Gong Du and Liu Pi led soldiers and craftsmen to meticulously repair every section of the city wall. Zhou Cang, meanwhile, led twenty cavalrymen and three hundred infantrymen out of the city to the ancient city to fetch provisions.

The night was as dark as ink. Zhou Cang led his team on a rapid march along a desolate path, and everyone was on high alert.

When Zhou Cang heard that Xiahou Dun was leading 30,000 troops to Runan, and that Cao Hong was still the vanguard, he knew that this battle was extraordinary.

It's like a back-to-back game, where everyone knows each other inside and out, and everyone is playing their cards straight, so there's no chance for any clever tricks.

Cao Hong suffered a complete defeat in the last battle, and his helmet is still hanging on the city wall of Runan. This time, he will not let the matter rest until he has wiped out the previous humiliation.

Sure enough, the unexpected happened before they were even halfway there.

It was still that same earthen slope at the crossroads. The old soldier who came to deliver the message and the distant firelight appeared in Zhou Cang's field of vision almost at the same time.

"General Zhou!"

"How is it?" Zhou Cang hurriedly reined in his horse and asked.

"The ancient city has been captured by Cao Hong!"

The old soldier shouted as he fell to the ground in a disheveled state.

Zhou Cang's pupils suddenly contracted. He quickly dismounted, shoved his longsword into the ground, and bent down to help the wounded old soldier to his feet.

"Cao Cao's army arrived so quickly?!"

The old soldier, his face streaked with blood and tears, cried out, "Cao Hong arrived at the ancient city at Shenshi (3-5 PM), with a large force of four or five thousand men. We were caught completely off guard, and that bastard..."

"How is that guy?"

"That fellow breached the city in less than half an hour, leaving us no choice but to surrender. But who knew that after he entered the city..."

"And what happens after we enter the city?!"

"After entering the city, this scoundrel allowed his troops to plunder and loot, claiming that the entire city was inhabited by rebels, and he killed anyone he saw, young or old... By now, I'm afraid none of the elders in the city have survived!"

"Ah!!!" After saying this, the old soldier fainted from grief.

Zhou Cang gritted his teeth, his beard bristling, his fists nearly crushing the hilt of his sword, and he whispered, trembling all over.

"You traitor Cao Hong, I swear to kill you!"

"General Zhou! Let's go avenge our elders!"

"General Zhou! Let's fight them to the death!"

"General Zhou! What do we do now?!"

Zhou Cang turned around and glanced at the crowd behind him. Some looked fearful, some had bloodshot eyes, and some gripped their weapons tightly and remained silent.

Everyone fell silent, simply staring at him and awaiting his decision.

The distant firelight faintly illuminated Zhou Cang's angry face, but he forced himself to remain calm.

How can we fight back? How can we take revenge? With just these two hundred people?

"My lords, this vengeance must be taken, but... not now."

"Quickly lift him onto the horse, then the rear guard becomes the front guard, and return to Runan immediately!"

Zhou Cang's tone was resolute.

"Here!" The group quickly changed direction and headed into the mountains and forests.

If there's one significant difference between this team and the one they had back in Woniu Mountain, it's their discipline.

During my time in Runan, I trained every day, and under the pressure, my banditry faded considerably.

Zhou Cangxing, at the back of the group, suddenly relaxed his grip on his long-handled broadsword. These past few days, although he had spent most of his time in Runan, he would occasionally return to the ancient city to chat and laugh with the locals. Some of the faces he recognized were familiar. These living, breathing people were gone just like that…

He couldn't even imagine how gruesome their deaths would be.

Tears welled up in his eyes, and his pace unconsciously slowed, putting him some distance from the soldiers in front of him.

Such a chaotic world... Overwhelmed by such sorrow, he had completely forgotten that he was a time traveler.

"Tap...tap..."

Suddenly, he heard something unusual amidst the sounds of marching.

Two very faint hoofbeats passed by in an instant.

Zhou Cang immediately crouched down and hid behind a tree, listening intently.

Sure enough, he heard a soft sound of leaves being crushed underfoot. By the moonlight, he glimpsed a dark figure of a cavalryman slowly moving about ten paces away from the bushes, heading in the direction the troops were marching.

