Chapter 92 – Huang Zhong VS Lu Bu
Translated by Bloodfalcon, Edited by Krayto
All the experts present are in awe of this battle and continued to observe.
When the Poseidon halberd and golden curved dao collided in air. In their hearts only two words emerged “Really strong!”
It is said that Lu Bu's arms strength can hold up one of Nine Cauldron's tripod by himself and if this strength was used to kill, definitely this Jiangxia army commander-in-chief will die in a matter of seconds, causing Jiangxia's army to gain heavy losses.
TL: Nine Cauldrons of old yonder. It is said, that these cauldron is symbol of Zhou rites. Its weight is around 7,5 ton. And there is a proverb that if a man’s words have the weight of nine cauldrons, then he is a very trustworthy person.
The opposite Huang Zhong is also thinking the same, he fought this battle on his own initiative and even personally took charge in the assault, so he can kill a senior general in Lu Bu’s army to raise his army’s morale. But he did not think he would have such a big miscalculation. Never in his wildest imagination, did he think that Lu Bu is the one to come out and accept his challenge.
If Lu Bu is a mighty tiger, then Huang Zhong is a ferocious lion.
One is king of the forest and one is king of the savannah. When they meet with each other, naturally they must decide with life or death.
“HAAA!!!: Huang Zhong raised both of his arms with his curved dao on his back and then tried to slash Lu Bu's skull with this posture. If this slash hit, it will be the end of Lu Bu.
“Good move!” Said Lu Bu while looking at this old general. He is only average in appearance but his beard is very long, on his face is a lot of wrinkles but his martial arts is very very strong.
He is able to take on Lu Bu's strength just like Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, and other super-class generals. Other people who met Lu Bu, will certainly die in one move.
That is, if Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are attacking him together.
But this veteran actually can match his strength by himself alone. And the most important thing is this veteran can also counter his attack. Really surprising Lu Bu.
“Interesting, interesting!!!” After Kaiyang breakthrough, Lu Bu has not been in duel for a long time. At Mt. Bagong battle, Chen Lan and Lei Bo can be considered as appetizers.
Now he can do battle because who he fought is a very strong general. So Lu Bu's excitement currently is very high.
Lu Bu does not avoid the overhead slash, but quickly blocked Huang Zhong's slash and added more strength in his hand and countered his attack.
With this burst of strength, Lu Bu is trying to take down Huang Zhong in one blow.
You want to pin me down?! Huang Zhong has acknowledged that Lu Bu's strength is very big. But Huang Zhong's strength is also almost on par with Lu Bu. You want to compare strength with me, huh?
“Neigh, neigh, neigh!!!!” While Huang Zhong can withstand Lu Bu's strike his warhorse however cannot withstand it anymore, it's already kneeling in one leg.
“Hmm??!” Huang Zhong's brow wrinkled. His warhorse already could not withstand Lu Bu's attack, if Lu Bu attacked again, then the warhorse will possibly die from its organ failure due to pressure.
So, Huang Zhong swung his curved dao so that Lu Bu's Poseidon trident halberd had a downward movement was deflected to the other side in order to rescue his warhorse, who is currently unable to stand.
They did the same actions over and over with Lu Bu and Huang Zhong taking turns in attacking, until they spread out.
“God-of-war Lu Bu, you really live up to your reputation!” Exclaimed Huang Zhong while he redirected his horse away from Lu Bu.
From Huang Zhong's first debut after being scouted by Liu Pan, in all the of the battles he participated in, no one can survive more than three bouts with Huang Zhong.
Please do not think that Jing Province's soldiers are weak, but Huang Zhong is just simply too strong for them.
Huang Zhong's strength has been refined to the peak of his body, so we can see the result of his training today. It can be said that he has reached the pinnacle of super-class generals in terms of strength.
Huang Zhong's age now is not too high. It can be said that he is still at the prime age of his life, so now, he is at his strongest state.
Even when Huang Zhong's was at his old age, Guan Yu still cannot beat him in a fair duel, only after he feint his attack and does his strategy which is, pretend to retreat and suddenly turn back and surprise him, only can he beat Huang Zhong.
TL: For reference Guan Yu vs Elderly Huang Zhong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ9RlaVgYaY
“Huang Zhong of Jiangxia, you are also very strong!!!” Lu Bu suddenly discovered that he cannot underestimate this veteran. Since Lu Bu has refined his strength to be pinnacle of super-class generals, he is unmatched by anyone.
