The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

Zhang Bao led his remaining troops in a frenzied rush toward the south gate.

The roar of Zhang Fei and the hoofbeats of Zhao Yun's cavalry behind him were like death knells, chasing him until his soul was scattered.

"Open the city gate! Open the city gate!" Zhang Bao roared at the top of his lungs, wildly swinging his broadsword and cutting down two fleeing soldiers blocking his way.

The garrison commander at the south gate had already received the news and opened the city gate.

Zhang Bao rushed in first, and just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he looked up and froze on the spot.

Torches blazed brightly atop the barbican, illuminating the area as if it were daytime. Liu Bei, wielding a pair of twin swords and clad in gleaming silver armor, stood silently atop the city wall.

Beside him, Li Chang waved a feather fan, a black sword was at his waist, and a black crow on his shoulder flapped its wings and cried softly.

He looked indifferently at the Yellow Turban remnants rushing in below.

It's been installed to the extreme!

"General Zhang Bao, how have you been?" Li Chang's voice wasn't loud, but it carried throughout the entire barbican through his homemade loudspeaker.

"We have been waiting for you here for a long time."

"Fire the arrows!" Liu Bei gave the order.

In an instant, a barrage of arrows was unleashed!

The raindrops rained down on the Yellow Turban soldiers inside the barbican.

Screams rose and fell in waves, and the Yellow Turban soldiers at the forefront fell in droves, their arrows embedded in the ground like a thicket of thorns!

"An ambush!!" Zhang Bao roared, his eyes wide with rage. "Retreat! Get out of the city!"

But by this time, the front and rear gates of the barbican had already been slammed shut, and thousands of Yellow Turban remnants were trapped in the narrow barbican, becoming sitting ducks.

"Follow me and charge out!" Liu Bei drew his sword and charged out first.

Behind him, Xiahou Lan, holding a long spear, led five hundred vanguard soldiers in close pursuit.

He's like a brick right now, you can move him wherever he's useful.

Xiahou Lan had dark circles under her eyes, but her skill in hand techniques remained undiminished.

At this moment, however, he showed no fear, wielding his spear and easily killing two Yellow Turban soldiers who charged at him.

Li Chang stood atop the city wall, lightly waving his feather fan, directing his soldiers to adjust their arrow formation, focusing their fire on areas densely packed with Yellow Turban soldiers.

Zhang Bao watched as the soldiers around him fell one by one, feeling both shocked and furious.

He couldn't understand how he, who had taken the initiative, had fallen into the other party's trap!

They were almost victorious! They had even broken through the central command of the government troops!

Suddenly, they were attacked from the flank, then surrounded by cavalry from the rear, and now they were ambushed in the barbican. Every step was calculated perfectly!

"Fight them!" Zhang Bao's eyes turned red as he brandished his broadsword and charged toward the city gate.

He's trying to escape!

Liu Bei spurred his horse forward, raised his sword to meet Zhang Bao's attack, and the two swords, one male and one female, flew back and forth as he engaged Zhang Bao in battle.

The two fought for more than twenty rounds. Zhang Bao was already exhausted and his mind was in turmoil, so he gradually lost the upper hand.

Seeing this, Xiahou Lan swung his spear and thrust it from the side. Zhang Bao hurriedly dodged, but a deep, bone-revealing wound was slashed across his shoulder, and blood gushed out.

The elite Yellow Turban soldiers around him immediately rushed forward, risking their lives to help Zhang Bao out of the predicament.

These Yellow Turban soldiers were no ordinary Yellow Turban soldiers!

Liu Bei and Xiahou Lan could take down ordinary Yellow Turban rebels in one hit, but these ones would take at least two or three hits!

They were fearless and had thick skin and flesh.

"Walk!"

Zhang Bao got a brief respite and dared not fight any longer. He turned to look at the northwest corner of the city wall, where there was a broken gap left from the previous siege.

He led his remaining four thousand elite troops in a desperate charge toward the breach, cutting down several soldiers guarding the breach before fleeing in a sorry state.

"My lord, Zhang Bao has escaped!" Xiahou Lan said urgently.

Liu Bei wiped the blood from his face, shook his head and smiled, "It's alright, Fourth Brother has already made arrangements."

Li Chang descended from the city wall, pointing his feather fan south: "My second brother is already waiting for him on the only road to Guangzong. Zhang Bao has no chance of escape today."

……

Zhang Bao led his remaining troops on a frantic southward march, daring not to stop for even a moment.

At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind: to escape to Guangzong and find his elder brother Zhang Jiao! As long as his elder brother was there, and with the million-strong army of the Way of Peace, they would surely be able to avenge their grievances!

