Unparalleled
The enemy infantry crumbled one by one beneath our assault until several hundred cavalry came thundering toward us.
From the very beginning we had smashed straight through their center and torn them apart, so regardless of unit type, the survivors were all mixed together in a chaotic rout.
In a situation like this, there was only one thing to do.
Back in my old days playing Romance of the Three Kingdoms games, wasn’t there a mode where you charged into hordes of soldiers with a weapon in hand, cutting them down and racking up kill marks?
“Enemy general! I will slay you!”
I thrust my spear at the cavalry charging straight at me. One rider spat blood and tumbled from his horse.
This was my first battle since returning, and my body had been in poor condition, but the moment I stood on the battlefield, every muscle loosened and came alive.
“Yah!”
Clang—!
Though this was only my second real fight, I had already learned something from war.
Enemies poured in from every direction. You never knew where spears, blades, or arrows would come flying from. Yet the enemy was always kind enough to announce their arrival.
They screamed battle cries loud enough for me to hear even if I couldn’t see them, charging straight in.
Clang— Clang!
Whenever they roared and thrust their spears, I reflexively knocked them aside. The enemy officer blocking my own strikes did the same.
But after crossing blades with him, I understood one thing clearly.
Compared to the ridiculous, monstrous power of Lu Bu’s Sky Piercer, these men’s spears were nothing more than children’s toys!
When my wide swing missed, I immediately drove my spear into the staggering rider’s forearm.
“Gah!”
Ordinary cavalrymen wore nothing more than leather plates that barely covered their torsos, and their arms were protected only by simple bracers. The moment a gap appeared, I simply stabbed.
The rider who dropped his weapon after being stabbed in the arm lurched sideways. I didn’t miss the opening and drove my spear through his throat, hurling him from the saddle.
Another rider immediately charged in, but the result was the same.
“Forget these small fry! Where is your general?!”
Cavalry against cavalry, yet we held overwhelming superiority in training, destructive power, and combat ability. As I carved a path forward at the head of the charge, my riders followed like vengeful demons, cutting down everything in their way.
The enemy gradually began to collapse. Their infantry had already lost all will to fight and were fleeing in droves.
“Do not run! Any who flee will have their heads—”
Shiiick—!
“Worry about your own head first.”
I slit the throat of an enemy cavalry officer trying to stop his infantry from deserting, then swept away the few remaining hostile riders in a single stroke.
With the enemy line broken, all that remained was our mounted troops hunting turkeys on the ground.
The battle ended in a single clash.
The rebels stationed in Shengshi County were completely suppressed. Their captured commanders were dragged before me and forced to their knees.
“Who do you dogs serve?”
“Ptoo! Just kill us already.”
“I need to know your names if I’m going to report whose heads I’ve taken, don’t I?”
“Fine. This one is Xue Lan of Shanyang.”
“Not exactly a big name, are you?”
He wasn’t on the level of Zhang Liao or Gao Shun, but I had hoped to find someone famous within Lu Bu’s or Zhang Miao’s forces. This man was nothing special.
“You bastard, stop humiliating me and just cut off my head!”
“Hold on a moment.”
After repelling the enemy and occupying Shengshi County, I sent Cao Ang with troops to secure the civilians and search the government offices. That was when the report came.
“Military Affairs Attendant! Military Affairs Attendant!”
“Hm?”
“We’ve rescued these people.”
Cao Ang addressed me by my official title as he brought forward the prisoners who had been locked away. That was when I saw a familiar face.
“Wait… Li Zheng?”
“Young Master Cao!”
The man with his topknot disheveled and looking half-dead was none other than Li Zheng.
He was the deputy commander who had fought alongside me during the Xu Province campaign. He had quietly supported me alongside Ak Jin during my very first battle. To think someone like him had been reduced to this state.
“Officer Li, what in the world happened here?”
“Those… those thieving bastards started a rebellion. They killed the county magistrate—my father—and slaughtered our entire family…”
Li Zheng lowered his head and began to sob.
The moment I saw him, I understood everything.
His father, Li Jian, was the county magistrate. Cao Cao had even mentioned him by name, saying he was well-known enough that it was strange not to have received any word from him. It seemed the rebels had already taken Shengshi County and murdered his entire household.
Only Li Zheng, taken captive, appeared to have survived.
“Officer Li… then the rest of your family…?”
“Only my cousin and I remain.”
Behind Li Zheng stood a slender young scholar who looked as though he might collapse at any moment from the brutal torture he had endured.
“Is this… Li Qian?”
“Thank you… truly, for saving us.”
Even while staggering, Li Qian raised a trembling hand in gratitude.
Though Cao Ang had been the one to rescue these prisoners, the horrific state they were in made him frown deeply.
“Shengshi County has been fully pacified. The enemy commanders are in custody.”
“Young Master Cao, I beg you. Please allow me to kill that man with my own hands.”
“That might be difficult.”
“I beg you.”
I drew my sword and handed it to Cao Ang.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“The eldest son of Yan Province’s governor personally took the field in his first battle and captured an enemy commander. Shouldn’t that be properly reported?”
