Chapter 22: Taishi Ci Injures Zhang Liao with an Arrow

  Zhang Liao burst out laughing and said: "To deal with a few nameless small soldiers, why should we rest? Taishi Ci takes the knife!"

  Taishi Ci let Zhang Liao rest, but he didn't want to take advantage of him. However, Zhang Liao initiated a fight, and Taishi Ci wouldn't show weakness either. He raised his spear and fought with Zhang Liao in the same place.

  Pan Feng took the opportunity to return to the allied army, came to Han Fu's side, panting heavily, and removed his helmet. Although it was a cold winter season, Pan Feng's head was covered with sweat beads, and the hot air coming out of his mouth and nose turned into white mist, almost covering up his face.

  Another look at Pan Feng's armor, it was already loose and disheveled, the undershirt was soaked with sweat, almost to the point where water could be wrung out.

  "Thank you... Lord Cao for saving me." Pan Feng caught his breath and hastily said to Cao Cao, Li Zhong's current identity is Cao Cao's general, Pan Feng thanking Cao Cao was not out of place.

  Cao Cao naturally comforted Pan Feng with a few words and then shifted his attention back to the battlefield.

  Taishi Ci and Zhang Liao were locked in a fierce battle.

  Snow-white knife lights and jet-black gun shadows intertwined, forming a strange picture, the piercing sound of clashing steel and gunfire bursting out from time to time.

  The vast open space in front of Tiger Trap Pass had become the battlefield for Taishi Ci and Zhang Liao, with both men clashing back and forth, shouting angrily as their voices shook the earth.

  The two men exchanged dozens of moves, still without a winner or loser. Taishi Ci was getting anxious in his heart. Zhang Liao had already fought two battles earlier and must have suffered some physical loss. Not winning or losing would mean he was at a disadvantage.

  "Since we can't gain the upper hand in terms of technique, let's exhaust Zhang Liao's energy and then try to win with arrows." Taishi Ci made up his mind.

  Tai Shi Zi suddenly increased his strength, the spear's momentum changed from swift to grand and powerful, as if he was using a long-handled club. Each move produced a whirring sound that broke through the air, and for a time, the "clang clang" of clashing steel drowned out the sound of the war drums.

  After another thirty or more moves, Taishi Ci felt that it was about time to end the fight. He found an opportunity to block Zhang Liao's large blade and with a great force, he knocked it away and turned his horse around to leave.

  "Could it be that Taishi Ci wants to retrieve his spear?" Zhang Liao thought to himself, increasing his vigilance by twelvefold, slowly urging his horse to chase after Taishi Ci.

  But Taishi Ci's horse suddenly accelerated, quickly pulling away from the two. "Not a counterattack, but an arrow shot!" Zhang Liao reacted in an instant.

  Tai Shi Zi had already hung his steel spear on his body, took out the curved bow and arrow from behind his back, and mounted his horse to draw his bow.

  At this time, the two people were about twenty zhang apart, which was within the range of the bow and arrow, with extremely great killing power. Even if one wore armor, it wasn't necessarily possible to block it. Moreover, Taishi Ci's bow was a specially made six-stone strong bow, with extremely great elasticity, and shooting through both man and armor wouldn't be a problem at all.

  Zhang Liao suddenly felt all his hairs standing on end, staring intently at Taishi Ci.

  Ordinary soldiers' arrows shot by Zhang Liao are not taken seriously, and can be easily blocked with a wave of his hand. However, the arrows shot by Taishi Ci, a fierce general, are different. They have great power and speed, no different from modern bullets.

  Zhang Liao had overestimated Taishi Ci's archery skills, but he still underestimated Taishi Ci's abilities. Throughout the Three Kingdoms period, Taishi Ci's archery skills were definitely among the top five.

  Lü Bu shot a halberd at the gate, Zhao Zilong shot a sail across the river, and Huang Han shot a horse's bridle. These are all the pinnacle of archery, but even if Taishi Ci is slightly inferior to the three, it is absolutely within a hair's breadth.

  The entire battlefield only heard a "twang" sound, and Taishi Ci's powerful arrow had already appeared in front of Zhang Liao, as if it had transcended the limits of space.

