The Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Lu Bu is good at being filial - Chapter 64



＜ The Three Heroes and the Great General (5) ＞

Blood splatters.

It spurted as if it could be called a fountain.

“Brother!”

Guan Yu shouted.

As he tried to support Zhang Fei and retreat, he looked at Liu Bei in shock.

“Yun Chang, protect Yide!”

The area below Liu Bei’s left ear was severed.

Blood flowed down from the severed earlobe, soaking his shoulder.

Was he aiming to cut off his ear?

No.

Huage aimed for Liu Bei’s neck, but Liu Bei tilted his head, deflecting Huage’s strike with his twin swords.

He couldn’t completely avoid it, but.

‘Is it the principle of soft overcoming hard?’

Softness conquers strength.

If there is a place often mentioned in martial arts, without a doubt, the “Wudang Sect” would be representative.

The black sword of Yu Bi flows out my Hwa-geuk like the Taeguk.

‘One more time.’

He swings the Hwa-geuk.

Regardless of the blood flowing from his ears, Yu Bi tightly grips the dual swords and extends his blade at an angle towards the Hwa-geuk.

Kaga-gakang!

The Hwa-geuk glides as if grinding against the blades of the dual swords.

“Yeo Po!”

Yu Bi shouts as he parries the Hwa-geuk with his sword.

“Why do you intend to use that skill in such a misguided way?”

“Ha.”

A hollow laugh escapes.

“Why do you seek to protect Dong Tak, who manipulates the imperial court?”

It’s not like he’s just saying anything to buy time with some purpose like Zhang Bi.

“Is it because of General Bi’s title?! Or do you think that is filial piety?!”

Truly, Yu Bi shouts because he cannot understand me.

“You are mistaken.”

I evade the sword aiming for my abdomen with a counterattack and swing the Hwa-geuk widely.

“As a soldier, I merely do what I must.”

“If that command mocks the Son of Heaven and dishonors the imperial family of this nation!”

“I assert. You are wrong.”

This much I can say for certain.

“Have you ever been to the capital?”

“……!”

“Have you seen how the court in Luoyang operates?”

“That is…!”

“Dong Tak runs rampant?”

Yu Bi does not know.

“The affairs of the court should be settled within the court. It is not a matter to incite rebellion with a false emperor.”

He only knows how to swing his dual swords to deflect my attacks, completely unaware of how the political arena of the court operates.

“Does Your Majesty truly believe that you are being manipulated by Dong Tak?”

“It is…!”

“It’s an illusion. A prejudice. Or perhaps a doubt sown by someone.”

All those lords over there have been deceived by Yuan Shao.

Or they feign being deceived, leading their armies up to secure their own interests.

“Even if Dong Zhuo is a tyrant.”

“Hah, huff…!”

“The one to judge that is the emperor of this land, not the traitors.”

He swings the sword of fire fiercely.

Again, he crosses his twin swords in an X to block, but as the horse rears back, Liu Bei is pushed back.

“Hah, huff, huff…!”

Liu Bei gasps for breath.

Blood continues to drip from his ears, and his hands tremble like aspen leaves.

Yet, he does not retreat.

‘He’s determined to buy time.’

The sword is swung thoroughly for defense.

Even if Liu Bei had fought me one-on-one, his defensive movements would have been the same.

“Yuan Shao, huff, you cannot, ugh, pass…!”

But now, it is more than that.

The blood flowing from his ears is life, and the responsibility of being a sworn brother straightens his back once more.

“Impressive.”

A master of dual swordsmanship on horseback.

Though he may not reach the level of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, he is far stronger compared to the lords watching from behind.

“To have endured more than thirty exchanges against me, I commend you.”

Such skill is indeed impressive, but I can assert that his will alone surpasses that of any hero or champion.

“But it is not enough to fight against me.”

He thrusts the sword of fire.

Trying to block by crossing his twin swords, I subtly twist the sword of fire and stab.

Thwack!

The sword of fire slips past the side of the twin swords, bending inward to pierce Liu Bei’s shoulder.

“Ugh…!”

