Chapter One: From Heaven

  The heavens are vast and grey, the land is stained with blood, corpses lie scattered all over the fields, arrows fly like locusts.

  Two armies, clad in similar attire but with distinct differences, were engaged in a fierce battle. The lush meadow, where tender shoots had just sprouted, was now covered with layers of human corpses and horse carcasses, upon which dense arrows stood like luxuriant mugwort grasses that stretched far into the distance.

  The air was filled with deafening shouts of killing, the clash of swords; the heartbeat-stirring drumbeats like a motor; and the rumbling sound of horse hooves rolling by like the first spring thunder...

  This was the scene Ma Huan saw with his first glance after waking up.

  Ancient battlefield! The real deal! Could it be... that the thing Krupp Group went to great lengths to have me take, is actually related to a space-time tunnel? So, that's why they gave me a right arm worth 700 million dollars!

  Ma Xun slowly raised his right hand, gazing at each finger as they curled up and clenched into a fist. Although the high-intensity simulated skin wrapped around it was no longer a flesh-and-blood hand, under neural control, he could still feel the power that was bursting with fullness.

  "Huh? It was only then that Ma Hong noticed that there was a person lying under his feet. It wasn't strange that he had overlooked him, as there were too many dead bodies on the battlefield, and one more at his feet didn't make a difference. What caught his attention was that this person's armor scales shone brightly, and the iron helmet was also polished to a high shine, seemingly not like those of ordinary officers. Moreover, the cause of his death was because the top of the iron helmet had been dented with a large chunk missing, as if it had been struck by an iron rod as thick as a fist."

  But Ma Huan was shocked to discover that on the right elbow of his clothes, a red thread was stuck, and it seemed that there was also a red thread in the concave part of the iron helmet... Could it be that this person was actually killed by himself when he fell from mid-air, using him as a meat cushion, and hitting the top of his head with his elbow?

  Soon, a group of armored soldiers around opened their mouths in unison, stunned for about the same amount of time as Ma Yun adapting to his surroundings. One by one, they shouted like they had seen a ghost: "He... he killed our lord! He killed our lord!"

  "Bad! General Quan has fallen!"

  "Quickly kill this wicked thief and avenge our lord!"

  "Die, you wicked thief!"

  In the midst of chaotic and furious roars, dozens of soldiers around him waved their swords and spears, charging towards Ma Xun, among whom four were cavalrymen.

  "Sorry, it's true that I'm the one who killed him, but this is a battlefield, not a place to distinguish right from wrong. If you knew what I just did before this, you wouldn't be rushing to your deaths like this."

  Ma Xun muttered to himself, his life threatened, and the confusion in his eyes turned into ferocity. He quickly removed the general's large sword from his waist, grasped the hilt with his right hand, and drew the sword out of its scabbard. With a long whistle, he assumed a sword-fighting stance, and swiftly stabbed five times in succession, his movements lightning-fast and unmatched.

  The first five soldiers who rushed over, one by one covered their throats and fell down with terrified eyes.

  Ma Yan's sword was fast, but not to the extent that it could knock down soldiers coming from five directions in one move, leaving them completely unable to defend themselves. In fact, except for the first two soldiers who were caught off guard, starting from the third soldier, they used knives, spears, and shields to block, resulting in: knife blocked and sent flying, dead! spear blocked and snapped, dead! shield blocked and pierced through, dead!

  No one can withstand a single blow, all weapons are fragile and powerless in the face of something called "Absolute Power".

  Five soldiers had just fallen, and a cavalryman was the first to rush forward. The cavalryman held in his hand a three-foot long straight-bladed knife that looked like a samurai sword - a Dahanying Ring-Neck Knife. The blade was a dull grey colour, with a very sharp edge, and faint bloodstains could be seen on it.

  Cavalrymen hold the knife in their hand and press it against the horse's neck, with the blade protruding horizontally, the sharp edge facing outwards. This way, without having to exert force to swing the knife, they only need to adjust the direction of the warhorse's charge and grasp the distance between the knife and the enemy, and the speed of the horse will bring the long knife to automatically cut down the heads of the enemies standing on the ground. If the cutting position is grasped well, the blade won't even roll over.

