Chapter 26: Lü Bu Among Men

  Li Chong finished his play, pretending to be dejected and returned to the front line. He begged for forgiveness from Yuan Shao, who had never placed much hope in surrendering Lü Bu anyway. After a few words, he let Xiahou brothers go to battle against Lü Bu.

  Last night, Cao Cao and Xiahou brothers took over, not seeking merit but avoiding blame, as long as they can entangle Lü Bu, the real killer is Taishi Ci.

  Xiahou brothers exchanged a glance, and cautiously went to fight against Lü Bu. Taishi Ci had already said that it was almost impossible for the two of them to defeat Lü Bu with their combined strength, let alone with Zhang Liao lurking nearby.

  Lü Bu saw Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan coming to fight him together, but he didn't retreat. Instead, he let out a cold laugh and charged forward to meet them.

  But as soon as the two sides clashed, Xiahou Dun felt that something was off. Lü Bu wasn't as terrifying as Taishi Ci had said! He even had a feeling that if he and his brother put in a bit more effort, they could defeat Lü Bu.

  Xiahou Dun believed that Taishi Ci's vision couldn't be too far off, but on the battlefield, Xiahou Dun couldn't afford to think too much, anyway Lü Bu being weak was a good thing.

  But even so, the Xiahou brothers felt that Lü Bu was really strong, at least for now Lü Bu didn't fall behind, and seemed to have time, intentionally or unintentionally glancing at Taishi Ci.

  Taishi Ci held his curved bow, standing at the foot of the formation, lazily watching the battle group with an air of indifference. But everyone knew that Taishi Ci was waiting, waiting for a chance to strike and kill in one blow.

  After more than a dozen rounds, Xiahou Dun finally realized that Taishi Ci had not exaggerated Lü Bu's strength, but rather underestimated it.

  Lü Bu fought with the two men, yet somehow he never changed his position and remained facing Diaochan's direction, which made it impossible for Diaochan to launch a sneak attack.

  Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan were of one mind, simultaneously unleashing their strongest offense, hoping to suppress Lü Bu, even if only for an instant.

  "Kill...!" Xiahou Dun suddenly let out a loud roar, his long spear transforming into countless spear shadows that swooped towards Lü Bu. At the same time, Xiahou Yuan raised his large blade, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

  The day before yesterday, when Xiahou Dun used this move against Taishi Ci, the latter had countered it by using his long spear to create a large whirlpool, breaking Xiahou Dun's move. Lü Bu adopted the same technique as Taishi Ci, and his golden Fangtian Huaji also danced out a whirlpool.

  "Hahaha..." Lü Bu let out a long, thunderous laugh that shook the heavens. His halberd, like a golden sun, dissolved Xiahou Dun's spear shadow, leaving only a series of rapid, urgent collisions.

  "Hmph..."

  Xiahou Dun's spear shadow disappeared completely, and the sun-like light suddenly retracted, restoring it to a golden square halberd. The halberd shook left and right, like an angry dragon baring its teeth and claws, rushing straight at Xiahou Dun's chest. Lü Bu not only withstood Xiahou Dun's ultimate move but also had the strength to counterattack him, clearly surpassing Taishi Ci in martial arts by a notch.

  At this time, Xiahou Dun's long spear was firmly hung on the small branch of Fang Tianhua's halberd. Xiahou Dun had already opened his door wide open, and if he were alone, Xiahou Dun would have been dead without a doubt.

  But Xiahou Yuan's great sword finally unleashed its stored power, like lightning, and struck the spearhead of Fang Tian Hua Ji.

  In Xiahou Dun's frightened eyes, Xiahou Yuan's blade finally found the ever-changing spearhead.

  "When... the deafening sound of clashing steel echoed outside Tiger Trap Pass, the gleam of knives and the shadow of spears crisscrossed like two flashes of lightning."

  The Fang Tian painting halberd and steel knife rubbed against each other, emitting a piercing "squeak...".

  "Open...!" Lv Bu shouted angrily.

  In the blink of an eye, Xiahou Yuan could no longer hold back Lü Bu's Halberd of Heaven's Gate. He felt that what he was pressing down on with his knife was not Lü Bu's halberd, but a dragon bursting out in anger, wanting to fly up and rush into the sky. Xiahou Yuan used all his strength, gritted his teeth tightly, his facial veins bulging, his face red from being stifled.

