Chapter 97: Sun Quan, Frightened Out of His Wits [Subscription Request]

By the next day, the third watch had come and gone.

The third watch was the hour of midnight, from eleven at night until one in the morning.

At that moment, atop the wall of Biling City, Sun Quan and all his generals stood armed in armor and watched the western horizon in silence. According to the terms of the letter, Zhou Yu would first break through the enemy’s northern and southern camps. Then, when the troops from Chu arrived to reinforce him, Sun Quan would lead his men to attack Chu Feng’s main camp.

With a pincer strike from front and rear, the enemy would surely panic and collapse beneath the allied assault.

“Why is there still no movement?” Pan Zhang said anxiously, eager for merit. Relying on his own ferocity, he wanted to seize the chance to take Chu Feng’s life.

Everyone wore grave expressions, straining to see into the distance.

On one hand, they worried for Zhou Yu’s army; on the other, they were a little uneasy. If this letter were false, then...

---

Elsewhere, in the camp of Liang Gang and the other man.

Liang Gang rested a hand on the sword at his waist and looked at the two separate groups of troops that had been divided up.

Standing in the middle, he reminded them, “Listen carefully. Once it starts, I want you shouting as loud as you can. Whichever side is louder will get the bigger reward.”

“When you charge into the camp, do exactly what you’re supposed to do in battle. Do it well and you’ll all be rewarded. If you mess it up, I’ll kill every one of you. Understand?”

The soldiers nodded in a dazed state.

Today’s arrangement had left them utterly baffled. They had heard it was supposed to be for fighting a war, yet the thing they were being told to ravage was their own camp. Truly a brilliant move.

In their eyes, this was like a rat biting a bull’s backside.

“Good. Charge, shout, and burn,” Liang Gang said, turning and drawing his sword as he roared.

At once, the infantry let out a thunderous cry that shook heaven and earth, torching the way as they rushed inside.

In only a moment, fires began breaking out everywhere across the camp. Liang Gang’s mouth twitched as he watched.

Damn it, they never looked this fierce when they actually fought battles.

On the other side, Chen Ji’s men were also slaughtering and setting fires.

The quiet night was first awakened by these fools, then lit by the raging blaze until flames shot into the sky.

Chu Feng had originally been arranging the scattered soldiers inside the camp to play their parts. Hearing the commotion, he could not help but turn and glance at the two camps, then curl his lip.

Good heavens, they really were experts at killing and arson.

If only they could be this capable in a real battle.

---

On the city wall, after hearing the distant sounds of fighting and seeing the camps gradually go up in flames, there was no need to ask. Clearly Zhou Yu’s surprise attack had succeeded, and everyone was overjoyed.

“My lord, Gongjin has broken the enemy camps. Chu Feng will surely send troops to rescue them. Let us march at once!” Pan Zhang rubbed his fists together, eager to fight.

This battle was a fine opportunity to win glory.

“Haha!” Sun Quan laughed delightedly. “Zhu Ran, you stay behind to guard Sun Ren. He Qi, take three thousand men and attack the left wing. Pan Zhang, follow me with the remaining troops to strike the center!”

“Yes, sir!” The three generals cupped their fists in unison.

“Hmph. The world says Chu Feng has the strength to match ten thousand men and that he is most cunning, yet today he will fall to me and Gongjin. What a pleasure!” Sun Quan laughed heartily.

Everyone knew of Sun Ce, the Little Conqueror of Jiangdong, but not of Sun Quan. Yet now, as long as Chu Feng was slain, he would be famous throughout the realm.

“Second Brother, I will go with you.”

“Zhu Ran, watch her closely. If she leaves the city, you will answer to me.” Sun Quan would not dare bring Sun Shangxiang into battle; the battlefield was far too perilous.

“Yes, sir!” Zhu Ran said miserably.

Still, in the early phase this was all about collecting military merit.

Soon, the city gates opened, and nearly ten thousand troops poured out of the city, charging toward Chu Feng with the intent to wipe him out in one stroke.

---

A while later, at Chu’s camp.

Xu Chu said in his booming voice, “My lord, Sun Quan has arrived!”

Chu Feng sipped his tea, a faint smile on his lips. “Have Zhao Fan and the others arranged everything properly?”

Xu Chu nodded. “They’ve all gone according to your orders.”

