GOR
Looking down from the Tidal Fighter, they could see a portion of the wall beneath them. There, a group of soldiers were gathered around several generals in finely made armour.
The one in the middle possessed a fair face and sported a messy beard. He was wielding a short halberd in one hand as he spoke loudly toward the one standing before him. Two muscular figures stood behind him. One had red face and long beard while the other had dark face and a full beard. It was a no brainer. Those two were Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
“We are moving down! 200 metres! 100 metres! 50 metres!” Roddy, who was carefully controlling the control shaft, called out their altitudes. “The rear hatch is open. Prepare to drop! 30 metres! 20 metres!”
The Tidal Fighter rapidly descended upon the wall. At the same time, the rear hatch beneath the fighter opened up.
As the Tidal Fighter continued its descent, some of Liu Bei’s men began realizing that something was amiss. They raised their head to look upward. Although the cloaking function could hide the Tidal Fighter’s physical form, it cannot eliminate the noise created by the engine and airflow.
When there were less than 10 metres between the Tidal Fighter and the wall, Chen Xiaolian jumped down. When he landed, he performed a tumble to offset the momentum of his fall before charging forward.
On Liu Bei’s side, he had just led his forces into Jiangling City and had yet to get any rest. He had been standing on the wall as he got busy with assigning tasks for the other generals, going through the statistics for military supplies, strengthening the wall defences and reorganizing his troops.
Just now, he was holding onto a short halberd in his hand as he glowered at the general standing before him. “Bastard! I dare you to say that one more time!”
“My Lord… … it is the absolute truth. General Zhao is not lost. He led our camp’s horse riders… … he did not head to Xiangyang through Hanshui at all. Rather, he went north. Back then, this subordinate saw it all clearly.” Anxiousness filled the general’s face as he continued, “I know that you have always trusted Zhao Yun. This time though, I fear he has truly surrendered to Cao Cao…”
“Nonsense!” Both of Liu Bei’s hands trembled and he forcefully hurled the short halberd forward, shocking the general. The general jerked his body and dodged the short halberd even as he remained kneeling.
“Zilong (Zhao Yun) will never abandon me!” Liu Bei’s beard practically flared out as he howled. Next, he noticed the abrupt appearance of several figures who had appeared from the sky. After landing, the figures charged toward him.
Aside from the few figures with peculiar attires and unfamiliar faces, he saw that one of them was none other than Zhao Yun.
“See?! I told you that Zilong will return…” A smile of relief had only just appeared on Liu Bei’s face when two shouts rang out from behind him. “Big bro! Careful!”
The instant he landed, Lun Tai activated his Muscle Fruit skill. Seemingly having gained a life of its own, every muscle fibre on him grew rapidly, transforming the already bulging muscles into a terrifyingly explosive sight. Even his height had risen to twice that of an average person.
He did not throw any punches or kicks. Instead, using both hands to defend his head, he charged forward swiftly and every soldier in his path was sent flying.
The Green Dragon Crescent Blade and Great Serpent Spear slipped past Liu Bei as they shot forward from behind him [1].
Their target of attack was none other than Lun Tai.
A silver spear shot out at the same time, stopping both the serpent spear and the crescent blade.
“I will hold them off. You go catch my Lord!” Zhao Yun’s spear shot forth, its tip darting back and forth to knock the crescent blade and serpent spear aside. Next, with a sidestep, he allowed Chen Xiaolian, who was behind him, to run forward.
When Guan Yu and Zhang Fei’s attacks met Zhao Yun’s attack, they were heavily knocked back. The purlicues on their hands tore due to the impact and blood flew about, instantly throwing their hearts into a state of shock.
The earlier spear attack that Zhao Yun had unleashed, be it in terms of power, speed or skill, all of them were incomparable to the past, when they had been sparring together.
Even back when they were facing Lu Bu in the Battle of Hulao Gate, they had not felt such a terrifying aura.
“Air Incarceration!”
Bei Tai, who was the last to land, spread out every finger on his palms and formed a triangular seal, locking both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei within the triangle.
Before they could swing their weapons another time, a rapid stream of air wrapped itself around the two of them, entrapping them.
“Zilong, you…”
Liu Bei was at a loss for words. Before he could say anything, he found that Chen Xiaolian was already before him.
“Fall!”
Chen Xiaolian’s right palm took the form of a blade as it hacked down on Liu Bei’s neck while his left hand shot toward Liu Bei’s clothes.
Knock him out and bring him into the Tidal Fighter.
However, this plan that he had thought to be perfect, suddenly fell astray.
In an instant, Liu Bei dodged away from Chen Xiaolian’s hacking move while a sharp sword suddenly shot out from his waist to stab at Chen Xiaolian from a near impossible angle.
“What the Hell!”
