Chapter 203

The wind blew on the battlefield.

It was not a gentle breeze that could slightly ease the suffering of the soldiers, exhausted and drenched in sweat from the fierce battle.

It was a gale that shook the souls of the soldiers engaged in a desperate struggle.

A storm that even drove away the madness born of blood and death, splitting the soldiers and creating a path of blood.

At the end of the path, in the eye of the storm, he stood.

Zhang Fei, the lover.

The elite soldiers of Eastern Wu? Nonsense. Even if the invincible Lanling Army stood before Zhang Fei now, it would be impossible to block his path.

Even if there were renowned generals, even if there were thousands of troops, even the Lanling Army, which once terrified the world to the point that songs were sung urging people to flee at the sight of Lanling, could not stop him.

Emperor Sun Quan is leading the charge? Such things hold no value in the face of true power.

Morale is a fickle thing. If Sun Quan’s presence boosted morale, the terror Zhang Fei displayed shattered their will in an instant.

Sima Qian once said, “When a person sees that their opponent has ten times their wealth, they envy them; a hundred times, they fear them; a thousand times, they serve them; and ten thousand times, they become their slaves.”

But is this only true for wealth?

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

Before the advent of firearms, which made all men equal, there was a stark disparity in individual martial prowess in the age of cold weapons.

A warrior who could face ten thousand alone.

Zhang Fei, known as the “Enemy of Ten Thousand,” was more than enough to utterly crush the will to fight.

Like Guan Yu, who crossed the enemy lines on horseback and took the head of their general, Yan Liang.

Like Zhang Liao, who with only 800 soldiers brought the 100,000-strong army of Eastern Wu to its knees.

At this moment, Zhang Fei was the same. He was proving why he was called the “Enemy of Ten Thousand” alongside Guan Yu, with death and terror.

With each swing of his spear, several soldiers fell, and the cavalry that dared charge at him were split in two along with their horses.

Where the black trajectory of his spear passed, only red blood and black death stained the earth.

Zhang Fei charged straight ahead.

Toward Sun Quan.

Sun Quan, who sat on the throne as emperor, who had once experienced the terror of Zhang Liao, could not be unprepared.

The appearance of someone blocking Zhang Fei’s path was also part of the plan.

“Step aside! You old man have quite the spirit! Let me, Song Jian, test my mettle against you!”

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

He had been at the Battle of Hefei, which remained a source of fear for Eastern Wu even after Zhang Liao’s death, and he knew.

He had to stop him now.

The exploits of a fierce general are like a tide. A fierce general riding the tide ravages the earth with the heavens at their back. Song Jian had seen it. Experienced it.

Thus, he instinctively felt it. Even if he died, he had to stop Zhang Fei, even if only for a moment.

Overcoming the terror etched into his soul, Song Jian pushed forward with his loyalty. And as he thrust his spear, he realized once more.

‘Ah… I’m too late.’

The tide had already begun.

Chwak!!

In a single exchange.

Though not one of the Twelve Tiger Generals who represented Eastern Wu, Song Jian’s death was too pitiful for a veteran who had always done his part.

Did Song Jian know? That the one who ended his life wasn’t even looking at him as he met his end.

There was only one thing in Zhang Fei’s mind now.

“Sun Quan──!”

Sun Quan’s neck.

It wasn’t for the glory of capturing the enemy leader with his own hands.

From the beginning, Zhang Fei had no desire for the honor of a great general or the merits that would be recorded in history. If he had, the title of General of the Vanguard, which had been passed to Chang-ran, would have been attached to his name.

All he desired was to fulfill the dreams of his brothers. To reach the uncharted territories that his elder brother, who had left too soon, had not yet tread.

That was all Zhang Fei wished for.

And the daughter he trusted next to his brothers gave him the answer. She defined the role he had to play for the dreams of his brothers.

Capturing Sun Quan was merely an extension of that.

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

Song Jian wasn’t the only one who saw the nightmare of Zhang Liao in Zhang Fei.

All those who had been at Hefei that day, seeing Zhang Fei charging with insane ferocity, remembered.

Gan Ning, Lü Meng, Zhang He, Chen Wu, Xu Sheng, Song Jian, Ling Tong.

Even with Eastern Wu’s strongest generals, many of the Twelve Tiger Generals, and Lü Meng, who had risen to the top after Zhou Yu in handling troops, they were nothing but a sandcastle at that moment.

Would they be broken through?

Would they allow Zhang Fei to reach Sun Quan?

At the final crossroads, the mane of Zhang Fei’s spear stopped for the first time.

“Old man! As long as I live, you shall not reach my lord!”

This time was different. Unlike Song Jian, who had offered his neck in a single exchange, this one met Zhang Fei’s furious strike with several rapid thrusts.

Even in the Han, filled with fierce generals, few could withstand Zhang Fei’s full-powered attack, but in Eastern Wu, which had lost many generals to early deaths, they could be counted on one hand.

Thus, Zhang Fei quickly deduced who stood before him.

“So you’re that Pan Zhang.”

