Chapter 56: Who is the God of War

  "Dong, dong, dong......" The bronze drum sounded, and the allied army was defeated again, leaving behind three corpses to retreat back to their own camp. Two consecutive days of defeat had left them disheartened, with four senior generals killed in action, causing morale to plummet to an all-time low. Right before their eyes was Tiger Trap Pass, but they just couldn't break through the city. As the leader of the alliance, Yuan Shao once again brought out his rallying cry: "What a pity that my great generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou are not here! If even one of them were present, those little rascals would not be so arrogant! Someone, immediately return to Bohai and invite Yan Liang and Wen Chou to come forth!"

  Everyone refused to respond, leaving Yuan Shao with a silent shake of his head. Cao Cao chuckled: "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in the military, tomorrow we will no longer fight one-on-one, let's rush up together and occupy the pass walls, see what they can do about it?"

  "Right, right, right......" Everyone echoed in agreement, nodding repeatedly.

  Suddenly someone said: "Tiger's lair mud-plastered tile rubble, I wonder what skills that doll has. Tomorrow a certain family will take his head!"

  Everyone hastily turned their heads to look. It was Liu Bei and his two companions behind Gongsun Zan again. Yuan Shao frowned: "You are shameless, you were driven out of the camp two days ago, and today you come again! Come on! Drive them away!"

  Cao Cao hastily intercepted him and looked at Guan Yu: "Was it you who said that just now?"

  "It's exactly that house!" Guan Yu raised his head, grasped the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in his hand, and stood there with a majestic air.

  Gongsun Zan said, "The young general who went to battle today was originally my subordinate. He was deceived and taken away by Long Fei, I didn't expect him to be so brave, what a pity! He has surrendered to the enemy!"

  "For the time being, let's not talk about these things!" Cao Cao interrupted Gongsun Zan's words and walked in front of Guan Yu, looking him up and down for a few moments before nodding slightly: "Indeed, he has a majestic air about him, quite the demeanor of a great general!"

  Yuan Shao sneered: "What can a mere subordinate of a county magistrate do? We are discussing important matters here, you, as a county magistrate, should immediately withdraw and avoid being driven out by me again!"

  "Brother Ben!" Cao Cao hastily said: "This man is majestic and awe-inspiring, when going into battle, borrow his clothes and armor, the enemy may not know he's under the county magistrate, as long as he can kill the bandits, no matter who it is, they are our allies!"

  Yuan Shao angrily swung his sleeve and turned to leave. Han Fu, Wang Kui and others hastily followed him. Only Yuan Shu, Liu Dai, and Kong Xi looked at Guan Yu with a faint smile. Yuan Shu shook his head and said to Guan Yu: "Why don't you follow me? If you can kill that Zhao Yun, I'll make you a general, how about it?"

  Liu Bei hastily spoke out: "Thank you, General Zuo, for your kindness. My second brother and I are like close brothers, we three brothers do not seek to be born together but seek to die together. If General Zuo does not abandon us, we are willing to serve as his loyal subjects!"

  "Hmph!" Yuan Shu snorted and left as well.

  Cao Cao patted Liu Bei's shoulder: "You are a descendant of the great ancestor, aren't you? With the country in trouble now, you must make more efforts!"

  The battle had been going on for three days and could be said to have reached a white-hot stage, with both sides possibly engaging in close combat at any moment. Zhang Liao had already ordered all the prepared defensive equipment to be moved to the top of the city wall and assigned soldiers to take turns keeping watch. Early in the morning, Lü Bu dressed neatly, holding his halberd and standing on the city tower, looking down at the quiet scene below, furrowing his brow.

  Lu Bu's thunder was stolen by Dragon Flying, and as the commander-in-chief, Lu Bu couldn't swallow this tone. Today, no matter what, he had to regain his face, or else his reputation as the number one in the world would be in vain. After waiting for another half an hour, there was still no sign of the allied army sending troops out, and Lu Bu became impatient. He ordered someone to prepare his horse, and Red Hare was led to the gate. Lu Bu mounted his horse, and with a loud shout, he led 500 cavalrymen in a swift charge out of the gate.

  Long Fei and Jia Yu turned out from the street corner, looking at Lü Bu's back. Long Fei asked: "Will he really lose this time?"

  Jia Xu nodded: "The Art of War says that one can only win once or twice, but not three times. In the past two days, we have won repeatedly, and the allied army is eager to avenge their defeat. Moreover, Lü Bu's intention this time is just to show off his bravery, so he must be anxious and will inevitably lead to being surrounded!"

  "What a 'one and again, twice and thrice'! Which military book said that!" Long Fei looked at Jia Xuan: "You're talking nonsense, let's go up to the city wall and take a look, see if Lü Bu will be surrounded and defeated as you said!"

  Outside the pass, the sound of war drums was loud and clear. Inside the pass, everyone rushed to the city wall. Right in front of the allied army's camp gate, Lü Bu was fighting alone against three men. The three men opposite him were each wielding a different weapon: one had a sword, one had a spear, and one had dual swords. The three men surrounded Lü Bu at the center, their weapons clashing with a loud noise. The man with the sword was the most despicable, using his sword to look for weaknesses in Lü Bu's warhorse, suddenly launching a sneak attack. Long Fei shouted loudly: "Is this really the Three Heroes fighting against Lü Bu? Liu Bei is too cheap!"

  Lü Bu was surrounded by the three of them, with Fang Tian painting a halberd dancing and opening to the left and right to block and respond. Zhang Xiu hurriedly turned around and grabbed Zhao Yun: "General Zhao, can you save Wen Hou? Wen Hou is the adopted son of Taishi, if something goes wrong, I will not be able to explain!"

