Chapter 2938: Encircled by the Yellow Turbans

It went without saying that Zu An wouldn’t watch idly as his allied troops panicked. He roared, “What you lookin’ at?!”

“I’m looking at you, shithead!” Deng Mao, Cheng Zhiyuan, and some of the enemy soldiers replied, but they were only limited to the frontmost row of soldiers. That said, the black aura visibly dimmed when those people stopped channeling the curse.

Zu An made use of this chance to pull out the Fallen Soul Banner and wave it around. Had it been any other world, the prowess of the Fallen Soul Banner could have obliterated the enemy camp. However, the enemy’s intimidation aura and Water Talisman Harmony neutralized some of its potency. Only a small handful of enemy soldiers crumbled to the ground.

But Deng Mao and Cheng Zhiyuan were still alarmed. The enemy had already shaken their morale several times before they could rally their army together. At this rate, their troops could lose their fighting spirit.

Still, ever since they began this campaign, they had enjoyed a string of successes, killing official soldiers from different places. They wouldn’t fear a measly army of five hundred, especially one led by a moocher and two beauties. Both of them thought, I bet it’s just a young heir bringing his concubines and his servants here as reinforcements. Their confidence is founded in their artifacts.

Deng Mao and Cheng Zhiyuan exchanged looks. Then, they roared in unison and charged forth. They figured that an heir would be unfamiliar with the savagery of the battlefield. With their valiance, they could catch the noble off guard and defeat him in a single swoop.

Their coordination was impeccable. One charged at Yun Jianyue, whereas the other went for Tingxue. Once they took down those two women, the moocher would be forced to surrender. These two women are far more beautiful than the ones we have seen in previous cities. It’ll be perfect if we can capture them and turn them into our wives.

They had already chosen their targets. Deng Mao charged at the seductive Yun Jianyue, whereas Cheng Zhiyuan preferred the cold and ethereal Tingxue.

Yun Jianyue chuckled. “You want to play with big sis?”

Her serpent spear suddenly shot forth, transforming into crescent glaives that pierced Deng Mao’s heart. If Deng Mao had remained in the army formation, they wouldn’t have been able to kill him so easily. It was truly a suicidal move for him to break out of the military formation and charge at her.

Yun Jianyue sighed. “But you aren’t sturdy enough for me to play with.”

Deng Mao gurgled from the blood gushing up his mouth. He wanted to activate the Water Talisman Harmony to heal his wounds, but the crescent glaives that pierced his heart were imbued with mysterious energy that ravaged his body. His regeneration wasn’t working at all. He could only watch helplessly with widened eyes as his life force trickled away.

Cheng Zhiyuan sweated profusely. He knew how strong Deng Mao was, and he couldn’t believe that the latter had been defeated in a single strike. He quickly turned tail to return into the safety of his army formation, but it was too late. Tingxue swung her sword, and Cheng Zhiyuan felt his body suddenly becoming lighter. When he lowered his head, he realized that the lower half of his body had vanished. He screamed in agony as his body returned to the earth.

This completely crushed the Yellow Turban Army’s morale. They disbanded on the spot and fled in all directions. Yun Jianyue’s eyes gleamed in excitement as she charged in with her subordinates to massacre the fleeing enemy troops.

Zu An thought, No wonder she’s the leader of a demonic sect. She’s indeed suited for war and bloodshed.

At some point, Zou Jing arrived with reinforcements. Both sides joined forces and successfully reclaimed Ji County.

Zou Jing intended to execute everyone from the Yellow Turban Army, but Zu An stopped him. He took in those who were willing to surrender and hadn’t committed any heinous crimes thus far. Zou Jing frowned in confusion. The imperial court had ordered the suppression of the rebels. Zu An’s action of taking in the rebels could be considered protecting them, and it could potentially bring trouble upon himself.

There was no way Zu An could explain to Zou Jing that the era of chaos had already begun, and he needed to amass as many troops as he could to compete with other factions. The earlier battle had taught him the importance of having a strong army in this world. Rations were usually the biggest problem when raising a huge army, but the Yellow Turban Army had just plundered the provincial granary. Those could be used as military rations now.

Zou Jing was dissatisfied, but following the deaths of its governor and marshal, You Province was in disorder. Considering that Zu An, Yun Jianyue, and Tingxue had performed spectacularly in the earlier battle, and their strength was needed to deal with the Yellow Turban Army, he decided to tolerate it.

Next, Zu An interrogated the surrendered soldiers. He was curious about the black aura they had unleashed upon the battlefield—that wasn't intimidation aura. After all, the soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army were from poor backgrounds and hadn’t undergone proper military training.

It turned out that Great Teacher Zhang Jiao had come up with a method to gather the populace’s resentment. While the people lacked the intimidation aura, years of oppression by those in power had led to a huge accumulation of resentment. By gathering all this resentment, they could produce an effect similar to the intimidation aura. As for the Water Talisman Harmony, they had to first drink water mixed with the ashes of a talisman paper before marching into the battlefield. The greater their faith in the Taiping Dao and the Great Teacher, the faster their regenerativve ability. It was similar to the power of faith.

Zu An was awed by the Yellow Turban Army’s leader, Zhang Jiao. Not only had he created a method to replace intimidation aura, he'd even created all sorts of incredible army buffs.

Yun Jianyue murmured worriedly, “Zhang Jiao is more powerful than expected. It’s unlikely he will die from illness as he did in history. The suppression of the Yellow Turban Army might not go smoothly. They might even be able to topple the imperial court.”

But Zu An smiled. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing. In history, the Yellow Turban Rebellion was suppressed within a year. There was no chance for someone of humble birth like Liu Bei to shine and rise through the ranks. The stronger the Yellow Turban Army, the more they can curb powerhouses like Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu, who were strong from the start.”

Yun Jianyue nodded. “What should we do next? Should we look for the prodigious Sir Zhuge?”

The three of them had agreed that the easiest way for them to collect the universal deities’ soul fragments was to conquer the world. Yun Jianyue had been brimming with confidence, but this battle made her realize that they were still too weak.

“Zhuge Liang is still a child now. He won’t be useful even if we find him now.” Zu An shook his head. He couldn’t use the ‘Longzhong Plan’ that Zhuge Liang had proposed to Liu Bei in history to fight this war, either. That would be a huge waste of Liu Bei’s earlier life.

Tingxue suddenly interjected, “This is not the same world as you know in history. The timeline might be different. It’s possible that Zhuge Liang is already an adult.”

Zu An was taken aback. He thought about the previous dungeons he had been to. “Yes, we can’t exclude that possibility. However, You Province and Yi Province are currently occupied by the Yellow Turban Army. We can’t get to Xu Province to find him.”

The Yellow Turban Rebellion had swept across the world, but the momentum was the strongest in the north. Zhang Jiao and the Yellow Turban Army’s main force were stationed at Julu, in the center of Yi Province. Zhang Liang’s army was stationed at the Bohai Commandery, east of Yi Province. Zhang Bao’s army was stationed at Anping Commandery and Hejian Commandery, north of Yi Province. This army happened to neighbor Zhuo County.

Once news about Deng Mao and Cheng Zhiyuan’s defeat spread, Zhang Bao would surely march over to exact vengeance for them. With the few troops they had, it was unlikely that Zu An and the others could fend against him.

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