Battle of Luoyang 4

A wind blew across the battlefield.

It was not a gentle breeze that slightly eased the hardships of soldiers exhausted and sweating from fierce battle.

It was a gale that shook the souls of soldiers struggling in bitter combat.

A storm that drove away even the madness brewed by blood and death, parting the soldiers and carving out a bloody path.

At the end of that path, in the eye of the typhoon, he stood.

Zhang Fei the Lover.

The Wu soldiers are elites? Nonsense. Even if those standing before Zhang Fei now were the Luanling Army that had never lost, it would be impossible to block his path.

Even with famous generals, even with thousands of troops, even the Luanling Army that had made the world tremble to the point of spawning songs saying to flee if you see Luanling – even they could not do it.

Emperor Sun Quan is personally commanding? Such things held no value before true power.

Morale is changeable. If Sun Quan’s personal command raised morale, the terror Zhang Fei displayed shattered fighting spirit in an instant.

Sima Qian says: People envy those with ten times their wealth, fear those with a hundred times, work for those with a thousand times, and become slaves to those with ten thousand times.

How could this apply only to wealth?

The battlefield is a place where the law of barbarism becomes the norm.

Before the advent of firearms that made all people equal. In the age of cold weapons, there were stark differences in individual martial prowess.

A match for ten thousand.

Zhang Fei’s valor, said to single-handedly match ten thousand, was enough to thoroughly crush the will to resist.

Like Guan Yu who had cut off the head of Yan Liang while crossing through a great army on a single horse.

Like Zhang Liao who had brought Wu’s army of 100,000 to its knees while leading just 800 soldiers.

At this moment, Zhang Fei was the same. He was proving with death and terror why he was called a match for ten thousand along with Guan Yu.

With each swing of his snake-headed halberd, several soldiers fell. Cavalrymen who recklessly charged at him were cleaved in two along with their horses.

Where the black trajectory of Leopard Moon Crow passed, only red blood and black death stained the earth.

Zhang Fei charged in a straight line.

Towards Sun Quan.

But Sun Quan, who had risen to the position of emperor and experienced the terror of Zhang Liao once, could not be without any preparations.

The appearance of someone blocking Zhang Fei’s path was also an expected turn of events.

“Out of my way! Old man, your spirit is good! Let me, Song Qian, have a bout with you!”

A veteran general who had served from Sun Ce down to Sun Quan.

He had been there at the Battle of Hefei, which remained as Wu’s fear even now after Zhang Liao’s death. He understood.

He must stop him now.

A great general’s activity is a flow. A great general riding the momentum tramples the earth with heaven at his back. Song Qian had seen this. Experienced it.

So he instinctively felt it. Even if he died, he must stop Zhang Fei here for even a moment.

Song Qian overcame the fear scarred into his soul by stepping on his loyalty. And the moment he thrust out his spear, Song Qian realized once again.

‘Ah… was I too late?’

The flow had already begun.

Slash!!

Just one exchange.

It was too shabby an end for a veteran general who, though not among the Twelve Tiger Generals representing Wu, had always done his part wherever he was.

Would Song Qian know? That the one who put an end to his life wasn’t even properly looking at him in the moment he met his death.

Right now, there was only one thing in Zhang Fei’s mind.

“Sun Quan──!”

Sun Quan’s neck.

It was not for the glory of capturing the enemy leader with his own hands.

From the start, Zhang Fei did not covet the honor of General-in-Chief, nor meritorious deeds to be recorded in history books. If he had, the position of Acting General-in-Chief that went to Zhang Ran would have been attached to Zhang Fei’s name.

He only wished for one thing: to fulfill the dream of those brothers. To reach the unexplored realm that his brother, who had heartlessly departed first, had not yet trodden.

That was all Zhang Fei desired.

And his daughter, whom he trusted most after his brothers, gave him the answer. She set the role he should play for his brothers’ dream.

Capturing Sun Quan was merely an extension of that.

‘I’m almost there. I can see it. Your face filled with shock. Your eyes tainted with fear.’

Song Qian was not alone in overlapping Zhang Liao’s nightmare onto Zhang Fei.

Those who had been at Hefei that day, all recalled as they saw Zhang Fei charging with frenzied might.

Gan Ning, Lu Meng, Zhang Hong, Chen Wu, Xu Sheng, Song Qian, Ling Tong.

That moment when Wu’s strongest warriors, many of the Twelve Tiger Generals, and even Lu Meng who had risen to the pinnacle in handling troops following Zhou Yu, were nothing but a mere sandcastle.

Would he break through?

Would they allow the path to Sun Quan like this?

At the final crossroads, Leopard Moon Crow’s mane stopped for the first time.

“Old man! As long as I’m here, you will never reach my lord!”

This time was different. Unlike Song Qian who had offered his neck in one exchange, he met Zhang Fei’s lightning-fast strike of extreme joy that thrust several consecutive attacks in one breath.

Even in Han where great generals abounded, few could block Zhang Fei’s full-power attack, but in Wu which had lost many great generals to early deaths, they could be counted on one hand.

So Zhang Fei quickly deduced who it was that stood in his way.

“You must be that Pan Zhang fellow.”

Wu’s strongest. After Gan Ning, who even Guan Yu could not take lightly, died, Pan Zhang succeeded the lineage of great generals along with Xu Sheng, and naturally became Wu’s number one great general when Xu Sheng died at Zhang Ran’s hands.

