Chapter 103: Humanoid Crossbow

  Xun Yu looked up at the sky and gazed at the hawk circling in the air, his eyes ridiculing.

  Yang Feng and Guo Tai did not believe his calculations, but pinned their hopes on this flat-haired beast, which was somewhat chilling.

  Yesterday evening, they disagreed on the pursuers from Anyi. Scouts came to report that a cavalry team had come from Shanzhou and entered the city of Anyi. These cavalrymen were dressed in bright armor, likely wearing imperial guards' uniforms. Shortly after, someone else reported that Niu Fu led his army out of the city, with 500 cavalrymen and 3,000 infantrymen, the cavalry in front and the infantry behind, rapidly approaching.

  As soon as he heard the news, Yang Feng was overjoyed and determined that this was a good opportunity to defeat Niu Fu and capture Anyi. Despite Xun Yu's strong objections, he led his 30,000-strong main force to personally engage in battle. Yang Feng had not returned yet, so only Guo Tai's 10,000-strong White Wave Army remained here. It is unknown whether Yang Feng has already defeated Niu Fu and even captured the city of Anyi.

  In Xun Yu's view, whether Yang Feng succeeded or not was a miscalculation. Ambushing Emperor Liu Bian was more important than capturing Anyi Castle by a hundred times. Once Liu Bian died in battle, the imperial court would inevitably collapse, leaving behind only a nine-year-old Liu Xie, what resistance could he put up?

  It must be admitted that the imperial court can still gather a batch of forces now, it is because the 17-year-old emperor refused to give up and personally went to battle, the people of Shanxi saw hope and fully supported him, blocking Yuan Shao. As soon as Liu Bian died, the people of Shanxi were leaderless and must fight for their own interests, Huangfu Song and Dong Zhuo have always been at odds, it is likely that they will first decide on life and death.

  By then, what Shandong people will get is the whole world. What does a small city like Anyi count for?

  Unfortunately, Yang Feng's vision was limited, he couldn't see these things, all he saw was Anyi, all he saw was Hedong.

  Xun Yu let out a silent sigh, and his eyes suddenly tightened. The hawk circling in the sky seemed to have been startled, and it suddenly flew high, rushing into the clouds, and disappeared from view. He thought for a moment, and immediately rushed to Guo Tai's large tent.

  "General, the falcon has been disturbed, it's likely that enemy troops are approaching!"

  Guo Tai was taken aback, and hastily walked out of the big tent, raised his head, looked up at the sky for a moment, but couldn't see any shadow of the peregrine falcon. He puckered his lips and let out a long whistle, with a clear and sharp sound. Upon hearing the whistling, Xun Yu couldn't help but take another look at Guo Tai, never expecting that he had such skills.

  A clear cry, the peregrine falcon flew swiftly to their side, flying back and forth above their heads, letting out a mournful cry. Guo Tai's eyes changed: "Not good, the peregrine falcon has been startled, there is a master with high skills nearby."

  Xun Yu was taken aback: "Could it be Lü Bu? He can defeat Guan Yu, he must have already broken through his fate."

  When he heard the name of Lü Bu, Guo Tai became even more uneasy. He hesitated for a moment and immediately ordered to break camp. Xun Yu hastily stopped him: "General, it's not possible. If the one who comes is really Lü Bu, we can't escape at all. Why not back against the water and array our troops, relying on the camp to defend?"

  Guo Tai was like a dream come true, and he hastily issued orders according to Xun Yu's suggestion. He couldn't help but feel some regret. If it really was Lü Bu who had arrived, it meant that Xun Yu's analysis was correct, and the Emperor might have sent a detachment of elite cavalry to cross over the Zhongtiao Mountains, advancing stealthily to prepare an ambush on their rear route. Moreover, the Emperor himself might be among them. If Yang Feng hadn't left, with the advantage of 40,000 troops, they would have been confident in resisting the 5,000 elite cavalry, even if they suffered some losses. Later, when Yuan Shao evaluated their achievements and rewarded them, he wouldn't be able to shortchange them.

  But now, he only has 10,000 infantrymen here, and it is impossible to defeat the 5,000 elite cavalry. If they fight, they can't win; if they flee, they can't escape either. The only option is to defend the camp and hope that Yang Feng receives the news and rushes back to reinforce them. That way, there's still a chance to turn the tide of battle.