  Zhang Liao didn't see the incoming arrow, but he could feel the cold aura on the arrowhead, which was pressing straight into his chest. Although he was wearing armor, Zhang Liao felt as if he were facing this arrow bare-chested.

  "Hmm... Ah..." Zhang Liao shouted angrily and quickly raised his large blade in front of his chest.

  Zhang Liao only felt a shock in his hand, as if he had been struck by a large iron hammer. The tremendous force caused the blade to deviate involuntarily, and it was only then that he heard a loud "clang".

  The strong arrow brushed against Zhang Liao's shoulder and flew out, tearing open a gap in the armor on his shoulder, taking away a piece of flesh from his shoulder, and fresh blood instantly stained Zhang Liao's clothes red.

  Taishi Ci shot one arrow and hit his target, then turned around and killed towards Zhang Liao.

  To say that Zhang Liao's injury was light would be an understatement - he had merely lost a piece of skin, and the impact on his fighting ability was negligible.

  But the duel between top generals is not just a simple contest of martial arts, environment, momentum and psychology are also very important, Taishi Ci has the upper hand in terms of momentum and psychology at this moment.

  "I can wound Zhang Liao, and as long as I'm willing to get hurt, I can kill him." That's what Taishi Ci thought.

  Zhang Liao's idea, on the other hand, was exactly opposite to that of Taishi Ci. This wasn't because Zhang Liao's will was not firm enough, but rather because on the battlefield, one can only think too much and consider problems with the simplest thinking.

  Under the circumstances of one side weakening and the other growing stronger, when they turned back to fight again, Taishi Ci gained the upper hand. With a round of spear techniques, he forced Zhang Liao into a flurry of activity.

  However, it was not just the Allied Forces who were watching the battle. There was also someone watching from Tiger Trap Pass, and that was Lü Bu, the number one martial artist in the world.

  Seeing Zhang Liao in a disadvantageous position, Lü Bu became enraged, mounted his horse and charged down from Tiger Trap Pass.

  The allied forces saw Tai Shi Ci gaining the upper hand, and Zhang Liao could only exert his utmost strength to resist Tai Shi Ci's offensive. The momentum was greatly boosted, the war drums beat loudly, and the cheers of tens of thousands of people shook the sky.

  Taishi Ci grew more courageous as the battle raged on, thinking of taking advantage of this rare opportunity to defeat Zhang Liao once and for all. Unexpectedly, the Bingzhou Iron Cavalry watching from the sidelines suddenly erupted in cheers that rivaled those of the Guandong Coalition forces. It was likely that another reinforcement had arrived from Dong Zhuo's side. Fearing a sneak attack, Taishi Ci hastily retreated from the battlefield.

  Taishi Ci launched a surprise attack, and when he wanted to withdraw from battle, he withdrew from battle.

  Zhang Liao was killed in a cold sweat and had no ability to stop Taishi Ci, he could only watch as Taishi Ci retreated several zhang.

  Li Chong's gaze was true, and he saw that the city gate of Tiger Trap Pass was wide open. A general rode a fiery red warhorse like a mad wind to the front line.

  This general is robust in stature, wearing a yellow copper armor, without a helmet, with a purple gold crown on his head, holding a halberd, and it's none other than the world's number one Lü Bu Lü Fengxian!

  Li Chong hastily shouted loudly: "Taishi Ci, come back quickly, you are no match for Lü Bu."

  Taishi Ci's martial arts skills were high, but Li Chong knew that Taishi Ci was absolutely no match for Lü Bu. Even if he were to be replaced by a world-class general like Zhang Fei or Zhao Yun, who could exchange hundreds of moves with Lü Bu, it would still be uncertain whether Taishi Ci could retreat unscathed.

  Taishi Ci did not know Lü Bu, but he believed in Li Chong's judgment of people. Hearing the urgency in Li Chong's tone, he hastily rode his horse back to the front lines.

  Lü Bu didn't chase after Taishi Ci either, standing at the front of the formation and saying a few words to Zhang Liao. Zhang Liao nodded and retreated to his own formation's foot, bandaging his wound.

  Lü Bu looked at the allied forces of the East as if they were nothing, rode his horse forward a few dozen feet, and shouted loudly: "I am Lü Bu of Jiuyuan! Come forth, Taishi Ci, to meet your death!"