Chapter 45
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Red Hare Horse
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A sound of Wei Sok barely catching his breath came from behind me.
The man before me was startled by my sudden appearance, but he didn't shrink back at all. Instead, he glared at me with renewed fighting spirit.
"So you're Lu Bu. The rumors are true enough."
"You're no slouch yourself. What's your name?"
"I'm Yeom Haeng, the great warrior under Staff Officer Han! I'll take your head and offer it to my lord!"
With those words, Yeom Haeng charged straight at me.
—Clang!
The moment our first blows clashed, a heavy force transmitted through the spear shaft made my brow twitch involuntarily.
This was no comparison to the riffraff I'd faced so far.
Yeom Haeng's sword strikes poured down without respite.
It wasn't just speed. The power in each blow made my arm holding the spear tingle slightly.
—Chang! Clang!
As I parried Yeom Haeng's sword, I unwittingly pulled my horse back half a step. Then, from behind me, Wei Sok cried out in alarm.
"B-Brother! Be careful!"
Wei Sok couldn't believe his eyes.
His brother, who had never been pushed back even once, was being forced to retreat after just a few exchanges!
Seeing me yield ground, Yeom Haeng pressed his advantage with a growl.
"So the rumors were just hot air! Is that all you've got, Lu Bu!? Or should I say Zheng Po?"
"Shut your mouth! All talk and no action, you pup!"
I countered Yeom Haeng's taunt and swung my spear, but his sword tenaciously blocked it and slipped through.
I was clearly on the defensive.
Yeom Haeng pressed his assault on me, pinning my spear shaft with his sword.
—Screeech!
The shriek of metal rang out as our weapons locked together.
"Hrrngh!"
Yeom Haeng's power surged through the spear into my entire body. It was monstrous strength enough to make my red horse step back slightly.
Gritting his teeth, Yeom Haeng spat.
"How did you rack up all those achievements with such feeble strength!"
But I wasn't anxious. Instead, my heart began pounding wildly.
—My blood boiled.
A smile crept onto my lips unbidden. At first faint, it soon erupted into uncontrollable laughter.
"Ha, hahaha! Now this is something! Yeah, this is how a fight should feel! It's been ages since I met someone this fun!"
My laughter made Yeom Haeng's sword hesitate for a split second.
"You're insane...!"
I didn't miss that opening. With an overwhelming force unlike before, I smashed his sword aside.
—Boom!
The impact, incomparable to earlier, made Yeom Haeng stagger.
"Now let's get serious!"
I roared and swung my spear.
Each clash of his sword and my spear unleashed a thunderous boom like flesh tearing and bones cracking.
"Urgh...!"
Confusion flickered across Yeom Haeng's face for the first time.
Only now did he realize the fight so far had been mere play. I pressed him relentlessly, laughing.
"Haha, you're holding up pretty well! But how long can you last?"
—Clang! Chang! Boom!
My spear was a blur now.
It surged toward Yeom Haeng at incredible speed. He desperately tried to fend it off, but once the momentum shifted, it was unstoppable.
"Gr... Gah! You bastard!!"
"Where'd all that spirit from earlier go!?"
I deflected his sword sideways and slammed the butt end of my spear into his abdomen.
—Thud!
"Guhk...!"
As Yeom Haeng gasped in pain, I whipped the blade across, grazing his helmet and carving a long gash across his cheek.
—Drip, drip.
Blood trickled down his face to soak the ground. From behind, Wei Sok's voice rang out in shock.
"N-No way, Brother... Just how strong are you really? I had no idea it was this much..."
Yeom Haeng was helpless before my overwhelming power and speed.
"Hm, I thought I'd get a good workout for once. Pity. If you'd been just a bit stronger, it would've been fun."
"Sh-Shut up! It's not over—!"
There was no need to toy with Yeom Haeng any longer.
The spear I swung with full power batted his sword aside and plunged deep into his shoulder.
"Grrgh!"
"Hm, too good to kill, though. How about surrendering?"
Even with his shoulder impaled, Yeom Haeng didn't drop his sword. What a tenacious bastard.
When I suggested surrender, Yeom Haeng—blood pouring from the spear in his shoulder—scoffed back.
"Heh... How could a man of You Province ever surrender! Kill me! I have only one lord!"
"Tch, shame, but can't be helped. I'll send you off painlessly at least."
Impressed by his grit, I yanked the spear free to deliver the finishing blow. But my spear never reached Yeom Haeng's neck.
—Whoosh! Whoosh!
Arrows came flying from an unexpected direction, targeting my whole body. Reflexively, I swung my spear to knock them away.
"Save the Great Warrior!"
While I was distracted by the arrows, a few cavalry rushed in, supported Yeom Haeng, and fled.
"Where do you bastards think you're—!"
"Wooooaaah!"
"Charge! The enemy numbers are few!"
I tried to pursue, but a massive roar erupted from the base of the hill.
While Yeom Haeng's vanguard stalled for time, the enemy's main force arrived late and revealed itself on the battlefield.
The enemy cavalry charged our right flank from all directions without hesitation. And that wasn't all.
