My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Guan Xing's hand, which was resting on the sword at his waist, suddenly tightened.

In less than half an incense stick's time, the outline of the barbarian army formation opposite him became clearer, but it was this short moment of approach that suddenly made him feel a strange sense of vigilance.

This barbarian army was completely different from the southern barbarian tribes he had fought against before.

The barbarians lived in the mountains and forests for a long time, and resources were scarce. They rarely wore the iron armor of the Central Plains. Most of the time, they fought bare-handed. Even if they had armor to protect them, it was mostly rough-made animal hide armor.

After being exposed to the sun and rain, the leather armor would develop a dull, matte finish, and the edges would often still have some animal hair that hadn't completely fallen off. Guan Xing could tell this luster even with his eyes closed.

But the armor of this legion before them reflected a strange, clear light.

Under the slanting sunlight, the barbarian army formation seemed to spread out like a sheet of fine silver scales, lacking both the cold, hard edge of iron armor and the dullness of leather armor.

Guan Xing squinted, raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light, and fixed his gaze on the armor of a barbarian soldier in the front row.

That was no ordinary leather armor!
The wind subsided slightly, making the outlines of the barbarian army clearer.

The armor was woven from countless slender strips, with interwoven patterns like a spider web, and when sunlight pierced through the gaps, it could even refract faint wisteria patterns.

Guan Xing's heart skipped a beat, and an unbelievable thought crashed into his mind:

It's rattan armor!
That's right, these barbarians were all wearing armor woven from rattan!

"Why are the barbarians wearing rattan armor? Have they become so poor?"

Guan Xing's Adam's apple bobbed as he muttered to himself, a deep look of suspicion furrowing between his brows.

The deputy general beside him also stepped forward, and after seeing the barbarian army's armor, he too looked puzzled:

"General, although the Southern Barbarians are poor, they know that rattan is fragile and its defensive capabilities are far inferior to animal hide. To fight in such attire is no different from throwing your life away naked."

Guan Xing didn't reply, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the saddle.

He knew the nature of the southern barbarians all too well; they might be savage and rough, but they were by no means stupid.

While vines are readily available in the mountains and forests, it would take a lot of manpower to weave them into armor. If it were just because of poverty, it would be easier to simply not wear armor at all.

Knowing that rattan armor has weak defensive capabilities, the fact that everyone wears it suggests there's something fishy going on.

An ominous premonition gripped his heart like vines, making his breathing become heavier.

At the same time, under the banner of the Southern Barbarians, painted with a black tiger totem, Wu Tugu, the ruler of the Wuge Kingdom, held a long sword inlaid with animal teeth, his gaze sweeping across the Han army formation like that of a hawk.

His bare arms were covered with hideous totem tattoos. Looking at the Han soldiers who were on high alert, a disdainful sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.

In his eyes, these Central Plains soldiers were nothing more than a pampered and weak force. The reason why those tribes had been defeated by the Han army was simply because they had never seen the power of his rattan armor army.

"Just a flock of lambs to the slaughter."

Wutugu snorted coldly at his personal guards, his voice rough and hoarse like a broken gong, "My rattan armor army is impervious to swords and spears. With just one charge, we can tear their formation to shreds!"

Upon hearing this, the barbarian soldiers behind him raised their battle axes and spears, letting out wild roars that shook the surrounding leaves.

"It's time to show the people of the Central Plains the power of my Wugo Kingdom!"

Wutugu suddenly pointed his long sword at the Han army, the blade flashing a cold light in the sunlight. "Rattan armor soldiers, listen to my command! Charge with me, kill all these Han soldiers, and seize their provisions!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The barbarian soldiers shouted in unison, their voices soaring into the sky. Immediately afterward, a gap suddenly appeared in the barbarian formation, and the rattan-armored soldiers, arranged in a dense wedge formation, pounced on the Han army's position like tigers descending from the mountain.

Their steps were steady, and the friction of their armor made a soft "rustling" sound, unlike the chaotic and disorderly charge of ordinary barbarian armies.

"not good!"

Guan Xing's expression changed drastically, and he abruptly tightened the reins. He had originally thought that the barbarian army would hold their ground and wait for a change in the situation due to their inferior armor. After all, the Han army not only had powerful bows and crossbows, but also phalanxes of heavily armed infantry. The barbarian army was already outnumbered, and launching a proactive charge would be tantamount to suicide.

But the orderly and uniform charging posture before them did not resemble a cornered beast at the end of its rope; it was clearly an elite army that was fearless and confident!
"Could there be some hidden secret in their rattan armor?"

Guan Xing's unease grew stronger, and he gripped the long axe at his waist tightly with his fingers.

He was about to order the front-line infantry to form a defensive formation when he saw that the vanguard of the rattan armor army had already closed to within a hundred paces.

This distance was precisely the effective range of the Han army's powerful bows and crossbows; any further hesitation would mean missing the initiative.

