Single Combat (2)
Kang Minju's face drained of color. This wasn't mere encouragement. It was pressure. A blatant, suffocating stranglehold tightening around his throat. The hero Zhang Fei, who had torn through dozens of foes just yesterday—would he really tuck tail and back down from a taunt by the enemy captain here? The volunteers' morale would plummet into the abyss in that instant. The soldiers who had gazed at him like a god moments ago would switch to looks of contempt and doubt in a heartbeat. In the worst case, sharp-minded Guan Yu and Liu Bei might suspect his true identity, and in the extreme, they could decree some dire punishment.
At that moment, the silent Guan Yu opened his mouth in a low, heavy rumble.
"Yide."
Minju whipped his head around at the call. Guan Yu's cold phoenix eyes pierced straight through him, stripping his inner thoughts bare.
"He's not an opponent you need to fear, is he?"
Minju's fists clenched the reins, trembling violently. He felt the nails digging into his palms. I can't run. Backing out here means death. Going out to fight means a high chance of dying too, but not going is 100% death.
He licked his parched lips. Forcing his quivering facial muscles upward, the corner of his mouth twisted into a grotesque grin—a desperate imitation of Zhang Fei's signature hearty smile. From deep in his gut, he bellowed in a strained roar.
"Kuhahaha! You dare challenge this Zhang Yide, you pathetic little bandit scum?!"
Woooaaah!
A earth-shaking cheer erupted from the volunteer lines, as if the ground itself might split open. Outwardly laughing boisterously, Minju wept bloody tears inwardly. No choice now.
I've got no option but to trust Zhang Fei's physical specs and instincts!
If he could just unleash that prowess from yesterday again, crushing the leader of these nameless Yellow Turban remnants would be a breeze. After all, this was Zhang Fei.
"Fine! If you're so eager for a glimpse of the afterlife, this Zhang Yide will gladly take your head!"
Kou Yang bared his yellowed teeth in a sinister grin.
"Arrogant pup! Let's see if your mouth's still flapping after I lop off that head!"
Minju forced strength into his shaking thighs and slowly urged his horse forward. Clop, clop. With each heavy thud of the massive warhorse's hooves on the dry earth, his heart pounded like it might leap from his chest. In his right hand gleamed the Zhangba Snake Spear, forged of dark steel—a weapon so enormous a normal man would struggle to lift with both hands. Incredibly, it felt lighter than a feather, far beyond what he'd imagined. But lightness didn't erase the terror of impending death. If anything, the added realism drove him to the brink of madness.
This wasn't a game scene on a monitor or words in a novel. The brutal reality chilled him to the bone.
Both armies slowly pulled back, widening the gap. In the dusty plain amid swirling yellow clouds, a death arena formed for these two alone.
Kou Yang struck first, leveling his massive cleaver at a slant and snarling like a beast.
"I'll give you my name for the afterlife! I am Kou Yang! Remember it well—the man who slew you!"
Overawed by the enemy's aura, Minju reflexively parroted back like a parrot.
"Z-Zhang... Zhang Yide! C-Come at me, you worm!"
The brief exchange ended, and Kou Yang kicked his mount savagely, springing forward as if he'd been waiting.
"Die!"
The killing intent was ferocious. Up close, he wasn't just a brute; his horsemanship was skilled. The cleaver's arc, backed by his massive weight and the horse's speed, was beyond a modern man's dynamic vision to track. Tearing the air with a whoosh, the heavy slash crashed toward Minju's crown like lightning.
"H-heup—!"
Too shocked to even breathe, Minju squeezed his eyes shut. But in that split second, a miracle occurred.
BOOM!
A deafening clash of metal. Before Minju could think or command, Zhang Fei's body reacted on pure survival instinct. Tree-trunk arms flashed up, parrying the cleaver perfectly with the spear's thick shaft. A jolt raced from wrist to shoulder, rippling through his body. The horse's legs buckled momentarily, lurching sideways.
Minju's eyes flew wide in shock. I... blocked it?!
His mind hadn't even grasped the attack's trajectory, yet the body assumed the optimal defense. The flesh's memory overrode the brain.
It had been the same yesterday. Kang Minju, a total bookworm who'd never thrown a punch, had butchered hundreds in the battlefield's heart. He'd chalked it up to a dream then, but even fully aware this was real, Zhang Fei's abilities remained intact.
If this is Zhang Fei's body... I can do this!
But Kou Yang was a seasoned killer, battle-hardened. The moment his strike was blocked, he twisted the blade with beastly elasticity, slashing horizontally at Minju's exposed flank. Minju barely parried with the spear shaft; then came a downward chop at his nape.
Clang! Clang-clang!BOOM!
Minju barely raised the spear tip, leaning back to dodge the blade. Yanking the reins in panic widened the gap as cold sweat poured down his back.
I'm losing ground. I'm gonna die—really die!
