Three Kingdoms Mythology World.

Dian Wei chuckled, his tone somewhat nonchalant: "If he dares to pull this stunt, we'll just overturn his plans. After all, we have the Great Wilderness Territory behind us, and our lord. I doubt he'd dare to go too far." With that, he raised his hand and stroked the black armor in his hand. The armor's fabric was cool and smooth, clearly not an ordinary object, and it carried a faint aura of vibrant energy. Strange runes flowed and meandered, and wisps of strange gold trim emitted a faint misty aura. It was likely a precious armor capable of concealing one's presence.

Ordinary black armor should not possess such power and might; it must have been specially prepared by Wang Yun.

"There's another concern: Wang Yun doesn't actually have the Path to Heaven..." Zhao Yun sighed softly.

He had considered this issue before... However, killing Dong Zhuo was a great event that would bring fame and establish merit, and it was not impossible to participate even without any reward.

Upon hearing this, Dian Wei pondered for a moment and realized that Dong Zhuo's deep foundation was why he only had one path to the heavens. Wang Yun was merely a Minister of Works, and the Wang family was not even one of the most prestigious clans, so it was perfectly normal for him not to have such a foundation.

"We'll see how things go then..." Zhao Yun said again.

Before, he was all alone and only thought about his own problems. Now that he has become a part of the Great Wilderness Territory, he has many more things to consider.

Just like Dian Wei, when Wang Yun came to borrow Dian Wei, he didn't have to pay any price upfront. In fact, he even received some rare items first, which helped him advance to the peak of the Nine-Element Divine General.

Of course, Wang Yun's borrowing of Dian Wei is beneficial to Lord Lin Mu and the Great Wilderness territory, even if there is no cost involved.

That's the difference.

"Change your clothes."

Without delay, the two immediately changed their clothes on the spot.

The two quickly changed into their armor, put on the ceremonial helmets that covered their entire heads, and then affixed the talismans to their inner armor. They immediately felt a gentle aura enveloping them, and their previously powerful aura vanished instantly. Even if you were standing opposite them, you would only think of them as ordinary, strong warriors if you didn't look closely.

After the two finished dressing and came out, there was already a minor official arranged by Wang Yun waiting outside, who led them towards the altar.

Soon, they were led to a meeting place filled with soldiers in black armor, dressed the same as them.

No one spoke, no one whispered, as if they all knew that tomorrow's events were extremely important...

Dian Wei frowned slightly when he saw the other armored warriors. He had a premonition that there must be someone special hidden among them!

Soon, after all the Xuanjia warriors had gathered, they went up to the Altar of Heaven under the guidance of the chief ceremonial officer for a temporary rehearsal.

The head of the ceremony was a eunuch. After leading everyone up to the Temple of Heaven, he made arrangements for everyone and explained all the precautions to each person. He was very meticulous.

……

After Ji Ling followed Cao Cao and others to break through the city walls, he also went with the flow, constantly chasing after the defending army and disrupting their arrangements.

This time, Lord Yuan Shu only sent him, a general, along with a few ordinary generals to assist him.

However, the army was quite large, reaching one million.

Their camp has other important matters to attend to, which is why they made this arrangement.

They actually had a resurrection tower within their territory, so they weren't so eager to obtain the resurrection tower in Dong Zhuo's possession.

Cao Cao came with all his might, because he lacked the Resurrection Tower, so he took a desperate gamble and even came in person.

Of course, if there's a chance to try and get it, you should still take the risk.

However, his main task was plunder!
So along the way, he only sent 100,000 archer cavalry to harass the enemy's defenses, while the other soldiers were scavenging for resources!
"It seems Cao Cao has led his elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry on a charge... It looks like he's really brought his entire force to risk everything." Ji Ling sat in a messy courtyard, looking at the intelligence report and jokingly said.

By this time, the courtyard had been completely ransacked by them.

Compared to Cao Cao's urgency, he was much more composed.

"Let's go, next area." Ji Ling put away the intelligence and led the main force to continue plundering resources.

Because the previous two areas were looted very smoothly and the harvest was plentiful, and most importantly, there was no enemy harassment, their efficiency was extremely high.

Therefore, they assumed there were no more guards around and gradually lowered their guard.

Ji Ling did the same; as the commander, he began to spread out the main force to plunder resources as quickly as possible.

That's exactly why he almost died here!
In a spacious courtyard, all was quiet except for the shouts and joyful laughter of a bountiful harvest coming from not far away.

However, what outsiders don't know is that this huge manor has been completely looted, but it's not empty; it's packed with people!

