Liu Bei POV

“Eh?” I was really surprised to hear this, “Yun Chang and the rest have not left the city for too long. Even if they fast marched all the way, they would only just be reaching the city now.”

A siege would need several hours to complete at the very least. Sending a status report update at this stage would be weird.

“Could it be just an ordinary update?”

“…” Yuan Zhi remained silent and her frown was now so tight that it was visible below her bandana.

“Let’s go and see it.” Yuan Zhi said and turned to leave. I hesitated for a moment before saluting Liao Hua and following Yuan Zhi down the city tower.

On the way back, neither of us spoke. Now that the battle was just over, the entire atmosphere was no longer relaxed like before. At the same time, practically all of the commoners were hiding in their homes due to the battle as well.

As such, only Yuan Zhi and I were walking down the normally-bustling streets. The sounds of our footsteps were louder than I imagined they would be and only made me feel even more uneasy. And the more uneasy I felt, the less I felt like talking. Everything will have to wait for after learning what Yun Chang sent to us.

After turning left and right, we finally made it back to our mansion. And just as we did so, we saw Zi Long hurrying outside in a panic with Chen Dao in tow, who had an even more frantic expression on.

“Zi Long, Chen Dao, why are you both so frantic?” I asked. Zi Long stopped and wanted to say something but could not say anything even after a long while.

“Chen Dao, let’s go! Quick!”

“Ah… Yes!” Chen Dao seemed like she wanted to tell me but since her immediate superior did not say anything and further asked her to follow her, she mere saluted and bowed before hurrying behind Zi Long.

What’s the matter? Why are they so frantic?

I was really bewildered but when I turned back, I saw that Yuan Zhi had already dismounted and entered the mansion so I hurried after her. After we entered and made our way into the main hall, we saw Chen Gong sitting on the floor with an exhausted expression on as she frowned.

“Chen Gong!” I exclaimed as an ominous premonition filled my heart while Yuan Zhi waved at her impatiently. Chen Gong raised her head and her body shuddered as she sighed. This is…

“Lord Chen Gong, may I ask what’s the matter?” Yuan Zhi asked before she even finished ascending the steps.

Chen Gong slowly got up and made her way to the doorway and leaned against as she replied softly, “Lord Guan Yu and the rest were ambushed.”

… Eh?

“What? What did you say?” I asked again, not understanding what she said immediately.

“I said, Lord Guan Yu and the rest were ambushed not too far from Fan city!” Chen Gong repeated herself louder, her frown not easing in the slightest.

My eyes bulged and my eyebrows creased as well when I realised what had happened, my mind still refusing to believe the truth that was told to me. In the next instant, images of Yun Chang, Guan Ping and Zhou Cang being slaughtered by weapons filled my mind and my heart skipped a beat.

“What! Impossible! How could they have been ambushed?!” I yelled and looked at Yuan Zhi to the side. Yuan Zhi did not turn to look at me nor did she reply.

“What about Yun Chang? Are Yun Chang and the rest alright?!” I continued to ask when I saw that Yuan Zhi remained silent.

“Lord Guan Yu and the rest are fine. The report stated that the 3 of them are all safe.&rdqu

o; Chen Gong hurriedly replied and nodded. She then took another look at the report before she continued, “The report stated that Lord Guan Yu chose to abandon the raid and Lord Zhao Yun has deployed her troops to help them back. They should be leaving the city by now.”

Ah… So that’s why. No wonder Zi Long and Chen Dao seemed so anxious before. And Zi Long chose not to tell me as she was afraid that I would not be able to accept it.

After hearing that they were safe, I felt less anxious but when I remembered that the raid had failed, my uneasiness began to surge again.

“Then what about the troops?”

“The generals are fine.” Chen Gong said as she looked at the report with a grim expression, “But the troops suffered grave casualties. Due to multiple waves of arrows and a sudden charge to their flanks, it is estimated that they have lost more than half of their troops.”

