Chapter 482 - Wrath
= A few minutes ago =
Ma Chao attempted to help Pang Tong from the mysterious hands that were strangling the strategist with ropes.
As the general was galloping forward, he found himself falling down into a hole.
At first, Ma Chao could see a blue static portal, but his vision changed after he went inside.
As soon as Ma Chao"s eyes could see the other world within the gate, he found a blue sky without a cloud or sun.
But it did not change the fact that he was still falling down to earth.
Ma Chao looked down. He did not know why, but he and his favorite horse were over 10 meters in the sky. The gravity was pulling them down to earth fast!
"ARGH!!"
Even though Ma Chao wanted to save his horse from falling to death, he decided to save his life first. By leaping off his horse at the last second before it crashed the ground, Ma Chao negated some falling damage. When his body was about the drop on earth, he managed to push his hand on the ground and rolled sideway, breaking the fall.
But what awaited him was a nightmare.
*WHOOSH*
A long halberd, carrying the power of a 4-wing angel, was coming toward Ma Chao"s face.
*CLANK*
Ma Chao parried the strike by using his forearm supporting his halberd shaft from behind.
The force sent Ma Chao flying backward, but the a.s.sailant did not let the general escape. He galloped his horse and chased after Ma Chao.
Ma Mengqi backflipped, adjusting his posture and stance. When he could take a good look at his enemy, he found the hardened face of a former Wei"s general, who had scars and traces of war all over his face.
Zhang Liao
While Ma Chao was still astonished by the ident.i.ty of his enemy, he failed to notice the weapon in Zhang Liao"s left hand.
It was a long black object with two holes, which was pointing at Ma Chao"s chest. The distance between Zhang Liao and Ma Chao was only 5 meters apart.
A shotgun!
*BANG*
*BANG*
Two loud bangs were audible before Ma Chao felt that many small objects bit into his chest. Moreover, these small pieces of iron b.a.l.l.s carried tremendous forces that pushed his body backward.
Those sh.e.l.ls that hit Ma Chao were two shotgun rounds.
The lamellar scale armor that Ma Chao was wearing was useless against these powerful bullets, which also carried the inner force of a 4-wing angel. Even if Ma Chao could use his 1-wing power to increase his physical defense, it was still not enough to protect his flesh and inner organs.
As a result, Ma Chao"s lungs, stomach, liver, and many blood veins were riddled by the slug sh.e.l.ls.
"Kuk!"
This time, Ma Chao could not break the fall or soften his landing due to injuries and the surprise element of the shotgun. He crashed onto the ground with his back and vomited out a mouthful of blood.
Zhang Liao"s horse stopped as the rider point his halberd tip at Ma Chao"s neck.
"Any last word?"
The voice of Zhang Liao was as cold as ever.
Ma Chao glared at Zhang Liao. Because his lungs had been flooded with his blood, he could not speak.
Still, the resentment and the angry stare from Ma Chao told enough stories.
"I take it as a no," Zhang Liao gathered his force into his halberd, preparing to behead Ma Chao.
At that moment, Zhou Cang had finished killing Pang Tong. The former yelled at the dead strategist in anger.
"SHAME ON YOU, PANG TONG!! SHAME ON YOU, LIU BEI!! I THOUGHT BOTH OF YOU WERE FIGHTING FOR THE COMMON PEOPLE!!"
Zhou Cang was disappointed by Pang Tong"s ruthless order.
In the other world, he followed Guan Yu and Liu Bei as the latter was working to bring happiness to their people. As for Pang Tong, aside from the fact that this strategist was a prideful drunkard, he was still a talented adviser worthy of respect.
However, in this world, both of them ignored the big picture. Instead of ending the civil war by accepting Tong"s rulers.h.i.+p, they kept on fighting and even resorted to harming citizens for the sake of reclaiming their territory.
At first, Zhou Cang thought that Pang Tong was the sole rotten fish that deserved death.
But Liu Bei"s follow up order broke Zhou Cang"s heart. Killing all innocent people to shut their mouth was unacceptable!
Zhou Cang cried, regretting that he worked for Liu Bei in the other life. At the same time, he wanted to go back to the old days where Guan Yu, Liu Bei, and Zhou Cang were working under the same banner.
He missed the laughter of Shu Han citizens.
He missed the parties that Guan Yu, Guan Ping, and their legion had.
He missed the green uniform and Liu Bei"s old slogan.
He missed the old Shu Han!
But that dream shattered because of this world"s vile Liu Bei. For Zhou Cang, this Liu Bei was not HIS Liu Bei. It was an imposter with the same face!
"WHY!? LIU BEI!! WHY!!!??" Zhou Cang"s face turned ugly because of his tears, drools, and snorts.
The voice of Zhou Cang distracted Zhang Liao from killing Ma Chao. The general stopped his halberd while his eyes were still looking at his opponent, but his attention was on the vice general.
While Zhou Cang was screaming in heart pain, the strategist behind this army maneuvering was holding Liu Bei and Xu Shu with his hands.
Li Feihong was frustrated. Everything was ruined because of Pang Tong"s ruthlessness.
