Chapter 391: Lu Bu Fengxian (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 391: Lu Bu Fengxian (2)
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Name: Lu Bu Fengxian
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown
Level: 212
Strength: 155 / Agility: 113 / Stamina: 120 / Mana: 30 / Horsemanship: 203
Remaining Stat Points: 0
Class: Spearman
Unique Ability: Red Hare Riding
Skills: 'Fangtian Halberd' Lv29, 'Robust Stamina' Lv28, 'Berserk' Lv27, 'Spear of Betrayal' Lv27
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[Copy Condition: A nature that betrays foster fathers as naturally as breathing. Yet boasting the undisputed greatest martial prowess in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Lu Bu was a warrior possessing everything required for survival. However, even he possesses a single fatal flaw. Refer to history and prepare a trap exploiting your target's weakness. By shattering his composure in this manner, you may copy one of his unique abilities or skills.]
Red Hare Riding.
It was a unique ability ranked at the absolute apex among horsemanship abilities.
Since Jinhyuk was already proficient in spear arts, he didn't particularly need those, but Red Hare Riding was an ability he desperately wanted to get his hands on for many reasons.
Reading the copy conditions, Jinhyuk smiled faintly, as if he had expected this all along.
'Of course. When it comes to Lu Bu, it's gotta be that.'
If nothing else, he had anticipated the conditions required to copy Lu Bu's ability.
In fact, in preparation for this exact moment, he had pre-purchased a trump card item from the Coin Exchange before coming here.
Now, the stage was fully set.
"I don't need small fry."
Jinhyuk crooked his finger tauntingly at Lu Bu.
The air froze even colder than before.
"Amusing! When you killed Hua Xiong, I wasn't entirely sure, but that power! Yes... You're the one who learned that cursed art."
His previous composed demeanor vanished, replaced by glinting eyes soaked in madness.
As if revealing his true nature, strands of murderous battle spirit surged relentlessly from Lu Bu's body.
"This one is my prey. The rest of you, eliminate the other one."
"Understood. Do not worry about that side; please enjoy yourself."
Gao Shun, who had not yet moved, led the elite guards toward Cheon Yu-seong.
If he let them go as they pleased, the balance of power would collapse.
Ordinarily, Jinhyuk wouldn't care whether that leech lived or died, but to achieve the copy condition this time, Cheon Yu-seong was indispensable.
He couldn't let him die under any circumstances.
"Tch!"
Jinhyuk instinctively tried to leap forward.
However—
Kboom!
"...!?"
Jinhyuk's body was blown back.
Lu Bu had swung his Fangtian Halberd, cutting off his path.
"Keep your eyes on me. From the looks of it, you haven't even mastered that ability yet. If you slack off, you'll be chopped into pieces."
"...? Seems like you've fought someone who used the Heavenly Demon Divine Art before."
"I crossed paths with one long ago."
Claaaaang!
Barnard collided with the Fangtian Halberd, sending sparks scattering in all directions.
A perilous deadlock.
Jinhyuk rotated clockwise.
Bang!
The strike aiming for Lu Bu's flank was blocked by the halberd's shaft.
At the same time, Lu Bu unleashed three sweeping strikes with his Fangtian Halberd.
The ground shredded like rags.
Despite the terrifying force behind his attacks, his center of gravity didn't shift in the slightest.
Perfectly balancing offense and defense, Lu Bu's martial prowess truly lived up to his legendary reputation.
'With just 2-star internal force, shaking him off won't be easy.'
In that case... Jinhyuk opened his subspace.
"Mm. Give me your order."
A blue-haired girl wielding a pair of short spears emerged.
"Frey. Help that guy over there clean up the small fry. Yu-seong will handle the troublesome ones, so you just deal with the minions."
"Eliminate all... Not a difficult task. Win rate calculated at 99.85%."
"Also, make sure to tell him to check his subspace inventory when you get to him. I sent him a gift. Don't forget to hand him this note, either. If he refuses, just say 'the video.' That'll make him behave."
