Chapter 3: Meng De's Shock

  Guan Yu's third slash, carrying a force that could overturn mountains and seas, howled as it arrived.

  This knife under furious anger has already been used with all one's might.

  Yan Liang did not choose passive defense. With a loud roar, he used all his strength to wield the large knife in his hand and charged forward.

  Two fan-shaped cold lights, a moment of collision between electric light and flint.

  Clang~~

  In the midst of flames on Mars, two swords clashed.

  A thousand pounds of force came straight on, Yan Liang's tiger mouth burst open, fresh blood soaked the knife and gun, and the tremendous power that poured into his body from his arm, once again stirred up his internal organs to churn and surge.

  The power of the third knife was beyond Yan Liang's imagination, but he managed to block it barely.

  The force of the counter-shock sent Guan Yu flying, and his iron tower-like body also shook slightly.

  After one slash, Guan Yu's furious face unexpectedly revealed an unbelievable expression.

  This guy in front of him actually withstood three of his own slashes, standing still and unyielding, without even spitting out a single mouthful of blood.

  Guan Yu felt humiliated once again, his entire being like a beast that had lost all reason. His massive arms, as thick as iron pillars, swung out once more, followed by the fourth and fifth slashes, crazily striking towards Yan Liang.

  Yan Liang came without thinking, almost as if by instinct, dancing with the big knife in his hand, hard to meet Guan Yu's stormy attack.

  At first, Yan Liang was still worried, fearing that if he continued to attack Guan Yu with his heavy sword, he would not be able to hold on for much longer.

  Just after seven or eight moves, Yan Liang was shocked to find that the pressure from Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade was weakening.

  It seems that after the third watch, Guan Yu's strength has reached its limit and is unconsciously declining.

  In the blink of an eye, twenty moves had passed, and Yan Liang no longer felt any pressure. Although his mouth was bleeding and his internal organs were slightly injured, he could now calmly respond to Guan Yu's attacks.

  He could even find a gap of three to five moves to turn defense into offense.

  Yan Liang suddenly realized that Guan Yu's martial arts were strong because of his unbeatable first three moves.

  Although the first three knives were extremely powerful, they also consumed a great deal of physical strength. Guan Yu was not an immortal, and his mortal body could not withstand such reckless consumption of power.

  So after the third slash, Guan Yu's power on his blade began to wane, and all he could rely on was the subtlety of his swordsmanship.

  Yan Liang thought it was strange that Guan Yu, who had repeatedly performed one-hit kills in his prime, could now be fought to a stalemate by even two mediocre generals with brushes for hundreds of rounds. It was because he was old and frail, and couldn't use his signature triple-blade killing move anymore.

  Seeing through Guan Yu's vital point, Yan Liang's fighting spirit surged like a tide, and the steel knife in his hand counterattacked with an unstoppable force.

  The two men fought with astonishing skill, but the process was extremely short. The Hebei soldiers around them, after experiencing the initial shock, quickly surrounded and supported Yan Liang from all sides.

  The opportunity has been lost, and if we continue to fight, Guan Yu will surely die in the midst of the chaotic army.

  Guanyu, who was furious and humiliated, still had a thread of rationality left.

  He saw the enemy cavalry surrounding him, and Yan Liang in front of him was unable to defeat him after a long battle. Knowing that he could no longer drag on, he launched a few swift attacks, created an opening, turned his horse around, jumped out of the battlefield, and retreated back to his own camp.

  Relying on his sharp blade and swift warhorse, Guan Yu broke through the encircling troops in a few strokes, dragging his long sword as he galloped back to his own camp.

  The soldiers of Hebei saw the enemy defeated and retreated, and the originally restless military morale was restored, and the morale rose instantly.

  On the other hand, Cao Jun saw that one of his main generals, Guan Yu, was defeated and retreated, which naturally affected the morale of his troops. Even Zhang Liao, who was usually calm and composed, showed a look of surprise at this moment.

  "With Cloud's superior martial arts and the speed of Red Hare, they still can't take down Yan Liang. This Hebei general is indeed not famous in vain."