Cao Cao's scouts!

Zhou Cang held his breath, gripped his longsword tightly, his muscles tense, and slowly moved towards the shadowy figure.

The scouts were completely focused on the troops and were oblivious to the approaching killing intent from behind. They even started quietly counting the number of soldiers.

Finally, when Zhou Cang was five steps away from the scout, the scout's horse reacted. Although its mouth was gagged and it could not make a sound, it suddenly turned its head towards Zhou Cang.

The scout, alerted, turned his head and saw, in the moonlight, a huge black shadow forcefully push off the tree trunk, leaping into the air. In mid-air, it already held a deadly weapon, which it brought down towards the scout's face—

The loud crash startled the troops ahead. When the soldiers turned around, they saw a man and a horse fall to the ground with a thud. The man was decapitated without uttering a sound, and the horse struggled a few times before collapsing into a pool of blood. Zhou Cang, on the other hand, had already landed steadily and was kneeling to one side.

Zhou Cang had originally thought that the first strike with the Mo Dao would at least be reserved for some lucky general in Cao Cao's camp, but unexpectedly it was given to an unknown scout.

Under the blade of the Mo Dao, both men and horses were shattered!

The dozen or so soldiers at the rear of the column, carrying torches and brandishing swords, quickly surrounded them. Zhou Cang slowly stood up, waved his hand, and said, "It's alright, they're just scouts from Cao Cao's army. Continue marching."

The crowd responded and left, and darkness returned to the surroundings.

Killing a Cao army scout did not appease Zhou Cang, who was still immersed in grief and anger over the massacre in the ancient city. From the moment he discovered the man to the moment he killed him, he showed no change in emotion, as if he had just chopped down a wooden stake.

Zhou Cang bent down, tore a piece of cloth from the scout's corpse, and vigorously wiped the blood off his knife.

"Da da~ da da~ da da~ da da~"

Zhou Cang thought he was hallucinating. The sound of horses' hooves came again from the direction the scouts had come from, with a steady rhythm, approaching from afar.

Is this never going to end?

Zhou Cang was instantly enraged and stopped thinking about the tragedy of the ancient city. He gripped his long sword tightly, his veins bulging, and ran towards the sound of horses' hooves, quickly blending into the dark shadows of the bushes.

The sound of horses' hooves grew closer and closer. Zhou Cang lay in ambush behind a large rock. As soon as the horses and men crossed paths beside the rock, Zhou Cang used the same trick again, leaping out suddenly. His long sword slashed through the night sky and slashed down at the approaching men.

"Clang!" Sparks flew as the blades clashed. Zhou Cang was shocked – in an instant, the attacker swiftly swung his spear to block the thunderous blow.

That scout is quite skilled!

At the same time, the man's horse was startled and reared up with a neigh. The man gripped the reins tightly, straightened his body, and became as steady as Mount Tai. Taking advantage of the momentum of the horse's hooves landing, he immediately swung his spear and thrust it straight at Zhou Cang, who had just landed and was not yet on his feet.

Zhou Cang suddenly shifted his body to the side, using the force of his turn to sweep his Mo Dao horizontally, deflecting the spear with a single blow.

so close!

Seeing that he couldn't use his skills on horseback, the opponent leaped off his horse, landed lightly with a light touch of his toes, and turned his spear tip to face Zhou Cang.

Seeing that this man was highly skilled, Zhou Cang dared not be careless and held his knife horizontally in front of him with both hands, facing him intently.

I'm starting to feel that same itch I had when I was in a martial arts school in my past life, wanting to spar with someone!

Soldiers a hundred paces away heard the commotion and began to run towards them.

Just as the person opposite was distracted—

"Wow!" Zhou Cang shouted, spreading his arms wide and slashing diagonally with his Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) accompanied by the sound of wind!

The opponent remained calm, taking a small step back and leaning back, skillfully dodging Zhou Cang's full-force attack. As he twisted his hips and waist, he flicked his spear forward, sending the spear flying backward toward Zhou Cang's chest.

