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Chapter 31: Battle of Kaiyang (4)

My Father in Law is Lu Bu

"Cough cough cough cough!" With great difficulty, Lu Bu resisted the rage in his heart. He began coughing blood repeatedly.

How many years?! How many years have it been since he fought to the death like this?! Ten years?! Twenty years?!

"Lu Bu is near death's door!" Like Lu Bu, Xu Huang was also gasping for air. He was soon to be unable to lift up his giant axe. The web between his thumb and forefinger have already ruptured. Had it not been his willpower and determination, then perhaps Xu Huang would've long since kissed the ground.

Too strong! Way too strong! Even with Xu Chu, Li Dian and over a hundred guards that have survived through hundreds of battles with him, they still suffered immense casualties. Over half the guards have been killed. Li Dian have been gravely wounded. Xu Chu and Xu Huang was about to fall too. Only then did they manage to push Lu Bu this far.

"Again! One more time! Just a bit more and Lu Bu will fall!" With immense struggle, Li Dian stood up. The giant blade that he held was already chipped everywhere from the confrontation with Lu Bu.

After all, the amount of Lu Bu soldiers on the city wall was too few. The Cao troops have already ascended the city wall now. Additionally, Cao Cao wasn't reassured of Xu Chu and them and decided to dismount the Ferocious Cavalry and sent them up the walls as reinforcements. The Lu Bu soldiers were submerged by the ever growing Cao reinforcements and forced onto a single corner.

"Lu Bu! Today is the day you die!" Xu Huang spoke with a cold and fierce expression. In order to kill Lu Bu, Xu Huang's personal guards that have followed him for years have basically all been killed. These guards have followed him ever since the Luoyang and Changan campaigns. Not only were they like brothers to him, they were also very capable soldiers. Just from a single one of his guards dying would cause Xu Huang immense heartache! And now, pretty much all of them have died!

Li Dian didn't speak. However, his pair of murderous eyes have already spoke for him - he cannot possibly let Lu Bu flee.

Xu Chu, on the other hand, was a bit gloomy. Although Lu Bu's demise was near, he knew that Lu Bu was much stronger than himself. If he had fought Lu Bu mano a mano, then certainly the one who will be dying today will be him. Now that Lu Bu was about to meet his maker, Xu Chu unexpectedly had a desolate feeling. The curtain drops for yet another hero!

"Hahahaha!" Lu Bu suddenly bursted out in laughter.

"What are you laughing about?!" said Xu Huang with a cold expression.

"I laughed because I thought of some funny things." With great struggle, Lu Bu stood straight. Although he was seriously injured, he would never yield to others. "There existed a magnitude of people in this world who wanted this Lu Bu's demise. I have long since set my resolution! As a general, my death shall be on the battlefield!"

"Back when I was a soldier of Ding Jianyang, I, Lu Bu, thought that I will die on the expedition against the foreigners. Alas, I hasn't!"

"After killing Ding Jiangyang and started following Dong Zhou, I, Lu Bu, thought that I will die by the hands of the eighteen warlords. Alas, I still hasn't!"

"Having lost the Battle of Changan, I once again thought that I will die by the hands of the Western Liang Heavy Cavalry, by the hands of Li Ru. A major disappointment. Guo Si and Li Jue were gutless like mouse. They dared not even pursue after me!"

"In Xiapi, I once again prepared myself for death. Who would've expected the appearance of my good son in law, Hanyang. This Lu Bu once again didn't die. Ever since my days at Bing Province, this Lu Bu have unwittingly swindled death for countless years!"

Lu Bu grew ever more exhausted with every laugh. However, not a single person dared to act. "Cao Mende have indeed won. He won this war. He won the whole Xu Province. However, he still haven't best this Lu Bu! He is afraid of me!" A trail of blood dripped down the corner of Lu Bu's mouth only to be wiped away by him.

"My lord is afraid of you? Jest! Who do you think you are? You're but a ordinary man! My lord is afraid of you?!" Disdained Xu Huang.

"Is that so?" Lu Bu raised his brows and stared at Xu Huang. "If Cao Mende wasn't afraid of me, then why must he raise an expedition against my Xu Province? If Cao Mende wasn't afraid of me, then why must he dispatch the Ferocious Cavalry and his army of hundred thousand to pursue after me? He's afraid! He's afraid that I could really take his life?"

Lu Bu set his sight toward Xu Chu. "Xu Zhongkang, you're Cao Mende's personal guard, right? Cao Mende was known for his suspicious disposition, he trust but a few selected individuals. Wherever he goes, he brings you with him. However today he sent you to the battlefield just to kill this Lu Bu! Say, is he afraid of me or not?!"

Xu Chu did not speak. That's because what Lu Bu said was mostly correct. He was standing guard outside the tent in most of the conversations between Cao Cao and Guo Jia. As generals have great hearing, how could he not have heard the conversations. Wasn't the reason why his lord spoke in such a heavy tone precisely because he was afraid of Lu Bu?!

"Regardless of afraid or not, from today henceforth, my lord shall be able to obtain a good night's sleep!" Xu Chu grasped his giant blade. Because of Lu Bu, Cao Cao had already failed to sleep comfortable for multiple nights.

"Marquis of Wen, accept your misfortunes as decreed by fate!" With a deep and low tone, Li Dian spoke. "In your next life, you'd best not set yourself against the Prime Minister!"

"Come! This Lu Bu's head is waiting for you!"