"Don't panic!"

Guan Xing took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the doubts in his heart.

He suddenly raised the long axe in his hand, the blade drawing a sharp arc in the sunlight, and shouted in a voice as loud as a bell:

"Archers, listen to my command! Bows drawn, arrows loaded, shoot down the barbarian thieves!"

The command swept through the ranks like the wind, and the archers, who had been waiting in ambush, immediately sprang into action.

The powerful bow was drawn to its fullest extent, the crossbow was mounted on its grooves, and a series of "whoosh" sounds filled the air as dense arrows soared into the sky like a torrential rain, weaving a huge net of arrows that descended upon the charging rattan armor soldiers.

Guan Xing squinted, staring intently at the battlefield, silently calculating in his mind:

Such a dense rain of arrows would not be completely blocked even by iron armor, let alone the seemingly fragile rattan armor.
A single volley of fire would surely halt the barbarian charge.

But the next second, his expression froze, his eyes filled with disbelief and astonishment.

A miracle really happened.

Arrows rained down on the rattan armor soldiers' armor, but there was no blood and flesh flying everywhere as expected, nor the crisp sound of armor shattering.

The vast majority of arrows were deflected as soon as they touched the rattan armor, landing on the ground with a clanging sound.

The few arrows that were extremely powerful only managed to get stuck in the gaps in the rattan armor, unable to penetrate the armor and injure the barbarian soldiers inside.

"how is this possible?"

Guan Xing murmured in disbelief, nearly dropping the long axe from his hand.

He rubbed his eyes, thinking it was just a hallucination caused by the bright sunlight, but when he looked again, the rattan armor soldiers were still charging forward unharmed. Some barbarian soldiers even deliberately patted their rattan armor and gave the Han army a provocative smile.

"How can the rattan armor provide such strong protection?"

"This isn't rattan armor! It's clearly divine armor!"

A gasp of alarm rose from the Han army ranks, and the once orderly formation began to stir.

At this moment, under the Black Tiger Banner in front of the Southern Barbarians' formation, Wu Tugu, the ruler of the Wugo Kingdom, stood with his hands behind his back on his warhorse. The scar on his rough face, which ran from his brow bone to his jaw, gleamed with a ferocious white light in the sunlight.

He watched the commotion rising and falling among the Han army ranks, a sneer of undisguised sarcasm creeping onto his lips. The laughter, carried on the wind, carried the ruggedness and arrogance unique to barbarians.

The panic of the Han army was exactly what he had expected.

After all, this rattan armor army was an elite force that he had painstakingly built over ten years. Since its formation, it had only appeared in the wars of annexation among the various tribes of the Southern Barbarians and had never clashed with enemies outside of the Southern Barbarians.

Those Han Chinese from the Central Plains lived in the north for many years and had never even seen the old vines most common in the mountains and forests of the southern border, let alone known about the existence of rattan armor. This armor, made by soaking century-old vines in tung oil and repeatedly drying them nine times, had long been forged into something as hard as refined iron, and ordinary swords and spears could not harm it in the slightest.

"A bunch of ignorant Han Chinese!"

Ugo spat on the ground, his eyes full of contempt. "Such divine armor is beyond the comprehension of ordinary mortals like you."

He raised the longsword made of animal teeth high in his hand, the blade still stained with the blood of the animals from the hunt a few days ago, reflecting a bloodthirsty light in the sunlight.

The panic in the Han army formation became increasingly apparent, with some soldiers even dropping their bows and crossbows due to excessive tension.

Upon seeing this, Ugo roared wildly:
"Rattan armor soldiers, let these Han people see the might of my Wuge Kingdom!"

Keep charging! Chop them all into mincemeat, leave no one alive!

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The rattan armor soldiers responded in unison, their voices shaking the surrounding vegetation.

Their leather boots pounded on the muddy battlefield, making a dull, rhythmic sound like thunder rolling across the earth.

The rattan vines on their armor rubbed against each other, making a soft "rustling" sound, but it did not affect their speed of charge in the slightest. Every step they took was filled with an unstoppable momentum.

In the blink of an eye, the rattan armor army had closed to within seventy paces.

At this distance, the power of a strong bow could penetrate ordinary leather armor, but as Guan Xing watched the barbarian soldiers closing in step by step, his heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.

He forced himself to suppress the turmoil in his heart, the veins on his forehead throbbing, and shouted hoarsely:

"Fire arrows! Keep firing! Don't stop!"

The command flew like lightning, cutting through the chaotic ranks of the Han army. Though the archers wore expressions of fear, they dared not disobey the order and, trembling, drew their bows taut once more.

With a unified shout, another volley of arrows soared into the air, enveloping the rattan armor army like a dark cloud.

Arrows whistled down, landing densely on the rattan armor of the soldiers.

The expected screams and casualties did not occur—the powerful arrows were bounced back as soon as they touched the rattan armor, some breaking in two, some with their arrowheads curling up, but not a single one could penetrate the seemingly fragile rattan weave.

