Chapter 881: The Decisive Battle Part 6

"Poof~" Several light sounds followed, and more wounds appeared on Zhou Cang's body. Lü Xiang, like a nimble cat, danced around Zhou Cang, each strike leaving a fresh bloodstain.

Soon, Zhou Cang was covered in numerous wounds. The auxiliary school bladesmen who came to help were swiftly dispatched by Lü Xiang, who casually severed their arteries before they could assist Zhou Cang.

"Deal with his guards quickly! Leave him to me!" Zhou Cang roared in anger as he saw more school bladesmen fall.

"Hehe, leave him to you…" Lü Xiang effortlessly slipped through the gaps in Zhou Cang's blade attacks, leaving a shallow cut across Zhou Cang's chest before quickly retreating as Zhou Cang changed his stance.

Zhou Cang soon had numerous bloodstains on him, and his armor was being shredded bit by bit by Lü Xiang, who still hadn't been hit by Zhou Cang.

[How is this possible? His speed isn't particularly fast, but why can’t I hit him? Is he toying with me?] Zhou Cang, forced to retreat and slightly panicked, pondered.

[Damn it, his reactions are too quick. His speed surpasses mine. Even though the cloud energy suppresses everyone's inner energy, inner energy leaving the body is still inner energy!] Lü Xiang's blade sliced across Zhou Cang's waist, but Zhou Cang's swift response forced Lü Xiang to retreat. Despite the terrifying power of inner energy leaving the body, Lü Xiang couldn't take that crucial step.

[I can't delay any longer; Lord Jun's mission is crucial!] Zhou Cang steeled himself and, seeing Lü Xiang’s blade approaching his abdomen, braced himself and charged forward. As a naturally strong warrior, he had a significant advantage in close combat.

"Boom!" Zhou Cang, enduring the intense pain in his abdomen, grabbed Lü Xiang and rammed him headfirst into Lü Xiang's helmet. With a muffled sound, Lü Xiang's head exploded in Zhou Cang's incredulous gaze.

Covered in blood, Zhou Cang stared in disbelief at the headless corpse in his hands. Despite using all his strength for the final headbutt, he couldn’t understand how such a solid skull could burst like this.

[Could he not be an inner energy practitioner?] Zhou Cang was astonished by the headless corpse. He felt he might have killed someone he shouldn't have. Although cloud energy suppresses inner energy, in one-on-one situations, a Qi Refining practitioner can still threaten an inner energy practitioner. This explains a lot!

[Report to General Guan immediately. If the enemy has a lot of such people prepared for ambushes, it could cause significant trouble!] Zhou Cang, meticulous despite his rough demeanor, quickly reported to his squad.

"Send a message to inform the Lord!" Guan Yu immediately ordered his remaining messengers to notify Liu Bei.

When Liu Bei learned of the news, the armies of both sides were already fully engaged. Lu Su and Jia Xu, realizing this was not the time to pursue such matters, did not issue any additional commands. The priority was to prevent the enemy from using any special tactics.

At this time, Yuan Shao and Shen Pei had successfully retreated to the rear army, while Ju Yi, who had been waiting, was furious. The deaths of his friend Yan Liang and the trusted Ju Shou had left him extremely enraged.

"Is everything ready, Yuan Hao?" Shen Pei asked with fiery eyes.

"In about an hour and a half, Yuan Bo will lead the cavalry to launch an attack from the east. This is the most elite cavalry unit under our command!" Tian Feng, suppressing his grief over Ju Shou’s death, spoke as calmly as possible. The will of his friend—the hegemony of Yuan Shao—was their unwavering goal.

"However, according to my estimation, Wen Chou and the Lü brothers’ armies on the left and right should have engaged Liu Bei's forces by then! Our army will find it difficult to strike, so let's attack Liu Bei's rear army instead!" Tian Feng hesitated before suggesting.

"Inform Gao Lan to ignore any conditions and cut through the enemy forces from the middle!" Shen Pei said with a cold expression, maintaining immense wisdom beneath his icy demeanor.

"This…" Tian Feng looked at Shen Pei in disbelief.

"Don’t hesitate. Winning this battle will make it easier to eliminate Liu Bei. Losing this battle could mean losing everything. What is Liu Bei’s greatest weakness? We will exploit that!" At this moment, Shen Pei tore away his refined facade, revealing his ruthless inner nature.

The strength of Liu Bei’s army was roughly one-third of Yuan Shao’s, but the casualty exchange ratio was similar. Therefore, this battle was essentially about morale and resilience. The side with better resilience, capable of withstanding greater losses, would win.

Shen Pei’s current approach completely disregarded this method. He planned to use a scorched-earth strategy to force the casualty ratio to one-to-one, eliminating the need for comparisons in resilience and morale.

With the collapse of Ju Shou, the army’s resilience and morale were already doomed. Therefore, Shen Pei aimed to create massive casualties, for example, causing both Yuan Shao’s and Liu Bei’s armies to lose ten thousand men within a quarter of an hour.

"Abandon all moral considerations; we need victory in this battle!" Shen Pei's sharp eyes scanned Tian Feng. "The compensation for fallen soldiers is minimal, but losing this battle would mean losing more than just supplies!"

Tian Feng opened his mouth, feeling unfamiliar with Shen Pei for the first time, but eventually fell silent, recognizing Shen Pei’s determination.

"I’ll handle delaying Liu Bei’s army. Ju Yi, protect the Lord and wait for the right moment. When Liu Bei's army's spirit wanes, that’s when you strike!" Tian Feng said slowly.

"Agreed." Shen Pei nodded at Ju Yi, acknowledging that Ju Shou was best at large-scale troop deployment while Tian Feng excelled in leveraging the army’s strengths.

"Maintain your inner rage, Ju Yi. I hope your attack will be like a tiger leaping out of the gate!" Shen Pei said, looking at Ju Yi, whose eyes were almost blazing with fury. "Our army's two greatest advantages are our numbers and you!"

"I will definitely use Guan Yu’s head to honor my brother!" Ju Yi roared angrily, then grasped his sword and, under Shen Pei and others’ encouragement, led the elite troops to protect Yuan Shao and Xu You’s retreat to the rear.

"All troops, listen up. Form a defensive square with sword and shield soldiers, followed by spearmen. Set up defensive lines in the east, middle, and west, each with five hundred men, twenty layers deep!" After Shen Pei left, Tian Feng issued an incredibly shameless defensive order, abandoning all offensive actions for a strict defensive stance!

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