Fifteen rounds. Lu Bu once again killed some twenty guards. His hands could no longer lift the trident, feeling as if the trident weighted over a thousand jin. "Hanyang ah! Hanyang, I'm afraid that I might not be able to last until your return!" Lu Bu was too tired. He was tired ever since Xiapi. Lu Bu was a lone wolf that belonged in the prairie. However, fate didn't smile at him. He was born at the wrong time. Had he been born into an era of peace and prosperity, even if it was before Emperor Ling's era, he would possibly become someone like the Flying General Li Guang or Huo Qubing. He would even have titles bestowed upon him and famed throughout for his military glory. Alas, he was born to the wrong era. Being born into the warring era, he was doomed to only be a hero and never a warlord.

[TL: Emperor Ling of Han reigned China from 168-189AD. Battle of Xiapi = 198 AD. So basically author meant that even if Lu Bu was to be born before his time, he's still do great.]

[TL: Li Guang, died 119BC = A general from the Western Han Dynasty (early Han dynasty) who is famous for stopping the foreigners/barbarians from entering China. Nicknamed the Flying General.]

[TL: Huo Qubing = another famous general from the Western Han Dynasty.]

"It's the end!" Xu Huang's axe came crashing down. Even though Lu Bu had armor to defend, to be attacked by an axe in such a close range would have taken his life for certain.

Right at this moment, an arrow came piercing through like a ray of light. Following the arrow was an impatient voice.

"Don't you dare injure my lord!" The arrow directly landed on Xu Huang's giant axe, impacting it enough to deviate it a bit. This tiny bit of deviation saved Lu Bu's life. Sparks came flying as the deviated axe came down on the Poiseidon Scale.

"Gongtai?!" Lu Bu knew exactly who this voice belonged to - Chen Gong, Chen Gongtai. Chen Gong's archery skills was no less than his own. "Why bother?!" Lu Bu knew that even if Chen Gong came, there's nothing he could possibly do. Regardless of how strong he was, Chen Gong was still a scholar. There's no way that he could possibly match against these generals.

"Milord, please don't panic! Zhang Liao is coming!" In the wake of sounds of fierce battle, another general emerged in atop the city walls.

"Burst the formations, death to all enemies!" It was Gao Shun. Gao Shun's deep and low voice was as calm as always.

"Lu Bu, Lu Fengxian, you can't die! If you die, how then could this Zang Ba defeat you?!" This was Zang Ba. He was always thinking about how to defeat Lu Bu but always lose to Lu Bu.

"You all?!" Only then did Lu Bu notice. Black army banners. Black clothings. The Lu Bu army have once again occupied a part of the city wall. "That's right! How could I, Lu Bu, die like this?! This Lu Bu still haven't lost yet! I still have them! I still have them!" Lu Bu once again grasped the trident and shouted toward the sky. "Cao Cao, Cao Mende, I shall be your forever nightmare!" Radiating a golden shine, the tiger have recovered.

"Lu Bu! Lu Bu!" Cao Cao grasped his fist tightly. His fingers have pierced his skin. His hands were bleeding. However, he didn't care for it at all.

Seeing the ever increasing amount of Lu Bu soldiers on the city walls, Cao Cao closed his eyes and said "Beat the gong to recall the troops!"

"Abominable!" having heard the gong signaling retreat, Xu Huang, Li Dian and Xu Chu showed a face full of bitter. Lu Bu's head was in front of them. They were about to win. But now they have to flee with their tail between their legs. Should they hesitate for a moment longer, then perhaps they could no longer flee. Zhang Liao, Gao Shun and Zang Ba. Neither one of these three are some easy foe. Let alone that, Li Dian was also seriously wounded.

"Withdraw!" Xu Chu protected Li Dian and Xu Huang as they fought while retreating to the edge of the city walls, down the siege ladder and back into the army camp.

Chapter 32: Battle of Kaiyang (5)

My Father in Law is Lu Bu

Proofreader: James

"Why are you all here?!" Lu Bu beheaded a retreating Cao soldier, the blood splashed on to his face, but he did not care the slightest. Only after seeing Cao Cao's army retreat did Lu Bu have time to sigh in relief.

Right after he relaxed himself, his severe injuries immediately took its toll on him. Lu Bu stumbles because of the fatigue. Luckily Gao Shun immediately gave him a hand. Otherwise he would have blacked out and fall to the ground.

Lu Bu knew that the four men were guarding the other three city gates. Though the pressure they were facing were not as great as that he was facing just now, but they also clashed with Cao Cao's army led by Yu Jin, Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren. It definitely was not a favorable situation. For these four men to appear here, were the other three gates lost?!

Just as predicted, the usually quiet Gao Shun cried out "My lord, because of my incompetence I've lost the southern gate!" The look on his face was gloomy with a hint of loneliness. However Gao Shun should not be blamed for this. What was the strength of Gao Shun as a general? Besides leading the Formation Breaker, he was specialized in siege warfare! If Gao Shun had the chance to be in charge of the offensive, he would have eighteen ways to take down Kaiyang. Unfortunately, he was in the role of the defender.

"The northern gate fell!" Zhang Liao said with a wry smile. His Bing Province Cavalry should be riding and rushing down the enemy, but now they were wrecked on the city wall.

"My Lord! It is entirely my fault, please take my head!" Zang Ba kneeled down onto the ground. Most of the responsibility of losing Kaiyang fell on Zang Ba's shoulders. If he had not dismissed the army of 30000 men, if the supplies and if the thousand horses were still here, the situation would be now reversed!

But is there an "if" in this world? That's the reason why Zang Ba felled so ashamed and kneeled on the ground, hoping that Lu Bu can strike him down to let his heart get a little comfort.

"*Cough cough*!" Lu Bu clutched his chest, coughing continuously. Blood flowed out of his mouth and his hand gripped firmly onto the trident.His eyes eradicated a murderous intent, which makes it look like he could wield the trident at any time.

Zang Ba closed his eyes. Next to him, Gao Shun and Zhang Liao stared anxiously at him. If Lu Bu really intended to kill him, nobody could stop him.

