Chen Gong led two thousand soldiers hiding in the tall grass. If it weren't for the large expanse of reeds, Chen Gong wouldn't have chosen this place for an ambush.
"General Cao, you have sharp eyes. If you see any sign of fire, inform me immediately," Chen Gong said to Cao Xing, who was crouching beside him. The biggest fear when hiding in a reed field is being set on fire. But with no time to dig trenches, this was the only place suitable for an ambush, so Chen Gong had no choice but to hide his troops here.
"Burn, burn, burn! Set the whole place ablaze! Even if Chen Gongtai is cautious, this time I'll make sure to disgust him!" Guo Jia excitedly waved a torch in broad daylight. For strategists, setting fires had become a common tactic.
A large number of torches were thrown into the reeds, and suddenly, a strong wind arose. Guo Jia grinned; as long as his opponent wasn't someone like Chen Xi or Xun Yu, there was no pressure.
"The wind is picking up?" Chen Gong's face showed a strange expression as he crouched in the reeds. Suddenly, he realized the danger and immediately tried to reverse the wind direction with his mental energy. He had already spotted the flames.
"Retreat! Break out and prepare to attack!" Chen Gong shouted. But his western wind couldn't overpower the eastern wind. Guo Jia had prepared in advance, and even if Chen Gong wanted to change the weather, it would be extremely difficult to do so in a short time.
By the time Chen Gong emerged from the smoke and flames, Chen Chi had already led the army forward. Unlike Guan Yu or Zhang Fei, who personally led their troops with swift and aggressive moves, Chen Chi's army advanced steadily, not with speed but with an unstoppable force.
"Archers, prepare to fire!" Chen Chi signaled. The advancing army halted, and the archers in the center drew their bows, aiming at the enemy.
"Shield-bearers, tilt! Spears down!" Chen Chi continued to command. The army transformed into a bristling formation, with rows of swords, spears, and long pikes forming a dense wall, advancing in unison.
A barrage of arrows rained down on Chen Gong and Cao Xing, who were already wounded and struggling after the smoke and fire. They had hoped to ambush Guo Jia but found themselves on the receiving end instead.
"How do you like my spear formation, Chen Gongtai?" Guo Jia laughed loudly.
Chen Gong's face darkened. Being taunted by Guo Jia while in such a dire situation made him furious. "Guo Fengxiao, aren't you afraid that by advancing so slowly, Guan Yun and Zhang Yide might already be dead by the time you arrive?"
"I don't know if they'll be dead, but I do know that if you don't run, you'll be a dead man soon!" Guo Jia replied with a smug grin, snapping his wooden fan shut.
"Fire!" Chen Chi shouted. The archers behind the spear formation rose and fired a volley at Chen Gong's position.
Fortunately, Cao Xing, an expert archer, was able to deflect most of the incoming arrows with his spear, but both he and Chen Gong were still struck by several arrows.
"Zhou Cang, lead your troops and capture Chen Gong and Cao Xing!" Chen Chi ordered the only general at his disposal, Zhou Cang.
"Yes, sir!" Zhou Cang hefted his massive blade and charged with five hundred soldiers toward Cao Xing, while other units moved in from both sides to encircle Chen Gong and Cao Xing.
"Retreat! There's no point in staying here if the enemy is this well-prepared," Chen Gong said, glancing in Guo Jia's direction before turning his horse around. The situation was far from what he had anticipated. Originally, he had hoped to capture the enemy, but that was now impossible.
Cao Xing nodded, drew his bow, and fired an arrow at Zhou Cang. Though Zhou Cang dodged as best he could, the arrow still grazed him, inflicting only a minor wound.
"All units, halt! Move westward at full speed!" Chen Chi ordered, abandoning the pursuit. His goal was to rescue his comrades, not to chase down Chen Gong. Besides, given Chen Gong's command skills, there was always the possibility of hidden traps.
Meanwhile, Guan Yu's central forces were holding off Lu Bu's relentless assault. Thankfully, Guo Jia's worst fears hadn't come to pass. It seemed that Guan Yu had never truly considered Lu Bu as a formidable opponent, as no sane person would willingly engage such a monster in combat.
Thanks to his army-wide morale boost and the suppression of internal energy by the cloud energy, Guan Yu was barely managing to hold the center against Lu Bu's wolf cavalry. Even though Lu Bu couldn't use his internal energy, Guan Yu still hadn't gained any real advantage. At best, he had managed to avoid injury in a few exchanges.
The suppression of internal energy had diminished Lu Bu's power by nine-tenths. What was once a thousand points of combat strength was now just a hundred. Similarly, Guan Yu's own seven or eight hundred points of strength were reduced to seventy or eighty. Under these circumstances, both sides were limited by their physical capabilities, though Lu Bu still held a slight advantage. Even so, it would take him a hundred moves to defeat Guan Yu.
Because of this, Guan Yu had the ability to counterattack and push back against Lu Bu's charge. Otherwise, if no one could stop Lu Bu, his repeated charges would soon cause the entire army to collapse.
However, despite holding off Lu Bu, the situation was still dire for Guan Yu's army. When Lu Bu had first charged in before the cloud energy was fully activated, he had shattered the central defense line, and it was only thanks to Guan Yu's desperate efforts and the gradual activation of the cloud energy that they managed to stabilize the situation. Otherwise, Lu Bu would have led his wolf cavalry to break through the center entirely.
If it were only Lu Bu, it wouldn't be as bad. But the real threat to Guan Yu's army came from Zhang Liao and Hao Meng, who led two wolf cavalry units. The left and right flanks had been pierced by the fearsome assault of the trapped camp, and even with Xu Chu and Jiang Gong leading their elite troops to hold the line, they could only barely stabilize the defensive perimeter.
Just moments earlier, Zhang Liao had realized that Xu Chu and his Tiger Guards were a tough nut to crack. He decisively used the speed of the wolf cavalry and the ferocity of the trapped camp to make quick, unpredictable maneuvers, causing the left and right flanks to waver. Xu Chu and Jiang Gong were left scrambling, trying to keep up with Zhang Liao and Hao Meng's relentless attacks.
Guan Yu cleaved down a wolf cavalry soldier, his once-pristine cloak now soaked in blood. He knew all too well that if either flank crumbled, the entire army might soon follow.