“Liu Mang Liu Hanyang! You will die a tragic death!” Liu Biao coldly looked at Liu Mang.
“Kill! Kill!” As the prison was too small for long weapons to be used effectively, Liu Mang separated his bladed shield into a sword and shield. The entire sword was bloody and the shield was dented.
“Milord! Be careful!” As Liu Mang cut down another soldier, Liu Biao’s other soldiers rushed up towards him fearlessly. Liu Mang was unable to pull back his sword quickly enough to defend himself.
Liu Mang raised his shield to protect himself but the shield could only protect himself from one side. Fortunately, the defensive power of his Aries Gold Cloth was strong enough to protect him from any fatal injuries. That being said, the force of the blow was still being transmitted through the weapon.
Liu Mang coughed out some blood in his mouth. He resisted the unpleasant feeling and swallowed back the blood. He did not want to humiliate himself in front of Liu Biao.
“He cannot hold out anymore!” One soldier shouted. Although Liu Mang swallowed the blood, this guard could tell that Liu Mang was no longer feeling well. “Kill him! The Lord will definitely reward us if we do!”
“Die!” Liu Mang’s eyes glinted as he avoided an attack that came from his blind spot. By then, he had already pulled out his weapon and cut the throats of four enemies with a single stroke.
His ferocity stunned the guards. Liu Mang took the opportunity to kill two more. The third one manage to fight back before Liu Mang could pull back his sword but Liu Mang still had his shield.
With a cold harrumph, Liu Mang smashed the enemy with his shield, sending the man flying, though still alive. Liu Mang eyes started to turn red as he continued to beat up that soldier with his shield.
“This…” The surrounding soldiers looked at Liu Mang in fear. This was not a person but a demon. Liu Mang’s killing intent was more intense than the three thousand soldiers around him.
Liu Mang smashed the soldier with his shield until the soldier’s chest caved in and his internal organs started to spill out. Despite the fact that the soldier was already dead, Liu Mang took no notice of this and continued smashing the corpse with his shield.
Everyone around him forgot to fight due to Liu Mang’s terrifying and inhumane appearance.
“Milord! Milord! Get lost!” Guan Hai and Zhou Cang became worried when they saw Liu Mang’s appearance.
“Brother Guan Hai. What is wrong with Milord?” Zhou Cang asked.
“It’s the Killing Dao!” Guan Hai’s face was full of scars and was terrifying. But even his appearance would be considered kind hearted when compared to Liu Mang’s current appearance.
Liu Biao’s guard had already turned to mash and his blood was all over the place.
Guan Hai was anxious as he wondered why Liu Mang trained in this. “Zhou Cang, protect me while I go to the Lord!”
“Understood!” Zhou Cang replied as he fought his way towards Guan Hai, protecting. Although he received numerous injuries as a result, he could not feel the pain and continued to persist in protecting Guan Hai.
“Milord!” The two called out to Liu Mang as they finally reached.
“Hm?” As Guan Hai approached, Liu Mang responded by swinging his sword at Guan Hai. Guan Hai quickly dodged the attack.
“Milord! It’s me, Guan Hai!” Guan Hai shouted loudly.
“Guan, Guan Hai?” Liu Mang muttered.
“Yes! It’s me!” Guan Hai was happy that Liu Mang responded. Liu Mang did not fall deeper into his trance.
“Milord, I am also here.” Zhou Cang also shouted.
“Zhou Cang? Guan Hai?” Liu Mang’s reddish eyes grew dimmer.
“Brother Guan Hai! Come over here quick! I cannot hold out much longer!” Zhou Cang shouted again.
“Persist even if you can’t!” Guan Hai said anxiously. When Liu Mang fell into a trance, it was not only the enemy that would suffer his wrath.
“I can’t do it!” Zhou Cang shouted back!
“Zhou Cang? Guan Hai?” Liu Mang started to come back after hearing Zhou Cang’s voice.
“This is an opportunity! Rush forward! Kill them!” Huang She shouted. If he had the strength, he would have also stepped forward.
A few of Liu Biao’s guards took the opportunity of the time Liu Mang was distracted to advance.