"Stand up!" Lu Bu orders with a calm tone. "In the army of Lu Bu, there are only people who diestanding and no one kneeling while living!"

"What?!" Zang Ba was speechless. He saw Lu Bu's hand releasing the grip on the trident and can't help thinking. Does Lu Bu not want to dirty his hand anymore, do I need do it myself?

All right! Zang Ba's heart was full of bitterness and bowed his fist toward Lu Bu "MyLord please take care, Zang Ba is leaving first!" Zang Ba ran toward the edge of the wall andplanned to jump down.

"Slap!" Suddenly aloud slapping sound could be heard. Lu Bu hit him with a great anger and the force to his face blew Zang Ba to the side.

A mark offive fingers immediately appeared on Zang Ba's face.

"Lu Bu, you!" Warrior can be killed, but cannot be humiliated. Zang Ba was a general, before surrendering to Lu Bu he was a Warlord in Langya. Even after surrendering to Lu Bu, he still had a rebellious character. That's why Lu Bu did not put Zang Ba in the ranks of his army. Right now Zang Ba was about to go mad. In the presence of so many people, Lu Bu slapped him in the face. Zang Ba was not afraid of death, but did not tolerate to be insulted.

"So you want to fight with me?!" Lu Bu gave him a cold laugh "Zang Ba, Zang Xuan Gao, I thought you were a strong character. You had grew stupid immediately after Xiapi was breached. You also unexpectedly disbanded your troops. If there was just stupidity, chances still exist to save you, but now it appears that your foolishness knew no bounds!"

"Lu Bu, you dare to humiliate me!"Zang Ba has already forgotten that Lu Bu was his Lord. Rebellious people have a big negative characteristic. They get easily enraged when provoked. His hand had already a firm grip on his weapon's handle.

"My Lord!" Zhang Liao became anxious. During these critical times, Lu Bu was still abusing his men. Does he wants that the white gate incident reoccurs again?

TL: White gate was the southern gate of Xia Pi and where our story began. Lu Bu was defeated and captured there.

Lu Bu signals Zhang Liao with the eyes to not interfere. "You want to die! See if I, Lu Bu will stop you or not? If your death can let the Cao Cao army retreat, then go and die for me! I will personally cut off your head and bring it down to Cao Cao!"

"I!" Zang Ba calmed down a little, but wasonce again irritated by Lu Bu's words.

"Who do you think you are Zang Ba, Zang Xuan Gao!?" Lu Bu pointed his finger towards Zang Ba's nose and started cursing "If the city falls, the responsibility should fall onto the Lord. The Lord should not hide his mistake in front of heaven. If you, Zang Xuan Gao has to commit suicide to atone. Then I, the Commander in Chief should kill my whole families to atone!"

Lu Bu stood up and looked at the remaining of his wounded army and suddenly kneeled down on one knee.

"My Lord?!" Zhang Liao was stunned.

"No, absolutely not!" Gao Shun was speechless.

"Lu Bu? Lu Fengxian?!" said Zang Ba who was originally enraged had also calmed down.

"Fengxian, why would you go this far!" Chen Gong sighed, but did not stop him.

"Brothers, you campaign with me, from Jiuyuan to Luoyang, from beyond the Great Wall to the Central Plains. We returned to Jizhou, Bingzhou and fought in Yanzhou. Now we are under siege in Xuzhou! It cannot be said that I, Lu Bu had many successful ambition, but I, Lu Bu am not indebt to anyone.I executed Ding Yuan because I was publicly known to be his son, but was treated like a slave. A registrar! I sat there and worked as a registrar for seven years! How many seven years can be wasted in my life?!"

TL: Ding Yuan employed Lu Bu as a registrar before Dong Zhuo convinced Lu Bu to betray him.

"Dong Zhuo? He bestowed upon me both my Red Hare and wealth. I beheaded him not only because of my wife, Madame Ren. The world thinks that I, Lu Bu fell in the honey trap of Wang Yun. But all of you know that if a man can't even protect his wife, he should not call him a man. People can curse me of double crossing. They can call me slave of three surnames. I will accept everything as long as I Lu Bu can have a fulfilling life. I don't care what the rest of the world badmouths about me! "

TL: Red Hare was his horse.

"But towards you all, I am greatly indebt! You campaigned with me, had numerous casualties but never regrets. Even when Wei Xu Hou, Cheng Song Xian, Hao Meng Chen Deng and Chen Gui turned their back on me, you allstayed with me!"

"When Xia Pi was breached, as long as you surrender to Cao Mengde, he would forgive you hence his heart loved talents. But you didn't! You did not surrender, but instead broke out with me! And I? I could bring forth neither wealth, title nor a future to you all. I felt guilt!"Lu Bu looked over them and put all the soldiers within sight in his heart.The soldier Zhang Yu, had followed him since his father. He survived Bingzhou, Jizhou, Luoyang and Chang'an! These are all sad places for Zhang Yu, since every one of his family died except him. His father and three brothers all perished in the battlefield.

Zhang Yu's childish face was covered in blood. He was only fourteen years old, but is already an experienced soldier! Lu Bu didn't know whether he should cry or laugh.

"Now Kaiyang will be breached, but there is still a chance! If you want to go, the gate might not be able to open, but you can climb down the ladders the Cao army left and arrive at the Cao camp. I can also write you a letter. Cao Mengde wants my life and if I die, he will give me some face and spare you!" Lu Bu said with a smile, like a dying person preparing for the general affair of his funeral.

"My Lord we won't go! Zhang Liao kneeled down, his head knocking against the floor and tears in his eyes.

"My Lord if you die, Gao Shun won't live either! "His eyes fixed on Lu Bu and also kneeled down.