The Iron Cavalry of Xiliang!!!

The one leading them was none other than Duan Wei!
He had originally planned to go and reinforce the city walls, but before he even arrived, the walls had already fallen... Helpless, he could only look for other opportunities.

No, here's a chance!
He knew the allied forces would disperse to plunder resources, so he laid an ambush there in advance.

This courtyard housed 50,000 Xiliang cavalry, and further away, in the mansions on both sides, another 50,000 Xiliang cavalry were hidden, totaling 500,000, forming a huge encirclement in this area, waiting for the enemy to slip in.

Once the battle begins, the Xiliang cavalry on both sides will tighten their encirclement and devour any enemies that try to sneak in!
Duan Wei knew, of course, who the enemy he was facing this time was. It was not Cao Cao, nor Zhang Liao's Bingzhou army, but Yuan Shu's troops.

Ji Ling is fierce and brave, with extraordinary combat power. He can't defeat him, but he can hold him off.

Once the battle begins, all he needs to do is hold off Ji Ling, allowing the other Xiliang cavalry to charge and kill at will.

Although he secretly sided with Lin Mu, he still had to maintain appearances, especially since what he did was in line with the interests of the Great Wilderness Territory. Why not do it!
If we can wipe out hundreds of thousands of troops brought by Ji Ling this time, the achievement will be considerable.

The doubts raised by the Xiliang faction will be dispelled without a fight.

When Dong Zhuo dies, he can then reveal that he has just joined Lin Mu's cause and is seeking a way out for everyone, thus gaining prestige and influence.

By this time, it was already broad daylight. The streets of Mei County were originally quite clean, with every household having closed their doors and windows. However, with the invasion of the enemy, a murderous aura filled the air, and the stench of blood filled the sky.

The air was thick with the heavy tension of an impending storm.

The people in Mei County had long been driven away by Dong Zhuo, and those who remained were mostly his relatives and subjects.

However, Dong Zhuo took them with him when he went east to Chang'an, so the city was deserted.

The patrolling guards were long gone... The empty streets were silent, yet filled with a chilling atmosphere.

"General... we've already looted this mansion. The next one... good heavens, we can smell the fragrance of exotic fruits from afar. Will the next one be another resource warehouse mansion...?"

"Possibly! Men, hurry up!" Ji Ling's face was beaming with a smile that never faded.

Although there weren't many high-level treasures and resources, there was a lot of money and quite a few Crimson Dragon Gold Coins, making it a fairly fruitful harvest.

This made him quite arrogant, and he was unaware of the impending crisis. Soon, the main force of the looting team arrived at the courtyard where Duan Wei and his group were located.

The strange fragrance emanated from here, and Ji Ling personally came here to oversee the situation.

But when they pushed open the door, a strange mist suddenly rose up.

The fog wasn't just inside the mansion; it also enveloped other mansions and courtyards in the vicinity, outside the streets.

Ji Linggang was on alert and wanted to order the soldiers to regroup, but a terrifying tremor suddenly appeared. One after another, fierce-looking Xiliang cavalrymen broke through the fog and charged directly towards them.

"Buzz!~~~~" Suddenly, a buzzing sound like bees came from the sky, and a rain of arrows rose into the air, covering the location of Ji Ling's army.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!!" Ji Lingjun reacted quickly and tried to fight back.

"Ah!~~~~" Soon, the first wave of arrows fell, causing many unsuspecting soldiers to suffer.

"Boom!!!" The tremendous roar of the iron cavalry seemed to vibrate right next to their ears, leaving many soldiers who were still immersed in the joy of their victory stunned in place.

Not only nearby, but even behind them, there were tremors and a rain of arrows.

An ambush, a complete encirclement!

Are we going to annihilate the enemy?!

Ji Lingjun's soldiers began to panic... In order to plunder resources and wealth as efficiently as possible, the various units were scattered. They were basically led by squad leaders, with each squad leading a hundred men. They were disjointed, with no cover on the left and right flanks, and were completely unprepared for battle!
When Ji Ling saw that it was Duan Wei who rushed out, his expression changed drastically.

One of Dong Zhuo's generals, a member of the prestigious Duan family of Xiliang, he was quite talented and his reputation was known to many.

Ji Ling knew, of course.

However, Ji Ling realized that Duan Wei's reputation did not match his strength, and that he could defeat him with his abilities!

But he knew that in this ambush, with his troops scattered and without the conditions for combat, confronting Duan Wei was not a wise choice.

