33. War of Men (1)
33. War of Men (1)
The [Coalition Army] finally reached [Sishui Pass].
The 100,000-strong army, which had been delaying and postponing due to divisions in the command structure, was finally arrayed before the gateway leading to [Luoyang].
The warlords weren't fools, it seemed; at the vanguard of the 100,000 troops, there were numerous siege weapons present to attack and breach the pass.
[Battering Ram], [Catapult], [Scaling Ladder], [Siege Tower], and even the [Covered Wagon] to block attacks pouring down from the city walls.
None of the warlords were experts in war.
However, it seemed that quite a few of them had learned the theory, if only from military strategy books, as they seemed to know that siege weapons were absolutely necessary to breach the pass.
"The enemy's spirit is quite fierce."
General Xu Rong said.
At those words, [Dudu] Hua Xiong, the commander-in-chief of the [Sishui Pass] front, nodded.
"They dare to challenge heaven. They must have prepared themselves for a life-or-death struggle. We, too, will have to endure no small amount of damage."
The archers on [Sishui Pass] pulled back their bowstrings.
After preparing to fire arrows at the enemies below the wall at any moment, boiling oil and boulders were also waiting for their turn.
"They are quite numerous, but we only need to defend the pass."
"Once those bastards pour their strength into the siege and become exhausted, we just need to send out the cavalry to wipe them out in one go."
Li Jue and Guo Si glared at the enemies.
They could never breach [Sishui Pass].
Because this [Sishui Pass] was a place like a natural fortress that had always been used to block rebels invading from the Central Plains.
To capture a fortress, you need ten times the number of defenders.
However, the Dong Zhuo army and the [Coalition Army] were maintaining a similar troop ratio. In other words, from the perspective of the [Coalition Army] that had to conduct the siege, they were bound to be at an infinite disadvantage.
"They are coming."
Xu Rong said.
The [Catapult]s possessed by the enemies began to move.
Kuaaaang!!
A heavy boulder struck [Sishui Pass] hard.
The soldiers on the wall screamed as the ground beneath their feet began to shake.
There was no way [Sishui Pass] would collapse from a stone-throwing attack.
But the soldiers had to feel some confusion. As the enemies fired the [Catapult]s in succession, the archers holding bows had no way to respond.
"Hold your positions. Anyone who runs will die by my hand."
Hua Xiong gave the order to the entire army.
Then, the soldiers, who had been wavering and showing signs of confusion, held their ground.
If they showed their backs, they would be killed by their own side.
They were scared enough to break out in a cold sweat, but Hua Xiong, who was watching with sharp, murderous eyes, was even scarier.
"The [Catapult]s won't last long."
Hua Xiong muttered.
Just as he said, the [Catapult]s mobilized by the [Coalition Army] did not last long.
The levers of the [Catapult]s snapped with a crunch.
There were even unsightly scenes where the counterweights fell off or the ropes snapped, causing the [Catapult]s to collapse in a heap.
It was the limit of siege weapons that had been hastily cobbled together in a short time.
They didn't have sturdy durability, nor were they made with superior technology. There was no way cheap siege weapons could last long.
"Attack!"
"Strike the enemy! Capture [Sishui Pass]!"
Following that, the infantry marched forward.
They mobilized everything, including [Scaling Ladder]s to hook onto the walls, and [Battering Ram]s, which were siege weapons to forcibly break through the gates.
They intended to wage a full-scale war from the very beginning.
The generals sent by the warlords shouted at the top of their lungs to urge the soldiers on, and the soldiers rushed toward [Sishui Pass] with their weapons raised.
"Aaaargh!"
"I-it's oil! Protect the [Battering Ram]!"
Boiling oil poured down from above.
As the oil was poured, the soldiers clinging to the walls fell one after another. Following that, fire arrows fell onto the oil-soaked ground, and flames shot up, burning the surroundings in an instant.
"It's hell."
Chen Gong clicked her tongue.
At the sight of the infantry being used as consumables of war, Chen Gong, who had been nothing more than a county magistrate until recently, could only be horrified.
At her words, Cao Cao nodded.