“Get out of the way.”

I push forward, advancing with the spear.

Yubi steps back, while Jeokto leans forward, following closely.

“You b*stard! My big brother!!”

“Ikdeok!!”

Zhang Fei thrusts the spear from behind Yubi.

While Yubi buys time, he has already returned, his thighs wrapped tightly with the cloth.

I can only feel joy.

But he does not let go of the spear that jabs into Yubi’s shoulder.

With my right hand, I hold the spear.

With my remaining left hand—

“Ugh!”

In the moment Zhang Fei thrusts the spear, he extends his hand forward with a shout.

“!!”

“I caught it.”

I grasp the shaft, passing by the blade of the spear.

It felt like my palm would be cut by the blade if the spear was pulled, but I successfully snatched Zhang Fei’s spear.

“You, crazy b*stard…!”

“I’ve fought while disarming my opponent often enough.”

The distance felt strange due to the undulating blade of the spear, but after a few clashes, I accurately learned the distance.

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“If I had missed…!”

“I would have died. But I caught it, right?”

If I hadn’t thought I could succeed, I wouldn’t have even attempted it.

“If the three of us swore to die together, then if one dies, we all die together.”

Puh-ook.

“Ugh…!”

“Brother!”

I twist the spear and jab, but Yubi just grits his teeth and glares at me.

The pain is one thing, but there is also a mix of resentment in his gaze.

Why?

I cannot understand.

“You, Yoo Hyun-deok.”

I pointed to Yu Bi’s shoulder and then behind him.

“You are no different from the other lords.”

“I…!”

“Whatever grand dreams you brought, you are traitors who have led soldiers to the capital.”

To me, they are nothing but rebels.

Whether they were deceived or are pretending to be deceived.

In the end, they are merely a puppet group that has raised a war while marching toward the ‘capital.’

‘Now.’

I pull Hwa-geuk from Yu Bi’s shoulder.

“!!”

Yu Bi’s stance collapses.

Blood spurts from his shoulder, and the sword in his left hand falls to the ground, but the right hand gripping the other sword bulges with veins.

The target is the neck.

I raise Hwa-geuk high into the sky.

“This, this b*stard…!!”

Jang Bi shakes his sword back and forth, trying to draw his sabre, but even as his palm is slightly cut, he suppresses the sabre and swings Hwa-geuk.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

The crescent blade rises from behind Yu Bi’s head.

Boom─!

Before long, Kwan Woo, who had rushed in, swings the crescent blade upward.

‘I expected this.’

If I aimed for Yu Bi’s neck, Kwan Woo would surely try to block it.

Indeed, Kwan Woo managed to intercept Hwa-geuk, but if there was one thing he did not anticipate.

Screech!

“?!”

The tip of Hwa-geuk’s spearhead was cut by the crescent blade.

Hwa-geuk had reached its limit, and Kwan Woo’s crescent blade had precisely sliced through Hwa-geuk’s weak point.

I guided myself to that position.

The strength of Guan Yu.

The weight of the halberd.

The bending and breaking began, reaching the limit of the durability of the Hwaguk.

And the will to strike back with all my might to save my brother.

The moment all of that aligns perfectly, Hwaguk is no longer Hwaguk.

It is the dual-edged axe, Wol-A.

“Brother!! Please dodge!”

Guan Yu shouts urgently.

Yue Fei squints one eye in pain, barely managing to open it, but what reflects in that gaze is one thing.

The crescent moon blade that sprouts like molars beneath Hwaguk.

And the blade tracing a curve.

B─woom!

Towards the spot where I stabbed Hwaguk, I bring down Wol-A like an axe blade.

Screech!

Hwaguk falls down.

It slices through the shoulder armor of the lord and cuts through what lies beneath it.

Yue Fei’s left sword drops helplessly.

The arm gripping that sword also detaches from Yue Fei’s shoulder—

Thud!

My shoulder burns.

Before I brought down Hwaguk, Yue Fei did not protect himself.

The joint attack with Zhang Fei.

