Chapter Sixteen: The Liver and Gallbladder Interact

  Ao Lie's long spear fell fiercely, urging the Snow Dragon Colt to rush towards the gathering place of the Xiongnu people. Hundreds of elite cavalrymen immediately spurred their warhorses and followed closely behind Ao Lie. The sound of horseshoes and clanging armor filled the air, every one of the elite warriors' hearts burning with fervent passion! In their eyes, following the young and seemingly inexperienced but actually brave and invincible commander in front, they would surely achieve ultimate victory! Nothing could stop the footsteps of the figure in front! Nor could anything stop their own footsteps!

  Pffft! Ao Lie's long spear pierced the throat of another Xiongnu warrior, bringing up a trail of bright red blood flowers. The scattered blood flowers further ignited the fighting spirit of the hundreds of elite soldiers behind Ao Lie, including Lü Bu, who were all shouting loudly while forcefully slashing their weapons into the bodies of the Xiongnu warriors. The Xiongnu people, due to Ao Lie's previous assassination, had lost their leader and lacked a unified command, each fighting on their own, how could they be a match for hundreds of well-prepared and fierce elite soldiers? Moreover, the Xiongnu were originally a nomadic people, with all their skills being on horseback, once they left their horses, their combat effectiveness was greatly reduced.

  Another breakthrough, Ao Lie wiped the blood splashed on his face with a stroke of his hand, turned his horse's head and shouted: "Turn your horses' heads, form an array!" Hundreds of elite cavalrymen quickly turned their horses' heads under Ao Lie's command, and the gleaming spearheads and blades were once again aimed at the Xiongnu people. Just as Ao Lie was about to give the order to break through again, a series of whistling sounds came from afar.

  "Our reinforcements have arrived!" A Xiongnu cavalryman shouted excitedly. The Xiongnu people, who had lost their will to fight, perked up their ears and listened carefully for a while, the whistling sound getting closer and closer, the earth began to shake, and the clear whistling sounds unique to the Xiongnu people spread to every ear on the battlefield.

  Many Xiongnu people regained their morale and courage, gathering together and shouting loudly: "It's the Right Xiaowang, the Right Xiaowang has led a relief army to save us! Everyone quickly gather together, we are about to launch a counterattack!"

  This situation was completely beyond Ao Lie's expectations, everything had been calculated, and the plan had gone very smoothly. With just one more breakthrough, it would be possible to crush the Huns' morale and eliminate this branch of the Huns. However, man proposes but God disposes, at the critical moment, reinforcements arrived for the Huns.

  Ao Lie turned around and shouted loudly to the hundreds of elite soldiers behind him: "The Xiongnu reinforcements have arrived, brothers! What are we?" The hundreds of elite soldiers roared in unison: "Great Han elite troops!" Ao Lie asked again in a loud voice: "What should we do when facing the Xiongnu?" The hundreds of elite soldiers shouted again: "Kill! Kill!! Kill!!!!" Seeing that their morale had been stirred up to a high level, Ao Lie raised his long spear and said: "Form ranks!"

  When Ao Lie's hundreds of elite troops formed a tight array, the Xiongnu reinforcements also rushed onto the battlefield. The leader was dressed similarly to Left Virtuous King, but with a more robust build - it was Right Virtuous King. Taking advantage of Right Virtuous King having just entered the battlefield and being unfamiliar with its layout, Ao Lie grasped his long spear tightly and shouted: "Charge!"

  As the fierce war cry rose, hundreds of elite soldiers once again gripped their weapons tightly and galloped towards You Xian Wang's direction. You Xian Wang was shocked, he had no idea that Zuo Xian Wang had already been beheaded by Ao Lie, and this time he came not as a reinforcement, but to share the spoils of victory with Zuo Xian Wang. Who would have thought that as soon as they entered Zuo Xian Wang's camp, they were met with a charge from the Han army.

  However, the Righteous King quickly reacted and ordered his troops to form a counter-charge while sending someone to bring the remaining troops of the Left Virtuous King to one side to reorganize. Unlike the remnants of the Left Virtuous King, the Righteous King's army was intact, and the officers at all levels quickly conveyed the Righteous King's orders. This was in stark contrast to the leaderless state of the Left Virtuous King's remnants.

