Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The Banquet Table
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We led a mere three thousand troops to face the horde of thousands of beasts charging from afar. Meanwhile, Ding Yuan's main force trailed leisurely behind us.
It was a truly ridiculous sight.
"Eek! Brother! L-look at the numbers on those bastards! This is basically telling us to die!"
Wei Sok, riding beside me, let out a voice that trembled like a foal's. As if sensing his master's fear, his horse stamped uneasily and snorted.
"Shut your mouth. Are you planning to piss yourself before the fight even starts?"
"N-no, that's not it! Common sense-wise, does this even make sense?! That old geezer is dead set on getting us kil—"
While Wei Sok grumbled on, my gaze shifted to Zhang Yang.
He was right. Any ordinary person would despair at the scene before us. I recalled Zhang Yang trembling in the camp tent before we set out.
The man who had once forged a false report to protect me was long gone, replaced by a coward who feared Ding Yuan and blamed me for it.
But the Zhang Yang before me now was different.
His face was deathly pale, but his eyes burned with the grim resolve of one prepared to die.
Zhang Yang drew his sword from his waist with shaking hands. He hesitated for a moment, then turned to his three thousand soldiers and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Do you remember what those bastards did to our villages?! Have you forgotten our children's cries, our families' screams?! What we must protect is right behind us! Even if we die here today, we'll take at least one more of those barbarians with us! Is everyone ready to die?!"
A hush fell over the ranks. Then, one soldier muttered in a trembling voice.
"Revenge..."
That sparked it.
"My child—"
"Our village..."
The murmurs swelled into a roar, until the three thousand voices pierced the heavens.
"Wooooaaah!!"
"Death to the barbarians!!"
Watching Zhang Yang's transformation stirred strange feelings in me. From a sniveling coward in the camp to a warrior ready to face death now. What a multifaceted man.
Zhang Yang's cry ignited the same resolve in the soldiers' eyes. But unlike them, I couldn't hold back my laughter at the sight of the thousands of beasts charging toward us.
"Kuh, kuahaha!!"
This desperate situation was simply too exhilarating to contain my mirth. Zhang Yang and Wei Sok stared at me like I was insane.
'Thank you, Ding Yuan.'
For the first time, genuine gratitude toward Ding Yuan welled up in me.
'I, Lu Bu, offer you my heartfelt thanks for the first time. To give me the chance to slaughter all these beastly whelps at once. The banquet you've prepared is splendid.'
I turned to Zhang Yang and said,
"General, why the grim face? The elder has laid out a grand feast for us. It would be rude not to enjoy it."
I gripped my spear firmly and shouted at the Wuhuan tribesmen before us.
"Look! They're not an army—they're just slabs of meat! These are the very beasts who slaughtered our families and burned our villages! Lord Ding Yuan has given us the chance for revenge! So why the funeral faces?!"
My words shifted the soldiers' mood once more—from readiness to die into a thirst for vengeance. Seeing the flames ignite in their eyes, I lightly rolled my neck and shoulders from horseback.
—Hiiiing!!
The distant whinnies of enemy horses now boomed right in front of us. The wind carried the stench of the foes, and the soldiers' tense breaths filled the air.
'Alright, here we go.'
My heart pounded wildly. Not from fear. The sight of thousands of prey laid out before me set my blood ablaze.
—Boom, boom, boom.
The earth trembled.
"Uralalala!!"
"Uralalala!!"
The horde of thousands bellowed as one and charged straight at us.
A dust cloud from their advance blotted out the sky, and the thunder of hooves swallowed all other sounds.
"Entire army, form up in defensive formation! Hold until you die!"
Zhang Yang roared himself hoarse beside me.
At his command, the soldiers desperately locked shields and thrust spears forward. It was the final stand of men resolved to die.
"Brother! Let's get ready too!"
Wei Sok cried urgently, but his words fell on deaf ears.
'Defensive formation?'
Ridiculous. What use was a flimsy wall of shields against that massive wave?
I tightened my grip on my spear.
"If I blow all their heads off, we won't need any damn formation."
As the beasts drew nearer, faces of those slain by them flashed before my eyes.
Peaceful villages turned to pandemonium in an instant. Those who had loved me more than anyone perished pointlessly.
Recalling memories I'd buried ignited fury that surged to the top of my head.
No need to wait any longer.
—Hiiiing!
I kicked my horse's belly. The red steed roared and surged forward, as if mocking our allies forming up behind.
"Unit Commander Lu!"
"Brother! You can't go alone!"
Zhang Yang and Wei Sok's shocked cries rang out behind me, but I charged solo into the oncoming wave.
Mockery spread across the faces of the Wuhuan vanguard as they saw me charging alone.
