Everyone Underestimated Lu Bu
[You fled Luoyang with the Deposed Emperor. Rain poured from the heavens, yet the pursuers behind you refused to let up.] [You sensed arrows flying toward you from behind. They clearly did not belong to Yuan Shao's men, but Dong Zhuo's army. Perhaps the Deposed Emperor dying would be a better outcome.] [Even without looking back, you could sense the arrows' targets. You swung your long spear like an impenetrable shield, blocking every arrow from reaching you.] [The talent "Protection of the Arrow-Avoiding" awakened: Defense against projectiles. You can evade any kind of long-range attack. Furthermore, even when unable to observe the target with your eyes, you can still deal with most projectiles.]
With Protection of the Arrow-Avoiding, the pressure from the rain of arrows eased considerably. But another threat approached.
Danger.
That was right. A sense of danger truly lingered in Fujimaru Kyoya's heart. The dense arrows had prevented him from sparing any attention before, but now he had finally found... the source of the danger.
Above.
Fujimaru Kyoya looked up. A figure riding a crimson steed came crashing down from above. In this era, there were only two kinds of horses.
One was called Red Hare, and the other was everything else.
And the horse beneath this man was the fastest Red Hare.
"Get down here."
A tyrannical blow descended upon Fujimaru Kyoya's head. He had no choice but to take it head-on. After a deafening crash, the mount beneath him died instantly, while the Silver Spear in his hand was bent by the Sky-Piercing Halberd.
"Wenyuan, protect the Deposed Emperor."
Lu Bu directly hooked up the Deposed Emperor with his Sky-Piercing Halberd and tossed him to Zhang Liao like a piece of trash. Those arrows had merely been a feint. Lu Bu was always the absolute trump card worthy of being called an Assassin's Mace.
"No problem."
Zhang Liao looked at the opponent before him, with whom he had yet to settle the score. Though he desperately wanted to determine a victor, once Fengxian had acted, this man had no future left.
"Lu Bu?"
Wielding a Sky-Piercing Halberd and riding the peerless Red Hare, who else but Lu Bu could possess such unmatched valor?
"That's right, I am Lu Bu."
Naturally, Lu Bu had not said that. His face immediately turned green. He did not need to think to know that the beast he rode had started causing trouble again.
"Beast, say another word and I'll stuff a carrot into your ass."
"Croak~"
The moment Lu Bu made his threat, Red Hare let out a string of bizarre cries. It liked eating carrots, yes, but it did not like carrots entering its body from the other end.
It became obedient.
"State your name. My halberd does not kill nameless ghosts."
"Oh? So if I don't tell you my name, I won't die?"
Fujimaru Kyoya looked at the bent Silver Spear in his hand. With both arms exerting force, he actually pulled the long spear straight again.
How could a straight man use a bent spear?
"What a pity. Your name could have been passed down through the ages as an embellishment to mine."
Lu Bu clamped his legs around Red Hare and charged. With the momentum of Red Hare's charge behind him, Lu Bu casually sent Fujimaru Kyoya flying with a single strike.
There was an immense wall between having a mount and not having one.
This time, Fujimaru Kyoya understood that lesson deeply.
"Trying the same trick again? I'm not Yan Liang or Wen Chou."
Sun Ce watched Fujimaru Kyoya fly toward him and naturally sensed the approaching danger. But as he had said, he was not Yan Liang or Wen Chou.
"Clang~"
Their weapons collided. Sun Ce deflected all of Fujimaru Kyoya's attacks and forced him aside, preventing him from stealing his horse as he had before.
"And who are you?"
Lu Bu looked at Sun Ce. This was an enemy not to be underestimated. Though he did not think he would lose to anyone in a one-on-one fight, only an idiot would insist on a one-on-one fight on a battlefield.
"Just a nobody. Why should the famed Lu Fengxian concern himself with me? Our objectives are the same, so we can work together."
Another powerful enemy.
Sun Ce took a breath. If Zhou Yu had not repeatedly warned him, he would have charged straight into battle with Lu Bu already.
"Lu Bu and Sun Ce? You two really think highly of me."
Fujimaru Kyoya rose from the ground. Facing these two without a mount placed immense pressure upon him. As for Yan Liang and Wen Chou, the horse-delivery men, they were currently held back by Zhang Liao and had no chance to come offer him a horse.
[You began to hate the rain. It stole away your body heat and brought two Deaths with it.] [Without a mount and at an absolute disadvantage in mobility, you fought the War God and the Little Overlord alone. You felt the terror of Death and the beauty of battle.]
Beauty?
Under normal circumstances, Fujimaru Kyoya would definitely have thought himself insane. No matter who he had been in the past, he had never felt any beauty in battle. But... this time was different.
Weapons cut through his body, taking his blood and body heat. Should he be afraid?
"Clang~"
His powerful counterattack gave the answer.
When would he ever again have the chance to clash with renowned warriors from history? He did not know. Fujimaru Kyoya did not know. That was why he seized every moment of slaughter.
"Come."
The long spear smashed down from his hand. Lu Bu blocked it, but Red Hare's advance came to a halt from the impact. Just as Fujimaru Kyoya prepared to continue attacking, another long spear struck.
The long spear pierced Fujimaru Kyoya's body, yet Sun Ce could not feel happy, because he sensed enormous resistance.
"Get down."
Fujimaru Kyoya swung his spear backward and knocked Sun Ce down, depriving him of his mount and dragging him into a ground battle. But an even stronger Killing Intent arrived.
[You felt Death drawing near.]
Tch... was I going to die?
[You understood that facing two enemies alone had been too rash.]
That was true. But who had told him to step forward? I rarely make promises, but once I do, I keep them.
Fujimaru Kyoya waited for Death to descend, but the sound of wind approached. Something seemed to be flying toward Lu Bu.