  Zhang Liao, who had witnessed that fierce battle with his own eyes, was deeply shocked by Yan Liang's high martial arts skills.

  In the Hebei army, Yan Liang, who had just repelled Guan Yu, was basking in the enthusiastic cheers of his fellow soldiers, and a hint of pride flashed across his handsome eyebrows.

  Yan Liang was well aware that Guan Yu's strength should not be underestimated, and the current defeat was not because his own martial arts were stronger than his opponent's, but because Guan Yu was deeply surrounded and did not dare to fight a prolonged battle.

  If it were a purely one-on-one fight, who would laugh last is still unknown.

  But all of this is no longer important, what's important is that Guan Yu's defeat and return to the camp has frustrated Cao's army, which is exactly the opportunity given by heaven.

  Yan Liang did not pursue Guan Yu, but instead rode his horse to the front of the formation, pointed his long sword at the enemy army and shouted loudly: "Beat the drums, launch a full-scale attack!"

  The banner waves, and the loud drumbeats rise into the sky.

  As the most vigorous drumming sounded, a shocking shout of killing suddenly rose, and four thousand Hebei iron cavalry rushed out.

  In an instant, the mighty wedge-shaped formation composed of rolling iron cavalry was like a flood bursting through the dikes, carrying with it an unstoppable and overwhelming power that destroyed everything in its path, like a landslide or a rockslide, surging forward towards the western direction of Cao's army cavalry array.

  The hundred or more cavalrymen charging at the front were Yan Liang's most elite Broken Army Corps, five hundred fully armed heavy cavalrymen, with their spears pointing towards the sky lowered, countless cold blades merged into a giant arrowhead that shook heaven and earth, tearing through the air, like the fangs of the god of death pouncing on the enemy.

  Zhang Liao and the cavalry under his command saw this terrifying formation and all changed color.

  These Cao troops who came rushing, originally thought they could catch the Yan Liang army off guard, but unexpectedly their opponents were well-prepared, and their morale was somewhat dampened.

  Immediately following Guan Yu's defeat and return, morale took another hit.

  Now facing the vigorous and wolf-like Hebei heavy cavalry, their morale was crushed for the third time.

  Under the heavy blow, Cao's army's morale was already on the verge of collapse.

  The knights in the front row looked at each other in terror, the braver ones were still looking around, while the worried ones had already turned their horses to flee.

  "The Chancellor's wonderful plan, how could it be seen through by Yan Liang, how could it be like this?"

  Zhang Liao, in a state of shock, gazed at the scattered morale of his troops and the enemy forces that had launched a surprise attack. Realizing he could not resist, he ordered his entire army to retreat westward and join forces with Cao Cao's infantry.

  As soon as the order to retreat was given, Cao's army, which had already been disheartened, suddenly scattered like a beehive that had been poked open, and galloped wildly towards the west.

  Yan Liang rode forth on his horse, wielding a large blade and leading his iron cavalry, like beasts unleashed from their cages, charging headlong into the retreating enemy ranks.

  The blades in their hands cut down the retreating Cao army without mercy, and the iron hooves trampled over the fallen enemies, turning them into pulp.

  The mournful cries and wailing sounds echoed across the land. Yan Liang slaughtered in all directions, pursuing for over twenty miles before withdrawing his troops.

  At this time, looking back at the battlefield, Yan Liang saw clearly that from Baima City to here, everywhere was blood and corpses, with fresh blood soaking through every inch of land, forming a large area of dark red mud that made people feel nauseous.

  The bloody ground stretched out to the east, extending flatly to the south and north, with countless incomplete limbs and shattered skulls scattered on top, as if embroidered on a large red carpet.

  The victorious Hebei soldiers were in high spirits, waving their blood-stained weapons and laughing loudly on the battlefield.

  "General Yan first broke the bandit Cao's plan to attack from east to west, and then defeated Guan Yu. He is truly a divine person! If our lord hears of the victory at White Horse, he will surely heavily reward General Yan."

  Ma Yun came galloping on horseback and lavished praise on Yan Liang without any reservation.

