Chapter 75 Ambush (Six)

In a dense forest between Zhuyang County and Juyong County, dozens of riders are passing through a narrow path. Shortly after they passed, hundreds of horsemen followed closely behind.
In the forefront, there were several dozen riders, all with damaged armor and fresh wounds that were still dripping blood. They were Xu Lang and his men who had just broken through the encirclement of the Xianbei tribe.
With a quick glance around, Xu Lang's heart was bleeding at the sight of the small group of less than a hundred riders.
Including the troops led by Zhao Yun, nearly five hundred people died on the journey to rescue Xu Lang. Despite this, Xu Lang himself sustained several injuries. Although they were treated and not life-threatening, he would still need at least half a month to recover before returning.
This ambush by the Xianbei has dealt a heavy blow to Xu Lang. If it were not for Zhao Yun's timely appearance, he might have lost his own life here. The military action led by Xu Lang this time has also essentially failed.
When Xu Lang looked around and sighed, Zhang Fei's heart was also bleeding. He knew very well that he was the one who had caused the current situation.
All along the way, under Xu Lang's careful marching, not only did they not encounter any setbacks, but they also detected the ambush of the Xianbei people. This shattered the Xianbei people's original plan. Zhang Fei had reason to believe that if they continued to follow Xu Lang's steady and cautious approach, they would almost certainly not be outsmarted by the Xianbei people and would not have fallen into the current disastrous defeat.

He is very aware that it is his own underestimation of the enemy that led him into another trap when he chose to pursue those few escaped Xianbei people on his own, thereby putting Xu Lang in danger as well. He could have easily abandoned him, but he didn't.

