C344

The person bringing the three thousand people to guard the outside of the forest was a Academy Officer called Zhu Wen, who had followed Liu Bei since long ago. This person's ability was mediocre, but he had the advantage of loyalty, and Liu Bei originally did not have many people who could use it, thus Zhu Wen had the chance to command 3000 people.

Zhu Wen was usually calm and did not complain about this task, but he felt that there was no need to be cautious. As a result, he did not interfere with his subordinates resting on the ground, and even found a blanket to spread on the ground.

When the sound of horse hooves rang out, Zhu Wen thought that it was Academy Officer Chu Fei who had failed and returned, so he did not give any reaction. Not only Zhu Wen was like that, other soldiers were the same. Some of them even teased him on whether Academy Officer Chu would return empty-handed.

However, Zhu Wen quickly sensed that something was amiss, the sudden sounds of horse hooves were so oppressive and dense, it was not something that a few hundred war horses could produce, there were at least three to four thousand people! Xuzhou Army and his cavalry had lost a lot, but they did not have that many. There could not be any other forces within a hundred miles, so the identity of the mounted soldiers rushing over was obvious!

"Enemy attack!" Hurry and form a defensive formation by relying on the trees! "

Most of the Xuzhou Army's soldiers also noticed that something was amiss, under Zhu Wen's heart-wrenching shouts, they stood up in a mess, and started to gather together. These three thousand men were not the elites of the Xuzhou Army, and in the chaos of the night, one could imagine the speed at which they were gathered. When the large group of enemy cavalry was dozens of steps away, only a few hundred of them had gathered in an irregular square formation, fearfully facing the four thousand plus cavalry of Youzhou who were rushing over like lightning.

Zhu Wen spurred his horse and rushed to the front of the troop, his hands holding onto the spear were trembling slightly, his heart was ice-cold, not to mention that his subordinates had not finished assembling, even if they had enough time to build a defensive line, they would not be able to hold on for long under the powerful charge of the opponent. If it were any other person, they would have thought of how to escape, but Zhu Wen was thinking that even if he were to die in battle, he would not disappoint his lord's trust!

The sounds of horses galloping were like tides, like thunder. It struck right into the hearts of every soldier of Xuzhou Army, bringing them a huge amount of pressure. It was one thing for the people blocking in front with Zhu Wen, but the majority of the people were secretly running towards the forest, as the enemy cavalry could not rush into the forest, moreover, their lord's army was inside, as long as they escaped into the middle of the army, how could the enemy cavalry be afraid of them!

Zhu Wen also noticed that most of his men were running towards the forest, but he did not give the order to stop them. Under such a chaotic situation, no matter how strong he was, it was impossible for him to stop them. Seeing that the enemy cavalry was already 40 to 50 steps away, he gritted his teeth, shouted loudly and raised his spear, charging forward. He didn't have much confidence in himself, he didn't know that when the enemy officially launched their assault, he would still have the courage to go up and fight back, so he took the initiative to launch a decisive charge while his will was still firm.

There were only around 600 to 700 people following closely behind Zhu Wen, they roared loudly and raised their weapons to rush forward, without a doubt, these people were the bravest soldiers of the Xuzhou Army, they were obviously looking to die, but they still chose to fight bravely instead of running!

Gongsun Zan rushed to the front as usual, the Fine Steel Spear in his hand released a faint cold light under the moonlight, making people's hearts tremble.

Two steps behind Gongsun Zan, a sturdy man with a large waist brandished a large banner called "Gong Sun", and flew wildly in the wind as his war horse galloped.

Following closely behind was a forest of pikes. Thousands of The Steel Cavalry of Youzhou s held onto pikes and spears, running as steadily as Mt. Compared to the White Horse Camp Cavalry, the cavalry under Gongsun Zan's command liked to use long weapons when they were charging. With the help of the wild charging force of the warhorses, the riders on the horses did not even need to use their full strength. As long as they could point their spears at the enemy and kill them, the enemy would not be able to escape.

Zhu Wen took the lead and met Gongsun Zan very quickly. He did not know that the person in front of him was the famous Marquis Jin, so he was not afraid at all. When the two sides were about three meters apart, he let out a loud shout, and thrusted straight towards Gongsun Zan's chest! This spear strike was not fancy, its speed and strength were good, it could be said to have reached Zhu Wen's peak level, after one move, he let out a cry in his heart, and then waited for his opponent to be sent flying by his spear!

Clang! Gongsun Zan used the Fine Steel Spear as a pole, smashing Zhu Wen's spear right into Zhu Wen's head.

Crack! In the next moment, Zhu Wen's spear suddenly broke from behind the tip of the spear.

Gongsun Zan's long spear did not slow down at all, with a bang, it fiercely struck Zhu Wen's left shoulder!

The powerful force directly smashed Zhu Wen's body into pieces, he directly flew out of the battle horse, blood spewing out of his mouth like a broken string, before he even landed on the ground, he was completely dead.

