Zhou Yu's Fatal Encounter

  Looking at Zhao Yun's defeated soldiers rushing from afar, Lu Chao, who was hiding in a high place, felt his heart racing with excitement and agitation. Is this unparalleled general going to die at my hands?

  At this thought, Lu Zhao's heart suddenly felt a surge of heat. This Zhao Zi Long from Changshan must be a high-ranking general under Liu Bei's command. His martial prowess is probably only inferior to that of Zhang Fei and Guan Yu among those in Cao's camp, with the exception of Xu Chu, the fierce and crazy one.

  Li Tong said that although Zhao Zilong was slightly inferior to Lü Bu in terms of bravery, he was not far behind, which shows his own courage and martial prowess.

  In the past, Hu Chi and Gu Zhi were defeated by Lü Bu in a two-on-one battle. Similarly, Liu Bei and his brothers, although they had the advantage of numbers, also let Lü Bu retreat unscathed from the Battle of Tiger Trap Pass. This was still due to Lü Bu's superior strength despite being outnumbered.

  If it were a one-on-one showdown, who would emerge victorious is unknown. Killing Zhao Yun, what kind of merit would that be? Thinking about this, Zhaoyi became extremely excited!

  Lu Zhao gazed at the defeated General Zhao Yun, whose remaining soldiers were getting closer and closer. Lu Zhao slowly raised his hand, his eyes fixed intently on Zhao Yun's body.

  As soon as Zhao Yun rushed over, Lu Chao suddenly let out a loud shout: "Release the arrow..."

  "Hsss... Hsss... Hsss..."

  "Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh..."

  "Hmph..."

  Countless feathered arrows rained down from the sky, like a torrential downpour. Zhao Yun's pupils contracted, his heart sank, and he thought to himself: "Damn it, I knew there was an ambush..."

  Zhao Yun didn't have time to look back at the situation behind him, as the mighty dragon's gallbladder waved layer upon layer of gun curtains, amidst which seemed to be the sound of a phoenix's cry resounding through the air, and every arrow shot towards him was either broken or deflected.

  Although the hundred cavalry under Zhao Yun's command were elite, they had been fighting with Zhao Yun for a long time and had suffered severe physical exhaustion. They also didn't have Zhao Yun's extraordinary bravery, and behind them, there were constant mournful cries and painful moans.

  Zhao Yun heard these mournful cries and painful moans, and in addition to feeling heartache, he also felt immense hatred towards the Cao army and intense self-reproach. If it weren't for his own incompetence, would his long-time followers have died such a miserable death here?

  Listening to the loud roar of the soldiers and the weak wail, Zhao Yun's heart was filled with sorrow, but he still didn't stop his horse to take a look at the brothers who followed him. At this time, Zhao Yun's heart was extremely painful, and he could only grit his teeth and rush forward. After many years of war, Zhao Yun thought that his heart had become as hard as iron and stone, but in the end, he found that he was not so strong after all.

  But what's the use of all this talk? Zhao Yun can only try his best to prevent another tragic defeat for his troops.

  "Please take care of my family..."

  A faint and weak voice rose up, though small it still clearly fell into Zhao Yun's ears, but was unfavorable to the Nine Heavens Thunderclap.

  "Hah... die!"

  Zhoa Yun saw several feathered arrows coming with a strong gust of wind, extremely powerful. Zhoa Yun's tiger eyes suddenly opened wide, his heart filled with intense grief and anger. His voice was like thunder, stirring up the majestic dragon gallbladder. The dragon gallbladder in his hand was like a silver dragon coiling and rising, and also like a green phoenix flashing by, several feathered arrows were swept to the ground.

  "Brother, you can rest assured that Zhao Yun will not die today. I will definitely take good care of your family..." Zhao Yun's low but exceptionally firm voice burst out.

  By the side of the road, at some unknown time, Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun and Li Dian were already standing there. Xiahou Yuan put away his bow and arrow, and the three men looked at each other with serious faces. After a moment of silence, Xiahou Yuan sighed and said in a low voice: "This man is definitely another peerless tiger general..."

  After hearing Xiahou Yuan's sigh, Xiahou Dun and Li Dian's faces were gloomy and uncertain. Especially Xiahou Dun, who had already known when retreating that his brother Xiahou Yuan would give up the previous plan and rush over quickly for his own sake...

  If it weren't for himself, Zhao Yun would surely escape from the palms of his own brothers. Xiahou Dun knows the abilities of his own brothers, and their battle formations are even better than his own!

  Xiahou Yuan frowned and said, "This is strange! I had previously trapped him, even if he had hundreds of elite cavalry, shouldn't they have been defeated by my formation?" Xiahou Yuan's understanding of Li Tong was that although Li Tong was not as brave and fierce as Zhao Yun, he was not a novice on the battlefield either. Otherwise, Xiahou Yuan would not have let Li Tong take command.

  Xiahou Dun furrowed his brow, stroking his chin for a moment, and asked Xiahou Yuan, "Miao Cai, this seems to be familiar, as if I've seen him before. Take a look..."

  Xiahou Yuan looked intently and saw that the white figure was fluttering in the wind, he asked Zhao on his side: "What is that person's name?"

  "Report to General Xiahou... " Lu Zhao stammered: "Zhao Zilong of Changshan."

  "Huh?" Xiahou Yuan was taken aback, and after a moment of contemplation, he suddenly said: "Big brother, I remember who that person is now. Big brother, do you still recall when Meng De attacked Xuzhou, Liu Bei led his army from Pingyuan to come and reinforce, the vanguard was a silver-armored general... it's probably him!"

  "Hmm... Xiahou Dun also seemed to have some impression, and with a loud crash of his fists, he said: 'I remember now, it was indeed Zhao Zilong from Changshan.'"