"Mm. I will convey the message."
Nodding, Frey immediately dashed toward Cheon Yu-seong.
"What's with this girl?"
"Impudent fool...! What do you think a battlefield is—Gugh?!"
The soldiers of the Formation-Breaking Camp, who looked down on Frey's slender frame, soon experienced hell.
There was simply no stopping Frey once she closed the distance.
Thwack! Thwack!
Squelch!
Her short spears moved like lightning, stabbing every soldier within sight.
Even when they covered their vitals with shields and counterattacked with spears and swords, they struggled to even track her shadow.
In a flash, over twenty soldiers became cold corpses.
Yet Frey's momentum didn't abate in the slightest.
Tap, tap...!
Moving as nimbly as a weasel, she exploited the enemy's weakest points.
A deputy, his throat freshly punctured, stumbled and collapsed.
The soldiers led by the deputy panicked, making their total annihilation a foregone conclusion.
"A Hom...unculus."
Lu Bu's eyes widened.
"How can such a creature be here...? No, how could a mere player possess one?"
Sherry murmured in disbelief as well.
Good.
Frey should be enough for that side...
Now, it was time to highlight the climax of this labyrinth.
Step.
Jinhyuk stepped forward, facing Lu Bu.
"Indeed. It seems you and I must settle this directly."
Lu Bu also stepped forward, tightly gripping his Fangtian Halberd.
* * *
Kboom!
The Fangtian Halberd and Barnard collided head-on.
Common sense dictated that a smaller-than-small dagger couldn't possibly contend with a halberd that weighed hundreds of kilograms after becoming a sacred relic.
Even grazing it should normally result in immediate destruction.
However, that applied only to ordinary battles.
And the current situation was far from ordinary.
Kboom!
Watching Jinhyuk, barely 180 cm tall, press back against the towering 3.5-meter giant Lu Bu was nothing short of grotesque.
Bang!
Lu Bu barely deflected the dagger flying at his right flank, only to take a kick flying from the opposite side dead-on.
His body was sent flying nearly ten meters.
Springing back up immediately, Lu Bu leaped heavily to the side.
Kaboom!
A massive crater opened where he had stood just a split second prior.
'What... just what kind of monster is he?'
As the battle dragged on, Lu Bu felt his lips growing bone-dry.
Clang! Boom! Cl-cl-cl-clang!
An exchange so fast it defied sight.
It was suffocating—parrying every single blow took everything he had.
'It wasn't such a terrifying martial art before. It was never this absurd...!'
He retained memories of fighting what was once called the Heavenly Demon Divine Art...
...but this was entirely different.
"Seeing you panic like that, you must've fought some fake who half-assed his training. Don't go running your mouth about the Heavenly Demon Divine Art ever again."
Not that he'd ever get the chance anyway.
Because today, right here, history—a life spent backstabbing others only to die miserably—would repeat itself.
"It is true I underestimated your ability, but I have yet to show my true strength either. So wipe that arrogant smirk off your face. It makes me want to slice off your very lips."
Lu Bu glared at Jinhyuk with eyes drenched in murderous intent.
Simultaneously—
Bzzzzzt...!
Accompanied by red sparks, a massive steed manifested beside Lu Bu.
It was Red Hare, the iconic symbol of Lu Bu.
Gulp, gulp!
Lu Bu pulled out a leather pouch from his bosom, uncorked it, and guzzled the contents down.
A silver stream flowed down his throat.
[You have consumed 'Spring Water of the Moon'!]
[All stats temporarily increase by 300%!]
[Lu Bu activates the unique ability 'Red Hare Riding'!]
[Due to heroic specialization, 'Phase 2' has begun!]
Red status windows popped up continuously.
Lu Bu wielding the Fangtian Halberd was scarier than tens of thousands of soldiers.
However, Lu Bu paired with Red Hare—capable of running a thousand li in a day—was invincible.
Zzzzt!
Heavy mana prickled across Jinhyuk's skin.
