Chapter 106: Collapse [Please Subscribe]

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“Prepare to die!”

Chu Feng’s gaze was icy.

Sun Ce’s deputy charged toward him. He had only one chance to strike. His halberd technique, originally a downward cleave, shifted with the momentum into an upward sweep. A downward blow could have struck an opponent on horseback, but Sun Ce was fighting on foot, making such a strike easy to evade. The upward sweep, however, forced him to meet the halberd head-on.

The great halberd flashed with cold light, poised to strike. Rising from below, it thrust straight toward Sun Ce. Sun Ce immediately saw through Chu Feng’s intention: Chu Feng was waiting for him to dodge.

If he evaded, Chu Feng’s halberd would take his head.

If he did not, he would have to withstand a blow carrying the full force of a charging warhorse.

Seeing that retreat was impossible, Sun Ce gritted his teeth and let out a furious roar as he raised his spear horizontally to block.

Clang!

Spear and halberd collided. Sun Ce was already inferior in strength, and with the horse’s momentum added to the blow, he felt as though he had been hurled into the sky.

Bang!

His arms went limp, and the shaft of his spear slammed directly into the armor over his chest. The tremendous impact sent a mouthful of blood spraying from his lips while he was still airborne, leaving him visibly weakened.

His entire body flew like a kite with its string severed, scraping across the sand for more than ten yards before finally coming to a halt. He lay there, his fate unknown.

“My lord!” Sun Ce’s generals cried out in unison.

Chu Feng glanced at him indifferently.

What a pity.

The explosive force of that single halberd had nearly killed Sun Ce. Yet in that desperate moment, Sun Ce had summoned enough strength to withstand the impact. Instead of allowing the great halberd to rip through his chest, he had used its force to hurl himself backward.

It might have looked simple, but being able to endure that blow in an instant was no small feat.

After a brief moment of thought, Chu Feng turned toward the city wall, raised his halberd, and shouted, “Sun Ce is dead! All three armies, follow me and charge the enemy!”

Having said this, he lifted his halberd, glanced once more toward Sun Ce, and charged in his direction. Of course, the opposing soldiers had already reached their commander, but Chu Feng intended to shatter Sun Ce’s army and slaughter them as they fled.

That thunderous declaration immediately threw the distant ranks of Sun Ce’s army into turmoil. Many soldiers who had no idea what had happened began to panic, and even those in the front lines showed fear on their faces.

It was terrifying.

Sun Ce was renowned as the bravest warrior in all three armies, yet against Chu Feng he had been beaten without the slightest power to resist. At first, they had hoped that Sun Ce would crush Chu Feng and restore the army’s morale.

But now two generals had already been killed, and Sun Ce himself lay dead or dying.

Just how powerful was Chu Feng?

Zhou Yu’s heart tightened. Chu Feng was far too devious. Many people had seen Sun Ce fall from his horse. With a single declaration like that, the entire army was bound to descend into chaos.

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“Quickly! Protect our lord and withdraw!” Zhou Yu shouted anxiously to the nearby generals.

Hearing him, Zhou Tai immediately reined in his horse and leapt down, rushing to Sun Ce’s side. Seeing that Sun Ce’s chest was still rising and falling, though his face was deathly pale, Zhou Tai finally breathed a little easier.

Sun Ce was no longer capable of riding. Zhou Tai hauled him onto his back and fled with all his strength, caring only about preserving his lord’s life.

The generals who charged forward included Sun Ben, Jiang Qin, Dong Xi, Sun He, and Sun Jing.

Dong Xi was consumed by fury. He went berserk, bringing his great saber down in a furious slash. Chu Feng shot him a glance and swept his halberd out.

With a ringing clash, Dong Xi felt his palm go numb. His saber was knocked from his grasp. Chu Feng was about to take his head when Sun Ben and Jiang Qin joined forces to attack, barely rescuing him.

“Do not act rashly! Withdraw at once!” Sun Jing shouted.

Sun Jing was Sun Jian’s younger brother and had spent nearly a decade campaigning. His instincts told him that even if they attacked Chu Feng together, they would not be able to defeat him. They would only die.

The reason was simple: whenever Chu Feng’s great halberd opened and closed in sweeping arcs, no one could withstand it. If their numbers had not forced him to divide his attention, they might not even have found an opportunity to retreat.

After all, if a mere handful of second-rate generals could kill Xiang Yu, then Xiang Yu would never have fought more than seventy battles without suffering a single defeat.

