Chapter 7: The Final Battle Begins

  Zhang Fei urged his men to charge into the battle circle and cooperate with Zhang Ren, attacking Guo Si from both front and back. As a result, Guo Si could no longer withstand it. Seeing that the situation was not good, Guo Si decided to leave his soldiers behind to resist, and he himself took advantage of the opportunity to gallop away in escape. Zhang Fei and Zhang Ren were engaged in a decisive battle at the front of the two armies, so they naturally couldn't pursue Guo Si. Therefore, Guo Si's escape was unimpeded, although some Liu Bei soldiers tried to intercept him, but Guo Si was also a general who wielded a large knife, leading a group of people and rushing out straight to the back account to escape. Lü Bu saw this opportunity and had no choice but to lead his army to fight alone against Liu Bei's Guan Yu, Zhang Liao, Zhang Fei, and Zhang Ren! But Li Ru was not to be underestimated, and Guan Yu and Zhang Liao were delighted to discover that Li Ru's army was surrounding them from behind. They didn't dare to slack off and immediately made a false move to shake off Lü Bu, cooperating with Zhang Ren and Zhang Fei to charge into the city of Tianshui and close the gate to defend it! However, let's put this aside for now.

  General Li Yu, arrived at Tianshui City half a day after Zhang Fei. By this time, the sky was already bright, and his large army had also arrived at Tianshui City, which coincided with the scheduled time for the decisive battle! On this day, Gao Shun led an army of 30,000 out of Qishan Pass to kill towards Tianshui City and merge with Li Yu's army. When Li Yu rode his horse to a place near Tianshui City, he saw that Dong Zhuo's army formation was much larger than the Western Liang army under Yan Xing, first because Tianshui City was extremely large, and secondly, the enemy soldiers surrounding the city were endless. Li Yu came to a high slope and led his men to look down. They saw that in the distance, smoke and fog filled the air, and at a glance, they knew that the two armies were fighting below Tianshui City. Looking out of the city, it was all enemy camps. The horse stables were lined up one after another, and the tents were also lined up one after another, stretching as far as the eye could see, like the waves of a great sea. The flagpoles were like a forest of hemp stalks. General Li Yu looked at this scene with a mixture of shock and amazement. He furrowed his brow and thought to himself, "Li Ru, no wonder Dong Zhuo was able to obtain the Han Emperor and reach the position of holding the emperor hostage to command the vassals! It's all your credit that you have surrounded Tianshui City with so many enemy soldiers. How can the generals inside Tianshui City coordinate a breakout?" He turned his head again to look at Zhao Yun, thinking to himself, "Only Zhao Zilong can fight against Lü Bu!"

  The troops came down from the high slope, and General Li Yu thought it would not be easy to break in for a while, so he chose a favorable terrain in the northwest, set up camp, established a gate, dug trenches, and set up a central military tent. On that day, General Li Yu convened an emergency meeting to discuss how to break through the enemy's continuous camps. Everyone spoke enthusiastically, and finally decided to attack simultaneously from all four sides: Li Yu led the main force to attack the east gate; Tiger General Zhao Yun and General Zhao Zilong led their troops to attack the west gate; High Shun led three thousand troops from the Qi Mountain Pass to attack the south gate; and General Xu Heng, also known as Xu Gongming, was responsible for attacking the north gate. After a hearty meal, they set out at midnight. At midnight, the army divided into four routes and took action simultaneously, with cannons roaring in unison, shaking the mountains and earth, and flashing flames. "Kill!" The cries echoed through the sky.

  General Li Yu and the 30,000 elite troops of Yi Province are now the vanguard, rushing towards Dong Zhuo's camp. Li Yu urges his horse forward, brandishing the Heaven Painting Halberd in his hand, and the soldiers charge forward with reckless abandon. With one charge, they leap over nine trenches, trample the enemy's camp, and in the blink of an eye, arrive at the heart of the enemy's territory. Dong Zhuo's troops see that things are not going well, and scatter like flies, sending a messenger to report to Li Ru, who is in charge of military affairs.