His prowess is so strong that when at Hulao Gate, he was able to kill enemy generals in one bout, even when Guan Yu and Zhang Fei attacked him, he is able to fight to a draw. But he really did not expect this veteran can take on himself alone.
That veteran, Huang Zhong, do not just have the capability to follow Lu Bu's rhythm but also able to counter his attack to a stand-still.
“Why did I not meet this person sooner?!” Thought Lu Bu who then began to be aware that he should never ever underestimate this world.
“But, I will stop you right here and now!” Exclaimed Huang Zhong coldly. He had drawn his long bow from his horseback.
“Eh, that general is using a gold curved dao and a long bow?! And that general is also old, his hair is all white and has a long beard??? Fuck is that really Old Huang Zhong, why did I not realized it sooner!!!!!”
Seeing the three signs, Liu Mang's eyes almost fell out of its socket. It is really he, Huang Zhong. One of Shu Country's Five Tiger Generals, Huang Zhong.
If you ask, who in the Five Tiger Generals has the most skill in wushu, they will say Huang Zhong without a doubt. The reason why he is not as famous as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun, is because when Liu Bei recruited Huang Zhong, he was already at old age of 65 years.
That veteran who can cut down Xiahou Yuan personally in Mount Dingjun, that veteran also was counted among Five Tiger Generals along with youngsters like Ma Chao and Zhao Yun. So you can measure how fierce Huang Zhong is.
“Honorable Father-in-law, be careful!!!” Shouted Liu Mang, really worried.
“Eh?!!!” Chen Gong raised his eyebrows while looking at Liu Mang. In Chen Gong's eyes, Lu Bu could be said as the strongest man in the world, a god-of-war. He does not believe that Liu Mang doesn't know that, but this.
Liu Mang showed a worried look unexpectedly. Is this Huang Zhong really that strong?
“STRONG!!!” Gao Shun’s compliment is short but straight to the point.
“We are not a match for him!” Zhang Liao who commanded the Bing Province Heavy Cavalry also have analyzed Huang Zhong. Zhang Liao's strength is actually a first-class general and now almost reaching super-class, but he still cannot see Huang Zhong's depth.
“How can this be!!!!” Zang Ba stunned and could not close his mouth. In his eyes, Lu Bu is the strongest man alive and now there is a man who is equally matching his strength. Zang Ba's character is very arrogant and full of pride of his strength. He was beaten by Lu Bu until his pride is gone, before he pledged his allegiance to him.
Now there is another person who is as strong as Lu Bu who may take him down at any time, how can he not be stunned the entire time?
“Old General Huang, you are really strong!!!” Su Fei knew that Huang Zhong is strong, but he didn't think it to this extent. Huang Zhong's strength is almost equal to Lu Bu’s.
He also knows Lu Bu's reputation in Hulao Gate, when he deadlocked 18 warlords to a state where those 18 warlords did not dare to do anything. One person with one horse shook the whole nation, but that person right now is evenly matched with Huang Zhong.
Lu Bu who heard Huang Zhong exclaim earlier, suddenly become uneasy. “Hard longbow!!!” Lu Bu looked at Huang Zhong's bow. That bow Huang Zhong drew is absolutely a hard longbow.
A normal person can only draw a 1-dan bow, a person who can draw 2-dan bow can be said exist in only one in a hundred people. But this Huang Zhong's longbow is at least 5-dan.
TL: 1-dan = 50 kg
TL: Hard longbow, was used by archer at that time and only an expert using it. The stiffer bow, the better its arrow penetrating power will be.
If this type of arrow was launched by this longbow and hit a human target, it will pierce through the body immediately.
Possibly there will be no arrow wound, but it will be like Cao Chun who was pierced to the ground and stuck like a statue.
“Come on then!!!” Lu Bu dispelled his uneasiness and built up his confidence again, because that longbow previously gave him a feeling of a threat.
That is correct, it threatened Lu Bu. As if it is a predator who is lurking, trying to ambush its prey. That longbow has chosen Lu Bu as its prey and now it wanted to swallow Lu Bu.
From the very start, it is Lu Bu who always made people frightened, and now unexpectedly he has been given that same feeling.
“Lu Fengxian, sorry!!!” Huang Zhong's finger is resting on that longbow string. Then an unspeakable energy engulfed his body. One person, one arrow, actually made all people on the scene in awe and hold their breaths.
“For I, will stop you here!!!” Huang Zhong showed his death glare. Suddenly he pulled his five-dan longbow. It is five-dan longbow! The arrows strength it will produce is a thousand-jin.
