"Damn... damn it, kneel before me..."
Zhang Fei roared and activated Wushuang. His entire body was enveloped in a thin layer of golden light, as though the god of war himself had descended upon him.
The ground was torn apart beneath his feet one after another. It looked terrifyingly fierce.
What he didn't know was that his opponent had also strengthened his own power. The opponent simply hadn't activated Wushuang. It was as though he had been playing with Zhang Fei the entire time.
In a single moment, the opponent stabbed forward with an iron rod.
Zhang Fei suddenly struggled to fly backward. His Wushuang was almost faltering—even his qi felt weak.
But the people of Shu were stunned.
How terrifying Zhang Fei was—they knew it better than anyone.
But... such a terrifying existence had been repelled so easily by an ordinary man.
It wasn't that the general was weak.
The enemy was even more terrifying.
"I've already dealt with Zhang Fei. Whoever among you wants to come next... Don't hurt this general. Let everyone through!"
"Are you done? Then I won't make a substitution."
The man holding the kitchen knife let out a low voice. With fury, he forced Guan Yu back.
The red-faced man didn't want to appear ashamed, so he stubbornly held up his qi and pressed forward—the Azure Dragon Yanyue Knife in his hand swept out in a wide arc.
"You want to look down on me? You are not qualified..."
Guan Yu roared.
His own red qi was flying freely!
However, the man showed nothing but disdain. The kitchen knife in his hand rotated slightly—and actually blocked Guan Yu's strike.
"Say... I've played enough. Get out."
The simple kitchen knife swung.
Guan Yu flew backward, flipped upside down, and crashed to the ground.
Then two completely unremarkable men appeared before Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
Why unremarkable? Because they were so ordinary—so utterly common that even if thrown into a crowd, no one would notice them. If it weren't for the battle armor they wore, one could easily mistake them for peasants.
"Are you humiliating our brothers?"
Guan Yu's face turned purple, his expression abnormally ferocious.
And Zhang Fei was panting like a bellows.
This was rage. It was a humiliation beyond bearing—that villager-level soldiers could be compared to a general of his caliber.
"I'm going to kill you guys!"
Zhang Fei gripped his snake spear and stomped the ground. His whole body rose into the air.
But the opponent's speed was faster than him. He simply thrust his long pole forward.
It stabbed clean into Zhang Fei's abdomen, and suddenly the man began to retch.
"Go back..."
The man twisted his wrist. Zhang Fei—unrivaled Zhang Fei—was beaten down again.
Guan Yu looked at the silent soldiers on the opposing side, and a chill settled deep in his heart. He immediately shouted: "The whole army retreats!"
"Guan Yunchang—there is no need to struggle any longer. Our people have already surrounded you!"
Along with this man's voice, five thousand soldiers appeared on the high ground behind Guan Yu.
The same uniforms. The same indifferent expressions.
Obviously the strength of this entire group was on par with the leaders in front of them—and their power could suppress Guan Yu's entirely.
Guan Yu was stunned.
He had been so angry just now that he had forgotten the full horror of what he was facing.
What was he supposed to do now?!
Zhang Fei hauled himself up from the ground and wanted to say something—but three of them knocked him right back down.
"You... these villagers dare to toy with me..."
Boom.
A fist the size of a sandbag struck his left eye.
Stars exploded across Zhang Fei's vision. He went down and fainted on the spot.
Guan Yu was surrounded.
It was only then that Zhang Liao appeared, saying to the believers under his command: "Get these two up. Prepare to guard this border."
"Yes, General."
The soldiers began to move. The battlefield was cleaned with remarkable speed.
They had obviously defeated Guan Yu—yet had no intention of attacking further. It was clear that their mission was simply to hold this position.
In Shuhan, at Liu Bei's residence.
"Report! This is very bad! Both generals have been captured!"
"What general?"
"It's General Guan Yu and General Zhang Fei!"
Thud.
Liu Bei fell to the ground. His eyes were wide with an expression of utter disbelief.
How was this possible.
How brave his two sworn brothers were—and they had been defeated by Zhang Liao?
Zhuge Liang beside him was equally anxious. He pressed: "What happened? Report quickly!"
"Return to my lord—the two generals were ordered to cross the river by a back road to enter Soochow. They encountered Zhang Liao's army at the foot of a hill. The two generals knew they could not afford to delay and intended to lead a surprise attack.
As it turned out, a group of men dressed as clerks suddenly ran out and taunted the two generals..."
After listening to the full account, Zhuge Liang drew a sharp breath. A group of ordinary men had defeated the two generals. What a staggering result.
He wanted to ask—was the other side simply that good?
But after carefully recalling Cao Cao's recent actions, he already had his answer.
"My lord, things do not look well. Cao Cao has truly received the blessing of the gods. I'm afraid we will not be able to resist him."
"What?! How is that possible?"
Liu Bei was equally anxious at that moment.
Zhuge Liang gritted his teeth and said: "For now, the only path I can see is to appeal to the heavens and pray for a response!"
At present, Cao Cao had divine aid. It was estimated to be assistance from something akin to Yuan Luzhi—a monster of that caliber.
And so Soochow had joined Yuan Luzhi's sect as well. If they did not act now, when would they?
