The samurai sword was about to pierce Lü Bu's ribs.
Lü Bu froze. The soldiers of the Dragon Mighty Camp behind him stared with wide, gaping mouths.
Earlier, General Lü Ying's "slay gods who block gods, slay Buddhas who block Buddhas" demeanor had repeatedly reignited their fighting spirit. But now…
In contrast, the entire Wako army, who had been panting, finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, the scene that followed made them widen their eyes, their gazes filled with terror.
…
Feeling the samurai sword touch the opponent's armor, "Tsukuyomi" was filled with pride. A cold smile curved his lips. This valuable head seemed to be his. Of course, half of the credit would have to go to "Amaterasu"!
But suddenly, Tsukuyomi realized something was wrong. His samurai sword had indeed hit the armor, but… it hadn't penetrated.
Then, following the samurai sword, his eyes slowly widened. The light in his pupils was visible. The samurai sword, empowered by immense strength, had actually… broken.
That's right, it had completely snapped.
This was—
—No! Penetration!
And this wasn't the most astonishing part. As he slowly raised his head, a pair of icy eyes looked at him. The peculiar "halberd" had, at some unknown time, shattered "Amaterasu's" samurai sword and, along with the broken blade, pierced into his body.
Blood… gushed out incessantly, spraying everywhere, dripping onto "Tsukuyomi's" face, and also onto the face of the god of war before him.
But this was far from over.
The god of slaughter before him, without pause, thrust the peculiar halberd further down.
Then, in "Tsukuyomi's" sight, the world spun a few times. When it settled, he saw a familiar body.
This was unimportant. What was important was… this body seemed to be his own.
He still held the broken samurai sword in his hand, but his head was no longer attached to his neck.
"Thump…"
"Thump…"
The two most valiant warriors of the Gounu Kingdom, united, could not even withstand a single move from Lü Bu.
Was it over?
No…
This slaughter had only just begun.
Lü Bu was like a killing machine that never stopped. His Fangtian Hua Ji constantly thrust and swept. This incredibly difficult-to-wield weapon in his hands was like an extension of his own body.
Any Wako who faced Lü Bu retreated with fear in their eyes. Those who dared to charge at Lü Bu, attempting to avenge their two leaders, were now falling to the ground, one by one.
Blood splattered across half of Lü Bu's face. The scarlet blood made him look like a demon.
Roars continued to erupt:
—"Who else? Who dares to challenge me?"
Although they couldn't understand the words, this thunderous voice seemed to crush the last ray of hope for the Wako. They turned and retreated like madmen. One, ten, a hundred… they fled frantically.
The soldiers of the Dragon Mighty Camp hadn't even reacted.
Lü Bu, covered in blood, was already pursuing them with his Fangtian Hua Ji. Under his encouragement, countless sailors of the Dragon Mighty Camp also pursued.
Lü Bu knew that the first battle of a campaign was crucial. He had to make the Wako fear him from the bottom of their hearts in the most brutal way possible. Only then would the conquest of Yamatai be smoother and with fewer casualties.
Every man who came out was a brother. Lü Bu intended to bring them back alive.
Gan Ning and the other pirates had also intended to charge forward and fight the enemy.
But suddenly they realized… what the hell was there to fight?
The queen of Yamatai, on her ship, had said the warriors of the Gounu Kingdom were fierce and desperate. Fierce my ass, desperate my ass. They had thought it would be a battle of equals, but who knew it would be so easily defeated.
"If Yamatai's opponents are all like this, then conquering this island will be as easy as flipping one's hand!" Gan Ning sighed, feeling a sense of boredom.
In truth, the Wako did have a so-called "Bushido" spirit, and they were indeed desperate and fierce. However… in terms of stamina and combat power, they were still a far cry from the regular armies of Great Wei, as described by Himiko.
The Gounu Kingdom did not have abundant food. These Wako ate intermittently. They were not tall, their faces were sallow, and their physical condition could not compare to the Dragon Mighty Camp warriors who ate two catties of meat and one catty of fruits and vegetables daily.
Their greatest strength was their fearlessness of death. In battle… they would often send those who were most fearless to the front, thereby inspiring the Wako behind them.
Such an formation had a significant weakness.
Once the vanguard was annihilated, the entire formation would collapse in an instant.
At this moment…
Lü Bu, leading the way, was followed by the sailors of the Dragon Mighty Camp. They swarmed forward like a fierce autumn wind, wielding their spears and casually thrusting and sweeping. This was almost a one-sided slaughter!
The Dragon Mighty Camp did not need to specifically cut off enemy heads to claim credit, as there were specialized squads within the Dragon Mighty Camp tasked with collecting enemy heads and finishing off the wounded.
Countless Wako were struck down by the refined steel halberds as they fled. Even more tragic were those who were split into two halves.
