Chapter 341: Three Factions Unite

"Huh— feeling relaxed."

Bo Cai, who had just summoned a dozen terrifying bolts of thunder on the ritual platform, slowly exhaled a cloud of foul air and stepped down from the high platform under the awed gazes of his subordinates.

Facing the surrounding flattery of "General's divine might," he merely nodded slightly, his expression calm, as if the thunder technique that had just shaken the heavens and rattled the city walls was just a small trick done at leisure.

Was it really a casual trick? In fact, it was not.

When Zhang Jiao first taught him the thunder technique, he solemnly warned that the method must not be abused, for it severely damages a person's vital spirit and qi.

Bo Cai initially kept this in mind, because he had truly experienced that overuse would leave the whole body limp, the spirit languid, even making walking and lying down difficult.

But later, staring at the phrase "damages a person's vital spirit and qi," he slapped his head—Zhang Jiao never said whose spirit it would damage!

So…

"General, how should we dispose of these 'consumables'?" a trusted aide stepped forward, whispering his request, eyes flicking toward several figures tightly bound to wooden frames not far away.

Those few were already withered to the bone, eyes sunken, skin shriveled like the hide of a skeleton, breathing faintly, clearly having been drained of the last thread of life essence.

Bo Cai didn't even bother to lift his eyelids and said coolly, "Treat them as stones, toss them into the city, let those stubborn, dim‑witted bastards see the fate of a futile resistance."

He paused, then added, "Remember, coat them with extra… poison."

The aide immediately understood; this would intensify panic and plague in the city, and bowed, "Yes!"

Bo Cai said no more, and strode into his Central Army Big Tent.

Unlike the grim slaughter outside, the tent inside was warm as spring, and several maidens in light gauze, beautiful in appearance, had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing him enter, they immediately fluttered forward gracefully, removed his armor and outer robe, brought warm wine and carefully prepared food, speaking softly and serving attentively.

Bo Cai leisurely enjoyed the beauties' service, sipping a cup of wine with a delicate jade hand, his gaze passing through the lifted tent curtain to the gloomy sky outside and the increasingly lonely Changshe Cheng wall illuminated by Thunder Light, a cold sneer curling at his mouth:

"Hmph, I wonder how long you can hide! When supplies run out and aid is cut off, then… you'll even be able to eat human flesh!"

That night, the moon hid and the stars sank, the world shrouded in darkness.

A raging wind howled nonstop, swirling up sand, dust, and dead grass, emitting a whimpering sound, interspersed with distant, relentless, muffled thunder.

Under this harsh sky's cover, a slit opened silently in the Changshe Cheng gate, and an elite squad, hand‑picked, slipped out under Huangfu Song's personal leadership like specters in the night, moving silently beyond the city, using the wind and night's concealment to creep toward Bo Cai's army camp.

Their target was clear— that area surrounded by dry grass and shrubs, where Bo Cai's army set up camp, was the biggest weak point of his forces!

Huangfu Song held his breath, focused, and led the squad to successfully infiltrate the predetermined spot, taking the upwind side of the Yellow Turban Army camp.

His sharp eyes swept over the wildly swaying, extremely dry grass and wooden camp before him, silently calculating the timing.

Without hesitation, he drew a meticulously drawn red Talisman Scroll from his bosom and whispered the incantation.

The moment the chant ended, the Talisman Scroll ignited on its own, turning into a tiny blazing spark! The spark, upon touching the dry grass on the ground—

"Boom—!"

It seemed to ignite long‑buried gunpowder, and the fierce fire shot up to the heavens in an instant!

The raging wind acted as the most effective accelerant, wildly pushing the flames outward in all directions, licking everything that could burn!

Tents, fences, haystacks… were devoured in an instant by orange‑red fire dragons!

Fire Borrowing Wind Power, wind aids the fire's might! The blazing inferno spread through the Yellow Turban Army's camp at astonishing speed, the flames reddening half the sky, turning the dark night into a terrifying blood‑red hue!

"Water! Run!!"

"The camp is on fire!"

"Run!"

The Yellow Turban Army camp exploded instantly! Countless soldiers awoke from sleep, fled the burning tents in panic, faced roaring flames, heard comrades' screams and the howling wind‑fire, and, already lax in discipline, fell into utter chaos and terror, trampling each other, scrambling for escape, with no order left!