  "Zhao Zilong... Zhao Zilong!" Xiahou Yuan muttered to himself several times.

  "No matter what, the top priority is to capture him. Zhao Zilong is already at his last gasp. If possible, we should take him alive and present him to Meng De. If not, then kill him. We can't let a tiger return to the mountain..." Xiahou Yuan's eyes flashed with a fierce glint as he spoke in a harsh tone.

  "Hmm..." Li Dian and Xiahou Dun both nodded in agreement.

  "Big brother, Man Chong, you two quickly lead 5,000 troops to block off Guan and Zhang's two generals. Absolutely do not let them break through." Xiahou Yuan said in a deep voice.

  "Yes!" Xiahou Dun and Li Dian received the order and went out of the court to arrange their troops.

  "General Luo!"

  "The end will be there!" Lu Zhao thought it had nothing to do with him, and lazily raised his head, but when Xiahou Yuan mentioned the matter, he immediately straightened up and responded.

  "Take this letter I've written myself and give it to Mr. Wenhe." Xiahou Yuan said, holding out a bamboo scroll.

  "Ah... is that all? Are there any other orders, General?" Lu Zhao listened and, finding nothing major, felt a bit dispirited but still managed to rouse his spirits and ask.

  "You'd better stay under Wenhe's command and follow his orders, as he needs talents like yours. Don't let me down." Xiahou Yuan smiled warmly, a rare sight, at Lu Zhao.

  "Ah... yes! I will definitely not betray General's trust." Lu Zhaoxin swore solemnly.

  Zhao Yun stood still on the waist of the mountain, concentrating his mind to gaze at the distant gathering of Cao's army. From a distance, it seemed that there was a murderous aura that pierced the sky. Zhao Yun let out a sigh in his heart and turned his eyes to look at the thirty or so people left behind him. Zhao Yun's heart secretly felt sorrow again!

  The most bloody fight, Zhao Yun and others finally rushed out, but in front of them was the iron wall array of Cao's army. Zhao Yun had already suffered from this formation and did not dare to enter rashly! Then he took a detour with more than 30 riders from the north, running for a while, both men and horses were exhausted. Zhao Yun and others had no choice but to rest on this mountain waist, temporarily reorganizing.

  As he watched the approaching Cao army, Zhao Yun's heart slowly rose, his body also tensed up. Finally, under the low and drawn-out sound of the "war horn", Zhao Yun stood up with a start, his eyes which had been closed in meditation suddenly opened, shooting out a piercing gleam.

  A mighty dragon's claw suddenly grasped in the palm of his hand.

  Hula hula, a rustling sound came from behind, without Zhao Yun's reminder, the remaining thirty or so elite cavalrymen all held their weapons ready to meet the enemy. Since Gongsun Zan's time, they had been following Zhao Yun and were his trusted followers.

  Zhao Yun looked at his remaining generals and a hint of sadness flashed in his heart. This... damned war, when will it ever end? When can this war finally come to an end...

  Perhaps this answer... Zhao Yun firmly believed that as long as he followed Liu Xie, he would definitely be able to revive the Han Dynasty and eliminate all the unloyal vassals in the world.

  "Attack..."

  As Xiahou Yuan's loud shout rose, the Cao army let out a collective angry roar, and row upon row of helmeted and armored Cao soldiers advanced up the mountain in an orderly manner.

  Zhao Yun's face sank, looking at the increasingly approaching Cao army without saying a word. The remnants of the defeated generals stood by, no one speaking... the atmosphere was somewhat depressing!

  "Release arrow..."

  "Throw stones quickly..."

  Zhoa Yun suddenly let out a loud shout, and immediately gave the order, thirty or so men were all holding their breath and risking their lives to throw the objects in their hands one by one, the Cao army officers and soldiers also responded with mournful cries and wails from time to time...

  As time went on, Zhao Yun and others also slowly retreated, the victorious heavenly balance had already shifted to one side of Cao's army.

  Zhao Yun's body was like he had just emerged from a sea of blood, with only his piercing eyes gleaming brightly amidst the bloody stains that covered him, making him look terrifying.

  Looking at the remaining ten loyal guards, Zhao Yun said in a low voice: "Everyone, this time we are likely to be buried here. If you want to surrender, go ahead, Zhao Yun will not make it difficult for you..."

  "General, we swear to follow you to death..."

  Ten faces cold and stern, with blood-stained armor like Zhao Yun's, spoke in unison.

  Looking at the resolute eyes of his subordinates, Zhao Yun's heart warmed up slightly and he nodded silently. With a wave of his hand, he pointed at the Cao army in front, which repeatedly dared not to advance, and burst out laughing. Zhao Yun's heroic spirit rose greatly as he said: "My fellow brothers, the Cao army is tens of times larger than us, but they are as timid as mice and ants. It seems that they have been broken by our bravery. Haha, you little kids of the Cao army, why don't you go back home and hold your children?"

  "The general is right." The ten big men also laughed loudly and responded with a bitter joke, completely unaware of the danger they were in.

  Xiahou Yuan, surrounded by his elite troops, saw Zhao Yun and a dozen men loudly taunting him. His face turned pale with rage, he saw that the officers and soldiers regarded Zhao Yun as a tiger or leopard, not daring to advance. Fury rose in his heart, he drew his sword and struck down several retreating soldiers, shouting: "Any officer who retreats without orders will be killed! Any officer who dares not to advance will have their entire family executed..."

  Xiahou Yuan's tone was murderous and chilling, like the Nine Serenities. The Cao army officers were all shaken in their hearts, but immediately they all let out a loud shout, raised their morale, and launched another fierce attack...