Chen Xiaolian’s heart gave a thump. Both his feet kicked the ground and he jumped half a metre backward to avoid getting severed in half.
A golden-coloured combat energy abruptly shone out from Liu Bei’s body.
The two swords hanging down from his waist had been unsheathed and they were held in a ‘八’ shape.
There was no longer the flustered expression from earlier. The joy at seeing Zhao Yun had disappeared as well. There were only composure, grimness and…
The bearing of a grandmaster!
“Zilong, you disappoint me.” Liu Bei turned toward Zhao Yun and shook his head slowly. “No matter who it was, when they tell me that you have surrendered to Criminal Cao, I kept believing that you will never abandon me. How unexpected. Not only did you abandon me, you would personally… … lead men to kill me.”
“My Lord, I…” Zhao Yun was just about to say something when two shouts rang out.
A spray of blood escaped Bei Tai’s mouth as he fell backward. As for Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, their bodies too, were shining with combat energy, one red and one black.
Unlike Liu Bei, their faces were filled with killing intent.
The incarcerating air flow that were wrapped around them had been instantly shattered by the combat energy, thereby causing Bei Tai to suffer from a backlash.
“Bei Tai!” Lun Tai cried out furiously. Seeing the surrounding soldiers charging at Bei Tai, he turned around and rushed toward Bei Tai.
The general who had reported to Liu Bei that Zhao Yun defected now gripped a blade in his hand while his body emanated combat energy. He charged toward Lun Tai.
Lun Tai jerked backward as he dodged the hacking attack from general. Next, he channelled all his strength into his right fist, which slammed into the general’s waist. With a banging sound, the general was sent flying several metres away. When he landed on the ground, however, he immediately flipped himself up, seemingly unharmed in the slightest.
Instead, Lun Tai’s right fist was the one aching due to the combat energy. It felt as though there were some bone fractures there.
“Reinforcements!” Lun Tai called out through their guild channel. “Roddy, continue piloting! Soo Soo, Qimu Xi, stay in the Tidal Fighter! Qiao Qiao, Xia Xiaolei, come down!”
Pausing for a moment, he watched as the general charged toward him once more. Gritting his teeth, he added another sentence through the guild channel. “If necessary… go for the kill!”
Zhao Yun was singlehandedly holding both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei back. Thus, the only ones left on the wall area there were Liu Bei and Chen Xiaolian.
“Err… … Brother Liu, listen to me. We… … are not trying to kill you.” Chen Xiaolian sighed as he looked at Liu Bei, who was slowly moving toward him. “We just want to take you to Jiangxia!”
There was a grim expression on Liu Bei’s face and he said nothing in response. His face did not even flicker, seemingly having become deaf. As he moved forward, his two swords, which had been hanging on either side of his body had also been raised.
“Go explain yourself in the Yellow Springs.” When the two swords rose to shoulder level, Liu Bei abruptly swerved to the side and his two swords slashed forth, one following the other as they slashed at Chen Xiaolian.
“Damn it! I underestimated him!” Chen Xiaolian muttered a whisper as he used his own sword to take on Liu Bei’s attack.
Their plan had been to use the Tidal Fighter’s cloaking function to surprise Liu Bei. Thus, they believed that capturing Liu Bei should not be difficult. Which was why neither Chen Xiaolian nor Zhao Yun had mentally prepared themselves to kill anyone.
What Chen Xiaolian had not expected was… … Liu Bei’s martial ability.
The combat energy shining off Liu Bei’s body was even more dazzling compared to the ones shining off Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
However, when Liu Bei’s swords were only halfway through their slash, they suddenly made two peculiar arcs. One sword swept up from the bottom while the other slid past the body before stabbing toward Chen Xiaolian’s chest from a twisting angle.
“So fast!” Chen Xiaolian was shocked. He had to jump up to dodge the attack coming from below. However, the stabbing attack aimed at his chest had managed to graze him.
Even his [A] class protective suit was unable to stop the combat energy enveloping the sword, which cut a hole on the protective suit and left a shallow scar on his chest. However, were it not for the protective suit, Chen Xiaolian would likely have been cut into two.
And yet, before Chen Xiaolian could land on the ground, Liu Bei’s sword was already slashing toward him once more.
Chen Xiaolian gritted his teeth and his sword swung down beneath him, gleaming as it did. It blocked Liu Bei’s attack. At the same time though, he was sent flying up into the air once more and was unable to land.
Liu Bei’s swordsmanship… … how can it be so strong?! When the system was setting up the level of difficulty, did it take the wrong medicine? Be it the historical version or the Romance of the Three Kingdoms version, Liu Bei’s martial ability cannot possibly be above Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
As Chen Xiaolian was swearing inwardly, his heart suddenly gave a thump as he remembered something he read before among the many miscellaneous books that he had read in the past.
