Chapter 612: The Fruits of Battle
Chapter 612: The Fruits of Battle
September 25, 2017
[Your subordinate general Dian Wei has slain the Yellow Turban historical general Sun Zhong. You have gained 1 million Han Dynasty merit points and a Golden Chest!]
[Your subordinate general Dian Wei has slain the Yellow Turban historical general Li Yue. You have gained 1 million Han Dynasty merit points and a Golden Chest!]
[Your subordinate general Pan Feng has slain the Yellow Turban historical general Huang Shao. You have gained 1 million Han Dynasty merit points and a Golden Chest!]
[You have won a battle, earning 1 million skill experience, 500,000 Han Dynasty merit points, and a Golden Chest!]
No sooner had the battle ended than four system notifications rang out in quick succession, indicating a substantial reward for Lu Hai Kong from a simple battle.
In a single battle, he had slain three Yellow Turban historical generals from the opposing side, earning four Golden Chests and a whopping 3.5 million Han Dynasty merit points. Even without a Legendary Chest, this was an astonishing haul.
Apart from this impressive haul, Lu Hai Kong also had another slightly unexpected gain.
Pan Feng, that guy, had a significant breakthrough in strength during this battle, possibly due to the pressure. His strength had risen to 89, just one step away from reaching the pinnacle of 90. Moreover, it wouldn't be long before he achieved this feat!
After all, Lu Hai Kong had prepared a Divine Might Pill for Pan Feng from the very beginning. Once some time had passed and Pan Feng had solidified his current strength, he would consume the pill, and Lu Hai Kong's forces would gain another warrior with strength surpassing 90!
This was indeed a cause for celebration.
In reality, apart from Pan Feng, several other generals under Lu Hai Kong's command had also made significant progress.
Zhao Er, that fellow, had reached a strength of 86 through consecutive battles and Lu Hai Kong's abundant resources. Cheng Lian, slightly slower in his strength progression, had also reached 86. Even Cheng Yi, one of Lu Hai Kong's oldest generals with a strength of 80, had improved to 83 due to his innate talent and Lu Hai Kong's favoritism.
However, compared to Pan Feng's breakthrough at a critical juncture, Lu Hai Kong wasn't overly concerned about the others' progress.
After defeating Zhang Daosheng's group, Lu Hai Kong directly led the Blood Bath Army back to camp.
Upon returning to the camp, Lu Hai Kong quickly searched through the items dropped by the three unfortunate souls who had been killed. He also opened all four Golden Chests.
Lu Hai Kong had no intention of keeping these items for later; he didn't believe his luck would improve by waiting.
Lu Hai Kong's luck seemed to be lacking that day, as the three Yellow Turban historical generals didn't yield any significant rewards.
Aside from the expected Soul Stones and secret scrolls, the rest of the items were of little interest to Lu Hai Kong. Only a General Trait Insight Stone caught his eye.
The four Golden Chests didn't bring Lu Hai Kong any better fortune, either. Three of the chests yielded 500,000 gold each, while the other two contained 1 million pounds of grain each!
One million pounds of grain sounded like a lot, but in reality, it was just enough to feed Lu Hai Kong's 70,000-strong army, including several thousand horses, for about a month.
The last Golden Chest, however, revealed a blueprint that Lu Hai Kong rarely obtained—a siege engine blueprint.
Siege Ram Blueprint
Description: A document detailing the construction of a large-scale siege engine, which is extremely challenging to build and beyond the capabilities of ordinary carpenters.
Prerequisite: Master Carpenter
Lu Hai Kong couldn't decipher the blueprint, nor could he gauge the power of the siege ram it described. However, the fact that a Master Carpenter was required to understand it hinted at the extraordinary nature of this siege ram.
But upon further reflection, even if it were extraordinary, what use would it be?
Lu Hai Kong had a Master Blacksmith, but not a Master Carpenter! This was another item that would likely gather dust for a while.
Feeling slightly disappointed, Lu Hai Kong had Chen Ping put the blueprint away. After treating the wounded from the previous battle, Lu Hai Kong's side settled down to rest and recover, preparing for the next wave of attacks from the Yellow Turban Army.
This battle had been merely a probe, or even an unexpected skirmish, so Lu Hai Kong could reluctantly accept the outcome. However, in the next wave, if Lu Hai Kong engaged in battle, it would be with the intent to annihilate the Yellow Turbans in Guangping!
Lu Hai Kong was satisfied with the current state of the battle and had begun to rest.
On the other side, Zhang Daosheng's situation was dire!
Initially, Zhang Daosheng had initiated this battle to challenge Lu Hai Kong's overwhelming aura and boost his own morale.
At first, things had gone according to plan, and even better than expected. Those who had initially been indifferent towards Zhang Daosheng had gathered around him, and for a moment, he had felt as powerful as Lu Hai Kong!
But this illusion was shattered like glass, and before Zhang Daosheng could even react, his situation had turned disastrous. Lu Hai Kong hadn't even lifted a finger; the generals' traits had erupted, causing their advantageous position to crumble.
