Summoning Lightning and Drawing Thunder

Following Sun Jian's shrill scream, it was as if a switch had been flipped; the city wall descended into absolute chaos. Panic-stricken and mindless, the soldiers stopped caring about rank or status, hacking at anyone who blocked their path. Hot blood sprayed before their eyes, mixing with the cold rain to create a bizarre, twisted beauty.

"Your Majesty, you must take cover!"

Seeing heads flying and severed limbs littering the horse ramp, Liu Bei and his two brothers hurriedly shielded Liu Hong, abandoning their attempt to push forward.

Terrified by the mayhem, Liu Hong felt his strength drain away. He was dragged by Liu Bei into a relatively secluded corner, where he gasped for air, his soul still trembling.

Having been the supreme and exalted Emperor for so many years, he had truly never witnessed a scene where hundreds or thousands of men slaughtered one another. In this madness where everyone had lost their minds, even the Son of Heaven or a high-ranking minister could easily be cut down by a stray blade!

"Your Majesty, it is over! Luoyang is finished!"

Before Liu Hong could steady his heart, Grand Commandant Deng Sheng appeared before him in a wretched state. His graying beard and hair were matted with filth, his silk robes stained with dark, clotted blood, and he was weeping bitterly.

"The Moth Bandits have not even begun their assault, yet the city wall is already in chaos. Luoyang cannot be held!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Hong wanted nothing more than to curse: "It was you, you old dog, who insisted I not flee west to Hongnong! You spoke of the Eight Passes being impregnable and Luoyang being as solid as a golden soup, forcing me to stay and defend it. Now, look at you—how dare you come before Me to wail and weep!"

But seeing Deng Sheng's look of utter despair and disarray, Liu Hong ultimately swallowed his words and turned to look at Liu Bei: "Xuande, is there any way out?"

Liu Bei shook his head helplessly, "Your Majesty, the horse ramp is blocked. We cannot even descend from the ramparts..."

Even if they had planned an escape route beforehand, there was no way to reach it!

Unless they could fly down like God Huang Tian, they had no choice but to remain trapped on the city wall.

Liu Hong slumped powerlessly against the cold, hard wall, his heart filled with ashes. "The vast world, how did it come to this?"

"Regret! I should never have come to Daxia Gate. If only I had broken out through Dongyang Gate earlier!"

Yuan Shao hid in a corner of the wall under the protection of a few retainers. Watching the chaotic ramparts, he could not help but feel deep remorse.

"I actually deluded myself into thinking Luoyang could be held. How foolish! Truly foolish!"

He wiped the rain from his face with his hand. "Is this it? Am I, Yuan Shao, to die in Luoyang today, buried alongside the Great Han?!"

He was not reconciled!

He hailed from the Yuan Clan, a family that had produced high officials for four generations, and though he was not of the direct line—and thus looked down upon by that brat Yuan Shu—he had finally gained the recognition of countless people through years of cultivating his reputation and striving for greatness.

"The Model of the World," Yuan Benchu!

Bearing such a grand title, he had been full of ambition and high spirits, intending to achieve a monumental legacy, surpass Yuan Shu, and become the most accomplished figure in the history of the Yuan Clan!

However...

Yuan Shao looked up at the pouring rain and roared in his heart, "Heaven wishes to destroy me! Does Heaven truly wish to destroy me?!"

Huang Tian had noticed the chaos on the walls of Luoyang, but he paid it no mind, instead closing his eyes to silently sense the flow of energy between heaven and earth.

At a certain moment, he snapped his eyes open, a flash of lightning seemingly crossing his gaze.

Orthodox Earth Thunder!

Heavenly Thunder resonance!

He raised his right hand high. Following his movement, the thick clouds churned violently; thunder rumbled, and purple lightning tore through the firmament like a spiderweb.

A "Thunder Spear" slowly manifested in the void above his right hand. To those looking up from the ground, it appeared as if Huang Tian, standing atop his high platform, was gripping a blazing, brilliant spear of the Thunder God!

The shaft was composed of blinding white light, with countless fine, purple lightning snakes coiling and hissing around it, emitting a scalp-tingling crackle.

An incredibly violent power was constrained within the ten-foot-long spear, distorting the surrounding air; the scorching heat waves even evaporated the torrential rain falling from the sky.

"The Holy Venerable's power is infinite!!"

"Huang Tian descends, the Blue Heaven dies!"

"..."

Tens of thousands of Yellow Turban Army soldiers saw this mythical scene and fell into a frenzy.

Meanwhile, Liu Hong and his entourage on the walls of Luoyang were left stunned. They could barely accept the sight of someone riding the clouds, but the sight of a man gripping a thunder spear and commanding lightning challenged their very sanity. They stood at a loss, muttering incoherently.

The soldiers who had been hacking away in a frenzy gradually regained their senses under such a god-like, demon-like display, only to be plunged into deep terror.

Were they truly meant to fight against such a deity?

Ignoring the fanaticism and terror of the others, Huang Tian bent his elbow. The Thunder Spear, carrying the most rigid and powerful force in the world, pulled back slightly, and then...

His gaze crossed the distance between the platform and the walls of Luoyang, locking onto the towering ramparts.

No roar, no declaration.

Only a single throw, pouring in all his spiritual power and will!

"BOOM--!!!"

The Thunder Spear left his hand, instantly transforming into a blazing white meteor that streaked across the downpour. Its brilliance was so intense it nearly eclipsed all other light in the world, tearing through the air and leaving a trail of thunderous booms in its wake.

Time seemed to stretch infinitely in that instant.

Liu Hong, Yuan Shao, Deng Sheng, He Jin, and Liu Bei stared in horror as the Thunder God's spear hurtled toward the massive city beneath their feet at a speed that defied comprehension.

In a flash, the searing ball of light exploded against the city wall, followed by a deafening, mountain-shattering roar.

Giant stones, rubble, wooden beams, and everything else were rendered as fragile as sandcastles before the power of a deity. A visible shockwave expanded in a ring, carrying dust and debris into the sky as it transformed into a rapidly rising mushroom cloud.

The ancient city wall, which had stood towering for several stories, collapsed rapidly amidst the violently raging thunder, turning into dust.

The rumbling echoed for a long time, like heavy hammers striking the bottom of everyone's hearts.

As the blinding white light and the dust filling the sky dissipated, the soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army looked up to see a massive breach in the city wall that stretched for miles. At the site of the breach lay charred ruins, broken walls, and the surviving ministers and Han Army soldiers, who were nearly suffocating and driven to madness.

A profound silence fell.

Only the sound of the drizzling rain, which was gradually tapering off, remained.

Pitter-patter, it actually gave one an exceptionally gentle feeling, as if a beauty were softly caressing her lover's face.

Yet, the tragic scene before them felt nothing like gentle; it only instilled a deep, chilling terror.

And the "instigator" of all this, Huang Tian, watched the ancient city he had destroyed in silence, then said with exceptional calm:

"Enter the city!"

As his words fell, tens of thousands of the Yellow Turban Army instantly erupted into a frenzy.

"Enter the city!"

"Enter the city!"

They brandished their weapons, surging like a tide through the breach blasted open by the Thunder Spear. Anyone who resisted was stabbed to death by a flurry of spears; in reality, no one stood in their way at all. All the Han Army soldiers who had survived by luck had been scared out of their wits, collapsing to the ground to await capture by the Yellow Turban Army.

Luoyang, the capital of the world.

It is decided!