  Two surging torrents soon collided, each wielding their weapons and striving to pierce the enemy's body. Ao Lie's troops had an advantage in equipment, with fine weapons and armor. The Xiongnu people, on the other hand, were numerous and powerful, and being fresh troops, they had a physical advantage over Ao Lie's troops who had already undergone two battles.

  One after another, blood flowers appeared in the air, displaying a strange and gorgeous beauty, only to be torn apart by the weapons of those who followed, splashing into a pool of blood. Ao Lie raised his long spear, with various killing moves emerging one after another, each spear thrusting accurately and unerringly into the throat of the Xiongnu warriors, taking away a life. The hatred between the Han army and the Xiongnu people was ignited to its highest point by the fresh blood, with someone falling from their horse in every breath, and falling from the horse meant the end of life in front of the cavalry array of the two armies clashing.

  Everyone's heart has the same conviction: pierce through each other! Kill every enemy in front of you! At this moment, life becomes so fragile; it is also at this moment that faith becomes unshakeably firm!

  In the face of emptiness, Ao Lie led his elite troops behind him to complete another breakthrough. However, this breakthrough was unusually difficult compared to the previous two times. Facing an enemy with ten times their strength, facing an enemy with more physical strength than themselves, and facing the Xiongnu people who were famous for their archery skills, Ao Lie and his men completed such a thrilling breakthrough!

  Looking back at the warriors behind him, Ao Lie's heart ached to discover that this last breakthrough had reduced his troops by nearly half! Now following closely behind him were only over two hundred elite cavalrymen. But on their faces, there was no fear, no retreat, only a willingness to die and faces covered in blood!

  Ao Lie Duan sat on horseback, holding high his long spear, the hand that held the spear still as steady as ever. The two hundred elite cavalry saw their commander raise his spear and once again turned their horses around, revealing to the Xiongnu people their blood-stained blades! Ao Lie shouted loudly: "Those who dare to offend the Han will be punished no matter how far away!" The remaining two hundred elite cavalry shouted hoarsely: "Those who dare to offend the Han will be punished no matter how far away! Pierce through! Pierce through!!"

  Then, in the next moment, the Han army and the Xiongnu people once again launched a charge towards each other, with the same intense fighting continuing as before. The backdrop of this epic duel was the blood splattered everywhere by both sides!

  Here is the translation:

  Once again, Ao Lie's army broke through, and only over 50 elite cavalrymen were left by his side. In this battle, more than 400 soldiers under Ao Lie's command had died in battle, but not a single one had deserted. This was an extremely rare occurrence in the Great Han army over the past twenty years. Due to the corruption of the imperial court, the selfishness of the vassals, and the annexation by powerful families, no one was willing to fight for the Great Han empire until their last breath. But today, Ao Lie and his subordinates had achieved this! The slogan that was once popular during Huo Qubing's time, "Those who offend the Han will be punished, no matter how far away they are!", was no longer just a slogan, but had become the military spirit of Ao Lie and his men. Those who dared to challenge the Great Han would be punished, no matter how far away they were! In this battle, Ao Lie led 500 elite soldiers and killed nearly 3,000 Xiongnu people in succession, not including the 1,000 cavalrymen led by Zuo Xianwang that were ambushed at Mount Balin during the day. This resulted in the highest casualties for the Xiongnu people in decades.

  "Brother, I've dragged you down," said Ao Lie, looking at Lü Bu who was still sitting upright on his horse. Lü Bu burst out laughing loudly: "Second brother, have you forgotten our original oath? We share good fortune and bad fortune together!" Ao Lie looked at Lü Bu and slowly extended the long spear in his hand, its tip pointing towards the night sky. Lü Bu immediately raised his halberd, also slanting it towards the night sky, and the blade of the halberd collided with the tip of Ao Lie's spear.

  "Die together!" Ao Lie's slightly childish voice rang out.

  "Die together!" Lu Bu's deep voice followed closely behind.

  "Milord, I'm here!" At this time, a horseshoe sound broke the brief silence on the battlefield. Zhang Liao rode his horse and hurried over with his sword, followed by nearly a hundred elite cavalrymen who had previously escorted Cai Yan and Hua Ling away.

  After arriving in front of Ao Lü, Zhang Liao said to him in a low voice: "My lord, the governor's army is completing the encirclement of the Xiongnu people. If we can hold on for just one incense stick, we will be able to form an internal and external pincer movement against the Xiongnu."