Not only was Guan Hai, the Yellow Turbans' top general, severely injured by Dian Wei, but three other Yellow Turban historical generals with strength over 80 had been slain on the spot. If it weren't for Bo Cai's timely response, their entire force of several thousand men would have been wiped out!
After this battle, the brief surge in morale was once again suppressed, and even more harshly than before.
(End of Chapter 612)
However, Zhang Daosheng found some consolation in the fact that his outstanding performance on the battlefield had earned him the loyalty of many Yellow Turban historical generals, even after their defeat in this battle.
Among them were the severely injured Guan Hai, the first and most formidable general of the Yellow Turbans, Bo Cai, the only one capable of commanding hundreds of thousands of troops, and Zhang Yan, one of the most elite figures in Yellow Turban history.
It could be said that although Zhang Daosheng had lost the war, he had won the support of these generals!
This was a good start for Zhang Daosheng, but it didn't mean that the Yellow Turbans in Guangping had united; they were far from being truly united!
The Yellow Turban forces in Guangping were diverse, and Zhang Daosheng and the historical Yellow Turban generals were just two of the factions. Additionally, there were the forces of the Yellow Turban Saintess, as well as the Yellow Turban Sect's forces whose names were written in the Yellow Turban Register, and even some hidden factions beneath them.
These complex factions could not truly unite, as not everyone was like Zhang Daosheng, who wanted to stick with the Yellow Turban Sect, a sinking ship, until the very end. Remember, even before Lu Haikong's arrival, someone had already collaborated with Dong Zhuo.
In the 169th book, one glance was enough to see the truth!
So, the situation Zhang Daosheng faced was far from optimistic. Externally, he had to deal with the ferocious tiger, Lu Haikong, and internally, there were countless venomous snakes waiting to strike.
This was not good news, as Guangping City might very well become the end of the road for Zhang Daosheng!
Jizhou, Weichou, Qu Liang!
Within just a few hours after Lu Haikong's first battle outside Guangping City, Dong Zhuo received the news.
Ever since Qu Liang, where he was forced to compromise and let Lu Haikong's group pass through with their domineering manner, Dong Zhuo had been highly vigilant about Lu Haikong's situation, fearing that he might accidentally take down both Guangping and Julu.
The intelligence from Guangping confirmed that Dong Zhuo's worries were not unfounded!
"This Lu Haikong is so impatient! He just arrived at Guangping and immediately started a battle, showing off his might!" Dong Zhuo's expression darkened as he read the report brought by his subordinate, but it was still much better than before.
"That battle was probably an accident. Lu Haikong probably didn't intend to fight, but he didn't expect the Yellow Turbans to come out and engage, which led to that battle!" Li Ru carefully analyzed the report.
"The important thing is not that battle. Although we already knew about Lu Haikong's formidable reputation among the Yellow Turbans, we didn't expect them to fear him so much. This situation is a bit troublesome."
"On one hand, the Yellow Turbans greatly fear Lu Haikong, and on the other, the Yellow Turban forces within Guangping City are complex and difficult to unite. Moreover, Liu Bei and his men, each with nearly ten thousand troops, have also joined Lu Haikong, and their combined forces already number over a hundred thousand.
Although their numbers might be far fewer than the Yellow Turbans in Guangping, if a battle breaks out, the Yellow Turbans might not last as long as we imagine!"
Hearing Li Ru's words, Dong Zhuo couldn't help but feel enraged, kicking the table in front of him, "This Lu Haikong is ruining my grand plan!"
Li Ru watched Dong Zhuo vent his anger, lowering his head, "It's Li Ru's fault. If I hadn't made that mistake, allowing Tan Tai Mingjing to take advantage, we wouldn't be in such a passive position now!"
Li Ru still felt remorseful about the Tan Tai Mingjing incident, even though he knew that even without Tan Tai Mingjing, Lu Haikong would have still passed through Qu Liang, and might have done so even more forcefully. But Li Ru couldn't let go of his mistake.
In fact, Li Ru had already done enough. He had only been in Qu Liang for a short ten days, and in such a short time, he had to handle so many tasks. Where would he find the time to discover such a hidden figure under his very nose?
In a situation where the enemy was hidden and the ally was exposed, such an outcome was inevitable.
Dong Zhuo understood this as well, so when Li Ru blamed himself, Dong Zhuo waved his hand to stop him.
"Let's not dwell on the past. The most important thing is the present situation! Since this Lu Haikong is so formidable, we must also prepare for the worst. You'll have to work hard and quickly implement your previous plan. We cannot let Lu Haikong reap the biggest reward from the Yellow Turban Rebellion!"
"Rest assured, I will never let that happen!"
A glint of determination flashed in Li Ru's eyes. The fruits of the Yellow Turban Rebellion were crucial to his lord's rise, and he would never let this opportunity slip away!
Chapter end
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