  Zhoa Yun helplessly looked at Long Fei. Long Fei smiled slightly: "It doesn't matter, if Wen Hou can't even defeat these three people, then he shouldn't use the title of number one under heaven! Let's just watch for now! If it really doesn't work out, we still have Big Brother Huang here!" Long Fei patted Huang Zhong's broad shoulders.

  One fist can't defeat four hands, Lü Bu was brave and fierce, but compared to the three brothers Liu, Guan, and Zhang, each of them was a head taller than him. How could his two fists defeat their four? The three had been together for a long time, their coordination was tacit, their moves were seamless, not giving Lü Bu any chance at all. Just as Lü Bu was starting to falter and retreat, suddenly the gate opened and a horse rushed out. Everyone hastily looked down and saw that it was Taolun.

  "Big brother! Look!" Zhao Yun pointed to a large flag beside Yuan Shao in the distance, with the two characters "Gongsun" clearly visible.

  Long Fei shouted loudly: "How could you forget him! Second brother, all of you follow me!"

  The gate of Tiger Trap Pass was opened, and Long Fei rode across the wind, holding a broken air gun. Behind him, Dian Wei, Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Gao Shun, and Huang Zhong followed on horseback, chasing after Ta Lun towards the allied army's camp. The three men who were fiercely fighting suddenly heard the sound of horseshoes, Liu Bei looked back at Lv Bu and saw dust flying everywhere, eight horses galloping over like thunder, and hurriedly shouted loudly: "Second brother, third brother! Don't be infatuated with the battle, retreat!" He himself rode his horse to run first.

  Lü Bu suddenly felt a bit relieved, just about to gather his spirits and fight again, but saw Guan Yu and Zhang Fei turn their horses' heads and prepare to flee. Hearing the rumbling of horse hooves behind him, he turned his head to look, and his mood, which had just calmed down, instantly flared up in anger. If it were someone else, it would be fine, but why was it Long Fei? This made Lü Bu extremely angry.

  Taren's horsepower did not decrease, and he rushed straight to Gongsun Zan. The sudden change caught Yuan Shao off guard, and he immediately ordered the archers to shoot. Long Fei was worried that Taren would make a mistake, and he constantly urged him on. Yu Feng seemed to have sensed Long Fei's anxious mood, lowered his head, and flew past Lü Bu's side like a gust of wind, completely ignoring Lü Bu.

  Eight men had already killed their way to Yuan Shao's front before the archer could shoot, and Yuan Shao hastily retreated. Lü Bu thought that Long Fei was going to steal his credit, and he hated it in his heart. Without thinking twice, he turned his horse around and also charged forward. Gongsun Zan had seen someone coming from afar, but only when they were close did he realize it was Tauren, and he was so scared that his soul flew out of his body. If not for the reminder of his personal guard, he might have been chopped to death on the spot by Tauren.

  The dense Allied forces closed in. Long Fei was not used to fighting with a long spear, always feeling particularly awkward, as if holding a long bamboo pole to chase geese, and could never exert his strength. After much difficulty, he finally reached Talun's side, grasped the reins of Talun's horse, and pulled outward. But Talun still stared stubbornly in the direction where Gong Sunzhan had escaped. Long Fei shouted loudly: "There will be another chance later! I guarantee that you can personally finish him off! Hurry up!"

  The allied forces were killed by these few people, crying and screaming, no one dared to approach. They retreated to the main camp in a hurry. If it weren't for the refusal of Ma Chao and Lu Bu's obstruction, they might have been killed into the main camp. Under the persuasion of Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao and others, Ta Lun was taken away in anger. Long Fei ordered Dian Wei and Xu Huang to cut off the pursuit, and a group of people broke out of the army again, retreating back to Hu Lao Pass.

  Lü Bu did not gain any benefits this time, and he blamed everything on Long Fei. In front of everyone, he severely scolded Long Fei. Firstly, Long Fei should not have left the city without orders; secondly, he should not have rushed into the enemy's camp gate and then retreated; thirdly, he allowed his subordinates to do evil things. Lü Bu glared at Long Fei fiercely: "I will definitely report this matter to my adoptive father and let him deal with it!"

  Long Fei didn't say a word, as if Lü Bu was farting. After Lü Bu finished speaking, Long Fei whistled and walked out of the big tent, followed by the sound of shattering tea bowls. Long Fei smiled slightly. Returning to his own tent, Taren bound himself in front of Long Fei to apologize. Long Fei hastily helped him up, repeatedly comforting him, and once again promised Taren that he would definitely hand over Gongsun Zan to him for disposal, even kneeling on the ground to swear to heaven. The last barrier between Taren and Long Fei was finally lifted.

  Speaking of today's battle, Jia Xun said: "For three consecutive days, we have made the Allied Forces lose their troops and generals. They will not be willing to give up the idea of attacking Hu Lao Pass. I suggest a surprise attack. As long as we burn their grain and grass, the Allied Forces will defeat themselves without fighting!"

  Gao Shun furrowed his brow: "This matter is unlikely to be agreed upon by Duke Wen!"

  "He disagreed, so we'll do it ourselves!" Wang Wei shouted: "Just us few are enough, annihilating their terror is no problem, burning grain and grass should be no big deal! What do you say, Big Brother?"

  "I can go alone! I'll take a look around and see where Sun Jian is. If possible, I'll bring back his head too!"

  "Alright! It's settled then!" Xushu said immediately. Everyone looked at him. Xushu said: "This time we came to Hu Lao Pass, the main task is to assassinate Sun Jian. The good opportunity a few days ago, you didn't use it, and instead waited for such a result. As long as Sun Jian is assassinated, I don't care about anything else!"

  Long Fei sighed: "Ah! Have you ever seen a cat catching mice?"

  "What does it mean?"

  "Go and see for yourself! Killing is easy, but being able to toy with the enemy until they're clapping in admiration isn't!"