Chapter 10: Battle of Bakmangpo (1)

“……Huh?”

Late in the afternoon, when the sunlight was losing its power.
Xiahou Dun, who had received the order from Cao Cao, the Han Prime Minister, could see a cloud of dust rising in the distance, and a group of horses approaching.

“Whose army is that?”

She frowned and asked the officers who were her lieutenants, such as Yi Qian and Yu Jin. Then, they hesitated for a moment and answered.

“Hmm, judging by the flags, it seems that Liu Bei’s army has come to greet us.”

“……What?”

Xiahou Dun also looked closely at the flags that were rising in various places in the army and it really was Liu Bei’s army’s flag.

“Ha! How absurd!”

Xiahou Dun suddenly began to giggle.

“Why are you laughing, General?”

Yi Qian, seeing her like that, asked her with a puzzled look. Xiahou Dun smiled and answered him.

“…Xun Yu (荀彧) kept praising Zhuge Liang, so I was curious about his skills, but how can I not laugh when he brought such insignificant soldiers?”

“……”

As she said, the number of soldiers coming from the other side was only about 1,000.
It was an army that was 20 times less than their forces, so it was a battle that seemed impossible to lose.

“I can finally take Liu Bei’s head.”

…So, Xiahou Dun, who was certain of victory, spurred her horse forward with excitement. Then, two people also rode their horses and approached her, one was Zhao Zilong (趙子龍) of the Shangshan area, and the other was a girl she had never seen before.

“…Who is that bitch?”

Xiahou Dun, looking at the girl riding her horse, frowned. While she was reasoning about her identity, Xun Yu’s words from before suddenly flashed through her mind, and it seemed that she was the younger sister of Zhuge Liang, who Liu Bei had newly brought in.

“Ha, the wind is blowing.”

Xiahou Dun looked at her, who had never known the details of the war, and then smirked at her.
After she corrected her spear and shouted to them with a loud voice.

“Has Liu Bei already gone senile? Putting a girl like that on the battlefield? It’s a total idiocy!”

Even if there were no talents, putting a child like that on the battlefield, she felt that she was being looked down upon.

“Shut up, traitor! I am Zhuge Lang, the deputy military advisor of Uncle Liu!
If you don’t want to die, get out of my sight!”

“……”

The girl, who revealed herself as Zhuge Lang, frowned and shouted, as if her words had been displeasing.
In a situation where it wouldn’t be strange to be scared and run away, she stood against her so proudly, so Xiahou Dun, gave a surprised laugh, and scolded the girl again.

“The young one, your arrogance is great! You are just a bar girl, and you will be able to preserve your life if you surrender now!”

Xiahou Dun snorted, shrugging her shoulders.
The girl, who was acting as Liu Bei’s deputy military advisor, frowned even more and ordered Zhao Zilong, who was next to her.

“…General Zhao, quickly take that witch’s head.”

“Understood.”

Zhao Zilong, hearing the girl’s order, spurred his horse as if he was angry and charged.
Xiahou Dun also raised her spear and fiercely fought with him.
…In the meantime, the girl disappeared into the midst of her soldiers.

“Come on.”

“……Hmph!”

They ran towards each other and the spear and spear collided with a cheerful sound.
Xiahou Dun, full of confidence, launched a fierce attack on Zhao Zilong.

“……Ugh?!”

Her spear barely grazed his abdomen, and her offensive continued.
In comparison, Zilong could only barely block her attack.

“Damn…….”

“……?!!”

They crossed weapons a dozen times, and Zhao Zilong finally turned his horse’s head and began to flee to his own camp.

“Running away, what a foolish man.”

Xiahou Dun looked at Zhao Zilong with contempt.
She clicked her tongue, and then, she shouted to her soldiers.

“The whole army, charge!”

And then she pursued Zhao Zilong first.
How many miles had she gone, urging her horse, that finally, she could see Zilong again.

“……”

Seeing that Xiahou Dun was chasing her,
Zilong turned around and collided with her spear several times again.

“Ugh….”

“Huh?”

However, for a moment, after blocking her attacks a few times, he ran away in a hurry, as if he was out of strength again.

“That coward…!”

Xiahou Dun, gritted her teeth and chased him without any doubt, as Zhao Zilong, was running away like a mouse that was about to be caught. If she could catch him, the power of Liu Bei’s army would be greatly reduced. It was an opponent she could never afford to miss.