"Follow the general to death!" An old soldier of Bingzhou shouted. One of his arm was already gone and was tied in a knot.The blood has spread over his clothes, his face was pale, but his voice was loud and clear.

"If the general die, we die!" A soldier yelled holding a broken sword.

"General, we won't leave!" If we wanted to go, we would have left already! "

"Right, we won't leave! Death is just a big a scar. It is not a big deal, even though dead, we must follow the general!"

The fourteen year old Zhang Yu silently walked to the front and points towards his body where a thin rope holds a circle of small bones. "General, my father has died, my brothers are dead! Zhang Yu has nowhere to go!"

"Follow the general to death!" Follow the general to death!" The voices become louder and louder, bigger and bigger.

"You all!" Lu Bu, the man who would not shed tears even when he bleeds had begun to get teary eyes! How familiar these screams were. They screamed the same words as when Lu Bu was stationedbeyond the Great Wall and made his pronouncement, that he will achieve victory and become the Flying General of Han.

Chapter 33: A Turn for the Better (1)

My Father in Law is Lu Bu

Translation Checker/Editor: James

"Follow the General to death, follow the General to death!"

Continuous shouts coming from atop Kaiyang had Cao Cao so enraged that he smashed his favorite jade marbles to the floor and shatters it to pieces.

TL: In ancient China, rich people like to play with 2 big marbles in their hand. Don't ask me why…

"My Lord, please calm yourself!" Guo Jia instantly put down his wine glass and felt helpless in this situations. He knew that nothing could stop his Lord once he got angry and that his Lord's chronicle headache would show up.

As Guo Jia expected, Cao Cao held his head and started shouting "Pain! So much Pain!"

"My Lord!" Guo Jia felt helpless and escorted Cao Cao to his bed.

"Ah, Fengxiao, why are there so many people following Lu Fengxian even though he is stuck in this situation? Is it true that I, as a leader am beneath him?" Cao Cao became a little emotional and began to think what would have happened if he changed his position with Lu Bu. He suspected that he would've been be sold out by others already. During his first campaign against Xu Province, before he even suffers any defeat, his Yan Province was already sold out by others under him. Zhang Miao and Chen Gong gave Yan Province to Lu Bu. Had it not been that his family roots was much stronger than Lu Bu's and that Lu Bu was not as greedy as him, then perhaps the person owning the two provinces right now would be Lu Bu instead.

However it was different for Lu Bu. Even though Wei Xu and Song Xian betrayed him and caused him to lose Xiapi, both of them eventually rejoined him. With less than three thousand soldiers combined, these two men managed to stop Cao Cao's hundred thousand strong army from exiting Xiapi for a whole ten hours.

Guo Jia shook his head and said: "My Lord, you are worrying too much. In terms of reputation, you are the descendent of the Grand Commandant Cao Song. You had led an expedition against the Yellow Turbans, fought against Dong Zhuo and saved the Emperor. Furthermore, you are now the Prime Minister! In contrast, Lu Bu is just a nobody from Bing Province. Additional, he has betrayed both his foster fathers Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo. That is the reason why he is called the Slave of Three Surnames."

TLC: Cao Song is Cao Cao's father.

TL: In late Eastern Han dynasty, Grand Commandant is the highest rank of military officers but has no real power. TL: The Yellow Turbans is a civilwar started by farmers in late Eastern Han Dynasty.

"Slave of Three Surnames?" Old Cao laughed. It was a nickname through by that big eared Liu's illiterate black faced brother. His insulting ability was indeed profound. Had it been Old Cao, the most he could come up with would be to call Lu Bu disloyal and unfilial.

"Although Lu Bu is currently the General Who Pacifies the East and the Governor of Xu Province, once we conquered Kaiyang, he would become nothing!" Guo Jia continued "As for our military forces, we have an army of a hundred thousand strong. For infantries we have the Qing Province Elites Troops. For cavalries we have the Ferocious Cavalry. As for Lu Bu, although he has the Formation Breaker and Bing Province Wolf Cavalry, there are not many left! My Lord, you control Yan Province and soon the Yu Province. Additional, with the exception of Kaiyang and Guangling, Kaiyang was also yours. Lu Bu has already become a trapped beast."

"Kaiyang! Guangling?!" Kaiyang was soon to fall. However, Guangling was still not under his control. "Chen family! The father and son of the Chen family that were controlling Guangling were not easy to deal with." Guangling was like a country within a country. Even though the family had bowed to Cao Cao and became his subordinates, Cao Cao's influence does not reach inside the city.

"Are you thinking about Chen Deng and his son?" Guo Jia smile. "It was not even worth to consider them as threats. As long as my Lord stays unbeaten, they would never betray you. Once we unify the world, the father and son can be easily be crushed. Furthermore, didn't the old head of the Chen family personally go to Xudu to request to serve the Emperor!"

TLC: In case you forgot, After finding the old capital Luoyang ravaged by war, Cao moved the imperial court and Emperor Xian to Xudu in 196. So basically Old Chen went to Cao Cao to say he wanna serve the emperor…aka, said he will work for Cao Cao.

"The head of Chen family?" Cao Cao gave a wry smile and said "He is already dead!"

"Dead?!" Guo Jia was shocked. He knew that Lu Bu broke through the White Gate Tower, he did not know that the old head of the Chen died there.

"Yes, he is dead! It was I, Cao Mengde who personally pushed him to his death." Cao Cao answered with a self mocking smile. There was no other way. Lu Bu rushed up to kill him and he would be dead if he was a step late.

"My Lord, how many people knew about this?!" Guo Jia asked anxiously.

"Not many, only you, me, Miaocai and Hou Cheng who is already dead. Oh right, there's also Lu Bu who is on the walls of Kaiyang!" Cao Cao's facial color turned ugly again.

