Chapter 5: The Duel of the Twin Dragons

  When he saw the first reward for this book was from a brother named "Smile Ah Smile", Fifteen Lang couldn't help but smile too.

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  April's morning breeze already carries a hint of summer heat, the sky is about to break dawn, with large patches of dark clouds still on top, only a thin line of white light in the east. The faint glow of dawn shines dimly on the row upon row of polished weapon racks on the training grounds, ring-headed knives, long spears, halberds, pikes, infantry rectangular shields, cavalry circular shields, hard bows, strong crossbows, arrows, armor... neatly arranged with a stern and murderous aura.

  On the flat and broad training ground, there were two armored knights, holding long spears, facing each other from a distance.

  "Congratulations, Jing Long, you've killed another general and achieved a great merit. I heard that you assassinated the enemy commander during a frontal battle. Come on, let me see how you did it." The knight who spoke was riding a white horse with a long spear, wearing an iron helmet and crimson leather armor, with an armored skirt adorned with iron plates below his waist.

  Changshan Zhao Zilong

  At this time, Zhao Yun was just a cavalry general (equivalent to a hundred-man general) in the White Horse Righteousness Army, barely considered a mid-level military officer, and did not yet qualify to wear bright armor or obtain a good spear. The so-called "White Horse Silver Spear" image naturally had not appeared yet.

  Zhao Yun faced a knight twenty steps away, who was Ma Han. Early in the morning, he was pulled by Zhao Yun to the training ground, saying it was training or weighing his strength, anyway, now he had to face one of the top warriors of the Three Kingdoms era.

  It's a lie to say that he wasn't nervous, but Ma Hu didn't fear, with such a super arm, he even dared to challenge the strongest man in the legendary Three Kingdoms.

  Ma Heng's attire was similar to Zhao Yun's, but what caught his attention was the 2.5-meter-long spear held in his right hand. This nearly two-and-a-half-meter-long cavalry spear was made entirely of hardwood, with a wooden spearhead about an inch long (because it was for testing purposes, a wooden spearhead was used for cavalry training). The middle section of the spear shaft was wrapped with cloth and leather to prevent slipping or cracking, and both ends were tied with a coarse rope resembling a backpack strap. Ma Heng originally thought this coarse rope was for carrying the spear on his back, but looking at it again, he didn't think so, because even when riding a horse, he wasn't two meters five inches tall, so if he really carried it on his back, wouldn't it drag on the ground? It wasn't until Zhao Yun explained that he realized this was not a backpack strap at all, but an arm ring.

  What is an arm ring? It's a rope that wraps around the arm when holding a spear, and when two riders pass each other, the cavalry uses the spear to kill the enemy. The huge impact force generated by the speed of both horses cannot be withstood by just one arm, so it's necessary to abandon the spear in time to eliminate the reaction force. After the two horses have passed each other, as long as the arm is retracted, the long spear can be pulled back and reused. This is similar to Western knights' battles, where the lance bursts automatically after hitting the target. The difference is that the lance is a one-time consumable, while the long spear can be reused after being pulled back.

  "Remember, once you've stabbed, you must let go in time. Otherwise, your arm will be easily injured." Zhao Yun repeatedly reminded him, and he couldn't help but become more curious. This little brother obviously had no experience in cavalry battles, so how did he manage to kill Ji Zhou's fierce general Sui Yuanjin yesterday?

  "Understood!" Ma Han held the long spear, with the rear section tucked under his arm, holding the middle and rear sections of the strap, as Zhao Yun said, adjusting his breath and conserving his strength. One hand controlled the reins, and both feet clamped tightly on the horse's belly. Ma Han said "understood" with his mouth, but in fact, he didn't plan to do so - because it was unnecessary - he used his right arm.

  In terms of cavalry combat skills and experience, let alone Zhao Yun, even a third-rate general is stronger than Ma Chao. Comparing horseback riding with Zhao Yun is simply asking for abuse. Ma Chao's only advantage is his invincible mechanical arm. How to make the best use of his strengths and avoid weaknesses will be the key to victory. Regardless of the outcome, this battle will accumulate valuable experience for him. What he lacks now is not strength, but experience.

  "Hah!"

  "Hah!"