“Good. Then let us wait quietly for this show to begin.”

...

Outside the camp, Sun Quan led his army up to the gates.

Seeing the chaos within, the corners of his mouth lifted.

“Soldiers, the time has come to achieve glory. The Chu army has lost its footing. Follow me into the camp. Whoever kills Chu Feng will be rewarded with a hundred taels of gold and promoted three ranks!”

Sun Quan drew his sword and shouted.

“Kill!!!”

At once, the sound of slaughter shook the heavens.

Across the entire camp, the defenders were running in every direction, utterly panicked.

Sun Quan cut down one man and sneered. The Chu army was nothing special. Feeling increasingly triumphant, he raised his sword and prepared to cut his way through the enemy camp and rendezvous with Zhou Yu.

In no time at all, Sun Quan had advanced several li.

Not far ahead was the Chu army’s command tent. If he could cut down the command banner, the Chu troops would become headless flies, with no hope of recovery.

Along the way, he had not harvested many kills, but he had burned a great deal of supplies. He assumed Chu Feng had already led his men to reinforce the other two camps.

He cursed inwardly that it was a pity.

After all, he would not be able to kill Chu Feng with his own hand.

Still, seizing the command banner as quickly as possible would ease his mind.

But at that moment, several horse-tripping ropes suddenly appeared.

The leading warhorses were immediately thrown to the ground. Then arrows rained in from both flanks, slaughtering hundreds in an instant and plunging the entire formation into chaos.

Fear gripped Sun Quan as he shouted, “Do not panic! None of you panic! Generals, take your units to both wings at once and wipe out the remaining Chu troops. Seize the command banner!”

---

At that moment, near the distant command tent.

Chu Feng stood in armor, a cup of tea in his hand, and looked toward Sun Quan in the distance with a broad smile.

“Sun Quan, Sun Quan. So in the end, you did come out.”

“You really are much more afraid of death than your elder brother. You’ve cost me quite a bit of effort.”

Sun Quan could faintly hear what Chu Feng was saying. Seeing Chu Feng so calm and leisurely at such a moment, how could he not understand? He had fallen into a trap.

“Withdraw! Retreat at once!”

Sun Quan dared not linger, for the guards around him were being shot down one after another.

“Since you’ve come, do you still think you can leave?” Chu Feng’s fury erupted in a flash, carrying an air of supremacy over the world. He took the halberd and warhorse handed to him by a guard, lifted the weapon high, and roared, “Follow me and kill!”

With those words, more than a hundred Tiger Guards behind him charged after him. Chu Feng himself led from the front, utterly stripped of his earlier elegance and gentleness, looking instead like a god of war.

The army that had already fallen into the trap could now only be described as fleeing in rout, abandoning armor and weapons with no will to fight. After all, they had never been elite troops to begin with.

Once Chu Feng joined battle, the Heavenly Dragon Halberd in his hands swept in arcs no one could withstand. Anyone grazed was wounded, anyone struck was killed. In the blink of an eye, dozens had fallen beneath his halberd.

“You’re running quite fast, but do you really think you can escape?” Chu Feng frowned darkly at Sun Quan in the distance. He hooked the halberd to his saddle, snatched the Heaven-Shaking Bow, and drew it to full tension.

Whoosh!

An arrow flew.

Thud!

It pierced the body of a guard behind Sun Quan, then struck Sun Quan in the shoulder blade. The force dragged Sun Quan straight off his horse, and he crashed to the ground in a dazed heap.

“Protect the second young master!” Pan Zhang cried urgently as the guards hurried to shield him.

Without them, he would have been trampled to death by the soldiers behind him.

Pan Zhang was frantic. Sun Quan had been thrown hard, and with an arrow in his shoulder blade, he clearly could no longer ride. He immediately shouted, “Quick, protect the second young master and retreat first!”

With that, he wheeled his horse about, held his blade across the saddle, and led dozens of men forward to block Chu Feng. After all, he was Sun Quan’s direct subordinate, promoted step by step by his own hand.

Chu Feng drew near and glanced at Sun Quan in the distance as he was being helped away.

“Chu Feng, I have long heard that your bravery and strategy are extraordinary. I have wanted to split your head with my blade for a long time, so that my name might shake the world.”

Pan Zhang raised his saber and shouted fiercely, his voice full and forceful.

“One move.”

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