The body was overwhelmingly superior—stronger, faster reflexes. But combat hinged on judgment and momentum. A ordinary office drone whose fights were limited to schoolyard scraps couldn't stay sane facing a real killer swinging steel. No sense for reading moves, gauging spear reach, exploiting horse radius.
After a dozen one-sided exchanges of pure defense, Kou Yang's cleaver snaked upward from below in a creepy arc.
Shrrk!
A chilling scrape, and the edge of Minju's right shoulder pauldron tore like cloth.
"Kuh!"
Gasps of horror rose from the volunteers.
"G-General!"
Guan Yu's brow furrowed deeply, eyes narrowing.
Minju's head spun. It hurt—burning, stinging. He'd nearly died. Metal shards flew; blood welled from a shallow gash, trickling down his arm. A half-inch less twist, and his whole arm would be on the ground.
Convinced of victory, Kou Yang laughed like a demon.
"All talk, no bite! Just a hollow braggart! What Man Slayer hero are you?"
All talk, no bite.
That mocking jab pierced Minju's ear, detonating a deep-seated inferiority complex. The guy who swallowed unfairness in silence. Who never raised his voice at drinks or meetings, just read the room. Who'd let his true self rot in a corner while grinding as society's cog. And now, dragged across time to this hellish past, getting carved up by some no-name bandit extra and dismissed as "nothing special."
In that instant, Minju's terror-shaken eyes iced over coldly. A black, searing ember ignited deep in his pupils.
Don't make me laugh.
His core might be coward Kang Minju. But this shell he wore and controlled was's Zhang Fei Yide. These thick arms could rend mountains; these legs could halt a rampaging stallion; these lungs held a roar to chill ten thousand troops.
Blades terrified him, yes. He wanted to bolt right now. But.
He couldn't die pointlessly. He had to survive.
Ignoring the throbbing shoulder wound, Minju gritted his teeth till they might shatter and regripped the Zhangba Snake Spear. Crack. Monstrous grip strength made the shaft groan.
"Haaa...."
A short, guttural breath from his depths. Then, for the first time since arriving, Minju willed pure intent into Zhang Fei's muscles.
"Yaaah!"
Lightning roar split the air. The spear whipped horizontally at insane speed, wind exploding in its wake. A simple sweep, but loaded with overwhelming mass and velocity.
Kou Yang panicked, raising his cleaver in defense.
BOOM!!
The impact was otherworldly—not metal on metal, but mountains colliding.
"Grk!"
Kou Yang's body folded backward like paper atop his horse, reeling. His mount shrieked, staggering back. Blood burst from his wrists; eyes bulged in disbelief.
Sneer. A smile crept unbidden onto Minju's lips. The counterattack began.
Even Minju shuddered at himself. What the hell is this insane power...!
The feedback felt entirely different. Moments ago, he'd trembled just blocking; now, he was smashing weapon and body.
The explosive release thrilled his brain. His body led the next move. Instinctively clamping thighs, he wheeled sideways—perfect flank position. He drew back the spear, then thrust like a spring uncoiling.
Thuk!
The snake-fang tip grazed Kou Yang's right flank mercilessly. Crack! Rusted armor shattered, spraying blood.
"Grraaagh!"
Kou Yang's beastly scream echoed across the plain. Cheers exploded from the volunteers.
"General!"
"Press them relentlessly!!"
Hundreds of roars hammered Minju's ears, surging into his veins. Eerie. The suffocating pressure moments ago now boiled up his spine as adrenaline-fueled fire.
Gasping raggedly, Minju raised the dripping spear. Kou Yang clutched his side, face twisted in rage and venom, charging madly in desperation.
The mounts clashed fiercely mid-plain again.
BOOM! Clang! Scraaaape!
Cleaver and black spear sparked savagely. But momentum had flipped. Feeling the true might of the "Zhang Fei" monster within, Minju's mind no longer recoiled in fear. He couldn't track every arc perfectly, but body blocked, repelled with power, struck openings ruthlessly.
Each full swing crushed Kou Yang, who wheezed bloodily. His breaths grew ragged, moves sluggish.
Squelch!!
No mere graze—this pierced thick iron plates, impaling his broad chest dead center.
"Guh...!"
The man's jaws gaped. Eyes ballooned with despair and death's terror. Crimson foam bubbled from his mouth.
Then it hit Minju: the vivid resistance through hands and spear tip. Tearing tough flesh, snapping ribs, invading hot organs. The raw, horrific reality made him freeze.
Time slowed. But the dice were cast. Eyes shut, teeth grinding, he twisted and yanked the spear free.
Spluuurt!
Blood fountained. Kou Yang's bulk twisted atop his horse, then toppled earthward.
Thud!
The heavy corpse kicked up dust, silencing the noisy field.
Moments later.
"Woooaaah!"
The volunteers' cheers rent the sky.
"The general took the enemy's head!"
"General, long live!"
"The Yellow Turban dogs are fleeing! They're retreating!"
Kang Minju's first taste of victory. Sweeter than any fruit.