"Xu Province soldiers, the soldiers said that the one defending Kaiyang were Xu Province soldiers. They were all wearing Guangling army uniforms! When Chen Deng was defeated, according to Lu Bu's character, he would have executed Chen Deng instantly. But he didn't!" Guo Jia surprisingly said. "Had Chen Deng asked my Lord about his father?!"

Cao Cao answered "He had. After his defeated, I had him return home to recover. That was when he inquired about his father. I had casually answered that Lu Bu killed him."

"And then?" Guo Jia wanted to get to the root of this problem.

"Then, Chen Deng asked me about his father last words." Cao Cao was reluctant to tell him his father's last words because he would lose face greatly if it would be known. That's why he avoided answering Chen Deng's question.

"Foolish, oh my foolish Lord!" Guo Jia suddenly shouted up. "Guangling would rebel and our Xu Province would never be in peace."

"Fengxiao, do not scare me!" Cao Cao became a little nervous. He did not intend to kill Chen Gui. It was just that at that time he could not control himself.

"My Lord, oh my Lord. If Chen Gui was still alive, his family would never betray us. He knew that if his family wanted to gain power and influence, there are only two ways. One is to become an independent warlord and build his own territory. The other way is to become the vassal of one of the warlords and climb onto his war chariot. According to the Chen family's strength, it was enough to become independent. Tao Qian, Lu Bu and the big eared Liu, none of them can match the Chen family's reputation in Xu Province. But the Chen family did not declare independence and instead bowed before them. Why is that? It is because they knew that it's easy to become warlords, but if they were to be defeated then the Chen family would perish. That's why Chen family sold out Lu Bu so easily. They sacrificed the entire Xu Province in exchange for their own interest! When my lord has unified the world, how could you not reward the Chen family? At that time, it would practically be impossible for the Chen family not to gain immense wealth!"Guo Jia analyzed.

"Is there any difference now? Chen Gui might be dead, but the Chen family still exists!" Cao Cao pondered. "Won't they still be bound to the Cao army's war chariot?" Not only that, he will likely present upon the Chen family with even more grace because of his guilt.

"Although the Chen family still exists, but without Chen Gui behind it, the current head, the hot headed Chen Deng does not think that way!" Guo Jia gave a wry smile and shook his head.

"Before Chen Deng became the head of Chen family, he was renowned for his filial piety in Xu Province. There was a year when Chen Gui was severely ill. Chen Deng traveled over half the land to find him the best doctors. He even took especially care when he brewed the medicine and looked after his father carefully day and night." Guo Jia explained.

"He's such a filial son?" Cao Cao said annoyed. Normally, it would be a good thing to Cao Cao if Chen Deng was a filial son. As long as Chen Gui was in Xudu, Chen Deng would never cause any trouble. On the contrary he would pay more effort for Cao Cao's cause. Historically, Chen Deng was an important minister of Cao Wei. The imperial examination system, Nine Grades Official Selection was implemented by him.

TLC: Cao Wei referred to Cao Cao's state of Wei. You should know if you play dynasty warriors.

And now, Chen Gui was killed by Old Cao. It would be strange if Chen Deng were to not try to avenge his father.

Before Old Cao could prepare himself, a messenger arrived from Xiapi. "Reporting! Emergency message from Xiapi! Chen Deng of Guangling is leading an army of twenty thousand and arrived in front of Xiapi's gates. General Che Zhou requests immediate reinforcements!"

"Under which banner is Chen Deng leading his army?" Guo Jia asked.

"They are all wearing white stripes. They intended to take revenge on the Prime Minister for killing their previous head." The messenger replied.

"My headache!" Cao Cao held his head and screamed again.

Chapter 34: A Turn for the Better (2)

My Father in Law is Lu Bu

"Retreat?!" Old Cao felt slightly bitter. Xu Province would fall as soon as Lu Bu perished from this world. He had never expected that Lu Bu would manage a breakthrough. I really should have ended your life in Kaiyang! Cao Cao thought.

He did not expect that his unintentional act would push down old Chen and provoke an invasion of a Chen army. Furthermore, right now it was attacking Xia Pi.

If he pulled out now, Lu Bu would be able to escape. It was like letting calamity breed in the future, just like releasing a tiger back to the mountain. Then all of his efforts until now would vanish to nothing like a broken bubble. His childhood friend Yuan Benchu* was about to conquer Liao Dong in the north before long. As soon as Yuan Benchu achieved this goal, he would aim to swallow up Cao Cao's territory Yan Province.

TL: Benchu is the courtesy name of Yuan Shao, a famous warlord in late Eastern Han dynasty.

If he let Lu Bu escape, he will be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I am not willing to retreat!

"We cannot pull out!"Guo Jia said while shaking his head. "Though Chen Deng has besieged Xia Pi, it will take a while before he can breach the city." There are military supplies for one hundred thousand soldiers restored in Xia Pi. But if the city fell, Old Cao would have to go back with his pants down!

"Tomorrow, we have to conquer Kaiyang tomorrow!" Cao Cao issued the order after awakening from his thoughts.

Tonight, many people could not close their eyes.

On the wall of Kaiyang, Lu Bu's army had been fully prepared to fight to death tomorrow.

Under the wall, Cao Cao was intended to kill Lu Bu no matter how much casualty it was going to cost him. After which Cao's army would go back to Xia Pi and attack Guangling.

"The Cao army is breaking camp?!" Zhang Liao got confused by the big moves of the army under the wall. He immediately reported the Cao army's movement to Lu Bu.

"There are some changes to the camp of Cao army? Are they leaving?!"Lu Bu was surprised as well. What the hell is Cao Cao going to do? Is he really leaving or…?