Gongsun Zan used his spear, without even looking at Zhu Wen, he galloped over and trampled on the latter's corpse, and like a ferocious tiger, he rushed into the group in front of him, the spear in his hand pierced out continuously, and all the people who were in his way died. With just his spear, Gongsun Zan was like a sharp blade slicing through cheese, easily piercing through the formation of hundreds of people in front of him.

The large troop of cavalry behind them followed closely behind. The hundreds of Xuzhou Army soldiers who were charging over were like a splash that hit a strong reef. In the blink of an eye, they were completely drowned by the hooves of the horses.

In just a few dozen breaths of time, Gongsun Zan had brought a large group of people to rush to the edge of the forest to defeat the enemy.

"Fire!" Looking at the Xuzhou Army soldiers who were running into the forest, Gongsun Zan ordered coldly.

Each of the thousand men in the middle of the group was carrying several torches. Then, they heard the sound and quickly lit the torches with a fire piston, throwing them one by one into the dense forest in front of them. The torches were like numerous fire snakes, darting into the dense forest. Despite the light rain, there were too many torches and too many dead branches and leaves on the ground. The fire soon started and spread into the forest with the help of the wind.

Gongsun Zan looked at the rapidly spreading flames in front of him, and the corner of his mouth curled into a cold smile. He shouted, "One thousand men, patrol around the area, kill the enemy troops that have escaped!"

A few Academy Officer s quickly led their subordinates and left the large group, respectively circling the forest and rushing forward.

When Gongsun Zan's men rushed over, Liu Bei had already led the group deeper into the forest for three to four miles. When he heard the thunderous sound of the horses' hooves, he was extremely shocked, and in the blink of an eye, he understood that the incoming group of cavalry was definitely the group that Gongsun Zan had left in the camp! However, he was puzzled as to how that cavalry soldier had found his way here in the dark. Suddenly, his face changed. He finally knew that he had made an unforgivable mistake — This large troop of cavalry must have gathered with Gongsun Zan at Clear Water Village! Those extra hoof prints were not only limited to a few hundred horses. Gongsun Zan must have purposely ordered his subordinates to march in a narrow line, which was why the thousands of horses only had a few hundred hoof prints on them!

But even if he knew that he had been tricked, Liu Bei was still confident, because he had already made a plan a long time ago. He was eager for Gongsun Zan to rush into the forest and kill him, so he only ordered him to turn around and rush back to defend. However, when the edge of the forest quickly ignited into a big fire, his expression immediately changed, cursing Gongsun Zan to be so vicious and shameless, and actually using such a vicious method to set the mountain ablaze.

Just then, the escaping soldiers under Zhu Wen's command had already rushed to the vicinity of Liu Bei, and started to shout out loud when they saw him.

"My lord!" Zhu Wen Academy Officer has died in battle, our brothers have suffered heavy casualties! "

"The enemy has set a fire at the edge of the forest. The fire is so strong that we can't get out!"

"My lord!" "The enemy troops have split up and are patrolling the perimeter of the forest."

"Shut up! If there are any more noise, we will kill them all! " Liu Bei roared, and the surrounding people quickly settled down. He looked at the fire and estimated that it would burn to this place in another two incense sticks worth of time. If he didn't make a decision soon, the entire army of 10,000 would probably be buried in a sea of fire! What's the use of killing Gongsun Zan by then?

He grabbed the guide and sternly shouted, "If we go straight ahead, how long will it take us to get out of the forest?"

"My lord, if we go straight forward, it will take us roughly two hours to pass through this forest. However, if we go forward, there is no path. There is a small river about four or five miles away, which should be able to cut off the fire."

Without waiting for the guide to finish speaking, Liu Bei pushed him away and bellowed: "All of you, run forward!"

The surrounding Xuzhou Army warriors had long been scared witless by the huge fire. When they heard Liu Bei's orders, they all rushed forward. The further they went into the forest, the denser it became. There were all sorts of weeds, dead branches, and vines, and if they weren't careful, they would stumble and fall. Those unfortunate people who fell to the ground didn't even have the time to stand up before they were stepped on by countless pairs of big feet from behind.

Liu Bei was surrounded by thirty to forty guards. In front of him, there were dozens of sturdy men brandishing ring head knife s to clear the way, although they were staggering, they did not fall and were able to pass through the forest smoothly. As he cursed in a low voice, he hoped that the backup he had arranged for would appear in time. As long as they rushed over in time, Gongsun Zan, who had already separated, would become a turtle in a jar!

At this time, two and a half kilometers away from Liu Bei, Qi Qing and the other scouts camp soldiers were staring coldly at the enemy troops who were rushing towards them. In front of them were piles of dead branches and fallen leaves, and a few soldiers had already lit a fire.

"Light the fire!" When the large group of enemies reached a distance of a few hundred steps, Qi Qing gave out his order coldly.