Chapter 26

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation

Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

A small troop of cavalrymen rode past rapidly, killing several Yellow Turban soldiers with sabers.

In the village, a robust Yellow Turban general was taking the lead as a group of Yellow Turban soldiers were setting fires, slaughtering people, and plundering the area. 

“Quick, before the officers arrive!”

The Yellow Turban soldiers were ransacking a village situated to the west of the battlefield. Suddenly, some soldiers that were guarding the village entrance hurried inside. “General, the officers are here!”

“Retreat!”

The Yellow Turban general with knife scars on his face, Zhang Kai, quickly left the village with his troop.

The clattering of horses’ hooves sounded, the Yellow Turban soldiers in the vicinity quaking with terror.

The officers were of higher grades than they were. The Yellow Turban soldiers lost the battle with the Xu Prefecture’s Army, but the guardians of Langya, Zang Ba, and Sun Guan were still hunting them down.

An arrow shot forth, a Yellow Turban soldier beside Zhang Kai collapsed, intensifying the terror.

Having no desire to continue fighting, the Yellow Turban soldiers ran off, all helter-skelter. There were only a dozen Yellow Turban soldiers left by Zhang Kai’s side by now, as he fled the village in a wretched state.

Chu Tian sat on the back of a horse from afar, looking on in indifference as the Yellow Turban soldiers escaped the village.

Among the Yellow Turban soldiers, the general who had knife scars and was injured was most probably the great general of Xu Prefecture’s Yellow Turban division, Zhang Kai.

He dispatched ten cavalrymen to set the village entrance on fire, creating the illusion of officers arriving. The purpose of creating such havoc was to lure the prey out of its habitat.

“Hua Mulan, are you confident?”

Chu Tian wasn’t certain if Hua Mulan’s current rank would be capable of killing Zhang Kai amidst the usurpers either. If they were of the same grade, it sure wouldn’t be a problem. However, considering that Eastern Han made it a point to protect the commanders and advisors of the Three Kingdoms, their initial grades were high to begin with. Otherwise, the commanders and advisors from other dynasties would be able to overthrow non-overbearing officials like Kong Rong and Zhang Lu.

“I will give it a try.”

Hua Mulan unsheathed her sharp Han-style blade, initiating an assault by charging toward Zhang Kai.

“We’ll cover for you!”

Chu Tian and the ten remaining light cavalrymen seized their bows and fit arrows into them. One after another, 11 arrows were released.

“That fellow Zang Ba is here for us?!” Zhang Kai could not help but ask in horror when he heard the clattering of hooves.

A horse charged forward, a female commander holding her sharp Han knife high above her head. She killed three to four Yellow Turban soldiers in a row, then pounced onto Zhang Kai!

Zhang Kai turned pale with fright. He dodged Hua Mulan’s Han knife with a machete!

Two sharp blades collided, sending sparks flying everywhere!

Hua Mulan rode her horse, looking down upon him in a condescending manner, while Zhang Kai ran for his life in a haste. Without a horse, he was on the losing side, struggling to hang in there.

His arms were still shuddering after dodging the blade from Hua Mulan! Hua Mulan’s strength was greater than his!

“Tao Qian can’t have commanders like you under him! Who are you?!”

Not only was Zhang Kai’s strength inferior to that of Hua Mulan’s, he had also been wounded in the battle with Zang Ba’s Langya Army. All he could do at the moment was passively defend himself.

Hua Mulan answered coldly, “Commander of Xia Village’s infantry, Hua Mulan.”

“Idiots, come and help me! This woman is really strong!”

Zhang Kai summoned the Yellow Turban soldiers around him. There were even Grade 3 Yellow Turban leaders, with tall, burly builds and long knives in hand.

A dozen Yellow Turban soldiers and leaders beleaguered Hua Mulan.

Ordinary Yellow Turban soldiers posed almost no threat to Hua Mulan, but the settings of Yellow Turban leaders were those of genuine Grade 3 infantrymen, which could cause disturbance to Hua Mulan’s attack. If they gathered in big numbers, they could even kill royal commanders.

“Cao Bao, Governor of Xu Prefecture, is here! Kill all Yellow Turbans!”

Chu Tian, who only had a little 20 over points in strength, could only use Tao Qian as a pretext. He pretended to be Tao Qian’s subordinate, Cao Bao, to launch the attack.

“Xiapi’s officers are here too!”