"Some madman's come to die!"
"A lone rabid dog! Punch holes in him!"
Hundreds of arrows rained down like black death. But not one touched my armor.
—Crackle!
A casual sweep of my spear snapped them mid-air. Those I missed, I dodged with the slightest twist, slicing through the void.
Their arrow storm didn't slow me one bit.
Finally, their frontline. I met the lead riders of the cavalry wave head-on.
"This lunatic thinks he can stop us alone?"
"Kill him! Kill!"
"B-brother!!! Dodge!!"
"Unit Commander Lu!!"
The moment everyone, amid Wei Sok's scream, expected me to vanish into the cavalry surge—
I unleashed my full power forward.
—Kwaaaang!
A deafening roar beyond human hearing erupted.
My spear was a bolt of lightning. The three lead Wuhuan cavalrymen—their slashing blades, their horses' sturdy skulls, the riders' armor atop—all shredded like paper in one strike, exploding outward.
"Guh... ack...!"
They couldn't even scream. Their corpse fragments scattered everywhere. I trampled the remains and charged on.
"Aaaagh!"
"S-stop! Stop, I said!"
The vanguard shattered, rear riders crashed into each other in a massive pileup.
Like a siege ram smashing a gate. My single blow tore a gaping hole in the Wuhuan charge formation.
Through that breach, I plunged into their midst and began my true spear dance. I halted there, spinning up a massive red whirlwind.
"Raaaaah!!"
My spear danced.
Each semicircle swing sprayed bloody mist like fountains. Wuhuan riders tumbled in chunks with their mounts. Spears and swords thrust at me lost their wielders before grazing my armor, clattering to the ground.
—Hiiiing!
My red horse was no mere mount.
"Gaaaaah!"
"C-crazy horse! It's insane!"
It roared, crushing foes under forehooves, ripping helmed heads with savage teeth.
Man and steed—we merged into one perfect weapon.
The mockery was long gone. Only terror remained on their faces.
"T-that's not human!"
"A red-armored demon! Devil spawn!"
"Run! Get away from him!"
They'd rushed to kill me; now they shoved and trampled each other to flee in pandemonium.
I showed no mercy to the fleeing beasts.
"Where?!"
I hurled my spear at what looked like their commander.
—Splat.
It pierced his heart dead-center. Weaponless? No matter. I snatched a fallen enemy spear and resumed the slaughter.
"Gaaaaah!"
In my wake, a "red river" of corpses and shattered weapons formed. The thousands-strong army, ravaged by one man, began crumbling formation-wide.
Meanwhile, in the rear allied lines, all watched the surreal scene slack-jawed.
Zhang Yang had clicked his tongue when I first charged out, unable to comprehend. But now, it shattered all expectations.
This was divine punishment from the heavens.
One man wasn't fighting an army—he was cleaning it. Zhang Yang's trembling hands steadied.
The fear in his eyes vanished completely.
"Hah... hahaha..."
Wei Sok, who'd yelled "Brother's finally lost it!", wept and laughed at the results of my madness.
"Kuhaha! See that, you bastards?! That's our brother! The Martial God of Saibang!"
The soldiers were the same.
They'd shaken their heads at my reckless solo charge. But soon, their eyes beheld the unbelievable.
That red demon truly tore through the enemy lines.
"...We really didn't need it."
Zhang Yang realized how foolish his judgment had been.
He'd thought holding a tight formation was the answer. But I tore that answer apart and forged a new path.
A massive rift cracked open in the enemy center. A golden opportunity. Zhang Yang raised his sword high and roared.
"Everyone see that?! Unit Commander Lu has opened the way for us!"
"Wooooaaah!!"
"Break formation! Grip your spears! Follow the path he's carved! Entire army—charge!!"
"Waaaaaaaah!!!"
At Zhang Yang's order, the three thousand abandoned their posts.
They roared as one and poured into the "red path" I'd opened, annihilating the Wuhuan.
The Wuhuan, their command and lines already smashed by me, couldn't mount proper resistance.
"Kuhk!"
"Y-you bastards!"
"Die! Die, you savages!!"
They were ripped apart by the three thousand following in my wake.
The tide turned in an instant. I hammered like a giant maul; Zhang Yang and the troops mopped up. Perfect synergy.
How much time passed?
No enemies stood around me anymore. Blood-smeared spear in hand, I stood tall atop a mound of corpses.
"Waaaaaah! Long live General Lu Bu!!"
"Martial God! Martial God! Martial God!"
Behind me, thousands of soldiers cheered in victory. Far off, Ding Yuan's main force watched, dazed like a heat haze.
I smirked coldly and murmured,
"Ding Yuan. The banquet you set. I ate it all... and it was delicious."