Chapter 19: Lu Bu Has Arrived

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Sitting behind Lu Bu, Gao Shun stared expressionlessly at Li Ru. [Can the Guandong lords really not even suppress Xu Rong? If Xu Rong cannot suppress them, it is merely a matter of troop numbers; why was he deployed to guard the rear? Even without managing Xu Rong, Han Sui would have been extinguished. Why recall Xu Rong?]

Gao Shun's strategic intellect was not particularly outstanding, but his command of troops was extremely formidable. Naturally, he understood better than anyone the terror of Xu Rong leading a hundred thousand troops. From his perspective, Xu Rong stationed at Hulao Pass with a hundred thousand reinforcements was something the five hundred thousand uncoordinated Guandong allied forces could never hope to contend with.

Unable to figure it out, he stopped thinking about it. Who knew if there were any formidable figures hidden within the allied ranks!

Chen Xi scratched his head. Chen Lan had poured him a cup of tea just a moment ago, yet in that short time, a fog had rolled in. Moreover, the fog was unnaturally thick; one could not see clearly even ten meters away, and the pure white moon in the sky had been completely obscured.

"This fog is too much. Isn't this a bit ridiculous? Spring isn't exactly a good season either," Chen Xi said, scratching his head. "Forget it, I'll just disperse it. A smoggy day isn't good weather anyway."

As Chen Xi scratched his head, he began his movements.

"Eh?" Li Ru, who was about ten miles from Hulao Pass and preparing to have Lu Bu launch a night raid, was slightly surprised. The fog he had deployed was actually slowly dissipating.

"The allies have an expert as well," a stout, fat man squeezed past Li Ru and remarked casually. "You borrowed the advantage of heaven, and the opposition has used the same method. This is getting interesting~"

"Wenhe, aren't you going to help? You are, after all, eating our salary," Li Ru said, looking indifferently at the dissipating fog. If it was gone, it was gone. Lu Bu had been clamoring for a sudden assault anyway; since the fog was dispersed, they would simply assault.

"I don't see a need," Jia Xu glanced toward Hulao Pass. Although he could not see the allied forces, he knew clearly that once the tiger Lu Bu was unleashed from his cage, the outcome was decided regardless of the fog.

"I only fear that human greed knows no bounds!" Li Ru gazed toward Hulao, as if he could already see Lu Bu's vanishing silhouette.

"Even if greed knows no bounds, isn't the loss exactly what you desire?" As the mockery continued, Li Ru fell silent.

"Huh, the fog has cleared." Ju Shou frowned as he watched the stars reappear. "The celestial signs have changed. A wise ruler shall emerge from the north."

"Enemy attack!" Just as Ju Shou was contemplating his next move, a tragic roar interrupted his thoughts.

A massive gold-red halberd, dozens of meters in size, came flying violently through the air and crashed heavily into the main camp.

"..." Watching the oversized halberd from afar, followed by the surging sand and wind caused by the explosion, Chen Xi knew exactly who had arrived without even having to think.

Another oversized halberd flew out, followed quickly by a dozen more in succession, cutting through the air like a streak of red light.

"Quiet!" Chen Xi frowned at the panicked crowd and gave a low, sharp command.

Even the elite soldiers of Youzhou fell into chaos after being caught in a night raid. Thinking of it this way, the place Lu Bu was attacking was likely in a state of total breakdown.

"What a nuisance!" Chen Xi sneered at the still-panicking soldiers. Even though low-level and high-level officers had begun to take control, these soldiers running out of their tents without weapons or even leather armor could hardly be called elites.

"Steady!" Unable to control others, he focused on his own. Seeing no effect, Chen Xi used his magic once more. Everyone shuddered, their minds clearing as if a basin of cold water had been poured over them. Their previous training flashed through their minds, and the chaos in Liu Bei's camp vanished instantly.

"The rebel general shall fall!" Seeing his subordinates being slaughtered, Yan Liang did not consider the gap between himself and his opponent; he charged forward in a rage.

*Clang!* With a deafening explosion, the red streak that had been flying in a straight line finally came to a halt.

There stood a man wearing a purple-gold crown with three-pronged hair-binding, a red cotton robe of a hundred flowers from Xichuan, interlocking beast-face armor, and a lion-patterned belt. He carried a bow and arrows, held a halberd, and sat upon the wind-howling Red Hare horse.

Yan Liang froze. To think there was such a handsome fellow! Comparing himself to the man, he felt a sudden surge of fury and prepared to charge forward to cut him down.

"I shall not strike an unknown name with my blade! State your name!" Yan Liang bellowed.

"Pfft!" Lu Bu laughed disdainfully. Had he not been in the middle of unleashing a dozen consecutive killing moves, he would have slaughtered Yan Liang on the spot. He hadn't expected the man to have the audacity to speak to him like that.

"You seek death!" Yan Liang was enraged. At the peak of the Qi-Refining stage, his senses were sharp, and the moonlight made the surroundings as bright as day, allowing him to clearly see Lu Bu's contempt.

Lu Bu casually blocked Yan Liang's forceful strike with his halberd, then made a backhand slash. A large group of soldiers attempting to take advantage of the moment were instantly split in two.

"Where are Yuan Shao and Cao Cao! And where is the warrior named Guan Yu who slew Hua Xiong?" Lu Bu stared at Yan Liang, showing not the slightest interest. He was too weak—so weak that the arrogant Lu Bu did not even deem him worthy of a fight.

The rebounding force nearly caused the careless Yan Liang to lose his grip on his blade. Only then did he realize that the man before him was undoubtedly a peak expert whose internal energy had reached the stage of leaving the body.

"I have wanted to feel a greater power for a long time." Yan Liang licked his lips, his eyes fixed on Lu Bu like a predator eyeing its prey.

Lu Bu did not even look at Yan Liang. To him, someone at the peak of Qi-Refining was simply not a match.

"Watch my blade!" Yan Liang roared, unleashing his accumulated strength in a frantic surge toward Lu Bu.

"What a nuisance!" Lu Bu cast a contemptuous glance at Yan Liang. To reduce consumption and maintain the element of surprise during the night raid, Lu Bu had suppressed his aura, making him appear not very strong.

After a brief moment of thought, a massive aura erupted from Lu Bu. Since the night raid had already been discovered, Lu Bu no longer bothered to hide. His entire body radiated a gold-red luster, his cloak fluttered without wind, and he appeared like a god descending from the heavens.

*Ding!* Seeing his full-strength strike stop just centimeters from Lu Bu's cheek, Yan Liang was struck with terror.

"Begone!" Lu Bu bellowed, his voice like a clap of thunder. The condensed sonic blast sent the shocked Yan Liang flying, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

"Yuan Shao, die!" With sharp eyes, Lu Bu spotted Yuan Shao being protected by a crowd, but that meant nothing to him.

Yan Liang lay on the ground, coughing up large amounts of blood. Though renowned as a famous general of Hebei, he had lasted only three moves against the opponent—and that was only because the opponent had been too lazy to kill him. Despair and exhaustion flooded his heart. [Perhaps falling like this is a decent end!]

"Yuan Shao, die!" Just as Yan Liang was about to abandon his path as a warrior, the joyful shout of the man from before reached his ears.

(End of Chapter)