Mythical Three Kingdoms

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Zhao Yun’s spear blossoms were dancing everywhere in the sky, and at first glance they indeed seemed fierce and powerful, but only Zhao Yun knew that this was completely forced upon him.

Lyu Bu’s ferocity gave him a lingering fear. In terms of skills, Zhao Yun realized his once-prided abilities seemed about even with Lyu Bu’s. As for strength and inner Qi intensity, Lyu Bu was leagues ahead. Then looking at his horse beneath him, Zhao Yun felt a pang of distress—for previously it was always his horse biting the opponent’s, but this time Red Hare had taken a bite, causing him heartache.

How to fight this? When Zhao Yun had come forward with his spear, he had been pondering this question. After comparing himself with Lyu Bu, he found at best, if he were to go one-on-one against Lyu Bu, his odds of winning were only twenty to thirty percent.

Zhao Yun had come to realize that Lyu Bu’s halberd techniques emphasized force over form. Once Lyu Bu grew angry, or as now, fervently enjoyed the battle, even if half of his inner Qi was already spent, he remained as savage as ever.

To defeat Lyu Bu, one would need to break his confidence, making him lose his sense of invincibility. Otherwise, no matter how long you fought him, Lyu Bu might maintain his initial fighting level or might even become stronger as the fight went on.

This was a vicious cycle indeed. A bitter smile emerged on Zhao Yun’s handsome face. Well then, since it was a vicious cycle, he might as well break out of it. Zhao Yun had made up his mind not to clash head-on with Lyu Bu any longer. He’d rather compete in terms of stamina and speed instead.

Zhao Yun continued to maintain a blistering speed. From the front, he already resembled a hedgehog, bristling with spear points. No matter how his long spear whirled, its tip always ended up pointing in Lyu Bu’s direction. Even Guan Yu, who was regulating his breath to the side, noticed Zhao Yun’s spear shaft bending into three or four arcs toward Lyu Bu. One couldn’t fathom how he was exerting such force.

The sound of Zhao Yun’s spear had not ceased since he charged. Both Lyu Bu and Zhao Yun had nearly danced their weapons into blooms, and so far, neither had made contact, each fiercely locked onto the other’s vitals, waiting for the right moment to strike a harsh blow.

Zhao Yun sped up further; he felt Lyu Bu seemed to have adapted to his spear speed, and it was necessary to increase it. He couldn’t be countered by the opponent. Zhao Yun had already realized that he truly could not overpower the man across from him. The strength disparity was somewhat disheartening. At first, he thought he had a thirty percent chance of victory, but as the fight progressed, his confidence dwindled, now clinging to a mere ten percent. Zhao Yun figured if the fight continued, he might not even have that much of a chance.

To be honest, Zhao Yun now harbored the same thought Lyu Bu had when facing Zhang Fei: What on earth did this guy feed on to grow so strong? Unlike Lyu Bu, who wanted to capture Zhang Fei for research, Zhao Yun had no desire to take Lyu Bu for study. He was already signaling to Guan Yu, hoping for aid, but unfortunately, Guan Yu did not catch on to Zhao Yun’s intentions. In his view, why meddle when neither had gained the upper hand? Better to let this astonishing battle continue.

Lyu Bu’s eyes burned with fiery passion as he stared at the young, pretty-faced man before him. Initially, he thought that with steady and solid play, he could easily topple this pretty boy. As the battle raged on, a thought suddenly struck him—could this fellow be the powerful adversary he had been waiting for, the one that leveling up after killing him?

And with that thought, Lyu Bu suddenly felt it was highly likely! Who else had the strength to fight him one-on-one for such a long time without a clear victor? Instantly, Lyu Bu’s fervor reached a new peak. If King Xiang were to climb up from the Wu River, Lyu Bu felt he could send him plunging back down.

Kill, kill, kill! With this mindset, Lyu Bu fought with escalating excitement, and his momentum grew more and more imposing. Instantly, the somewhat elusive spear technique was unraveled by intuition, and just as Lyu Bu’s momentum was set to rise further, he felt Zhao Yun’s spear speed up again.

