Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 1727 - 1637: Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction (Part 2)
"In that case, let’s run quickly!" Chen Xi said, irritated, not expecting such an unexpected situation to occur.
Zhou Yu nodded, agreeing that running was the best choice in this scenario. If they were caught, it would be troublesome. They had already been spotted by the enemy’s recon eagle, and given the Huns’ riding skills and their familiarity with the northern terrain, being caught was almost unavoidable. Northerners on horseback were no joke.
Zhou Yu roughly estimated the soldiers’ physical strength and endurance, then resignedly activated his Legion Talent. "Let’s take turns maintaining half our condition and run first. I estimate Bofu is coming soon."
"No problem, it’s likely Zilong leading the White Horse Soldiers on my side. But if we can run, we should run. I really didn’t expect the Northern Huns to have such a trump card." Chen Xi nodded in agreement. They took turns urging the soldiers to run quickly, preferring not to engage in combat if possible.
Neither Chen Xi nor Zhou Yu knew that if they hadn’t shot arrows earlier, the eagle would have ignored them. After all, it wasn’t a professional scouting eagle. However, that arrow caused the vengeful eagle to fly north at supersonic speed to seek help.
As Chen Xi and Zhou Yu guessed, the Huns were frantically chasing them. However, due to their cautious journey, they left few traces, and most were covered up. Thus, it wasn’t easy for the Northern Huns to catch them.
As for using the eagle for reconnaissance, the Huns weren’t foolish. Sending a regular eagle to scout an army led by an Inner Qi Manifestation Rank general was basically suicidal.
Without Qi Refining to Gang inner qi, training eagles faced arrows from Inner Qi Manifestation generals, and they had no way to dodge. However, Qi Refining to Gang inner qi was extremely rare for animals. In simple terms, the Northern Huns didn’t even possess such a scouting eagle.
Therefore, the Northern Huns could only rely on manpower to scout directions. Unfortunately for them, both Zhou Yu and Chen Xi were cautious, and their disguises were quite convincing. They even lured prairie wolves with meat, making the traces left by the army a tangled mess. Although it wasted a lot of mutton, the traces were mostly wiped out.
After all, with mutton and such, honestly, it was just leftovers from the Northern Huns they had pilfered last night. They didn’t feel bad discarding it since they had already lost a million sheep and cattle, and a bit more loss wouldn’t matter.
In any case, by using this method, after counting the population and rallying some troops, the Northern Huns essentially lost the tracks of the Han Army. As for the thousand Miscellaneous Hun tailing the Han Army, they had long been annihilated by Hua Xiong.
To be fair, the Right Virtuous King Kun Wan’s actions were entirely correct. Foundation was more important than revenge, and being two hours late didn’t make it difficult to catch up. Even with Zhou Yu and Chen Xi’s deliberate cover-up, using a bit of time and manpower would eventually find them. However, manpower and time.
Chen Xi and Zhou Yu’s troops and the elite nature of their soldiers were such that too few people would be ineffective, while too many and the Northern Huns couldn’t spare numerous routes to search. This was why Chen Xi and Zhou Yu were still calm enough to idle chat. As long as nothing unexpected happened, Zhou Yu and Chen Xi believed they could safely slip back.
However, there’s a saying that misfortune never comes singly. Zhou Yu and Chen Xi’s arrangements allowed them to return easily, but that didn’t mean they could withdraw so effortlessly.
Originally, the golden eagle, after Huyan Chu assessed the situation, was tasked with sending a message to Kun Wan and the Uloran Clan to head south. As an Inner Qi Manifestation animal, it maintained its dignity; ordinary people wouldn’t qualify to command it.
Even if Huyan Chu had saved it, the eagle executed only the orders given by Huyan Chu, doing no more than necessary. In short, if Chen Xi and Zhou Yu hadn’t reflexively ordered an arrow shot to kill the golden eagle, it would have ignored them even if it saw them.
Unfortunately, that arrow left a lasting impression on the golden eagle about this group of people. Thus, the clairvoyant golden eagle, with Huyan Chu’s message, headed north, found Kun Wan, delivered the message, and instead of flying away, it circled in the sky like those scouting eagles.
