Chapter 109: Forcing Chang Xi to Land

Just two short days had passed.

Li Guang and Li Ji had not disappointed Mo Xiaobai.

At the foot of the mountains, less than ten li northwest of Pengcheng, stood a simple and loose bandit camp.

Leading two thousand troops openly from a high vantage point, Mo Xiaobai could even see the Players inside the camp unable to hold it in and relieving themselves on the ground.

Hehe, it was really filthy.

It was impossible for Li Guang and Li Ji to get near the bandit camp so quickly without their contribution. One had a built-in radar-like Characteristic, while the other had the Shadow of the Cunning Fox to aid him.

Working in pairs and complementing each other, they managed to avoid every bandit soldier sent out on looting patrols that had been spotted along the way.

“We are going to attack the camp tonight?”

Wang Zhong also stood beside them looking down, though he still found it hard to believe. So many heads were packed down there below; even if two thousand people were thrown at them, it might not make much noise.

“Maogong, from where do you think we should start?”

Mo Xiaobai ignored Wang Zhong’s muttering and asked Li Ji for his strategy.

Li Ji was not only excellent at hidden movement but also superb at reading the battlefield, so Mo Xiaobai would not make decisions on his own. Professional matters had to be left to the professionals.

“My Lord, we might as well break through from the southwest side.”

As soon as Li Ji finished speaking, Wang Zhong asked in confusion, “The southwest? Won’t that require us to take a detour? Is it not better to charge straight down?”

The place where they were standing was the northwest gate of the camp.

If they were going to charge the camp, why change directions?

“The bandits below know no rules; they just set up camp according to their preferences. There are heavy troops on the mountain side and the side facing Pengcheng directly. If we charge from those two places, we will be trapped in mud within a single moment.”

Li Ji smiled faintly and explained, then pointed toward the distance: “The southwest is different. The terrain is open with no high ground to rely on, and no one would expect us to boldly advance from there.”

“We only need to rush into the camp quickly, then split the troops to block the heavy forces on the northwest and southeast sides. With the Flying General leading over fifty men, it will be easy to smash directly into the Central Army of the bandits. We do not seek to kill many enemies in this battle; we only aim to force Chang Xi to surrender quickly. Leaving over two hundred men here in the forest to raise flags and shout will be an easy task at night, pretending to be one or two thousand troops. When Chang Xi sees the Cao soldiers gathering inside and outside the camp, with the brave Flying General before him, how could he not surrender?”

“Great! Then I will stay here to cheer for you!” As soon as Wang Zhong heard Li Ji’s plan, he immediately jumped in to agree.

This plan was good; risking life was someone else’s job; he only needed to bluff.

He was an expert at this trick!

Seeing Wang Zhong act as if someone was about to steal his task, Mo Xiaobai felt both annoyed and amused: “Then I leave it to you, General of the Household. Lead your sons and men to give it your all. When we kill our way into the camp, create as much noise and clamor as possible.”

“Baron need not worry; I have my ways. I guarantee Chang Xi will believe there are still thousands of elite soldiers waiting to come down the mountain to break the camp.”

Alright.

This coward was still somewhat useful.

Mo Xiaobai nodded and stopped paying attention to him, turning his gaze instead to Chen Jiao: “Brother Jibo, you should stay as well.”

“Such a heroic deed, how could I, a Scholar, stand by with folded arms? I will go with the Baron.” Although Chen Jiao was just a Scholar, he possessed a heroic spirit; otherwise, he would not have dared to break out from Guangling and go alone to Guandu to ask for reinforcements.

“Then let’s go together to meet Chang Xi.” Mo Xiaobai did not force the issue and nodded in agreement.

As the moonlight gradually rose into the sky, a dark cloud happened to cover it.

Mo Xiaobai and the others quietly left the mountain and circled for nearly nine li before arriving at the best breakthrough point according to Li Ji.

Since they were facing bandit soldiers, there were almost no scouts outside the camp in the middle of the night. Even the Players were tired from all the chaos and had returned to sleep. Mo Xiaobai rubbed his chin: “As for breaking the camp, I will leave this task to the Flying General.”

“A mere bandit camp; one kick is enough to knock it down.”

Li Guang grinned and waved his hand, selecting the young and strong soldiers he had chosen earlier: “Stay alert. Follow me.”