"Boom~"
Something blasted Lu Bu and his horse backward. Then it landed before Fujimaru Kyoya. It was... an Azure Dragon Crescent Blade.
"That man's sorcery truly is formidable. Divine Speed of a Thousand Miles got us here in no time at all."
A burly man with a dark red face walked to the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade and pulled it free, then hauled Fujimaru Kyoya onto his horse.
"One after another, none of you take me, Lu Bu, seriously. Are you looking down on me, the War God?"
Lu Bu looked at this man who had suddenly appeared. At last, he understood how Zhang Liao had felt that day.
Why did powerful warriors seem to emerge as though they cost nothing these days?
"War God? Guan has no interest."
This downpour had been summoned by Zhuge Liang. Within this rain, if Guan Yu wanted to leave, no one could keep him behind.
"What about the civilians?"
Fujimaru Kyoya covered his wound and asked.
"This rain put out the Great Fire in Luoyang. With my third brother there, nothing can go wrong. Big Brother specifically sent me to retrieve you, because only I could bring you back alive."
Guan Yu swept his gaze over the army with contempt. They were merely a pack of rabble, incapable of blocking his path.
Even under such unfavorable circumstances, Guan Yu would not foolishly force a fight. But leaving was not difficult.
Zhuge Liang and Minister Wang
[Under Guan Yu's protection, you left the battlefield. After all, this rain had been summoned by Zhuge Liang. Within it, even Lu Bu could not stop Guan Yu.] [After losing the Deposed Emperor, Lu Bu and Yuan Shao no longer had any reason to kill you. Sun Ce alone could do nothing about it.] [After a period of recuperation, you gradually began to recover.]
"So, what's happening now?"
Fujimaru Kyoya drank his medicinal soup. Given the current situation, he could only rely on this Crouching Dragon, who knew the affairs of the world without leaving his home.
"Zhou Yu obtained the Jade Seal. Whether he keeps it for himself or trades it away, he is guaranteed a profit. Xun Yu chose Cao Cao, built up a substantial foundation for him, and even brought in Guo Jia."
Even Zhuge Liang could not help but feel troubled at the thought of Xun Yu and Guo Jia joining forces.
"What about the others?"
The paths taken by Xun Yu, Guo Jia, and Zhou Yu were not particularly surprising. But what had Pang Tong and Jia Xu been doing during this time?
"Pang Tong is still observing. He seems quite close to Zhou Yu. Jia Xu is harder to read. He seems to be waiting for the highest bidder."
Jia Wenhe's schemes were vicious, but he was extremely smooth in dealing with people. He never entered the game lightly, but once he did, he would settle everything in one stroke.
"All right, one last thing."
"What?"
"Why did they say my name was Zhao Yun?"
When Fujimaru Kyoya heard Guan Yu call him "Zhao Yun," he truly could not hold it in anymore.
Damn, I'm Zhao Yun? Then what is the real Yun Mei supposed to do?
"Didn't you tell me not to reveal your real name to them?"
Zhuge Liang could not hold it together either. Could there be some taboo surrounding this Zhao Yun? If so, could Fujimaru Kyoya blame him for not mentioning it beforehand?
"Right now, Hua Xiong and Lu Bu are guarding Hulao Pass. The Allied Warlords have no way through, while Dong Zhuo has reached Chang'an and named himself Chancellor. He is slaughtering people throughout Chang'an, leaving heads rolling everywhere. The officials dare to be angry but dare not speak."
Though Dong Zhuo was only killing ministers at the moment, if he treated ministers this way, there was no reason to expect him to treat the common people well.
"You have seen Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's strength as well. With them there, Lu Bu cannot hold Hulao Pass forever. The problem comes afterward."
Fujimaru Kyoya handed this headache-inducing problem to Zhuge Liang. The so-called Allied Warlords were not united. Once the fruits of victory lay before them, internal conflict would be imminent.
Yuan Shao had suffered devastating losses, Cao Cao's forces had grown tremendously, the Sun Clan secretly possessed the Jade Seal, and Yuan Shu refused to submit to anyone... this situation was far too dangerous.
"I have no solution."
Zhuge Liang still answered so carelessly. He seemed unprepared to enter the world and had always resisted doing so.
"What are you afraid of?"
Fujimaru Kyoya sensed it. The man before him seemed afraid of something. Not a specific person or matter, but the fear was still there.
"I'm afraid that everything I do will be meaningless."
Zhuge Liang did not actually think himself much better than Zhou Yu or Guo Jia. It was simply that he possessed Clairvoyance, allowing him to calculate scenes of the future.
He had originally believed that he could use those eyes to create peace for ten thousand generations, but what he saw was still a living hell.
"I calculated it countless times. I truly calculated it countless times, but I simply cannot find a perfect answer. I cannot calculate an ideal future."
Clairvoyance had given Zhuge Liang an elevated perspective, but it had also placed greater demands upon him.
In the futures he saw, no matter how the realm ultimately turned out, it always ended in the Sima Clan Usurpation.
But the Sima Clan's claim to the throne would be illegitimate. After a round of power struggles, the dynasty would soon fracture into pieces. Surrounding peoples would invade, and the Divine Land would be divided between north and south, leaving the people in misery.
Zhuge Liang had calculated it countless times and added countless variables, but none of these things could be changed.
"Have you heard of Humanity's Foundation?"
"What is that?"
Fujimaru Kyoya had been a student who did not even pay attention in class, much less someone familiar with strange terms like Humanity's Foundation.
"The Way of Heaven is Constant. It does not endure because of Yao, nor perish because of Jie. This Heavenly Mandate was decided long ago, so why should I waste my effort?"
When Zhuge Liang saw that every future he derived led to the same outcome, he understood what fate truly meant.
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