In this way, even if Kun Wan didn’t initially understand, after the golden eagle circled twice, he did. Immediately, he used a whistle previously used to direct scouting eagles, and unsurprisingly, the golden eagle flew directly southward.
With that, Kun Wan rejoiced, ordering all soldiers to march in the direction the golden eagle flew, where Chen Xi and Zhou Yu happened to be.
After activating the Legion Talent, the army’s marching speed increased steadily by thirty percent. However, soon after, the golden eagle again charged over at an incredible speed, and again departed at a speed that Hua Xiong and others didn’t have time to react to.
The incredible speed drew a fiery red path in the sky, causing both Zhou Yu and Chen Xi to feel a bit depressed. The eagle’s speed was too fast; it was impossible to shake off. This way, being caught was just a matter of time.
"It seems we’ll have to wait for someone to rescue us," said Chen Xi helplessly. "This eagle’s speed is too fast. With it guiding them, unless the Northern Huns are blind, it’s impossible for them to lose the trail. I think we should prepare for something else..."
"What other preparation is there besides waiting for rescue?" Zhou Yu responded irritably. "I’d love to set half the prairie on fire, but the conditions don’t allow it."
Rolling his eyes, Chen Xi noticed that Zhou Yu was often unreliable.
"Alright, fortunately, I have a backup plan," said Chen Xi, begrudgingly. "Even if they catch up to us, we can still retreat safely and unscathed."
"Don’t fantasize, there will definitely be rescue, but can you ensure they rendezvous with us? Whether it’s us or our rescuers, in reality, we’re moving based on guessing the other’s position. Deviating by a hundred miles or so is no issue." While running, Zhou Yu rolled his eyes.
"I’m not fantasizing, but do you think, without rescue, we can fight our way out?" asked Chen Xi with a flip of the eyes. "The disparity in this situation is too large; strategies that can break the stalemate are scarce, and both water and fire are unusable. So, we’d better just wait for the rescue."
"Regretting not developing a secret technique for finding people earlier," Seeing Zhou Yu remained silent, Chen Xi added, causing Zhou Yu to be slightly taken aback.
"Inner qi, or Heaven and Earth Essence, aside from combat use, applying it in other ways is also a form of utilization." Zhou Yu said slowly, "This is indeed something worth pondering."
"Stop pondering it—I see that damned eagle again. I need Zilong, Ziyi, or Old General Huang’s support. I need a Sure Hit arrow," muttered Chen Xi bitterly, watching the golden eagle zip over and then vanish over the horizon at high speed.
"We need to think of a method. Zhongye, you take a group ahead; we won’t change routes this way," Zhou Yu thought it over and then spoke to Wen Pin. Relatively, the warhorses of high-ranking generals were reliable, with guaranteed speed.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yun, Sunx Ce, Ma Chao, Zhang Xiu, and Zhang He had already gathered together. Compared to being in the camp, their relations were noticeably better.
After all, Zhao Yun was Zhang Xiu’s junior brother, Ma Chao’s prospective brother-in-law, had guided Sunx Ce, and was a fellow villager with Zhang He. Outside the camp, they chatted without barriers, having no deep grudges.
"I’ll head north first; dragging on further might lead to unexpected issues," said Zhao Yun after reducing speed for a while to converse with the trio, deciding the delay was too risky, "The Northern Huns Elite Cavalry shouldn’t be underestimated; I’ll go on ahead."
"Brother-in-law, catch this," Zhao Yun said as he squeezed his horse’s belly and charged forward. At that moment, Ma Chao drew his sword from his waist and tossed it toward Zhao Yun.
"Great sword!" Zhao Yun smoothly caught the hilt, spun a flourish, and without refusal, hung it by his warhorse’s side. The entire army’s speed suddenly increased, quickly distancing from Ma Chao and the others.
"That seems to be the Green Steel Sword," remarked Zhang Xiu to Ma Chao after Zhao Yun departed, a reminder unspoken, yet Ma Chao was completely oblivious.