“More than half…”

It was a very simple phrase but it’s truly terrifying. In the last battle, there were 6-7,000 bodies outside Xinye city which required a full 2 days and nights for over 1,000 troops to clear up. And now, losing more than half means that our total losses are the same as that of the enemy in the first battle.

Wu… In an instant, I could feel an unbelievably painful pressure in my chest that almost made me fall to my knees. I know, that there are some responsibilities that are just too much for me to bear. But at the same time, as a feudal lord, I have to bear them.

“But after this battle, we can be sure of 1 thing.” Just then, Chen Gong began to speak up yet again, “The enemy’s forces are more than just the 10,000 or so that Lord Lu Bu just fought outside the city.”

Chen Gong did not specifically lay blame on anyone nor did she try to imply anything. But I very clearly saw Yuan Zhi shudder when she heard what Chen Gong said.

Yuan Zhi… It was clear that this loss was a result of her misjudgement. This is definitely a significant blow to the perfectionistic Yuan Zhi.

“Not just 10,000 huh…” I repeated softly as I nodded. I do not know yet how many enemies Yun Chang ran into but she definitely made the right decision to turn back as there is no way her forces are at an advantage. What we need to do now is to think of what to do next.

“Yuan Zhi, what do we do next?” I asked as I took a few steps closer to Yuan Zhi, hoping to get some ideas. If it’s Yuan Zhi, she should have some ideas of what to do by now. Strategists always think of things several steps ahead after all.

“The situation is not optimistic in the least.” Chen Gong replied before Yuan Zhi could speak, “We lost more than half of our raiding force and our other half who were battling outside suffered casualties as well. This means that we no longer have enough troops to perform a 2-p.r.o.nged attack. The enemy should know this and will start camping outside of the city, further limiting the actions we are able to take.”

“Hu…” Chen Gong sighed when she finished.

Just then, I realised that Chen Gong was not wearing her thick-soled shoes and was walking around inside bare-footed. When she’s like this, she really seems small. But leaving that aside, it does not seem like Chen Gong has any ideas. Not now, at least.

There are many problems to deal with and all of them are very difficult. But it is times like these that I need to rely on Yuan Zhi. So since Chen Gong does not have anything more to say, I decided to s.h.i.+ft my attention and gaze back to Yuan Zhi.

“Yuan Zhi, do you have any strategies for what to do next?” I asked again as I slowly looked up at Yuan Zhi’s face. But what I saw made me feel even more troubled. Yuan Zhi’s face was very pale and her eyes seemed listless and empty to the point where I was not sure if she had even heard what I had said.

“… Yuan Zhi?” I called out once more as I touched her shoulders.

“Ah?” Yuan Zhi shuddered and her eyes snapped to where I was. Before I could speak any further, her eyes s.h.i.+fted elsewhere and she went into a daze yet again.

“Yuan Zhi, calm down.” I began to panic when I saw how Yuan Zhi was, “Do you have any ideas for what we should do next?”

“No…” Yuan Zhi looked at me again but she immediately looked away and seemed completely lost as she shook her head over and over, “I-I-I-I don’t know about anything that happens after this.”

“Eh?”

By anything that happens after this, you mean the strategies for the battles after this?

“Then is there any methods we can use to strengthen our army?”

If we cannot rely on numbers then maybe we can improve the quality of our troops.

“… No… I…”

“Eh? What?” I asked as Yuan Zhi spoke very softly. But all of a sudden, she stared at me and I got a shock. Her face was covered in perspiration as though she were a hostage who was about to be killed.

“No, this is impossible.” Yuan Zhi said as she shook her head, “It can’t be wrong… Where did I go wrong? I did every step as I should have after coming to Xinye right?!”

“Yuan Zhi, Yuan Zhi.” I began to panic when I saw how Yuan Zhi was like and grabbed her arm, “Yuan Zhi, calm down. This is just a strategic mistake, you don’t have to blame yourself like this!”