Everything happened because his plan had gone wrong.
.
When Liu Bei Army was about to arrive, Li Feihong hatched a plan to wither down Liu Bei"s provision, just like what Pang Tong had predicted.
Li Feihong wanted to release the unfaithful citizens and officials to Liu Bei, so they could eat up the latter"s provision and hinder their mobility. Secondly, to prevent the unforeseen uprising or potential sabotage from the local people, sending away these citizens benefitted his city.
Along with the pros, there were also the cons.
Since the population would rejoin Liu Bei, some of these men might be conscripted to be Liu Bei"s soldiers during the siege battle, which might increase their number from 150,000 to 200,000 or so.
And lastly, Information about Zhang Liao, Bo Cai, and Zhou Cang might also be leaked by the leaving citizens.
Still, this move was like hitting two birds with one stone. A bit of disadvantage still worth the pros that the Monster Legion would benefit. So, Li Feihong decided to go along with this policy.
When the townsmen and the local officials heard that Li Feihong would let them go, everyone rejoiced. They accepted Li Feihong"s offers and spread words immediately.
Hongnong City was the capital of Hongnong Commandery. Thus, the majority of its population concentrated in this town. When Hongnong"s prosperity was in its peak before Emperor Ling began extorting taxes, 500,000 people used to live in this area.
Even if this city was ransacked by Khan and Dong Zhuo, 200,000 people chose to migrate back into this town when Liu Bei reclaimed it.
And 80% of its population wanted to rejoin Liu Bei!
Li Feihong did not know if herd psychology was in effect or they had faith in this lord. Still, he allowed these men to leave.
But Le Feihong faced another hurdle.
They had already packed their belongings, but they refused to leave until Liu Bei"s forces showed up before the gate.
The officials gave an excuse that they were without mercenaries or bodyguards because Li Feihong confiscated all weaponry and personal. Everyone was afraid of bandits outside of the city.
They had no choice. Li Feihong again allowed them to wait for Liu Bei Army.
When Liu Bei Army arrived, Li Feihong immediately opened the east gate, the opposite direction of the incoming forces.
But the people refused to exit in that direction. Everyone gathered before the west gate, hoping to rejoin with Liu Bei Army right away.
Because of their stubbornness, the crowd of migrating townsmen and Zhang Liao Army got stuck in traffic. Since these citizens got on their way, Li Feihong changed his battle plan and ordered his men to enter his dimension world again.
Unintentionally, Li Feihong used an empty castle tactic. He was hoping that once these townsmen got out of the way, he would redeploy the Monster Legion outside of the city while he and Zhang Liao would a.s.sa.s.sinate Liu Bei and his generals.
But Pang Tong ruined everything. This fat strategist ordered the charge, killing many innocent bystanders, who should not be a part of this war.
Li Feihong admitted that his wits and intelligence were not on the same level as these historical figures, but murdering innocent people for the sake of winning a city was unacceptable.
In anger, Li Feihong sacrificed more of his lifespan, opening more portals. He abducted Liu Bei and Xu Shu with his own hands. As for Ma Chao, he created a pseudo pitfall trap to cripple the general and let Zhang Liao take care of the rest.
Zhou Cang, who did not want to fight Liu Bei, was watching the conflict from the beginning. When he heard that Liu Bei ordered to kill everyone to hide the events here, this vice general was infuriated.
He was disappointed in his former lord and Pang Tong.
Because of his fury, he volunteered to kill Pang Tong with his own hands, and he did it literally.
.
Now, Ma Chao was half-dead, while Liu Bei and Xu Shu"s life was in Li Feihong"s palms.
However, this otherworlder did not want Liu Bei to die a quick death!
While multi-tasking, managing portals for Bo Cai and his ambush party, Li Feihong tossed Xu Shu aside. He did not hate this strategist since he had protested against the peasant-killing idea.
But Liu Bei had to suffer!
*PA*
While Li Feihong"s left hand was still holding on Liu Bei"s collar, the right hand slapped this warlord"s face.
The power of an immortal stunned Liu Bei. Two of his molars moved and slipped out of his gum.
As Liu Bei"s face turned toward the left side of Li Feihong, the latter"s right hand turned into a fist as he swung it back toward his prisoner"s nose.
*PEUK*
Liu Bei"s short nose was broken. Blood splattered and dirtied Li Feihong"s fist.
But he was not satisfied!
Six angel wings spread behind Li Feihong"s back. He gathered all forces into his right fist again and slammed it onto Liu Bei"s left shoulder.
*CRACK!*
Liu Bei"s left collarbone shattered. The victim screamed in pain, but his voice did not enter Li Feihong"s ears at all.
*CRACK!*
The left arm
*CRACK!*
The left forearm
*KRUK*
The left hand
*POK*
*POK*
Five left fingers
All Liu Bei"s bones on the left side of his body, where Li Feihong"s right fist could hit or grab, was destroyed.
The bloodshot eyes of Li Feihong stared into Liu Bei"s crying eyes.
"I"ve finished the left. Now, your right…"
The torture continued.