  Ma Xun pursed his lips, switched the sword to his left hand, and with his right hand picked up a long spear that a soldier had dropped from the ground. He suddenly straightened up, stabbed forward, and thrust into the war horse's neck, then heavily flung it to the ground. The enormous force made the war horse whinny and fall sideways, pinning one of the cavalryman's legs firmly, unable to move.

  The cavalry was in a state of panic and struggling, when suddenly the neck was beheaded, the sword cut mercilessly, and blood splattered out.

  Ma Xun's eyelids didn't even twitch, and with a reverse swing of his sword, he made a "dang" sound, forcibly blocking the second cavalryman's charging blade. His feet slid backwards like an emergency brake, dissipating the impact force. He quickly stretched out his right hand, grasped the cavalryman's ankle, and like holding a toy, swung him up and slammed him heavily to the ground...

  With a raise of his hand and a flick of his wrist, he killed seven cavalry and infantrymen. The last cavalryman was especially pitiful, like an adult swatting at an infant. The scene was shocking and thrilling. The remaining soldiers were so frightened that they stopped in their tracks, and two cavalrymen even turned around and retreated in shock.

  "This man is valiant and cannot be defeated by force. Release the arrow and shoot him dead!"

  The speaker was a young general in his early twenties, with a stern face and sharp eyes. At this moment, he held a large crossbow, the arrow on the bowstring was aimed directly at Ma Xun.

  Ma rolled over and found a leather shield in his hand.

  Plop! Splash!

  The two sides were only twenty steps apart, and the crossbow arrow was strong, piercing through the leather shield. The remaining force had not dissipated, and it hit Ma Xun's right forearm holding the shield. Unexpectedly, the arrow that broke through the armor and pierced the shield actually bounced off and fell to the ground. Ma Xun didn't even frown, and with a loud roar, he spun around and flung the leather shield at the opposing general.

  The general swiftly drew his sword, a fierce glint bursting in his eyes. With a loud battle cry, he swung the blade down - with a deafening crash, the leather shield exploded, and the general was sent flying along with his sword, tumbling into the surging tide of soldiers, who trampled him into an unrecognizable state.

  Ma Xun deeply knew that even if he defied the heavens, being in the midst of a chaotic army, if he didn't withdraw in time, he would ultimately be unable to escape the fate of exhausting his strength and perishing.

  Taking advantage of the enemy army not having formed a siege circle, especially a dozen or so soldiers holding large crossbows, who were exerting themselves to load the crossbows with their waist strength and had not yet released the arrows. Ma Han's body flipped over, spinning in mid-air, using his back to collide with the enemy, instantly knocking down three or four crossbowmen.

  Ma Chao inserted his sword upside down on his back, quickly picked up a large crossbow, and grabbed a handful of wooden arrows, biting them in his mouth. With two fingers of his right hand hooking the bowstring, he shot an arrow, killing a cavalryman. He repeated this process, shooting and killing another cavalryman.

  Almost a hundred infantrymen who were half-surrounded and on the verge of being overpowered let out a cry of astonishment, as if they had seen something unbelievable - indeed, it was too unbelievable: waist crossbows! Not knee crossbows, nor standing crossbows.

  "The Wu Bei Zhi records: 'The crossbow is a weapon that requires great strength; those who are weak can only use the knee to draw it, while those who are strong can use their waist.' The waist-drawn crossbow is the most laborious to use. When using it, one sits on the ground with the body flat and the crossbow placed in front of them. Both feet are inserted into the bow's limbs, close to the trigger, and then the waist hook is pulled up, catching onto the string. Then, simultaneously using the strength of the arms, legs, and waist, the string is drawn back... Only after this can one complete the process of drawing the string once. Unless one has a sturdy body and strong waist, how can they hold the straight stock? Such a powerful crossbow, to be drawn by hand? And with only two fingers, what degree of strength must that person possess?"

  "Release the arrow! Release the arrow quickly!" A bloody-faced general jumped out from among the enemy ranks, pointing his spear at Ma Xun and shouting loudly.

  This guy actually didn't get crushed, he's really lucky.

  Ma Xuan's pupils contracted, her hands clenched tightly around the hilt of her sword, what to do? Was she going to die just after crossing over?

  "Little brother, mount up!"

  A loud and urgent hoofbeat came from behind, accompanied by a robust voice.