“Even Gan Xingba couldn’t stop Zhang Wenlong, yet you think you can stop me, Zhang Yide?”

Zhang Fei respected Gan Ning, who had been a comrade at the Battle of Red Cliffs and rightfully possessed strength to contend for the world. Even Guan Yu, though he didn’t like Gan Ning, acknowledged his skill.

But not Pan Zhang.

Towards an enemy not worth respecting, Zhang Fei spoke without reserve:

“It was 20 exchanges.”

At Zhang Fei’s sudden words, Pan Zhang shouted angrily:

“What nonsense are you talking about!”

Unlike Pan Zhang who showed his anger, Zhang Fei continued calmly.

“20 exchanges. That’s how long it took my daughter to kill Xu Sheng. I heard after Gan Xingba died, you and Xu Sheng were called Wu’s great generals? Then your skill must be similar to Xu Sheng’s.”

While proud of his daughter who had cut down such an opponent, Zhang Fei felt an indescribable bitterness.

His daughter’s martial prowess, which had now caught up to Zhang Fei’s chin, would surely surpass even her father as time passed.

That was what Zhang Fei earnestly wished for. Yet paradoxically hoping that day would not come, was it because he was a father, or because he was a warrior?

Though he couldn’t pinpoint the cause, there was one thing he could say clearly.

His true feelings of not wanting to lose to his daughter yet.

“It’s too early for the student to surpass the master. I’ll end this within 10 exchanges.”

“Bullshit!!”

Pan Zhang charged with a roar.

The strongest warrior of Han and the strongest warrior of Wu.

The duel between these two great generals, staking the pride of both countries, cruelly betrayed the audience’s expectations of seeing an evenly matched tiger-dragon battle.

Overwhelming.

Pan Zhang struggling to receive attacks, and Zhang Fei driving him back at an unbelievable speed.

Sun Quan, witnessing the crisis of his trusted ace and cherished general, moved urgently to arrange countermeasures.

To Sun Quan, who had lost great generals one after another – Taishi Ci, Gan Ning, Zhou Tai, Xu Sheng… Pan Zhang was an invaluable great general.

So Sun Quan cast aside his pride to request support from Wei, and shouted frantically for the surrounding guard officers to go out and save Pan Zhang.

Sun Quan’s eyes, which had been about to draw his bow to help Pan Zhang himself, grew as large as oil lamps.

“Wenqiu…?”

What he saw was the sight of Pan Zhang, unable to block Zhang Fei’s snake-headed halberd in the end, having his neck cut and falling from his horse.

All that Pan Zhang, who had been renowned as Wu’s representative great general, left on Zhang Fei were a couple of shallow wounds that could hardly be called serious injuries.

Having shattered even the final barrier of Pan Zhang, Zhang Fei now kicked Leopard Moon Crow’s belly to go take Sun Quan’s head.

The soldiers, stunned by Pan Zhang’s death, seemed unable to even think of stopping Zhang Fei, merely watching him advance.

However, though no one had expected it, the final adversary to stop Zhang Fei was not Pan Zhang.

“Stop!”

A general on a single horse suddenly emerged from among the frozen soldiers and thrust his ji towards Zhang Fei.

Clang!!

The sound of spear shafts colliding broke the silence enveloping the battlefield.

Zhang Fei’s eyebrows twitched at the unexpected interference. And he immediately identified who had attacked him.

Surprisingly, the one who had once again stopped Zhang Fei on his way to Sun Quan was a youth in his early twenties. Moreover, a youth wearing the attire of a low-ranking officer, as if he wasn’t well-known.

Zhang Fei glanced down at the hand holding his snake-headed halberd.

‘It’s heavy.’

Clearly superior strength to his previous opponent, Pan Zhang.

To think such an opponent still remained in Wu.

Moreover, someone far stronger than Pan Zhang or Xu Sheng yet who hadn’t gained much fame until now? It’s only natural that Zhang Fei’s surprise doubled.

‘The world is truly wide and deep. I thought no one would appear after Cao Zhang of Wei and Ran of our country, but to think one would come from Eastern Wu… Heaven is truly unfathomable.’

Zhang Fei asked with admiration:

“You, what is your name?”

The youth answered while spinning his ji to adjust his stance:

“Ding Feng.”

§

As the mist cleared, around the time Father would be engaged in fierce battle.

Changes also began on our battlefield.

“Your Majesty, we’ve confirmed that those Wei rebels are sending reinforcements.”

“As expected of Yide. It seems my brother is performing great exploits.”

It should still be too early for Wang Ping and Zhang Yi to join up, so if they’ve already sent reinforcements, it must mean Father has displayed such overwhelming valor.

Liu Bei said with a pleased smile, as if his worry had somewhat dissipated.

I approached Liu Bei one step closer and opened my mouth.

“Your Majesty. At last our turn has come. Please give the order.”

At those words, Liu Bei erased his smile and looked at Pang Tong.

“Did you hear, Grand Commander?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Please give your command.”

Pang Tong had received command authority over Liu Bei’s main force from Liu Bei.

Like when attacking Luocheng, Liu Bei had chosen to give command authority to Pang Tong and remain in the rear support unit himself, but this time it seemed he would go with Pang Tong as he raised his heavy body.

And as if inviting for a walk, he said:

“Let us go now. Isn’t Yunchang waiting for us in Luoyang?”

Pang Tong’s shout after bowing to Liu Bei and leaving the tent resounded through the military camp.

“All troops! Advance!!”

It was the opening of the full-scale great battle.