To allow Samo to dig deeper, Yue Fei thrust his sword into my shoulder with his right hand.

“!!”

Yue Fei staggers.

The amount of blood splattering is incomparable to when his ear was severed.

“Brother!!”

From behind, Guan Yu grabs Yue Fei, and I lose strength in my hand and drop Samo.

“This!!”

Zhang Fei swiftly pulls out the saber.

Just as he barely lets go, the sensation of a snake’s fangs grazes the palm of his hand, causing it to sting.

If he attacks with the saber here—

“Brother!!”

Zhang Fei supports Liu Bei, who is collapsing.

The bandage tied around his thigh comes undone, and blood pours out, but he pulls Liu Bei towards himself without a care.

“Run, hurry!!”

With both hands tightly gripping Liu Bei, he urges the horse to flee towards the archery range.

He raises the spear.

The spearhead is gone, but the crescent blade remains.

“Ugh…!!”

A blade is lodged in his left shoulder, but his right arm is fine.

He twists his body sharply—

Boo-oom!

He throws the spear forward.

It doesn’t have much force behind it, and due to its weight, it doesn’t travel far—

Poo-ook!

“Ugh!!”

The crescent blade strikes Zhang Fei’s thigh at an angle.

Although it wasn’t a full-powered throw from my side, Zhang Fei also couldn’t escape far as the horse turned abruptly.

“Ugh!”

Still, Zhang Fei doesn’t even think of pulling out the spear, gripping Liu Bei’s arm tightly as he runs towards the archery range.

Puh-uck!

Guan Yu strikes the spear lodged in Zhang Fei’s thigh with his halberd.

Not with the blade, but with the broad side, he dislodges the crescent blade from Zhang Fei’s thigh as if pulling out a nail with a hammer.

“This…!”

Guan Yu glares at me, but I still have a weapon left.

“With this sword—”

The moment I grasp the sword lodged in my shoulder with my hand.

Hee-hee-haw!

“?!”

Jeokto hurriedly tries to run while crying.

Though the place to run is ahead, he suddenly turns his body to run backward.

“Stop—”

Before I could give Jeokto the command, my body had already moved my right hand.

Thud thud.

An arrow falls.

As I deflect the arrow that was flying directly at me with Yu Bi’s sword, my view expands towards Yu Bi and Zhang Fei.

“Ha.”

A rain of arrows pours down towards me.

Amidst that rain of arrows, Yuan Su is aiming his command staff at me.

“Um….”

While that brat is focused on the fight, has he secretly prepared the archers?

An arrow flies.

At least hundreds of arrows are shot at me in a concentrated fire.

Thud.

They embed into the ground.

“General!”

“I will provide cover.”

The arrows fall helplessly down as they hit the spear and shield of the soldiers rushing towards me from behind.

“Are you hurt…!”

“Bow.”

The quiver opens, and Yu Bi and Zhang Fei flee inside.

“Give me the bow.”

Guan Yu continues to aim his halberd at me but steps back.

“One arrow is enough. The bow…!”

“Are you going to shoot with blood?”

Zhang Liao points at my hand.

“Treatment is the priority.”

“……..”

Left hand is not a horse.

“You won’t live your whole life with your left arm in an uncomfortable state, will you?”

“…….”

After cutting off Yu Bi’s earlobe, the blood that flowed from him was as much as the blood flowing beneath my hand.

“Zhang Liao.”

“Yes.”

“One step is enough.”

“…He has already fled.”

“Zhang Liao.”

I extended my right hand towards Zhang Liao, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he handed over the bow and arrows one by one.

Without gripping the bowstring, I formed a ring with my thumb and index finger to support the bowstring.

Pulling the fletching of the arrow back, I raised the bow forward and aimed at the target.

What I was aiming for was the traitor who had been quietly watching from the top of the city wall while the others below fought, sweating and bleeding.

Pah-ang!

“Ah.”

I knew the moment I shot.

“Damn it.”

The wound left by Yu Bi on my left shoulder.

Due to the pain of that moment, the bow was slightly raised.

“…For sure.”

I missed.