Thinking about it, Zhang Fei is filled with regret in his heart, as well as endless apologies to Xu Lang. If it weren't for the Xianbei people chasing behind him, he would have already watched Xu Lang return to the city safely and committed suicide to apologize, because if it weren't for Xu Lang's appearance, he would have died long ago.
The howling of the Xianbei people behind them grew louder, but there was still a long distance to go before reaching the city of Juyang. They had not even reached the spot where the Xianbei people had first ambushed them. At this pace, they should be able to catch up with them by the time they see the outline of Juyang City's walls.
Zhang Fei turned his head and pleaded with Xu Lang, saying, "Lord, the enemy is relentlessly pursuing us. Let me stay behind and hold them off!"
This is the third time Zhang Fei has made such a request since breaking through, but Xu Lang's reply is still a firm rejection. He directly says, "Let me say it again, I came to find you in order to bring you back alive!"
Xu Lang understands that with his current strength, although it is weak, he should still have the ability to hold back the pursuing enemies for a period of time. After all, he is a fierce general with the title of invincible.
Although this will increase the probability of saving his life, Zhang Fei will become his Dian Wei, which is something he does not want to see. He spent so much effort to win over the alive fierce general Zhang Fei, not a corpse and a pile of bones.
Under the influence of the sound of horses' hooves all around and the screams of the Xianbei people behind him, Zhang Fei couldn't hear Xu Lang's words very clearly. Firstly, Xu Lang's voice doesn't carry as far as Zhang Fei's, and secondly, he was getting tired of giving the same answer repeatedly, not to mention he was also injured.
"My lord! This is my fault. Let me stay behind and hold the fort!"
Facing Zhang Fei's plea once again, Xu Lang ignored him this time and turned his head to gaze ahead, surveying his surroundings. It seemed that there was something he noticed that others hadn't, capturing his attention.
In the face of Xu Lang's indifference, Zhang Fei immediately adopted a resolute tone: "My lord must return to Juyang alive. Regardless of whether my lord agrees or not, I will stay behind to hold off the enemy!"
"How much longer until we reach the forest where they first ambushed us?" Xu Lang, ignoring Zhang Fei's expression, shouted suddenly at the top of his voice.
At this time, it is already the rooster hour, approaching the evening. The sky has gradually darkened, and the horizon seems to be wrapped in a layer of gradually changing red, orange, and white chiffon. It slowly devours the last ray of light before nightfall.
In this case, they are in the forest and the light and visibility are already obstructed, making it even harder to judge.
But in fact, they have now returned to the vicinity of the dense forest where the Xianbei people originally ambushed them, and their current location is the eastern part of the three dense forests separated by the official road. Once they leave the forest, they will be able to see the wide official road.
"Yide, do you know?"
Zhang Fei did not answer because he was currently only thinking about how to safely send Xu Lang back to Juyang. He had no interest in these seemingly unimportant matters in his eyes.
“问你呢！”
“This subordinate does not know.”
“为什么，是因为光线太暗，看不清、分辨不出来吗？”
张飞点了点头，胯下坐骑的速度却是不经意间放慢了许多，在他看来，徐朗这不过就是在分散他注意力，好让他就此暂时放下留下断后的念头。
The Xianbei people behind him were chasing him relentlessly, and in this situation, he would not be distracted by these things.
He had almost made up his mind that whether Xu Lang agreed or not, after passing through this forest, he would leave the troops behind, stay behind and buy time for Xu Lang to escape back to Juyang.
Just as Zhang Fei was about to slow down and move to the back of the team to be the rear guard, Xu Lang asked another question, and this time the question seemed even more bewildering to Zhang Fei, but of course, it was only at the beginning.
"Yide, do you think they would never expect us to set up an ambush in the forest under these circumstances?"
"Or, do you think Guan Hai and the people he invited may have set up an ambush there?"
"Sir, could it be?"
Xu Lang chuckled lightly, and Zhao Yun, who had been silent beside him, also understood the meaning behind Xu Lang's words. He smiled knowingly, as if everything was under control.
"Do you remember when I sent over twenty people disguised as a merchant caravan ahead of us when we first left Juyang? Where do you think they went?"
Here, Xu Lang and Zhang Fei were discussing this, while behind them, the pursuing Xianbei people were also consulting on countermeasures.
"Sir, in a little while we will be leaving this forest, and then we will reach the official road, which is an open space. Further ahead is the forest where we previously set up an ambush. If we can't intercept them near that forest again, it will become easier and easier for them to escape." A strong man of Xianbei descent said in Xianbei language, while driving the horse forward.
He is named Luo Luo. As one of the most powerful warriors under Ke Tu, he did not rush to the front of the team, as he did in the past, but stayed in the middle and back of the pursuit team, also accompanying Ke Tu.
He was able to reach his current position not only because he is strong and brave, but also because he enjoys using his brain to think.
"Does that mean that after leaving this forest, it is only about half a day's journey to Juyang?"
After receiving affirmation from his strong subordinate, Ketu immediately made a decision, saying, "Let everyone prepare themselves. Once we leave this forest and reach the open area, we will use our bows and arrows. As long as we can leave Xu Lang behind, even if it's just a lifeless body, it will suffice."
This time he finally let go of the obsession in his heart, because if it was dark, it would be even harder to trace the footsteps. Considering both sides, he had no choice but to give up his initial plan.
Despite having planned for a long time for this project, for his subsequent plans, if he could only bring back one corpse of Xu Lang, the whole plan would be in vain. This is also the reason why he has been unwilling to give up on capturing Xu Lang alive.
"Quick, quickly pass down Lord Ke Tu's orders."
As soon as the voice fell, Ke Tu's orders also spread to the surrounding people in a few words.
After Ke Tu's subordinates received the order, the light coming from outside the woods became brighter and brighter. Seeing this, the burly man next to Ke Tu shouted loudly, "Everyone, we're about to exit the woods, be prepared!"
"Yes!"
With a command, dozens of people immediately bent their bows and arrows, and as soon as Xu Lang and others rushed out of the woods, the arrows rained down on them.
"Narrow the formation and protect the lord!"
From the beginning, these people have all had a determination to die. Most of the six hundred soldiers who followed Xu Lang are old soldiers who have been following him. They have saved the brave and fearless in the past, and they are still the same at this moment. When the order is given, they immediately gather and converge towards Xu Lang's location.
But they are only a few dozen people, facing a rain of arrows from hundreds of people behind them, even if they protect Xu Lang with their bodies, it is just a drop in the bucket.
After two rounds of indiscriminate shooting, most of the people around Xu Lang fell, and Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei, who were closest to him, were both shot.
"Did they all come out of the forest?"
"Yes! Lord..."
Glancing back at the pursuing Xianbei people, Xu Lang said in a deep voice, "Wait a little longer, wait until they are fifty steps ahead again!"
During the conversation, two more henchmen were hit and fell down, getting closer and closer to the dense forest where the Xianbei people had set an ambush earlier. In order to slow down their progress, the rain of arrows became more and more intense.
"Master!"
The dense forest where the Xianbei people had previously ambushed is right in front of us, the distance of fifty steps is far too great. At this moment, Xu Lang calls out loudly, "Where are the sons of the Han Dynasty?"
The sound reverberated on the official road and also echoed into the forest. In just a few moments, a volley of arrows shot out from the dense woods in front of Xu Lang, accompanied by shouts of killing. Soldiers hidden in the surroundings also started to howl and rushed out.
There were people coming out from the forest in front of Xu Lang, as well as from the forest they had just passed, and even from another forest. These three groups of soldiers appeared and cut off the retreat route of the Xianbei people, forming a huge encirclement. Among the crowd, Xu Lang also saw the figures of Taishi Ci, Ji Yong, and Guan Hai.
"Damn it, it's an ambush!"
The Xianbei man at the forefront immediately let out a roar, trying to warn others to escape.
However, at this moment, the soldiers chasing and blocking from behind had already killed more than a dozen Xianbei people with such thoughts, blocking their way and ruthlessly chopping off their heads. This also dispelled the Xianbei people's thoughts of fleeing. Xu Lang also turned his horse's head and looked towards the Xianbei people encircled within the circle.
At this moment, he had already raised his arm. As soon as his arm fell, everyone would immediately take action and besiege and kill these Xianbei people.
On the official road and along the edge of the forest, there were all his men, several times more than the enemy. He now had the power to crush these Xianbei people.
"Damn Han people, you are so cunning, deceiving us!"