Clash
A plain south of Wan.
Wei and Shu. The place where both armies would finally meet in earnest.
"Shu forces approaching from the front, General Cao Hong."
"Yes, I see them. Looks like they mean to have it out."
At his advisor Zhang Ji's report, Cao Hong lifted his gaze toward the front. Beyond the horizon, a haze of dust was rising, and moments later Shu banners punched through the cloud and came into view.
Among the orderly ranks of flags, two in particular caught Cao Hong's eye.
General of Chariots and Cavalry — Zhang Fei
Left General — Jin Cheong
Of course those two are at the head of the line.
Among the Shu generals stationed in Jingzhou, these two ranked in the top three, and they held the flanks. To the rear, Wang Ping and Wu Ban each commanded a detachment held in reserve.
The weight of Zhang Fei and Jin Cheong was no small thing — but Cao Hong was not cowed.
Our strength is nothing to sneeze at either.
On Wei's front, Zhang Liao and Cao Xiu held the wings.
With those two, we will not be pushed back!
In the center, Zhu Ling stood ready to drive into any gap the enemy showed.
And there was one more factor he was counting on.
"Zhang Ji — Feng Hai's reinforcements are definitely arriving today, correct?"
"Yes, sir. A messenger from Feng Hai has already arrived. He said they will join the field in time."
"Good. Once Feng Hai presses the enemy's flank and rear, we can sweep them clean. Until then we hold, and when the moment comes we launch a full assault!"
"Yes, sir!"
— Boom, boom, boom, boom!
From the Shu lines, a roll of drums thundered out. The signal to advance.
"Here they come."
"Yes. That's their attack signal."
"Coming on like that, they clearly don't know about Feng Hai's relief force yet."
"No doubt about it, sir."
"Excellent. Relay this to Zhang Liao and Cao Xiu at the front: do not try to defeat the enemy — defend only. If we hold the line until Feng Hai arrives, victory is ours."
"Yes, sir!"
"And tell Zhu Ling to stand ready and strike the instant my order falls. I'll make sure those fools never again dream of setting foot on our soil after this battle!"
"Yes, sir! Understood!"
As messengers galloped off with Cao Hong's orders, the attack command rang out across the Shu formation.
"Charge! Annihilate every last Wei dog!"
Shu banners streamed and the army surged toward the Wei lines.
— Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Cao Xiu and Zhang Liao watched the vast black shadow rolling toward them like a storm cloud. The heavy thunder of hooves and boots hammering the plain set their own chests pounding in answer.
But that pounding had nothing to do with fear.
It was the hunger of warriors who wanted to fight — and to win.
Still, they did not forget their duty as commanders. Suppressing the urge to ride out and meet the charge head-on, they raised their hands and gave the order.
"Prepare to fire."
At the command, the archers formed a clean rank at the very front of the line. Aiming slightly above the black cloud racing straight at them, each man nocked an arrow to his bow.
As the strings drew taut, their hearts quickened — but these were well-drilled veterans, and not a stance wavered.
"Loose!"
Arrows left the strings as one and briefly blotted out the sun. They arced down and smashed into the tip of the Shu advance.
A crack opened in the fiercely charging cavalry. Some men took arrows and fell from the saddle; others tumbled across the plain with their horses.
But these, too, were elite troops trained personally by the fierce generals Zhang Fei and Jin Cheong. They sealed the gaps at once, and as if nothing had happened, the charge did not stop.
"Is that all you've got? Shoot more!"
Some even shouted that as they came on.
Watching them, Zhang Liao and Cao Xiu nodded once, as if they had expected nothing less. Judging there was no time for a second volley, they issued the next order at once.
"Archers, fall back! Spearmen, advance!"
Spears angled into a defensive wall against the Shu cavalry, and a shield barrier rose in front of them like a second skin. Moments later, the lances of the horsemen and the spears of the infantry crossed — and along that crossing, the light of death and the light of life began to flash past each other.
"How goes the battle?"
"Neither advantageous nor disadvantageous, sir."
From the rear command post, Cao Hong asked, and Zhang Ji answered.
Evenly matched. Not bad, at this stage.
Arms folded, Cao Hong watched the fighting at the front. He put on a calm face, but the foot that kept tapping the ground betrayed his nerves.
Is Feng Hai running late? A strike on the enemy's rear right now would be perfect.
That was when it happened.
— Waaaaah!
A roar that announced a new turn in the battle snapped Cao Hong fully alert.
"What is it?!"
"There's a disturbance on one of the enemy's flanks! Look there!"
"Indeed!"
From the Shu perspective, dust was rising on the flank and rear of Jin Cheong's right wing — a force that had not been there before, scattering their ranks.
"Feng Hai! Feng Hai has finally arrived!"
"Yes, it appears so."
"Order Zhu Ling at once. Hit Jin Cheong's flank, link up with Feng Hai, and drive the Shu army into a half-encirclement!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Have our main force ready to sortie at any moment! When their right collapses, the enemy will throw in their reserves. At that instant we charge from the opposite side, complete the encirclement, and wipe them out!"