The once high-spirited Wako were now completely desperate.
Out of over a thousand people, fewer than a hundred escaped. The beach was littered with corpses everywhere…
"Father… do not pursue a cornered enemy," Lü Lingqi reminded him. "What if these Wako are escaping to their stronghold?"
Hearing this, Lü Bu paused. He glanced at Lü Lingqi and then asked, "What do you think?"
Lü Lingqi was stunned, "I…"
Before she could speak, Lü Bu’s lips curled. "Father hasn't killed enough yet. If it's an enemy stronghold, that would save a lot of trouble!"
This…
Lü Lingqi wanted to say more, but Lü Bu had already taken the lead in pursuit.
Lü Lingqi murmured, "Father… has he unlocked some kind of restriction or seal?"
Yes…
Having finally gotten the chance to kill freely, how could Lü Bu let such an opportunity slip by?
—Exterminate the Wako completely, capture them all!
In his bones, he was a "demon" who would slay gods and slay Buddhas!
…
…
Amidst the bushes surrounding Xinye City.
"Madam, if we don't run now, it will be too late," the surrounding guards repeatedly urged.
"Closer, a little closer. The leather of that balloon bag, I… I haven't clearly seen what material it is made of," Huang Yueying murmured…
At the same time…
Inside the wicker basket in the sky, as the hot air balloon descended, Lu Yu's eyes captured Huang Yueying's observation.
He had already sensed something was amiss…
This woman wasn't ambushing, but was… recording something.
"Fire the signal arrow, capture that woman!"
Lu Yu immediately gave the order…
At this point, the hot air balloon was only sixty meters above the ground, and the signal arrow could be heard by the army.
Immediately… Zhuge Jun did not hesitate. He took out a signal arrow and "marked" Huang Yueying's location.
"Clang… clatter!"
With a clang… Xiahou Dun’s brow furrowed. "As expected, there's still an ambush. Brothers, follow me…"
Immediately…
Thousands of hoofbeats echoed.
"Madam…"
"It's animal hide…" Huang Yueying seemed to finally understand. She softly uttered, "But such large hide, what animal could it be?"
Before she could think further…
The surrounding guards could no longer remain indifferent.
"Madam, we've been exposed. If we don't retreat now…"
"Retreat!"
Huang Yueying decisively ordered.
She knew that if she were captured, all of this would be meaningless.
Instantly, the group of fifteen or sixteen people scattered and fled. Because they were all wearing black clothes and had veiled their faces, the hot air balloon could not track their specific targets.
As the sound of hoofbeats from not far away approached…
They seemed to have a pre-arranged escape plan…
Their escape on horseback undoubtedly made the pursuit much more difficult.
"Not good…"
Lu Yu, inside the wicker basket, was alarmed. He asked Zhuge Jun, "Can you still tell which one is that woman?"
"They've become indistinguishable!" Zhuge Jun replied truthfully.
"This is bad!" Lu Yu frowned. "Fire another signal arrow and have Brother Xiahou split his forces. No one should be let go."
"Yes!"
Zhuge Jun immediately shot more signal arrows.
Xiahou Dun saw the signal and frowned. "Why are they fleeing in all directions?"
He immediately shouted, "Pursue! Split up and pursue!"
"Da da da…"
"Da da da…"
The sound of hoofbeats echoed, shaking the entire Jing River bank. After the cavalry galloped past, from the grass where they had been, hidden beneath the countless reeds, Huang Yueying emerged.
"Indeed, as my husband said, the darkest place is under the lamp, and the most dangerous place is the safest."
She quickly crawled in the grass, avoiding the sight from the sky as much as possible…
As she neared the bank of the Jing River, she suddenly darted out and jumped into a seemingly very old wooden box on the bank of the Jing River. The wooden box then sank to the bottom of the water, and she quickly swam away.
"What was that?"
At this moment, Ma Yunlu, who was enjoying the breeze in the wicker basket, suddenly saw… a figure emerge from the grass.
At first, she thought it was a black animal, but as it quickly dove into the wooden box, sank to the bottom, and swam away, Ma Yunlu sensed something was wrong.
"The enemy has escaped…"
She wanted to ask the balloon troops to send a signal, but because Huang Yueying's movements were too quick, happening almost in the blink of an eye, no one else saw it except Ma Yunlu. Consequently, no signal could be sent.
Furthermore, these balloon troops didn't seem to know Ma Yunlu well, making her feel like an outsider.
"You… you should… should fire the signal arrows!"
"Black shadow? Wooden box? Swimming away? We didn't see anything…" All the balloon troops shrugged. Ma Yunlu was speechless.
…
…
Xiahou Dun's army did not rush into Xinye City. Instead, they first dispatched small units into the city to retrieve all the oil, incendiary materials, and dry firewood.
The entire army was temporarily stationed outside Xinye City.