Almost at the same moment the flames shot up, the Changshe Cheng gate burst open!

Zhu Jun, already in strict formation, led from the front, brandishing his war blade, let out a thunderous roar: "Soldiers! Follow me to slay the enemy! Achieve glory today!"

"Kill—!"

The Imperial Army, stifled for many days, surged like a breached dam, charging the Yellow Turban Army's great camp engulfed in fire and chaos with a mountain‑crushing assault!

The deafening shouts and chaos finally roused Bo Cai in the Central Army Big Tent.

They sprang up from the bed, shoved aside the screaming maidens beside them, and rushed a few steps out of the tent.

What met their eyes were the blazing flames reddening the sky, soldiers scrambling like headless flies, and deafening shouts and screams!

Bo Cai's complexion turned deathly pale, then flushed crimson with extreme rage.

They instantly understood everything, gritted their teeth, eyes blazing, and let out an unwilling roar:

"Damned you, Huangfu Song! Zhu Jun! You schemers!"

"Don't panic! Gather troops! Hold the line!"

They gazed at the sea of fire and the charging Imperial Army, a flash of ferocity and resolve in their eyes:

"Don't think you can win like this! Laozi will fight you to the death!!"

Bo Cai, after all, was a rare talent among the Yellow Turban Army; though the fire disaster threw his formation into chaos, after the initial panic he swiftly gathered a core group, and with personal prestige and iron‑fisted control, slew several fleeing soldiers, somehow stabilizing the Central Army's position amid the chaotic blaze.

He ordered his subordinates to use the burning camp wreckage as makeshift barriers, and employed Thunder Light technique to erect successive defenses, attempting to repel the Imperial Army's onslaught, even launching a counterattack that pushed Zhu Jun's vanguard back a distance.

The battle seemed to enter a brief stalemate.

However, just as a glimmer of hope to stabilize the situation sparked in Bo Cai's eyes—

"Rumble—!"

The ground began to quake violently, a deep, thunder‑like roar, denser and more continuous than any thunder, booming from the battlefield's flank and rapidly closing in!

Everyone locked in combat, whether Imperial or Yellow Turban, instinctively turned toward the source of the sound.

On the eastern horizon of the battlefield, a torrent of iron surged forward like a breached flood!

Bathed in the flickering flames, it was a charge formation of countless elite cavalry!

Their men and horses were armored, blades gleaming, the charge like a red‑hot sword thrust into the Yellow Turban Army's chaotic flank!

At the forefront, a commander, lithe and sharp‑eyed, raised his Long Sword aloft, his voice booming like a great bell, his roar drowning the battlefield clamor, clearly echoing in all directions:

"Generals, stay calm! Cavalry Commandant Cao Cao, Cao Mengde, lead their troops to aid—!"

It was Cao Cao and his cavalry, arriving just in time!

In front, the city‑defending infantry led by Zhu Jun launched a fierce frontal assault; behind, the surprise‑attack death soldiers commanded by Huangfu Song created chaos in the sea of fire and cut off their retreat. Now the flank also charges into Cao Cao's iron cavalry, a fresh force that Nourish spirit, store sharpness, with momentum soaring like a rainbow!

A three‑sided encirclement, like three iron tongs, clamped the throat of Bo Cai's army mercilessly!

The Yellow Turban Army's defenses, which had just begun to improve, instantly collapsed under the crushing blow of Cao Cao's cavalry, as if pulling down withered wood!

Iron hooves trampled, horse sabers swung, and the already panicked Yellow Turban soldiers fell in sheets, their final will to resist completely ground to pieces.

The troops fell like a mountain collapsing, the rout spread like a plague, and could no longer be contained!

"It's over, it's over!"

Bo Cai stood amid the chaos, watching the Imperial Army surge from all directions, watching his own soldiers fall like harvested wheat, watching the flames that seemed to mourn his army. The color drained from his face, and his eyes filled with despair and resentment.

He knew the defeat was sealed, and there was no way to turn the tide.

"Heaven, I have wronged you!"

All these twists, battles, flames and collapse were observed in full by Yu Lin, standing calmly atop the dense canopy of a small hill in the distance.

"Being outmatched by those three working together............ it's not unjust that you lose."

He offered no further comment, merely descending from the canopy and, with bright eyes fixed on his Diao Chan, said:

"Let's go."