A new roar erupted from the left flank as well. More enemies poured in toward the left where Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were rampaging.
The battlefield turned into pandemonium in an instant.
"Guess chasing them is out."
I clicked my tongue and smacked my lips. Whether it was Han Su or Bukgung Baekok, those guys had an uncanny knack for cavalry timing and seizing opportunities.
"They don't miss a beat."
For now, I decided to put out the most pressing fire.
Turning my head, I saw Wei Sok slumped behind me. I grabbed his collar and bellowed.
"You idiot! Pick your opponents better! You'd be dead if I hadn't shown up!"
"A true man dies on the battlefield, Brother!"
His brazen reply left me speechless.
—Thwack!
I clubbed Wei Sok's head with the spear shaft, knocking him out. Then I called to Wei Yue and Cheng Lian, who were desperately holding on nearby.
"Hey, get this bastard to the rear!"
"Pardon?"
"I'll cover you—send him back!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Understood, Commander!"
While the two handled the unconscious Wei Sok, I scanned the battlefield again.
On the left, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were locked in fierce combat with the fresh enemy troops, while the right was crumbling bit by bit under Han Su's relentless assaults.
"Cavalry can't afford to stop."
It was an eternal truth.
Han Su, savagely hammering the Han army's right flank, spotted Lu Bu, who had demolished his prized sword, Yeom Haeng.
"Don't engage the one on the red horse! Ignore him and hit the surrounding foes first! The enemy cavalry's momentum is already slowing—they can't stop us!"
Per Han Su's orders, some elite troops checked Lu Bu to buy time, while the main force ignored him and raced toward the faltering unit led by Cheng Lian and Wei Yue.
"Good. If we keep pushing like this, smashing the enemy won't be hard."
As he optimistically surveyed the field, the bloodied Yeom Haeng returned. Han Su ground his teeth at the sight of his cherished subordinate but muttered coldly.
'Lu Bu. His reputation isn't empty. But war isn't a one-man show. No matter how strong he is, once his surroundings collapse, victory will be mine.'
Han Su's strategy worked perfectly.
Lu Bu was tied down by the elites, and in the meantime, the right flank began to crumble.
Then, a massive roar erupted from the opposite side of the battlefield—the left flank. Bukgung Baekok had committed his 10,000 reserves.
'Not an easy foe after all. Bukgung Baekok counters my move by pinning the opposite side perfectly.'
Byeon Jang, directing the troops beside him, cheered.
"Han Su! At this rate, we can win!"
"Winning is a given. The real issue is what comes after."
Han Su calculated swiftly in his mind.
'The court army is weaker than expected. If this ends in Bukgung Baekok's flawless victory... Better to hail him as the new king outright.'
It was right then, as Han Su finished his calculations and regained his composure.
【KRAAAAAAAHHH!!!】
The roar tore through every sound on the battlefield—an inhuman bellow hard to believe came from a human throat.
It was so overwhelming that soldiers on both sides, swinging their blades like madmen, froze as if by agreement and turned toward the source.
All eyes turned to one place—Lu Bu.
Lu Bu no longer bothered with the elites binding his feet.
He crushed everything in his path, charging straight in one direction.
"Wh-What the...?"
Han Su's face, smug with assured victory moments ago, twisted in horror and disbelief.
It was the moment all his strategies crumbled before one monstrous individual.
I let out a roar and began my charge.
I smashed through everything blocking my path. The cavalry trying to stop me were merely skewered on my spear tip or trampled under my horse's hooves.
—Hiiiing!
Exhausted from the nonstop battle, sweat poured from my red horse like rain.
Yet strangely, the more it tired, the faster it got.
Its muscles rippled, its four legs pounding the earth as it surged forward.
As I accelerated, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei answered my call and caught up behind me, racing along the path I'd cleared.
Zhang Fei whipped his horse to pull alongside me and shouted.
"Huh, sweating red—never seen that before, Commander."
In the middle of this melee, this guy was admiring horse sweat colors. But he was right; the red horse's sweat now gleamed like blood.
And the more it flowed, the faster the horse went—Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's mounts began lagging.
As they fell behind, the admiring Guan Yu murmured like he was reciting poetry.
"...Sweat like blood, hooves like wind. It covers a thousand li in a single run, breaks ten thousand troops in a leap... Worthy of the name Red Hare Horse."
Zhang Fei turned to Guan Yu in surprise.
"No way, Brother. You know poetry too?"
Guan Yu shot him a sidelong glare instead of answering.
Zhang Fei, abashed, casually exploded the head of an enemy cavalryman flashing by with his serpent spear.
—Thud!
Then he continued nonchalantly.
"But seriously, the Commander's insane too, right? Isn't he, Brother?"
"Think so? Says the one who proposed breaking through 50,000 with 500."
Their banter from behind drew a hearty laugh from me.
"Kuhahaha!"
With my laughter, we finally burst through the chaos onto the open plain.
There, at the plain's far end, Bukgung Baekok's massive flag fluttered.
I grinned, lips stretching to my ears at the sight.