Chapter 52 Changes (First Update)

  "Below is Wen Hou and Lü Bu, surrender at once!" A shout came from the top of Bagong Mountain.

  "Lü Bu's eyes widened in surprise: 'Chen Lan can actually recognize fabric?!' A hint of disdain appeared at the corner of his mouth."

  "Haha, how could my brother and I not know the prestige of General Lü Wenhou?" A loud laughter echoed from the mountain peak, as if hiding something.

  "Wen Hou, when our lord attacked Xuzhou, he once led these two bandits!" The envoy sent by Yuan Shu's army said awkwardly. What is meant by "Yuan Shu attacking Xuzhou" is that Yuan Shu directly attacked Xuzhou.

  "Wen Yuan, you go forward and shout!" Lü Bu ordered Zhang Liao.

  Zhang Liao nodded, rode his horse to the foot of the mountain and shouted loudly: "Chen Lanlei, my master has entrusted General Yuan Huan to come and annihilate you. If you know what's good for you, quickly descend the mountain, abandon your arms and surrender. Otherwise, when our great army climbs up the mountain, none of you will have a chance to return alive!"

  "It's really Yuan Shu!" Lei Bo angrily slapped the wooden railing of the mountain stronghold.

  Chen Lan was more calm and collected, listening to Zhang Liao's words not only didn't show any fear, but instead let out a cold laugh "When did General Lv Bu become Yuan Shu's lackey? Is it that the Han Emperor's reward wasn't enough for General Lv, so he wants to betray Han and surrender?! Isn't he afraid of Lord Cao's 100,000-strong army?!" Chen Lan's words were truly piercing, what does it mean to be Yuan Shu's lackey, what does it mean that the Han Emperor's reward isn't enough, what does it mean to betray Han and surrender.

  Everyone knows that Yuan Shao made a fuss about proclaiming himself emperor, and people all over the world have long since respected Yuan Shu from afar. Moreover, there is also an old Cao who claims to be orthodox, and he is afraid of being attacked by Old Cao if he gets involved with Yuan Shu. If Lü Bu attacks Chen Lan and others, isn't it just falling into what Chen Lan said?

  Unfortunately, Chen Lan was wrong. Other vassals may be afraid of Cao Mengde, but Lü Bu really didn't care about Cao Mengde. It's not because of Old Cao's strength. From the time Lü Bu attacked Yan Province to when Old Cao attacked Xuzhou, these two had a grudge against each other.

  "Are you trying to scare me with Cao Mengde? Then you've found the wrong person!" Lü Bu snorted, "Others may fear him, but I, Lü Bu, don't care about that Cao Mengde at all!" In the battle of Xuzhou, although Lü Bu lost Xuzhou, he truly demonstrated the prowess of his cavalry. When Lü Bu and Cao Cao met, it was not Lü Bu who was afraid, but rather Cao Cao.

  "Chen Lan and Lei Bo, you were once followers of Yuan Shu. He treated you well, but when he declared himself emperor, you abandoned him. And now, you're even blocking his food supplies on the way. If you surrender now, you might still have a chance to live!" Lü Bu said slowly and deliberately.

  "Look at what you're saying, it's not working. You're getting anxious and speaking recklessly! 'Three surnames family slave', stop pretending, do you want to push us brothers onto a dead-end road?! What's wrong with betraying our lord?! Yuan Shu declaring himself emperor was already a case of everyone rebelling against him. As for us robbing his grain transport, are my tens of thousands of brothers supposed to go hungry and thirsty in the mountains?! We'd rather betray our lord than be like you, sycophantic towards him!"

  "No!" Chen Lan's words of restraint came too late.

  "It's all over!" This was what everyone in Lü Bu's army was thinking.

  "What a three-surname household slave?!" Indeed, Lü Bu's worst memories were dug up. This man called the God of War had eyes filled with blood light, staring dead at the two people in the mountain stronghold: "You two should die!"

  They completely offended Lü Bu, Chen Lan's face sank, but he didn't panic, as the commander of a region, Chen Lan was also once a great general under Yuan Shu. Coldly, he said "In that case, my brother and I will wait for Wen Hou's arrival in the mountain stronghold!"

  Bazhong Mountain, with its treacherous terrain, has a narrow path that can be defended by one man against ten thousand. It is a crucial location for military strategists. Even if it were on flat land, let alone Chen Lan's troops, even with an army of 100,000, Lü Bu would still dare to lead his cavalry in attack, for he is the fearless Lü Bu, king of the northern steppes.

