Liu Bei POV

If I think about it that way, it does indeed seem that they will not be able to attack the city.

“Hai, I just hope everything goes according to plan.” I softly said as I leaned against the walls. I did not say this out of doubt. It was just an ordinary prayer. Nevertheless, I was afraid that Yuan Zhi might think of these words as doubt over her capabilities and muttered under my breath.

“Ah! The enemy is here!” Just then, a scout on the city tower yelled out and everyone around, including Yuan Zhi and I, immediately tensed up and looked outside into the entrance to the valley.

They are here. They really are here.

When I looked over, an endless stream of cavalry pouring out of the valley greeted me, dispersing out like an alluvial fan. They continued to disperse and expand out until eventually the heavy infantry behind marched in at a slower pace.

“1, 2, 3, 4…” Unlike me, Yuan Zhi began counting. I am not sure what she is counting exactly but it’s probably the flags.

Does the enemy really number just 10,000? I really have no idea.

I have led armies in excess of 10,000 before, in the Battle of Wan city for example, and have seen Ben Chu’s armies which were several hundred thousand strong in formation but my eyes could only see a few thousand at the most. Even then, all I see is a thick black ma.s.s. If I had no information to make a guess with, I would have thought that the enemy before us numbered about 30-40,000.

“… It is indeed 10,000 huh?”

“Eh?” Yuan Zhi suddenly spoke up and denied what I was thinking with certainty, “Ah, really? I thought that there were much more than that.”

I could only nod awkwardly as I went along with her. When I looked at Yuan Zhi, I saw that she had a grim expression on and looked like she was very tense.

*Tatatata*

The sound of footsteps made by combat boots could be heard coming from the stairs and I looked over while Yuan Zhi looked down in a daze.

“Xuan De, our troops are ready.”

“Ah, Feng Xian huh?” When I greeted her, Yuan Zhi turned around and looked over as well.

“*Tatata* Wen Yuan has gone ahead to the encampment to bring the troops out and they will be here shortly.” Feng Xian continued as she came walking over and nodded at Yuan Zhi when she reached my side, “Lord Xu Shu.”

“Un, Lord Lu Bu.” Yuan Zhi was slow in her greeting and turned back to look outside after she did so.

I looked over Feng Xian and saw that her aura seemed to resemble how she used to be during the Feudal Lord Alliance after putting on her plate armour after a long while. I had gotten accustomed to Feng Xian in her plain cloth clothing that I forgot that she was Lu Bu. But now that she has put on her plate armour again, the domineering aura she has about her really fits the name of Lu Bu.

“Un…” Feng Xian squinted and looked into the distance as I looked at her, her eyes narrowing into a slit and bulging as she did so, making for a rather scary display.

“Are those up ahead, the enemy that is coming to attack us? They’re already here huh?”

“Ah, yes.” I replied and turned to look as well, and saw that the enemy had already made their way out of the valley, “The enemy numbers 10,000, the same as us.”

“I see.” Feng Xian replied as she swung her halberd about while continuing to look ahead.

“By the way, Feng Xian, where is Red Hare?”

“I left Red Hare with Wen Yuan. She’ll be putting Red Hare in 1 of my bags on my horse.” F

eng Xian replied as she continued to swing her halberd and rubbed her chin as she said so, “But it seems like Wen Yuan is still fearful of Red Hare even till today.”

Ah… This cannot be helped since Wen Yuan is afraid of dogs. I do not think that this sort of phobia is easy to get over even if she wants to try to change it.

“Ah, I nearly forgot what I was here for.” Just then, Feng Xian seemed to recall something and stopped swinging her halberd and sheathed it at her back before looking at Yuan Zhi, “Wen Yuan was discussing the battle with me and she suggested to me to ask you if there are any special orders you might have.”

“Un?” Yuan Zhi seemed surprised at this question, “What do you mean by special orders?”

“Like the formations to change into based on the drum beats. We were wondering if Lord Xu Shu had any specific requests.”

Oh~ I never expected this. I always thought that Feng Xian would be the sort to unilaterally make her own decisions but she actually listened to Wen Yuan’s suggestion huh?

