Chapter 54: Huang Zhong's Divine Skill

  Long Fei, accompanied by Zhao Yun and Gao Shun, set up a small table on the city wall, laid out wine and dishes, and ate and drank while watching the movements of the allied army below. The hundreds of thousands of allied troops' camp stretched for tens of miles, almost occupying all the places that could be camped in front of Hu Lao Pass. The lights were bright, illuminating the entire sky like daylight. Especially the central military tent, it was even brighter, with soldiers patrolling back and forth, and servants carrying various foods coming in and out, a lively scene.

  "Big brother, will they attack the city tomorrow?" Zhao Yun asked.

  Long Fei took a sip and shook his head: "I don't know! This Tiger Trap Pass has high walls and is easy to defend but hard to attack, if it were me I wouldn't attack, but who knows what those people are thinking? Maybe Yuan Shao has already given the order!"

  "If Yuan Shao gives the order, what about those family members of the Yuan household that we brought along?" Zhao Yun asked again.

  "It should be!" Long Fei nodded: "Doing so has both advantages and disadvantages, killing the people of the Yuan family can make Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu feel heartbroken, but it can also stimulate their fighting spirit, making them attack like crazy, then our difficulty in defending the city will increase, this is psychological warfare!"

  "What's to be done? Can't kill?" Zhang Liao asked.

  "No!" Long Fei took another sip: "Killing people is also a matter of skill, when to kill and how to kill are all very particular, it depends on whether our General understands the way of killing, if you kill wrongly, it will lead to even bigger problems!"

  Jia Xun smiled and said, "It seems I'm redundant. Master's grasp of the battle situation is much more accurate than mine. With just this one killing move, you can say so many things. I must admit my inferiority. Tomorrow, I'll resign. Under Master's command, I have nothing to do, haha!"

  Eating and drinking, the soldiers standing guard on the side couldn't help but feel envious. Wang Wei had sharp eyes, took some food, and shared it with those soldiers. The entire city tower was filled with joy and harmony, without any fear of the impending great war. Time passed bit by bit, the bonfire at the pass also burned smaller and smaller, some soldiers had already fallen asleep, only the central military tent still shone brightly with lights.

  The allied forces have decided to attack Tiger Trap Pass tomorrow, with Sun Jian leading the charge, first probing the strengths and weaknesses of Tiger Trap Pass. Inside the general's headquarters within Tiger Trap Pass, a heated debate is also underway. Zhang Ji believes that Tiger Trap Pass is impregnable, as long as they hold their ground and do not come out, the allied forces will have no way to win. Lü Bu naturally would not agree with this approach, in his eyes there has never been such a thing as an opponent, so he strongly advocates for sending troops to defeat the allied forces. In the end, Lü Bu is the General Who Pacifies the Army, and naturally has a lot of say in the matter.

  The sky gradually brightened, and the soldiers on both sides began to get up and cook. Everyone was dazed and swaying back and forth, with no preparation for the impending war. After eating breakfast, a few drumbeats finally gathered all the soldiers' laziness. The troops were fully armed, holding weapons in their hands, and stood in formation according to their respective units. Their generals and captains also came out of the camp, leading everyone to gather on the square in front of the central army tent.

  Yuan Shao was majestic and imposing, wearing a golden helmet and armor, with a long sword hanging from his waist. He stood firmly with his legs apart, behind him were the eighteen vassals lined up in a row, the war drums on both sides beating loudly. Before the battle, it was natural to make some mobilization speeches, listing Dong Zhuo's crimes and the benefits of attacking Luoyang. Although Yuan Shao was not a good person, he was quite skilled at doing these things, and soon the emotions of the tens of thousands of soldiers gathered were stirred up, eager to wipe out the Western Liang army at Tiger Trap Pass immediately.