Up to that point, Cao Hong believed he was conducting a flawless operation.
Meanwhile, Zhu Ling, receiving Cao Hong's order, moved at once.
"Now! Time to annihilate the Shu dogs!"
Zhu Ling's force, mostly cavalry, shot like an arrow toward the crack that had opened in Jin Cheong's lines. And sure enough, the moment he plunged in, Jin Cheong's troops began collapsing and falling back at speed.
"Good! Swing around, link with Feng Hai, and wrap the enemy's flank and rear!"
Formed into a wedge, his unit split the enemy in an instant and looked ready to punch clean through.
But then Zhu Ling felt something wrong. Far fewer men were catching on his spear than he expected.
This is too easy. For a breakthrough this deep, the enemy's bleeding is far too light.
Sensing something amiss, he looked toward the force he had taken for Feng Hai's — and then…
"The enemy has fallen into a trap! Reverse at once and reverse-encircle them!"
"What?!"
Feng Hai's army… was not Feng Hai's army.
"That's Liu Feng?!"
Liu Feng, who had deliberately raised dust and made a racket on one side of Jin Cheong's formation, wheeled about and began wrapping Zhu Ling's flank.
Damn it — I've been had.
By the time the thought formed, it was already too late.
The moment Zhu Ling charged in, Jin Cheong had deliberately feigned defeat and fallen back, shaping a concave formation that, together with Liu Feng, began to close around them. Zhu Ling's swift charge had only thrown him into the net Jin Cheong and Liu Feng had spread.
"Retreat! At this rate we'll be completely surrounded! Retreat!"
But the sudden reversal tangled Zhu Ling's men; they could not move cleanly.
"You think I'll let you run? Faster than the enemy — seal the escape route completely!"
Liu Feng drove his troops harder than Zhu Ling could move, trying to pin him so he could not budge an inch.
Forming a rapid encirclement and trapping Zhu Ling's force was well done — but Liu Feng did not yet know that, because of it, he was about to come face to face with the full might of Hefei.
"What in the world is going on?! Why are we being pushed back instead of surrounding them?!"
After checking the situation, Zhang Ji reported.
"Disaster, sir. The force on the flank and rear was not Feng Hai's — it was Liu Feng's!"
"What?!"
Why was Liu Feng here? He had been told the man had played bait with a small force and then fled.
"Where is that messenger?! He clearly reported Feng Hai would arrive today!"
"I—I'll check at once."
Zhang Ji stammered off in search of the messenger and returned a short while later, his face drained of color.
"G-General… that messenger has vanished…"
"What did you say…!"
"He seems to have fled in the confusion when the battle began. We've been deceived…"
At Zhang Ji's cry, Cao Hong let out a long breath.
"Then where in hell is Feng Hai?!"
Bile rose in his throat, but he realized this was no time for sighs.
"No choice. Sortie the main force. Go rescue Zhu Ling's—"
"General, a moment…"
"What is it?"
"General Zhang Liao is moving."
"Done! We've fully encircled them. Now we wipe them—"
"General Liu Feng! Over there!"
Having sealed Zhu Ling's escape, Liu Feng turned toward where his aide was pointing. There…
"I am—!"
He saw a general at the head of the Wei ranks, roaring at the top of his lungs.
Only then did Liu Feng realize how far he had overextended.
"Zhang Liao!"
The legend of Hefei.
Sun Quan's nightmare.
Zhang Liao himself was charging straight at them, bellowing his own name, and his soldiers raised their voices and thundered hard on his heels.
They smashed headlong into Liu Feng's encirclement.
What is this…!
The momentum of Zhang Liao and his assault troops was like a tidal wave. The net Liu Feng had worked so hard to form was swept away like a sandcastle before the surf.
He had heard of Zhang Liao's renown, but hearing and seeing were worlds apart — and meeting it head-on was another dimension entirely.
Having split Liu Feng's ranks, Zhang Liao reached him in an instant. Liu Feng fought down a choking sensation and raised his spear.
"Before you go to hell, carve this name into your bones! I am Zhang Liao!"
"Ugh!"
Clang!
He barely caught the halberd, but his skull rang.
Strong!
Barely one exchange, and Liu Feng's will to fight was already gone. Even when he had faced Cao Zhang that time, it had not been this bad.
In that split second, a streak of light flashed toward his eyes.
Thwack!
He thought he had just managed to block the next strike — only to realize, a beat late, the emptiness in both hands. By the time he understood, Zhang Liao's halberd had already sent his spear spinning far away.
It's over!
Liu Feng shut his eyes.
Clang!
But the sound of steel splitting the air right in front of him forced them open again.
A single general stood blocking his path. A sight he had seen once before — and now it was playing out again.
"Who are you?"
Zhang Liao asked. He — no, she — answered.
"Jin Cheong!"
The crash of the two generals' weapons rang out once more, rolling all the way to the far edge of the battlefield.