The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

Just as Yan Baihu was preparing to lead his men in pursuit, his trusted confidant urgently found him, bringing a bolt from the blue.

"My lord, Liu Bei and the others have suddenly disappeared for some unknown reason. When we arrived at the inn, it was already deserted!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Baihu's face instantly turned ashen, his eyes blazing with fury that seemed almost tangible. Without hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said:

"Send troops to pursue them! Under no circumstances can they escape Wu Commandery! The rest of you, follow me to kill Sun Ce!"

After saying this, he ordered his men to bring him a warhorse and led his men to chase after Sun Ce. Now that they had already broken off all pretense of civility, they absolutely could not let this cooked duck fly away.

"Yes, sir!" the confidant immediately agreed.

The inns that Yan Baihu arranged for Sun Ce and Liu Bei were very far apart, one in the west of the city and the other in the east. When Sun Ce arrived nearby with Zhou Yu and the others, the scene that greeted them made their hearts sink.

The inn was already surrounded by Yan Baihu's men, and there were no signs of fighting. The soldiers were holding torches as if they were searching for something.

"Bo Fu, it seems we've been tricked. Liu Bei and the others must have known about Yan Baihu's plan all along, and they've already escaped. You can never truly know a person's heart just by looking at their face!"

At this moment, Zhou Yu, who had seen through everything, suddenly spoke up, expressing his great dissatisfaction with Liu Bei's desertion in the face of battle.

"Why are they running away? What's so scary about Yan Baihu? Could it be that they've already gone to the military camp to organize manpower for a counterattack?"

Sun Ce clearly found Zhou Yu's guess hard to believe and refuted Zhou Yu with his own opinion.

After all, Yan Baihu's strength was just so-so, and he couldn't make much of a splash.

Just as Zhou Yu was about to speak to Sun Ce to confirm his thoughts, they faintly heard dense footsteps and sporadic hoofbeats behind them. Everyone was startled, realizing that Yan Baihu must have caught up with his men.

"Hurry up, to the military camp, there are still our men there!" Sun Ce said, then turned his horse around and headed towards the military camp, with the others following closely behind.

When they arrived at the military camp where their subordinates were staying, the scene before them made Sun Ce and the others feel uneasy.

Chaos reigned in the military camp. The torchlight flickered in the night, casting a blood-red glow. The soldiers of the Sun-Liu alliance were engaged in fierce combat with Yan Baihu's men. The clash of swords and shouts of battle echoed through the sky, but Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were nowhere to be seen.

Where are they?

"Where are Liu Bei and the others?" Sun Ce roared from his horse, utterly bewildered by their sudden disappearance.

"Bo Fu, don't get agitated. In my opinion, Yan Baihu is probably colluding with Qin Xuan. Liu Bei and the others somehow got wind of this and secretly slipped away. Otherwise, what's so scary about a mere Yan Baihu!"

Zhou Yu, as expected of a strategist, managed to deduce, by combining Liu Bei's escape with Yan Baihu's attack on them, that Qin Xuan was involved.

"So what do we do now?"

Sun Ce turned to look at Zhou Yu, wanting to hear his plan.

He is completely unable to calm down right now and can only rely on Zhou Yu for advice.

"Gather the remaining soldiers here, fight our way out of Wu County, and head towards Lujiang County, in order to stage a comeback!"

Zhou Yu said slowly and deliberately.

He had two reasons for sending Sun Ce to Lujiang Commandery: firstly, Lujiang Commandery was adjacent to Yuan Shu's territory, so Qin Xuan would not easily launch an attack; secondly, his hometown was Lujiang Commandery, and he had considerable influence there, which would allow Sun Ce to rise to power quickly.

"Good!" Sun Ce shouted immediately, spurring his horse into the military camp, with his generals following closely behind.

The battle inside the military camp had reached a fever pitch, with soldiers from both sides fighting fiercely. Sun Ce was at the forefront, wielding his halberd and relentlessly reaping the lives of Yan Baihu's men.