  At the sound of the order, the drums and horns sounded in unison, the camp gate opened wide, and Yuan Shao led the way on horseback, leading the crowd out of the camp and rushing straight to the foot of Tiger Trap Pass. The mighty army, with its bright flags, was clearly visible to Lü Bu and others standing on the city wall. Zhang Ji immediately ordered everyone to be on high alert, ready to fight at any moment. Lü Bu wore a purple gold armor, a purple gold crown on his head, a precious sword hanging from his waist, and a halberd in his hand, with an expression of contempt for the world, adding to his angular face, he looked particularly majestic and awe-inspiring.

  The mighty allied army arrived at the foot of the city and stopped just outside arrow range. The swordsmen were in front, the archers behind, with cavalry guarding both sides. Yuan Shao wore a smile on his face, gave a slight nod, and a majestic cavalryman carrying a large banner with the character "Yuan" galloped towards Guan Yu. Long Fei smiled slightly, waved his hand, and Wang Pi stepped forward. After hearing a few words from Long Fei, Wang Pi immediately ran down.

  The cavalry reined in their war horses and shouted loudly at the top of the city: "Han Che Ji Jiang Jun, Bohai Taishou Yuan Jiang Jun orders you to surrender immediately. If not, we will kill everyone inside the pass, leaving no chicken or dog behind!"

  The words had not been finished, when the cavalry suddenly shook twice on the horse, both hands relaxed, and the first was the Yuan character big flag fell to the ground. The whole person then fell from the horse, falling to the ground motionless. The Hu Lao Gate city gate opened, a fast horse quickly rushed out, the knight grabbed the saddle with one hand, his body hanging on the side of the war horse, stretched out his hand to grab the corner of the Yuan character big flag, pulled it up, and held the flag horizontally in his arms. The war horse's speed did not decrease, drawing a beautiful arc, circling around the dead cavalry once towards the Hu Lao Gate gate.

  "Release the arrow! Release the arrow! Take back my commander flag!" Yuan Shao panicked, on the battlefield, the battle flag was seized, although there was no loss, it was a big deal, without the battle flag, it was like a general being stripped of his clothes, not only would it affect the morale of his own troops, but also lose face. Two cavalrymen had just moved when two arrows arrived, and both men fell off their horses with arrows in them. The crowd retreated in fear, unable to do anything but watch as the horse carrying Yuan Shao's battle flag entered Hu Pass.

  Time was not long, Yuan Shao's war flag was raised on the Tiger Pass, but it was hung upside down. On the wall of the pass, there was a burst of laughter, and when looking at the allied army, one by one they lowered their heads in despair, completely losing the fervor they had when they first came out of camp.

  "You little thieves, this kind of sneaky behavior isn't a skill. If you have the guts, come down to the city and fight with me for real!" Sun Jian rode his horse into the arena. Huang Zhong was about to draw his bow and aim, but Long Fei hastily stopped him. Xu Shu looked at Long Fei and said: "He is indeed Sun Jian, such a great opportunity must not be wasted!"

  "No need to rush, there's plenty of time to play with them slowly! Let's watch the good show first!" Long Fei smiled slightly at Xu Shu.

  The city gate of Tiger Trap Pass was opened again, this time not just one person. Hua Xiong, carrying his own large knife, led 500 soldiers to open the gate and slowly walked out. Sun Jian was roaring with anger, seeing someone coming to fight, he pointed with his spear: "Who is it that has come to fight? I won't kill nameless ghosts!"

  "Rebel leader Hua Xiong! Are you the same Sun Jian who captured Junyang?"

  "Haha! You know my name, yet you don't quickly surrender and offer your allegiance? Dare to utter a single word of refusal, and I'll slaughter every last one of you at Tiger Trap Pass!"

  Hua Xiong burst out laughing: "You're not modest! If you have the ability, let's fight a hundred rounds first!" With a flick of the reins and his legs clamped tightly around the horse's belly, the warhorse whinnied loudly and charged towards Sun Jian. Sun Jian didn't show any weakness either, charging forward with his spear. Although they weren't too far apart, the speed of the warhorses was still very fast. Sun Jian's spear thrust straight at Hua Xiong's abdomen, while Hua Xiong's sword swept horizontally across Sun Jian's waist. From the start, both men exchanged blows in a desperate bid for victory.

