Chapter 316
Chapter 316 – The Ten Clones of Lu Bu
The first wave of the coalition consisted of range infantries .
Because of Pu Jing's influence, Cao Cao paid more attention to archers and artilleries .
Gongsun Zan Army had long adapted to Xiongnu cavalry archers, so their troops were all range cavalries to counter the Xiongnu warhorses .
As for Tong's Immortal Legion, he did not need to worry . More than half of his soldiers were wearing steel plate mail set, which their shining armors reflected the sunlight . With 30,000 tanking knights and backline archers, a chaotic siege battle did not scare Tong .
Moreover, all of his thousand-man commanders had toys that Tong distributed to all of them, Benelli M4 Tactical shotguns . Each personal carried 20 rounds of buckshot shells as Tong did not want everyone to overly rely on it . They were only for the protection against a surprise charge from the Xiongnu .
All shotguns were created by using Tong's [Firearm Creation] skill, which he leveled up to the point that he could create shotguns and shotgun shells now .
Unlike the other forces, Liu Bei and his men were a bunch of militias and volunteer troops of ordinary peasants . Because they did not have archers, they would stand in the front to charge at the wall along with all siege weapons .
Tong looked at the sweating Liu Bei and his brothers with a grin .
'Show me your skills, Jiang Man . What cheats do you have?'
It was a plan to force Jiang Man to reveal his trump cards, so Tong could come up with a plan to counter his skills in the future .
If all of them were to die in this battle, it would have been fine either way .
Meanwhile, Jiang Man had noticed the "Knights" and the modern shotguns in the hands of Tong's officers . He bit his lower lips in anxiousness .
'Damn it! I should have gone for Cao Cao instead of Liu Bei!'
Looking at Cao Cao's legion and seeing the heavy bronze cannons being carried by Cao Cao's soldiers, Jiang Man sweated bullets .
'Even Cao Cao already researched firearms! I underestimated them all . If that Sun family comes up with something like the Dutch Men-of-War warships with cannons, Liu Bei won't have a chance . '
Jiang Man's breathing became rough as his anxiety intensified . However, Guan Yu patted his back .
"Don't get nervous, little Jiang . I don't think Zhang Tong will launch the assault directly from the start . "
"Huh? Why?"
Guan Yu pointed at the movement on top of the Hulao Gate far away . Cloud of dust was being kicked into the air, and the sound of commotion from behind the gate was getting louder .
"Someone is coming out of the gate . I think we will warm up with a few duels between generals before we send in the troops . They are planning to boost their morale by killing a few generals of our alliance first . "
Jiang Man widened his eyes and stared at the commotion . His grumpy expression turned into a smile .
'This event is heading toward the novel version of the coalition battle! This can be a good chance to escape from this predicament!'
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In the 14th-century novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, nineteen warlords formed a coalition and assaulted Hulao Gate together .
Before the fight, Dong Zhuo deployed Hua Xiong, followed by Lu Bu, to challenge a duel with all representative generals of the coalition army .
Minor warlords sent their elite and veteran generals to fight . However, Hua Xiong killed them all before Guan Yu put a stop on the streak .
Lu Bu came out later to regain morale, and he managed to secure a couple of victories . Yet again, the three brothers cheated the duel and ganged on Lu Bu, which forced him to retreat back behind Hulao Gate . Then the siege battle followed .
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Behind Hulao Gate, Khan rode his Red Hare King toward the gate and ordered it opened .
Khan was aware of the fictional story about his previous life as Liu Yang explained everything to him . Therefore, he avoided the death of Hua Xiong by sending him to fight Tong's troops at the river bank instead .
As for himself, he did not believe that the three brothers who had backstabbed him in his previous life could be his opponent at his present condition .
With four wings and cheat skills, Khan expected that he could kill the three of them in one or two moves .
The only worry he had was all otherworlders, such as Tong, Jiang Man, and Pu Jing . Since Liu Yang could sense angel and demon powers, she could tell how many wings each of them had .
Tong had three wings . Jiang Man had one, and Pu Jing had two .
As a result of his thinking, Khan wanted to kill Tong first to get rid of the most dangerous threat . Once Tong dies, the alliance would crumble like the past, and Khan Army would steamroll the country as nobody could be his match anymore .
The gate sent out a creaking sound, opening slowly . Khan and ten of his retainers, who were riding on a similar Red Hare as warhorses and wielding crescent halberds, rode out of the gate and approached the alliance armies without fear .
Upon reaching a good clear plain between both sides, Khan bellowed .
"I am Khan, the King of Xiongnu . I challenge the lords of the Han in a fair duel! If you're not a sissy coward, come out and fight me!"
His voice was clear enough for the alliance soldiers to hear .
Realizing that the King of Xiongnu came out himself, several generals of the lords were eager to come out to acquire some achievements .