“No, I don’t have anything of the sort for this battle.” Yuan Zhi replied without any hesitation and returned Feng Xian’s gaze without any fear, “You just need to fight to your heart’s content in this battle.”

“To my heart’s content… It’s not like I have any particular sentiment…” Feng Xian seemed troubled at Yuan Zhi’s words as she was not that interested in battles after all, “But–”

Just then, she turned to where I was and stared at me silently for a long while before nodding, “Xuan De, I will definitely win this battle.”

“Feng Xian.”

She’s still following me in search of her own path huh? I could not help but to think back to what she told me in the banquet and how Feng Xian must have seemed when she battled the 6 Cao generals in Xu state. Though she does not speak much, it does not mean that she does not think about anything.

“Un,” I smiled and nodded before replying softly, “I’ll be expecting it.”

Feng Xian did not say anything else and merely stared at me for a while more before turning to leave.

If you think about it, this sort of person who is strong and cold on the outside ought to be rather thoughtful and soft on the inside. And she’s a girl to boot too. Though I must say that it’s difficult to remember that most times.

“… Xuan De.”

“Eh?” Just as I was disappointed with how I treated girls, Feng Xian’s voice came from behind. I turned around and saw that Feng Xian had stopped and was standing with her back to me, “Ah… Umm, is there anything else?”

Did she forget to say something?

“… Xuan De, if I am able to perform brilliantly in this battle–”

“Un un, if you are able to perform brilliantly…” I nodded and repeated when Feng Xian paused.

“If I am able to do that, I will come to seek a reward from you.”

“Oh?” I did not think that Feng Xian was interested in being rewarded and was rather surprised, “Sure. When the time comes, just say the word and I’ll do the best I can within my abilities.”

“… Un.” Feng Xian grunted and nodded before she left. I did not get a glimpse of her face at all throughout this exchange and could not see if she was expectant, nervous or impatient.

“I see, so she didn’t come here to ask me a question huh.”

“Eh?” I did not understand what Yuan Zhi meant and when I looked at her, she seemed like she saw through everything about Feng Xian.

“How could that be?” I smiled, “Feng Xian was clearly here because she wanted to ask if you had any further orders.”

“Not at all.” Yuan Zhi shook her head.

“She was, wasn’t she?” I replied with a stiff smile, feeling that Yuan Zhi was really behaving strangely.

Yuan Zhi then looked at me and sighed after a moment, “… I see.”

“Eh?” I did not understand what Yuan Zhi understood and expressed my puzzlement yet again, “So what is it?”

“No, it’s nothing.” Yuan Zhi shook her head and smiled for some reason, “If Xuan De doesn’t know then it’s best that I refrain from saying anything.”

So what the heck is it… Acting all mysterious… I frowned and felt even more puzzled but I gave up as I felt that I would not be able to get anything out of her if I continued to ask anyway.

I really wonder what Feng Xian is interested in for a reward though. It’s definitely not money or treasures, that’s for sure… What else could it be?

Perhaps an increment to Red Hare’s food. Lately, it seems like Red Hare is eating more and more vegetables. It’s already fortunate to be able to eat vegetables in this era yet Feng Xian is always prioritising Red Hare over herself when it comes to eating. Well, she’s not too much different from a modern dog lover, albeit a little less fanatic.

“By the way, is Xuan De not going to partic.i.p.ate this time?”

“Me?”

“You personally asked to join the battle the last time alongside Lord Zhang Fei’s troops, didn’t you?”

Ah, that huh?

“I was just worried about Yi De then. To be honest, my martial prowess is really lacking and my horsemans.h.i.+p is at an amateur level.”

“I can see that.” Yuan Zhi added in, which was a really terrible blow to me to be honest. Come on, you did not need to do that.

“Yes,” But I nodded and continued, “But at that time, I felt that I should do something.”

“Do what?” All of a sudden, Yuan Zhi asked further almost immediately with a voice that contained surprise and had a tone that was higher than usual, “You know your capabilities are limited yet you still put yourself in harm’s way. How can that be a wise choice?”