TL: 1-jin = 0.5 kg, 1 pound.
A normal person can only draw a 2-dan bow and that is it. This veteran can draw a 5-dan bow he has definitely refined his strength to the pinnacle of super-class generals.
Actually, Zhang Liao and Zang Ba also can draw a 5-dan bow because their strength is almost reaching super-class, but it is impossible to aim accurately after they drew the bow, because that is their limits.
However, this Huang Zhong can actually lock on Lu Bu.
Lu Bu wad now like a prey on top of this lions list.
“You want to prey on me, huh?!” Waiting for death is impossible for Lu Bu. Staying still waiting for the end was not his style.
“We'll see now, who is preying who!!!” Lu Bu, this mighty tiger, has also revealed his fangs.
“Poof!!!” There's blood splashing from Lu Bu's face. It is his blood flowing, along his cheek which was grazed by the arrow.
”MILORD!!!”
“HONORABLE FATHER-IN-LAW!!!” All of Lu Bu’s army is currently panicking, because Lu Bu has been injured by an arrow shot from q 5-dan longbow. The injury has made him truly like a general from hell.
“DO NOT COME HERE!!!” Lu Bu stopped his crowd. His arm is shivering, because he was just shot. That arrow just now almost cost Lu Bu his life. If it were not for his Poseidon Gold Cloth's defensive capability which was covering almost his body, it would have been possible for Lu Bu to die at that time.
Even that is the case, that arrow just bounced off his armor, and cut Lu Bu's cheek.
Lu Bu then cleaned the wound on his face with his saliva and then licked the blood on his hand. The taste is salty.
“HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” Lu Bu suddenly laughed. His entire body cannot suppress his shivering.
“Did Lu Bu go crazy?!!!” Said Su Fei puzzled from inside Jiangxia army outpost. He thought that Lu Bu died from Huang Zhong's arrow at that time, but Lu Bu actually survived the shot.
But surviving the shot is also of no use because his whole body is shaking to his arm because of the wound he received!! So, it can be said, it is our win this time.
“Hmph!!!” Huang Zhong looks at Lu Bu coldly. He knew that Lu Bu it is impossible for Lu Bu to be scared, even if that arrow almost cost him his life a moment ago.
Others cannot see it, but Huang Zhong understood Lu Bu. Lu Bu's body did not shiver because of fear but excitement. He is excited because he finally found a worthy opponent, finally found a rival.
Everyone wants to become a master in martial arts, but after becoming a master, one can only feel lonely because nobody is able to defeat him at his current state.
Staying at that position will make it unbearable for that master if one cannot find a rival that can stand on the same ground with him.
At that time, when there is no enemy who can defeat you, when you are called a god-of-w, you will no longer be excited, because you are lonely.
Before long, you will start having a death-wish, asking people to defeat you so you can compete again.
Now Lu Bu has found that feeling of defeat, that feeling that has been sought by Lu Bu for too long.
“Come on again!!!” Exclaimed Lu Bu fiercely. With Lu Bu not treating his cheek's wound, blood kept flowing again and again. Making Lu Bu like a monster from hell.
“Lu Bu, you are really a death-seeker. No wonder you charge again after I shot you!!!!” Exclaimed Huang Zhong coldly. He did not think that Lu Bu would start to charge again after that arrow almost claimed his life.
The arrow that Huang Zhong shot was called Ghost Arrow made from glass. It is famous for its extreme fast speed, leaving no shadow, with tremendous penetrative power and is un-seeable with naked eye due to it reflecting light camouflaging itself when in day time.
Nobody has ever seen this arrow, because once they have seen it, is the moment they die and met King of Hell. Lu Bu was spared from that disaster because of his Poseidon Gold Cloth, and due to his warriors pride, he started charging again.
The Ghost Arrow can only used the very first time, because the second time it is used, the enemy would have discovered it. But Huang Zhong still had a lot of tricks in his sleeves.
Huang Zhong then pulled out all of his arrows from his quiver.
“What does he want to do?!” Recently Liu Mang has been training hard in archery but has not gone far enough, so Liu Mang wanted to benefit from seeing Huang Zhong's archery.
“He wants to draw again?! Using the whole quiver?!” A bow since forever can only project one arrow. Even some master archers, can only project two or three arrows max, but no one has ever put ones whole quiver.
5-dan long bow was drawn again with bowstring filled with arrows, whole arrows from its quiver.
He really thinks to launch them at the same time??? If that is the case, then it is impossible to hurt Lu Bu. If he shoots all of them, it will be similar to volley tactics and impossible to have accurate aim. Liu Mang couldn’t follow his logic.
