CHAPTER 411: CHAPTER 40: DEFEAT AND STEALING CREDIT! _3

How could someone accepted as a son-in-law by a Military Governor be a simple man?

Even though the Qian army had been defeated, he, Han Laowu, was still a formidable man!

Among the many young officers, when it came to skill in battle, only that fellow Yue Huan, who was adept with a long spear, might be qualified to exchange a few dozen blows with him. The rest weren’t even worth his notice.

However, what surprised Han Laowu somewhat was that the Yan people knight, who had been relentlessly chasing him from behind, also stopped when he did. They stood about twenty meters apart. Then, the Yan knight didn’t even look at him, but began to circle his horse on the spot...

Han Laowu was momentarily bewildered, but he knew he couldn’t delay and urged his horse to flee.

After fleeing some distance, Han Laowu glanced back. He saw the Yan knight still standing there. When the knight noticed Han Laowu looking, he waved his hand with apparent dissatisfaction, as if shooing a fly, urging him to hurry up and scram.

That fellow, he’s far too arrogant!

For a moment, Han Laowu felt a surge of anger, feeling despised. Did the other man think he wasn’t worthy, that he disdained to kill him?

He was so close, so very close, to turning his horse around and skewering that Yan bastard who looked down on him.

But seeing the main body of Yan people cavalry beginning to spread out in pursuit, Han Laowu gritted his teeth and continued to flee.

Meanwhile, Zheng Fan was still unaware he had just brushed with death. After realizing that attacking that "big fish" alone would likely get him killed instead, Chief Zheng began to look for a new target.

Chief Zheng didn’t think he was being cowardly. Victory was already assured. If he took a risk now and got himself killed, wouldn’t that be a terrible loss?

Just as Zheng Fan began to scan his surroundings again, an arrow flew from an unknown direction. He didn’t know if it was fired by a Qian soldier or if it was a stray shot from some reckless Town North Army knight. Coincidentally, it struck his warhorse in the rump.

His warhorse immediately went wild, first bucking to one side, then charging diagonally forward.

Before it had charged far, Zheng Fan saw a white horse approaching. The two horses, by sheer coincidence, collided.

"BANG!"

In his peripheral vision, Zheng Fan glimpsed a jade pendant tied to the Qian people cavalryman’s waist, a long tassel hanging below it.

Holy crap!

A big fish!

Another big fish!

And this one looked terrified! A frightened big fish!

Zheng Fan unhesitatingly unleashed a black light from his body and slashed at him with his saber. At that moment, their horses were side-by-side, their bodies almost touching. He had no choice but to strike.

However, Zu Dongcheng was, after all, a young general who had campaigned with his father from a young age and grown up on the battlefield. Even though he was indeed somewhat disoriented and fleeing in panic, the instincts ingrained in him since childhood were truly formidable.

As Zheng Fan unleashed the black light, Zu Dongcheng also emitted a white light.

Judging by the fluctuations in their vital energy, Zheng Fan knew their strength levels were similar; his opponent was likely an Eighth Rank or perhaps barely a Seventh Rank.

However, although Zheng Fan had often sparred with Liang Cheng and Xue Three over the past six months, his actual experience in life-or-death combat was far, far less than that of this young general before him.

So, when Zheng Fan’s saber came slashing down, his opponent didn’t even try to counter with his own weapon. Instead, he leaned back sharply. Zheng Fan’s saber struck his armor, specifically on the chest, likely where a heart guard would be.

The blade carved a groove into the armor, nearly piercing it, but failed to penetrate deeply enough to cause significant injury. Seizing the moment, his opponent grabbed Zheng Fan’s arm.

"BUZZ!"

Zheng Fan felt himself being hoisted up and then slammed to the ground. As he landed, he braced himself with his left hand. A sharp pain shot through his palm, clearly badly scraped, and due to the impact, his wrist was also twisted.

Zu Dongcheng, however, didn’t press his advantage to take Zheng Fan’s life. Right now, he was just a fleeing general; he couldn’t afford any delays.

So, after throwing Zheng Fan from his horse, Zu Dongcheng planted his feet in the stirrups, resettled himself firmly in the saddle, and galloped onward to escape.

Two big fish in a row, and both slipped away right before his eyes?

Moreover, the jade pendant at this young man’s waist clearly indicated his extraordinary status.

Zheng Fan reached into his chest armor, took out the stone containing the Mo Wan, and hurled it directly at Zu Dongcheng, who had just remounted and hadn’t yet pulled far ahead.

At the same time, he shouted, "Son!"

"SWOOSH!"

To an outsider, it would have seemed as if Zheng Fan had merely picked up a stone and thrown it at his enemy.

However, the stone’s speed was truly astonishing; to call it like an arrow loosed from a bow would be an understatement.

Zu Dongcheng only sensed a sound of something tearing through the air behind him and an immediate premonition of danger. But before he could react, the stone containing the Mo Wan slammed squarely into his back armor.

"BANG!"

As if someone had swung a colossal hammer and struck him squarely, Zu Dongcheng was sent flying from his horse, crashing heavily to the ground.

Chief Zheng scrambled to his feet and, ignoring the stinging pain in his palm, sprinted over.

Zu Dongcheng struggled to rise, but who knew how many bones that last impact had broken. Most critically, the vital energy throughout his body had been dispersed by the blow, and for the moment, he couldn’t circulate it at all.

He turned his head unwillingly to look. He saw the Yan people knight he had unhorsed earlier rapidly approaching him.

Closer, closer...

"I am—"

Chief Zheng kicked out, striking Zu Dongcheng directly in the head.

"BANG!"

Zu Dongcheng felt a heavy impact to his head and immediately lost consciousness.

Zheng Fan looked at his left hand, which was now a bloody, scraped mess from when he’d hit the ground, and his wrist, which throbbed with a dull ache that might signify a minor fracture. He spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground and cursed, "Damn it all!"

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Regarding the comments on the previous two Chapters, many readers found them too tedious due to the number of minor characters introduced. These introductions are necessary groundwork. Some of these characters will be important later, and some are based on historical figures.

Without these introductions and explanations, future story development would be difficult. It would become a cycle of fighting a random enemy general in one battle, then attacking a city and another random enemy general appearing, turning it into a mindless hack-and-slash.

However, I (the author) will pay attention to this issue and try to make such groundwork more interesting and engaging in the future. This is an area I need to improve.

Finally, I’d appreciate it if you could cast your monthly votes.