Watching Li Guang lead the troops slowly forward, Mo Xiaobai also felt excited.

This battle counted as the first large-scale war between two armies he had participated in since his rebirth. Thinking about the large camp with over ten thousand men he was about to charge into, his palms instinctively began to sweat with excitement.

Just as Mo Xiaobai drew and sheathed his sword a few times, a few faint screams were heard in the distance, followed by the sound of a wooden fence collapsing.

At the same moment, Li Guang’s whistling sounded through the quiet night sky.

Mo Xiaobai’s eyes lit up, and he drew his sword, shouting loudly:

“Soldiers, follow me and break the bandit camp!”

As soon as he finished the shout, Mo Xiaobai rushed forward under the protection of Li Ji and Chen Jiao. Once they approached the camp, Li Guang left only ten men to assist, while he had already charged straight toward the Central Army.

Mo Xiaobai glanced at the entire bandit camp and saw people already rushing out from a distance. He immediately waved his sword and said: “Maogong, command the troops to block the enemy. Brother Jibo and I will chase the Flying General.”

“As you command!”

Li Ji knew his own plan inside out. Although the focus of this battle was Li Guang, he had to ensure no large groups of bandits blocked the way. Otherwise, if Li Guang was delayed by even a few dozen heartbeats, he might easily let Chang Xi escape.

Over a thousand troops scattered under his command, beginning to purposefully draw the newly awakened bandits, while Mo Xiaobai caught up with Li Guang, who had just defeated a few small groups of about twenty to thirty bandits with his sword.

Once the two of them reunited, they led a group of fifty or sixty men running forward at full speed. No bandit soldier could stop Li Guang in their path.

In just over a dozen breaths, a fat bandit with a huge head was seen scrambling out of the main tent and caught Mo Xiaobai’s eye.

Mo Xiaobai did not bother to check if he was Chang Xi and immediately shouted: “Rebel general! My Lord and General Wenzero have ordered us to come arrest you. Why do you not quickly bow your head?”

“What?”

The fat bandit leader who had just dashed out of the tent was still in a state of shock. Hearing the words “My Lord” and “Wenzero” suddenly made his whole head buzz.

My Lord was naturally the Minister of Works, Cao Cao. Wenzero was none other than Yu Jin!

Back when they had caused chaos in Mount Tai, they had fought with Yu Jin countless times.

He was one of the most formidable figures in the Minister of Works’ tent!

How could this be!

Yu Jin should be at Guandu right now; how could he be in Pengcheng?

If he led troops here, how could anyone fight against him?

Just as he was lost in a daze, shouts of war erupted from the northwest mountain, filling the sky. Countless shouts like “Capture and kill Chang Xi,” “Do not let this wretch escape,” and “Rebellious traitor, why do you not die!” seemed ready to tear the sky apart.

It’s over!

I am done for!

Angering the Minister of Works, and he actually sent Yu Jin to punish me.

Chang Xi had always thought Cao Cao was in critical danger at Guandu and could not possibly spare troops, but who would have guessed that Cao Cao would actually dare to send forces to attack him.

In his regret, Chang Xi also saw the junior officer who had shouted first earlier, now less than thirty steps away from him.

By the junior officer’s side followed a soldier of the Brave Army who looked incredibly fierce. Chang Xi watched in helpless horror as the seven or eight bandits protecting him fell to his sharp arrows.

Why would such a person not fight against Yuan Shao and instead come to cause trouble for me?

For someone sprinting forward at a quick pace, the distance of thirty steps was only a matter of a few seconds. Seeing that Chang Xi had lost his will to fight, Mo Xiaobai added even more effort: “Chang Xi, you dog! If you do not surrender immediately, do not blame my General for forgetting our past ties!”

Fold arms… surrender?

Surrender?

Upon hearing these words, Chang Xi suddenly snapped out of it.

That’s right!

He still had room to surrender!

Once Yu Jin came down from the mountain, he would definitely not spare him.

“This criminal general surrenders! This criminal general seeks to surrender to my Lord!”

Surrender!

Chang Xi had not done this for the first time.

Such matters, he could even say, he had practiced until they were second nature. Furthermore, he had outsmarted them slightly by still calling Cao Cao “My Lord” in his speech.

This was Chang Xi’s usual trick, which had worked a hundred times before.