Insufficient balance

  The murderous intent in Zhu's eyes was overwhelming, and his originally icy heart seemed to be burning with fervor.

  Since the Yellow Turbans have shown unprecedented high morale, Zhu Yue decided to give their opponents the treatment they deserved. He decided to use the strongest attack to crush this gang of stubborn Yellow Turbans. He wanted to tell these bandits with the heavenly might of the Great Han official army that they should never try to challenge the dignity of the imperial court, which would only lead to self-destruction.

  Zhu Rong raised his right arm and shouted in a cold voice: "Archers, up!"

  Zhu Huan gave the order, and the various departmental Sima quickly began to take action. The password, the sound of the horn was endless, the long trumpet sound, the exciting golden drum sound, all burst out at once, and the great battle finally began.

  "Archers ready!!"

  At the loud call of the officer, 1,000 stern-looking archers rose from the ground, took down their longbows from their backs and began to sort out the arrows in their quivers.

  "Heavy infantry ready"

  1,000 heavily armored infantrymen with large wooden shields rose up and quickly formed a dense phalanx formation under the sound of their officers' commands.

  "Chinese army, march forward!"

  At the officer's command, he swung his long sword forward with force.

  "Han army is mighty! Han army is mighty......"

  The re-equipped infantry and archers marched in neat steps, shouting slogans in unison, advancing slowly. 2,000 elite government troops converged into an unstoppable iron torrent, pressing towards the White Dragon Beach where the Yellow Turbans were gathered.

  ……

  A faint hissing sound of breathing came from behind, and Ma Chao could "see" the appearance of the Yellow Turban bandit without turning his head. The fighting spirit that had just been inspired in him was undergoing its first severe test.

  Something must be done to minimize the pressure of the imperial army's momentum on the Yellow Turbans!

  Ma Yue lowered his head and saw a large wooden shield hanging in front of the saddle, and his heart suddenly moved. He slung the large shield over his right arm, and Ma Yue used the back of his steel knife to slap the wooden shield with force, making a loud "Boom Boom Boom" sound, while raising his head like a furious beast and letting out a wild howl.

  Pei Yuanshao and Guan Hai followed suit, punching their chests wildly with their fists. This stirring scene incited the surrounding Yellow Turbans, who all began to howl in unison. Soon, every last one of the Yellow Turbans on Baima Ridge was howling, creating a spectacle akin to tens of thousands of injured beasts gathering together to let out ear-piercing wails. The din was so deafening that it completely drowned out the government forces' momentum.

  In the midst of the Yellow Turbans' deafening shouts, the stone-faced government troops had advanced to within 100 paces of the enemy. At a single command from their officer, the soldiers halted in unison, the heavy infantrymen planting large shields in front of them, while the archers behind formed a protective wall of shields.

  Facing the defeated and disarmed Yellow Turban remnants, it seemed unnecessary to do so, but under the constraint of iron discipline, not a single soldier pretended to respond, because they understood an iron-like truth: only by maintaining sufficient vigilance could they survive as much as possible on the battlefield.

  Witnessing the Yellow Turbans' momentum, Zhu Huan's mouth twitched slightly, truly becoming more and more astonishing. Is this really the legendary cornered beast's desperate struggle? A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he raised his right arm high and swung it down fiercely.

  The orderly who had been watching Zhu's hand gesture immediately swung the triangular flag in his hand down fiercely, and the shrill bugle sound echoed through the sky. The officer at the front of the array drew out his sword with a clang, swung it in the air, and shouted loudly: "Release arrows!"

  One thousand bowmen coldly drew their bows, nocked their arrows, and pulled the strings to the full... One thousand feathered arrows formed a dense dark cloud in the air, drawing an arc across the sky, suddenly flying over the top of the Yellow Turban bandits' formation, then with a sharp whistling sound falling down like endless raindrops.

  ……

  Solid!

  A dull thud, Ma Jue felt his right arm shake, a sharp arrow had actually shot through his wooden large shield, revealing the cold and sinister arrowhead below. Even though Ma Jue was used to life and death situations, he couldn't help but feel a tremble in his heart.

  Continuous wails came from behind Ma Chao's back, the Yellow Turbans without shields were howling in agony as they fell under the arrow rain. Some were shot through the throat and died instantly, some were shot through the chest and gasped for their last breath, while others were shot through the thigh, bleeding profusely and wailing incessantly...

  The government army's arrows came in wave after wave, and the Yellow Turbans fell to the ground batch by batch. In a short time, there were thousands of casualties among the Yellow Turbans. Compared to before, the situation hadn't improved much. The only difference was that this time the Yellow Turbans didn't flee in disarray. No matter how many people fell, they never retreated half a step.