  But now in the mountains, cavalry has lost its meaning. Without cavalry, plus natural barriers, this is where Chen Lan and Lei's backhand lies.

  "Is the lord going to attack the mountain directly?!" Zhang Liao asked with some hesitation. If it were the usual Lv Bu, he would have led his troops to attack the mountain by now, who cares about how many, as long as the battle is thrilling, that's the right way.

  But now Lü Bu was riding his horse and wandering around.

  "Lü Fengxian, you've finally arrived! My two brothers and I have been eagerly waiting for your arrival!" Knowing that the situation had already escalated beyond repair, Lei Bu's words were now laced with hostility and provocation.

  Lü Bu chopped a circle of mountains and didn't say another word. He faced Gao Shun and said, "Set up the Trap Array in one section, make a fake attack!"

  "Yes!" Gao Shun also looked at Lü Bu strangely. Wasn't that just a feint? Just as Gao Shun was about to leave after receiving the order, he was stopped by Lü Bu.

  "Go with the flow, be careful!"

  "Huh?!" When did Lord Lü start caring about people? All the generals were shocked.

  Chen Gong was the only one who watched the change with a smile and nodded in agreement.

  "Kill!"

  The vanguard was indeed the vanguard, an elite squad of seasoned soldiers with massive shields and heavy armor. The mountain road that had been a challenge for others was like flat ground to them, and they moved at incredible speed, soon arriving at the foot of the bandit's lair, where Chen Lan and Lei Bo's faces were clearly visible.

  "Shoot, shoot, get them out of here!!" Unlike Chen Lan's calmness, Lei Bu was panicked. His taunts and provocations were just a cover for his fear.

  But that was all, the hail of arrows, the rolling stones and the high gate of the stockade made it difficult for the troops to advance.

  "Despicable!" Gao Shun roared in anger and was about to launch a fierce attack, but then he heard Lü Bu's shout from the foot of the mountain: "Gao Shun retreat!"

  Gao Shun gazed at the towering stronghold and the hail of arrows and rolling stones, and let out a deep sigh. With a sense of reluctance, he began to organize a retreat. He knew that if they launched a fierce attack, their losses would be catastrophic. Just taking down Chen Lan alone had cost them the loss of the ambush camp! Lu Bu was not someone to be trifled with!

  The retreat of the Zhenyuan camp made the prestige of Lebu Chenlan even longer.

  Lei Bu smiled and looked at Lü Bu's army below the mountain, saying disdainfully: "Lü Bu, the Marquis of Wen is nothing more than this!"

  "You bandits, you can't be so arrogant! When my army breaks into the mountain stronghold, it will be your death sentence!" Another astonishing scene appeared, and Gao Shun, who had always been known as a silent man, also started shouting and scolding?

  "Haha, Lü Bu's army has no one left? Only good at boasting, you fools can't even climb the mountain, it's really a joke! Lü Fengxian, being driven out of Xuzhou by Cao Gong as a stray dog, you shouldn't find a place to hide and instead ran to my Bāgōng Mountain to cause trouble. Don't you see what kind of place this is?!"

  "Bang!" Lü Bu's halberd struck down, shattering a massive boulder into pieces. The flames of rage in his heart had reached their peak. Besides Zhang Fei under Liu Bei, no one else could infuriate Lü Bu like this Lei Bo did.

  "Your Excellency, let Shun lead the troops in a charge to kill them. I will definitely bring back the heads of those two bandits and report back!" Gao Shun knelt down and requested orders.

  "Gao Shun, I permit you to charge and attack!" Lü Bu said coldly.

  Gao Shun's heart was filled with joy, and he was about to lead the troops to attack, but then he heard Lü Bu continue to say, "Attacking the top of Bazhong Mountain and taking the head of this rat, how many will die in the ambush?"

  "Eh?!" Gao Shun said somewhat uncertainly. "Several hundred!" The several hundred that Gao Shun mentioned were the soldiers of the old ambush camp.

  "What a joke!?" Lü Bu sneered. "Are the lives of my hundreds of elite soldiers not worth more than these two rats?!" Lü Bu said, then turned his horse and left. "Withdraw the troops and return to camp, we'll fight again tomorrow!"

  "Master?!" Gao Shun still felt a bit resentful.

  "Gao Shun, hundreds of troops have fallen, my heart aches!" This god of war-like man has changed, changed.