Chapter 30: Really not human at all!

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The shouts and drumming from both sides were frantically stimulating the two people in the midst of the battlefield, just as they were stimulating all of the soldiers, with the morale of both parties constantly rising.

"Watch out, Lyu Bu—arrows!" Zhao Yun exclaimed loudly, as his already prepared bow sent an arrow streaking towards Lyu Bu!

Lyu Bu felt annoyed by Wuu Anguo's swinging Great Hammer, coming and going. He acknowledged that the man had substantial strength and even the ability for Inner Qi Manifestation, most importantly, he was very daring, also possessing a quite impressive hammer technique.

"That's enough warming up!" Lyu Bu roared, his previously torrential barrage of attacks paused momentarily as the Sky Piercer seemingly became a hundred times heavier. It was as if the air had thickened, striking Wuu Anguo's Great Hammer with deceptive speed.

Wuu Anguo felt as if struck by lightning, almost unable to hold onto his hammer. His flawless offensive had, due to this momentary pause, exposed a vulnerability, and Lyu Bu's halberd, trailing an arc of light, slashed through the opening, and despite Wuu Anguo's best efforts, he just narrowly missed.

"Bang!" Just when Wuu Anguo was in despair, a silver-blue streak of light forcefully deflected Lyu Bu's halberd, saving Wuu Anguo, whose guts would have been spilled by the extended Qi Blade, thus sparing his life.

Lyu Bu glanced at the direction from which the arrow had come and abandoned the thought of continuing his attack on Wuu Anguo. The other had given warning before the attack, and even though the arrow was too quick and Wuu Anguo heard the warning only after being struck, it can't be denied that the other had not broken the rules of one-on-one combat.

Watching the somber Zhao Yun, Chen Xi was somewhat puzzled. Why did Wuu Anguo suddenly lose? Hadn't he been putting pressure on Lyu Bu before?

"The Heavy Sword Art, a technique that allows one to wield a light weapon with the force of a heavy one," Zhao Yun said darkly. "There is also the Light Sword Technique, which allows a heavy weapon to be used with great dexterity. General Zhang, do you understand what this means?"

Zhang Fei opened his mouth, he naturally understood the trouble of an opponent whose strikes could be deceptively light or heavy, especially when the opponent could control that variation.

"Zilong, just call me Yide," Zhang Fei exclaimed with a fervor for battle in his eyes, and without waiting for Guan Yu and Zhao Yun to intervene, he leapt on his horse, spear in hand, and charged from the ranks.

"Zhang Yide, huh?" Lyu Bu gripped the Sky Piercer, its golden-red lustre gradually solidifying. A tangible, golden-red radiance of Qi enveloped him in an armor-like aura of a Celestial God as he prepared for a solitary fight against all comers, regardless of whether his opponents came at him one by one or all at once—he was ready to slay them all there.

Similarly, a dark aura enshrouded Zhang Fei, coiling around his body under the pressure from Lyu Bu, forming a semitransparent armor.

"Take this!" At the height of his momentum, Zhang Fei, devoid of any hesitation, discarded all unnecessary flourishes; his Serpent Spear stabbed straight and quickly at Lyu Bu—simple and swift!

"Boom!" Lyu Bu swung his halberd and deflected Zhang Fei's Serpent Spear; the clangor reverberated with force, preparing him to brace its power—the strength was formidable, but not much different from the previous fellow, most importantly the weapon was not heavy enough, not big enough, and not fast enough!

Zhang Fei's Serpent Spear danced in almost a complete circle around him, like a Black Dragon coiling in his presence, its tremendous force bursting loudly as it pierced the air time and again. Lyu Bu's counterattacks were always so timely, forcing Zhang Fei back into defense.

In the first ten moves, Zhang Fei, driven by his fierce Blood Qi, suppressed Lyu Bu's attack, constraining the entire hundred-meter range right upon Lyu Bu himself, as a huge Black Dragon coiled beneath Hulao Pass, frantically biting at a golden-red pearl.

However, after ten moves, Lyu Bu stabilized and began to counterattack steadily.

Twenty moves later, the frequency of Zhang Fei's attacks began to decrease.

After thirty moves, Lyu Bu had overpowered Zhang Fei, and the frequency of Zhang Fei's counterattacks started to plummet.

By the fiftieth move, Lyu Bu's golden-red glow of fire had firmly suppressed the Black Dragon.

Zhang Fei's eyes blazed with an increasing will to fight, and his momentum continued to grow, but he was still unable to break through Lyu Bu's blockade. Ultimately, Lyu Bu had confined the attack within a mere ten-meter radius; outside of this circle, all was calm, but within, it was a tempest of gales and pounding rains!

Guan Yu's expression grew increasingly grave as he felt a chill at the display of strength by Lyu Bu. Zhang Fei's initial charge was to give him a chance to understand Lyu Bu's capabilities, but clearly, Lyu Bu had not yet exerted his full strength.

Chen Xi couldn't tell who would win or lose, but he knew Zhang Fei definitely couldn't defeat Lyu Bu. He could not discern the situation from Guan Yu's expression. Turning his head to look at Zhao Yun, he noticed that the previously sullen Zhao Yun had clearly breathed a sigh of relief, signaling to Chen Xi that things probably hadn't exceeded his expectations.

Finally, the second brother made his move, with Qing light flashing by and immense power blended with mighty momentum viciously slashing at Lyu Bu. Unlike the clash of the night before, this time, with Zhang Fei as a distraction, Lyu Bu had no chance to disrupt Guan Yu's Power Accumulation. As a result, Guan Yu gathered his momentum to its peak and then delivered a ferocious strike with his third blow.

"Thud!" The impact was still as shocking as ever, the powerful Light Blade not only sent Lyu Bu flying but also left a nearly hundred-meter long gash in the ground, extending all the way to the walls of Hulao Pass and leaving a massive mark upon them.

Panting, Guan Yu looked down at the dust-filled base of Hulao Pass. Unlike his slaying of Hua Xiong, this time Guan Yu had truly given his all; he could guarantee that if a hill laid before that blow, it would have been split in two.

The previously shouting soldiers were stunned into silence by this strike, gazing at the military general in the green robe with shock. The morale of the Hulao soldiers, which had soared due to Lyu Bu's astonishing performance, plummeted instantly, as if they had lost their fathers to death, and even Dong Zhuo, seated atop Hulao Pass, was left speechless by the colossal impact, shivering and involuntarily retreating.

As the dust settled, Lyu Bu rode Red Hare, performing Stepping Void, and his originally golden-red aura now tinged with crimson; droplets of fresh blood slid down from the tip of the Sky Piercer.

"Hahaha~" Lyu Bu held the Halberd in one hand, the other covering his face, his crazed laughter spreading throughout the vicinity of Hulao Pass.

"This guy must have gone mad from the beating," Chen Xi remarked, marveling at Lyu Bu who continued Stepping Void along with Red Hare, and turned to Zhao Yun to say.

"On the contrary, Lyu Bu's Qi is climbing ceaselessly, already surpassing my estimates. The momentum he's emitting now, along with the surging Inner Qi, is completely beyond imagination. He's simply not human!" At first, Zhao Yun maintained his gentle composure, but towards the end, he too seemed a bit unhinged.

ps: In the entire Three Kingdoms period, Lyu Bu was never really treated like a person; every time he appeared, he was ganged up on. And when ganged upon, it was practically always by a luxurious lineup. Truly the treatment of a Celestial God superstar!