Volume 1, Chapter 500 – Drastic Shift in the War Situation

To campaign against the rebellious Yellow Turban faction was to pacify disorder for the Han. Killing their leaders naturally brought rewards.

The use of battle merit was immediately obvious, and Shi Lan soon received feedback from the crimson dragon above her head.

As long as she reached a provincial government office, this battle merit could be exchanged for official rank and conferred by the court itself.

Once one held an official post, one belonged to the court. Aside from the monthly stipend, one would also be protected by the Han’s national fortune, warding off evil and banishing malign influences. The benefits were self-evident.

But Shi Lan had little interest in any of that. She would not remain in this world much longer. The only reason she had broken the formation just now was because she owed Liu Bei a favor and could not very well stand by and watch.

Besides, from what information she already knew, the Han might not endure for much longer.

On the distant city wall, seeing Shi Lan shatter the formation with a single halberd strike, even Liu Bei was somewhat surprised.

“We haven’t seen her for only a few short months, and Shi Lan’s strength has improved this much already?”

“She already counts as first-rate in this age.”

Zhang Fei was even more astonished. He had originally thought Shi Lan would need at least several years before she could take another step forward. Seeing this scene before him, he could not help sighing in admiration.

“The Penglai Spear God truly deserves his title as one of the absolute peaks of this age.”

Guan Yu swept two glances over her. No emotion could be read from his red face. He only said faintly:

“Acceptable.”

…

Rеaԁ oո КαtRеаdіոɡCafе

With the formation eye shattered, more than half the yellow sand filling the sky dispersed. Only now did the three thousand cavalry under Guan Yinping finally arrive.

Looking at Shi Lan in midair, Guan Yinping reined in her horse and hesitated for a moment. Subconsciously, she turned to glance back at the city wall, only to meet Guan Yu’s gaze looking down from above.

“Keep charging! Do not look back!”

A thunderous roar echoed across the battlefield. Guan Yinping’s heart jolted. Knowing she had committed a grave taboo of the battlefield, she hesitated no longer. Taking the lead, she charged straight into the several hundred thousand Yellow Turban troops.

Now that she knew of the existence of battle merit, Shi Lan had no intention of competing for it. Seeing that Guan Yinping was moving through the battle formation with ease, she simply crossed over the battlefield and arrived before Liu Bei and the others.

“Did your journey overseas bear fruit, Miss?”

Seeing Shi Lan, a smile appeared at the corner of Liu Bei’s mouth, and he seemed much more approachable.

“I benefited greatly.”

Shi Lan thanked him. Her trip to Penglai had indeed brought her many gains.

At their first meeting, Guan Yu merely gave a slight nod, which counted as a greeting.

Shi Lan was not surprised. With the long beard and crimson face, there was no one beside Liu Bei it could be except Lord Guan.

“What are your plans after this?”

At the side, Zhang Fei took over the conversation. Clearly, he was asking this on Liu Bei’s behalf.

Rеaⅾ оn КatRеαⅾіոgСаfе

The implication was simple enough: would she serve under Liu Bei?

“I will remain in the Nine Provinces for at most one year. After that, I will leave, cultivate in seclusion, and no longer involve myself in worldly affairs.”

After thinking for a long while, Shi Lan gave her answer.

At her current cultivation speed, she would need at most a little over a year to reach consummation in the Heaven-Man Realm. She also needed to leave herself some time to adjust her condition and prepare for the world-ending great tribulation, so she could not remain in the army for long.

Nor did she intend to deceive Liu Bei. Once she left this world, unless something unexpected happened, there would be no need for her to return.

“One year…”

A faint trace of disappointment flashed through Liu Bei’s eyes. That amount of time was far too short, not even enough for him to fully sound out Shi Lan’s temperament, much less bring her under his command.

The eagerness in Liu Bei’s heart cooled considerably. Though disappointed, he showed none of it on his face. He still wore that spring-breeze smile and nodded slightly.

“For you to cultivate with such diligence, it is no wonder that at your young age, you already possess such strength.”

…

With the formation eye below the city already broken and the leading sorcerer slain by Shi Lan, the battle formation was already on the verge of collapse. It simply could not withstand the three thousand elite troops led by Guan Yinping.