It is gruesome.
Cruel and miserable.
The sight of soldiers forcibly mobilized for war collapsing one by one was difficult to watch with open eyes.
But Cao Cao did not look away.
She did not move at all while mounted on her horse. Because she knew well that she was in the position of a commander of an army.
"You can't win from the front."
A sharp arrow flew in.
At that, the soldiers around Cao Cao raised their shields to escort her.
Thung! Thung!
The arrows struck the shields.
If the soldiers hadn't stepped up in time, she might have been hit by a stray arrow.
"T-the gate is opening!"
"What? Why is the gate opening all of a sudden?!"
The soldiers who were struggling to breach [Sishui Pass] wore expressions of disbelief.
The iron gate began to open.
The main road leading to [Luoyang] was opening on its own.
"Trample the traitors!"
"The [Xiliang Cavalry], break the enemy's vanguard!"
As the gate opened, the Dong Zhuo army sortied.
The general leading the [Xiliang Cavalry], composed of elite troops, was, surprisingly, the commander-in-chief, [Dudu] Hua Xiong.
Xu Rong had tried to stop him, saying it was dangerous, but Hua Xiong judged that if he went out himself and killed several enemy generals, their morale would be broken, and he carried out the reckless charge just like that.
"Who are you! I am Yu She, a general under Lord Yuan Shu, who is the [General of the Household] and the [Prefect] of Nanyang! The enemy general, come out and receive my blade!"
Yu She, a general of the Yuan Shu army, rushed forward.
However, Yu She could not even withstand a single blow.
He was pierced by the spear Hua Xiong thrust and rolled off his horse just like that.
As soon as he fell from the horse, his neck broke.
He would have died from the wound on his chest anyway, but the end of Yu She, who died with his neck bent at a 90-degree angle, looked truly horrific.
"Pan Feng, a general of the Han Fu army, is coming!"
But Pan Feng also did not last long and fell.
Like Yu She, he ended his life without being able to avoid the spear Hua Xiong thrust.
Two generals of the [Coalition Army] had fallen.
Following this, the [Xiliang Cavalry] began a ruthless advance, unilaterally slaughtering the infantry mobilized for the siege.
"Aaaargh!"
"R-run! Run away!"
There was no way infantry that couldn't even maintain their battle lines could win against cavalry.
The [Xiliang Cavalry] ran wild to their hearts' content.
As the infantry of the [Coalition Army] turned their backs and fled, they thoroughly hunted them down as if they were wolves chasing prey.
The soldiers abandoned their siege weapons and fled.
The warlords who watched that chaotic situation from behind had to lament or curse the fleeing friendly troops and vent their anger.
"[Dudu], please retreat now."
"That is correct. I am afraid that something untoward might happen to [Dudu]."
At the generals' dissuasion, Hua Xiong turned his horse's head.
It was a pity that he had only managed to kill two generals, but he decided to be satisfied with that.
He had unilaterally broken their spirit in the first battle.
That was exactly why he had chased down and killed the enemies who threw away their weapons and fled.
The soldiers who returned to the military camp would spread fear.
They would go around shouting that the [Sishui Pass] front was a living hell, a place where it was difficult to survive even if you had ten lives.
"Is there no brave general who can kill me?"
Hua Xiong raised his spear.
He cut off the heads of Yu She and Pan Feng, whom he had killed with his own hands, and sent them to the [Coalition Army], clearly letting them know who had won the first battle.
The Lu Bu army was still remaining in [Luoyang].
It was because they had not received orders from their superiors.
It was an attitude that seemed to say, 'You guys have nothing to do, so just suck your thumbs!'
"Haaam."
Song Xian let out a long yawn.
At the sound of that yawn, Gao Shun's eyes flashed.
At the sight of him glaring like a beast, Song Xian seemed to come to his senses and straightened his back with a hup! sound.
"......."
Gao Shun was still in a motionless stance.
As if he would stick to his commanded position even if a fireball suddenly fell from the sky, he and his unit members did not move even a little bit.
Is that guy actually a cyborg?
A war machine created in the Three Kingdoms era.