  Here is the translation:

  Ever since Zhang Fei killed his way into the camp, Military Advisor Li Ru felt that something was not quite right. He feared that reinforcements from Tianshui City would arrive soon. He counted on his fingers, one hour, two hours, three hours, and it dragged on until the next day when the sun rose again and set. He estimated that the soldiers in Tianshui City had also been worn out by then. The entire army took turns fighting in shifts, exhausting the defenders of Tianshui City to death.

  Li Ru thought to himself, "No matter how great your abilities are, Li Yu, can you make it on time? No matter how skilled Liu Bei's army is, can they go without sleep or food and still fight?" But he also knew that Li Yu would arrive with reinforcements for Tianshui City. He was extra cautious, sending out scouts day and night.

  When Li Yu arrived with his troops, Li Ru immediately found out. However, Li Yu did not expect the reinforcements to launch an attack so quickly, and it was such a fierce one. The messenger reported to him that Liu Bei's army from Yizhou had broken through their nine layers of defense and reached the outside of the commander's tent.

  Li Ru was shocked, and at this time, Lü Bu had also returned to his camp after resting. Lü Bu shouted loudly, "Bring my horse and spear!" Lü Bu mounted his horse at the gate of the camp. His two assistants, Guo Si and Li Su, also got on their horses and followed behind him.

  As they rushed towards the scene of the battle, Lü Bu looked ahead and saw that his own soldiers were fleeing in disarray, like a retreating tide. Looking further ahead, he saw Liu Bei's army pursuing them, but it was too dark to see how many reinforcements had arrived.

  Lü Bu ordered, "Light the torches!" The torches were lit, illuminating the darkness like daylight. Lü Bu shouted loudly in his own camp, "Don't panic! Hold your positions! I, Lü Bu Fengxian, am here!"

  The soldiers of Dong Zhuo's army saw that their war god, Lü Bu, had arrived and finally calmed down, regrouping and ending the chaos. When they had settled down, Li Yu's army arrived.

  Lü Bu stood in the middle of the road, blocking Li Yu's path. With the light from the lanterns and torches, Lü Bu took a closer look and saw that Li Yu was fully armed, wearing golden armor and helmet, riding a yellow horse, holding a halberd identical to his own, looking like a god of war. Behind him were countless generals. Lü Bu pointed with his halberd: "Ah! Li Yu Li Hanxing! Today I will fight you to the death!"

  Li Yu said: "Lü Bu, today the Japanese commander wants to have a big battle with you for 300 rounds!" After finishing speaking, Li Yu was about to charge forward on horseback! However, just at this moment, a white-robed and white-armored general appeared from behind, wearing a white robe and a white belt. He approached and said: "General, there is no need to take action, I am willing to fight Lü Bu for you! The great commander is about to engage in battle, please just charge forward and break through the enemy lines! Leave Lü Bu to me!" Li Yu looked at the person who came and saw that it was none other than his own Tiger General Zhao Yun, also known as Zhao Zilong. Li Yu said: "Please be careful, General Zilong." Zhao Yun replied: "Yes, sir." At this time, Lü Bu also saw Zhao Yun and although they had only fought once at the Tiger Trap Pass, he still had an impression of him. Lü Bu shouted angrily: "Ah, you are the white-robed young general from Changshan, Zhao Yun, Zhao Zilong! Come here and have a big battle with me for 300 rounds!" At this time, Zhao Yun charged forward on horseback, rushing towards Lü Bu from the south. He held his dragon-head spear in hand, and his fine horse galloped swiftly, jumping three times and covering a great distance before arriving in front of Lü Bu's Red Hare horse.

  "Who are you, aren't you Lü Bu, the slave of the three families?" Zhao Yun shouted loudly. Lü Bu was so angry that his voice trembled, and his words were like a broken gong. He looked at the person in front of him and said: "Last time I let you escape, today your life is mine!"

  Zhao Yun burst out laughing and said: "I, Zhao Zilong, have never met a match from the moment I was born until now. Let's settle this once and for all!"

  Lü Bu backed his horse a few steps, fixed his eyes on him, and smiled to himself. He thought that there was no great general in Li Yu's camp. Although this person had received his Heaven Halberd last time, he now looked like a lucky one! He thought that Li Yu actually called out this white-faced bookworm.

