The Three Kingdoms: The entire Cao Cao camp thought I was weak and frail.

At midnight, at the north gate of Puyang city.

The heavy city gate slowly opened a crack with a teeth-grinding creak.

There were no shouts of battle, no sounds of war drums. Inside the city gates, hundreds of robust oxen, blindfolded, pawed restlessly. Gleaming daggers were strapped to their horns, flashing coldly in the torchlight. Reeds soaked in kerosene were tied to their tails.

Xiahou Dun stood at the very front of the column, dressed in light, soft armor and carrying a broadsword. Behind him, the soldiers each held a powerful bow, their expressions tense.

Cao Cao, Xun Hao, Guo Jia, and others stood on the city tower, looking down at the dark mass of Yellow Turban camps outside the city.

The Yellow Turban army's camp stretched for miles, sparsely lit and poorly guarded. They probably never dreamed that the isolated city they had besieged would dare to launch a surprise attack in the dead of night.

"We can begin." Xun Hao glanced at the sky and nodded to the messenger beside him.

The messenger waved the command flag in his hand.

Beneath the city gate, Xiahou Dun took a deep breath and roared, "Light the fire!"

The soldiers thrust their torches fiercely at the reeds on the ox's tail.

"call--"

Hundreds of fire dragons instantly rose up, the excruciating pain of their tails being scorched by the flames driving these docile animals into a frenzy. They roared in agony and rage, their blindfolds long since torn off, their blood-red eyes gleaming in the darkness like demons from hell.

"Open the city gates!"

The city gates were fully open, and Xiahou Dun waved his hand: "Release them!"

The soldiers, who had been waiting in ambush, pushed the frightened bulls out of the city with all their might. At the same time, archers on both sides drew their bows and fired countless fire arrows at the flanks of the bulls.

"Thump thump thump! Clang clang clang!"

On the city wall, hundreds of war drums and gongs sounded simultaneously, and the huge sound wave, like a tsunami, pressed down on the terrified cattle.

"Moo—"

Stimulated by the combined effects of fire, excruciating pain, arrows, and noise, these hundreds of fire bulls completely lost their minds. Their only thought was to run forward.

Three hundred fire oxen plunged into the Yellow Turban army's unsuspecting camp.

"Enemy attack!"

The Yellow Turban army's camp descended into chaos. Many were still asleep when they were trampled into mincemeat by the galloping fire oxen. Those who managed to escape didn't know where to run and simply ran around aimlessly like headless flies.

"Now!" A glint flashed in Guo Jia's eyes.

"kill!"

Inside the city gate, Zhao Yun, who had been waiting for a long time, took the lead, his bright silver spear slicing through the night sky, leading five hundred White Horse Cavalry, closely following the tail of the Fire Oxen Formation, and fiercely charged into the Yellow Turban Army.

The White Horse Cavalry was composed entirely of elite soldiers. They ignored the ordinary soldiers who were scattering and fleeing, and instead headed straight for the largest command tent in the center of the camp.

Zhao Yun's spear was as fast as lightning. No Yellow Turban leader who stood in his way could withstand a single blow. Behind him, five hundred spears followed like shadows, precisely reaping every enemy who attempted to resist.

Meanwhile, in another direction of the camp, Xiahou Yuan led a light cavalry force that also sneaked in silently, to meet up with the White Horse Cavalry.

"Stop him! Stop that man in white!" Bai Rao, the Yellow Turban commander, was both shocked and furious, surrounded by his guards. He couldn't understand how the seemingly impregnable siege had crumbled so quickly.

Before he could finish speaking, the white figure had already broken through the last layer of guards.

Zhao Yun's steed, the Jade Lion of Night, let out a long neigh, reared up, and leaped over the last few Yellow Turban soldiers blocking his way. The horse landed, raising a cloud of dust, and he was already before Bai Rao.

Bai Rao, a former bandit, was driven to his knees by the rage of the moment. With a roar, he swung his broadsword and brought it down with all his might, striking Zhao Yun's head. The blow was powerful and heavy, accompanied by the whooshing sound of the wind.

However, Zhao Yun didn't even look at the greatsword coming at him. He slightly shifted his body on the side of his horse, dodging the blade at an incredible angle. At the same time, he flicked his wrist, and his gleaming silver spear traced a silver arc from bottom to top.

Bai Rao felt a chill on his neck, and his slashing motion froze in mid-air. He looked down and saw a spear tip protruding from his throat, with drops of blood dripping down the blade.

Zhao Yun jerked his arm, retracting the tip of his spear. Bai Rao swayed and fell off his horse. Zhao Yun bent down, scooped up the still-open-eyed head with one hand, and then, with a sudden burst of strength, hoisted it high onto the tip of his spear.

"The bandit leader Bai Rao is dead! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

The Yellow Turban soldiers, fleeing in all directions, instinctively looked up. In the firelight, a headless corpse fell from its horse, and the unseeing head atop the spear tip was none other than their commander, Bai Rao.

"The commander-in-chief is dead!"

"General Bai Rao is dead!"

Someone shouted first, and the remaining Yellow Turban soldiers dropped their weapons and scattered in all directions. Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, and Cao Hong led the main force in a surprise attack, turning the night raid into a full-blown pursuit.

On the city tower, Cao Cao was so excited that his face turned red.

"A tiger general! A tiger general of the world!" he murmured to himself, his eyes burning with fervor as he looked at Zhao Yun.

As dawn broke, the pursuit finally came to an end. The army returned in triumph, carrying thousands of prisoners.

Zhao Yun walked to the side and behind, his white robe still intact, but now splattered with blood, adding to his air of ruthlessness.

The joy of victory did not last long.

Bad news came back with the fleeing Yellow Turban Army.

"My lord," a scout galloped into the city, "Geng Ling, Bai Rao's deputy general, has gathered his remaining troops and joined forces with the main Yellow Turban rear army, and is now marching towards Puyang!"

Geng Ling is a completely different opponent from Bai Rao.

If Bai Rao was a fierce but reckless wild boar, then Geng Ling was a cunning and patient venomous snake. He did not rush to attack the city, but instead led his massive army to completely surround Puyang.

He then issued an order that sent chills down the spines of all the soldiers defending the city—fill the moat.

If there is no soil or stone, then human lives will be used to fill the gap.

Tens of thousands of Yellow Turban soldiers, forced by their own generals, carried makeshift wooden planks, door panels, and even the corpses of their comrades as they charged toward the moat outside Puyang City.

Arrows rained down from the city walls, each volley claiming dozens, even hundreds, of lives. But there were too many people below; as those in front fell, those behind trampled over their bodies to continue forward.

The moat was quickly stained red, and then gradually filled with corpses and debris.

When the moat became ineffective, the real siege began.

"kill--"

Amidst deafening battle cries, countless Yellow Turban soldiers, carrying siege ladders, surged towards the city walls from all directions like a black tide. This ant-like siege tactic, the oldest and most brutal of its kind, was a constant battle for survival on every section of the city walls.