Madmen in the Rear (1)
At that moment, in the Cao army camp.
He had thought from the start that the battle would drag on. But he hadn't imagined it would stretch out this long.
"Dao Kui's resistance is fiercer than expected."
"Even Dao Kui's forces number in the tens of thousands, and now Xuzhou's civilians have flooded into the city to hold out with them. It's no easy siege."
Dao Kui was fighting better than anticipated—proving his dominance over Xuzhou, or perhaps the shady networks he'd absorbed from bandit gangs. Facing the Cao army head-on, he was giving a textbook demonstration of a desperate last stand.
"Let's just scale the walls. Lead with infantry and push forward."
"How about hitting the relatively narrow north gate? Carve pillars for the men to carry and ram it down."
"Why not the south gate instead? The north gate doesn't have room for a large force to pour in. The south is wider by comparison."
The generals offered their ideas, debating in earnest how to crack Xuzhou City. Most favored striking the west gate facing the Cao camp directly, though some argued for swinging around to envelop from south or north. But everyone agreed on one thing: they needed to seize it as fast as possible.
"Lady Xun You, even if Xun Yu sent those letters to the other factions, can we be sure they won't hit us from behind?"
"It'll take at least a year. With his mother murdered, hitting us now would make them the scum of the earth."
"Lady Xun You, you've got a sharp tongue lately... You sulking over that failed north gate maneuver?"
"It's not that."
The generals' opinions refused to converge.
"We were this close to breaching the north gate. If not for those lunatics popping out of nowhere..."
"Who'd have thought reinforcements from some madman."
"Simple—Gongsun Zan is our enemy now too."
"We can think all we want, but it has made taking Xuzhou that much harder."
No matter the tactic, Xuzhou held firm. Various reasons, but the one grating most on the Cao army was...
"Report! Five hundred cavalry just charged out the south gate!"
"...Them again?"
Cao Cao, seated at the head, clutched her head and gnashed her teeth.
"Capture them alive, somehow."
"Understood!"
"Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Yu Jin, Li Dian! All of you, respond! No—Akrai, you're going too!"
"Me too?"
"Especially you!"
At Cao Cao's shout, the generals mounted up and galloped toward the enemy.
"Each general has a hundred cavalry attached. With the vanguard joining, we'll win this time for sure."
"This time, huh..."
Cao Cao ground her teeth, eyes locked on the cavalry's path.
The south gate.
Waaaaah—!! Kill the butcher Cao Cao—!!
Like a raiding detachment, the five hundred cavalry kicked up dust clouds, aiming to strike the Cao army's rear.
"Guo Jia! The moment our cavalry clashes, send in infantry. Throw chains and snag those maniacs!"
Attacking a tens-of-thousands-strong army's rear with a mere five hundred was absurd on its face, yet Cao Cao committed over a thousand elite cavalry led by her top generals. Overkill? Hardly—the enemy was no joke.
"You! Know your place, you horse archer scum!"
"Still calling me a horse archer? Fool. But..."
Clang!
"I killed Hua Xiong—what have you done?"
"You bastard!"
"Calm down, Miaocai! You—I'll shave that beard in one stroke!"
Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren swung at the long-bearded man together.
Kaaaaang!!
"Kuhaha! Your brother Zhang Fei is here! Hey, don't send small fry—bring the heavy hitters!"
"Hmph!"
"Guh, well now! Hey, you're done—stay down!"
"You bandit-looking mutt!!"
Le Jin slashed beside Dian Wei's swinging axe.
"You're Liu Bei! Tch, never heard Liu Bei used a spear?!"
"I'm not Lord Liu Bei."
"Then who?!"
"I am...!!"
Humiliatingly, Cao forces had two generals per enemy commander. Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren on the long-bearded man. Yu Jin and Dian Wei on the tiger-like brute. Cao Hong and Li Dian grappling the handsome, sharp-featured youth in what wasn't quite a duel.
"Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei...!"
"One isn't Liu Bei."
"Damn it, then who?!"
"Li Dian's report: he calls himself Zhao Zilong of Changshan."
"Damn...!"
Cao Cao gnashed her teeth as her generals barely held off the foes.
"Should've brought Yuanrang too...?"
"No slight to Lord Xiahou Dun, but it wouldn't change much."
The Cao army boasted solid fighters. But ranked across the realm, they weren't top-tier finger-count elites.
"Our warriors aren't weak, right?"
"Adequate, I'd say. Stronger since Lord Dian Wei joined."
"...Then what the hell are those guys?"
"They're the mad ones."
Of all things, enemies on par with Lü Bu—three of them, no less.
