White Horse General (3)
The Wuhuan tribe had already set up forward bases throughout Youzhou on the Central Plains continent, ready to launch their plundering raids.
It seemed reckless to act so boldly with the imperial troops right under their noses... but the entire Wuhuan tribe was swept up in some inexplicable fervor.
It was all because of those Central Plains men, Zhang Ge and Zhang Shun, who had come sweet-talking them.
The Central Plains is in chaos right now—it's practically an empty house. Rise up all at once and seize Youzhou in one fell swoop; those guys won't be able to do a damn thing about it.
From the day after we take Youzhou, you'll be eating rice with meat every single day, Zhang Ge and Zhang Shun had tempted them.
To the Wuhuan, who secretly envied the prosperous lives of the Central Plains folk, it was an irresistibly sweet offer. That's why they'd all jumped at the chance to rebel. Honestly, they had zero plans for the distant future.
The way they treated the land like a simple game of grab-the-territory proved it. After occupying a place, you had to make some effort to win over the people's hearts—but the Wuhuan led by Zhang Ge and Zhang Shun didn't even consider it.
They just slaughtered indiscriminately, looted what they needed, and pushed on to the next front. Their utter lack of strategy was turning Youzhou into a living hell in real time.
It was no exaggeration to call this the largest-scale rebellion since the Yellow Turban Uprising.
"Damn it. Rice!! Rice!! Hand it over!!" A Wuhuan soldier barked in broken Central Plains tongue, pressing his blade to the necks of the dragged-off civilians.
"We have no more rice!!" The civilians trembled, tears streaming down their faces.
Of course, sticking to one spot for endless looting meant there was nothing left to squeeze out.
"Tch." But people could always be useful if you kept them around. Just make 'em clean the horse stables, the Wuhuan soldiers near the outpost thought as they started hauling the civilians away.
That was when it happened.
Bwoooooooong.
A horn blast echoed from afar.
"Woooaaargh!!!" "Charge!!" A group of imperial troops came charging in with mad momentum. About three-tenths cavalry, the rest infantry.
Zhang Ge and Zhang Shun had given the Wuhuan one order:
The cavalry on white horses are led by Gongsun Zan—don't fight those guys. They knew the destructive power of Gongsun Zan's mounted forces all too well.
But these didn't look like Gongsun Zan's personal cavalry. That brought some relief.
Plus, the Wuhuan had a slight numerical edge. For a warlike people like them, there was no reason not to fight.
"Kill them all!!!" If they killed them and seized their weapons and food, they'd gain momentum. The Wuhuan chieftain barked the order without much thought.
"Woooaaargh!!!" The Wuhuan warriors let out beastly roars and charged like maniacs.
In the swirling clouds of dust, the two forces collided head-on.
And the Wuhuan learned a harsh new truth.
Great warriors weren't exclusive to Gongsun Zan. There were always even bigger monsters out there—and the Wuhuan soldiers paid with their lives to learn it.
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Shwaaaaaack!!
The human blender of the Central Plains, big sis Guan Yu, swung her Green Dragon Crescent Blade like a whirlwind, carving open a path.
It wasn't so much killing the barbarian Wuhuan as mowing down grass, turning everything around her into a sea of blood and flesh.
"Hyaah!!! That all you got?!!" Zhang Fei bulldozed forward too, brute-forcing his way through. He'd spear a hulking enemy with his Zhangba Snake Spear, then hurl the corpse aside to clear the road—simple, brutal, effective.
Pfook!! Pook!!
Liu Bei took the vanguard as well, slashing wildly with his sword to blaze the trail.
I was enjoying the scrap with the Wuhuan in my own way too.
It was a perfect chance to test out the new Taiji Sword techniques I'd picked up.
Whoooong!!
One Wuhuan soldier swung his curved blade at me like a madman.
Instead of just blocking, I timed it so that right before impact, I angled my sword to deflect—like water flowing off.
Chiiiinggggg!!!!
The core Taiji technique, Flowing Water, landed perfectly. The clash of metal rang out far clearer than usual.
Zing.
A jolt like lightning shot through my hand—bonus sensation.
'Stamina's chunked.' Through the Status Window, I could see the Wuhuan soldier's stamina bar plummet.
'Once more.' As long as my stance held, I kept the pressure on.
Aiming for the gap as he staggered, I whipped my sword around.
Chiiiinggg-!!
Even so, this veteran foreign soldier blocked it well enough with his blade.
