Chapter 191
Chapter 191 – Zhang Tong VS Huang Zhong – Second Bout
After a hard consideration, Tong accepted the duel . He would fight Huang Zhong himself instead of sending Xu Huang . Tong had many cheats, such as [Time Stop], overclock sense, regen, and demonic passive buffs, so he could survive the duel no matter what .
It was stupid to accept the duel while they had the complete advantage of this siege battle . However, Tong wanted to gamble if he could scout this legendary general, Huang Zhong, to his side after the duel . He wanted to replicate if he could do what Guan Yu did at the Changsha City in the novel .
He sent back his reply letter and added a few conditions .
[First, both armies would have to stay at least 500 meters away from the duel location .
Second, the result of the fight could be decided by giving up the fight, killing the opponent, or disable the opponent .
Third, the duel would be held on October 30th .
And lastly, the victor of the duel would decide the fate of the loser . ]
The first condition was a safety measure against an underhand trick by Zhu Jun's force if they were to attempt to interfere with the duel .
The second condition gave Tong a leeway to recruit Huang Zhong if he were to win . He did not want to decide this fight as a life-and-death match as he would waste this talent if Tong were to kill him .
The third and fourth condition was a mind game . Tong wanted to annoy and intimidate Huang Zhong, making him nervous before the battle . If Tong set the date too early, this general would fight him in high morale . However, if Tong postponed it, the peak morale that Huang Zhong had would gradually decrease over time . By the time the appointed date, the excitement that Huang Zhong had would turn into doubts as he had too much time to think about this fight .
"Hopefully, he's honest enough to accept my conditions . "
…
Liu Biao received Tong's letter on the same day .
Unlike what Tong had thought, it was Liu Biao who wrote the letter to Tong in Huang Zhong's stead . He only told his general that he had challenged the rebel leader into a duel, and Liu Biao wanted him to take the head of the rebel .
Huang Zhong neither complain nor protest . He accepted his role without a condition .
However, Tong's counter-proposal made Liu Biao frowned .
'He accepted, but he postpones the duel date . What is he trying to do?'
'Whatever! This siege is impossible with the current troops and their health issues . That corpse tactic the other day is too effective . I can't blindly throw their lives away . I'll use this duel as an excuse to retreat . '
'If my general wins, then the credit goes to me! If he loses, it's his fault!'
Liu Biao did not want to continue fighting anymore . He was a person who only picked a battlefield that he was confident he could win, but Liyang City was not one of them .
"We'll accept their conditions . "
…
…
October 30th .
Many events happened today .
First, Zhu Jun had passed away from a seizure and a cardiac arrest . He suffered sepsis for too many days without a proper cure . Liu Biao took over the position of the grand commander of the entire Imperial Army .
Second, the duel between Tong and Huang Zhong would happen in front of the south gate of Liyang, 500 meters away from the wall and the Imperial Army .
Third, Zhang Bao, Zhang Liang, and Bo Cai led their men to siege Zhongshan Commandery City from the Zhen Clan, which they surrendered without a fight today . Because of the looming danger from Liu Yan and Yuan Shao, Zhang Jiao decided to order his brothers and his force to take the city to be the buffer to the northern You Province .
Moreover, Li Feihong had messaged Tong this morning that the operation "Mountain Hammer" had commenced . Another battle occurred in the territory of Jinyang Commandery .
Liu Ping Army clashed with Julu Army led by Zhang Ji, Zhang Xiu, Xiao Wu (Dong Bai), and Hua Shi . Jinyang Army appeared from behind Liu Ping Army and collided with the Wang Kuang and Zhang Yang forces .
The battle was still ongoing! Everyone was so busy that nobody had the free times to report the situation in the chat .
'Wait for me . I'll return home soon . ' Tong thought .
…
11 AM .
Liu Biao and his Imperial troops lined up a kilometer away from Liyang Southern Gate . Huang Zhong, who was selected as the representative rode his horse forward with his colleague, Huang Zu .
The new armor which covered every part of his body glittered under the sunlight . Huang Zhong was armed to the teeth . He took two halberds, one great bow, and five quivers of 20 arrows . His helmet had been repaired and modified . It was an open helmet that revealed the face of the general and covered the back of his head . It showed the expression and the scars of this seasoned warrior and his long black beard . His horse was also the finest warhorse in the Imperial Army .
He came here to win!
Both of them arrived at the middle ground, waiting for the opponent .
Xu Huang and Tong arrived a few minutes later . They stop 20 meters away from the two Huang .
Tong dragged Xu Huang with him, so he could be the witness and his bodyguard in the case the Imperial force were to play dirty .
Similar to Huang Zhong, Tong took the best armor set and the best warhorse . Because of his deep concentration, Tong's pupils were already glowing in red .
Huang Zhong and Tong recognized each other right away as both had left a deep impression on the opponent during the fight the other day .
"It's you . " Huang Zhong muttered .
Tong also checked his radar map to get the names from the two . Seeing the name "Huang Zhong" and "Huang Zu", a faint smile appeared on Tong's face .