“When using the sword, there are techniques. There are sword methods in the laws and sword heroes in the techniques, therefore, it is immeasurable. The knowledgeable go through tens of practice rounds. Wei Bianzhuang’s Chaos Technique, Wang Gatherer’s Rising and Falling Technique, First Lord Liu’s Responsive Mind Technique, Enlightened Lord Ma’s Lightning Technique, Ma Chao’s Attack Technique. These five sword techniques may have been passed down. Scholars sought after them and would feel content to find its secret.”
“Responsive Mind swordsmanship!” Chen Xiaolian cried out [2].
“You know your stuff.” Liu Bei’s eyes glinted. Still standing below Chen Xiaolian, he crossed his swords to send Chen Xiaolian up into the air once more. Next, a cross-shaped sword beam shot up into the sky.
Zhao Yun’s face, which had been maintaining a look of indifference, now revealed a slight look of anxiousness.
Given her current level of strength, not even the combined might of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei could hope to stop her. However, she could not kill off the two of them. As for the two of them, they had seemingly gone mad as they attacked her without regard for their own life.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei chose not to dodge Zhao Yun’s spear attacks. Instead, they attacked her waist area, forcing her to retract her spear and deflect their attacks.
Every time their blades clashed, both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei would feel their hands going numb. The tears on their purlicues grew and blood flowed down their wrists, staining their whole arm red. Even the ground beneath them had turned red from their blood.
Even so, the two of them did not stop attacking. It was as though the wounds on their arms were not affecting them in the slightest. They stood before Liu Bei and Chen Xiaolian.
Lun Tai was wielding two spears, which he had acquired from the nearby soldiers. Wielding one spear in each hand, he brandished them about rapidly. In addition to melee combat, he did not possess any Martial Skills. Even so, he was able to rely on his shocking level of strength to keep the surrounding soldiers and even the general at bay.
However, more and more soldiers were gathering below the wall to charge up.
“Zhao Yun! Do you want us all to die here for the sake of a few NPCs?! Just kill!” Lun Tai shouted at Zhao Yun.
At present, Zhao Yun was the strongest among them all. And yet, despite having countless opportunities to kill Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, the final result was of her getting tangled up.
“You really are planning to kill Big Bro!” Zhang Fei roared out. Wielding his serpent spear with both hands, he swung it like a whirlwind toward Zhao Yun.
“Shut up!” Zhao Yun glared at Lun Tai. The tip of her spear knocked the serpent spear aside as the butt of her spear slammed into Zhang Fei’s chest. Zhang Fei staggered a few steps backward while clutching his chest. A deep purple colour emerged on his dark face, but he continued to tightly grip the serpent spear. “Again!”
After dropping them off, the Tidal Fighter had flown up again. Now, it swooped down. As the cloaking function had been switched off, when Lun Tai raised his head, he could see that the two missile bays beneath the wings were opening up.
“Roddy! What are you doing?!”
Chen Xiaolian had only just cried out through their guild channel when he saw two missiles shooting down, accompanied by long plumes of flames.
However, the two missiles were not shooting toward the battle zone. Instead, they were aimed at the two sides of the wall.
Explosions erupted skyward and stones went flying as the two sides of the wall were blown up, trapping them in the middle portion. Due to the explosions, the soldiers who were rushing up could no longer reinforce Liu Bei’s side.
Right after firing the missiles, the Tidal Fighter abruptly pulled itself up to fly across the wall. At the same time, both Qiao Qiao and Xia Xiaolei jumped down from the hatch.
The moment Qiao Qiao left the hatch, her whole body transformed into black mist, which slowly descended. As for Xia Xiaolei, he clenched his teeth and plummeted onto the wall.
Two cracking sounds rang out. The momentum of falling from a height of tens of metres up high caused Xia Xiaolei’s leg bones to crack into several pieces. Some bone shards pierced its way out of his skin, sharply poking out from his protective suit.
“It hurts! God damn it!” Xia Xiaolei screamed out in misery. However, he did not panic. He simply placed both his hands on the ground to support himself for an instant before jumping back up. After taking a few limping steps forward, he rushed toward Zhang Fei.
Within those few seconds, the leg bones that were broken had all recovered.
Qiao Qiao’s black mist enveloped Guan Yu’s head.
1 Green Crescent Dragon Blade, a pole weapon categorized as guandao, is believed to be Guan Yu’s weapon of choice. The Great Serpent Spear is believed to be Zhang Fei’s weapon of choice. Liu Bei’s weapon of choice is supposedly a pair of twin swords.↩
2 The author found some old texts, believed to be rumours, and added them in. Since they are rumours, there are not much info on them so my translation could be wrong. =P ↩
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