But defending against that last attack seemed to drain his energy completely.
Stagger.
The Wuhuan soldier's body buckled hard.
Pshooooook!!
Seizing the moment his neck was wide open, I swung big and decapitated him clean.
It felt just like an execution motion from a game—kick the shin to drop him to one knee, then lop the head off.
"Tch. No scream, huh." My full-time camp follower was staring at me with eyes full of expectation for a scream. It was kinda awkward. Wait, why the disappointed face? Focus on the fight.
But she was acing command and combat anyway, so I had nothing to say. Classic camp follower—golden boy material.
Pook! Pfook!!
Maybe her gaze made me self-conscious; I ended up suppressing my own yell as I cleaved through more Wuhuan soldiers.
But... would this cut it? A sudden doubt crept in.
It dredged up a painful childhood memory.
As a kid, we'd have these Power Rangers shows on department store rooftops for children. Actors in suits fighting villains in a simple scenario, even pulling kids from the audience into the action.
The hero Red's finisher was a rolling sobat flying kick from mid-air. I was hyped for it in the finale.
But of course, the actor wasn't a pro wrestler or stuntman—he botched it with a half-assed jump kick for show.
Disappointed by that lame finisher, I went home and moped in bed for days.
Her expression toward me... was exactly like that kid me, disappointed.
Overlapping the past like that, I got a bit sentimental without realizing.
Couldn't be helped. Time for some fan service!
"You filthy cur...!!!" Pushed to the backfoot, his blood up, a massive Wuhuan warrior swung a huge axe at me.
Whooooong!!
The moment the axe flashed toward me, I roared and charged.
"Kkkiyaaaak!!!" Pure intent to crush the enemy with momentum! I broadcast it loud and clear.
"Kgh...!" Maybe the sudden close-range bellow threw him off—the axe swing hesitated just a bit.
Chiiiinggg!!
His double-handed axe whiffed aggressively then paused, making it easy to read the timing. I deflected with Flowing Water.
Stagger.
As his axe arced wildly off-target, I slashed straight for his gut.
Pssshhhhhaaaack!!!
A clean waist cut— the Wuhuan warrior spilled blood and guts from his belly as he toppled.
Pfook!!
Loosening my right grip mid-slash to pull the sword free while surging forward—bonus move.
"Kkkiyaaaak!!" Covered in gore, bellowing like a demon from hell, I barreled straight into the heart of the enemy lines.
"Ooooh...!!" Only then did my camp follower watch me with sparkling eyes.
Yeah. I'd just fulfilled one man's dream. A little swell of pride hit me. Men live and die by their fantasies, after all.
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Maybe it was the sheer class difference. The Wuhuan outpost got unilaterally steamrolled by our elite troops.
Seizing their looted goods, warhorses, and weapons was just icing. No victory greater than this.
A few of ours died, sure... but that was unavoidable. You can't win wars without blood. It was sad, no doubt, but in this brutal world, I'd adapted too well—my reaction was just a vague pity.
"Whoa, how much is all this worth? Uncle Zhang and Xiao Shuang'd be thrilled! Big bro!!" Zhang Fei grinned at the piles of supplies.
"What nonsense is that!! Yide!!!" Liu Bei scolded sternly.
"Lord Gongsun didn't stint on supplies for us—he gave us plenty for our men! This is all flesh and blood of the common folk! We'll return every bit to them!" Liu Bei declared flatly.
We knew Liu Bei's character well enough to just shrug and accept it. Zhang Fei grumbled, Liu Bei pretended to chew him out—it was like their scripted WWE routine.
Familiar to us, but to a pragmatist from these chaotic times like my camp follower, it must've looked downright strange.
"...Rumors don't spread in vain, after all." She murmured in admiration, gazing at Liu Bei.
"They say Liu Xuande is a man of benevolence and righteousness—and it's true. These guys might just be the heroes to end the chaos..." She was monologuing, deeply impressed, ignoring everyone around her.
Flattering as it was... honestly, it was a bit cringey. Gave me chills just now.
Anyway, while everyone basked in victory, I savored mine differently.
Level 11
Grinding those Wuhuan hard paid off—level up by 1!
Battle's the fastest way to boost strength and agility—they hit 29. Swordsmanship proficiency cleanly capped at 30.
I was catching up quick to this chaotic world's growth inflation. All those battles piling up experience? Yeah, confirmed: Liu Bei's army is the ultimate EXP farm.