Chapter 34: Dong Zhuo and Li Ru

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In a state of supreme confidence and arrogance, Lu Bu was capable of traversing the world single-handedly. However, once Lu Bu began to doubt his own perception, his strength would start to decline; and as his strength waned, he would doubt his abilities even more, entering a second death spiral.

Zhao Yun had won the gamble. Intense confidence brought immense strength, so once that confidence faded, every ounce of power would naturally vanish with it.

Lu Bu entered the second death spiral. Once a crack appeared in his perfect, flawless confidence, it could no longer be stopped.

Madness, rage, and irritability—he swung his Sky Piercer halberd, fighting Zhao Yun and Guan Yu in a fury. Unfortunately, he grew increasingly powerless, while the coordination between Zhao Yun and Guan Yu became more seamless. Zhao Yun countered Lu Bu's attacks, while Guan Yu built momentum, carving out perfect arcs with every strike of his blade.

"Clang!" With a massive crash, Lu Bu finally felt that the internal energy supply he had never lacked was running dry. At that same moment, his inexhaustible stamina nearly reached exhaustion; for the first time, he felt the weight of the Sky Piercer in his hands.

"I am Lu Bu!" With bloodshot eyes, Lu Bu charged at the two in a rage, completely disregarding the massive openings in his upper body!

"Die!" Guan Yu swung his Green Dragon Crescent Blade in a wide circle, the tip of the blade clashing against Lu Bu's halberd.

Zhao Yun showed little reaction to Guan Yu's maneuver, but his hands did not slow in the slightest.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp~" Amidst a series of bird cries, Zhao Yun was gradually enveloped in flames. A massive, radiant image of a phoenix spreading its wings emerged upon the battlefield.

"Boom!" As the phoenix spread its wings, lines of fire streaked across the field. The phoenix, condensing seventy percent of Zhao Yun's power, directly covered the entire area Lu Bu could use to escape. This was the strongest move he could currently employ: *A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix*. It was a hundred spears, yet it was also a single spear.

The power of a hundred moves compressed into the final strike through special techniques—of course, this was merely legendary. Zhao Yun knew very well that while he had practiced this move more proficiently than his master, it could only make the final strike possess twelve to fifteen times the power. But for him, that was enough!

Lu Bu was a mess, but he was still alive. His armor had been largely shattered, not by the phoenix's beak, but by the grazing of its feathers. The Red Hare horse proved worthy of its reputation as the world's finest steed, dodging the strongest spear at the final moment. Had it not, Lu Bu would surely have lost half his life; after all, the city wall behind him had been pierced by this move, leaving a transparent hole the size of a large bowl, its surface as smooth as a mirror.

Zhao Yun, silently regulating his breath, watched the flickering eyes of Lu Bu after the dust settled. Without the slightest hesitation, he unleashed *A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix* once more. Before the phantom phoenix could even take shape, Lu Bu turned his horse without hesitation. In his view, if they continued fighting, he would truly end up staying here.

"Kill!" The moment Lu Bu turned his horse to flee—before either Dong Zhuo or the coalition forces could react—Liu Bei leaped forward on his horse. He remembered Chen Xi's words: when attacking Dong Zhuo, remember to seize every opportunity to stand out; this was all for future prestige!

"Kill!" As Liu Bei charged, the others, momentarily stunned, also reacted. They could not let Liu Bei take all the glory; he was a member of the imperial clan!

Zhao Yun silently leveled his spear and charged toward Hulao Pass. Similarly, Guan Yu, dragging his half-dead—er, Zhang Fei had already recovered, though he looked terrifying covered in blood—pushed his horse desperately toward Hulao Pass, shouting as he rode, "Dong Zhuo is at the pass! Kill Dong Zhuo and the world will be at peace!"

Startled, Dong Zhuo turned to descend the pass, but was directly blocked by Li Ru.

In Li Ru's view, no matter how fierce a single general might be, they were no match for soldiers formed into a battle array. Once the array was set, their aura became a unified force; if a single general dared to charge, they would face nothing but death!

Dong Zhuo's face darkened. The previous battle had left him pale with fear. Since raising his army in Xiliang, he had never witnessed such brutal combat. The two sides had fought until the heavens and earth seemed to darken. If even one person breached the pass, they would inevitably charge straight for him, and he certainly wouldn't be able to stop them. At this thought, Dong Zhuo turned pale. He reached out, shoved the frail Li Ru aside, and descended Hulao Pass without looking back.

Li Ru was stunned. Watching Dong Zhuo's trembling retreating figure, a sense of desolation rose from the depths of his heart. When had he, Li Ru, fallen to such a state?

Below Hulao Pass, massive stones and logs were continuously dropped, forcibly halting the coalition's advance. As for top-tier experts like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, almost as soon as they made a move, over a hundred divine archers possessing internal energy would launch a full-scale sniper attack.

Guan Yu attempted a charge, but over a hundred arrows rained down upon him from all angles. He swung his Green Dragon Crescent Blade in a frantic circle, but he couldn't block them all. Relying on his internal energy to hold out for a moment, he was still struck in the left arm by a hidden arrow. Instantly, the Second Lord grew frustrated and stopped his ascent.

The slaughter ended just like that. Li Ru was no fool; he did not have the habit of staking his safety on a single general. He preferred to settle everything through his own capabilities.

As the coalition forces were repelled, cheers erupted atop Hulao Pass. To be honest, Li Ru was indeed excellent; he treated the soldiers he brought from Xiliang exceptionally well.

This was why the Xiliang soldiers did not fear death. They joined the army for a full meal, and Li Ru provided that. Furthermore, no one dared to embezzle military funds under his watch. He understood better than anyone that in chaotic times, only brute force mattered; everything else could be obtained through force.

Li Ru sat despondently on the stone slabs of Hulao Pass, lacking any of the scholarly grace he had previously displayed. He would never have sat in a corner so indifferently before, but now he was tired. The moment he was pushed aside by Dong Zhuo and fell, he felt exhausted.

"Strategist!" Gao Shun said, cupping his fists. "The coalition has retreated."

"Let me calm down, Gongzheng," Li Ru said with a grim face. Gao Shun stood behind him, motionless.

After a long silence, Li Ru looked up at Gao Shun and asked, "You are the subordinate I admire most under Lu Bu. Tell me, do you think we will lose?"

"With the peril of Hulao, the wealth of Luoyang, and the elite nature of our army, the coalition will surely be defeated," Gao Shun said decisively.

"Defeated, then!" A bitter smile appeared on Li Ru's face. "Yes, defeated. Gongzheng, guard this place well."

Li Ru rose and walked down Hulao Pass with unsteady steps. For some reason, as Gao Shun watched Li Ru's retreating back, he felt a sense of desolation known as the "twilight of a hero."

Li Ru walked into the administrative hall set up within Hulao Pass. Hearing Dong Zhuo's roars from inside, along with Lu Bu's defensive excuses that this time was merely a lapse in concentration, he felt an overwhelming sense of fatigue—mental exhaustion.

Upon entering, he found that all the generals sent to Hulao were seated in their respective positions. Li Ru sat calmly in the seat of honor on the left, though this time, the person behind him was Li Su, not the plump and prosperous Jia Xu.

*He'll probably return to Chang'an, likely not even going back to Luoyang. As expected, his grasp of the human heart is a step above mine. Dong Zhuo... sigh...* Li Ru sighed inwardly, no longer holding much hope for Dong Zhuo.

(The book has disappeared from the new release charts; the collection growth has slowed to a crawl.)

(End of Chapter)