Chapter 57: Mantis Catches Cicada

  South of Huai City, outside Lü Bu's military camp, the Flying Cavalry led by Cheng Lian confronted Da Shengmen and others who had arrived with Zhang Yang.

  Cheng Lian's words made Da Yinmen Wu Jiang's eyes flash with a cold light, and his hand holding the long knife tightened involuntarily.

  Zhang Yang's body on the horse appeared somewhat stiff, and the hesitation and struggle in his eyes made his face twisted. He was soon seen through by Cheng Lian.

  "General Zhang, the men under your command are truly undisciplined! Never mind, since you have urgent business, please enter the camp alone." Cheng Lian cautiously looked at the loud-mouthed general's long knife and said to Zhang Yang.

  "Impossible!" General Zhang Yang suddenly said before he could respond.

  "Didn't the general say there was something important? Why isn't Zhang Taishou allowed to enter again?" Cheng Lian asked with a hint of mockery on his face.

  "General Cheng, don't bother about me, quickly inform Lord Cao, and by no means listen to..." Zhang Yang's face showed a resolute expression as he suddenly shouted at Cheng Yi.

  "Shut up!" Before Zhang Yang could finish speaking, the loud-mouthed general hiding behind him suddenly swung his arm, striking Zhang Yang's head with the hilt of his knife and knocking him off his horse.

  "What kind of people are you? How dare you hold Zhang Taishou hostage and deceive our military camp!" Cheng Lian waved his hand to stop the flying cavalry soldiers who were about to come forward, narrowing his eyes to stare at the loud-mouthed general.

  "Hmph!" General Da Shengmen, seeing that he had been recognized, disdainfully glanced at the unconscious Zhang Yang and pointed his long sword at Cheng Yi: "This general is Miao Yi, a great general of the vanguard under Lord Yuan's command. Your master has already been captured and killed by my lord, Judge Shen. You should quickly dismount and surrender!"

  "What? The lord has been captured? Get off your horse and surrender?" Cheng Lian seemed to have heard a big joke, and he gave a signal to the soldiers beside him, saying: "Such words can only deceive children, a nameless person who claims to be a great general, are you still dreaming?"

  "Bandit, you dare to be so arrogant! Do you dare to come out of the camp and fight me?" Ji Yi was looked at with contempt by Cheng Lian, his anger rising. As one of Yuan Shao's most trusted generals, he was already very proud, how could he tolerate Cheng Lian's sarcasm?

  Just outside the gate of Lü Bu's military camp, the guards were very strict. Even with hundreds of soldiers behind him who had already entered the camp and knew that Lü Bu's camp was empty, a fierce attack would not be able to take it down in a short time. This made Ji Yishi feel a kind of suffocating feeling like a dog biting a hedgehog without knowing where to start.

  "Cheng Yu is a great general under Wen Hou's command, killing you would only tarnish my precious sword!" Cheng Lian sneered, completely ignoring Kou Yi's provocative words. In his heart, Cheng was clear that as long as he could protect the main camp from being lost, it would be a great achievement; not to mention if Zhang Yang were injured in the chaos of battle, Lu Bu's wrath would be unbearable for ordinary people.

  "You cowardly lot, thinking that hiding in the inner city walls will make you untouchable?!" Ji Yi sneered with a smile: "Today, let you all witness my greatness!"

  "Not good!" Cheng Lian's eyes narrowed, although he didn't know what kind of trick Ji Yi was playing, but seeing the soldiers behind Ji Yi holding up a kind of crossbow that Cheng Lian had never seen before. A sense of danger suddenly struck his heart, and Cheng Lian's first reaction was to pull the reins to avoid it.

  "Whoosh!!"

  The vanguard led by Sima Yi uses this sharp weapon, which is not comparable to the likes of Wei Xu and Shen Pei. Sima Yi, who deeply understands the shortcomings of this sharp weapon, orders his soldiers to form rows on horseback, shoot, and then retreat from both sides of the army formation to reload, ensuring that the crossbow arrows will not be interrupted.

  Such a shooting method and such powerful crossbow arrows were something that the flying cavalry had never seen before, and soon there were heavy casualties. Cheng Lian reacted in the first time, but still fell into the trap, not only was his horse shot to pieces, but also several small holes were pierced on his shoulders and thighs by the crossbow arrows.