At this moment, in the central military tent, Xiahou Dun was frowning…
He had heard that his brother Yu had fired a signal arrow asking him to capture a woman. He had captured eleven, nine of whom were shot dead, but none of them were women.
This made Xiahou Dun feel he had failed his younger brother.
He hadn't even handled such a small matter properly. Of course… this was normal. Historically, Xiahou Dun was excellent at logistics but a complete blunderer in leading troops into battle!
Before long, Lu Yu arrived, covered in dust.
"My dear brother…"
Before Xiahou Dun could speak, Lu Yu waved his hand. "Brother Xiahou, no need to say more, I already know…"
"Then…"
"Brother Xiahou, don't enter Xinye City. The precise intelligence from the balloon troops indicates that Liu Bei is about to reach Xiangyang with the populace. The time is ripe. Lead your troops south immediately to pursue Liu Bei!"
"Good!" Xiahou Dun did not hesitate. He immediately walked out of the tent to gather his troops and pursue…
But as soon as he stepped out of the tent, he turned back and walked in again. "My dear brother, this doesn't make sense. Liu Bei is about to reach Xiangyang. If he occupies the city and defends it, how can I fight? We haven't brought any siege equipment."
"I have 'one hundred thousand troops' ambushing at Xiangyang!" Lu Yu replied. Mentioning this, he remembered something. "Right, Brother Xiahou… I have three strategies. When you pursue Liu Bei, be sure to instruct the army… to act according to these strategies!"
"Ah…"
Before Xiahou Dun could react, Lu Yu quickly ran to him and whispered in his ear.
…
…
A bright moon shone upon the Great Wei army camp, covering the ground with moonlight!
The sound of "da da da" hoofbeats rang out again.
Xiahou Dun led a unit of light cavalry to pursue Liu Bei, while Lu Yu sat in the central military tent, closing his eyes and concentrating, awaiting the arrival of Cao Cao's army.
Just then, "Make way… everyone make way."
A woman's voice suddenly rang out at the entrance of the central military tent, breaking the tranquility.
"This is the tent of Marquis Baima. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter." Dian Wei's voice was extremely rough.
"You… you say I… I am unauthorized personnel?" the female voice came again, her tone filled with disbelief. "Tell Lu Ziyu that I am Ma Yunlu from Xiliang. I have important matters to tell him. If it's delayed, it will be his loss!"
Hoo…
Ma Yunlu?
Lu Yu, whose brows had been tightly furrowed, suddenly opened his eyes. Had this Xiliang girl not had enough fun riding hot air balloons with the flying team? She had already come to the central military tent.
It should be known that neither the Dragon Mighty Camp nor the Great Wei army allowed women in the military camp.
Otherwise, if this were to spread, Lu Yu meeting a Xiliang woman in secret late at night, and the rumor spreading like wildfire, it might eventually turn into—Marquis Baima summoned one woman from each of the thirteen provinces for secret meetings and activities late at night!
"Alas…"
Lu Yu shook his head helplessly. Of course, Ma Yunlu was not an "unauthorized person." She was a future wife he was to marry, but he hadn't expected to meet her in this way.
"Commander Dian, let her in!"
Lu Yu immediately gave instructions…
Dian Wei then took a step aside. Ma Yunlu, quite unconvinced, glared at Dian Wei again before quickly walking in.
Seeing Lu Yu kneeling in the commander's position with his eyes closed, Ma Yunlu's eyes widened. "You are my future husband? Lu Ziyu?"
Xiliang women were inherently forthright, saying whatever came to mind without much thought.
"Authentic."
Lu Yu slowly opened his eyes and scanned the woman before him. Although she was dressed in male armor, it still couldn't conceal her delicate features. However, within this delicacy, there was inexplicably a lot of heroism. A hint of annoyance fell upon her dusty face, as if she had been provoked by someone. And her skin tone, unlike the fair and tender skin typical of Jiangdong women like Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao.
It was evident that Ma Yunlu's skin tone was a very healthy wheat color, even with a hint of darkness. She was a true depiction of a Xiliang woman.
Such a woman, if praised as "beautiful," would invariably be a derogatory term. Yet, Ma Yunlu's appearance was precisely that of beauty mixed with heroism. Perhaps the word "spirited" would be more fitting.
She had been fantasizing about what Ma Yunlu would say to him.
However… Ma Yunlu's next words immediately dampened Lu Yu's mood!
—"Are all the balloon troops of your Dragon Mighty Camp a bunch of idiots?"
—"The renowned Dragon Mighty Camp, in this young lady's eyes, is nothing more than this, isn't it?"
Clearly…
Ma Yunlu was still angry about what had happened on the hot air balloon today.
And she was full of anger!
Xiliang women couldn't hide their anger. If they didn't fight to release it, they would get sick.
…
…