Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 328 322. Withdrawal
"What's going on? Why is there chaos in the rear?!"

Zhang Bao in the central army noticed that there was chaos in his rear defense line, and this chaos was spreading to the entire battlefield at a very fast speed, making Zhang Bao confused about what was happening.

"General, there is a beast behind us!"

A messenger who came from behind reported to Zhang Bao what happened in a panic. Of course, it was impossible for Zhang Bao to understand his hasty and messy words.

"Beast? What beast? Can't we just shoot any ordinary animal?"

How could Zhang Bao possibly know the size of the beast the messenger was talking about? He looked at the messenger with an unfriendly expression.

"General Zhang, it's not just one or two beasts, it's... thousands of them! Countless jackals, tigers and leopards have broken through our rear defenses and are charging towards our central army!"

The messenger took a deep breath, sorted out his brain which had lost its mind due to excessive panic, and informed Zhang Bao of the situation in the rear.

"How many... thousands?"

Zhang Bao was somewhat at a loss. Even if a few thousand ordinary soldiers rushed over like this, it would inevitably cause the Han army's formation to become unstable, so this was why Zhang Bao arranged Ma Zhong to defend the flank in advance.

"Where's Ma Zhong? Didn't I tell him to guard the flank? Where's he?"

Zhang Bao was certainly not amnesiac. He remembered that he had clearly sent Ma Zhong and three thousand soldiers to defend the flank of the Han army.

"General Ma and the brothers on the flanks were defeated... General Zhang, the brothers really don't know how to fight against wild beasts..."

The messenger felt a little aggrieved when he said this. Thousands of tigers and lions suddenly rushed over. How could a normal person without training react? How could he react in time?

Zhang Bao sighed, knowing that it was useless to blame anyone now. The matter was done, and what he should do now was to find a way to deal with the subsequent impact.

"Sound the horn, tell Weizhi to retreat, everyone, shrink the defense line, and kill any beasts you see."

Zhang Bao had also experienced several bloody battles in the Eastern Expedition, and was no longer the hot-blooded boy he was back then. In terms of danger, the Battle of Yiling back then was even more dangerous than it is now, but he survived, didn't he?
Thanks to the good training of the Han army, the Han soldiers quickly followed Zhang Bao's orders. Guan Suo, who was attacking Dong Dana in the front, knew that he was attacked from the rear, so he did not continue to fight with Dong Dana, but slowly retreated and tried to meet up with Zhang Bao.

Although Dong Dana tried his best to defeat this Han army, Guan Suo's vanguard rushed too far forward and was not attacked by the beast army at all, so he retreated very easily without any entanglement with Dong Dana.

It was a pipe dream for Dong Dana to want to keep Guan Suo. Whether fighting soldiers or generals, Dong Dana had no advantage, so he could only watch Guan Suo's vanguard army slowly retreat and merge with Zhang Bao's central army.

"Brother Xingguo, what happened? My vanguard is making good progress. If I had more time, I would have defeated the barbarian army on the opposite side. Why are you withdrawing?"

Guan Suo returned to the formation and saw Zhang Bao in the center. He complained a few words with some dissatisfaction.

"Weizhi, don't fight any longer. Dexin's rear guard has been breached by the enemy."

The situation on the battlefield was not good at the moment, so Zhang Bao was no longer as cheerful as before, but was extremely serious, which made Guan Suo, who was about to throw a tantrum like a child, calm down.

Zhang Bao told Guan Suo the messenger's report intact, and Guan Suo realized the seriousness of the situation. If there were really thousands of wild beasts in the front and the southern barbarian army behind, it would be a problem whether the Han army could retreat safely, so Guan Suo did not make trouble again, but assisted Zhang Bao to stabilize the formation at the front line.

At this point, Zhang Bao knew that he was no longer able to pursue the Southern Barbarian Army, and the most important thing now was to preserve his manpower.

Soldiers from the rear guard kept fleeing in groups to join the main force, but they were scattered by the wild beasts. Many soldiers ran around in fear or were separated by the wild beasts and could not return to the team in time.

"Roar!"

Not long after, Zhang Bao also saw with his own eyes the source of the fear that the soldiers had just passed on from mouth to mouth, the army of beasts that had torn apart Ma Zhong's rear defense forces.

Dust billowed in the air, and hidden in the dust were hunters of all kinds: black leopards, tawny tigers, brown jackals, and all kinds of animals, rushing towards the hastily assembled Han army in a disorderly but targeted manner.

Because the Han army's front line was not very stable because the defeated soldiers from the rear guard had just joined in, and the scene of thousands of beasts galloping was still too exciting for ordinary people.

If you let the Han army fight against other human armies, no matter whether it is the Nanman Army, the Wu Army, the Wei Army, or even the Huns, they will not blink an eye.

However, facing these beasts that were like demons and monsters, even the veterans' hearts couldn't help but slow down. Their human instincts made them tremble uncontrollably, and they could hardly hold the weapons in their hands.

"Hoohoho!"

These beasts did not stop or hesitate. Their wisdom was not enough for them to understand that the humans in front of them were "guarding" against them. The unstoppable attack just now made these bloodthirsty beasts forget everything else. At this moment, they were like crazy, without any pause, rushing straight towards the Han army's formation.

"Shoot! Don't be afraid of them! They are just wild animals!"

Zhang Bao ordered the archers to shoot, but the same problem still existed: the beasts on four legs were much faster than humans on two legs. After one round of arrows was shot, while the second round was still being loaded, the army of beasts pounced in front of the Han army's defense line.

The swordsmen and shieldmen of the Han army mustered up their courage to fight them, but the effect was not very good. The Han army's defense line only held out for a while, but was soon broken by the beasts. As long as one line of defense was broken, the beasts would tear the remaining lines apart like a tide.

"General Zhang, our brothers can't hold on any longer! What should we do?"

The messenger rushed to the formation to report to Zhang Bao. In fact, Zhang Bao could see clearly without him saying anything that the Han soldiers were indeed unable to resist this army of beasts.

"Alas... Order a retreat. Do not linger in the battle. Try to maintain the formation."

Zhang Bao also knew that what he said was nonsense. How could the Han army maintain its formation when it was in such a state? Zhang Bao just hoped that the losses in this rout would not be too great.

"Clang clang clang!"

The sound of the horn symbolizing retreat was sounded, and the Han army's flags began to slowly retreat, and the Han army was now in a state of disarray.

Fortunately, the counterattack of the Han army was not without effect. King Mulu found that his beasts had suffered heavy losses and was unwilling to give chase. Both sides suffered casualties, and the chase ended.

(End of this chapter)