“Slave of Three Surnames!”
“Circle Eye Thief!” Both Lu Bu and Zhang Fei clashed. The strength of their attacks was so powerful that their horses was almost unable to withstand the pressure and slowly withdrew as it neighed in pain. Their horses were not weak but it was extremely hard to obtain better ones.
Zhang Fei was ferocious. Not many was able to use his Serpent Spear. He was even more ferocious when compared to Guan Yu but even then, he was still weaker than Lu Bu.
In the past, Zhang Fei and Lu Bu fought for about a hundred rounds before Guan Yu joined the battle. Both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were top quality generals. Even though Lu Bu was strong, he could only fight them to a standstill. However, Zhang Fei was now alone. For the first fifty rounds, he could supress Lu Bu with his reckless and explosive style of fighting. After fifty rounds, he would be less powerful. After hundred rounds, Zhang Fei would no longer have his initial spirit. This was because Lu Bu finally saw through Zhang Fei’s attack pattern. This was the difference between a top quality general and a general that surpassed that. Their weapons may be light to them but they still need energy to lift and swing it. Although Lu Bu also used up some of his strength to defend against Zhang Fei’s attack, he was definitely less exhausted than Zhang Fei himself.
“Hmph!” Lu Bu snorted. The spear in his hands started to move faster. “Circle Eye Thief. You only amount to this! Now it is my turn!” Lu Bu knew he could not defeat Zhang Fei in the first hundred rounds as Zhang Fei still had his strength. It was a fool’s dream. Which was why he waited until Zhang Fei becomes exhausted before seizing the opportunity.
“Mad Slave of Three Surnames! Your grandfather Zhang Fei have not yet used up all of his strength!” Although Zhang Fei was supressed, he still had his skills to rely on. When dealing with someone other than his brother Liu Bei, Zhang Fei was a person that hates to lose. No matter what, losing in unacceptable.
“Haha. Then I will wait for you to become exhausted!” Lu Bu’s eyes glinted coldly. He had always wanted to kill Zhang Fei since the battle at Hulao Gate. They were irreconcilable the moment he was called Slave of Three Surnames. At Xuzhou, Lu Bu was polite to Liu Bei but was dismissed by Zhang Fei. He wanted to become one of Liu Bei’s brothers but this was also foiled by Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei’s rudeness was at least half of the reason Lu Bu attacked Xuzhou.
Lu Bu saw that Zhang Fei continued to clash against him unyieldingly. The fiercer Zhang Fei became, the stronger Lu Bu’s attacks became. What Zhang Fei had said earlier was also a lie. Wounds slowly began to appear on Zhang Fei’s body and his armor was broken.
Chen Dao was not faring any better. Although his martial skill was better, Zhang Liao was gambling his life in this battle1. Chen Dao was not able to find an opening.
“Circle Eye Thief! Get off your horse and kneel down. I will spare your life!” Lu Bu took pity on Zhang Fei. There was nobody he could not defeat when they fought alone.
“Come again? Slave of Three Surnames! If your grandfather Zhang Fei even blinks because he if afraid of you, he will become your grandson!2” Zhang Fei had many wounds and his armor had turn red from his own blood. However, Zhang Fei was still relentless.
“If you want to die, I will grant you your wish!” Lu Bu gazed coldly. He wanted to spare Zhang Fei to humiliate him. Since Zhang Fei refused his kindness, he would not hesitate in killing Zhang Fei.
The battle was almost over. The Formation Breaker was about to get the White Eared Soldiers under control. The White Eared Soldiers was also unable to show off their strength. Zhang Fei had raised their morale but then it fell again when Lu Bu joined the battle.
Just like how the Wolf Cavalry and the Formation Breaker cooperated to deal with the foreigners, they had also slowly cut down the White Eared Soldiers one by one.
Just as Lu Bu was about to kill Zhang Fei, a sword suddenly flew straight towards Lu Bu from behind him.
“Hm?” Lu Bu knocked away the sword and saw that the attacker was Chen Dao. Chen Dao had used his spear to send the sword belonging to one of the Formation Breaker towards Lu Bu. “Chen Dao?” Lu Bu frowned. Chen Dao was supposed to be held back by Zhang Liao. If Chen Dao was here, where was Zhang Liao? Before Lu Bu could look for Zhang Liao, the man appeared from amongst the Formation Breaker.
“Shuzhi!” Chen Dao had saved Zhang Fei but he did not seem happy about it. This is because Chen Dao himself was in a sorry state. His helmet was missing and his hair was dishevelled. A huge bleeding hole could be seen on his shoulder.
“Go! Quickly! Get out of here!” Chen Dao gasped as he yelled at Zhang Fei. The White Eared Soldiers and the Qingzhou Army that Zhang Fei brought was still around. These two groups had worked together to bring give the both of them some breathing time. Chen Dao managed to get here because Zhang Liao had to deal with those soldiers. He had risked his life to save Zhang Fei.