They had run less than twenty miles when a dense forest suddenly appeared ahead.

A gust of wind blew by, rustling the leaves and filling the air with a unique scent.

Zhang Bao's heart tightened, and he was about to order a halt when a thunderous shout echoed from the forest:

"Guan Yu is here! Zhang Bao, you traitor, surrender now!"

Before he finished speaking, Guan Yu, wielding his Green Dragon Crescent Blade and riding a fine steed, slowly galloped out of the forest.

"Guan Yu?" Zhang Bao's pupils shrank sharply. He had barely heard the name when the other party rushed at him!

"Guan Yu, I have no grudge against you, why are you blocking my way!" Zhang Baoqiang said calmly, "If you let me pass, I am willing to offer ten thousand taels of gold!"

Guan Yu was still riding his horse at full speed on the road, but he felt that the horse was running too slowly!

With a cold laugh, he pointed his Green Dragon Crescent Blade directly at Zhang Bao: "Yellow Turban rebels, you wreak havoc on the world, harming the people, everyone has the right to kill you! Today I will take your head to atone for the suffering of the people!"

Having said that, Guan Yu had already rushed in front of Zhang Bao, and his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, accompanied by a whistling sound, slashed at Zhang Bao.

Zhang Bao had already reacted and dared not be careless, raising his knife to meet the attack head-on.

"clang!"

The sound of metal clashing made my ears ring.

Zhang Bao felt a sudden numbness in his arm, his tiger's mouth split open, and blood flowed freely. The broadsword in his hand almost flew out of his grasp.

"What strength!" Zhang Bao was shocked. Before he could react, Guan Yu's second slash came down.

This strike was faster and heavier than the last!

There's no way to dodge it!

Zhang Bao was shocked: Oh no, he's too strong, I'm no match for him!

He had no choice but to raise his knife again to parry.

"Snap!"

With a crisp sound, Zhang Bao's broadsword was cleaved in two by the Green Dragon Crescent Blade! The blade's momentum remained undiminished, slashing straight towards his neck.

"No!!"

Zhang Bao let out a desperate scream.

Blood splattered everywhere!

A fine head flew into the air and rolled to the ground.

"Zhang Bao is dead! Those who surrender will not be killed!" Guan Yu shouted loudly as he stood on his horse with his sword drawn.

The Yellow Turban soldiers, having lost their commander, were thrown into chaos. However, to Guan Yu's surprise, very few of them surrendered immediately!

Hundreds of Yellow Turban core members, armed with weapons, charged forward fearlessly, their eyes filled with madness, like wild beasts that had lost their minds.

"Kill! Avenge the general!"

Guan Yu frowned and swung his blade to meet the attack. The Green Dragon Crescent Blade flashed up and down, leaving a trail of heads and rivers of blood in its wake.

But these Yellow Turban assassins showed no fear of death, advancing wave after wave, even with their last breath, they would still rush forward to take a bite.

Just then, Zhao Yun arrived with his cavalry and, without hesitation, immediately joined the battle.

Half an hour later, the battle finally ended. More than two thousand Yellow Turban soldiers were annihilated, with only less than a hundred escaping towards Guangzong in the chaos.

Zhao Yun reined in his white horse, looked at the corpses scattered on the ground, and frowned: "Brother Guan, something's wrong."

Guan Yu nodded and used the tip of his sword to lift the corpse of a Yellow Turban assassin: "Look. These people all have the same tattoos, and they are fearless and undaunted, completely different from the Yellow Turban bandits we encountered before."

Zhao Yun bent down to examine them and, sure enough, found a strange rune tattooed on the chest of each assassin. He examined several more corpses and said in a deep voice:

"Moreover, their equipment is far superior to that of ordinary Yellow Turbans; their weapons are sharp, and their armor is complete. In that battle just now, we suffered over three hundred casualties. If it were ordinary Yellow Turbans, they would have scattered long ago."

Guan Yu stroked his long beard, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes: "It seems Zhang Jiao still has such an elite force of assassins. Guangzong is probably even more difficult to conquer than we imagined."

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar. Liu Bei, Li Chang, and Zhang Fei arrived with their army.

Li Chang jumped off his horse, walked to the corpses of the Yellow Turban assassins, squatted down, and carefully examined the runes on their chests.

Hmm? Is this correct?

Li Chang found it hard to believe; was this still the normal Three Kingdoms period?

Are all the rune warriors here?

Will Zhang Jiao still be able to conjure soldiers from beans and summon wind and rain?

Damn, could what Old Deng taught really be true?