Sunlight shines on the rattan armor, reflecting a faint sheen of oil. This is the mark left after repeated soaking in tung oil, and it is also the secret to the rattan armor's invulnerability to swords and spears.

The eight thousand rattan armor soldiers remained in perfect formation, with not a single one injured. Some of the barbarian soldiers at the forefront even deliberately stood tall to face the arrows. After the rain of arrows subsided, they patted their undamaged armor and made provocative gestures towards the Han army's front line.

"This...how is this possible?"

Guan Xing's broadsword clattered onto the stirrup. He was completely stunned, his pupils contracting sharply in shock.

Invulnerable?
There is such incredible rattan armor in the world that even the most elite Han army's powerful bows and crossbows cannot penetrate it.

He had fought for many years and had seen chainmail from the Western Regions and fish-skin armor from Liaodong, but he had never seen such divine armor that was impervious to water and fire and impervious to swords and spears!

The cries of alarm from the Han army ranks had turned into desperate wails.

The soldiers looked at the unharmed rattan armor soldiers, then at the crossbows in their hands, and their panic was completely replaced by fear.

Several new recruits were so frightened that their legs went weak and they collapsed to the ground, their weapons rolling into the dust.

The morale of the troops is no longer just wavering, but on the verge of collapse.

The question that had crossed Guan Xing's mind suddenly resurfaced:
Why did the barbarian army dare to charge against overwhelming odds? Why did they all wear rattan armor, even though it seemed to offer weak defense?

At this moment, all the mysteries were solved—because this barbarian army was simply an invincible monster!

He shivered violently, and a terrible thought surged into his mind:

With such divine armor, let alone his 30,000 Han soldiers, even if a million-strong army were to be mobilized, they would be nothing more than lambs to the slaughter.

Once the two armies clashed, the Han army would inevitably collapse at the first touch, resulting in a scene of carnage and rivers of blood!

"Retreat! We must retreat immediately!"

Guan Xing's voice trembled slightly, yet remained remarkably firm.

He knew that if he hesitated for even a moment longer, he would be doomed.

He suddenly drew the command flag from his waist and swung it forcefully behind him:
"All troops, listen up! Sound the retreat and withdraw immediately!"

The urgent sound of the retreat signal shattered the clamor of the battlefield. The already demoralized Han soldiers, upon hearing the signal to withdraw, felt as if they had been granted a pardon. They turned around and fled in disregard of their formation.

Some soldiers panicked and ran away without thinking, even pushing over their comrades next to them;
Some cavalrymen were so eager to flee that their horses nearly trampled their own infantrymen.

The Han army, a normally disciplined and elite force, had become a group of defeated soldiers who fled without a fight!

Seeing the Han army fleeing in such a sorry state, the rattan armor soldiers burst into deafening mocking laughter.

They stopped, pounded their chests, and shouted barbarian war songs, watching the departing Han soldiers with disdain in their eyes.

Ugo reined in his horse, looked in the direction the Han army had fled, and sneered:
"Everyone says the Han people are fierce tigers of the Central Plains, but I think they're nothing more than a pack of terrified wild dogs!"

He pointed his long sword at the Han army's retreat path and gave the order in a booming voice:
"The entire army must pursue them! Exterminate these Han traitors, leave not a single one alive!"

"As ordered!"

The rattan armor soldiers responded in unison, and once again set off in a mighty pursuit of the fleeing Han army.

At this time, the two armies were only seventy paces apart. At such a close distance, the Han army had no time to widen the gap.

In a short while, the vanguard of the rattan armor army caught up with the rearguard of the Han army.

The ending was already predetermined.

The rattan armor soldiers, wielding battle axes and spears, charged into the fleeing Han army as if it were empty.

The swords of the Han soldiers struck the rattan armor, leaving only a shallow white mark; yet every swing of the rattan armor soldiers took a life.

It wasn't until nearly a thousand soldiers who were covering the rear lost their lives that Guan Xing managed to lead his main force out of the rattan armor army's pursuit range and fled in disarray toward the main camp.

For the Han army, the deaths and injuries of a thousand men might be just a drop in the ocean, but for the Nanman tribes, it was a resounding victory.

Ugo looked at the scattered corpses of Han soldiers and the discarded weapons on the battlefield, and stroked his beard with satisfaction. He had never intended to completely crush the Han army; killing a thousand men was enough to boast to the other barbarian tribes.

He decisively raised his long sword and shouted loudly:
"withdraw troops!"

Cheers immediately erupted from the rattan armor soldiers on the battlefield.

Ugorema stood in the center of the battlefield, looking in the direction of the Han army's retreat in the distance, and laughed loudly, his laughter filled with mockery and contempt for the Han people.

The rattan armor soldiers scattered, scavenging weapons, flags, drums, and provisions left behind by the Han army on the battlefield. (End of Chapter)