When Sun Ce charged into the military camp and slaughtered his way through, a glint of light flashed in Yan Yu's eyes. He hadn't expected that his opponent would be able to break through his brother's encirclement and fight his way here.

"Sun Ce, you're still alive! Brothers, charge! Kill Sun Ce!"

Sun Ce, who was engrossed in the battle, heard someone call his name. He looked at the person and found that it was Yan Yu. He immediately pointed his spear at him and charged over on horseback.

He knew the other man's identity—Yan Baihu's younger brother. Killing him would demoralize the enemy, and perhaps his men could break through the encirclement.

"Well done!" Yan Yu saw Sun Ce charging towards him, but instead of backing down, he was eager to fight. He shouted and brandished his long sword to meet him.

Upon seeing this, Sun Ce let out a cold laugh and swung his halberd at Yan Yu like lightning.

His halberd technique was incredibly fierce, instantly piercing Yan Yu's chest.

Yan Yu let out a scream as his body fell from his horse, his blood instantly staining the ground red.

This battle, where the odds were heavily against each other, ended abruptly in less than a few dozen seconds, and some people didn't even know what had happened.

"Ahhhhh, retreat quickly! General Yan Yu is dead!"

After an unknown amount of time, Yan Baihu's men saw this scene and shouted out these words. Instantly, Yan Baihu's men fell into chaos and began to scatter and flee.

After all, their commander had been killed, and they had lost their leader, making it impossible for them to organize an effective attack.

"Brothers, retreat!"

Taking advantage of the chaos among Yan Baihu's men, Sun Ce organized a retreat, as Qin Xuan was likely to join the battle, and it was necessary to hurry up and evacuate.

Upon seeing Sun Ce's figure, the soldiers of the Sun-Liu allied forces in the camp immediately felt reassured and responded to the call to retreat with Sun Ce.

When Yan Baihu and his men arrived at the city gate, Sun Ce was leading the remaining troops to storm the city gate and leave Wucheng.

When he saw his younger brother's corpse lying on the ground, Yan Baihu was filled with grief and anger. He ordered his men to properly dispose of Yan Yu's body while summoning his men to continue the pursuit of Sun Ce. Finally, at dawn, they caught up with him in the Shui'an area.

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As the first rays of dawn touched the earth, a thin mist shrouded the vast plains like a veil.

Sun Ce's several thousand troops were locked in a stalemate with Yan Baihu's pursuing forces, with the two sides less than a hundred meters apart.

Yan Baihu's face was filled with anger and hatred. His younger brother, Yan Yu, had been killed by Sun Ce with a single spear thrust, which had caused him to completely lose his mind.

He gritted his teeth and glared at Sun Ce not far away, coldly shouting, "Sun Ce, I will definitely use your head to appease the spirit of my brother Yan Yu in heaven!"

"All troops, listen to my command: Kill!"

Having said that, he brandished his long sword and charged towards Sun Ce on horseback.

Yan Baihu's men followed without hesitation, and in an instant, the plains were filled with the glint of swords and the deafening shouts of battle.

Sun Ce couldn't help but sneer when he saw Yan Baihu's attack.

He knew that Yan Baihu had lost his mind, and such irrational attacks were often the hardest to get rid of. They could not retreat with peace of mind until they had eliminated the opponent once and for all. Once Qin Xuan's Great Snow Dragon Riders arrived, they would have no chance to retreat.

Having figured this out, Sun Ce immediately shouted, "Soldiers, prepare for battle!"

The crowd responded and gripped their weapons tightly, preparing to fight Yan Baihu's army.

In less than a few dozen seconds, the two sides were already engaged in battle. Yan Baihu, who had lost his mind, focused his attack on Sun Ce, wielding his broadsword like a chaotic dance of demons, and kept slashing at Sun Ce.

I love Niu Wogu's masterpiece, "The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei," click to read now!