Eastern Wu’s strongest. After Gan Ning, whom even Guan Yu could not underestimate, died, and Xu Sheng, who had inherited the lineage of fierce generals alongside Pan Zhang, was killed by Chang-ran, Pan Zhang naturally became Eastern Wu’s top general.

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

Zhang Fei respected Gan Ning, a comrade from the Battle of Red Cliffs, who had the martial prowess to discuss the world. Even Guan Yu, who didn’t particularly like Gan Ning, acknowledged his strength.

But Pan Zhang was different.

Without hesitation, Zhang Fei spoke to an enemy unworthy of respect.

“Twenty exchanges.”

At Zhang Fei’s sudden words, Pan Zhang exploded in anger.

“What nonsense are you spouting!”

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

“Twenty exchanges. That’s how long it took my daughter to kill Xu Sheng. After Gan Xingba died, you and Xu Sheng were called the fierce generals of Wu, right? Then your strength should be about the same as Xu Sheng’s.”

While proud of his daughter for defeating such an opponent, Zhang Fei also felt an indescribable bitterness.

Now, his daughter’s martial prowess, which had reached his own level, would surely surpass her father in time.

That was what Zhang Fei desperately wished for. Yet, paradoxically, he also wished that day would never come. Was it because he was a father, or because he was a warrior?

He couldn’t pinpoint the reason, but one thing was clear.

He didn’t want to lose to his daughter just yet.

“Blue surpassing indigo is too early. I’ll finish this in ten exchanges.”

“Nonsense!!”

Pan Zhang roared and charged.

The strongest general of Han against the strongest general of Wu.

The clash of the two nations’ pride, expected to be a fierce battle of equals, brutally betrayed expectations.

Overwhelming dominance.

Pan Zhang, barely able to defend against the attacks, and Zhang Fei, pressing him with unbelievable speed.

Seeing the crisis of his cherished general, Sun Quan frantically moved to prepare a countermeasure.

Taishi Ci, Gan Ning, Zhou Tai, Xu Sheng… Having lost so many fierce generals in succession, Pan Zhang was an invaluable asset to Sun Quan.

Thus, Sun Quan, even setting aside his pride, requested aid from Cao Wei and sent out his personal guards, shouting to save Pan Zhang.

Even as he drew his bow, ready to assist Pan Zhang himself, Sun Quan’s eyes widened like lanterns.

“Wenqiu…?”

What he saw was Pan Zhang, failing to block Zhang Fei’s spear, falling from his horse with his neck severed.

All that Eastern Wu’s top general, Pan Zhang, left behind were a few shallow wounds that could hardly be called serious.

Having crushed even the last barrier of Pan Zhang, Zhang Fei now aimed to take Sun Quan’s head, tapping the belly of his horse.

The soldiers, their spirits broken by Pan Zhang’s death, didn’t even think to stop Zhang Fei, merely watching as he advanced.

But no one had expected that the final opponent to stop Zhang Fei would not be Pan Zhang.

“Stop!”

From among the frozen soldiers, a lone rider suddenly emerged, thrusting his spear toward Zhang Fei.

Clang!!

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

Zhang Fei’s eyebrow twitched at the unexpected interference. He quickly identified his attacker.

Surprisingly, the one who had stopped Zhang Fei again was a young man. A young man dressed as a low-ranking officer, unknown to most.

Zhang Fei glanced down at the hand gripping his spear.

‘Heavy.’

Clearly, this opponent was superior in strength to the previous one, Pan Zhang.

That such an opponent still remained in Eastern Wu.

Moreover, someone far stronger than Pan Zhang or Xu Sheng, yet still unknown? It was only natural that Zhang Fei’s surprise doubled.

‘The world is truly vast and deep. I thought there would be no more after Cao Wei’s Zhao Chang and our Lan, but to appear in Eastern Wu… Heaven is truly unpredictable.’

With admiration, Zhang Fei asked.

“Young man, what is your name?”

The young man, adjusting his stance while spinning his spear, replied.

“Zheng Feng.”

§

As the fog lifted, around the time my father was engaged in fierce combat.

A change began on our battlefield as well.

“Your Majesty, we’ve confirmed that the Cao forces are sending reinforcements.”

“Indeed, Yide. It seems my brother is putting on a great show.”

It was still early for Wang Ping and Zhang E to join, but if reinforcements were already being sent, it meant my father was displaying overwhelming martial prowess.

Liu Bei, his worries somewhat eased, smiled contentedly.

I stepped closer to Liu Bei and spoke.

“Your Majesty. Our time has finally come. Please give the order.”

At my words, Liu Bei wiped the smile from his face and looked at Pang Tong.

“Did you hear, Grand Commandant?”

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

Pang Tong, who had received command of the main force from Liu Bei.

Though Liu Bei had chosen to stay with the rear support force, leaving command to Pang Tong as he had during the siege of Luoyang, this time he rose with his heavy frame, as if intending to go with Pang Tong.

And as if inviting him for a stroll, he said.

“Let’s go. Yunchang is waiting for us in Luoyang.”

After bowing to Liu Bei and leaving the tent, Pang Tong’s shout echoed through the camp.

“All troops! Advance!!”

The grand battle had truly begun.