  The two urged their war horses on at the same time, facing the whistling morning wind, one south and one north, approaching each other at high speed.

  The key to winning a one-on-one mounted duel is the sense of control over distance: when to strike, timing, choosing the right spot, switching between offense and defense, etc. All factors must be taken into consideration. Every round requires great effort, life and death are decided in an instant, no one is guaranteed to win or lose, unless the difference in combat power is too great. Those so-called two-horse battles, circling each other dozens of times, haha...

  Boom!

  Two riders clashed, Ma Chao rushed out first, but the spearhead had not yet reached its position when it was struck by Zhao Yun's later shot. In the stunning impact sound, Ma Chao's robust body shook violently and almost fell off his horse. After retreating more than 20 steps with their backs to each other, they turned their horses' heads around.

  "Zilong, how's your arm?" Zhao Yun called out anxiously from a distance.

  Ma Chao raised his long spear and said, "No need, thank you for sparing my life, General Zhang Fei."

  Before the duel, Ma Chao made a request, hoping that Zhao Yun would attack his right arm instead of other parts. He made this request not to cheat, but to gain valuable experience by exchanging hands with Zhao Yun several times. It's rare to get a top-notch warrior from the Three Kingdoms to personally instruct him, and if he gets injured in one move, how can he continue?

  Zhoa Yun thought that Ma Chao had something hard on his right arm, so he attacked only his spear-holding right arm. Unexpectedly, after hitting it, he felt it was just a pure arm, without any hard object. In great surprise, he thought this blow would have disabled or broken Ma Chao's arm, but unexpectedly nothing happened...

  Zhao Yun was taken aback and couldn't help but ask loudly: "Jing Long, what is it that you have padded under your sleeve?"

  Ma Ha laughed and said: "Anyway, it's a good thing. Brother Zi Long, just let the horse come over, you can't hurt me."

  Zhao Yun's heroic spirit was suddenly stirred, and he laughed loudly as he raised his spear: "Since that's the case, be careful, I'm coming!"

  Dada dada dada!

  Two riders started with a gentle gallop, gradually accelerating, and the two long spears pointed at each other again.

  Ma Hu took the lesson from the previous round's premature spear thrust, this time he wanted to control the rhythm. When the distance between the spearhead and the opponent's horse head was ten steps away, he made a decisive strike. This method of timing the strike was taught by Zhao Yun, but it was easy to say yet difficult to do. The two horses charged at each other, the ten-step distance arriving in the blink of an eye, those with slow reactions couldn't even make any movements. Mastering this timing required dozens or hundreds of trainings, how could one expect to grasp it so easily?

  Good! Estimated entry in ten steps, it's now!

  Ma Huan let out a loud roar, raised his spear and thrust it forward - but just as he made this move, his body suddenly tilted sharply to the right, and his roar and attack came to an abrupt halt.

  Bang! Boom!

  The first sound was Ma Chao's right arm being pierced by a spear, the spearhead breaking off; the second sound was Ma Chao tumbling to the ground, landing with a thud.

  It hurts so much! My whole body feels like it's falling apart, the stars are spinning around me, and the world seems to be rotating... there even seems to be a face spinning along with it...

  Zhoa Yun lowered his head, rode his horse around Ma Chao who was lying on the ground, and after a few laps, he finally put down his guard. He couldn't help but shake his head in amazement: "It's really hard to believe you're made of iron, yet you're fine even after this."

  "Who says nothing's wrong? My butt... I don't even know if it's split into two pieces now, I finally understand how Miao Yuancheng felt when he was thrown off..." Ma Huan sighed inwardly at his bad luck. Just now, the reason he lost his grip was purely because he overlooked a detail - the stirrup.

  When Ma Yun is about to attack, his body must lean to the right, and his center of gravity shifts to his right leg. When he habitually kicks off with force, he suddenly realizes that what he steps on is not a stable stirrup, but a swaying rope, as a result, balance is lost...

  Zhao Yun shook his head and muttered: "I've heard that Wei Yan is also a fierce general, how could he be so incompetent?"

  What is this? Slap in the face!

  Ma Chao's face was no longer sustainable, Brother Zi Long, you are very capable, but do you have to stimulate me like this? He struggled to get up, limping and walking over to pick up his own long spear, and threw it at Zhao Yun: "Brother Zi Long, exchange this spear, come again!"

