Chapter 143: Inflicting Heavy Casualties on Cao's Army

This time, the Wolf Shadow Guards emerged from behind them, numbering more than a dozen strong.

Furthermore, every single one of them held a heavy crossbow, firing wildly into the backs of the Cao troops charging up the slope.

In just a short moment, dozens of Cao soldiers were shot down.

This sudden turn of events threw the Cao troops, who were in the midst of charging the hill, into absolute chaos.

"Oh no, there are enemy reinforcements behind us! Quick, charge through!"

Seeing that the newly appeared Wolf Shadow Guards were still few in number, the Cao soldiers decided to try and fight their way through.

Consequently, a detachment of the Cao troops broke away and began charging toward the slope on the other side.

However, just as they rushed into the mountain hollow, trouble struck once again.

More Wolf Shadow Guards suddenly materialized from out of nowhere and began a frantic barrage of gunfire—releasing flights of deadly arrows. Within moments, more than two hundred men were sent to their graves right here.

"No, their combat prowess is simply too terrifying! We are no match for them! Retreat, quickly retreat!" Sensing that the situation was dire, the soldiers began fleeing in all directions.

Their formation had completely disintegrated, and they scattered randomly without any vestige of order. As for combat capability, that was entirely out of the question.

The Wolf Shadow Guards began charging down the slope, continuously loosing volleys of arrows as they advanced, mercilessly hunting down the Cao troops.

Once they had completely descended the slope, they put away their bows and crossbows, switching to curved sabers for close-quarters combat.

More than a hundred Wolf Shadow Guards engaged five hundred Cao soldiers without the slightest difficulty, tearing into their ranks like a pack of wolves.

The Cao troops possessed zero capability to resist. And thus, a fierce battle erupted.

Of course, calling it a battle was a misnomer; it was, in truth, a brutal massacre.

In a short span of time, all five hundred Cao soldiers gathered here were completely annihilated.

As soon as the final enemy was slain, the Wolf Shadow Guards wheeled around and executed a swift withdrawal.

Within mere breaths, the Wolf Shadow Guards vanished without a trace.

The entire environment lapsed back into tranquility, everything returning to its normal state, with only one difference.

Not a single living soul remained of the more than five hundred Cao soldiers who had arrived here.

In this quiet valley, the ground was strewn entirely with the corpses of Cao soldiers.

Simultaneously, in various other locations, scattered detachments of Cao troops were being ambushed by varying numbers of Wolf Shadow Guards.

Right along the retreat paths of the Cao soldiers, the Wolf Shadow Guards materialized in ways utterly beyond their imagination, launching ferocious assaults.

Across this mountainous forest, no fewer than six or seven locations were witnessing the exact same scene.

Among these engagements, the number of fallen Cao soldiers had already surpassed three thousand.

Inside the Cao military camp, upon receiving these reports, Xu Chu went completely berserk.

"The Wolf Shadow Guards! It's them again! What on earth are they trying to accomplish? I brought eight thousand men here from my lord."

"And now? Only a little over two thousand remain! Damn them, damn them to hell!"

Xu Chu paced back and forth, hopping with rage, consumed by furious wrath.

Thinking back to when he first arrived here, how confident he had been. He had believed the Wolf Shadow Guards were nothing special and could be easily handled.

Yet look at the current reality. The situation filled him with intense frustration and fury.

Of the eight thousand men he had brought, only two thousand were left.

If he were to return empty-handed like this, he had no idea how he would face Cao Cao.

Therefore, he swore an oath that he would exterminate the Wolf Shadow Guards.

"General, several more of our squads have been ambushed. Our casualties are catastrophic."

"The soldiers tried to fight back, but... but their combat strength is simply too monstrous."

"We are simply no match for them, General. Perhaps... perhaps we should just retreat."

Some of his subordinates were beginning to harbor thoughts of withdrawal.

There was no help for it; the situation here was disastrous. If things continued this way, every single one of them would perish in this place.

They had severely underestimated the Wolf Shadow Guards; they were simply not in the same league.

This series of ambushes by the Wolf Shadow Guards constituted the heaviest loss they had ever suffered.

Such losses were unbearable for them, especially since they were already facing a disadvantage in troop numbers in their ongoing campaign against Yuan Shao.

If this attrition continued and all of them were wiped out here, the consequences would be unthinkable.

"Retreat? Retreat to where? Attack! We must slaughter every last one of them!" Xu Chu had no habit of retreating.

He understood all too well that withdrawing meant admitting defeat. The Wolf Shadow Guards were formidable indeed, but conceding defeat was something Xu Chu could never bring himself to do.

To be frank, he refused to accept this outcome and still desperately wanted to fight a decisive battle against the Wolf Shadow Guards.

There was no choice. Things had already reached this juncture; they had no option but to bite the bullet and press forward.

Time ticked away, and Xu Chu's remaining soldiers gradually converged back into a single main force.

Once everyone had finally gathered, Xu Chu's heart felt exceptionally heavy.

Think back to when they had first arrived—a mighty host of eight thousand men. And now?

Only these meager two thousand soldiers remained.

This blow was truly difficult for him to stomach.

Yet what was done was done; what other recourse did he have?

"Listen up, everyone! Starting today, we operate entirely as a single united force."

"This general has determined that the Wolf Shadow Guards must be operating in dispersed units."

"Since they are scattered, their numbers in any given place must be small. But what about us?"

"With over two thousand of us moving as one, the moment we encounter the Wolf Shadow Guards, we will hunt them down collectively."

"I refuse to believe that our force of over two thousand men cannot deal with a mere handful of them!"

Having reunited his troops, Xu Chu immediately delivered a rousing mobilization speech.

This development quickly reached the ears of Liu Xie deep within the mountains.

Upon learning of this, Liu Xie did something that completely surprised everyone.

He ordered all Wolf Shadow Guards to immediately halt their attacks on the Cao troops.

"Your Majesty, why must we stop? Wouldn't it be better to press our advantage and pursue them right now?"

Gao Shun and Zhao Yun returned to pay audience to Liu Xie, both asking with expressions full of curiosity.

At this mention, Liu Xie merely smiled faintly and shook his head.

"Gao Shun, Zilong, you must remember what our purpose is this time."

"Our objective is troop training—to forge the Wolf Shadow Guards into an even more formidable force."

"We require powerful adversaries, yet our current enemies are not quite strong enough."

"Therefore, let us grant them some time to regroup and grow a bit stronger."

"Only then shall we resume the training of our soldiers."

In truth, the way events had unfolded exceeded even Liu Xie's expectations.

When Xu Chu brought his seven-thousand-plus soldiers into the mountains, Liu Xie had estimated it would take at least a month to weed most of them out.

However, the sheer might of the Wolf Shadow Guards and the inadequacy of the Cao troops far surpassed his imagination.

The men led by Xu Chu were far from as formidable as he had anticipated.

In less than ten days, five thousand of the enemy had already perished at the hands of the Wolf Shadow Guards.