  Fortunately, Cheng Lian saw the opportunity quickly and leaned to one side of the horse. Although he was knocked down by the fallen warhorse and his blood surged up, his life was not in great danger.

  The other soldiers of the Flying Cavalry were not as lucky as Cheng, and they were suppressed by the continuous crossbow arrows, unable to fight back, and fell one after another.

  "Haha!" Xī Yì's face was full of triumph, and he deliberately walked slowly into the military camp gate, which only had scattered resistance left. He pointed at Chēng Lián, who was pressed down by war horses, and laughed maniacally: "A great general under Lü Bù's command? Ha! Wasn't it my family's Jiǎn Jūn Shì's clever plan that got you? Take him away!"

  "You dare to do this! Relying on your cunning calculations, what a good man!" Cheng Lian's eyes were about to split open, and he finally understood why Ji Yi had this advantage, but still used Zhang Yang as a shield, wasting so many words. The purpose was to pretend to be strong and attract Cheng Lian to gather his forces to defend, while Ji Yi actually intended to kill the remaining soldiers of Lü Bu's army. There were not many soldiers left in the camp, and due to their own carelessness, the flying cavalry camp was almost completely destroyed. The only ones left to resist were Hou Cheng's archer camp and some non-combat miscellaneous soldiers. Who could be their opponent? Except for making a desperate last stand around Lü Bu's family in the central army tent, there was no other way! Seeing the casualties increase again and again, Cheng Lian now hated Ji Yi so much that he wanted to tear him apart into ten thousand pieces!

  "Go ahead and scold, the more vicious you are, the happier I'll be!" Ji Yi saw Cheng Lian's furious expression, raised an eyebrow, and sneered: "I did give you a chance to fight me one-on-one, but you didn't want it!"

  "Ah……!!" Cheng Lian was stunned by the sudden turn of events, as if two Buddhas had descended from heaven and then ascended back to the sky. He was left helpless, his arms severely injured, and could only watch in despair as he was bound by the soldiers who had arrived first.

  "However, since you're being so cooperative and saving General's face, I'll let you witness me capturing your lord's family members, and then together with your dog head and the rebel Zhang Yang, we'll report our merits!"

  "General, the two gentlemen and Lü Bu's family are now trapped inside the central command tent. Please instruct us!" a vanguard soldier reported to Xun Yu.

  "What are you showing off? Didn't I order you to capture Lü Bu's family?" said Meng Yi, who was enjoying the suffering of others with a look of impatience.

  "Sir... General, our crossbow bolts are all used up!" The soldier said cautiously.

  "What?" Jun Yi's loud voice suddenly increased by a dozen decibels, angrily saying: "The crossbow arrows are used up, can't you use a knife? Are we afraid of not having crossbow arrows when we first boarded the camp?"

  "Haha! Haha!" Cheng Lian looked at Junyi's appearance, laughing so hard that he was out of breath, and was pressed down by the soldiers who had arrived first, but his body still shook with laughter.

  "General, there is a divine archer among the enemy, who has already injured more than a dozen of our brothers." The soldier said in a low voice, seeing that Ji Yi's face had turned pale under Cheng Lian's smiling gaze.

  "Lü Bu is probably already captured by General Cao, his troops will surely be in disarray. Time is of the essence, hurry to Huai City and ask General Cao to send reinforcements quickly. I still don't believe that these few thousand archers can withstand the tens of thousands of Hebei soldiers, how many arrows do they have left to use!" said Mi Fang with a ferocious expression.

  "Promise!"

  The soldier turned and left, but Cheng Lian's face changed greatly after hearing the conversation between the two. At this point, it was no longer necessary for Ji Yi to hide anything, and having just witnessed the power of this sharp weapon, in almost a moment, the unsuspecting Flying Cavalry soldiers were nearly annihilated, even if they were facing Lü Bu, they would probably...

  "There's no need to call for reinforcements!"

  Just as Cheng Lian was hesitating and uncertain, a familiar voice suddenly made him feel like he had narrowly escaped death.

  "Lü Bu!!" Ji Yi's eyes widened in shock, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

  At the entrance of the military camp, a tall and majestic figure with a suit of armor and holding a guandao, if not Lü Bu, then who else could it be.

  Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Song Xian and other generals lined up in a row, with more than 2,000 soldiers behind them, staring at the enemy with killing intent. The soldiers of the First Legion, known as the "First Legion Dead Warriors", all felt their hearts racing with fear. Just now, they were still slaughtering the enemy, but at this moment, the First Legion, which had an absolute advantage, was trapped in Lü Bu's military camp. In front of them were the archers of Hou Cheng's camp, picking off anyone who tried to escape, and behind them were Lü Bu's reinforcements blocking their way...

  Mian Yiyang saw Zhang Yang being helped up by a young man and woman, and for an instant, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes. The long knife in his hand was about to chop down on Cheng Lian who had been captured.

  "Ah!"

  Just as Jianyi's long knife was raised, he suddenly felt a severe pain in his arm. A feathered arrow had been inserted into his right arm, making it difficult for him to lift the knife, which fell to the ground.

  "Lü Bu!"

  Xun Yu looked at Lü Bu with a mischievous grin like a cat playing with a mouse, and his heart was filled with despair.

  Thirty Steps!

  Lü Bu didn't directly take his own life, but instead shot at his own arm. Thirty paces for a great general like Lü Bu was just a warning. Facing the world's number one fierce warrior, Zhang Fei saw that things couldn't be done and retreated without saying anything more. Under the threat of Zhang Liao's crescent moon halberd, he dismounted and surrendered.

  The general was captured, and the men were surrounded. Even if they had been called heroes before, they were still flesh and blood, and it wasn't easy to rush to their deaths, especially in front of Lü Bu, who had left a psychological shadow on them. Soon, their weapons were taken away and they were surrounded in a circle.

  "My lord! I, your subordinate, am incompetent..." Cheng Lian's shoulders and thighs were covered in wounds, making it difficult for him to stand upright. With Zhang Liao's support, he walked up to Lü Bu and struggled to kneel down to plead for forgiveness.

  "It's not your fault, I almost fell for it too. Hurry up and get treated, we're leaving Hanoi immediately!" Lü Bu comforted Cheng Yi with a few warm words, then looked at the hundreds of captured soldiers from the vanguard camp, a hint of killing intent flashing in his eyes, and ordered Song Xian: "General Song, you go and take care of these captives!"

  "Wait, my lord!" Qin Xu was originally supporting the unconscious Zhang Yang, and saw Lü Bu show off his might, with just one arrow forcing Miao Cheng to dismount and be bound. The vanguard had lost its leader, and while listening to Lü Lingqi's endless words of admiration, he suddenly saw Lü Bu order Song Xian to "take care" of these vanguard dead soldiers who had already put down their weapons, and hastily intercepted him.

  Joking aside, the killing intent in Lü Bu's words was something even Qin Xu, a traveler from another world, could pick up on.

  Song Xian had just returned to Lü Bu's army, still leading Lü Bu's personal guard, but after all, he had a stain on his body. Song Xian was worried that he had nowhere to make achievements and regain Lü Bu's favor. Now, the first battle almost wiped out Cheng Lian's flying cavalry, but Lü Bu let Song Xian arrange it. If he didn't do some "dirty work", how could he show that he was still useful?

  "My mind is made up! The Flying Cavalry brothers also need to have a reckoning! Qin Zhongbo, there's no need for further talk!" Lü Bu said calmly, as if he had already anticipated what Qin Xu would say.

  "Your Excellency! Th...!" Qin Xu was choked by Lü Bu's words and couldn't speak. He could only stare blankly as Song Xian smiled apologetically at him, his face filled with murderous intent as he led the Imperial Guard towards the Vanguard Camp.

  "General Song, wait!" Who else would dare to speak up at this point except for Lü Bu's beloved daughter Lü Lingqi?

  "Dad, these people have already put down their arms and are our captives. Why not let me arrange for them?" Lü Lingqi handed Zhang Yang over to the doctor who had arrived and stood beside Qin Xu, looking up at Lü Bu and saying "Once Uncle Cheng is better, let him join forces with me to give these people a good hard drill, to vent his anger, how great would that be!"

  "Ling'er, don't be reckless!" Lü Bu said with a helpless expression to Lü Lingqi: "These people are Yuan Shao's loyal followers. Yuan Shao's main army will arrive immediately, don't stir up more trouble! General Song, go!"

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