Liu Bei asked suspiciously, his heart uneasy: "Truly? Are those immortals really so detached from the world?"
"My lord—even the immortals do not want to watch the creatures of this world be reduced to ash."
Zhuge Liang gave an extremely reluctant justification.
If those immortals aloft had truly wanted to interfere in human affairs, they would have acted long ago. Nor would they have allowed Yuan Luzhi to wreak such havoc unopposed.
Obviously, they turned a blind eye.
But at this moment Liu Bei truly had no choice.
Under Zhuge Liang's persuasion, he began to construct a palace and an altar. He, too, wanted to sacrifice to God. To pray for their help.
Both of them had, without realizing it, forgotten entirely about Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
Because in the era of the Three Kingdoms—there was no need to worry.
No one would kill generals of that caliber.
The answer was very simple.
How much was a person worth? But if those two could be exchanged for a city from Liu Bei—that was the real value.
Zhang Liao, naturally, would not kill them.
Within Soochow.
As time passed, one-third of the land had been swallowed by Cao Cao.
A great number of people, having heard that Cao Cao's territory distributed food to its inhabitants, fled overnight one after another. They hadn't wanted to do this originally.
However—three days ago, Sun Quan had done something appalling.
He personally slaughtered a city of fifty thousand people. All to force Cao Cao to retreat.
But Cao Cao was no fool. After Guo Jia's reminder, he had the letter made public immediately.
That day—
Blood flowed like a river. Fifty thousand people screamed and wept as they were massacred. The entire city was plunged into darkness.
And then Sun Quan gained Yuan Luzhi's power in greater measure. Twisted horns sprouted from his head. His entire body was encased in black serpent-scale armor.
And with this new power, he had been able to kill Cao Cao's soldiers.
But in the end he lost to Cao Cao nonetheless. He led a group of soldiers—Zhou Yu among them—and evacuated the city.
Now, countless souls drifted aimlessly through the streets.
Some priests of the sect were reciting prayers, guiding the spirits onward into the underworld of the Divine Realm.
"Master, all the corpses have been processed. Many people have gathered outside—all of them fleeing..."
Cao Cao stood upon the tower. There was no pride on his face.
Only indifference.
"Go down. Settle the people well."
"Yes."
The plain tone was enough to make the soldier want to cry.
Because he was a soldier of Soochow. And yet he had received treatment that no one could have imagined. This was his hometown—but it had become hell on earth.
Sun Quan was such a heartless creature.
Sooner or later, he would die at the hands of the Master Priest. The soldier firmly believed this in his heart.
Jia Xu looked at Cao Cao's back.
He thought the man had changed.
If it were the Cao Cao of before—this hero would have laughed wildly and mocked Sun Quan without restraint. He would not have been like this. Sad for these people.
God.
It truly was a good faith for mankind.
It was a pity that Sun Quan had fallen into the grip of the demon.
"My lord, do not be saddened. Now the hearts of Soochow's people have been lost entirely. Even if Sun Quan has Yuan Luzhi's support, he cannot sustain himself any longer."
In this era—without the people, there was nothing. No matter which warlord, every lord understood this truth very well. Otherwise they would have proclaimed themselves emperor long ago.
"But, Wenhe... I don't care when Sun Quan dies. What angers me is the person who drove Sun Quan to this."
"You mean Daji—the fox demon from the troubled times?"
"Yes! This fox is destroying the world. Whether it is the negligence of the immortal realm or not—we, as believers in the gods, cannot simply let it stand."
"Then what do you intend?"
Jia Xu stood up and stepped in front of Cao Cao.
He listened to the other man's words, spoken one by one: "Pray to the gods. Beg for a goddess to descend into the world and deal with Daji once and for all."
"But we have no sacrifices!"
Jia Xu reminded him carefully.
Last time, they had sacrificed all the goddesses they possessed. Now there was no suitable woman they could offer.
Cao Cao pointed toward the wandering dead souls drifting below, and said with quiet righteousness: "The gods will understand us. Let's go... come with me."
The two made their way to the simple temple in the city. It had been built that very morning.
There was only a single tablet bearing the name of the Eternal God. Nothing else. Although it was crude, hundreds of believers were already seated in rows, kneeling and praying in earnest.
"Hail, Master Priest."
"Good day, my prince."
...
Facing the greetings of the believers, the two nodded in acknowledgment.
Then Cao Cao knelt before the memorial tablet, bowed his head in a deep kowtow—once, then again...
"O Great God of Eternity—the snake demon Yuan Luzhi is ravaging this world. He has taken control of the overlord of Eastern Wu, Sun Quan, and has slaughtered a city of tens of thousands to force Cao Cao to retreat...
I pray for a goddess to descend and utterly destroy Daji, severing her from Yuan Luzhi's power.
Once all is settled, Cao Cao will inevitably hold a proper sacrifice in return!"
Upon hearing Cao Cao's words, only then did the believers truly react.
So the Master Priest wished to rely on a goddess descending into the mortal world to defeat the terrible nine-tailed fox demon.
But could it truly succeed?
There were no sacrifices. Could a prayer alone be enough?
In the midst of everyone's doubts, the memorial tablet lit up with a soft, glazed radiance.
The majesty of God—and a voice, holy and resonant.
The holy voice spread throughout the city.
"Yes!" the people cried.