Sitting behind Lyu Bu, Gao Shun watched Li Ru with an expressionless face, wondering, "Have the Guandong Lords really gotten to the point where even Xu Rong can't hold them back? If Xu Rong can't manage it, it's merely a matter of military strength. Why then pull him back to hold the rear? Hann Sui can be ignored since he will be extinguished regardless. Why call Xu Rong back?"
Gao Shun's strategic intelligence was not exceptional, but his command of troops was extremely formidable. Naturally, he understood the terror of Xu Rong, who led a hundred thousand soldiers. From his perspective, Xu Rong, reinstated at Hulao Pass to supplement the troops, was not an opponent the disorganized, five hundred thousand Guandong Coalition Army could contend with.
Unable to figure it out, he decided not to dwell on it. Maybe the coalition had some capable individuals—who knew?
Chen Xi scratched his head. Chen Lan had just poured him a cup of tea, and in just the short time it took to drink it, a thick fog had arisen, which was unnaturally dense. Visibility was reduced to just over ten meters, and the previously clear moon was now completely obscured.
"This fog is way too thick, isn't it? Does it have to be this outrageous? Spring is not exactly the best time of year," Chen Xi said, scratching his head. "Forget it, let's just disperse it. After all, smoggy weather isn't exactly pleasant."
Chen Xi continued to scratch his head while beginning his actions.
"Eh?" Li Ru, who was a dozen miles away from Hulao ready to have Lyu Bu launch a night attack, was somewhat surprised to see the fog he had laid start to slowly dissipate.
"The coalition must have experts of their own," a chubby man squeezed past Li Ru and casually remarked, "You borrowed the right moment, and they used the same tactics. This is getting interesting~"
"Wen He, won't you lend a hand? We do pay you a stipend, after all," Li Ru said nonchalantly, watching the clearing fog, unconcerned. The fog had gone, so be it. Lyu Bu had been agitating for a forceful strike. Now that the fog was dispersing, might as well go for it.
"I don't see any need for it," Jia Xu glanced toward Hulao Pass. Although he couldn't see the coalition forces, he understood clearly that once Lyu Bu, this fierce tiger, was released, the outcome would be predetermined with or without fog.
"It's just that human desire is never satisfied!" Li Ru gazed in the direction of Hulao as if he could see Lyu Bu's now vanished figure.
"Even if human desire is boundless, isn't the loss what you also desire?" Wen He continued to sneer, leaving Li Ru silent.
"Oh, the fog has cleared," Ju Shou said, noticing the stars reappearing in the sky and frowning. "The celestial phenomenon has changed; a wise monarch from the north shall emerge."
"Enemy attack!" Just as Ju Shou was pondering future actions, a wretched cry broke his train of thought.
A gigantic golden-red halberd, dozens of meters in size, hurtled through the air before crashing heavily into the center of the main camp.
"..." From a distance, Chen Xi watched the oversized halberd and the gusts of wind and sand stirred by the explosion, realizing without question who had arrived.
Another massive halberd flew out, and soon after, more than a dozen halberds flew along, tracing a red streak across the sky.
"Quiet!" Chen Xi, seeing the panic-stricken crowd, frowned and called out softly but sternly.
Even the elite soldiers of Youzhou were thrown into disarray by the surprise night attack. With that in mind, the place Lyu Bu had targeted must have descended into chaos.
"What a nuisance!" Chen Xi sneered as he observed the still frantic soldiers. Even with the upper and lower echelons of command trying to take control, these soldiers, who had run out of their tents without even grabbing their weapons or putting on their leather armor, could hardly be called elite.
"Steady yourselves!" Ignoring the others, Chen Xi focused on controlling his own men first. Seeing no effect, he cast the spell once more, and everyone jolted awake, their minds clearing as if doused with a bucket of cold water. The techniques they had trained in flickered into existence, and instantly, the chaos within Liu Bei's camp dissipated.
"Thief, present your head!" Yann Liang, seeing his subordinates being slaughtered along the way, never considered the disparity between himself and the enemy, and charged forward in rage.
"Clang!" With a booming sound, the straight-line red shadow finally came to a halt.
There he stood, his head adorned with a Trident Purple Gold Crown, draped in a West River Red Cotton Hundred Flower Robe, donning a Beast-faced Devouring Head Chain Armor, and a belt—the Exquisite Lion Barbarian Belt. With a bow and arrows by his side, he gripped a halberd and sat upon the Galloping Red Hare Horse.
Yann Liang froze, astounded to find such a handsome fellow. He grew furious upon comparing himself with the man, ready to rush forward and cut him down from his horse.
"I don't strike down nameless men with my blade! State your name," Yann Liang bellowed.
"Tsk!" Lyu Bu scoffed disdainfully, thinking if not for him unleashing a dozen or so slaying moves in succession earlier, he would have casually slaughtered Yann Liang. He hadn't expected the man to dare speak to him in such a way.
"Seeking death!" Yann Liang, brimming with anger, as clear and sharp as the daylight under the moonlight at the peak of his Qi Refining to Gang, saw Lyu Bu's disdain.
Lyu Bu casually blocked Yann Liang's ferocious attack with his halberd, then with a backhanded sweep, he bisected a large group of soldiers who thought they could take advantage of the situation.
"Where are Yuan Shao and Cao Cao? And where is Guan Yu, the warrior who killed Hua Xiong?" Lyu Bu looked at Yann Liang but couldn't muster the slightest interest. He was too weak, weak to the extent that the proud Lyu Bu deemed unworthy of a battle with him.
The force of the rebound nearly caused the complacent Yann Liang to lose grip on his blade, only then realizing that the man before him was truly a peak master of Inner Qi Separation.
"I've been wanting to experience stronger power for a while," Yann Liang licked his lips, gazing at Lyu Bu like he was staring at prey.
Lyu Bu did not even look at Yann Liang, for to him, those adept in Qi Refining to Gang were not worth a single strike.
"Face my blade!" Yann Liang cried out, directing the energy he had gathered furiously towards Lyu Bu.
"Such a nuisance!" Lyu Bu glanced at Yann Liang with contempt. To reduce expenditure and maintain the surprise of the night raid, Lyu Bu, having reined in his aura, did not appear very strong.
After a brief moment of consideration, an immense aura washed over from Lyu Bu's body. Since the night attack was already discovered, Lyu Bu couldn't be bothered to hide any longer, his figure radiating a golden-red luster, with his cape fluttering without wind, making him look like a Celestial God descending to the mortal realm.
"Ting!" Yann Liang watched as his full-force attack halted mere centimeters from Lyu Bu's cheek, terror stricken.
"Scram!" Lyu Bu bellowed, his voice thunderous. The Energy Bullet formed from his condensed voice sent the shocked Yann Liang flying, his blood scattering below.
"Yuan Shao, prepare to die!" With keen eyes, Lyu Bu spotted Yuan Shao being protected by a crowd, but to Lyu Bu, that didn't matter at all.
Yann Liang lay on the ground spewing blood. The Renowned General from Hebei had only exchanged three moves with his opponent, and that too because the opponent could not be bothered to kill him. Despair and exhaustion surged to his heart, thinking, "Perhaps falling here wouldn't be such a bad end!
"Yuan Shao, prepare to die!" As Yann Liang prepared to abandon his path as a martial artist, he heard the man who had just bested him calling out with delight.