"Damn, driving me insane. Liu Bei's always had them, but where does he find these near-Lü Bu-level sworn brothers?"
Cao Cao was genuinely aggrieved.
"Hulao Pass was maddening enough, and now another near-Lü Bu shows up. Is that big-eared bastard Han Gaozu reborn or something? Collecting one-man-army generals like stray cats!"
"Don't say that in front of the generals fighting right now."
"I know! But it's still infuriating. What's so special about that big-eared oaf that these powerhouses stick to him? If he were a beauty like me, sure."
Cao Cao's sigh deepened.
The five hundred from the south gate were Gongsun Zan's reinforcements, each leader worth ten thousand men.
"Damn. Can't let this drag. What now?"
"Spread false rumors about Gongsun Zan's army? Say Liu Bei brought reinforcements to squat in Xuzhou and claim it."
"Paint him as a traitor? Good, but it'll take too long."
Cao Cao bit her nails, grinding her teeth.
"We've set everything up perfectly to take Xuzhou..."
"...My lord."
Guo Jia called softly, shaking her head.
"Maybe hide your true feelings a bit..."
"What?"
"Considering retreat?"
"......"
Cao Cao propped her chin on one hand, biting her lip.
"One retreat was bad enough—another now, and what will the world think of Cao Mengde?"
"That Dao Kui's formidable."
"You know that's not it. They'll call Cao Mengde incompetent. Sigh, we can't let it drag like this..."
"Big trouble!"
Xun You rushed in, panting hard. The ever-composed woman looked frantic, breathing raggedly. Cao Cao swallowed and straightened her expression.
"Wh-what is it?"
"Puyang's in danger! No—the whole front!"
"...Damn that Yuan Shao. Finally stirring trouble."
Cao Cao covered her face with one hand.
"He observed mourning for his foster father who died when he was ten—how does he backstab over family revenge now? Heartless bastard! No human decency at all!"
"It's not Yuan Shao."
Xun You continued with a sigh.
"Lü Bu has appeared."
"Retreat!! Fall back!!"
At Xiahou Dun's roar, the soldiers scrambled out the gates.
"I'll have my revenge! Lü Bu!!"
Blood streaming from his head, Xiahou Dun shook his fist at the city—then bolted south without another word.
Lü Bu nocked an arrow at him, then smirked and lowered the bow.
"Tail between his legs."
"General Lü, you must shoot."
The woman beside him, Chen Gong, pressed him. Lü Bu shook his head, but she glared, refusing to budge until he fired.
"Tch."
Twang—bang!
Lü Bu loosed. The arrow nailed the Cao banner Xiahou Dun had barely snatched up.
"General!!"
"A defeated commander fleeing with the banner, only to lose it too. Worse than death."
Crunch!
"We've taken Puyang. Isn't that enough?"
"He's core to Cao Cao's army. Send cavalry now and finish him."
"Uh, Chen Gong. He was our ally once..."
A tent attendant glanced nervously.
"True. Too ruthless is no virtue. You called Cao Cao the maddest bitch in the realm, yet now you want to crush her mercilessly."
"That's..."
Chen Gong trailed off with a sigh.
"...Understood. Pursuing later, then. They'll flee to Xuzhou anyway. If Dao Kui hasn't fallen, we link up, pinch from east and west, and crush them."
"Right. ...Whew."
Whoosh.
Blood-scented wind brushed Lü Bu's face.
"Gosun!"
"Yes."
"Tell General Han: Imperial Edict received—the Inspector of Chenliu, Lü Bu, rises against Cao Cao's atrocities slaughtering His Majesty's subjects in Xuzhou."
"Understood."
Lü Bu shrugged at Chen Gong.
"That work?"
"...Yes. For now."
Chen Gong turned south.
"Time to seize other spots too."
"No worries there. Liao's on it."
Lü Bu yawned, tapping his Sky Piercer on the ground.
"This fight's so boring, feels like I'm not even fighting."
"......."
Moments later, Lü banners fluttered over Puyang.
"Damn, what do we do?"
Cao Cao was on edge. News arriving this late meant Puyang—and likely elsewhere—had fallen.
"Damn, of all the mad dogs—"
Clop clop clop.
Suddenly, a horse charged madly toward them. Warriors screened off Cao generals, escorting it.
"Argh!"
"Wh-what?!"
Soldiers rushed to block the rider, but he leaped down swiftly—
"Lady Cao!!!"
And knelt on one knee before her.
"Sister, your brother Hyun-deok begs you! Please withdraw the army!"
"........"
Cao Cao barely suppressed her rising smirk.