If it was true that Cao Cao decided not to attack Kaiyang, the rest of the Lu Bu army would be ecstatic.

"Wait a second!" Only Chen Gong's face became serious, "There must be some problems happening in the rear of the Cao army!" Chen Gong analysed. "The situation in Xu Province has become soothed after the Cao army took down Xia Pi. There are only two possible explanations to the disturbing factors in the rear of his army!"

"What are the two possible explanations?" Lu Bu asked in doubt.

"The first explanation is that Yuan Shao landed in the harbour of Mengjing or is invading from the direction of Puyang. In that cause, the Cao army has to retreat! That means, that the whole Hebei was pacified by Yuan Benchu. What is now left is the fight of supremacy between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao and perhaps we have a slim chance of surviving! Before Cao Cao besieged Xia Pi, Yuan Shao was not able to crush Hebei or else Cao Cao wouldn't march his army without worry to Xu Province!" If at that time Yuan Shao had conquered Hebei, it was highly possible that Cao Cao and Lu Bu might have become allies now.

"The second reason!" Chen Gong did not even finish his sentence before Lu Bu knew the answer. "Food supplies!"

"Exactly, it's the food supplies! Before an army marches, the food supplies need to move ahead! There is an army of a hundred thousand, but it needs a lot of food to sustain it. Therefore, Cao Cao would certainly prepare his food supplies on the rear. Before laying siege to Xia Pi they might have been stored near Xia Pi, but after conquering Xia Pi they will certainly be stored inside!" Chen Gong declared.

"Someone is attacking Xia Pi?!" Gao Shun, Zhang Liao and Zang Ba all looked puzzled. Inside Xu Province, except Lu Bu who else would invade Xia Pi? Even Lu Bu has no more than a several thousand soldiers right now.

"Yes, there is such a force that can!" Chen Gong replied.

"Gongtai, you are talking about him?!" Lu Bu's eyes lit up.

"Exactly, I am talking about Chen Deng of Guangling!" Chen Gong replied "My lord, the conversation you had on the plain has created an opportunity for our survival!"

"So, Chen Deng is taking revenge for his father?!" declared Lu Bu while squinting his eyes. Lu Bu released Cheng Deng on the plain not because he wanted Chen Deng to save him in the future. He did not bother to kill him because he wanted Chen Deng to see what kind of person his father and he choose to serve was. What benefits Cao Mengde can give them!

"Tomorrow is the time for the decisive battle!" Lu Bu sighed. He knew that even though Old Cao was getting attacked from behind, he would absolutely not give up this opportunity to kill Lu Bu.

"Gongtai, I will go and inspect the city defence!" Lu Bu stood up while talking.

"Alright!" Chen Gong watched Lu Bu leaving. He knew that there were not so many defenders left in Kaiyang. Tomorrow, the Cao army would do total assault and they would not stop until they killed Lu Bu. His Lord was going on a walk to have some fresh air and to get some time without being disturbed.

In fact, there were times when Chen Gong was asking himself, is it worth it to follow Lu Bu? Sometimes he was confused by Lu Bu's behaviour. When Cheng Gong was a part of Hao Meng's betrayal, Chen Gong thought that Lu Bu would execute him. Because Lu Bu, who was cold hearted, would never let go of traitors, but he didn't behead Chen Gong! Lu Bu instead gave him a look. Did his eyes have doubts? Did he lose his confidence in Cheng Gong? It looked more like loneliness.

Did Lu Bu regard him as family? Chen Gong had only seen this look on Lu Bu's face when Lu Bu was with his family.

Exactly because of these kinds of looks, Chen Gong had followed Lu Bu until now.

Lu Bu walked out of the city tower and watched how his soldiers collapsed on the floor. They all did a great job. They were Lu Bu's loyal soldiers and his brothers-in-arm. Kaiyang's nights were very cold. Lu Bu noticed that most soldiers had already fallen asleep since they were too tired. During the day, they had exhausted themselves with the endless battle spirit. They were shivering while sleeping in the cold.

"Wush!" Lu Bu took down his cloak and gave it as blanket to some teenagers who still had childish faces. He could only do this much for them.

"Nhh!" At corner of the city wall there came an extremely painful moan. Lu Bu went to have a look and saw that it was the man who lost his arm during the day. The cold wind which blew on his wounded arm created an extreme pain, but he did not make any loud sounds in fear of affecting his brothers' rest.

"Is it painful?!" Lu Bu asked while kneeling down.

"So painful!"The men replied back unconsciously. He suddenly saw that it was Lu Bu and tried to kneel down, but was prevented by Lu Bu.

"I, Lu Bu, ask for your forgiveness!" Lu Bu's eyes became moist. He turned his head to not let his tears fall down. "Go to the city tower and rest! Tomorrow is our final battle!"

"Right or wrong, success or failure, we will let the future generation decide! Tomorrow we will show Cao Mengde what I, Lu Bu treasure the most in my life!" declared Lu Bu with great fighting spirit and determination.

"Shing!" In Kaiyang city, most residents had already escaped. At night it was a like a ghost town without any life. Suddenly a huge beam of golden light fell from the sky.

"Bang!" A crashing sound appeared on the place where the sky shone. *Cough Cough* Liu Mang cried with a wry smile on his face "Shit I messed up!"

TL: The author made a mistake imo, he should be naked and say: "I. AM. BACK.!" Arny style!

*Clip Clop Clip Clop* more and more horses hoof sounds rang in this ghostly abandoned city.

Chapter 35: Cavalry Cavalry

My Father in Law is Lu Bu

The sun slowly rose up the sky. The Cao troops was already preparing for breakfast. Today was the final day. They absolutely had to capture Kaiyang and return to reinforce Xiapi.

