Reborn in the Three Kingdoms Novel - Chapter 173

Chapter 173 Zhang Yan Captured
After exchanging a glance, the two of them led their trusted aides in different directions. Carefully discerning that all they had done was to gather their troops and flee from their barracks, it was already obvious why they had done so.

Speaking of Zhang Yan, she was still excitedly chasing after Zhang Chao, not knowing what was happening in the mountain behind her.

Along with the constant pursuit, the distance between the two sides seemed to be getting closer and closer. Zhang Yan could already see Zhang Chao’s back, which made him even more excited. “Brothers, Zhang Chao is right in front. As long as we can catch up and kill him, Bingzhou City in the future will be ours.”

“Kill!” The envious Black Mountain Army that was provoked by Zhang Yanzhi’s words shouted as they hurriedly chased after him.

In front of him, Zhang Chao was still running on foot, and according to the different terrain of the mountain forest, he moved in an illusory direction.

If you looked carefully, you would find that General Zhou Cang, who was very familiar with this area, was also running after Zhang Chao’s footsteps.

Regardless of whether it was Zhou Cang or Xu Chu, they were both extremely shocked at this moment. Why was Master so familiar with the mountain forest environment? To be able to discern the direction of an ambush in the face of continuous turns, and to be heading towards a predetermined ambush circle?

One had to know that the dense forest was one after another, and some places were even without sunlight for a long time. In such an environment, it was difficult to distinguish the direction unless there were modern instruments such as a compass. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to distinguish the direction.

However, Zhang Chao was still able to lock onto the direction after seven turns and eight turns. This was already very difficult. Naturally, this was something he had cultivated in the dense forest of the Golden Triangle.

After decades of living in the jungle, Zhang Chao didn’t lose his way here. He only needed to see the density of the leaves to be able to distinguish between the north, south, east, and west. Since he had been fighting on land or on horseback, Zhang Chao’s ability had rarely been used. Now that he had entered the dense forest, it was as if he had returned to the Golden Triangle. This was also the reason why he dared to accept Jia Xu’s dangerous plan and keep his distance from Zhang Yan between two hundred meters and one hundred and fifty meters.

Occasionally, Zhang Chao would even turn around and look at Zhang Yan and the others behind him. Once they realized that the distance was far, they would intentionally stop and wait for the other party to catch up.

It was this kind of stop-and-go along the way that made Zhang Yan think that she could catch up to Zhang Chao until he slowly approached the edge of the dense forest and wanted to enter the pre-set ambush circle.

Zhang Yan had always been chasing after Zhang Chao with her people, and the thousand trusted aides around her had always been united around him. This also made him feel much more confident. If he could catch up to Zhang Chao, he would definitely be able to kill him with these people.

Victory was in sight, making Zhang Yan lose his basic judgment. He did not think why the four reinforcements he sent could not intercept Zhang Chao. He did not think that after he left, the entire Montenegrin army had become a mess. He only knew that this place was not far from the forest, so he shouted, “Everyone, hurry up. We are going to leave the forest in front of us. We absolutely cannot let him escape.”

Zhang Yan naturally didn’t want to let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As he spoke, he took a deep breath and increased the speed of his feet.

Zhang Chao, who was walking in the front, was about to leave the forest and arrive at the place where the ambush circle was set up. He heaved a sigh of relief and looked back at Zhang Yan. He found that they were still 150 meters away from him. He said to Zhou Cang and Xu Chu beside him, “Let’s slow down a bit.”

The ambush circle was right in front of him. At this time, it would be clear whether the plan could be implemented smoothly or not. In order not to let Zhang Yan find out and escape, Zhang Chao needed to shorten the distance between the two sides and give each other more confidence.

Hearing this, Xu Chu, Zhou Cang, and the Iron Guards all slowed down. This was also a way to rest. After running so far in a row, no one would not feel tired.

The Iron Guards were all composed of the most elite warriors in the Zhang Chao Group. Even they felt extremely tired, let alone Zhang Yan and the others who were chasing after them. They were also very tired, but because their prey was right in front of them, they had forgotten everything for a moment.

As Zhang Yan accelerated, Zhang Chao deliberately slowed down, and the distance between the two continued to narrow. One hundred and fifty meters became one hundred and twenty meters, then one hundred meters, eighty meters, and finally fifty meters.

Even the hair on Zhang Chao’s head could be seen clearly from a distance of fifty meters. Zhang Yan was even more excited as she chased after him at full speed with a thousand trusted aides.

“Accelerate.” Seeing that the distance between the two sides was already so close, Zhang Chao, who did not want to stand under the dangerous wall, ordered. Then, he took the lead to speed up. After resting for a while, the Iron Guard also accelerated abruptly and began to draw the distance between the two sides.