"Figure as much . It's really you . " Tong muttered .
"Who will be your representative?" Huang Zu asked .
"It will be me . He will be my witness of this fight . " Answered by Tong .
Huang Zhong laughed . "Hahaha! So I get to fight you again! Good . Very good! I'm Huang Zhong of Nanyang . Tell me your name!"
"Zhang Tong! Son of Zhang Jiao of Julu!"
Both Huang Zu and Huang Zhong were shocked . The young master of rebel force was here instead of hiding in Julu . This was shocking news to them .
Huang Zu gulped . He wanted to ride back to relay this information to Liu Biao right away, but he was the only witness of this battle . He could not leave .
"Very well, both of you can begin when you're ready . " Xu Huang spoke, forcing the duel to commence .
Huang Zu and Xu Huang rode away from both Tong and Huang Zhong, leaving them alone .
Though Xu Huang wanted to take the duelist role himself, Tong insisted that he would fight . Feeling helpless, the new general could only pray for his Lord's victory .
On the other hand, Huang Zu did not worry one bit . He had full confidence and trust on this colleague with the same surname .
Tong and Huang Zhong glared at each other as they were still sitting on their horses .
Seeing the unwavering eyes of Huang Zhong, the corner of Tong's mouth twitched .
'He is neither nervous nor afraid . His focus and mental strength are sharp . The mind game failed . '
Huang Zhong also observed Tong from head to toes .
'Red devil eyes . His expression and his eyes aren't corroded by greed or ego . It's a warrior type that had baptism through battlefields . But if he's the honest warrior kind, why did he kill the innocent townsmen of Liyang?'
"Can I ask you a question before we fight?" Huang Zhong asked .
"What do you want to know?"
"Why did you kill the people of Liyang?"
Tong harrumphed . "I have made a mistake . "
"What mistake?" Huang Zhong was puzzled .
"I didn't slaughter every single of them from the beginning, and I didn't have enough preparation for dealing with the brainwashed citizens . "
"… Are you blaming the citizens?"
"I'm not blaming the citizens . I'm blaming Liu Ping for sending the unnecessary edicts to the random cities . We could have solved our conflict with only soldiers, but he dragged the citizens into it . Since Liu Ping had turned the townsmen of Liyang into militias and had them taken arms to fight my men, I had to kill them all to protect my men . Are you satisfied with my excuses?"
"…"
Huang Zhong stared into the eyes of Tong to check if he was lying . The red eyes of Tong were the same as usual, cruel, yet clear as transparent glasses .
'They had a tinge of seasoned warrior tone, but they were not the deceitful type . '
He gave up speaking further . It did not matter anymore as both of them would have to fight a life-and-death battle here in a minute .
"Do you want to go first?"
"I'm a junior . Senior first . "
"Good . YAH!"
Huang Zhong kicked the sides of the horse, galloping to Tong head-on . He drew out his halberd and made a motion to slash .
"Humph!"
Tong harrumphed and did the same as Huang Zhong . He galloped his horse forward with a glaive in his hand, getting ready to clash with this legendary general head-on .
Before the fight, both of them withheld their killing intent . However, just one second before they swung their weapons, their menacing aura exploded out along with their strike .
*CLANK*
The glaive and the halberd's shaft hit each other as the two duelists aimed their polearm blade at the other's vital part . The crashing sound was similar to the sound of car-crash .
The impact made their hands numb . The iron metal slid against each other, causing sparks from the friction .
Both their bodies were pushed backward by the collision impact, but they maintained their balance on the horses . Tong and Huang Zhong guided the horse back at each other again .
*CLANK*
"GRR!"
"MM!"
They groaned as they felt another impact from the exchange . Their hands could feel the electric current running through their arms and their bones .
"Not bad for a junior . But how long can you last!?"
"I have a thousand times more years to live than yours!"
*CLANK*
They did not gallop their horse to get the momentum this time . As if they could read each other's mind, they stopped their horses closing at the other and started exchanging blows .
Huang Zhong switched his stance and jabbed Tong with a halberd thrust . The tip of his halberd was similar to an ordinary spear as it had a small edge on top of it .
Tong tiled his head to dodge the thrust that came for his face . At the same, he swung the glaive, aiming at Huang Zhong's torso .
Instead of dodging, Huang Zhong glanced at the incoming blade at the tip of the glaive and displayed the skills of the future legendary general .
He forced his horse forward and moved closer to Tong .
The glaive swung to the side and hit the side ribcage of Huang Zhong, but the part of glaive that made contact with his side rib was not the blade . The shaft of the glaive got him instead .
"Nhh!"
Huang Zhong gritted his teeth to endure the pain . He stared at Tong who ignored the missed-target halberd and spoke .
"This is the end, brat . "
The archer general rotated his grip on the halberd handle . The tip and the blade of the polearm, which had been pointing upward, circled clockwise into the three o'clock position . Then he pulled his halberd and let the shaft slid the side of Tong's neck .