In less than half a quarter of an hour, the several hundred thousand Yellow Turban troops began to rout. Guan Yinping pursued and slaughtered them all the way, killing tens of thousands of enemies and taking countless surrendered soldiers.

Out of the three thousand elite troops, only six were killed and twenty-seven wounded. It was a resounding victory.

A crimson torrent surged down from the heavens and entered Liu Bei’s body. Guan Yinping and the others were all his subordinates, so he alone took the greater part of the battle merit.

Read οn КatRеαⅾіոɡСаfе

Yet when Guan Yinping returned in victory, there was little joy on her face. After settling the surrendered soldiers, she slowly climbed the city wall.

“Father.”

She lowered her head, not daring to meet Guan Yu’s eyes.

“As the commanding general, you let your mind wander on the battlefield and kept looking forward and back. Where did that leave the soldiers behind you? Go receive one hundred strokes of the military rod!”

Guan Yu’s voice was very steady, but it was not hard to hear the trace of anger in it. He was clearly very dissatisfied with Guan Yinping’s performance in her first battle today.

On the battlefield, the state of the commanding general determined the army’s fighting spirit.

Especially in a battle like today’s, where the few faced the many, one needed to press forward in a single surge. Had these elite troops not all undergone strict training, the casualties would likely have been far greater.

“It was my sudden intervention that disrupted the battle. The fault does not lie with her. I ask that General consider the circumstances and show leniency.”

Shi Lan stepped forward and stopped Guan Yinping, who had silently turned to leave. This matter had arisen because of her to begin with. For Guan Yinping to be punished because of it would be hard to justify.

Guan Yu raised his eyelids slightly. At the corners of his upturned eyes was an innate, bone-piercing killing intent. Just as he was about to speak, Liu Bei waved a hand from the side.

“It is only natural that Yinping, on her first time entering battle, would be somewhat lacking in adaptability. Since she crushed the enemy army, her merits outweigh her faults. The military rods will be waived. Go down and rest first.”

After glancing between them, Shi Lan fell silent. One played the stern face, the other the kindly face. The two of them had never intended to punish Guan Yinping in the first place.

…

Rеαd on КatRеаⅾіոgСafе

The gains from this battle were enormous. There were nearly two hundred thousand surrendered Yellow Turban soldiers, all sturdy young men in the prime of their blood and qi.

Liu Bei split off two thousand from his ten thousand elite troops and dispersed them among the captives to serve as the core. In only a few short days, he had finished integrating the two hundred thousand surrendered soldiers.

As for Shi Lan, Liu Bei neither granted her military rank nor gave her command over troops. Though his attitude remained warm, he no longer tried to draw her in as he had before.

Shi Lan had no objections to this. One year was all she had anyway. She would do what she could for Liu Bei, repay the favor she owed, and then it would be time for her to leave.

The purpose of this cross-world journey had already been basically achieved. If nothing unexpected happened, then by the time the Yellow Turban rebellion was put down, it would be more or less time for her to begin the trip back.

…

Across the land of the Nine Provinces, Zhang Jiao had relied on the Taiping Dao and quietly built his foundations for nearly a hundred years, developing countless followers right under the eyes of the Han’s red dragon of national fortune.

The moment he rose in revolt, the momentum was immense. In a very short time, he raised an army numbering in the hundreds of millions. Besides Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao, who were also sorcerers, there were also twenty-four Guardian Divine Generals at his side, each with cultivation that ranked among the first-rate of the age.

Everyone believed that even the court would need to spend several years, perhaps even damage its very foundations, to suppress this turmoil.

Yet the shift in the war was too violent, completely beyond anyone’s expectations.

Zhang Jiao led ten Guardian Divine Generals and personally commanded several million troops in a decisive battle against Huangfu Song, Left General of the Household of the Han, on the banks of the Gu River.

At Huangfu Song’s side were only two hundred thousand Han cavalry.

The result of that battle left the entire world dumbstruck. Zhang Jiao was routed. His army of several million was smashed head-on by those two hundred thousand cavalry, and of the ten Guardian Divine Generals, seven were slain by Huangfu Song alone!