Chapter 84: A Sinister Glint Approaches

After driving Niu Fu back, Chen Cong returned to stand before Gongsun Zan.

“General of the White Horse, please hold the position at Hukou with your troops. Leave the relief to us.”

Compared to Niu Fu’s Flying Bear cavalry, the threat posed by Li Jue’s nearly ten thousand iron-clad riders was far greater. The former was like tigers led by a sheep, the latter a pack of wolves under their fiercest leader. Moreover, Li Jue was on the must-kill list—how could Chen Cong let such an opportunity slip away?

Gongsun Zan pondered for a moment and said, “I will send my cousin Gongsun Yue with two thousand White Horse Volunteers to aid you.”

Chen Cong refused firmly. “No need for such trouble. Give me five hundred of your fiercest White Horse riders, and victory is assured. General, you need only entrench yourself here at Hukou, conserve your strength, and wait for Li Jue’s rout.”

“Are you confident?”

“Naturally!” With thirteen men, they had already broken the Flying Bear formation. With an additional five hundred elite White Horse riders, it was Li Jue who should be trembling.

Soon, the five hundred White Horse Volunteers stood ready. Their lances gleamed, and they exuded an air of invincible might. Chen Cong rode before the ranks, surveying the men. Each was brimming with fighting spirit—there was no need to stir their morale; their reputation for valor was well deserved.

“To battle!”

Hooves thundered as the riders surged forward, disappearing into the endless night.

...

The fire spread, turning the camp into utter chaos. Routed soldiers scattered in all directions, crashing about like headless flies. Some, in their panic, swung their blades indiscriminately, slashing at friend and foe alike.

“Come back! Pick up your weapons! That’s an order!”

Cao Ren caught up to a dazed soldier, spun him around by the shoulder, and dealt him a heavy slap across the face, jolting some sense back into the man.

“T-t-the General…”

“Form ranks!”

“Yes, sir…”

The soldier agreed, but as soon as Cao Ren turned, he vanished without a trace. Cao Ren ground his teeth in frustration.

Unlike the tightly arranged Liang camp, the coalition’s encampment stretched for miles, with tents pitched for nearly ten li. In truth, the enemy had only managed to set a small portion of the front camp alight. After all, the main camp had been constructed on Dong Zhuo’s orders for a prolonged standoff at Hulao Gate; its materials far surpassed those of a temporary encampment. The main and secondary tents were built of stone, and even the lesser tents for the rank and file were coated with fireproof lime.

As a result, Li Jue’s arson was largely ineffective. However, the rout at the front camp spread panic; the screams and chaos swept through the middle and rear camps, making it impossible to reorganize the troops.

The battle was already lost. Cao Ren wanted to flee but dreaded becoming the butt of Chen Cong’s ridicule—deserting the camp without even attempting to defend it. Who knew what they’d say about him...

---

“You there! Stop!”

Cao Ren spotted another group of fleeing soldiers and quickly caught up to their leader, raising his hand to strike—only to pause awkwardly.

“Brother? Why are you dressed like this?”

Cao Cao stood before him, in rags and tatters, his eyebrows and beard smeared with mud. He had picked up a piece of leather armor somewhere, which was slashed open down the front. Looking behind him, Cao Ren was left speechless.

There stood Dong Bai, the maidservant, and the ten Chens—Chen One through Chen Ten. The whole group looked more like a rabble of defeated soldiers than anything else.

“Zixiao, what are you doing? The rout is complete; we can’t stop it. Best to shed our armor and flee back to Hulao to regroup.”

Cao Ren didn’t know what to say. You could call his elder brother shameless, yet even in flight he remembered to bring along the families of Chen Cong and Xu Chu. You could call him honorable, but for the mighty General Who Conquers the West to flee in such beggarly attire—he’d be a laughingstock if word got out.

“Brother, why not rally the troops and face the enemy?”

Cao Cao knocked the silver helmet from Cao Ren’s head, helped him remove his armor, and smeared mud over him.

