...
Sure enough, after nearly a hundred moves between Sun Guan and Zang Ba, Zang Ba's spear grazed Sun Guan's ribs, and Sun Guan turned his horse to flee.
"Attack!" Guan Yu roared, and instantly, the entire army's qi surged. A massive blade of light slashed out from Guan Yu's position, leading the entire army forward in a fierce charge!
A colossal green blade, almost three hundred meters long and shaped like Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade, sliced through the yellowish qi of the Yellow Turban army, bolstered by the formations of thirty thousand soldiers behind it. The blade, sharp and vibrant, wreathed with the auras of Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, and Tai Shici, emitted a seven-colored glow as it cleaved through the Yellow Turban army's central formation.
After Guan Yu's initial strike, Zhao Yun followed with a delicate thrust of his spear, scattering countless petals over a vast area. Zhang Fei unleashed a black shockwave, and Tai Shici hurled a giant, two-hundred-meter-long halberd-shaped blade of light towards the Yellow Turbans. Then, drawing his precious eagle bow, Tai Shici fired a barrage of golden arrows that exploded in front of the enemy, covering an area of over a hundred meters!
Within five breaths, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Tai Shici had expended all their accumulated inner qi and the qi they could draw from the formation, clearing a massive swath of the Yellow Turban ranks. As the roaring subsided, Chen Xi flicked open his wooden folding fan with a snap of his right hand and waved it towards the dust. The wind swept away the lingering dust, revealing a thousand-meter-wide pit in the midst of the Yellow Turban army.
Both sides halted, too stunned to move. At this moment, Sun Guan let out a thunderous roar, "Kill the enemy!" Spurring his horse, he charged forward, his call electrifying the Taishan soldiers, who surged after him, sending the Yellow Turban army into full retreat, turning and fleeing in disarray.
"Full pursuit!" Chen Xi bellowed, his voice hoarse. The situation was even better than he had anticipated, thanks mainly to Zang Ba's men fleeing first. Seeing their comrades deserting, the Yellow Turbans' morale collapsed entirely, and they followed suit.
"Hold your ground! Hold your ground!" Chen Bai shouted, cutting down a few Yellow Turban soldiers to stem the tide. However, he couldn't stop the rout; even his personal guards fled, and he was swept away in the chaos.
"Order Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Tai Shici, and Sun Guan to pursue the fleeing Yellow Turban army relentlessly until they completely collapse. Instruct Wu Dun and the rear guard to gather prisoners along the way. Any who resist should be executed without mercy. Implement military control in all captured areas. Any who surrender and cause trouble afterward will be executed. If necessary, carry out an elimination order to remove the weakest," Chen Xi commanded the messenger beside him. Within five days, the results would be evident.
Run, run, run! Zang Ba was running blindly now, leading the fleeing Yellow Turbans to another Yellow Turban stronghold. Chen Bai was dead, killed by a Yellow Turban commander who had been swayed by Zang Ba. That commander overestimated his capabilities, thinking he could stabilize the situation after killing Chen Bai and taking over, but he was thrown off his horse and trampled to death by tens of thousands of panicked Yellow Turbans.
Two days had passed, and Zang Ba could see the encampment of the Yellow Turban leader, Fu Yun. He was gaunt, his cheekbones protruding sharply, looking like he had crawled out of the earth. These had been the most grueling days he had ever experienced, leading thirty thousand Yellow Turbans in flight.
They started with horses, but the horses soon died from exhaustion. Along the way, many fell behind, while others joined, swelling the group but also making it cumbersome. This constant flux kept them from being entirely wiped out by the five pursuing maniacs.
Guan Yu and his comrades gave the Yellow Turbans no respite, pressing them relentlessly. Whenever the Yellow Turbans tried to rest, the five generals would attack again, forcing them to flee once more. Wu Dun followed behind, capturing those who fell behind; they had already seized over a hundred thousand lagging Yellow Turbans. The ones still running were almost all able-bodied young men.
Seeing Fu Yun's camp, the Yellow Turbans regained some vigor, their steps quickening. Simultaneously, Guan Yu's attacks grew fiercer, carving out significant chunks of the Yellow Turban force.
Noticing the large group approaching, Fu Yun immediately began reorganizing his forces, ordering his trusted lieutenant Li Fang to lead three thousand of his best troops to intercept them. No matter who they were, stopping them was the right move. Even if they couldn't hold them off, a temporary delay was enough.
"Stop right there! Ah~" The dispatched Yellow Turban leader suffered the same fate as the previous one, thrown off his horse and trampled to death. The three thousand lightly armed Yellow Turban troops were swept back into Fu Yun's forces.
Thirty thousand strong, the fleeing soldiers crashed into Fu Yun's ranks, unable to stop the momentum. The initial clash scattered Fu Yun's vanguard, and the chaos quickly engulfed his entire force. It wasn't long before his whole army was swept up and fled.
Guan Yu and his comrades shivered at the sight. The Yellow Turbans were finished. If Fu Yun's thirty thousand men couldn't hold, then when they reached Hou Qian, even with many falling behind, the remaining Yellow Turbans would number over sixty thousand. Hou Qian's preparations would be overwhelmed in less than a quarter of an hour. The Yellow Turbans were doomed.
Zang Ba, leading the flight, had been running for four days now, barely eating. He was so exhausted that he would have collapsed if not for the mob carrying him along. The Yellow Turbans had become skittish, bolting at the slightest provocation. Anyone who started running would set off the whole crowd, though many didn't know why they were running.
By the afternoon of the fourth day, Zang Ba reached Hou Qian's camp. They could have arrived sooner, but Hou Qian had moved to find food, causing a detour. When they finally reached the camp, Zang Ba had no doubts about breaking through Hou Qian's lines. His concern now was how to stop.
Hou Qian's fate mirrored Fu Yun's. Within a quarter of an hour, his thirty thousand Yellow Turbans were swept away, Hou Qian trampled underfoot and turned to dust.
Run, keep running. Zang Ba led the panicked mob in circles around Qingzhou. The Yellow Turbans were entirely leaderless, running mindlessly wherever Zang Ba led, while Wu Dun followed, capturing stragglers.
After enveloping Hou Qian's forces, the mob grew to nearly a million. As they ran ceaselessly from Zhangqiu to Zibo, back to Panyang, and then back to Zhangqiu, the Yellow Turbans dwindled. By the end, they were completely finished.