Perhaps Lu Bu was a genius with an IQ over 160, and the cyborg created by the mechanical engineer Lu Bu was actually Gao Shun?
I'm bored, so I'm thinking all sorts of things.
If I hadn't seen Gao Shun eating, I would have still misunderstood him as a cyborg.
'I thought Sun Jian would come to [Yangren]... since they heard the Yuan Shu army is at [Sishui Pass], there's a high probability that the Sun Jian army under his command is also at [Sishui Pass].'
No matter how much of a [Tiger of Jiangdong] he was, he wouldn't be able to cross [Sishui Pass].
[Sishui Pass] is, literally, a natural fortress.
Unless Hua Xiong opens the gate and comes out himself, begging to be killed, there is no way the [Dudu] commanding the front line would be killed by Sun Jian (historical) and Guan Yu (novel).
"They must be fighting fiercely, right?"
"Of course they are. They say it's a war to decide who will rule the world."
The military officers whispered.
They speculated that a great battle, sufficient to make a name for oneself and remain in history, must be taking place at [Sishui Pass].
Lu Bu shuddered her shoulders.
The heroine, born with the temperament of a fighter, swung her [Painted Halberd] around for no reason, as if she wanted to go to the battlefield right now.
I want to fight.
I want to fight. I want to fight. I want to fight.
She was like a volcano that didn't know when it would erupt.
I was afraid she might suddenly ride [Red Hare] and dash off to [Sishui Pass].
"Hey, you know that moving without orders is desertion, right? A commander leading an army being so thirsty for war that she deserts, you'll definitely be a laughingstock for generations to come."
"I know that!"
At my words, Lu Bu huffed.
She was itching to do something because she wasn't doing anything in the rear, but she at least had enough reason left that she didn't commit any sudden, impulsive acts.
I wonder how long Lu Bu can hold out.
I could see the military officers making bets on that. Most of them agreed that she wouldn't even last half a day.
Half a day, my foot.
She wouldn't even last half of that.
"Messenger! A messenger is here!"
A soldier wearing a flag with the character for 'Order' on his back arrived.
The messenger, who had rushed in breathlessly, pushed aside the soldiers who were trying to perform a security check without reading the room, saying he had news that needed to be urgently reported to the superiors.
"Hey, what's the news?"
Lu Bu reached out her arm.
She instantly grabbed the neck of the messenger who was running to deliver the report in a hurry.
She lifted her arm in that state.
I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration at the superhuman strength of lifting an adult man using only one hand.
"I asked you what's going on."
It's a job for me to step in!
Lu Bu seemed to intuitively realize that, and she waited for the messenger's words with her eyes flashing.
"Keuk! Ke-heuk!! I-it's Sun Jian......!"
The [Tiger of Jiangdong] is coming.
Sun Jian had judged that it was absolutely impossible to breach [Sishui Pass], so he was marching toward [Luoyang] via the [Yangren] region.
"Good, that's how it should be."
Lu Bu cheered with a resounding voice.
The time for her to step up had finally come.
Moreover, the opponent was none other than Sun Jian, known as the [Tiger of Jiangdong]. That Sun Jian whom General Xu Rong had singled out as a general to be careful of among the [Coalition Army].
She was not lacking as an enemy to face.
Mounted on [Red Hare], she raised her [Painted Halberd] and was ready to go to [Yangren] right away.
"You can stop going now."
I pushed the messenger's back and sent him away.
First of all, that messenger has to deliver the news, so that Dong Zhuo and Li Ru can decide whether or not to send our Lu Bu army out, right?
The order hasn't come down yet.
But there is a high probability that our Lu Bu army will be sent out. Because Dong Zhuo, who had heard Xu Rong's report, was thinking of Sun Jian as a dangerous person.
The only person who can stop Sun Jian is Lu Bu.
That is my thought.
Sun Jian, the [Tiger of Jiangdong], is famous as a brave and fierce general, but he is also a martial artist famous for his exceptional skill in handling weapons.
So, the person who can stop Sun Jian, the person who can stop the monster known as the [Tiger of Jiangdong]... will only be Lu Bu, who is a monster herself.