Chapter 46
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Beigong Boyu
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A tense silence hung over the plains.
The battle in the hills had reached its final stages, and the faint cry of a general astride a mysterious red horse who had broken through echoed from afar.
"Come on! Let's go see the king's face!"
At that arrogant shout, Li Wenhou, who had been guarding Beigong Boyu's side, flew into a rage and stepped forward.
"Your Highness! It's that same bastard who dared insult you just moments ago! How dare he spout such irreverence again! Allow me to ride out at once and bring back his head!"
But Beigong Boyu raised a hand to stop Li Wenhou.
A smile played on Beigong Boyu's face, as if he had stumbled upon an amusing spectacle.
"Grand General, isn't that colt's behavior truly entertaining? I'm curious just how many lives he has to act so boldly. However, it wouldn't be fitting for me to cross blades with him personally."
Beigong Boyu pointed toward several units in the vanguard and issued a command.
"Go and fetch the heads of those insolent fools."
"As you command!"
At Beigong Boyu's order, the messengers waiting nearby sprang into action, and soon the plains rang with the neighing of horses.
"Kill that rude bastard!"
"The king has commanded it! Bring back his head, and you shall become generals!"
Thousands of cavalry charged toward Lu Bu with roars of fury.
"Do you think that fool can survive this time?"
"Your Highness, no matter how valiant he may be, he cannot stand against so many warriors."
Beigong Boyu and Li Wenhou watched the scene unfold leisurely. But the battle took an utterly unexpected turn.
"Ho..."
Lu Bu, alongside Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, led hundreds of cavalry straight into the fray, and astonishingly, it was Beigong Boyu's horsemen who were pushed back.
The breakthrough power centered on those three defied imagination.
Watching them, Beigong Boyu stroked his chin with interest.
"Well now, it seems he's not just brave."
"...What in the world..."
Li Wenhou's face, initially filled with anger, gradually twisted into shock at the unbelievable sight.
Not only the man on the red horse, Lu Bu, but the warriors flanking him and the cavalry following behind pierced the enemy lines with sky-high morale, breaking through bit by bit.
Li Wenhou cried out urgently.
"Your Highness! Their momentum is unnatural! Let me lead the army myself and crush them while we still can!"
As Li Wenhou moved to charge and take command, Beigong Boyu stopped him once more.
"Where is the king hiding?! Show yourself! Are you even worthy of calling yourself the true King of Liang?!"
Beigong Boyu felt a spark of interest at Lu Bu's shout calling for him from the heart of the battlefield.
"He's calling for me so earnestly—shouldn't I at least show my face as a courtesy?"
"But Your Highness!"
"Besides, if I cower in the back out of fear of rabble like that, would those who follow me truly serve me with loyalty?"
Beigong Boyu himself was a warrior of a mighty tribe that revered strength.
Brushing off Li Wenhou's pleas, he slowly advanced, leading his elite royal guard who had stood by his side.
As he cut down the enemy before him, hot red blood splashed across his face once more.
It was a sensation all too familiar, to the point of boredom.
While he was busy slaughtering the foes in front of him, a leisurely voice pierced through the din of battle.
"Well, well, you don't seem to tire at all. So, why were you so desperate to find me?"
He turned his head toward the source of the voice.
There, elite cavalry radiating an overwhelming presence parted like waves, clearing a path.
At their center was a man in opulent attire. Bronze skin and solid muscles. One glance was enough to tell he was Beigong Boyu, the self-proclaimed King of Liang.
As the man finally revealed himself, Lu Bu bared his white teeth in a grin.
"Ho, so the exalted Highness with such a lofty price on his head has deigned to grace us personally?"
At Lu Bu's words, several cavalrymen around Beigong Boyu flew into rage, charging with cries of "How dare you!"
"Tch, don't get in my way."
The spear blade sliced through the air.
The charging cavalryman's head flew off into the sky, and hot blood trickled down the spear's shaft.
"Gah!"
"...Hmmm..."
But Beigong Boyu showed no change in expression even as a subordinate died before him. Instead, he reached for the sword at his waist, as if intrigued.
"Hah, so the rat finally feels like a proper fight after hiding so long?"
At Lu Bu's taunt, Beigong Boyu eyed him briefly. But then he glanced toward the hills behind Lu Bu and spoke.
"Taking your head today as a trophy wouldn't be bad... but there's no need to spill more blood."
Puzzled by Beigong Boyu's words, Lu Bu focused on the sounds behind him and faintly heard cheers from his allies.
The battle on the hills seemed to be wrapping up faster than expected.
'No way—did General Lu Zhi already mop them up?'
He could only click his tongue in amazement. Even with the enemy's cavalry hampered in mobility, routing them this quickly was beyond expectations.
As he pondered his main camp for a moment, Beigong Boyu's voice drifted into his ear.