  Ma Xun turned his head and saw a team of white horse cavalry rushing forward, holding strong bows and arrows like hedgehogs. The speaker was the first one with a majestic figure, wearing armor and helmet, with sword eyebrows and bright eyes, full of heroic spirit.

  This group of cavalrymen drew their bows and nocked their arrows on horseback, aiming at the enemy forces surrounding Ma Han. When the war horses jumped to the highest point, a momentary stillness was produced. At this moment, the bowstrings vibrated frequently, and the arrows were fired in unison. Although only dozens of arrows were shot, they were like hundreds of arrows shooting together, swift and fierce.

  The enemy's crossbowmen cried out in despair, falling to the ground one after another. The general's eyes were wide with rage, shouting orders and urging his troops forward, refusing to retreat.

  The white horse rider stretched out a hand towards Ma Feng: "Little brother, hurry up and get on the horse."

  Ma Xun sprang onto the horseback, and suddenly a strong gust of wind hit his body from behind. Ma Xun didn't even turn his head, swinging his arm to block the attack. Clang! A curved long knife was knocked flying far away.

  Dozens of feet behind, the young military marquis grasped an empty scabbard in one hand and wiped the blood from his face with the other, staring fixedly at Ma Han's back, his eyes filled with anger and a hint of confusion.

  More than thirty white horse archers, under the command of this magnificent cavalry general, galloped swiftly, shooting arrows in all directions. The enemy troops fled in disorder and were completely routed.

  Turning his head to take a glance at the gradually disappearing enemy troops, Ma Xun felt relieved but also somewhat depressed: "Brother is over thirty years old and has been the leader for many years. This white horse riding general is probably not even thirty years old, how can he call me little brother? Is it that his eyesight is poor or do I have a problem with my ears?"

  ……

  In the spacious large tent that could hold dozens of people, Ma Xun stood upright at the bottom of the tent, with a row of civil and military officials on both sides. He only recognized the white horse riding general standing at the end. The eyes of most officials looking at him were filled with suspicion, after all, his appearance was strange and his origin was unknown. Only two people's eyes were friendly, one was the white horse riding general, and the other was a civil official in his thirties with a square ear and three long beards, who always had a faint warm smile on his face.

  In the center of the large tent, a long table was set up, and behind it sat a robust general who had just taken off his heavy armor. His eyebrows were very thick, like two iron brushes, his eye sockets were slightly sunken, and his eyes seemed to be jumping with two flames, his lips were pressed tightly together, so that the beautiful beard under his chin seemed to be slightly raised.

  At this moment, the general is staring at a large crossbow placed on the table: the bow is five feet long, almost as tall as a person, the arm is three feet long and thick like a child's arm; The front end has a bronze tube, the middle section has a leather strap, and the rear end has a crossbow mechanism, with a mountain-shaped sight, toothed gears, and a hanging knife all in place.

  He suddenly stood up, grabbed a large sword on the case, and cut it down heavily. Ka! The large crossbow snapped loudly.

  "It was this thing that killed my great general, destroyed my 'White Horse Escort'! My brothers, my eight hundred sons! My three thousand younger brothers!" The general threw his sword to the ground and wailed towards the sky.

  "Take care of yourself, Your Excellency!" The civil and military officials in the grand tent all joined their sleeves, raised their arms, bowed their heads and bent their bodies to pay their respects.

  Ma Xun originally stood still, but seeing the white horse riding general constantly making eyes at himself, he imitated the actions of the crowd, mechanically clasped his fists and slowly bowed down.

  At this time, the official with big ears said: "Sir, fortunately, there is a heavenly soldier who has killed the rebel leader and lifted the siege of our army. This is a sign that Heaven is helping you and protecting our army. I hope you will rally your troops, inspire them to fight bravely, and have another decisive battle with Yuan's army."

  "Please, General, rally your troops and fight bravely, urge the three armies on, and have a final showdown with Yuan's army to determine who is the superior!"

  A loud and clear voice came from the main tent.

  A defeated army, wanting to recover and rise again, most needs to boost morale. This point, people in the account, from generals to clerks, no one is unaware of it.

  The general nodded, his face slightly clearing up, gazing at the large sword in his hand, its blade gleaming with a cold light, bright enough to reflect one's image. The sword hilt was engraved with four characters: "Junshi Bai Lian".