“General!”

……However, Han Hao, her lieutenant, came to Xiahou Dun and carefully reported, as if something was bothersome.

“I’m afraid there may be an ambush from the enemy. Wouldn’t it be better to stop the pursuit for a while and go slowly?”

It was a proposal that she would have seriously considered if this was any other time,
However, Xiahou Dun, who had seen Zhao Zilong, who was defeated by her several times, had nothing to fear.

“Hmph! What’s so scary about an ambush by those cowards! You just follow me quietly!”

And then, she chased after Zhao Zilong for a long time, and before long, they were able to reach a place called ‘Bowangpo’.

“Hmm……”

It had been a long time since the sun had set and darkness had fallen when she entered the place. The reeds and forests were dense, and the moonlight could not even enter well.
It was difficult to distinguish even the faces of her own troops, let alone find the enemy.

“…This way, you can’t find the enemies.”

Xiahou Dun grumbled, as if the night, which had inevitably come, was regrettable. However, unlike her, who just seemed to be disappointed that they had missed the enemy, Yi Qian and Yu Jin, who were following, looked quite concerned.
They urged their horses and spoke to Xiahou Dun.

“General, stop for a moment.”

“Huh?”

……Xiahou Dun stopped her horse for a moment at the voice coming from behind. Then, she tilted her head and asked her lieutenants, who had come running.

“What’s wrong?”

…Xiahou Dun, seemed to have no time to waste, frowned. Then, Yu Jin spoke to her in a heavy voice.

“After examining it, this place’s terrain is a mountain range to the south, and the rest is just reeds and forests. Moreover, it forms a valley, so it is unfavorable for a large army to fight, so you must prepare for the enemy’s fire attack (火攻) or ambush.”

“Hmm……”

Xiahou Dun, only then properly looked around her.
There was really nothing but reeds and lush trees around.

…She had gone on several battles and learned many military tactics, so she was able to understand what Yu Jin was worried about at once. Xiahou Dun said to Yu Jin, nodding silently.

“…Your words seem reasonable. Withdraw the army right away.”

Only then did she order her entire army to turn their horses’ heads, as if Zhao Zilong’s provocation and continuous running away, felt something was strange.

“Everyone, stop! Don’t go any further!”

Xiahou Dun, shouting to the soldiers who were hurriedly following.
At her command, which was quite urgent, the soldiers stopped and turned around to go back the way they had come, not knowing the details.

However,

[……Too late.]

“”Waaaah!””
“Capture the enemy general!”

“”……?!!”

……At that moment, a tremendous roar began to come from all directions.
At the same time, a flash of fire rose from the reed fields and forests on both sides and soon turned into a huge fire and began to burn everything.

“W, what is this…!”

Moreover, the autumn was ending, and there were many dry leaves on the ground, and at the same time, the wind that was blowing made the fire even bigger, so it was only a moment before the soldiers were in a panic.

“The enemy’s fire attack!”
“Flee quickly!”
“It’s over! Everywhere is on fire!”

“Unbelievable……”

Xiahou Dun, stared blankly at her soldiers, who were collapsing in an instant.
To make matters worse, Zhang Fei on the left, Guan Yu on the right, and Zhao Zilong, who had returned to the front, were cutting down anything they saw, leading the soldiers.

“General! Retreat quickly! It’s already too late to fight!”

Yu Jin, hurriedly spoke to Xiahou Dun, who was out of her mind.
It was just an ambush, but because of the fire attack with great power, the command system had already collapsed long ago. The soldiers were scattered in confusion without even having time to give orders.

“Sh*t!!”

In the end, Xiahou Dun also bit her lip tightly and hurriedly turned her horse’s head.
Since the fire was already erupting everywhere, it was questionable whether she could safely survive.

“Is it possible? Is this possible? Am I trapped in a plot?”

Xiahou Dun, spurring her horse, was muttering to herself like a crazy person.
She felt that her choice, ignoring the enemies too much, was careless.
How many lives had been lost because of her ignorant order?

“……!!”

……And as she was running away with all her strength,
Suddenly, she could see.

The mountainside, not far away,
A girl was standing, protected by her subordinates.
The girl, holding a refined crane-winged robe and a luxurious feather fan, was smiling softly as if she had anticipated all of this.

“……Success.”