Chapter Thirteen: Lord Guan's Three Strikes

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“Third Brother, what do you suppose Second Lord is thinking? Why is he riding so slowly?” Chen Xi nudged Zhang Fei in the waist.

“Second Brother is serious this time. Just watch. Hua Xiong is certain to lose. Every step Second Brother takes is building momentum. Once he is a hundred paces from Hua Xiong, that momentum will have reached its peak. In all the realm, there is no one who can withstand him.” Zhang Fei spoke solemnly. He had rarely seen his second brother act with such caution.

Just as Zhang Fei had predicted, Guan Yu was accumulating momentum. Hua Xiong was, after all, a top-tier expert. If the two became locked in close combat, even Guan Yu could not kill an expert who had projected his inner energy outward in a short time. If he wanted a clean and decisive victory, he had to kill Hua Xiong within three to five moves!

Hua Xiong stared at the swaying Guan Yu and sneered repeatedly. He could scarcely sense any danger from Guan Yu. Had the allied army truly run out of capable men?

A hundred paces had passed.

Guan Yu looked at Hua Xiong across the field. The man was indeed a top-tier expert whose inner energy had been projected outward, but it was a pity that his energy was condensed without substance. He was still far inferior to Guan Yu.

“Hua Xiong, remember that the man who cuts you down is Guan Yu, Guan Yunchang!”

With a thunderous roar, Guan Yu sent a streak of azure light slicing toward Hua Xiong. It tore through the air with a succession of explosive booms, wrapped in a cloud of sonic distortion.

“Boom!”

The instant Guan Yu came flying toward him, Hua Xiong sensed that something was wrong. He raised his saber and hacked viciously at the place where he felt the greatest danger. The tremendous force sent both man and horse flying dozens of meters.

His hands were numb, and his chest felt tight. Before Hua Xiong could recover, another enormous beam of azure light came crashing toward him. Guan Yu made no attempt to conceal his attack. Perhaps, to him, the most brutal method was perfectly sufficient so long as it defeated his opponent. There was no value in deception; in the end, the matter would be settled by only a few slashes.

“Break!”

Hua Xiong summoned every ounce of strength he possessed. His entire body seemed to burn within a blazing inferno as a huge crimson blade of fire thundered toward Guan Yu’s azure blade of light.

Yet it failed to impede Guan Yu’s attack in the slightest. Like a great wave crashing against a seaside cliff, the crimson blade was shattered into fragments of light.

“Clang!”

The tremendous peal shook the ears of everyone hundreds of meters away, forcing them all to raise their protective barriers.

Hua Xiong’s palms had split open, and blood streamed from the corners of his mouth. The wrought-iron saber that had accompanied him for many years had developed cracks. The speed at which his body could heal had already fallen behind the speed at which it was being destroyed.

At that moment, Hua Xiong understood. His opponent was probably on Lu Bu’s level. Such overwhelming strength was enough to make anyone despair.

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“I am Hua Xiong!”

Hua Xiong roared as he squeezed every last trace of power from his body. The entire area before Sishui Pass blazed with firelight. The flame blade, originally insubstantial and diffuse, gradually began to solidify.

Unfortunately, none of it mattered. The enormous azure blade Guan Yu had unleashed still swept forward like a ball struck by a racket, shattering Hua Xiong’s desperate counterattack into streaks of light before continuing relentlessly toward him.

At the instant the blade neared his body, a trace of desolation flashed through Hua Xiong’s eyes. He had not yet challenged Lu Bu. And yet, at that moment, he already understood that the gulf between himself and Lu Bu was still as vast as a heavenly chasm.

Just as the enormous blade was about to strike Hua Xiong, Guan Yu suddenly remembered what Chen Xi had said. He changed the slash into a strike, smacking Hua Xiong away like a tennis ball.

When the dust settled, only Guan Yu remained on the battlefield. Hua Xiong lay hundreds of meters away, his fate uncertain. Maintaining the same leisurely pace, Guan Yu reached down, lifted Hua Xiong, and turned his horse around.