  "It's indeed the sword that the bandit chief always carries with him, great." The general finally turned his gaze to Ma Xun under the tent, whose robust and majestic physique, as well as his heroic face, made the general nod repeatedly. "Who are you? Why have you come here?"

  "So you've finally seen me?" Ma Huan suppressed the discomfort in his heart and said respectfully, "My name is Ma Huan, from Julu. I was forcibly conscripted by the bandits and my old father died of illness due to worry. I deeply resent them and must kill the bandit leader to avenge him. Today, taking advantage of the intense battle between the two armies, I snuck in disguised as one of the bandit's guards and killed him."

  This excuse had been thought out by Ma Yun on his way here, and he had even wrapped a green scarf around his short hair and borrowed a set of clothes from the white horse rider to cover up his modern camouflage uniform, which was tattered but completely different from ancient clothing. He claimed to be from Julu, because in later generations he would indeed be from Julu, Hebei. As for who the enemy general he killed was, he wasn't quite clear, anyway, following the cry of "Hun bandit" wouldn't go wrong.

  Ma Huan gave this reason, and immediately one of the civil officials spoke up: "Your Excellency's discerning eye can see that this man is disloyal to his lord, with a fierce glint in his eye; he is not a good person, and it would be best not to keep him in the army. We request that Your Excellency grant him a reward and order him to leave of his own accord."

  Another general with big ears said, "Guan Zhang's words are wrong. The Qiu family forced the young and strong to join the army, driving people's fathers to death, this is an irreconcilable enemy. This brave warrior endured humiliation and waited for the opportunity, personally killing the enemy, not only avenging his personal hatred but also avenging our great army's arrow wound, what's wrong with that? Our great Han dynasty governs the world with filial piety, this act should be praised, not shifted. This brave warrior succeeded in assassinating Qiu Zei among thousands of soldiers, he can be called agile and quick-witted, bold and resourceful. Such a talent, how could you, my lord, miss him?"

  All the generals in the account nodded one after another and said, "Liu Sima's words are reasonable."

  The general pondered for a moment, seemingly having made up his mind, and asked: "Ma Xun, do you have any suggestions?"

  Ma Xun's mind moved, it seemed that in ancient times, people had both a name and a character. If so, he might as well follow the local customs, and replied: "Ma Xun has a character - Jing Long."

  Jīng Lóng, was Ma Rong's nickname when he roamed Chinatown, also suitable as a pen name.

  "Ma Jinglong, good momentum." There are words, indicating that this person is not a rustic and unsophisticated fellow, so he can be promoted with confidence. General Ji Bang struck the case and solemnly said, "Ju Lu yi shi Ma Han, killed Yuan Shao's tent general Qi Yi, was the first to win this war. Reward 50,000 coins, silk and cloth each ten pieces, wine ten urns, twenty heads of cattle and sheep, fifty mu of land, a mansion in the first place, ten servant slaves, granted fourth-level nobility, and appointed as the commander of the Qu Bei Tun team."

  Ma Xun walked out of the camp tent still feeling a bit dizzy - not because of these rewards, but because he finally knew -

  "Yuan Shao! Xuande! So I've arrived in the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era. Then, that general just now must have been..."

  "Good job, little brother! You've received so many rewards. But this is all you deserve, haha!" A voice came from behind, along with the sound of a horse's neigh and the slapping of its shoulder.

  Ma Xun turned back and clasped his fists in gratitude: "Thank you very much for saving me, sir. And also for this set of clothes."

  The white horse riding general burst out laughing, and immediately returned the courtesy with a fist: "No, it's me who should be thanking you! I'm thanking you on behalf of my brother Changshan, as well as the brothers from White Horse Village. If you hadn't taken action to kill Mai Yi, I fear even more people from White Horse Village would have died, and the brothers I brought with me from Changshan would also have been in greater danger. In that case, what face would I have left to return to their hometowns and meet their parents? You saved my brothers, which means you saved me."

  Ma Xun felt a great affection for this white horse and smiled, saying: "In that case, let's just say we're even now. I hope you'll give me more guidance in the future, brother."

  The white horse riding general smiled and said: "I dare not instruct, if there is anything, just go to the Yi Congying camp to find me, as long as you report my name."

  "What's your brother's name?"

  "A certain white horse heroically followed Zhao Yun, named Cloud, styled Zilong."