Mythical Version of Three Kingdom

As Zhang He approached within 500 meters of Guan Yu, he vaguely noticed a figure standing on the road ahead. After advancing a few more steps, the silhouette became clearer. Just as he was about to order someone to investigate, he saw the figure move—swiftly, like a streak of light.

Before Zhang He could fully react, a blue-green glow, carrying a massive blade that stretched a hundred meters long, was already upon him.

”Block it!” Zhang He shouted, recognizing Guan Yu. He knew that Guan Yu’s target was his head and that this attack, even with the cloud energy dissipating some of its force, would still be strong enough to pulverize him. He shouldn’t have been leading from the front!

In that critical moment, Zhang He mustered all his inner energy, pushing his body to its limits without considering the toll it would take. His black inner energy erupted outward as he reached the brink of death, breaking through his own limits. But there was no time for celebration—both hands gripped his spear tightly as he thrust it toward the massive blade. He had to survive!

Boom! Zhang He barely managed to block Guan Yu’s strike. Fortunately, the cloud energy had absorbed much of its power. Even so, Guan Yu’s concentrated attack was too much for Zhang He to handle, even with his newly attained breakthrough. The remaining force shattered Zhang He’s spear and sent him flying hundreds of meters.

”The enemy general is dead! Follow me and slay the rest!” Guan Yu didn’t concern himself with whether Zhang He was alive or dead. Ignoring the emptiness within his own body after such a powerful attack, he charged toward the enemy. Inspired by Guan Yu’s godlike display of strength, his personal guards roared and rushed forward, while Zhang He’s troops, seeing their commander fall and the enemy’s true strength unknown, naturally began to flee in panic.

Meanwhile, several miles away, Wei Yan and his forces also saw the massive, ethereal blue blade. Although they didn’t understand why Guan Yu was there, they recognized it as a great opportunity.

”Everyone, fight with all your might! General Guan is on his way!” Wei Yan shouted, slicing through an entire row of enemy soldiers. The troops under Guan Ping, being Guan Yu’s subordinates, recognized the distinctive blue blade. Despite their exhaustion, the sight of that blade reinvigorated them with newfound energy—reinforcements were coming!

In contrast, Gao Lan’s troops, hearing Wei Yan’s declaration that Guan Yu was arriving, experienced a sharp drop in morale. The boost in confidence they had from Zhang He supposedly coming to their aid evaporated under the impact of that tremendous blade.

The once-tight formation of Gao Lan’s troops, steadily retreating and fighting back, began to crumble. Wei Yan and Guan Ping seized the opportunity, leading their personal guards in a fierce assault that completely shattered Gao Lan’s forces.”General, retreat quickly!” Gao Lan’s personal guards shouted. At this point, the focus was no longer on minimizing losses but on ensuring their general could escape. ”General, retreat! We’ll cover you!”

Gao Lan fought fiercely, leading half of his guards through a weak point in Wei Yan and Guan Ping’s defenses and managing to break out. However, of the more than 2,000 soldiers who had accompanied him, only about a hundred managed to escape. The rest, except for Gao Lan’s personal guards, surrendered to Wei Yan and Guan Ping.

”Tanzi, leave a portion of our forces here to guard the captives. The rest will follow me to meet General Guan. It’s a shame we couldn’t capture that enemy commander, though,” Wei Yan said, somewhat disappointed. He couldn’t understand why, despite the opportunity being right in front of him, he hadn’t managed to seize it.

”I’ll go with you. We only need to leave a hundred men to guard the camp and prisoners. I wonder why Father came here—perhaps he feared we might fall into an ambush?” Guan Ping assigned a detachment to stay behind and guard the prisoners, then mounted his horse and headed toward the spot where the blade had appeared.

”General, we’ve routed the enemy, but unfortunately, the enemy general escaped, likely rescued by his subordinates. From what we’ve gathered from the prisoners, the enemy commander was Zhang He of Hejian—the same one who injured the young general,” a junior officer reported to Guan Yu.

”I see,” Guan Yu replied, closing his eyes as he stood still, trying to grasp the fleeting sensation he had felt during his strike. There was a rare sense of improvement, but it had been too brief to fully capture. ”Any special reports from Le Ling?”

”According to the prisoners, Le Ling’s defenses now consist of only about a thousand troops. Zhang He has been gravely injured by your attack and likely won’t return. Gao Lan, who led the night raid, was most likely ambushed by the young general and won’t be able to return either. However, it’s a pity that we don’t have enough troops to capitalize on this perfect opportunity to take Le Ling. If Zhang He recovers and regroups his fleeing forces, we’ll lose our chance,” the officer reported regretfully.

”Halt!” came a distant shout. Guan Yu’s personal guards, who had just routed Zhang He’s forces, immediately mounted their horses, vigilant and ready to charge toward the source of the voice.

”Vanguard Wei Yan, Guan Ping,” Wei Yan and Guan Ping responded, halting their horses about a dozen steps away from the guards.

The guard cautiously examined the two, finally breathing a sigh of relief. As Guan Yu’s personal guards, they recognized both Wei Yan and Guan Ping. With Guan Yu’s son present, there was no need to remain so on edge.

”Greetings, General,” Guan Ping and Wei Yan dismounted and bowed as they approached Guan Yu.

”You both did well!” Guan Yu opened his eyes, and the fierce light within them startled both Guan Ping and Wei Yan. They felt as though Guan Yu had grown even stronger, his presence more imposing than before.

”Thank you for the praise, General!” Wei Yan replied.

”Wei Yan, you will lead your men and follow me to seize Le Ling under the cover of night!” Guan Yu commanded, his aura exuding such confidence that it left Wei Yan in awe. Attacking Le Ling, a city defended by 8,000 troops, at night seemed utterly impossible.

”Understood!” Despite his astonishment, Wei Yan, holding Guan Yu in the highest regard, asked no questions and promptly complied.

”Guan Ping, you will head southeast to escort Strategist Guo to the camp. Ensure nothing goes wrong! At daybreak, lead the troops to join us at Le Ling!” Guan Yu instructed his son. Unlike Wei Yan, Guan Yu felt that Guan Ping still lacked maturity and needed more time under his guidance to truly grow.

”Understood!” Guan Ping responded with a bow. Though disappointed at not being part of the assault on the city, he harbored no resentment toward his father’s decision.