  Lü Bu sneered and said with a cold smile: "Hehe, Zhao Yun, do you also want to fight with me?"

  Zhao Yun shook the Dragon's Gallbladder Spear in his hand and said: "Exactly, I want to take your head!"

  Lü Bu laughed loudly and said: "Zhao Yun, you dare to be presumptuous! Today, I will show you my abilities!"

  Zhao Yun smiled and said: "I also want to fight with this world-famous hero. You should remember that I am Zhao Zilong, the General of Changshan!"

  Lü Bu was furious and scolded: "Bah! I don't have time to grind teeth with you. Get out of the way!" He raised his Heaven Halberd and struck.

  Zhao Yun turned around and dodged Lü Bu's halberd. Just as he was about to counterattack, Lü Bu suddenly used a powerful move, "B拔草寻蛇" (Grass- Cutting Snake), and struck again with his halberd. Zhao Yun didn't expect this and jumped aside, his heart racing. He thought: "This is indeed the great general of Li Yu's camp! I must be careful not to get killed by him!"

  Zhao Yun gathered his spirit and used all his strength to fight Lü Bu. The two horses clashed, and after 30 rounds, they knew that neither was an easy opponent.

  At this moment, Li Yu saw that Zhao Yun had already engaged with Lü Bu, and their martial arts were evenly matched. He immediately led the charge without hesitation!

  Just then, someone behind Lü Bu shouted loudly: "Wait, killing a chicken doesn't require using an ox knife. You're so high-ranking, fighting with this pale scholar is beneath you. I'm not talented, but I'll take your place and fight him." Lü Bu listened and thought it was good, on such a large battlefield, if he let Li Yù rush past, the consequences would be unbearable. He took advantage of the two men's duel to go and block Li Yù's charge. With this in mind, Lü Bu pretended to brandish his spear and led Red Hare back to his own troops.

  The one who answered in the army of Lü Bu was Zhang Liao, a general who held the position of Left Wing General. Zhang Liao rushed towards Zhao Yun on horseback, his face stern and fierce. He wielded a large guandao with both hands, its blade glinting in the sunlight.

  Lü Bu saw Zhang Liao charge forward and said to him, "General Zhang, be careful today. The battlefield is different from usual." Zhang Liao responded with a loud cry and charged forward on horseback.

  As he approached the front lines, Zhao Yun looked up and saw Zhang Liao, his eyes narrowing slightly. He had been planning to engage Lü Bu in battle, but now he faced this new opponent instead. Zhang Liao wielded his guandao with both hands, its blade flashing in the sunlight as he charged towards Zhao Yun.

  Zhao Yun smiled coldly and raised his spear, ready to face this new challenger. The two clashed, their weapons ringing out as they exchanged blows. Zhang Liao was a skilled warrior, but Zhao Yun's spear techniques were too fast, too agile. He dodged and weaved, avoiding Zhang Liao's attacks with ease.

  As the battle raged on, Zhang Liao began to tire. His guandao felt heavy in his hands, his arms aching from the exertion. Zhao Yun sensed his weakness and pressed his advantage, striking again and again with his spear.

  Zhang Liao stumbled backward, his defenses weakening. He knew he couldn't keep this up for much longer. With a final burst of strength, he swung his guandao in a wide arc, trying to catch Zhao Yun off guard. But the latter was too quick, dodging the attack with ease and striking back with his spear.

  The battle was intense, the two warriors clashing in a flurry of steel and horseflesh. In the end, it was Zhang Liao who retreated, his guandao trembling in his hands as he fell back to regroup with his comrades. Zhao Yun watched him go, a cold smile still on his face.

  "You may have strength," Zhao Yun said, "but your techniques are clumsy. I'll give you credit, though - you're not an easy opponent." Zhang Liao glared at him, his face twisted in anger and frustration. He knew he had been outmatched, but he refused to admit defeat.

  The two warriors parted ways, their battle unfinished. But Zhao Yun knew that this was far from over. The war between the kingdoms would rage on, and he would face Zhang Liao again someday.

  What about the war?