  Just as the angry dragon was about to rise to the sky, a black gun body suddenly turned over to Fang Tian's halberd. This is Xiahou Dun's iron spear. In the situation where Lü Bu was distracted by Xiahou Yuan, he finally managed to draw out his own long spear, choosing to suppress Fang Tian's halberd rather than using the strategy of surrounding Wei to rescue Zhao to stab and kill Lü Bu. It's because he felt that Lü Bu would definitely strike down Xiahou Yuan first, and then block his iron spear, which is a unique intuition of a martial general.

  For a time, Fang Tian's spear, big knife and long gun mutually restrained each other, forming a delicate balance.

  Taishi Ci's eyes narrowed at the moment Xiahoudun exploded, and his strong arrow was already on the bowstring. In the instant when the three weapons were mutually suppressed, Taishi Ci suddenly opened the bow and poured all his energy into this arrow. This arrow was even more powerful than the one that shot Zhang Liao.

  "What heroism is it to wound a man with a hidden arrow?" Just as Xiahou brothers were focusing all their attention on fighting against Lü Bu, they suddenly heard Lü Bu say coldly.

  "Can he still be distracted?" Xiahou brothers exclaimed in unison in their hearts.

  "Open!" Lü Bu suddenly roared in anger, and the halberd of Fang Tian suddenly shook, and it actually came out from under the pressure of Xiahou brothers' two blades.

  At this moment, a sudden "hum" sound came from the front of Tiger Trap Pass. This was the sound of bowstrings vibrating and tearing through the air.

  This arrow concentrated Taishi Ci's entire essence, energy and spirit. The speed of the arrow was extremely fast, to the point where the tail feathers of the arrow sliced through the air, creating a tearing sound, and in the eyes of the onlookers, the arrow seemed to be jumping through space, suddenly appearing in front of Lü Bu's chest.

  Lü Bu grasped the halberd with one hand, freeing up his other hand to grab at the incoming arrow. In that instant, Lü Bu's palm seemed to leave a residual shadow as he caught the arrow shaft.

  "It's over......" The same thought floated in the minds of Xiahou brothers, but what surprised them was that Lü Bu's palm seemed to have paused for a moment, and this pause was not something they saw, but something they felt.

  At this moment, in Xiahou brothers' eyes, time seemed to have stopped. The arrow in Lü Bu's hand slowly broke free from its restraints and pierced into his shoulder.

  It was slow to say, but from Lü Bu wresting open the Fang Tian painting halberd, and then being shot in the shoulder, it all happened within an extremely short period of time.

  "Is Lü Bu injured?" For a moment, surprise, doubt, and sighs filled the hearts of everyone.

  The battlefield suddenly fell silent, with only the sound of cold wind blowing through the accumulated snow.

  "Hsss..." A swirling snowstorm was swept up by the fierce wind, passing over the three men of Lü Bu. Xiahou Dun's eyes suddenly narrowed, his hands trembling slightly, and his steel spear let out a humming sound.

  Lü Bu smiled lightly and said in a low voice: "Another day, another battle. Lü Bu will surely take your two lives."

  As soon as he finished speaking, Lü Bu's foot tapped lightly on the ground, and his Red Hare horse let out a clear whinny, like a fierce flame, galloping away across the snowy plain.

  Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan exchanged a glance, secretly smiling wryly. It wasn't that they didn't want to keep Lü Bu behind, but the speed of the Red Hare horse he rode was too fast, it was simply a case of wanting to fight then fighting, wanting to leave then leaving.

  To make sure Lü Bu doesn't have a chance to escape, it's also possible, but we must completely surround him. According to Xiahou Dun's estimation, adding Taishi Ci and Cao Ren, maybe they can do it, but that way, Lü Bu won't fall into the trap by himself. Even if Lü Bu is arrogant again, he won't fight against four top warriors at the same time.

  This was also why Cao Cao did not let Xiahou brothers, Taishi Ci and Cao Ren surround and kill Lü Bu together.

  If three people surround Lü Bu, Taishi Ci will use his bow and arrow to launch a sneak attack. Without considering whether Lü Bu will fight back or not, we must first consider whether Taishi Ci will accidentally injure his comrades. If the three of them can already surround Lü Bu, they can move around him like bodyguards, so how can Taishi Ci shoot arrows?