Clashing with Lu Bu on Red Hare (3)

Somehow, I didn't know why, but it was clear the Xiliang soldiers were gunning for me. Yeo Po's army's two top fierce generals, Jang Liao and Go Sun, stood blocking my path. Their troops had even brought beast-hunting nets. At my current level, this would've been an impossible foe—even if I died and came back to life.

But I wasn't alone right now. Hwang Gai, who'd been mysteriously tailing me all day for some reason, and Ha Hu Don and Ha Hu Yeon had suddenly barged in too.

'This is doable.' My allies could hold their own. I just needed to drag it into a melee, then bolt straight for Yeo Po's side.

"Hmph. What a nuisance." Jang Liao clicked his tongue, his red eyes flashing as he raised his spear.

"Looks like killing him without a scratch might be impossible," Go Sun said to Jang Liao.

"Mm. Can't be helped, then." What came out of Jang Liao's mouth next was pretty brutal. "Break a few limbs, and he'll quiet down. Keep Kim alive like that. Kill the rest."

Go Sun nodded at Jang Liao's words, gripping her weapon and standing beside him.

"Go Sun, you handle those guys. Kim's mine."

Unfortunately, Jang Liao—slightly stronger than Go Sun—declared he'd take me on personally.

"What the hell, you two chatting leisurely?! Ignoring this lady of the fallen state, Ha Hu Don?!" Ha Hu Don, pissed at that, whipped her twin-tails around and charged with her spear.

"S-Sis...!" Ha Hu Yeon hesitated a moment before hardening her expression with killing intent, grabbing her bow and following behind.

"Haa!!!" Ha Hu Don unleashed a mighty shout, swinging her spear.

"Hoo!!!" As Ha Hu Don swung, Ha Hu Yeon loosed an arrow straight at Go Sun.

Go Sun hugged her sword tight to her body, deflecting the spear thrust and arrow while backpedaling.

"Urraaaah!!!" At that moment, Hwang Gai swung his massive iron mace hard at Go Sun.

Whoooosh! Go Sun rolled aside, dodging the iron mace's attack.

"......"

Sweat beaded on Go Sun's forehead. Even a fierce general like her had to break a sweat against those three. Thanks to that, Go Sun was wide open. I just had to watch out for Jang Liao.

"Take this blade from Jang Mun-won!!!" Jang Liao charged at me like a madman.

Whoooosh!! Straight-line thrusts chaining one after another.

I somehow managed to block them using the principles of Taiji Sword. Then I pulled back distance and grabbed something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠handy—a net dropped by a dead Xiliang soldier. Half his head was caved in and scattered from some blunt force. Cause of death... probably trampled by a horse. One-shot by a hoof, it seemed.

"Urraaaah!!!" At the timing of Jang Liao's terrifying spear thrust, I flung the net.

Shhhrrrk!! The net wrapped right around Jang Liao's spear tip. I'd aimed to snare him, but it got caught on the spear.

"Kgh...!" Suddenly, the net clung to his spear like seaweed, slowing Jang Liao's movements.

"Now!!!" Seizing the moment, I swung my sword.

"Hup!!" I'd figured one hit would land since he was flustered, but Jang Liao was stronger than expected.

Whoooosh!! He just swung the now-heavy, net-clogged spear like a staff, blocking my move.

But that was fine. I'd already achieved my goal.

"Jiralma!!" I called out to my beloved horse gleefully massacring Xiliang soldiers.

"Hihihihihing!!!" Eyes gleaming with bloodlust, Jiralma charged across the battlefield.

"Kuheop!!"

"Kuhk!!"

The dawdling Xiliang soldiers got roadkilled by Jiralma.

"Kgh...!" Jang Liao twisted aside, dodging the horse's charge.

"Let's go!!" Mounting up in that gap, I whipped the horse into a frenzy.

"W-Wait!! Don't run!!" Jang Liao, finally shaking off the annoying net, yelled after me.

Fuck. Would you stick around? For some reason, these guys wanted me alive. Dong Zhuo's orders or Yeo Po's, I didn't know, but getting captured meant nothing good. Probably some ancient oil drum ending.

"Go!! To Yeo Po!!" I tapped Jiralma hopefully, praying it'd listen.

"Hihihihhing!!" Luckily, Jiralma bolted like a bat out of hell toward Yeo Po and Jang Bi's duel.

"In this situation... heading to Lady Bong-seon? Is he insane..." I heard Jang Liao's hollow mutter briefly.

"Mun-won-nim. Regrettably, with my strength..." Go Sun's bad news followed. She was starting to falter against Hwang Gai, Ha Hu Don, and Ha Hu Yeon in a one-vs-three.

"Tch!! Go Sun! Hold on!!" Jang Liao ended up facing the three allied warriors alongside her.

"Ah... Kim's heading to Yeo Po..." Hwang Gai looked troubled at me vanishing into the distance but was tied up with Go Sun and Jang Liao.

And so, I slipped farther away.

---------

"Kgh!!" As expected, the longer it dragged, the more Jang Bi was getting pushed. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠He wasn't weak—Yeo Po was just insanely strong.

"Ik-deok!!! I'll help too!!" Meanwhile, Guan Yu jumped in, swinging her Green Dragon Crescent Blade.

Yeo Po barely blocked the Green Dragon Crescent Blade's heavy blow.

"Hmph. Not bad."