“You want me to behead him?”
“It will look best that way.”
I had no particular interest in tying people up and enjoying the act of killing them myself. As a rule, I decided to leave the beheading of enemy generals to others. Since Cao Ang was here, it was better to let him take the first-kill credit.
“They are the murderers of my parents and my entire clan. I kneel before you and implore you.”
When Li Zheng fell to his knees with tears of blood in his eyes, even Cao Ang looked troubled.
“Military Affairs Attendant, I don’t mind, but wouldn’t it be better to let Officer Li take revenge on his family’s enemy?”
“Still, the merit should go to you.”
“I will only behead the enemy commander. Whoever receives the credit doesn’t matter to me.”
“Then so be it.”
At my command, Cao Ang passed the sword I had given him to Li Zheng.
With bloodshot eyes, Li Zheng took the blade and strode straight toward the bound Xue Lan and his subordinate officers.
“Murderers of my family… I will not let you die easily.”
“Son of Li Jian… I should have killed you too when I had the chance…”
Before Xue Lan could finish speaking, Li Zheng’s sword came down.
It was not a clean strike. He deliberately slashed at an angle, ensuring the man would not die quickly but suffer instead. Li Zheng had no intention of granting his parents’ killer a peaceful death. He hacked at the bound and struggling Xue Lan like a butcher tenderizing meat.
Blood and brain matter splattered across the faces and bodies of the other bound enemy commanders. Several of them turned deathly pale and wet themselves in terror.
But to Li Zheng, who had lost his parents and family to these men, nothing else existed in the world.
After brutally carving the man into a mangled corpse, Li Zheng finally dropped to his knees in the pool of blood, gasping and sobbing uncontrollably.
Revenge is a cruel thing.
“Take only the head and report it to the Governor of Yan Province. The kill is yours.”
“Y-yes…”
Cao Ang had witnessed something incredibly brutal on his very first battlefield.
Yet none of the men looked afraid or sickened by it. In fact, more of the officers—including Cao Ang—looked upon the weeping Li Zheng with pity as he knelt before the scene of slaughter.
“Military Affairs Attendant, we have gathered all the civilians of Shengshi County in one place. What should we do with them?”
At the officer’s report, Cao Ang looked at me. What was that expression? Did he think I was going to order a massacre and wipe out the rebel bloodline?
“First we’ll send a report. Until we receive further orders, we must focus on restoring order to Shengshi County.”
“A wise decision. The rebels must be driven out, but the common people are innocent.”
“Zisu, I’ll leave that task to you.”
“M-me? …Very well.”
Cao Ang was appointed security commander and took charge of the entire county. Since County Magistrate Li Jian was dead and both his son Li Zheng and nephew Li Qian were badly injured and needed time to recover, the army under my command had to handle the cleanup.
While we were reorganizing and restoring the county, a messenger arrived.
“Reporting! The Military Affairs Attendant is ordered to immediately lead the entire army southeast.”
“Southeast?”
“The remnants of the Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao brothers’ forces are gathering at Yongqiu in the southeast of Yan Province. That location lies at the border of Yan Province, Yu Province, and Huainan. The Governor of Yan Province commands you to intercept and eliminate them before they can flee the province.”
“I see. Tell the Governor we will depart at once.”
“Yes, Military Affairs Attendant!”
So the Zhang Miao-Zhang Chao brothers were trying to cause chaos and then run off to Yu Province? That wasn’t going to happen.
“We head southeast immediately. Yongqiu County, was it? I know that area well.”
It was near Qiao County, where I had trained with Cao Ang, and a place I had traveled back and forth many times while learning horsemanship. Cao Cao’s army moved with terrifying speed; the moment an order was given, they could mobilize instantly.
After completing rapid preparations for the march, Li Zheng approached me with a limp.
“Military Affairs Attendant, I beg you. Please allow me to join the campaign.”
“Your wounds look severe. You should focus on stabilizing Shengshi County. I will report your situation to the Governor.”
“No. I must witness the death of the rebel leader with my own eyes.”
Seeing Li Zheng burning with vengeance, I realized there was no point trying to stop him. I handed him a horse.
In the end, I took Li Zheng with me, left the remaining affairs of Shengshi County to his cousin Li Qian, and raced southeast.
Before long, we spotted the army of Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao gathering troops as they marched toward Yongqiu County.
“Enemy ahead! They appear to be fleeing. Let’s chase them down and kick their asses!”
Once again I took the lead with spear in hand and charged. The enemy, spotting us in pursuit, hurriedly prepared to counterattack.
“Charge! Keep charging until not a single enemy remains in sight!”
The enemy fought with the desperation of cornered rats, but the morale of our pursuing force was now unstoppable.
Shiiick!
For my first taste of blood, I drove my spear through the throat of a mounted enemy officer, then sprayed his blood across the enemy ranks. When soldiers rushed me, I swung my spear in a wide arc. The sheer impact sent them flying like leaves.
A mounted general was said to be worth a hundred men. I had become even stronger than that.
“Where is the enemy general?! Where is he?!”
This time, I would definitely claim the head of a famous warrior!