Chapter 50

The several deputy generals behind Wen Chou, seeing the situation unfavorable, rushed forward to shield Wen Chou and take him back to their main camp.

Translation: "Seeing the situation was not good, the several deputy generals behind Wen Chou rushed forward to shield Wen Chou and take him back to the main camp."

We need to keep meaning, not add. Let's produce concise: "The several deputy generals behind Wen Chou saw the situation was bad, rushed forward to shield Wen Chou and take him back to the main camp."

The several deputy generals behind Wen Chou, seeing the situation unfavorable, rushed forward to shield Wen Chou and take him back to their main camp.

Ok.

On the side, Er Ye had just finished using Thunder Three Blades and was in the skill cooldown period, so he also did not press too hard.

Mi Fang wore a smug look as he gazed at the enfeebled Wen Chou, spurred his horse forward and said proudly.

"Wenchou, just now weren't you really awesome? Frankly speaking, my second brother is avenging me; someone like you, my second brother can fell you from your horse with just three strikes."

Wen Chou's chest had already been churned up by Er Ye's few slashes, and now Little Fatty kept showing off in front of him, making Wen Chou's face turn ashen.

Pfft

Wen Chou spat out a mouthful of old blood, and Little Fatty grew even more smug.

Er Ye was also a bit intoxicated by the power of his Thunder Three Blades; ever since Eldest Brother gave him this Blood-Sweat Horse, the power of his opening three strikes has become ever more formidable and practiced.

"Archers, ready to fire, don't let a single Jizhou soldier get away!"

Er Ye let out a loud shout; the soldiers of the Jing'an Army around him drew their bows to the full, and the ambush troops in the woods encircled the cavalry that Wen Chou had brought, while Wen Chou, gritting his teeth, remained seated on his horse.

After a volley of arrows, these Jizhou troops, already unprepared, lost hundreds of men and horses in an instant; soldiers from both sides became entangled in combat, and seeing that the Jizhou cavalry did not charge, their losses kept mounting.

Mi Fang, the sixth brother, took some of his personal troops, looked for whoever in the Jizhou forces seemed stronger, charged over to harvest their heads, and for a moment the Jizhou army's morale scattered.

"General Wen, mount up quickly, Zhang He is here too!"

"Gan Lan is here; rebel general, don't act arrogantly!"

Just as Wen Chou's cavalry, surrounded, kept being nibbled away by the Jing'an Army, a fresh force suddenly appeared, numbering far more than the Jing'an Army; the Jizhou troops' morale rose greatly, and they launched a pincer attack.

This came as a surprise to Guan Yu, especially seeing that the two leading generals were also extraordinarily brave; in the end, Er Ye weighed the situation and ordered his archers to cover the retreat, and both sides suffered losses numbering in the thousands.

Under the cover of Zhang He and Gan Lan, Wen Chou's cavalry was able to withdraw safely, and along the way Wen Chou expressed his gratitude to the two.

Zhang He waved his hand, sighed thoughtfully, and said.

"Liu Bei's subordinates are indeed formidable; that red-faced man's martial skill is surprisingly high, General Wen—we must plan carefully!"

Wen Chou's face was as pale as gold paper; evidently he had not yet recovered, and upon hearing Zhang He's words, he also nodded in agreement.

"My lord's main force should also be arriving soon at Pingling City; right now we need to build up this defensive line, Junyi—I am badly wounded, and you always have a clear grasp of the overall situation, so this will be handled by the two of you."

Gan Lan laughed and said.

"General, do not worry; this time we have gathered eighty thousand troops at Ox Head Mountain, and we also hold the geographical advantage; Pingling City is already in our bag—all we need to do is to besiege and call for reinforcements."

Wen Chou nodded, sunk in thought, and for a moment no one spoke.

Meanwhile, in the Xuzhou army camp, some junior officers spread the news of how Er Ye today, with several strikes, had made Wen Chou vomit blood and flee in defeat.

"Hey, Second General, you were truly brave today; those three strikes that cut down that Jizhou general left him dazed and confused!"

"Really? That's Wen Chou, they say his courage is not inferior to Lü Bu's."

Another old soldier beside him opened his mouth full of yellow teeth and laughed heartily.

"Wen Chou can be considered the most famous general of Jizhou; the troops under General Gongsun Zan have certainly not suffered little at his hands."

"Before, an old brother from Youzhou said that Wen Chou alone had beheaded six Youzhou generals..."

"Really? A tough guy!"

……

"You have to know that this is Wen Chou; Yuan Shao back then even bragged that his bravery was not inferior to Lü Bu's!"

Of course, in the late Han Three Kingdoms there are not a few who claim their valor is not inferior to Lü Bu's, but only they themselves know the true worth of such claims.

This can be understood as: the so-called valor not inferior to Lü Bu actually means everyone is still beneath Lü Bu.

When Er Ye was making his rounds and heard the officers discussing this, he merely gave a faint smile, turned away indifferently.

Behind him, Mi Fang gazed at Er Ye's tall and graceful back, his heart stirred; at this moment he was already shaken to his core.

"This is the second brother of the famed Hebei f4!"

"Er Ge, how can you be so calm?"

"How can you be as unflappable as if you'd just beaten a cat or a dog?"

"Why am I starting to feel my blood boil, even having an irrepressible urge and anticipation?"

"Is this the bearing a pretender-king ought to have?"

"I fucking seem to have learned something again……"

Little Fatty Mi Fang was excited beyond measure; now he felt that under Er Ye's guidance and education he was gradually grasping this mysterious aura, and slowly he should begin to display it before others.

"Or should I also have a go at Wen Chou?"

"Or those two guys who rushed over tonight aren't bad either!"

"But after comparing our own strength, this idea is obviously……"

"The resin is kind of funny."

Thinking this through, Mi Fang secretly made up his mind; upon returning he will definitely ask Liu Bei to have some fierce general teach him a few signature moves, which would be splendid for showing off.

"Otherwise, if this damned aura stays buried, just how miserable would I be—how could that be acceptable?"

Tonight Mi Fang felt that he had entered a new realm, after which everything would be different.

……

After Guan Yu was beaten back by the reinforcements of Zhang He and Gan Lan, for a moment he had no idea what to do.

With high mountains ahead, and the Jizhou army numbering nearly three times Er Ye's Jing'an Army, holding the geographical advantage, Wen Chou and his forces could be said to hold the pass single-handedly.

If Er Ye wanted to lead people on a detour, the time wasted would be even greater than now, and Pingling City might not be able to hold out that long.

Guan Yu immediately wrote a letter, informing Liu Bei of their situation in the letter.