Yeo Po seemed to gauge Guan Yu's skill from that single clash.

"Nu-na!! Let's take this bitch's head together!!" Jang Bi yelled to Guan Yu.

"Mm!! Don't get careless!!" Guan Yu and Jang Bi went berserk, pressing Yeo Po. It was a sneaky two-on-one, but no one around thought it unfair. Still, even together, they were getting pushed. That's how monstrous Yeo Po's martial prowess was.

Liu Bei joining would end it. Before that, I finally broke into the fray.

"Kim!!" Guan Yu glanced my way.

"Hah! As expected of Kim!! Let's show 'em the power of us Tak-hyeon foster siblings!" Jang Bi laughed heartily.

No. Don't rope me into foster siblings willy-nilly. Anyway, the stage was set for grinding Yeo Po. Hit-and-run till Liu Bei arrived.

"Ah. You." Yeo Po smiled at me. "Decent face, shaggy hair. Right, you're the Seven Star Saber Guy."

No. Who's the Seven Star Saber Guy? I'm Kim from Tak-hyeon.

"Yeah!!! Come right to me!" Yeo Po ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grinned, swinging her Fangtian Huaji my way. She shrugged off Jang Bi and Guan Yu's assault with one spear toss, then launched a follow-up at me.

From atop Jiralma, I barely raised my sword to block. I'd thought perfect Taiji Sword parry timing, but my stamina still drained hard.

'Fuck, a meteor?' It felt like one of those wuxia novel Two Star Transfer strikes—heavy as hell.

But the gains were real.

That hard-to-raise proficiency shot up. Horsemanship too, since I'd blocked an enemy attack from horseback—against a powerhouse like Yeo Po, no less.

"Kgh...!" Jiralma staggered, and I quickly pulled back distance.

"Kim!! Regroup your breathing!!"

"Kim!! Nice block!!"

Meanwhile, Jang Bi and Guan Yu struck at Yeo Po's flanks.

Yeo Po spun her Fangtian Huaji like a windmill, blocking them all. Thanks to the two buying time, I recovered some stamina.

"There!! Seven Star Saber!!!" Yeo Po spurred Red Hare straight at me. The aggro felt oddly focused on me... but that was common with the Xiliang guys.

Whoooosh. Yeo Po's second close-range pattern followed: gripping the spear tip for a wide horizontal sweep, then reversing with raw power for another slash from the opposite direction.

I angled my sword to deflect the first, timing the second in my head. This attack was a bitch—off-beat by half a beat. Mindless defense got you on the follow-up.

Hung. Chinggggg! Blocking the off-beat strike again yielded massive results in the status window.

It rose like I was burning—insane speed. Horsemanship spiked too. Clop clop! Thanks to the boosted horsemanship, I could now handle Jiralma competently. I blocked one pattern and slapped its rear.

"Hah!!!"

"Hyaaah!!!"

While I rested, Tak-hyeon's Guan Yu and Jang Bi had my back. We somehow maintained a three-on-one, exchanging about three clashes while I farmed exp like crazy. Mission accomplished—I felt a bit relieved.

'One more round?' The thought crossed my mind, but gamers know greed leads to bad ends. Plus, Bu Yong-hwa's face flashed by. Having a wife made me avoid risky bridges.

"There!! Kim!!! Don't run!!! You're fun!!!" As long as I endured Yeo Po's beaming psycho grin pressure patterns, I could survive.

"Kgh!! Protect Kim!"

"Hey!! Don't ignore us!!"

Jang Bi and Guan Yu tried blocking Yeo Po, but she relentlessly broke free to slash at me. But time favors the prepared.

Whoooosh!! A sword flew straight at Yeo Po. A blade inscribed "Ren" (Benevolence) whistled past me.

Yeo Po parried it with her huaji, steadying her stance. Clop clop!!! Beyond her, Liu Bei swung a sword marked "Yi" (Righteousness), charging into our midst.

Whung. He smoothly snatched the deflected thrown sword, switching back to dual-wield. Honestly, badass. Chubby uncle vibe, but sword stance gave him real gravitas.

"I can't let only my foster siblings bear the danger."

Liu Bei stated firmly, aiming his sword at Yeo Po.

"As expected of big bro!!!" Jang Bi beamed with emotion.

"Heh." Guan Yu flashed a heartwarming smile. Wink. Liu Bei even tried imposing warm vibes on me. I didn't wanna be foster siblings... but damn, this scene hit that Romance of the Three Kingdoms itch hard. I couldn't help smiling warmly too.

Then Yeo Po's mad movie unfolded. Me, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Jang Bi—four of us ganging up one-sidedly on her.

Yet Yeo Po deflected our 4-man gank without a hitch in her breathing. Knowing prolonged fight meant death marked her as top-tier.

Bwoooo!! At that moment, the Xiliang retreat horn blared army-wide.

"Tch...." Yeo Po clicked her tongue, wheeling her horse to retreat.

Stay spirited, you...! I wanted to shout, but Red Hare was too damn fast. Looked like Jang Liao and Go Sun had heard it too, shaking off Hwang Gai, Ha Hu Don, and Ha Hu Yeon's trio to pull back.

Thus, the first clash at Hulao Pass ended.

"Ooh.... So that's Liu Bei's foster siblings."

"Indeed."

"Tak-hyeon's got talents."

Everything was fine... except everyone treating me like Liu Bei army's core member.