  Long Fei saw this kind of life-and-death battle between great generals for the first time, and he watched it very carefully from the city wall. Who knows when he would encounter something like this in the future? He had to study hard on things he wasn't good at, which was a quality he developed in the army. So Long Fei watched very carefully, memorizing every move and every style silently in his heart.

  Sun Jian did not want to perish together with Hua Xiong, so he hastily withdrew his spear to defend himself. As a result, Hua Xiong seized the initiative. The two horses galloped back and forth on the vast empty field, while the two riders also exchanged blows, each move aimed at killing the other, without any fancy moves, only one misstep would mean life or death.

  Sun Jian's spear technique was orthodox and square, with a general's demeanor between his thrusts. As the saying goes, "a single line of spear" - what is stabbing, piercing, slashing, chopping, and wrapping? What is circling, blocking, grasping, pouncing, and pointing? All these moves were effortlessly executed by Sun Jian, making his spear seem alive with a fierce aura, its small tip constantly dancing around Hua Xiong's vital spots.

  Hua Xiong's knife skills are not simple. As the saying goes, a knife is the backbone of all soldiers, and although knife techniques do not have as many doors as gun techniques, they are powerful and majestic, with few changes but undiminished power. Sweeping, chopping, slicing, and slashing, Hua Xiong has practiced these techniques countless times in battles, knowing when to use what method, and it's all clear in his mind. These two men, one with a spear and the other with a knife, exchanged blows for thirty or forty rounds, yet neither could gain the upper hand.

  "Beat the drums!" Lü Bu gave the order. The sound of war drums came from both sides of the pass. Yuan Shao did not show weakness, and immediately gave the order to beat the drums. The allied army also transmitted drum sounds, advancing at the sound of the drums, and the two men killed each other even more fiercely.

  Hua Xiong took advantage of the opportunity, aiming at the gap, and with a big knife from top to bottom, he chopped towards Sun Jian's head. Sun Jian hastily held his spear horizontally to meet him, and just heard a loud "ding" sound, the two scattered in an instant. Holding their own weapons, they panted heavily. Sun Jian was sweating profusely, holding his spear again to stab, Hua Xiong didn't move, watching as Sun Jian's spear approached his chest, hastily dodging to the side and avoiding the spearhead, his left arm quickly pulling in and pinning Sun Jian's long spear under his ribs. His right hand danced with the knife, chopping towards Sun Jian's neck.

  "Halt, my lord!" Sun Jian's four generals could no longer bear it and simultaneously drew their weapons to kill. Lü Bu saw this and knew that Hua Xiong was in trouble, so he immediately gave the order: "Release arrows, sound the alarm!"

  Sun Jian reluctantly loosened his grip on his long spear, hastily lying down on the horse's back, turning his body, and drilling under the horse. Hua Xiong slashed with one knife, leaving a small wound on the horse's neck, and the warhorse, in pain, carried Sun Jian rushing southeast. Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Han Dang were worried about Sun Jian and hastily chased after him. Only Zu Mao wielded his twin blades to kill Hua Xiong, wanting to retrieve Sun Jian's weapon.

  Hua Xiong won the first battle and wanted to fight again, but when he heard the sound of drums on the mountain pass, he had no choice but to turn his horse around and retreat. Zu Mao wielded his twin blades, knocking down arrows left and right, while pursuing Hua Xiong relentlessly. Long Fei glanced at Jia Xu, who nodded slightly. Long Fei patted Huang Zhong's shoulder: "Brother Huang, it's your turn!"

  Huang Zhong drew his bow and shot an arrow, the arrowhead pointing straight at Zu Mao. The arrows flying all over the sky, Zu Mao didn't notice Huang Zhong's arrow at all, and as usual, he used his sword to block it. Suddenly, a crisp sound was heard, and the mighty sword that had followed him for so many years was actually shot off by the arrow. He hesitated for a moment, feeling a chill in his chest, and when he wanted to swing his sword again, he couldn't swing it anymore.