Seeing that the distance was about to increase, Zhang Yan’s eyes flashed with anger. As he shouted for his men to chase after him, he ordered his men to prepare to release their arrows. At this distance, the bow and arrow scriptures could already play a significant role.

Zhang Yan didn’t use an arrow before, she wanted to catch him alive. He thought that if he could catch a living Zhang Chao, the benefits would be even greater. Right now, it was very difficult to catch up, so he wanted to use the bow and arrow to kill the target.

Pei Yuanshao, who had been following Zhang Yan, watched as the archer prepared to release the arrow. A cold light flashed in his eyes. He had already tightly gripped the machete in his hand and made preparations to kill these people if they wanted to release the arrow.

Even though this would expose his identity, it was still better than Zhang Xuan. In that case, they would not be meritorious, but guilty.

Pei Yuanshao tightened his grip on the machete in his hand, as if he could attack at any time. He watched as the archers raised their bows and arrows, ready to shoot.

“Then Zhang Chao suddenly fell down. The brothers are rushing right in front of him.” A shout rang out, causing the archers who were about to shoot the arrows to stop, and Pei Yuanshao, who was about to kill, to withdraw his killing intent.

It turned out that just now, the white-robed Zhang Chao who was running suddenly tripped over something and fell to the ground. This caused the archers to lose the best opportunity to release their arrows. Of course, this was a great opportunity for ordinary infantry.

As Zhang Chao was running, he looked back and saw that the archer was ready to shoot the arrow. Knowing that at such a distance, he would be injured if he did not do well, he deliberately pretended to fall and beat up the enemy.

Sure enough, Zhang Chao’s fall made Zhang Yan and the others excited. The archers stopped firing their arrows and chased after him.

When Zhang Chao fell to his feet, the distance between them was less than 50 meters. Seeing that the crisis was approaching, Zhang Chao revealed a strange smile on his face. Then, he turned around and fled.

This smile caused Zhang Yansheng, who was chasing after him, to have a bad feeling. Before he could think about anything else, the soldiers beside him had already chased after him. Then, they saw someone crazily retreating back. Someone shouted while returning, “Not good, there is a legion of cavalry.”

“What? There are cavalry!” At this moment, Zhang Yan was puzzled when she suddenly heard such a shout. Her entire face couldn’t help but change. He finally understood that this was the enemy’s seduction technique. He had been tricked.

“What should we do?” At this moment, a confidant walked over and asked Zhang Yan.

Due to the pursuit along the way, everyone was extremely tired now. If they were to fight against the cavalry, they really couldn’t guarantee that they would have any combat strength left.

“Retreat!” After knowing the cavalry in front of him, Zhang Yanjing had lost the confidence to kill Zhang Chao. After saying that, he turned around and prepared to leave, but a machete had already landed on his neck and said, “If you want to live, just stand there obediently. Otherwise, don’t blame my broadsword for not recognizing anyone!”

The one who spoke was Pei Yuanshao, who had been following him. Seeing that Zhang Yan was about to leave, he no longer cared about that much. He took the saber and crossed it.

Zhang Yan had originally suspected Pei Yuanshao, but after seeing Zhang Chao, she had already forgotten. Now that she saw the saber on her neck, her eyes immediately widened and she said, “Do you want to rebel?”

“You’re not an emperor, why would you rebel?” Pei Yuanshao said unmoved. The broadsword in his hand was even tighter and tighter. It was like if you dared to make a move, I would dare to make a move.

Zhang Yan was restrained and the army stopped moving. Everyone was shocked by this sudden scene and was at a loss.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhang Chao and his men had already surrounded him. Beside him, there was a middle-aged fierce man. He was holding a curling cloud knife and carrying a bird drawing bow. This person was undoubtedly Great General Huang Zhong.

Huang Zhong was arranged to meet Zhang Chao here. After seeing the enemy enter the ambush circle, they rushed out with three thousand cavalry. Then, under an order, they abandoned their horses and fought, flanking them in a fan-shaped manner.

Zhang Chao stood in the middle of the crowd and was protected. He saw Pei Yuanshao’s long knife resting on Zhang Yan’s neck. “Alright, General Pei has done a great job. Now listen to my orders. Those who put down their weapons will not be killed. Otherwise, they will be shot!”

Under Zhang Chao’s orders, Huang Zhong, who was waiting for trouble, ran forward with three thousand cavalry and surrounded the Montenegro legion in front of him.

The main general was restrained, and after running so far, all of them were out of breath. They had long since lost their combat strength. Now, with a thousand to three thousand, the Montenegrin army had long since lost the strength to fight. When Huang Zhong’s army came up, they all dropped their weapons.

Zhang Yan was captured without even struggling, which made Zhang Chao happily walk forward and say, “Zhang Yan, you are actually a reckless hero. However, you did not choose well and became the leader of the bandits in Heishan Army. Now that I think you are a man, do you want to give you a chance to abandon your secrets?”