“Let’s go together!” Zhang Fei rushed towards Chen Dao and wanted to fight together with Chen Dao. His spirits was raised again. Although he refused to admit defeat, he knew that he would die if he were to continue fighting against Lu Bu.
Chen Dao smiled bitterly as he shook his head at Zhang Fei. “No. It is just you!”
“Me?” Zhang Fei was shocked. “Shuzhi. Are you not escaping with me?”
“Haha. I cannot escape anymore.” Chen Dao replied. “Third General. Please help me send a message to Milord. Say that I can no longer repay him for his kindness!” Chen Dao looked at the battlefield. He saw his White Eared Soldiers swallowed up by the Formation Breaker and the Wolf Cavalry. More than half of the White Eared Soldiers had already been killed. Only about a thousand left could properly fight against the enemy. The White Eared Soldiers could no longer escape and was about to be routed. As their commander, Chen Dao could not escape. Besides that, he also no longer had any face to return to Liu Bei. Chen Dao knew of the importance of the White Eared Soldiers to Liu Bei.
“General Chen Dao! Third General!” Liao Hua also managed to arrive in front of Zhang Fei with the help of his Yuzhou Yellow Turbans. His Yellow Turbans could also be considered to be finished. At the start, he was so happy to receive control of this army after Liu Pi’s death but after this one battle, he could start preparing the funeral rites for his army. One of the other reasons Liao Hua could reach here was because Zang Ba and the Taishan Army was too bandit-like to the extent that they did not spare even the corpses. This gave him the chance to escape.
“Chen Dao. Don’t talk nonsense! If there is anything you need to tell Brother, tell him yourself!” Zhang Fei was not an idiot. He could tell that Chen Dao was certain of dying. Although Zhang Fei was usually carefree, he treats his Brother’s generals well. He knew that Chen Dao was important to his Brother. Naturally, he did not want Chen Dao to die here.
“Hm?” Liao Hua who just arrived did not understand what these two were talking about.
“Third General. Listen to me…!” Chen Dao was about to explain when he saw Lu Bu and Zhang Liao rushing over after wiping out the soldiers blocking their way. With no time to explain himself, he nodded. “Alright. Third General. General Liao Hua. Let us escape together!”
“Good. Let us go towards the West. Big Brother will come and rescue us!” Zhang Fei shouted at Chen Dao and Liao Hua. That was the direction they came from. It was also where Liu Bei placed his camp.
“Alright.” Liao Hua and Chen Dao nodded. They rushed towards the West, the only road they could take to survive.
“Kill!” The three of them shouted. They used all their strength, knowing that they would die if they do not give it their all. Chen Dao and Zhang Fei were very powerful generals with Liao Hua not far behind them in strength. Even Lu Bu would need to avoid fighting the three of them together. They carved a path open as they killed their enemies.
Things had gone too smoothly. The soldiers in front of them were no match for Zhang Fei and Liao Hua. Zhang Fei happily thought that the Lu Bu’s Army only amounted to this much. He showed them a look of disdain. Soon, they reached the forest. Even the Lu Bu’s Army would have difficulty chasing them here. It was at this moment that Zhang Fei decided to open his mouth and ridicule Lu Bu. “Shuzhi. It seems that the Lu Bu’s Army only amounts to this much!”
Zhang Fei had thought that he would receive Chen Dao’s reply but after waiting for a while, he was only able to hear Liao Hua’s voice. Zhang Fei immediately turned around. His eyes grew wide as he shouted. “Shuzhi!”
He found out that Chen Dao did not rush out with them towards the West. Instead, Chen Dao had went in the opposite direction to cover Zhang Fei and Liao Hua’s retreat.
“Third General must bring my message to Milord.” Chen Dao shouted again once he heard Zhang Fei called out to him. When he turned around, Zhang Fei was able to see Chen Dao’s appearance. Chen Dao’s was bloody all over. His lips was cracked and his smile looked as though he was a demon that just came out from hell.
“No!” Zhang Fei tried to rush back to Chen Dao but he was caught by Liao Hua. “Third General. We cannot save him! We must return to Milord!” Liao Hua did not expect Chen Dao to return to the battlefield. Such actions would mean his death. Liao Hua was unable to do such things.
“Zhang Fei! Where are you going?” “Chen Dao! Return to me my brother’s life!” “Little Liao Hua! You will die here today!” The three chasing Zhang Fei rushed over. When Zhang Fei and the others cut a path forward, naturally their backs would be exposed. Once the three in pursuit overtakes them, Zhang Fei and the others would no longer be able to escape.
“Haha! Lu Bu! Zhang Liao! Zang Ba! As long as I, Chen Dao, is here, do not even think of getting past me!” Chen Dao has also gone mad as he brandished his bloody spear.
“Chen Dao. You think too highly of yourself! Your opponent is me!” Zhang Liao also drew his blade in anger.
With Zhang Liao holding Chen Dao back, Lu Bu and Zang Ba tried to get past Chen Dao through the sides and continue to chase Zhang Fei.
