Before he even entered the tent, however, he heard waves of exclamations and flattery from within.
"General Pang truly is a mighty warrior!"
"To think even Lü Bu and Zhang Liao fell to General Pang! If you ask me, the title of the world's mightiest warrior ought to belong to General Pang!"
"Exactly! Zhang Liao and Lü Bu have nothing but empty reputations. General Pang is the truly valiant one!"
"The young general will surely be delighted when he hears of such a tremendous achievement."
"The day we root out the rebels and rescue the Son of Heaven is close at hand!"
Ma Chao lifted the tent flap and entered, only to see a group of generals clustered around Pang De, their faces filled with smiles and admiration.
Just then, his keen eyes caught sight of two banners in the hands of several generals, and his pupils contracted slightly.
For those two banners bore the characters "Lü" and "Zhang" respectively!
They were none other than Lü Bu's and Zhang Liao's military banners!
A military banner was vital to an army. There was a dedicated Standard Guard Battalion whose duty was to ensure that the Great Standard never fell.
If the Great Standard fell, every member of the Standard Guard Battalion, from its commanding general down to its soldiers, would be beheaded, regardless of the reason.
Thus, unless an army was utterly routed, its banner could never fall into enemy hands!
With both Lü Bu's and Zhang Liao's banners here, it meant that Pang De really had routed the forces they commanded-and inflicted a crushing defeat at that!
While Ma Chao was still reeling in shock, Pang De and the generals in the tent noticed his arrival. The generals stepped forward one after another to congratulate him and share the good