“Run away now!”

Just as expected, apart from the dozen close guards who remained by Zhang Kai’s side, the other Yellow Turban soldiers and leaders, who had lost their spirits from the defeat, scampered in all directions.

Chu Tian shared Hua Mulan’s burden by aiding her with ten cavalrymen.

“Careful, master!”

A light cavalryman stood in front of Chu Tian, while the long knife in the hand of a Yellow Turban leader was striking down!

The light cavalryman resisted it with all his might because Hua Mulan’s reinforcement had some impact on blocking the Yellow Turban leader.

The ranks of these Yellow Turban leaders were very high, in fact. First, second, third… The light cavalrymen were being slaughtered by the high-grade Yellow Turban leaders!

Even horses died violent deaths when they were struck by the long knives!

Chu Tian felt his heart bleeding. A horse and a cavalryman cost a great deal of money. Although Hua Mulan seemed to effortlessly kill the Yellow Turban leaders, the light cavalrymen of Xia Village couldn’t do the same thing. 

The Yellow Turban leaders who were qualified for following Zhang Kai were elites amongst elites, their grades estimated to be around 50. Not only was it catastrophic to the Grade 20 light cavalrymen of Xia Village, it was a loss sustained in the presence of Hua Mulan’s reinforcement.

Ten light cavalrymen were killed by several Grade 3 Yellow Turban leaders. Chu Tian was in a very perilous situation.

Right at that moment, the ten light cavalrymen who had been setting fire to the village entrance hurried over, forming a barrier in front of Chu Tian, buying precious time for Hua Mulan.

“Hua Mulan, act fast!”

Chu Tian could only pin his hopes on Hua Mulan. Hua Mulan was the only from Xia Village who was capable of killing Zhang Kai.

“Ding! Congratulations, player. The royal commander Hua Mulan under your command has succeeded in killing the golden-level special hero from the Yellow Turban camp Zhang Kai (Grade 70). You have received 1000 points!”

The system ringtone sounded after twelve light cavalrymen from Xia Village were killed. Hua Mulan had finished off the Grade 70 Zhang Kai for real!

“Killing a historical Yellow Turban commander can actually bring about 1000 points! This is unbelievable!”

Chu Tian didn’t know what killing a Grade 70 Yellow Turban general meant in the early stages yet. Firstly, one had to own a special hero with adequately high strength value. Secondly, the Yellow Turban general could not have too many soldiers in his surroundings.

All in all, in the hundred-mile long-range raid that had occurred this time, neither luck nor capabilities was dispensable.

Once Zhang Kai was killed, the remaining Yellow Turban soldiers and leaders had no choice but to flee in the face of terrible defeat.

Chu Tian managed to fish out two construction drawings from Zhang Kai’s dead body, even taking Zhang Kai’s weapons. As for the armor, it had been destroyed by Hua Mulan.

Deciding not to examine the attributes of the drawings yet, Chu Tian shoved them into his pocket.

Apart from drawings and weapons, there was also a skill book and 20 taels of gold.

Zhang Kai probably thought carrying too much gold would slow him down. Otherwise, Chu Tian would never believe a Yellow Turban general only possessed 20 taels of gold.

He managed to rummage some more gains and profits from the dead bodies of the other Yellow Turban soldiers and leaders as well, but Chu Tian didn’t want to linger any longer. Hua Mulan had been injured due to bypassing grades to kill Zhang Kai.

It was said that Zhang Kai had started out with 20,000 Yellow Turban soldiers. He had lost several thousands in the great battle with Zang Ba, so there must have been approximately 10,000 more Yellow Turban soldiers running for their lives in this vicinity.

“What a pity… Let us retreat!”

When Chu Tian came forth to raid, he had brought 20 cavalrymen, now leaving with 8. Despite his heartache, he had no choice but to retreat, the morale of the eight remaining soldiers having declined to 30 points already. If the fight continued, they would collapse soon.

In the first ever raid run by the cavalry of Xia Village, the death rate was as high as 60%!

However, the loss was worthwhile. On the way back to Xia Village, he found out that he was first place in the ranking.

Top 1, “I Just Want to Farm” from Xu Prefecture, with a score of 2020.

Top 2, “Jiujiu Old Qin” from Guanzhong, with a score of 1299.

Top 3, “Soldier at the Border in Late Ming”, with a score of 1234.

…