"Lu Bu, Lu Fengxian. This Cao Mende shall obtain your head!" Having tortured by his headache for the whole night, Cao Cao was unable to obtain a good night's sleep. Right now, he wanted to kill someone really bad.

"Transmit my orders. Tell the troops to prepare for battle. After a single incense worth of time, we shall besiege the city with all our might. He who kills a Lu Bu soldier shall be rewarded ten gold, five mu of fields and a promotion in rank." The remaining Lu Bu soldiers are the elite amongst the elites. They are very difficult to kill. Their every move and every stroke are meant to kill. They all knew the fastest and the most efficient ways to kill!

[TL: mu = classification for area of fields, it is equal to 1/15 of a hectare. 1 hectare is 2.471 acres. so…. they'll be rewarded with 0.8367 acres of land that's good for farming.]

"He who kills a Lu Bu general shall be rewarded with a mansion, ten beautiful women, a hundred gold and three promotions in rank!"

"He who kills Lu Bu shall be rewarded with the title of Marquis, his standing shall be in the Nine Ministers and he will be granted a general!" Cao Cao went all in. He laid down grand rewards to kill Lu Bu.

"The Prime Minister have ordered. All army, prepare to engage. In a single incense worth of time, we are to besiege the city with all our might. He who kills a Lu Bu soldier shall be rewarded ten gold, five mu of fields and a promotion in rank. He who kills a Lu Bu general shall be rewarded with a mansion, ten beautiful women, a hundred gold and three promotions in rank. He who kills Lu Bu shall be rewarded with the title of Marquis, his standing shall be in the Nine Ministers and he will be granted a general!" One by one, the order was transmitted to the whole army. All the Cao generals were sharpening their weapons and wiping their hands. They all wanted to achieve greatness. They all wanted to be bestowed the title of Marquis.

Only Xu Chu was desolate. In today's battle, his lord have already given the death decree. Lu Bu will certainly die and he will lose another worthy adversary.

"Kakakaka!" A sound of door opening that causes one to be uncomfortable. The city of Kaiyang. The city that that was filled with corpses. The frontal gate of the city that the Cao army was unable to break through even after spending twenty thousand troops have suddenly opened. A general donned in a golden armor and holding a trident came out on his horse.

"Lu Bu?!" Just like how Lu Bu could instantly recognize Cao Cao, Cao Cao could also instantly recognize Lu Bu.

"Did he decide to surrender seeing that he's in a plight with no way out?!" Cao Cao laughed. Gates in the ancient times are very difficult to close once they're open. Once opened, it'll take a long time to close it. This amount of time was certainly enough for his army to rush past. Cao Cao had initially thought that he had to fight a siege battle. However, it appears that it would just be an annihilation battle now.

"Surrender? Impossible!" Guo Jia shook his feather fan. His wine had been hidden away by Old Cao. A Guo Jia without his wine was without doubt unhappy. "If he wanted to surrender, he would've done it a long time ago!"

"Then what did he plan to do?!" asked Cao Cao.

"He most likely planned to fight to the death!" replied Xu Chu. Xu Chu was also a general who's at the pinnacle of first class. Thus, he knew of the loneliness of a general who belonged to the same pinnacle as himself - the bearing of rather die standing than to live kneeling.

"Fight to the death?!" Cao Cao also understood. This was indeed Lu Bu's style. Lu Bu had once dared to attack the barracks of the eighteen warlords with his mere three thousand Bing Province Heavy Cavalries. Now that Kaiyang's capture was just a matter of time, Lu Bu would rather exit the city and fight to the death.

Sure enough, Lu Bu held his trident against the sky and shouted toward Cao Cao. "Cao Mende! Lu Bu, Lu Fengxian is here! Come forward and let's chat!"

"My lord, don't go!" Guo Jia was concerned about Lu Bu's actions. Was this man really the man who was known as the God of War? Was he really planning to fight to the death? Or was he planning something else? Just like how generals can't understand Guo Jia's stratagems, he too cannot understand the thinkings of generals like Lu Bu.

What Guo Jia was thinking of was whether or not this was a trap set up by Lu Bu. A trap to capture Cao Cao when he goes up to talk.

"Fengxiao, you needn't be so alarm. With Zhongkang here, Lu Bu cannot possibly injury even my hair!" Cao Cao also knew what Guo Jia was thinking of. However, he wasn't afraid. That's because he knew that Lu Bu wasn't the sort who will break faith and kill an enemy's commander in talks in front of the whole army.

Before Guo Jia could respond, Cao Cao had already brought Xu Chu and some others and went forward on their horses.

"Mende, how's Xiapi?!" asked Lu Bu plainly.

Had Lu Bu also guessed the situation at Xiapi? Cao Cao wasn't surprised. That's because in Lu Bu's camp, there's the top advisor Chen Gong. If Chen Gong can't guess that, then Cao Cao would've been surprised instead. Furthermore, Old Cao believe that Chen Gong played a major role in Chen Deng's revolt.

"Can't you tell that we're preparing to go back?!" said Cao Cao as if it was an ordinary chat.

"You really wanted to kill this Lu Bu that badly?!" Lu Bu stopped beating around the bush and asked directly.

Cao Cao was also straightforward. "Cao cannot have a good night's sleep if Fengxian doesn't die!"

"Hahahaha, so, actually, as it turns out, Mengde you fears me so!" laughed Lu Bu.

"This isn't fear?!" said Cao Cao. "I have long said, there exists but a select few in the whole world that could make this Cao cast sidelong glances. You, Lu Bu, are one of them. You are suited for being a soul of an army but aren't suited for being the lord of a state! It wasn't that I had to make things difficult for you, it's just that you blocked my path! Therefore you had to die!" Cao Cao looked at Lu Bu straight in the eye with an overwhelming killing intent.

