"General, delay will lead to complications..." someone among the black-clothed assassins whispered to their leader.
"A bunch of incompetents! You can't even deal with a warrior at the end of his strength and an old man?" The leader's eyes narrowed. He gripped his triple-edged spear tighter... "Get out of the way, let your general handle this!"
*Thud... thud...*
Two firm and heavy footsteps. The triple-edged spear was brought into a fighting stance.
Cao Ren's brow furrowed. Seeing the weapon, and the black-clothed leader calling himself General, plus... his deep, hoarse voice, Cao Ren suddenly recalled that this black-clothed man was Ji Ling, Yuan Shu's top general. In the past, during the coalition against Dong Zhuo, Cao Ren had shared wine with him!
"Hmph, I never thought the legitimate heir of the Yuan family, renowned for four generations of public service, would stoop to such base acts of murder and plunder!" Cao Ren snorted coldly...
It was clear that Cao Ren's words made the black-clothed man pause.
He had been recognized!
He was indeed Ji Ling. This time, he was acting under Yuan Shu's orders to intercept Cao Song, the goal being to muddy the waters in Xuzhou and reap the benefits in the end...
Now, with Cao Ren speaking like this, Ji Ling dared not hold back any longer.
"Hmph, you lot leave this one to me. As for that old man, all of you go at him!"
Ji Ling immediately commanded, clearly no longer intending to uphold the code of chivalry...
"Heh heh heh..."
The black-clothed assassins grinned and drew their sabers, charging together. Previously... they had some semblance of decency when dealing with an old man. But when true shamelessness was unleashed, Cao Song was no match.
Dozens of sabers chopped towards them, their sheer momentum enough to suffocate.
"Zixiao, I must depart first, old man!"
Cao Song's brow was tightly knitted. With his own flesh and blood, he blocked the merciless scythes!
Cao Ren took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Large tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes.
The elder was trying to buy him time. But... facing Ji Ling, even a full-strength Cao Ren might not be his match, let alone now, at the end of his rope. He, Cao Ren... could not escape!
"Man proposes, heaven disposes. Young Master Lu Yu had foreseen this. It is only my incompetence, Cao Ren, that I failed to bring the Old Master and the Young Master back!"
"Old Master, wait for me a little longer. Your Cao Ren will follow soon!"
Cao Ren lifted his long spear again, and with his remaining strength, he engaged Ji Ling in a fierce battle...
This was an inherently unfair fight!
In just one exchange, Cao Ren's spear was knocked aside by Ji Ling, and the triple-edged spear thrust directly towards his chest.
Was it over? Was everything over?
Cao Ren's pupils widened. It seemed... he had long anticipated this outcome and was not surprised at all! No one from the Qiaopei district was a coward!
"Swish..."
Just then, a light sound sliced through the sky, shattering the night's stillness, its momentum astonishing.
Ugh...
In Ji Ling's astonished gaze, a completely black war halberd flew towards him, carrying a mighty gust of wind, and landed squarely on Ji Ling's triple-edged spear.
*Dong... dong...*
*Clatter... clatter!*
The immense force made Ji Ling's wrist tremble, and the triple-edged spear immediately fell to the ground. The flying war halberd continued its trajectory, embedding itself into a large stone step before stopping.
"This is..."
Cao Ren's eyes were sharp, and his memory was good. He recalled that this war halberd seemed to be... the weapon of Dian Wei, the "fierce man" whom Young Master Lu Yu had acquired with great fortune a few days prior!
But... everyone knew that among weapons, paired halberds were not light. Let alone throwing them, even wielding them normally required considerable strength. To throw one from such a distance, and to knock Ji Ling's weapon away with a single strike, what kind of formidable strength would that require?
*Tada dada...*
The sound of horses' hooves gradually grew louder... Everyone looked in the direction of the approaching hoofbeats. Under the hazy moonlight, two figures on one horse were rapidly closing in, like... specters emerging from the darkness!
The one in front was a young man, his mouth agape wide enough to fit an egg.
He looked utterly stunned. Behind him was a powerfully built, extraordinarily burly individual. These two shared a warhorse, and the two on the horse looked like a small dog standing next to an elephant.
Of course... everyone was also curious whether the horse could withstand the weight of an "elephant."
Upon clearly seeing the faces of those approaching, both Cao Song and Cao Ren were startled...
The fellow behind, Cao Ren recognized him. Wasn't that Dian Wei, the warrior chosen by Young Master Lu Yu? And the one in front... Cao Ren and Cao Song were even more familiar with him; it was Cao De... Cao Cao's younger brother, Cao De! He was alive!
"Dian Wei... Commander Dian..."
Cao Ren looked as if he had found a lifesaver. At this moment, his previous frustration and anger erupted simultaneously. He laughed wildly towards the sky.
"Ji Ling, Ji Ling, hahahaha... Surprise, isn't it? My elder brother also sent a fierce general!"
"Hahahaha... Every move you made, Young Master Lu had already calculated. You wish to take the Old Master's life? You are delusional!"
Despite Cao Ren's deliberate wild laughter, his voice was filled with choked emotion. His heart felt a pang.
Why would Dian Wei be here?
Undoubtedly, this must have been arranged by Young Master Lu Yu...
If he arranged this, it meant he had foreseen the current situation. Then... given his meticulous mind, there was hope. He and the Old Master were likely to be saved!
If before, Cao Ren had only seen a glimmer of hope.
Then now... he was determined to cling to that hope tightly. "Hahahaha... hahahaha... Yuan Shu, your despicable tricks were long ago seen through by Young Master Lu Yu! Hahahaha..."
...
Young Master Lu Yu?
Ji Ling heard this name several times. At this point, a trace of doubt flickered within him. Had... his lord's scheme been seen through by this fellow?
But soon, Ji Ling shook his head vigorously. If his scheme was seen through, why would they send only a few people to rescue?
Hmph... It's just a pretense!
"All of you, attack! Stop him!"
Ji Ling gave an order, and over twenty black-clothed assassins turned their attention, charging towards Dian Wei. Their sharp blades were aimed directly at them.
Facing mounted combat with infantry, they were this confident!
"Heh..."
Dian Wei sneered. Without even swinging his war halberd, he punched out.
*Clang...*
A powerful punch struck the chest of a black-clothed assassin. Under the moonlight, this assassin's face was grim, his expression dazed. Large beads of sweat dripped onto the ground. Just as everyone was puzzled,
"Pfft..."
A line of blood sprayed from his throat.
"Wuah..."
Accompanied by a scream, his body fell, his eyes filled with terror!
This scene happened too quickly. Before the other black-clothed assassins could react, Dian Wei's heavy fists and single halberd began to claim lives!
It was like slicing through vegetables...
These black-clothed assassins, who appeared so formidable to Cao Ren, were like lambs led to the slaughter, offering no resistance.
Dian Wei, with man and horse, seemed like... a killer emerging from hell, especially his ferocious face, resembling a god of slaughter.
"Is that all?"
His contemptuous gaze held a hint of disdain...
At this moment, Dian Wei was thinking, what a bunch of weaklings, rusty scrap metal. The task assigned by Young Master Lu Yu seemed... not that difficult after all!
Is this it? Is this all?
"Can you put a little more effort in? I haven't had my fill yet!"
...
...