  The war drums sounded, and the camp was in chaos. The formation of troops within the camp was about to push down the tents, which many officers and soldiers found hard to accept. Although these tents were old and worn out, they were their only possessions; if damaged, they would have to sleep under the open sky next time.

  Xun Yu saw this, secretly stamped his foot, and hastily suggested to Guo Tai that he forcibly push down a row of tents near the camp, arrange the long spear soldiers and crossbowmen behind the camp fence, set up the first line of defense, in order to prevent being broken through by the cavalry.

  At this moment, Guo Tai did not dare to have any more doubts about Xun You and immediately carried out the order.

  Halberdiers and crossbowmen had just taken up their positions when Lü Bu led his cavalry in a charge from the distant horizon.

  A thousand elite cavalrymen, like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, galloped forth with a loud whoosh.

  The man has not arrived, but his murderous aura is already overwhelming.

  The bowstring was like a thunderclap, an arrow rain broke through the air and shot into the big camp, with a whizzing sound.

  "Raise your shields!" Guo Tai roared, raising his battle knife in hand.

  "General, be careful!" The two bodyguards widened their eyes, raised their shields and rushed to the front of Guo Tai.

  "Thwack!" A loud explosion, an arrow pierced the air, shot through the shield, and then shot through the guard behind the shield, carrying a string of blood beads, and landed on the second shield. The arrow feathers trembled, buzzing with sound, shook off the bloodstains, revealing white arrow feathers.

  Guo Tai took a deep breath, gazing into the distance. To be able to shoot an arrow through a shield from over two hundred paces, what kind of archery was this? What kind of powerful bow was this? There couldn't be anyone else; it must be Lü Bu.

  Lü Bu of the people, indeed lives up to his reputation.

  If he didn't accept Xun Yu's suggestion and defend his camp, could he withstand Lü Bu's charge? It was absolutely impossible. Perhaps with just one charge from Lü Bu, his position would be pierced through.

  Guo Tai looked at Xun Yu with a mixture of shock and gratitude, while Xun Yu's face turned pale. He was even more shocked than Guo Tai, for as far as he knew, Lü Bu was strong but not to this extent. In just a few short months, Lü Bu had made another breakthrough and become a human-shaped powerful crossbow.

  In the distance, Lü Bu threw his beloved horn bow to the ground. Seeing that the arrow that was sure to kill had been blocked by Guo Tai's personal guard, he had intended to shoot another arrow at Guo Tai, but unexpectedly pulled too hard and broke the strong bow that he had used for over a decade. Seeing that Guo Tai in the distance was surrounded by layer upon layer of shields, there was no longer an opportunity to shoot again, and he could only reluctantly give up.

  I must return and ask the Son of Heaven for a fine bow that matches this Heaven-painted halberd, I've practiced the diagram of the Guiding and Pulling exercise, my strength has increased greatly, but there isn't a single good bow that fits my hand, I can't display my archery skills. Lü Bu sighed as he raised the Heaven-painted halberd, lightly swinging it in the air.

  The cavalry of Bianzhou galloped past the front of the great camp, releasing a shower of arrows, and then floated away.

  Lü Bu had rich experience in battles, and the Bingzhou cavalry was also seasoned. At a glance at the formation inside the camp, they knew that a surprise attack was hopeless and could only be abandoned. If they were to launch a strong attack on the White Wave army's camp, the losses would inevitably be staggering.

  Two hundred paces away, Lü Bu rode Red Hare up a mound and gazed out into the distance, exclaiming "Huh?"

  "More than 10,000 people dare to intercept us? Has Guo Tai's head been kicked by a donkey?"

  A horseman came galloping from afar, and the knight on the horseback shouted loudly: "General Lü, Captain Zhang is engaged in a fierce battle with Yang Feng, requesting reinforcements!"

  "Zhang Wenyuan?" Lü Bu was perplexed and looked at Cao Xing, then laughed self-deprecatingly: "How did this kid get ahead of us?"

  Cao Xing gritted his teeth: "Stealing credit?"

  Lü Bu glared: "He dares?!"