"Blocked your path?!" Mumbled Lu Bu. "Sure enough, like Gongtai said, Mengde, your ambition was certainly not small!"

"Chen Gong?!"

"Well, Mengde ah, since you wanted my life, come take it! I heard that you even brought your elite Ferocious Cavalry with you. A whole three thousand heavy cavalries! I suspect you personally prepared that for this Lu Bu?!" laughed Lu Bu.

Cao Cao didn't respond. Cao Cao indeed established the Ferocious Cavalry after having suffered defeat in the hands of Lu Bu's Bing Province Heavy Cavalry. Their purpose was solely to defeat the Bing Province Heavy Cavalry. And thus, he brought them with him when he decided to attack Xu Province.

"Come Mengde! Use your most elite soldiers to have a final settlement with this Lu Bu!" Using his trident, Lu Bu pointed toward the three thousand heavy cavalries behind Cao Cao.

"To die at the hands of the Ferocious Cavalry, Fengxian, that's a proper burial for you!" Cao Cao turned his horse around and returned to his army. Three thousand Ferocious Cavalry resounded the earth as they came forward.

The leading general was Cao Chun. In the past couple days of siege, the Ferocious Cavalry was unable to do anything. This had caused Cao Chun to be impatient to the extreme. And now the fate smiled at him. To actually be able to fight the final battle, Cao Chun was extremely happy. In his view, he believed Lu Bu to have nothing left. Even if his troops were all elites, they're only infantries. How could the two legged soldiers possibly win against the four legged cavalries?

Not to mention the Ferocious Cavalry was an army of heavy cavalries. Although they aren't suited for siege warfare, they're overwhelming on the plains. Even if their enemies were ten times their amount, Cao Chun was still certain that he would be able to rip their enemies to shreds.

"Follow my lead!" shouted Cao Chun. "Sweep everything before us!" The Ferocious Cavalry began their charge, trembling the earth and the bodies of everyone present.

"This is the Ferocious Cavalry?! This is the strength of Heavy Cavalries?!" Although Guo Jia knew of the elite Ferocious Cavalry, he had never seen them in battle. Seeing the dust storm brought forth by the cavalries as well as that kind of grandeur, Guo Jia could not help but widen his eyes in shock.

"The victor was determined!" Cao Cao started laughing out loud. The Ferocious Cavalry have never once lost a battle on the open fields. Even if they're against other Heavy Cavalries, Cao Cao believed that his Ferocious Cavalry would certainly not lose against them.

"Something's amiss!" Xu Chu suddenly shook his head and began to feel a little worried.

"What's wrong? Zhongkang?!" inquired Cao Cao while smiling. "For us to kill Lu Bu, Zhongkang have greatly contributed. If it wasn't for you wounding this fierce tiger, how could we possibly be able to force him out?!"

Xu Chu did not respond to Cao Cao's complement. Instead, he muttered. "the sound of activities are amiss!"

"My lord! I need to see my lord! Get out of the way!" A general donned in armor suddenly burst into the army tent. Wasn't this man Xu Huang?

"Gongming?" Seeing the incoming person to be Xu Huang, Cao Cao had his guards let him pass. "We were just discussing the contributions in killing Lu Bu. Gongming, you have also contributed greatly!"

"No, no. My lord! It's not regarding this!" Xu Huang quickly spoke. "these sounds of activities… there's heavy cavalries in the vicinity!"

"Heavy cavalries? You meant the Ferocious Cavalry?! The Ferocious Cavalry are the elite amongst the elites, they're comparable with the Western Liang Heavy Cavalry that Dong Zhou had!" Xu Huang was formerly a subordinate of Yang Feng. Thus, he was naturally very familiar with the Western Liang Heavy Cavalry.

[TL: Yang Feng was a cavalry general under Dong Zhou who was later defeated by Cao Cao. Xu Huang joined Cao's camp after that.]

"Is it really my lord's Ferocious Cavalry?!" doubted Xu Huang. "My lord, didn't you only brought with you three thousand Ferocious Cavalry? How could they possibly have the grandeur of nearly ten thousand?!"

"Ten thousand?!" Cao Cao was also in doubt.

"My lord, please listen to the trembling of the earth. This is obviously the sound of ten thousand cavalries in the vicinity!" replied Xu Huang.

"Ten thousand cavalries?!" Cao Cao grew even more confused.

"That's right! It's certainly ten thousand cavalries!" Xu Chu came to it too."These sounds of activities was too large, too great! It's impossible for it to be originated from just the Ferocious Cavalry! There's other cavalries in the vicinity!"

"There's other cavalries other than our Ferocious Cavalry?!" Immediately, Cao Cao knew that the situation was bad. If it was like what Xu Huang and Xu Chu said that there's ten thousand cavalries in the vicinity, then taking into consideration of the three thousand Ferocious Cavalry, there's still seven thousand cavalries in the vicinity that wasn't his troops!

"Lu Bu, Lu Fengxian. This Cao Chun had set to obtain thy head! After reaching the realms of the dead, don't forget to tell Yama that it is I who sent you there!" As the distance from Lu Bu grew ever closer, Cao Chun eyes grew with ever more malevolent.

"Hehe. There are numerous people who wanted my life. Amongst them, who are you Cao Chun?!" With a confident smile, Lu Bu viewed the magnificent army with thousands of men and horses as if they were nothing.

"Kakakaka!" The gates of Kaiyang have all been opened. Under the reflection of the sun, the armors were glistering. One by one, horses came running out from within the city as if there was no end. Mounted atop the horses were ferocious soldiers donned in heavy armor and holding long spears.

"Cavalries?!" Cao Chun was abruptly startled. "Where did these cavalries came from?!"

Just like this, two powerful currents of steel collided with each other.