"Let me go, my lord . I'll bring his head for you!"
"I'll go! This overestimating brat will pay for his insolence!"
"I volunteer! I've fought through many battles with the rebels and killed several generals of their armies . I have experience!"
More warriors shouted and made noises to get the attention of their lords and the coalition leader, Tong .
Instead of paying attention to the dying-wish-generals, Tong stared at the ten retainers of Khan in shock .
They had the same gears, same warhorses, and the same face … with Lu Bu!
"What kind of sorcery is this!?"
Tong was astonished, shocked, and baffled by the phenomenon .
"Are they clones!? Is Khan's skill related to cloning?"
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Meanwhile, Khan was observing the commotion with a grin .
These ten retainers behind him were like Tong's speculation, the clones of Lu Bu . However, they were not the Lu Bu of this world, but they were his former self in his previous life .
Each of these clones had the same capability and skills when he was in his prime the last life . Khan planned to use them to fight small fries and counter the gangbang cheaters Liu Bei and his brothers .
As long as Tong or other reincarnators refused to come out, Khan would save his strength for the more significant battle .
Soon, a daredevil came out .
"I AM WU ANGUO! FACE ME!!"
Wu Anguo was Kong Rong's subordinate . Although Tong tried to stop him, he insisted on going before everyone else .
Khan grinned . He waved his hand, "Number Ten, go and play with him . "
His expressionless clone nodded and rode forward .
"I don't fight with a nameless soldier! Bring me your King!"
Listening to Wu Anguo, Number Ten snorted, "If you can't defeat me, you are no match for my King . "
"Insolence! Die!"
Wu Anguo's weapon was an iron mace . He swung the black round ball at the face of the clone .
*CLANK*
Number Ten swatted it away and countered .
*SWUA*
The dominant arm of Wu Anguo fell to the ground while the owner shrieked in pain . He abandoned his mace and rode back toward the base to save his life .
"Hmm . Weakling . "
Number Ten snorted and moved back to Khan's side .
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The first loss of Wu Anguo was humiliating to the coalition army . Upon returning to the camp, Wu Anguo committed suicide out of shame .
More people shouted and volunteered to fight . However, Tong raised his hands to stop them .
"None of you should go out and fight . "
This caused an uproar and dissatisfaction from the generals of the other lords .
"What do you mean we shouldn't fight?"
"Right! This is a disgrace of the Han Dynasty! We have to show them our courage and skills!"
"This is a fight for honor! Are you saying that we don't deserve to fight?"
Tong sighed and lamented to himself before he allowed them to go . He did not want these no-name generals to jump in there and to get themselves killed . It would have lowered the morale of the coalition further to rock bottom if these went on .
Tong could remember several of famous generals who had challenged Lu Bu at the Battle of Hulao Gate in the novel . Pan Feng of Han Fu, Feng Yue of Wang Kuang, Mu Shun of Shang Yang, these people died by Tong's subordinates .
Those no-name generals could not stand up to the dead elites . How could they be a match to Lu Bu's clones?
As Tong had expected, those hotshot generals fell one-by-one . It continued to the point that nobody dared to speak up or volunteer anymore .
After killing 6 generals of the coalition, Khan laughed .
"Come out, Zhang Tong! I'll fight you myself this time! Don't bother sending weaklings . Did you see, they can't even kill one of my retainers . How could they be a match for me? Now, Zhang Tong . Don't be a coward like Cao Cao or Yuan Shao . I know you are a warrior type, not a lord! Come out here and settle this like a King-Versus-King duel!"
The challenge from Khan made Tong's face grimaced . All eyes of the coalition soldiers were on him now .
Before Tong could open his mouth and accept the duel, someone bellowed .
"I want to try . Please allow me to go!"
Tong looked at the direction of the voice, thinking about what kind of foolhardy person coming out this time .
To his surprise, it was Guan Yu who came out despite Jiang Man's disagreement . Behind Guan Yu, Jiang Man did not stop trying to persuade his second brother to stand down .
"Stop it, Yunchang . Let the leader of the coalition fight their King . This is not our fight!"
Zhang Fei grabbed Jiang Man's collar and pulled him back .
"Stop being a nuisance . Let our brother fight! This is our time to shine, remember?"
Jiang Man could not retort . Helplessly, he nodded and allowed his brothers to act . Despite that, his mind did not stop working .
'There are ten of those suspicious clones . They likely represented a figure like Lu Bu or similar judging from the warhorses and the weaponry . If Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Liu Bei jumped in there like in the novel, I'd have to go in there to save their sorry asses . Should I save them, or should I let them die? No, I can't let them die . I need Liu Bei to recruit Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and many other talented generals for my cause! I can't let them die here . '
The eyes of Jiang Man ignited in flame as he psyched himself up .
'I have no choice . I'll probably have to use my skill and my wing power today . '