“Argh!” A few screams rang out. Although Liu Mang seemed distracted, his skill was still accomplished.
“Huang She!” Liu Mang muttered as he narrowed his eyes. Although his eyes still glowed red, he had regained his mind. “Guan Hai. Thank you.” Liu Mang said to Guan Hai.
“Milord. Have you returned?” Guan Hai did not care for Liu Mang’s gratitude.
“Yes.” Liu Mang nodded. The situation earlier had been too dangerous. The last time that happened was when he was facing a critical situation on the walls. At that time, he was woken up by Huang Zhong. Liu Mang knew that this could not go on so he had asked Lu Bu for advice. Lu Bu gave him two choices. The first was to abandon martial arts. Liu Mang had considered this since he had many generals. However, there would still come a time when he would need to pick up a weapon to protect himself. Even scholars held swords.
The other option was to keep killing until his strength advanced to the Peak Refinement Stage where he could break out of his trance on his own. However, this was easier said than done as killing does not necessarily guarantee his advancement. If there were too little enemies, it would not work and he would injure yourself during the trance.. If there were too many, they would kill him before he manages to advance.
Lu Bu manage to advance using this method simply because there was no other choice beyond the Great Wall. Only the ruthless can survive there.
Liu Mang then shook his head. It was not the time to reminisce. It was more important to kill Liu Biao and escape. Both of them stared coldly at each other.
“This cannot go on.” Liu Mang knew that they were too far away from Liu Biao. There were three thousand enemies in front of them. Although two thousand were the Xiangyang Guards that did their best to avoid fighting, the remaining one thousand were Liu Biao’s bodyguards that are very willing to take Liu Mang’s life. While none of them were a threat in single combat, they were strong enough to be a problem at these numbers. If Liu Mang were to try and keep fighting, the only thing that awaits him and his subordinates is death.
“Think of a way to get to Liu Biao!” Liu Mang said to Guan Hai and Zhou Cang.
Guan Hai cut down another soldier before replying back to Liu Mang. “Milord! It is not possible! There are too many people!” The three of them were surrounded and Liu Biao was too far away. They would not be able to reach him.
“Kill him! Advance! There are only three of them!” Huang She shouted as he smiled coldly. His sworn enemy Liu Mang was finally within his grasp.
“This fucker!” The battered Zhou Cang was about to explode. “I don’t care anymore. Even if I die, I want to take that pretty boy with me!” Zhou Cang fought ahead as he glared at Huang She.
“Pretty boy? Huang She?” Liu Mang looked at Zhou Cang as his eyes glinted.
“Zhou Cang! Come back here!” Guan Hai was anxious. This was not the time to let their emotions dictate their actions. The three of them managed to gather together after great difficulty. If one of them were to rush out alone now, there would be casualties.
“Guan Hai. No need to stop Zhou Cang.” Liu Mang said to Guan Hai.
“Milord. Zhou Cang is simply feeling indignant for the moment. We cannot abandon him!” Guan Hai thought that Liu Mang wanted to abandon Zhou Cang out of anger for not listening to orders.
“Who said I am going to abandon him? Do you not remember the Urban Army?” Liu Mang laughed.
“The Urban Army?” Guan Hai did not understand. If they had the Urban Army with them, they would have already fought towards Liu Biao a long time ago.
“We share our riches and die together! Do you still think I will abandon him?” Liu Mang reminded as he watched Zhou Cang push on ahead.
“Master. We should withdraw from here!” Huang She’s guards shouted when they saw Zhou Cang fighting towards them, warning Huang She to stay away from danger.
“What do you mean withdraw? He is just a lone person! If he comes here, this general will personally kill him!” Huang She said greedily. He had long wanted the position of general and military power. The fact that he could not arrest Liu Mang earlier had already made Liu Biao angry so he had to do something to compensate for this. Now, the injured Zhou Cang was fighting his way towards Huang She. By the time Zhou Cang reaches Huang She, Zhou Cang should already be seriously injured and become a free kill. Presenting Zhou Cang’s head to Liu Biao would definitely earn him rewards.