  Heavy reward? Hmm, not necessarily.

  Yuan Shao is broad-minded on the surface but narrow-minded at heart. In those days, Ju Yi also rendered repeated meritorious service, but ultimately fell victim to suspicion and was killed. If he himself were to render more meritorious service, Yuan Shao might view him as a threat to his own authority.

  "It's all right, today's battle is just to protect myself. After this battle, I still need to think of a way to get rid of Yuan Shao. I don't have the energy to die for the Yuan family. Waiting for the dust to settle after Bu Zhiyi..."

  Yan Liang had made up his mind, but he said lightly: "Today's victory is all thanks to the efforts of all the generals, I will definitely ask for credit from the lord on your behalf."

  Yan Liang did not take credit for himself, but instead attributed the merits to his subordinates. Ma Yan and other officers were both delighted and deeply impressed by Yan Liang, thinking that it was a blessing to follow such a commander in battle.

  At this time, the sun had already set in the west. The victorious Yan Liang ordered the withdrawal of the siege of Baima and the whole army took advantage of their victory to move north towards Linyang.

  Ma Yan was taken aback by the order to withdraw, and his face showed incomprehension. "General Yan, we've just won a battle and morale is high, why not take advantage of our victory to capture Baima, but instead you want to retreat?"

  "The White Horse City has thousands of soldiers, and the enemy general is Yu Jin. This man has some ability to use troops, with our current military strength, it cannot be taken down in a short period of time."

  Yan Liang gazed westward and said, "Let's talk again. Although the enemy was defeated today, Cao Cao's main force will soon catch up. The enemy is numerous and we are few. Our general will not take this risk. It's one of the thirty-six strategies - retreat is the best option."

  Yan Liang's subtle and elegant analysis made all the generals present admire him greatly.

  Nan Yan was also surprised in his heart. The original Yanyang he knew was indeed brave, but seemed to lack strategy. Today's events made him discover that Yanyang actually had deep strategies, which made him even more suspicious.

  Under astonishment, Ma Yan couldn't help but praise with joined hands: "General Yan's strategy surpasses others, while General Wu is not up to par."

  All sorts of people gathered around, praising Yan Liang enthusiastically.

  Yan Liang just smiled in response to the praise from all the generals.

  Thirty li west of Baima, a branch of infantry stretched for several li and was marching in haste.

  There is no baggage train in this army, and most of the soldiers are advancing lightly.

  In the center of the team, a man wrapped in red robes, short and small in stature, was riding a horse in a hurry. This person is none other than Cao Cao, the current Prime Minister.

  Cao Cao's attendants, following his personal bodyguard commander Xu Chu and his chief strategist Xun Yu.

  As he galloped along, Cao Cao's gaze remained fixed on the direction of the white horse. When the dust that had been flying in the air for over ten miles gradually dissipated, a faint smile appeared on Cao Cao's face.

  "Uggghhh..."

  Cao Cao reined in his horse, shaking his whip towards the east and smiling: "The dust ahead has settled, it seems that Wen Yan and Yun Chang's surprise attack has ended. Gong Da, if Yuan Benchu knew he had fallen for your trick of attacking from both east and west, losing Yan Liang, that tiger general, and over 10,000 elite infantry and cavalry, I wonder how much he would hate you."

  Yan Liang has bravery but no strategy, killing him is not a big deal. On the other hand, annihilating half of Yuan Shao's elite cavalry will likely make him fearful and dare not send light cavalry to raid the south of Xuchang.

  Xun Yu stroked his sparse beard with his hand, but his eyebrows gleamed with a hint of confidence and complacency.

  Cao Cao nodded slightly, deeply agreeing with him.

  Just then, a scout rushed over from the east.

  "Report to the Prime Minister: The enemy has long been prepared for defense, Generals Zhang and Guan were defeated by Yan Liang, our light cavalry surprise attack troops scattered and fled."

  Cao Cao's expression, which had been set on getting what he wanted, suddenly changed, and his eyes revealed a look of shock, as if he had just heard the most unbelievable thing in the world.