The generals galloped about in confusion, fighting as they retreated. Once they saw Zhou Tai carrying Sun Ce away, they prepared to flee in earnest. But Chu Feng had no intention of letting them come and go as they pleased.

When a group retreated, someone always had to remain at the rear.

Jiang Qin withdrew first. Sun Jing was an experienced warrior; after firing a covering thrust, he also fell back.

Sun Ben and Sun He were not so fortunate.

As Sun Ben tried to escape, he suddenly felt a chill run through him. Chu Feng cleaved him in two.

Sun He moved to save him, only to be swept down and killed by Chu Feng’s halberd as well.

Dong Xi was so terrified that his courage nearly failed him. The more arrogantly he had acted moments before, the more wretchedly he now fled, repeatedly looking back in panic.

Chu Feng glanced from side to side. Sun Ce’s army had already collapsed, and the infantry behind him had arrived. He immediately bellowed, “Sun Ce is dead! Those who surrender will be spared!”

The infantry behind him echoed the cry.

For a time, their voices shook the heavens and earth. Sun Ce’s soldiers looked around in bewilderment. Several thousand armored troops continued fleeing, while those who saw no hope of escape chose to surrender.

Seeing that the result was satisfactory, Chu Feng turned his eyes toward Dong Xi. He had spent more than half a month deliberately appearing weak, finally persuading Sun Ce’s entire army to underestimate him. Now he had to make them pay dearly.

He immediately urged his horse straight toward Dong Xi.

The Black Steed was extraordinarily swift. Before long, Chu Feng was about to overtake him. Dong Xi was terrified, surely because he had been too boastful earlier and had thus drawn Chu Feng’s pursuit.

If only he had known, he would never have put on such a show!

He had thought Chu Feng was nothing more than a gluttonous weakling. He had never imagined that Chu Feng would be so formidable—not even Sun Ce had been his match, let alone Dong Xi.

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“Chu Feng, I’ll fight you to the death!”

Seeing that he could not escape, Dong Xi wheeled around in a fit of desperate fury.

“Hmph. You think you’re worthy?”

Chu Feng raised his halberd and brought it down. Horse and rider swept past one another.

Blood dripped from the halberd’s edge, and another soul joined the dead beneath the hooves.

After killing Dong Xi, Chu Feng raised his halberd. His troops pursued close behind as Sun Ce’s army collapsed still further. Amid the chaos, Chu Feng charged left and right, and no one could stand in his way.

One side pursued while the other fled.

Sun Ce’s army was driven all the way back to its camp. They had set out with several thousand men, yet only a few hundred returned, each one disheveled and trembling with fear.

“Whoa!”

Outside the camp, Chu Feng reined in his horse and came to a halt.

Raising his halberd, he shouted toward the walls, “Tell Sun Ce this: he is nothing more than a household servant of the Yuan family. Anyone who rebels against the Yuan family must die. If he offers the city and surrenders, I can guarantee the lives of his wife, children, and entire household.”

“Otherwise, when the city falls, his whole clan will be executed!”

“As for the rest of you, if you do not wish to be implicated, return to your homes as soon as possible.”

Chu Feng’s voice shook the heavens. The armored soldiers atop the camp walls were filled with unease. From the fleeing soldiers, they had also learned what had happened. Every one of them feared Chu Feng like a tiger.

After all, Sun Ce had been beaten to the brink of death!

“Withdraw!” Chu Feng shouted, turning his horse and riding away.

This battle might not have yielded a great number of enemy casualties, but Chu Feng had killed several of Sun Ce’s generals in succession. The blow to Sun Ce’s army’s morale was unprecedented.

With that, several hundred of Chu Feng’s soldiers withdrew in grand fashion. Yet the troops atop the camp walls showed no intention of pursuing them while they retreated. The various generals were all busy gathering their scattered men.

“My lord, that was exhilarating!” Xu Chu rode beside Chu Feng, pounding his chest as he spoke with excitement. “It is only a shame that I failed to cut down Cheng Pu and Han Dang!”

“Come now, Zhongkang. You have already slain one general, and you are still not satisfied? Besides, you did not see the look on Taishi Ci’s face when Sun Ce was sent flying by that halberd!”

Zhao Fan replied with a hearty laugh.

The men chatted among themselves as they returned to camp.

Meanwhile, a pall of despair hung over Sun Ce’s army.