"As a warrior, your valor truly impresses me. Why not serve the true king even now?"
"King? Pfft-hahah! Who the hell recognized you as king?! Surrender now, offer tribute to His Majesty, and you might keep your head. Our emperor prefers current riches over past glories, after all."
Beigong Boyu tsked at Lu Bu's retort.
"Brave, but lacking in wisdom. Very well. Next time we meet, I'll take your head myself."
With that, Beigong Boyu turned to withdraw.
"Who said you could leave in one piece?!"
Unable to hold back, Lu Bu roared and charged. But Beigong Boyu's heavy cavalry immediately stepped forward, blocking his path like an iron wall.
"How dare you lay a hand on His High— Gah!"
"Get out of my way, you bastards! You're in the goddamn way!"
As Lu Bu cleaved through the heavy cavalry to press on, Beigong Boyu, retreating, turned back as if remembering something.
"Ah, that's right, Han man. I still haven't heard your name. What is it?"
"Lu Bu Fengxian—the man who'll take your head!"
"Lu Bu... Lu Bu... Hmm, perfect to carve onto your forehead after I sever it."
Beigong Boyu left those words behind and fully retreated.
'Damn it!! Letting a fish that was all but hooked slip away!'
Lu Bu seethed with frustration. But glancing around, he saw his men clearly being pushed back against the heavy cavalry.
Only Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were holding their ground; most were exhausted.
"Damn it, damn it!"
In the end, he gave up pursuing Beigong Boyu and swung his spear back toward the heavy cavalry to aid his soldiers.
"Hahaha! He truly cherishes his men."
From afar, Beigong Boyu's faint laughter carried on the wind.
The morning after the battle ended.
He silently overlooked the plains thick with the stench of blood and rotting corpses.
The soldiers dragged their weary bodies, tending to allied wounded and stripping weapons from enemy dead.
There were no cheers of victory.
Only a heavy atmosphere blending relief at survival with grief over lost comrades prevailed.
The night-long battle had been brutal.
A considerable number of his own men had fallen. Victory had come, but at no light cost.
Taking in the soldiers' efforts, he finally arrived at General Lu Zhi's command tent.
Entering, he saw exhaustion etched on every officer's face. One colonel reported the casualties verified through the night.
"Report! In this battle... the enemy suffered approximately 20,000 dead, and we captured thousands of prisoners! However, our own losses were not light—totaling 5,000 casualties."
"....."
Silence fell among the generals at the report's end. Victory was theirs, but the weight of 5,000 was no small thing.
"And... Han Su's army, which intruded on the field, withdrew early as soon as they began to falter, escaping with minimal losses."
At that, Lu Zhi turned to Gap Hoon and murmured lowly.
"Didn't you say he was a reliable loyalist, Hanyang General?"
Gap Hoon flushed, unable to respond. Stepping forward, Lu Bu spoke.
"Who can fully know a man's heart? This is not solely the Hanyang General's fault."
"Had you moved the army trusting Han Su, it wouldn't have ended with mere words."
"...My apologies, General."
As an awkward mood threatened to settle, Jong Won quickly asked Lu Zhi.
"General, how were you able to clear the hills' enemies so swiftly and descend to the plains?"
"It was all thanks to the colonel."
Lu Zhi pointed to the map and explained.
"As the colonel rampaged on the plains, even the eyes of those on the hills turned there. I seized the moment, advancing the square formation to press their lines."
It was a textbook strategy worthy of Lu Zhi, but without special variables, the orthodox was the most powerful.
Lu Bu could roughly envision how the battle had unfolded.
"In the end, for all their claims of kingship, they are a coalition of aliens and nomads at root. As their losses mounted, the first to cut and run appeared, and once one tribe broke, the rest scattered like a burst dam."
"Amazing, as expected of you, General!"
Jong Won praised Lu Zhi in admiration. But Lu Zhi's expression suddenly hardened coldly as he glared at Lu Bu.
"But I cannot help but ask. Colonel, the detachment's mission was solely to lure the enemy into the hills and repel them. Why did you disobey orders and advance to the plains?!"
"Because that was the best path to victory."
"It's true your valor drew the enemy's gaze and felled 20,000 foes. But the losses to your detachment were not insignificant because of it!"
Jong Won tried to interject.
"General, but the merits the colonel earned—!"
"Silence!"
Jong Won clamped his mouth shut under Lu Zhi's glare.
"This time, the outcome was favorable, so I'll let it pass once. But next time, I will punish you strictly by military law. Understood?"
At those words, Lu Bu rose quietly from his seat and bowed his head.
"I sought glory selfishly and committed a fault. Such a thing will never happen again."
A bitter smile escaped as he left the tent after the meeting.
'I did go too far, that's for sure.'
Thoughts of his men's sacrifices flashed through his mind. He resolved that the rewards from this battle would go entirely to the families of the fallen.