“I’ll need treatment.”

Puh-uk!

A dull sound.

The arrow flew higher than I had thought, grazing the fletching attached to the helmet.

If it had been just a little lower, I could have lodged it right between his eyebrows.

“Zhang Liao.”

“Yes, General.”

“We retreat.”

“Are we going to the capital?”

“No. To Luoyang.”

I pressed my shoulder down with my hand.

“I need to wash off some blood.”

* * *

Yue Fei retreated from the Archery Pavilion to the Holo Pavilion.

After the battle that unfolded at the Archery Pavilion, the allied forces advanced towards the Holo Pavilion in pursuit of Yue Fei under Yuan Shao’s orders.

“Is that the Holo Pavilion?”

Yuan Shao, still mounted, adjusted his helmet once more as he scanned the Holo Pavilion.

The distance from the Archery Pavilion to the Holo Pavilion was not very far.

The last gateway protecting Luoyang.

The city gates of Luoyang could be crossed at will, so if they could just get past that gateway, they could march straight into Luoyang.

“…Huh.”

Yuan Shao adjusted his helmet again.

“Yue Fei….”

Before the retreat.

Even while bleeding from his hand, Yue Fei shot arrows.

Not at Zhang Fei, who had uttered blasphemous words against him.

Not at Liu Bei, who had cut off his arm and brought him to death.

But at the one who had ordered him to shoot arrows at Yue Fei, Yuan Shao himself.

“…….”

He does not think it is cowardly.

Some might say, ‘to cowardly attack with arrows during a duel of generals,’ but if he hadn’t, Yue Fei would have tried to enter the Archery Pavilion as he was.

However, that Yue Fei was defeated.

This can be stated with certainty.

Blood was pouring from his left hand.

A blade was lodged in his left shoulder.

He had lost his proud weapon, the Huage.

“How dare you aim for my brow, it is exceedingly displeasing….”

Yuan Shao pressed his forehead with his hand once more.

“Looks like we were cheapened.”

Many generals have died.

Among them, one of the vassals, Zhang Yang, has also fallen.

Even Liu Bei, who was just elevated to vassal status, had his arm severed.

“It was a necessary loss.”

Yuan Shao paid no heed to that ideology.

He rode forward, steadying his breath.

“He Yu.”

“Yes, my lord.”

A man in civil official robes, He Yu, approached from behind Yuan Shao.

“What about Cao Cao?”

“He is pushing his soldiers hard, trying to save Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, but I doubt they will survive today.”

“Both of them?”

“Even if they do survive, it won’t be for long. Zhang Fei will never run again and will become a cripple with a limp, let alone Liu Bei….”

“I see. It is truly unfortunate.”

Yuan Shao wore a grim expression, then quickly hid a smile that was about to surface.

“How fortunate it is that An Liang and Wen Chou did not meet the same fate.”

“…Yes, indeed.”

He Yu bowed his head to Yuan Shao.

“Continue to keep watch. And if both of them happen to die, try to approach Guan Yu once.”

“Understood.”

“The other vassals… tsk.”

Yuan Shao turned his head back.

“To hesitate in advancing, claiming it is ‘unjust’ because Lü Bu has retreated, how ridiculous is that?”

Half of the vassals remain at Shao Guan.

Some, like Dong Jian, Po Xin, and Liu Biao, may not have come in person but sent their subordinates, while others did not send any soldiers at all.

The reason they have not stepped forward is simple.

They believe they ‘won cowardly’ against Lü Bu.

“He Yu.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Is it possible for a person to live purely righteously?”

“It is not possible.”

Heo Yu twisted the corners of his mouth bitterly.

“Those who advocate for humanity and virtue, they are still lacking in their perspective of the world. They are inexperienced, pursuing only ideals.”

“That’s right.”

Whooosh.

“Chasing ideals in the grand affairs of the world is akin to the folly of a child.”

The winter wind of Horogwan blows in.

“Reality is a cold thing.”

Dong, dong, dong.

“Now that Lu Bu has retreated, this is the opportunity. Let us seize Horogwan.”