  Looking at the sweat on Zhang Liao's forehead, Ao Lie understood that after escorting Cai Yan and her sister to meet up with their father's main army, Zhang Liao had immediately rushed back without stopping. Patting Zhang Liao's shoulder, Ao Lie raised his spirits and loudly shouted: "Form ranks!"

  More than 150 elite cavalrymen reformed their battle array under Ao Lie's command, lining up behind him. Ao Lie turned around to look at the elite cavalrymen behind him, his gaze sweeping across their faces one by one, shouting loudly: "Brothers! You are worthy of being called the great Han dynasty's elite soldiers! Tonight, regardless of life or death, I am proud to have fought alongside you!"

  Led by Zhang Liao, 150 elite cavalrymen shouted in unison: "We swear to die following the general! We swear to die following the general!!"

  "Charge!" Ao Lie used all his strength in his chest and shouted out these two words.

  "Kill!" The crowd responded.

  The sound of galloping hooves suddenly echoed through the night sky, and the elite Han soldiers, led by General Ao Lie, charged at the Xiongnu again. Everyone knew how this uneven battle would end, but no one retreated.

  Watching the Han army charge forward with reckless abandon, Righteous King Xian hid behind his trusted guards, his eyes filled with astonishment. He turned to his trusted attendants and said: "We have clashed with the Han army over a hundred times, but we have never seen an army so well-equipped and fighting so bravely. Where did they come from?" The attendants around him were clearly at a loss for an answer, and all fell silent.

  The two armies clashed again, and in the midst of the chaotic collision, a loud noise erupted. The sound of blades entering flesh, the neighing of war horses, the wailing of the wounded, and the angry shouts of the killers all mixed together, weaving into a tragic symphony of life and death.

  Ao Lü, Lü Bu and Zhang Liao, galloping at the forefront of the Han army formation, each harvesting the lives of the Xiongnu with their weapons in hand. Like a giant and sharp trident, wherever its tip points, the Xiongnu formation would be cut off immediately. Wherever the three men went, those who blocked them were defeated!

  Perhaps inspired by the bravery of the three men, or perhaps intimidated by the Xiongnu people, after this charge, Ao Lie turned around and saw that this time only a few dozen elite cavalry were lost, and more than 100 elite cavalry followed behind him. However, Ao Lie did not dare to guarantee that they would survive unscathed in the next charge, nor did he dare to think about how many people would be able to continue following him after the next charge.

  "Second Master, we've arrived!" "Kill——!" Finally, a shout of Han people came from outside the camp. Liu Yu completed the encirclement of the Xiongnu and launched a general attack.

  Yu Xianwang, flustered and restraining his troops: "The Han have reinforcements, everyone gather, join forces and charge out!" But before Yu Xianwang's order could be passed down, Liu Yu's firm voice rang out: "Wind!" Following Liu Yu's command, the several thousand Han soldiers who had formed a circle around the Xiongnu shouted in unison: "Wind! Wind!! Wind!!!"

  Immediately, the sky was filled with a rain of arrows, whizzing towards the Xiongnu people. Wave after wave of mournful cries instantly erupted, and the Xiongnu people under the Han army's arrow array were like harvested crops, falling down in large swaths.

  On the right side of King Xian, he was shot by a sharp arrow on his right shoulder and almost fell off his horse. He quickly stabilized his body. After glancing at the battlefield, King Xian knew that the situation had already gone, and he hastily called out to his personal guards, fleeing into the darkness.

  After the battle, Liu Yu rode his horse to Ao Lie's front. Ao Lie struggled to straighten up, covered in blood on horseback, under his father's gaze. Lü Bu and Zhang Liao closely followed Ao Lie, not leaving his side for a moment.

  "Alright, Lie'er, you've grown up." Liu Yu said with a mix of heartache and relief to Ao Lie.

  Ao Lie dismounted and knelt before Liu Yu, responding loudly: "Reporting to the governor, I request that my subordinate of 500 vanguard troops be granted merit!"

  The hundred elite cavalrymen who followed Ao Lie's back in the great battle of their lives suddenly knelt down in unison and said in unison: "We swear to follow General Shao to death! Please ask for credit for General Shao!"

  Liu Yu's eyes shone with glittering tears as he slowly said: "You are all the elite soldiers of Great Han!"