While not comparable to the hidden Spring Water of the Sun, the Spring Water of the Moon possessed an equally broken effect.
In exchange for consuming the drinker's mana and stamina, it granted absurd power for a brief duration.
So...
The real fight starts now.
Kboom!
Lu Bu vanished.
Instantly taking Jinhyuk's rear, Lu Bu raised his halberd high.
Whoosh!
Jinhyuk dodged by a hair's breadth.
Yet what awaited him was a relentless barrage of thrusts.
Dozens of spear strikes converged on a single point nearly simultaneously.
"Neiiigh!"
Red Hare stomped wildly, obscuring the trajectory of the spear strikes.
"Now it's finally worth matching you."
Lu Bu wielded his spear with a significantly more relaxed expression.
Attacks taking advantage of the mount's mobility and high angle were undeniably troublesome.
At this rate, pushing him to the brink of death is going to get tricky...
To copy his ability, he needed to force Lu Bu close to his limits.
'I didn't want to use more than 2-star force if possible, but I guess I have no choice.'
Even if it strained him, he had to thoroughly crush him.
Fwhoosh!
The sword energy coating Barnard grew even denser.
"For the record... I wasn't taking this entirely seriously either."
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Third Form.
The Heavenly Demon's signature technique, known as the most dazzling among the Third Form skills.
Exploding internal mana to temporarily replicate a heart sword that cleaves heaven and earth.
'Heavenly Flower's Smile.'
A stark white arc traced a gentle curve through the air.
* * *
...Dangerous!
Lu Bu's instincts screamed a dire warning.
His body reacted before his mind could even process the need to dodge.
Slice!
A long spray of blood erupted from Red Hare's neck.
Had he been even a fraction of a second slower, the horse's head wouldn't have just been grazed—it would have been decapitated entirely.
"Neiiiigh!"
"You brat...!"
Enraged, Lu Bu squeezed out every drop of his power.
Red mana spurted along the Fangtian Halberd in violent surges.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
A blow carrying the full speed and weight of his charging steed.
Starting with that, a clash incomparably fiercer than before unfolded.
"Fall back! Everyone!"
"W-We'll all die if we get caught in that!"
"My god, how can such a battle..."
Those watching from afar scrambled back frantically.
Stepping blindly into that storm of violence would mean getting torn to shreds.
Rumble-boom-boom-boom!
Lethal ultimate techniques seeking each other's lives.
The only sound echoing through the air was the brutal clashing of steel.
How much time had passed?
"Haa... haa..."
"Huff... huff... cough, wheeze..."
The protracted engagement drew to a close, but a victor remained undecided.
Their breathing turned ragged, their bodies drenched in sweat.
Because every single strike had demanded maximum effort, their stamina drained exponentially faster.
Lu Bu's body staggered heavily.
Right...
...now.
Jinhyuk sent the signal he had prepared.
Rustle.
With a soft whisper of sound, a delicate floral scent pervaded the battlefield.
Pitch-black, silky hair and striking Eastern beauty.
It was as though a blooming flower had been plucked and brought straight here.
Her overwhelmingly elegant and beautiful aura plunged the interior of Xiaopei Castle into silence—a silence entirely different from the fear before.
"Ah..."
Lu Bu's pupils quivered violently.
This distinctive scent and appearance.
There was no mistaking it.
She was the woman he had been obsessed with in life, the woman he had searched for incessantly ever since arriving in the Tower of Trials.
"Ahhh..."
Clatter!
Lu Bu dropped his Fangtian Halberd.
His trembling hand reached out blankly.
The sole reason he had cast aside all potential wealth and glory to coop himself up in this labyrinth...
...was Hastings' promise to reunite him with 'Diaochan.'
And there she stood—Diaochan, clad in extravagantly decorated white robes, pausing in place with half her face veiled.
"I'm going to kill you, Kang Jinhyuk. Whatever else happens, I will kill you with my own hands."
Diaochan—no, Cheon Yu-seong—glared at Jinhyuk as if ready to murder him.