“Men! Follow me to kill the enemy!” Huang She took out his sword with high spirits. He looked like a general dispatching his troops.
“Yes!” Unable to persuade Huang She, the guards drew their swords. They prepared to fight against the injured enemy that seemed to have been abandoned by his master.
“Guan Hai! Follow me!” Liu Mang said to Guan Hai.
“There?” The route Liu Mang chose was slightly different from Zhou Cang. If both parties were to charge forward, they would definitely be separated.
“Yes!” Liu Mang did not have time to explain as he fought ahead with his sword and shield.
“Rescue Zhou Cang and capture Huang She!” Liu Mang simply said his objective and Guan Hai understood. Huang She, greedy for merits, was starting to come over himself. Although he had been far away, he was starting to get closer. Liu Mang intended for Zhou Cang to lure Huang She over.
“Guan Hai! Kill your way forward!” Liu Mang shouted once Huang She was close. Both he and Guan Hai then fought with full power. Guan Hai had been conserving their strength somewhat the entire time to pace himself.
“Refinement Stage!” Liu Biao and his guards to immediately take note.
Those at the refinement stage were extremely powerful. Hua Xiong was only approaching the Refinement Stage yet he was able to hold out against the eighteen warlords for several days.
The moment Guan Hai showed his true strength, the enemy started to withdraw. In war, this is someone you kill from afar with arrows. Only generals of the same rank or higher could defeat him. However, there were no such person at the Xiangyang prison. Liu Biao also did not bring any archers. On top of that, there were barely any space left with three thousand soldiers cramped together at the prison. Arrows could not distinguish between friend or foe.
Without any strong generals or arrows, Guan Hai stood uninhibited. The Second Grade Liu Mang followed beside him. The two of them were like knives piercing through.
“Die for me!” Zhou Cang grabbed an enemy and snapped his neck before throwing the corpse to the ground. However, he was also slashed in the arm by this enemy and had almost dropped his weapon as a result.
“Merits! Merits!” Huang She saw Zhou Cang only as merits instead of an enemy. Zhou Cang was all bloody. He was also grimacing in pain and was starting to have trouble holding on to his sword.
“That pretty boy chirping away like a woman over there! This Zhou Cang is here to kill you!” Zhou Cang said as he looked at Huang She. His face was pale from blood loss.
“Woman?” Huang She became angry after hearing Zhou Cang’s words. In ancient times, their vocabulary weren’t as eloquent. Thus, calling a man a woman was a great insult. Even the more convoluted way was sending woman’s clothes like what happened with Sima Yi.
Even Huang She’s subordinates laughed when they heard Zhou Cang’s words.
“What are you all laughing for? Catch him! Once I am a Grand General, I will promote you all to generals commanding the army!”
“Yes!” Huang She’s subordinates were attracted by the promise. Even if their Master is like a woman, the merits were still there. This would allow them to join the ranks of generals. Even though they had a good life as Huang She’s bodyguards, all of them wanted to be generals.
“What’s so good about joining a woman’s army? Pretty boy! Let this Zhou Cang teach you how to be a real man!”
“I will use your head as a chamber pot tonight! Advance! Kill him!” Huang She shouted angrily as he commanded his men to advance onto Zhou Cang.
Chapter 544
“Xiao Cui?” Huang Kai had no interest about the girl. He reproached Huang Chen. “The whole family is so busy but you only know how to idle your time away!”
After being reprimanded, Huang Chen also loss interest in talking about Xiao Cui. However, there was someone else who was interested.
“Xiao Cui from the Cai Family? Lady Cai’s servant?” A youth suddenly said to Huang Chen.
“Quickly greet your brother!” Huang Kai said to Huang Chen.
“Big brother!” Huang Chen was startled when he saw the youth. This youth was their elder cousin Huang She. Huang Kai and Huang Chen’s father was Huang Zu’s little brother. Huang She himself was a year older than Huang Kai.
“No need to be too polite amongst brothers.” Huang She waved his hand impatiently and then asked. “Were you talking about the Cai Family’s Xiao Cui?”