Lyu Bu continued his ferocious assault on Zhao Yun, who silently deployed his ultimate knowledge. His spear technique sped up, now managing to thrust twice in the time it once took for a single strike. Despite this, Zhao Yun was still unable to find a way to defeat Lyu Bu and could only watch helplessly as Lyu Bu’s qi rose steadily, no longer having the strength to suppress his opponent’s aura.

The soldiers from Dong Zhuo’s Army at Hulao Pass and the Coalition Army of the Eighteen Feudal Lords were dumbfounded. Lyu Bu’s ferocity had been proven in earlier fights, with only the brothers Guan and Zhang from Liu Bei’s side being able to stand up to him. Having defeated Guan and Zhang, Lyu Bu was seen by the Coalition as a godlike being.

And then, another fighter from behind Liu Bei had come forth, fighting Lyu Bu to a standstill—damn, Liu Xuande, your luck is way too good! All the good fortune seems to be yours!

Liu Bei looked at Zhang Fei with a face full of worry, completely ignoring the envious and admiring gazes around him. Ever since heeding Chen Xi’s words, Liu Bei had realized that in these chaotic times, it didn’t matter if others envied or even harbored hatred towards him, Liu Xuande. As long as they lacked the power, they would simply have to endure it. This era was not one of benevolence and righteousness, but one where might made right!

Finally, Zhao Yun could no longer aim at Lyu Bu’s vital points without his spear clashing with Lyu Bu’s Sky Piercer, marking the first true collision since the start of their fight. Unlike Lyu Bu’s shock and rage, Zhao Yun’s face was filled with helplessness. Seizing the moment of Lyu Bu’s shock, he gently tapped the tip of Lyu Bu’s halberd to swiftly create some distance between himself and the dangerous man.

"General Guan, lend me your strength!" Zhao Yun bellowed. There was no more playing around, his previous signaling to Guan Yu hadn’t had any effect.

Guan Yu didn’t understand why Zhao Yun, after fighting Lyu Bu for so long without a clear victor, and without showing any sign of faltering, would suddenly ask for his help. Despite his confusion, Guan Yu still shouted, "Zilong, do not panic, Yunchang is coming!" and then he swung his Green Dragon Crescent Blade towards Lyu Bu.

"I will kill you!" Lyu Bu spurred his horse angrily towards Zhao Yun. He felt played; no wonder there was no direct confrontation. It was all just speed without strength. If it hadn’t been for their accidental collision earlier, Lyu Bu would have never realized that Zhao Yun’s inner qi was incredibly weak, and his strength feeble. Otherwise, even if they continued fighting, Lyu Bu wouldn’t have discovered just how weak Zhao Yun was.

"This is such a hassle," Zhao Yun sighed resignedly as he thrust his spear toward Lyu Bu. When the spear tip collided with the halberd tip, it did not result in Lyu Bu’s desired outcome of knocking Zhao Yun’s weapon away. On the contrary, the force transmitted through Zhao Yun’s spear was like a raging tide, layer upon layer crashing down and matching Lyu Bu’s strength.

However, once Lyu Bu was set on a decision, he never looked back. He had resolved to finish off Zhao Yun, outraged at being tricked. With this conviction, Lyu Bu furiously swung at Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun sturdily parried Lyu Bu’s crazed attacks. Instead of the myriad spear flowers of before, now only dots of cold light formed, firmly blocking Lyu Bu’s attacks and not retreating as Lyu Bu hoped.

"Clang!" With a resounding noise, Zhao Yun and Lyu Bu separated once again. In the time it took for Guan Yu to join the fray, the two had clashed again a hundred times in a fierce, thunderous confrontation. Zhao Yun, fighting at full strength and backed by a burst of blood qi, held his ground, causing Lyu Bu, with his attack yielding no advantage, to doubt his earlier impression!

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