“What nonsense. The soldiers are already demoralized; forcing them to regroup would only backfire, and we’d both be doomed. Better to let them flee. The good news is Hulao is right behind us; casualties won’t be too great.”

As he spoke, the thunder of hooves sounded behind them—Li Jue had arrived with his troops.

Cao Cao shielded his face with a sleeve and covertly kicked Cao Ren. Cao Ren understood at once, hunched his shoulders, and pointed randomly, “Don’t kill us! Yuan Shao ran that way!”

Li Jue, thinking these were panicked soldiers, was about to move on when something struck him as odd. Would a terrified soldier speak so fluently? And if they were that scared, wouldn’t they beg for their own lives, not “ours”? Moreover, that hunched figure behind the supposed soldier—why did it look so familiar? He remembered a certain sycophantic trickster who used just such a pose before the Grand Preceptor.

The horses approached slowly.

Cao Ren’s hand unconsciously tightened around his sword, the ten Chens readied themselves for battle. Dong Bai’s face was as pale as death, while the maid Xiaolian held Dong Bai’s hand tightly, glaring fiercely at Li Jue.

A sword lightly rested on Cao Cao’s shoulder.

Li Jue smiled. “Mengde, it’s been a long time—you’re not so grand now, are you?”

Cao Cao laughed loudly, then straightened and looked Li Jue in the eye. “I wouldn’t deign to exchange words with you.”

“Very well. If Mengde’s head is so precious, then I won’t stand on ceremony.”

Cao Ren drew his sword to parry Li Jue’s blade; the ten Chens did the same.

Li Jue backed his horse two steps, unruffled, then waved to his men. “Slay the traitors.”

“Stop!” Dong Bai pushed Xiaolian aside, stepped forward, and with trembling lips cried out.

---

Under Li Jue’s scrutiny, his temples throbbed in rage—he cursed Cao Cao’s shamelessness inwardly! He could only pretend not to recognize Dong Bai and said coldly, “Who is this rabble? Take them away!”

Having taken the first brave step, Dong Bai no longer trembled. She shouted, “I dare you! My grandfather is the Grand Preceptor, my husband is Chen the Invincible, Lord of Si Shui Pavilion. If any of you lay a hand on me, not one of you will live to see another day!”

A few Liang cavalrymen dismounted, glanced at each other, and wisely kept their hands to themselves. They even signaled to their comrades, ensuring the warning was passed down the line so no one would make a fatal mistake.

After all, they weren’t under Li Jue’s command. Defying orders in battle was something Niu Fu would cover for, but to offend the Grand Preceptor’s granddaughter would be suicide—Niu Fu wouldn’t even need Dong Zhuo to punish them.

Li Jue stamped his foot in fury.

“Idiots! I, who am always at the Grand Preceptor’s side, wouldn’t recognize the young lady? She’s an impostor—kill them all!”

The cavalrymen hesitated. Li Jue pressed on, “The Grand Preceptor has decreed: whoever kills the traitor Cao shall be rewarded with gold and a noble title!”

The lure of gold is irresistible. With Li Jue’s assurance, the cavalry threw caution aside and charged.

Cao Ren and the ten Chens resisted valiantly, but how could they hope to withstand the onslaught of the Liang cavalry?

Dong Bai, her courage spent, collapsed to the ground, sobbing into her hands.

Cao Cao looked at her and suddenly found himself missing Cao Rong. Alas, that grandson he had never met would never know his grandfather. He would never be taught to read, nor would Cao Cao see him marry and have children...

The cold shimmer of spearheads drew ever closer, and a barely perceptible unwillingness flickered in Cao Cao’s eyes.

“Die!”

With a thunderous roar, a great axe spun through the air, cleaving horse and rider in two.

Warm blood splattered across his face, and Cao Cao burst into wild laughter.

“Ha! Li Jue! It seems it is not my day to die, but yours!”

A white dragon surged into the fray, separating the Liang cavalry and severing Li Jue’s ambitions.

A man hauled back his giant axe and reined in his warhorse, coming to stand before Cao Cao.

Twelve riders flanked him on either side, their fierce glares radiating murderous intent.