Zhou Cang couldn't sheathe his sword in time, so he hurriedly lifted it upwards with the hilt—

"Whoosh!" A bloody gash was slashed open on his left arm!

[Damage taken, Stamina -10, Attributes increased]

[Stamina: 131/141+10]

[Strength: 85+10]

【Intelligence: 42】

Morale: 40+10

Blood instantly stained his clothes, and Zhou Cang was furious.

This must be one of Cao Cao's fierce generals; we must settle this today.

Anger fueled his passion, boiling within Zhou Cang. He looked down at his arm, then stared intently at the other man.

The man stood holding his spear. Seeing Zhou Cang take the hit, he sneered, kicked the spear shaft with his leg, took a horse stance forward, and swung his spear down fiercely, unstoppable and unstoppable!

Zhou Cang retreated hastily, his steps faltering as the spear tip landed less than half an inch from his chest. Just as Zhou Cang breathed a sigh of relief, he realized that the spear was a feint. The opponent flicked the spear tip upward, catching Zhou Cang off guard.

"Ouch—" Another sharp stab wound landed on my leg!

[Damage taken, Stamina -30, Attributes increased]

[Stamina: 101/151+30]

[Strength: 95+30]

【Intelligence: 42】

Morale: 50+30

The pain vanished instantly, and a surge of heat erupted from Zhou Cang's dantian, rushing along his meridians and straight to the top of his head!

In his previous life, he was quite skilled with a gun at a martial arts school, but how come he had never seen such a domineering gun technique that was so unpredictable and difficult to distinguish between real and fake?

This is truly a master!

Zhou Cang took a step back to steady himself, his eyes red and his breathing like thunder. He then adjusted his breathing, quickly stepped forward, and used the Lingbo Weibu technique to move left and right, his Mo Dao flying up and down as he rushed towards his opponent.

Seeing that Zhou Cang had been shot again, but instead of retreating, he advanced, the enemy looked surprised. He raised his gun and retreated while blocking, looking for an opening.

The sounds of their weapons clashing were incessant. The soldiers who had gathered around looked at each other with torches in hand, none daring to step forward to help.

After blocking Zhou Cang's attacks more than a dozen times, the opponent figured out Zhou Cang's rhythm. After blocking a knife, he suddenly turned his ankle, lowered his head and rushed forward. He slid and crossed with Zhou Cang. Then, he exerted force with both arms, twisted his spear and turned to thrust it behind him!

In the blink of an eye, this move was clearly—

A surprise attack!

As the saying goes: "Pear blossoms falling like snow, seemingly unintentional, transform into a dragon's roar to break through the formation!"

Suddenly—both of them froze.

The soldiers standing nearby were all stunned. When they came to their senses, they looked around and saw that the tip of the enemy's spear was stuck in Zhou Cang's right shoulder, and blood was spreading along the tip of the spear.

The other party frowned as he looked at the split leg armor on his leg, which was already bleeding!

It turned out that when they crossed paths, Zhou Cang had already guessed this move. After all, he had practiced this move a lot in martial arts school in his previous life. So he deliberately created an opening. Just as the two brushed past each other, Zhou Cang turned around and used his waist strength to sweep the Mo Dao backward. The speed was so fast that the other party did not even notice.

Both of them were panting heavily, and then slowly put away their weapons.

Zhou Cang could no longer care about the excruciating pain in his shoulder, nor did he care about hearing the message "[Damage taken, attribute increased]" for the third time. Although his stamina and martial prowess had increased by another 35, he had already risked half his life.

More importantly, the other party shot him three times in a row, while he barely managed to injure the other party once!

It awakened his memories of his past life—

Wait! Wait! Wait!

Could it be...?

Using the torches of the surrounding soldiers as a guide, Zhou Cang calmed down and began to sized up his opponent.

He was tall and strong, wearing a silver helmet, heavy armor, and a white robe. Beneath the silver helmet, his face was angular, with sword-like eyebrows and willow-leaf eyes, exuding a heroic aura... Looking at the spear, its body was as smooth as jade, and its tip shone with a cold light, just like a silver dragon emerging from its body.

"Could the approaching general be... Zhao Zilong of Changshan?"