“I have fulfilled my mission.”

Guan Yu dropped Hua Xiong to the ground and had him bound.

With his eyes half narrowed, he inclined his hands toward Yuan Shao. Then he picked up the cup of wine Cao Mengde had prepared for him and drank it down.

It was terribly hot. Fortunately, Guan Yu’s face was naturally red, so no one could tell.

Everyone was shouting inwardly: How savage!

In the past, when reading the Records of the Grand Historian, even scholars such as Kong Rong had thought that King Xiang’s reputation must have been exaggerated. But after witnessing Guan Yu today and recalling the descriptions in the Records of the Grand Historian, they could not help wondering whether those accounts had not been exaggerated at all. Perhaps they had simply been factual.

“The alliance leader can take advantage of the enemy’s unpreparedness and seize Sishui Pass!” Cao Cao was the first to recover. This was no time to stand in awe of Guan Yu’s martial prowess!

Prompted by Cao Cao, everyone immediately came to their senses. Hua Xiong was cast aside, and the various armies began to move. Before Sishui Pass could react, they charged forward and seized it.

Seated inside Sishui Pass, Yuan Shao was in excellent spirits. They had taken the pass in no time at all. As expected, his command had been impeccable.

Liu Bei, seated among the assembled lords, became the center of attention. He came forward praising Guan Yu’s invincible valor, calling him the greatest tiger general of the age. More than anything, however, his eyes revealed unconcealed envy. Given the opportunity, he clearly intended to poach him.

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At that moment, under Chen Xi’s constant guidance, Liu Bei laughed and chatted with the various lords, trading verbal blows with them. Anyone with eyes could see that, aside from Kong Rong and Gongsun Zan, none of the others were offering their sincere congratulations. Every one of them had an ulterior motive. The blazing light in Yuan Shu’s eyes, in particular, seemed almost hot enough to burn a man to ashes.

After eating, drinking, boasting, and exchanging mutual compliments, Liu Bei returned to his own camp with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Chen Xi.

This time, no one dared look down on Liu Bei. It seemed the Han imperial house still possessed some foundation after all. At the very least, heroes of this caliber remained under its command.

Back in the main tent, Chen Xi drank some hangover soup while still feeling groggy. He looked at Guan Yu, who remained aloof, his eyes half closed, and asked, “Second Lord, where is Hua Xiong? He is a top-tier expert. If he recovers and escapes while no one of your level is watching him, we will have no way to stop him.”

A cloud of steam rose from Guan Yu’s body, and he quickly regained his vigor.

“Whether Hua Xiong can wake up is another question. Even if he does, I have already suppressed his inner energy within his dantian. With no way for it to circulate, he cannot possibly recover his former strength without outside assistance.”

“Oh, I see. Make sure he is kept under guard. If we can persuade him to surrender, that would be even better.” Chen Xi did his best to rouse his sluggish mind and began arranging their plans for what came next. Lately, he felt that staying beside Guan Yu and Zhang Fei was actually rather pleasant.

“Hua Xiong is indeed a fierce warrior. In terms of strength, he is already extremely formidable. It is a pity…” Guan Yu slightly opened his eyes and sighed.

“Huh?” Chen Xi looked at him strangely. He had never realized that Guan Yu had a taste for praising himself.

“Zichuan, Second Brother is right. Hua Xiong really was quite strong. If they had fought by conventional methods, Second Brother would have needed seventy or eighty rounds before finding an opportunity to defeat him. Unfortunately, that fool Hua Xiong was far too careless!” Zhang Fei bellowed.

“Indeed. Hua Xiong was a worthy opponent, but he misjudged my strength. I can now perfectly conceal my aura and momentum. The first of those three strikes was twenty percent heavier than my normal attack; the second was thirty percent heavier than the first; and the third was another thirty percent heavier than the second. Once Hua Xiong forcefully blocked the first strike, he had no chance to evade the next two. His fate was sealed.”

A rare smile appeared on Guan Yu’s face. Those three strikes were his ultimate secret technique, his trump card. They had never failed him when it came to cutting down men.

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