  Perhaps it was because the icy White River was right behind them, and they had nowhere to retreat. Perhaps it was because in their most difficult moment, they found that there was always a tall figure standing in front of them like a great mountain, shielding them from the hail of arrows. In any case, this time the Yellow Turbans held firm.

  The bowmen of the government army finally stopped their shooting upwards, and 2,000 soldiers began to slowly retreat while shouting in unison.

  Ma Chao let out a mouthful of air, and the wooden shield that had been blocking his head was removed, with three arrows inserted on it, still trembling. He turned his head back, many Yellow Turbans were already dead on the ground, but more Yellow Turbans crawled up from the pile of corpses, re-gathering towards Ma Chao's side, their eyes no longer showing fear.

  "Ahh~"

  Ma Yue roared with anger, turned his horse around and charged towards the government army in the north, wildly swinging the steel knife in his hand.

  "Ahhh~~~~"

  All the Yellow Turbans who survived the arrow rain roared in anger, shouting as they raised their weapons to the sky and swung them with all their might. The intense killing intent reverberated above Baidi, and the icy waters of the White River could no longer extinguish their desire for survival. The bleak autumn wind could no longer cool down their determination to fight to the death.

  On the east bank of the White River, Yuan Shao's face changed. Such bandits, could it be just a dream?

  To the south of Baidi, Dong Zhuo's face changed color. These bandits were indeed stubborn.

  To the west of Baidi, Cao Cao's expression changed. If these Yellow Turbans were under my command...

  To the north of Baidi, both Sun Jian and Liu Bei's faces changed, only Zhu Huan's expression remained as calm as ever. However, it was undeniable that this group of Yellow Turbans had brought too many surprises to Zhu Huan, wondering if this miracle would continue? It was truly exciting.

  Taking a deep breath of cold air, Zhu Huan said in a low voice: "Are the bow and arrow useless? Alright, let these damn bandits taste the ferocity of the Western Liang Iron Cavalry! Tell Dong Zhuo to bring out all his skills and drive these damn bandits into the White River to feed the fish!"

  ……

  "Waaah~~"

  "Wow~~"

  A loud and unique cow horn sound came from the south, Ma Jue's pupils suddenly shrunk, looking far into the south, the dense Western Iron Cavalry had already formed a neat formation, thousands of war horses stepped in unison, slowly advancing like a mountain towards Baidi Beach.

  Is the most difficult moment finally coming?

  A hissing sound of inhalation came again from behind, Ma Chao turned his head and smiled brightly at the tens of thousands of Yellow Turbans, saying loudly: "The Western Liang cavalry is nothing to be afraid of, they are also born to their fathers and mothers, their machetes can cut off our heads, and our long guns can also pierce through their chests!"

  "Lost his head but got a big scar on his bowl, afraid of him like a bird!"

  Many Yellow Turbans were in an uproar when they heard this, and the heavy pressure brought by the Western Liang Iron Cavalry was greatly reduced.

  "Fight to the death!"

  Gan Hai patted the horse and walked to the front of Ma Yue, not losing the opportunity to wave his arm and roar angrily. On his ferocious black face, a thick murderous aura seeped out, like an evil spirit god who chose people to devour.

  "Fight to the death!"

  All the Yellow Turbans followed with a loud shout, although their voices were already hoarse from shouting, they still shouted at the top of their lungs. Such a desperate roar may not help them kill the government army, but it can give them courage. When tens of thousands of people gather together to shout wildly, the frenzied atmosphere is enough to make their blood boil.

  ……

  The Western Liang Iron Cavalry began to accelerate, thousands of flying iron hooves endlessly pounding the icy ground, producing a continuous rumbling sound. The long spears in the hands of the front row of cavalrymen pierced the sky, rising and falling with the galloping warhorses, like venomous snakes spitting out poisonous letters, eerie and intimidating.

  Dong Zhuo rode his horse like flying, Hua Xiong and Xu Rong followed closely behind him.

  Fierce killing intent blazed in Dong Zhuo's eyes, he loved the taste of the battlefield, he loved the cold gleam of swords and armor, he loved the iron hooves trampling the earth with a stern and majestic air. The Western Liang Iron Cavalry, invincible under the heavens! All who dared to block his way would be crushed into powder, no one could stop Dong Zhuo's charge.

  "Waaaah~"

  Dong Zhuo looked up at the sky and let out a long whistle, a thousand Western Liang iron cavalry responded with wolf-like howls.