“Pointless! I already said that you cannot pass as long as I am here!” Chen Dao moved to stop them. Although he was injured, his movements seemed to have become faster. He used his spear to skilfully stop Lu Bu. At the same time, he send a sword on the ground flying towards Zang Ba.
“Hm?” Zhang Liao frowned. Chen Dao’s actions were as though as he was ignoring Zhang Liao. One man stopping three people from passing was a complimentary feat. Even Lu Bu could not do it. Zhang Liao swung his blade down at Chen Dao to stop Chen Dao from continuing to obstruct Lu Bu and Zang Ba.
Instead of turning his attention to Zhang Liao, Chen Dao stopped Lu Bu and Zang Ba before dodging. There was a loud sound as the blade hit Chen Dao’s white armor. Without that armor, Chen Dao would have already been dead. However, the armor had been cut open and Chen Dao had also been injured.
Chen Dao had paid the price for underestimating Zhang Liao. However, he also managed to stop Lu Bu and Zang Ba.
“Shuzhi!” Zhang Fei broke away from Liao Hua and rushed back but he was immediately stopped by Liao Hua. “Third General! If you insist on going back, you must step over my dead body!” Liao Hua was not an idiot. His understanding of battles is second only to Chen Dao and Guan Yu. He was better than Zhang Fei in this aspect. He could tell that Chen Dao wanted to die. The White Eared Soldiers were gone and so was his Yuzhou Army. If Zhang Fei rushed back to die, he himself would not be far off. If he were to return alone, Liu Bei would not let him live. In other words, Zhang Fei had to live for Liao Hua himself to live.
“Liao Hua! Get lost!” Zhang Fei did not swing his weapon at Liao Hua but his fist. The attack knocked Liao Hua’s helmet away. He took a step back, unable to withstand the angry blow that came from Zhang Fei.
Although Liao Hua had cold sweat from the pain, he still stood in front, blocking Zhang Fei. “If you do not kill me, do not even think of going past!”
“Zhang Fei! Go!” Chen Dao also saw that Zhang Fei wanted to rush over. If that were to happen, his sacrifice would be meaningless. In his anger, Chen Dao called out Zhang Fei by name.
“Third General. If we do not leave now, we will no longer have that chance!” Liao Hua pleaded. The arrogant man was the deciding factor as to whether he would survive.
“Go! Now!” Chen Dao roared out again, suffering a blow to amplify his voice.
“Come. Let us go.” Zhang Fei gritted his teeth as he tried to prevent tears from flowing down his eyes.
“Where do you think you are going? Stop them!” Lu Bu saw where the two were going and became angry. Once those two enter the forest, it would be difficult to track them. A small group from the Wolf Cavalry heard Lu Bu’s order and charged towards Zhang Fei. They do not need to be able to kill Zhang Fei and Liao Hua. They simply needed to stall those two for Lu Bu and the others to get rid of them.
“White Eared Soldiers! Fight to the death!” Chen Dao roared loudly, not allowing the Wolf Cavalry to get past.
“To the death!” The remaining one thousand or so White Eared Soldiers knew the plight that they were in. They knew that they could no longer escape. A normal group would have already surrendered but the White Eared Soldiers and also Chen Dao, would not. This is because Liu Bei was their benefactor. They did not care whether Liu Bei was a hypocrite. They were treated kindly and it was for this reason that they had no disregard for their own lives if it meant repaying this kindness.
“Get lost!” The Wolf Cavalry attacked in a mad rush. Their speed and strength crushed those in front of them. However, the White Eared Soldiers did not fear the Wolf Cavalry. They did not even bother to get into formation and stopped the Wolf Cavalry with their flesh.
“Let’s go!” Zhang Fei and Liao Hua headed towards the forest. Chen Dao breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw both figures disappear within the woods.
“Chen Dao!” Lu Bu had a higher respect for Chen Dao after he saw Zhang Fei and Liao Hua disappear. He had always thought that Chen Dao was simply one of Liu Bei’s bodyguards even if he was strong, just like Dian Wei. Lu Bu admitted that he had underestimated Chen Dao as the man was highly skilled and loyal.
Lu Bu sighed with lament. To die protecting his soldiers. When Lu Bu looked at Chen Dao, he remembered Zhang Fan. Liu Bei was truly blessed to have such generals3.
Lu Bu sighed but he knew that he should not be soft hearted. As the man was strong and loyal, he could not be spared. Such a person would not accept Lu Bu. Chen Dao had to die so that another Zhang Fan would not appear.
“Wen Yuan. Xuan Gao. I will leave this person to you! Let him keep an intact corpse!”
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Zhang Liao was essentially a death soldier for this battle. Again, what makes death soldiers fearsome is that they do not care if they die. They would happily take a fatal blow if it meant being able to kill you. Chen Dao could not deal with Zhang Liao precisely because he needed to live or the White Eared Soldiers will perish.
Everyone, get your blunted toothpicks and keep your eyes open. Don’t blink at anyone.
Actual words would be “By having such good generals, (like Chen Dao) Liu Bei would not have any regrets in life.”