“That is…” Huang Chen mentioned it earlier as amusement but he did not really know too much about it.
“Speak!” Huang She ordered with a bad expression. To him, Huang Kai and Huang Chen were just ordinary members of the Huang Family. The fact that they were in competition for being named heir only made his opinion of them worse. If it was not because of Nanyang, he would not even be in that courtyard.
“Some go and get me Bian Nan!” Huang Chen ordered. He was hedonistic but he still paled in comparison to Huang She. Encountering Huang She gave him cold sweat.
Bian Nan was quickly called over.
“Young Master, Second Master?” Bian Nan greeted feeling puzzled. He then saw Huang She and panicked. “Elder Young Master!” Bian Nan did not know how to address Huang She and could only do it this way.
“Bian Nan. Come and tell my brother if the person you saw was indeed Lady Cai’s servant Xiao Cui.” Huang Chen passed the ball to Bian Nan.
“Huh?” Bian Nan was confused. Why do they want to ask about Xiao Cui? However, he still stepped forward and replied like a proper servant. “Report. Elder Young Master. The person that bumped into the Second Master is indeed Lady Cai’s servant Xiao Cui!”
“How did you first meet her?” Huang She continued to ask. Bian Nan then talked about how he first saw her at Liu Biao’s birthday banquet.
Huang She showed even more interest after confirming that it was indeed Xiao Cui buying medicine for calm pregnancy. This is because he wanted to take revenge on the Cai Family for his imprisonment.
Huang She wanted to make sure the Cai Family would at least lose face even if he could not severely harm them. If Xiao Cui was pregnant, who was the husband? What a scandal!
It was not only Cai Mao that was the target of his hatred. The one he hated more was Liu Mang.
“Elder Young Master. It should not be Xiao Cui that is pregnant.” Bian Nan said without knowing why he spoke up for Xiao Cui.
“Oh?” Huang She was not happy with the servant suddenly speaking out of turn. However, he patiently listened.
“Xiao Cui did buy the medicine but Doctor Chen Quan from Cirentang said that it was the Thirteen Taibao!” Bian Nan explained.
“Thirteen Taibao?”
“It is a medicine that is used only after three months of pregnancy. Xiao Cui did not look like she was three months pregnant. It would also not be possible for her to run so quickly!” At three months, there should already be some signs of pregnancy. Also, running around recklessly would have endangered the baby.
“It is not Xiao Cui’s?” Huang She frowned. He wanted to find a scandal for the Cai Family. However, if it was not Xiao Cui’s baby, then it wouldn’t be a scandal.
“Even if it is not Xiao Cui, it must be someone related to her!” Huang Chen commented. He had hatred towards Xiao Cui for injuring him. Although his injury was treated by Chen Quan, the pain was still there.
“Someone related to Xiao Cui?” Huang She frowned. Was it some other servant?
“Xiao Cui did not only buy medicine for a calm pregnancy. She also bought medicine for abortion!” Huang Chen said after remembering Chen Quan’s words about medicines that improve blood circulation.
“She also bought medicine for abortion?”
“Brother. Isn’t Xiao Cui Lady Cai’s personal servant?” Huang Kai wondered. As a spectator, he saw things more clearly.
“Yes. She is Lady Cai’s personal servant.” Huang She nodded. Lady Cai was younger than Huang She so it wasn’t strange for Huang She to have met with Xiao Cui before Lady Cai got married.
“Then there is a problem here. As Lady Cai’s personal servant, Xiao Cui cannot be considered an influential person in the Cai Family but she still has a powerful identity. If Xiao Cui is pregnant, she can order someone else to buy the medicine. On the other hand, the only person who can made Xiao Cui personally buy said medicine can only be…” Huang Kai analyzed.
“You mean…” Huang She finally understood. The only person that could get Xiao Cui to personally buy medicine for pregnancy was Lady Cai.
“Lady Cai is pregnant?” Huang She frowned. If Lady Cai was pregnant with Liu Biao’s child, their position in Jingzhou will only strengthen.
“But why would Lady Cai want an abortion?”
“Could it be that this child…?”