What he wanted was to break the deadlock, to break through the enemy's trap!
After pondering for a moment, Ji Ling did not go to meet them. Instead, he spurred his horse and suddenly leaped forward, charging towards the Xiliang Iron Cavalry charging team beside him.

With a sudden sweep of the three-pointed double-edged sword, dozens of Xiliang cavalrymen charging forward were directly affected by the terrifying blade's aura and instantly turned into a bloody mist.

After that, he began to rampage, making things extremely difficult for this part of the Xiliang cavalry.

Seeing Ji Ling's reaction, Duan Wei abandoned his plan to delay and rushed straight towards the gate.

Ji Ling can kill ordinary soldiers, and so can he; it all depends on whose methods are more skillful and whose troops can hold out!
"Boom!!!" Duan Wei and his hundreds of Xiliang cavalry charged forward, crushing the enemy troops that had entered through the mansion gate. They then rushed onto the street.

At this moment, the streets were already teeming with Ji Ling soldiers, but due to the chaos, many squad leaders could not find their troops, making it impossible to effectively communicate military orders.

"Kill!!!" Duan Wei led the Xiliang cavalry, who kept pouring out of the mansion, in a charge.

The Xiliang cavalry around him were all high-ranking generals. With their combined efforts, the enemy couldn't stop them and they completely cut through the street.

After that, he began to enter other streets to cooperate with the other Xiliang troops who had already rushed out to clear out the enemy.

However, the streets inside the city were not flat, which greatly reduced the ferocity of the Xiliang cavalry's charge, allowing many Ji Ling soldiers to find opportunities to engage in fierce battles with them.

Five hundred thousand Xiliang cavalrymen versus nine hundred thousand Jiling troops!

The ambush was carried out by the more elite Xiliang cavalry, and Ji Ling's army, which had been hastily assembled without proper combat conditions, quickly collapsed...

Even though Ji Ling led hundreds of high-ranking military generals in a charge and killed many Xiliang cavalry, he still couldn't turn the tide.

Left with no other option, they had to break through the net and escape.

He led his assembled army of 200,000, charging forcefully through the encirclement regardless of the pursuing forces. On both flanks, he had already arranged for his generals to lead the remaining troops in a breakout and retreat.

The battle was over in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn...

Although Duan Wei's encirclement was well-executed and completely surrounded Ji Ling's army, the number of traps was still limited. In addition, Ji Ling was decisive and withdrew directly, so the results could not reach the maximum expected level.

Even so, Duan Wei still laughed when he received the detailed report two hours later.

In this battle, Ji Ling lost nearly 400,000 troops!
In other words, Ji Lingzhi withdrew with an army of 500,000...

This victory is truly remarkable!

It is impossible to completely annihilate this army of 900,000.

Compared to the 400,000 meritorious soldiers, the Xiliang side only paid off with more than 70,000 Xiliang cavalry.

And they can be resurrected!
There was practically no loss!
Ji Ling's situation is not unique.

The armies of Cao Cao, Sun Jian, and Bingzhou all encountered ambushes.

The defending troops feigned defeat to lure you into a trap!
This move was obvious to anyone with eyes to see, yet Cao Cao, Zhang Liao, and others failed to anticipate it. It wasn't that they weren't clever or experienced, but rather that something permeated the city, obscuring their true potential!

Furthermore, the sudden appearance of the fog proves that Dong Zhuo's camp had anticipated this and had already laid a trap!

From the attack on the city walls to the ambush, both sides had no way out.

In a close encounter, the brave will prevail; there is no choice but to fight to the death!
The allied forces, having regrouped, joined forces in large numbers, forming an overwhelming force, and swept directly toward the location of the Resurrection Tower!

Outside the allied forces, Duan Wei and his men tried to launch a sneak attack, but they could no longer achieve such impressive results. Instead, they suffered heavy losses of Xiliang cavalry because the allied forces were constantly on their heels.

Duan Wei did not blindly order the Xiliang cavalry to fight to the death just because they could be resurrected.

The fallen Xiliang soldiers cannot be immediately resurrected and rejoin the battle; there needs to be a buffer period.

If you've used up all your resources and can't wait for the resurrection buffer period to pass, that would be really bad.

When the city of Mei County did not fall and a fierce battle ensued instead, Dong Zhuo's massive army finally arrived in front of Chang'an!

Dong Zhuo, who had just moved into the luxurious palace tent prepared by the officials outside Chang'an, sensed something, stepped out of the tent, and looked up at the sky filled with purple clouds.

At this moment, blessings from Heaven appeared once again!

(I went out to play today and got back late, so this is only a 4,000-word update. Happy Dragon Boat Festival everyone!) (End of Chapter)