“We estimate that we’ve entered the combat zone. They’re clearly routed soldiers, likely to be surrounded and wiped out by Cao’s army again. It’s extremely dangerous to stay with them—we must escape as soon as possible.”

　　Stephen Wood suddenly understood and nodded repeatedly, “Young master, wise insight!”

　　“In any case, let’s fill our stomachs first!”

　　Chris Lewis was truly starving as well. He picked up his bowl and began to eat heartily. This was the first meat meal he’d had since arriving in the Three Kingdoms era, and to his surprise, it was horse meat.

　　At the third watch of the night, Chris Lewis strapped the water pouch to himself and kicked Stephen Wood awake. “Let’s go!”

　　Stephen Wood was still groggy, stumbling to his feet and following him out of the tent. Chris Lewis poked his head out and glanced at the corner to the left. The big Han man who was watching them was curled up under a tree, fast asleep.

　　“Hurry!”

　　Chris Lewis beckoned, and with the just-awakened Stephen Wood, quickly ran toward the edge of the camp. He had noticed earlier that there was a gap in the northeast corner of the camp, seemingly with few guards.

　　The two of them ran to the gap, and sure enough, the defenses were lax. Dozens of guards were huddled in the corner, asleep. Overjoyed, they rushed toward the gap, when suddenly, Chris Lewis grabbed Stephen Wood and pushed him down into a crouch.

　　“What’s wrong?”

　　Chris Lewis rubbed his eyes and stared outside the camp. In the dim moonlight, he saw a group of dark figures slowly approaching the gap, now only a few dozen paces away. Chris Lewis’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest—Cao’s army was about to launch a sneak attack.

　　He pulled Stephen Wood up and ran back, shouting as he went, “Cao’s army is attacking! Cao’s army is attacking!”

　　His shouts woke the sleeping guards, who also noticed the commotion outside and immediately sounded the drums and gongs.

　　“Dang! Dang! Dang!” The piercing sound of bronze gongs echoed through the camp. The Yellow Turban army was thrown into chaos, while Cao’s troops outside charged in with a roar. The defenders fought back fiercely, arrows rained down, and logs and stones were hurled from above.

　　Brian Lewis rushed out of his tent with a blade, shouting harshly, “All brothers, get up and fight! If Cao’s army breaks through the camp, none of us will survive!”

　　Over four thousand Yellow Turban soldiers rushed to the front of the camp. The camp was built against the mountain, with treacherous terrain. As long as they defended properly, Cao’s army couldn’t break through for the time being.

　　At this point, the Yellow Turban army had no way out and could only fight with their backs to the river. Their morale gradually rose as they fought desperately, inflicting heavy casualties on the attacking Cao troops, who left over two hundred corpses behind and retreated down the mountain in disarray.

　　Just then, drums thundered at the foot of the mountain and flames shot up on all sides. From the north, a force of several thousand Cao soldiers charged over—this was the army of the general Gao Lan. From the south, another force attacked, led by the general Yu Jin, the commander of this ten-thousand-strong Cao army.

Chapter 7 Surrounded on Three Sides

　　When Yu Jin heard that the sneak attack had failed, he flew into a rage. “How dare these Yellow Turban rebels defy me! Attack from three sides!”

　　Cao’s army beat their drums, and ten thousand troops attacked the camp from the south, north, and center simultaneously. The soldiers surged toward the camp like a tide, and fire arrows rained down from the sky...

　　“Young master, let’s escape over the back mountain!” Stephen Wood had never experienced such a great battle before. He was so terrified that his legs trembled, clinging tightly to Chris Lewis for fear of being abandoned.

　　At this moment, Chris Lewis had no intention of fleeing over the back mountain. He had just experienced a high-speed escape two days ago, and now he was caught in another chaotic battle.

　　Although he had no experience in warfare, his mind was clear. He knew that Cao’s army must have already sealed off the back mountain—trying to escape would be a dead end.

　　“Unless we count on the Yellow Turban army holding out, we have no way to survive.”

　　Chris Lewis gave a bitter laugh. He realized the situation was even more dire than he’d thought. In the chaos of battle, never mind being Liu Bei’s nephew—even pretending to be Cao Cao’s father would be useless.

　　“So what do we do? Are we just going to die here?” Stephen Wood asked, his voice choked with despair, nearly in tears.

　　Chris Lewis gave him a look of contempt. He had originally thought this scribe was decent—well-read, reasonable, bold enough to have him pose as Liu Biao’s nephew, and with some ambition.

　　But when faced with death, his cowardly side was exposed. Chris Lewis saw through him—he’d only had him pretend to be Liu Biao’s nephew to give Liu Biao an explanation and avoid punishment. He actually had no real courage; deep down, he was just a timid petty man.

　　Chris Lewis felt truly annoyed. He shook off Stephen Wood’s hand and said coldly, “No one wants to die now, but if we really have to, it’s fate. What’s there to be afraid of?”

　　He ignored Stephen Wood and strode toward the front of the camp. The fighting there was fierce. The Yellow Turban army held the high ground, hurling logs and stones like hail, repelling Cao’s troops again and again. Hundreds of soldiers wielded cloth bundles soaked in water—whenever Cao’s fire arrows landed, they rushed up to extinguish them.

　　Though the Yellow Turban army fought bravely and morale was high, Brian Lewis was deeply worried, standing under a tree and staring blankly into the distance.

　　“What troubles you, General?” Chris Lewis walked up and asked with a smile.

　　Brian Lewis sighed, “I’m just afraid of being besieged by Cao’s army. Our supplies have run out—we’re surviving on horse meat. If Cao’s army surrounds us for five days, we’re finished.”

　　“Has the general considered surrendering?”

　　Brian Lewis shook his head. “I’ve heard that Cao Cao has given a kill-all order this time—all the Yellow Turban troops in Runan are to be exterminated. Surrendering means death all the same.”