“Whiz, Whiz, Whiz!” Those arrows released were hunting its prey. Those arrows sound was just like the God of Death swinging its scythe, trying to claim Lu Bu.
“This!!! What the fuck is this?!!” Liu Mang once again opened his eyes as wide as he can. The arrows were shot one by one continuously just like a semi-automatic weapon, with no gap for rest.
Is Huang Zhong using the semi-automatic crossbow designed by Zhuge Liang?! Even if he is using semi-auto crossbow, it is impossible to reach this velocity!!! This kind of shooting, it is still cold weapon era right??? Its speed is faster than the projectile ejected by any modern semi-automatic weaponry.
TL: Semi-automatic crossbow designed by Zhuge Liang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repeating_crossbow
“Is he using rapid-shot arrow?!” Thought Lu Bu while looking at those arrows which currently speeding toward him. “No, it is not rapid-shot arrow!” If it is only a rapid-shot arrows, as long as he can protect his own vital spots, it is hard to injure him using rapid-shot arrows. After all, rapid-shot arrows do not have much strength and it will not hit the same place over and over. But these arrows forming a straight line one after another, like a spear trying to stab him.
The drafting of the arrows dancing in the air to the front arrow, a super empowered one are speeding towards Lu Bu, like a locomotive waiting to crash. “These are rapid-concentrated-shot!!!” Lu Bu finally saw why these arrows formed a straight line in order to damage him.
Those arrows distance are almost gapless in order to increase the strength and flying distance of the first arrow. If Huang Zhong did not do this, how could he possibly harm Lu Bu with an ordinary rapid-shot?
Those arrows can be analogized like launching a space rocket. In order to reach space, a space rocket need help from several thrusters and when thruster has used up its fuel it will release them one by one.
So, a rapid-concentrated-shot is just like a space rocket taking off. The strength is put on the first arrow and the other arrows just following it. The first arrow is very big in strength and fast in speed. It is used to tear up an armor. No armor can resist that kind of strength. After the first arrow pierced the armor, then all of the follow-up arrows will just pierced that arrow wound, and then killing its victim.
Huang Zhong saw how high Lu Bu’s armor defense is. So he can only send out this rapid-concentrated-shot, in order to pierce his defense.
“HAAAAA!!!!” Lu Bu roared fiercely. His Poseidon halberd danced again in his hand. What he did next is indeed insane. Rather than taking a passive defensive stance, he charged toward those arrows. Both sides speed are very fast and have very high force and if both sides collided with each other, it will just like a meteor strike on earth.
“Lu Bu, are you renouncing this fight?!” Muttered Huang Zhong while looking at Lu Bu. If Lu Bu retreated, then maybe he can buffer rapid-concentrated-shot impact or also avoid its trajectory, after those projectiles reduced its strength in mid-air. But now, he is charging toward it? Is he really renouncing his life?
“Dang, dang, dang, dang, dang!!!” A series of sparks are glittering in midair. That kind of sparks only can be produced by colliding metal with metal.
“How can that be?!” Both Jiangxia’s army and Lu Bu’s army are stunned by what they saw. Lu Bu with his Poseidon halberd intercepted the rapid-concentrated-shot arrows, deflecting them one by one.
Two types of sharp weapons collided fiercely in midair. This view made everyone present flinch, because of sparks produced by the fierce collision of the arrows and Poseidon halberd.
When normal arrows are launched into the air, it is difficult to trace it and distinguished with the naked eye, let alone these arrows that are sharper and faster. But Lu Bu can actually see the arrows and unexpectedly intercept all of them with his Poseidon halberd.
“Dang dang dang dang!” Those sparks gradually got lesser due to the last of the arrows being inserted in to the soil.
Huang Zhong’s eyes has been shut the entire time from the moment of the first of his rapid-concentrated-shot arrow has been deflected by Lu Bu. His complexion shows a very complicated emotion. There is anger, excitement, disbelief, pride and calmness, all together in one.
“Do you have anything else, before you die?!” Lu Bu’s heart is beating very fast, fiercely. It has been too long since he felt this excited.
“Yes, I still have one more skill to show you!” Huang Zhong then extended his arm to pick up one cold and dark spear. “No one has force me to use this. Nobody!!! You are the first one to do that!” Exclaimed Huang Zhong while caressing that spear. “It has been 30 years since I used this against a person” Thought Huang Zhong. This thing will decide who is the one will lose, Huang Zhong or Lu Bu.