Mythical Three Kingdoms

With a single strike, the command banner was cut down, Pang De’s roar echoed across the land, plunging the Miscellaneous Hun army into further chaos. His elite cavalry, morale high, launched an attack against the Miscellaneous Huns. In this chaotic situation, there was no need for the previous caution.

The commander was dead, the command banner broken, and with no leadership, the Organizational Power of the Miscellaneous Huns completely collapsed, leaving them without any Combat Power, allowing Pang De to rapidly drive them into disarray.

To quickly and completely collapse the Miscellaneous Huns, Pang De’s elite cavalry split into more than a dozen groups, each pursuing a force ten times its size in Miscellaneous Huns. However, in this situation, the Miscellaneous Huns did not even dare to look back, let alone organize a rear guard.

But after all, it was an army of tens of thousands of Miscellaneous Huns. Although Pang De routed them, forcing a complete fragmentation and flight would take some time. Fortunately, the organizational structure of the Miscellaneous Huns had collapsed, leaving them unable to withstand Pang De’s onslaught.

”Quickly slay the Bai Fu among the Miscellaneous Huns! Do not get entangled. If any Miscellaneous Huns attempt to regroup and counterattack, rain down arrows to annihilate them!” Pang De commanded his soldiers as he pursued one of the routes.

Given the overwhelming numerical disadvantage Pang De faced, he realized that unless the Miscellaneous Huns were scattered completely, they might eventually regroup after noticing no one was pursuing them.

If that happened, once the Northern Huns appeared, it wouldn’t take long to raise another Miscellaneous Hun army. The biggest issue with ancient warfare was that more enemies escaped than were killed. For the Miscellaneous Huns on the plains, without food, not returning was akin to seeking death.

Of course, this was also because Pang De’s forces were too limited, and time was pressing, otherwise, the most appropriate approach would have been to simultaneously pursue and capitulate. Unfortunately, Pang De had no time to take in captives; he still needed to rescue Zhang Xiu!

Therefore, the only option for Pang De was to scatter the Miscellaneous Huns as far and wide as possible. Even if it didn’t achieve much else, it might buy some time, and perhaps with some luck, the Miscellaneous Huns might encounter prairie wolves...

Okay, the last part was a joke. In any case, Pang De tried to scatter the Miscellaneous Huns as widely as possible, making it difficult for the Northern Huns to gather the fleeing soldiers easily. Perhaps, after winning the battle decisively, his army could even arrive in time to capture prisoners.

Weakening the enemy while strengthening one’s own forces was a positive outcome no matter how you looked at it. As for why capturing Miscellaneous Hun prisoners would strengthen their forces, it wasn’t because Pang De would incorporate them into his own army.

In truth, Han Dynasty’s true elites rarely mixed with the Miscellaneous Huns; they were pure Han Army. The so-called strengthening of one’s own forces was, in fact, trading in population, as Chen Xi offered clear prices for foreign populations, something known to all the major aristocratic families.

Even Cao Cao sold to Chen Xi; no matter how exploitative the price, who wouldn’t seize a no-cost opportunity? At most, they would complain about Chen Xi’s black price after receiving payment, but before selling, everyone was satisfied with making money.

Just as Pang De achieved a major victory over the Miscellaneous Hun infantry, Ma Chao and Sun Ce also arrived with their forces dozens of miles north of the Yan Great Wall. Logically, they should have arrived earlier, but Sun Ce was both drilling soldiers and looking for opponents, which caused delays.

However, they weren’t too late. Unlike Cao Cao and Liu Bei, who had clear objectives, Jia Kui and others, although wise, could only infer that the battlefield might be near the Yan Great Wall without any intel, which was already quite remarkable.

Moreover, Sun Ce’s willingness to listen to Jia Kui’s advice pleased Jia Kui greatly. Although Sun Ce and Ma Chao seemed like muscle-headed individuals, the difference was Sun Ce could actually heed suggestions…

”Jun Yi, you said the Hu People use eagles for scouting?” Sun Ce asked Zhang He while digging his ear, looking up to see any eagles in the sky.

”Yes, so whenever you see eagles on the prairie, regardless of whether they’re wild, take them down first. However, because eagles possess Spirituality, like the ferocious tigers in the mountains, they all possess Inner Qi; their flying speed is terrifying,” Zhang He explained to Sun Ce.

Although Ma Chao was also from the North, eagle scouting wasn’t a trend among the Qiang people, so he was unaware that eagles could be used for reconnaissance.

”Oh, later let’s see if we can find a few eagles to train for scouting,” Sun Ce said with a wild idea. ”But Jun Yi, why are you looking for Cao Mengde?”

Zhang He looked at Sun Ce speechlessly, feeling conflicted. After Jicheng was captured by Liu Bei, Zhang He had paid his respects to Yuan Tan and explained everything before planning to leave.

Yuan Tan did not stop Zhang He. Honestly, if the Yuan Family hadn’t been important to Yuan Tan, he wouldn’t have stayed in Jicheng, waiting for Liu Bei’s decision.

Zhang He wanted to leave, seeking revenge for Yuan Shao. With enlightened understanding, Yuan Tan only replied to Zhang He, ”Loyalty is commendable, but the tide of the times is overwhelming.”

Zhang He responded, ”The world is difficult, but should that cloud my loyalty?”

Yuan Tan said nothing more, allowing Zhang He passage, even providing Gao Lan’s Great Halberdier remnants with armor and horses. At that time, Jia Xu had just taken over Jicheng, and Yuan Tan still had some remaining strength, so escorting Zhang He out of the city was not difficult.

After leaving, Zhang He naturally traveled west, intending to join Cao Cao. Along the way, he encountered many Miscellaneous Huns, but with two thousand elite cavalry, as long as they didn’t encounter a Military Spirit Legion or large-scale cavalry, breaking through posed no issues.

Plus, Zhang He had made breakthroughs during the battles at Jundu Mountain and Jicheng. He had engaged the Military Spirit Legion without perishing and had gained deeper insights into the usage of his Legion Talent. One might say that aside from his injuries, he was at his peak.

However, before Zhang He could reach Bingzhou, he ran into Sun Ce, whose first reaction was assuming a Han Army deserter was trying to flee, and so he immediately tried to stop Zhang He.

Fortunately, Zhang He’s prowess was decent and he quickly clarified his identity. Yet, Ma Chao and Sun Ce had encountered no masters along the way and were itching for a fight. Despite Zhang He’s prowess, against two restless youths at the Ultimate Inner Qi Manifestation and still in their prime, he was soundly beaten.

After the fight, Zhang He’s forces were naturally seized by Sun Ce. Of course, part of it was that Zhang He, plagued by depression, was somewhat persuaded by Sun Ce, yielding with some resistance. Additionally, Zhang He confessed feeling aggrieved losing to the Northern Huns and desired a rematch.

Naturally, Sun Ce asked Zhang He to guide them towards Jia Kui’s estimated position near the Yan Great Wall. Before encountering the Han Army, Sun Ce and Ma Chao, two restless youths, rode onto a hill and came face-to-face with a group of Miscellaneous Huns on an adjacent hill!