  Zhoa Yun took the spear and was astonished: "You give me the spear, then you..."

  Ma Chao twisted his thick neck, making a cracking sound, and beckoned to Zhao Yun: "Isn't Zilong wanting to know how Miao Yuan's defeat came about? Let your horse come over, I'll let you take a look."

  The first ray of dawn shone on Zhao Yun's stern face, and a smile gradually unfolded: "Have you finally brought out your true skills?"

  As Zhao Yun galloped away on his horse, pulling open a distance before turning back, he found Ma Chao driving away his warhorse and standing with his hands on his hips.

  "Zilong, are you going to fight on foot against cavalry?"

  "That's right."

  "Do you plan on taking the spear with your bare hands?"

  "However."

  If it weren't for Ma Chao's calm expression, Zhao Yun would have thought that this brother had lost his temper and lost his mind due to shame.

  Although it felt unbelievable, Zhao Yun, with his rich combat experience, didn't have the slightest carelessness. He saw a strong self-confidence in Ma Chao's eyes - yes, even when facing one of the top ten warriors in the Three Kingdoms' military strength ranking, Ma Chao still maintained his confidence. This confidence came from his feet being firmly on the ground, from his years of bitter practice, and also from his secret killer move.

  The sky gradually turned red, and the sound of hustle and bustle came from all directions in the military camp. The Youzhou military camp, which had been quiet for a night, began another busy day. Only at this moment, the training ground was still quiet. This silence brewed a hidden storm.

  The horse's hooves pounded the hard ground, clear and loud, the long spear slanted downwards, Zhao Yun was accelerating. Since it was a cavalry versus infantry battle, Zhao Yun no longer held his spear horizontally, but instead pointed the spearhead downwards, forming a thirty-degree angle with the ground. His target remained Ma Chao's right arm. He had calculated that this brother's right arm must have been padded with strong defensive soft armor pieces inside the sleeve, which was why he could withstand two consecutive blows without injury.

  Riding a fast horse, galloping at high speed, from twenty steps away, holding a spear to pierce a target with a diameter of about the size of a bowl mouth, this difficulty is not ordinary. Many trained and experienced gun riders may not be able to do it, but Zhao Yun has full confidence, he wants to pierce the right arm, he will definitely hit it, just because he is Zhao Yun.

  The sun rises, the earth is mottled, the flying horse hooves, the red mane, in the morning wind fluttering. People like a bow, spear as arrows, fast horses assist, people, horses, spears merge into one. This is a strike that is swift as lightning and heavy as falling rocks.

  Ma Huo's left foot stomped the ground, his robust body suddenly leaning forward, his right palm swiftly extending to grab the long spear that was flying towards him at high speed. No matter whether he grabbed the spearhead, blade or shaft, the key was to seize it before it pierced him.

  Ma Hong had grabbed countless arrows, flying knives, flying axes and lassos shot at him by Amazon warriors during his eight-week adaptive training, and he was just as confident now. He would catch the long spear, simply because he was Ma Hong.

  Achoo! Ah-choo!

  Like a thunderbolt, it struck and entered the iron hand. The powerful impact force pushed Ma Han hard and steadily backward for three zhang, leaving two deep scars on the solid mud ground of the training field.

  A red sun burst forth, a robust figure rose from the saddle, silhouetted against the sun in flight, like a beautiful cut-out.

  Crack! The spear shaft, unable to withstand the heavy force, snapped in two. Zhao Yun somersaulted rapidly in mid-air and landed on both feet, immediately rolling forward to dissipate the momentum. On one knee, he swiftly drew his sword, the blade spinning with his body, as he made a backhanded slash - just then, the tip of a three-foot ring-headed saber was pressed against his throat.

  Zhao Yun raised his sword eyebrow and moved his wrist. Ma Han lowered his head, but saw that Zhao Yun's knife tip was also pressed against his own ribs.

  The two men looked at each other and smiled, sheathed their swords at the same time, stretched out their arms, and laughed loudly.

  In the midst of hearty laughter, a horseman came galloping from afar, waving his arm and shouting loudly: "General Zhao, commander of the cavalry, the general has summoned you."