It Wasn’t a Martial Arts World, but the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 27: Peerless Warrior and Martial Artists (3)

The man who had felled Hua Xiong in a single strike, a troublesome figure for the coalition army, and the one who needed no further introduction—Peerless Under Heaven.

These two faced each other on horseback, weapons drawn.

No one spoke a word.

For a while, a strange silence hung in the air.

Soldiers held their breaths, and even those in the midst of battle paused to watch.

“Where the hell have you been hiding all this time? I almost died of boredom waiting for you, Unryong!”

It was Lü Bu who broke the silence first, her ferocious grin spreading as she twirled her halberd above her head.

The massive Fangtian Huaji spun in the air, kicking up clouds of dust.

“Well, it’s been a while, but isn’t this a bit much, Miss Yeo?”

“Miss Yeo, my ass! Don’t you get the situation yet?”

Lü Bu finally stopped spinning her halberd, settling it against her side and gripping the reins with one hand.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to leave you alive… but,” she scoffed, “that filthy beggar over there, I’ll kill him. And not just him—I’ll slaughter that loudmouthed wench and all your pathetic underlings.”

“Then go ahead and try. Stop flapping your mouth and get to it.”

Unryong smirked, closing one eye and curling the corner of his mouth.

“Hah! What a braggart.”

“We’ll see.”

At that moment, Lü Bu slapped the thigh of the Red Hare and charged forward.

No matter how skilled he might be, there was no way a battered old sword like that could stand against the Fangtian Huaji.

So, with a light strike to start things off—

She took her first step to seize the momentum.

Her halberd flew in a swift arc.

It was almost too fast for the eye to follow. For any ordinary soldier, the battle would have ended in that single moment.

However, there was one thing Lü Bu hadn’t expected.

Swish!

Her halberd sliced through the air—empty.

“…”

Lü Bu’s eyes widened in surprise.

The man had effortlessly leaped from his horse.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m not exactly used to sticking around with beasts like this.”

With a casual flick of his sword hilt against his shoulder, Unryong landed on the ground.

In a battle of horsemen, who abandons their horse?

What kind of martial artist isn’t familiar with horseback riding? And this man was supposed to be the leader of a group?

Lü Bu felt the fire in her chest begin to fizzle out.

So that’s it.

There were always blowhards everywhere.

It wasn’t uncommon to find people spouting lofty ideals without knowing their own limits.

Until now, she had thought he possessed strength to match his words.

After all, the skills he had displayed in Bing Province weren’t ordinary.

But perhaps it had all been a mistake on her part.

With a sigh, Lü Bu grabbed her reins again.

Meanwhile, Unryong silently placed his thumb over his heart.

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

Lü Bu furrowed her brow, clearly puzzled by the gesture.

Suddenly, Unryong kicked off the ground.

Accelerating, and accelerating again.

Lü Bu’s eyes widened.

In an instant, Unryong had closed the distance to the Red Hare.

Then, he swung his sword.

A strike aimed at her right side.

Though his movements were graceful, the sword was slow.

Lü Bu smirked, bracing her halberd at her side.

“…!”

But the strike that should have landed had vanished.

So, where did it go?

The missing blade was now flowing smoothly to her left.

The sword had split into two directions in a single moment.

– Kang!

Relying on pure instinct, Lü Bu barely managed to parry it.

“What the hell, you blocked that?”

Unryong clicked his tongue, shaking his sword.

It was the first time anyone had ever blocked his Linked Illusion Sword.

At the very least, he thought he’d scratch her.

He sighed.

Up until now, everyone had been fooled by the ever-changing, elusive strikes of his Linked Illusion Sword, but Peerless Under Heaven was different after all.

“What… was that?”

Lü Bu was still in shock.

The sword had split into two paths, yet Unryong only held a single, old sword.

It looked nothing more than a rusty blade, no matter how she saw it.

“Some kind of sorcery?”

“It’s martial arts.”

“What?”

Hearing the unfamiliar word, Lü Bu tilted her head, her face reddening in anger.

“Are you mocking me?”

“It’s called martial arts.”

“Don’t give me that crap. Do you think you can beat me with some cheap tricks?”

The atmosphere shifted.

A menacing aura began to rise around Lü Bu.

The Red Hare pawed at the ground, snorting fiercely.

“How long do you plan on lying there? Get up and move away.”

Sensing the impending danger, Unryong called out to Unsam, who was still struggling to steady himself.

“Brother… the one you’re up against is Lü Bu, the strongest woman in the world…”

Unsam bit down hard, his voice trembling with frustration. If he hadn’t been so helpless, his brother wouldn’t have to fight this reckless battle.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Come on, I’m about to piss myself, so stop talking and move. You’re breaking my focus.”

“…Sorry.”

“Geez.”

Unryong scratched the back of his head, not turning around as he spoke.

“I’ll handle the rest. Trust me.”

“…”

That back.

It was the same back that had always pulled them out of tight spots.

Rough and unrefined, yet whenever his brother showed his back, they couldn’t help but feel reassured.

“Haa… haa…”

Unsam forced his exhausted legs to stand.

“…I trust you. Please come back safely.”

Unryong didn’t respond.

As Unsam turned to leave, Lü Bu swung her halberd at him.

With a loud crash, Unryong kicked off the ground and deflected the blow.

The combination of the Red Hare’s speed and Lü Bu’s monstrous strength made her seem truly like a beast.

“Now, this is just getting out of hand.”

“You let prey escape right in front of you?”

Unryong turned his gaze away from Lü Bu’s widening grin.

The Red Hare.

Unless he could separate her from that horse, there was no chance of winning.

No matter how much power he put into it, victory was impossible as long as Lü Bu was mounted on the Red Hare.

So first, the horse had to go.

“Miss Yeo, do you know something?”

Unryong tightened his grip on his sword as he spoke.

“There was something I never got to say back then.”

“Huh?”

“Now that we’re here, I just want to say—thank you.”

Lü Bu tilted her head at the unexpected words, then immediately lowered her stance.

She looked like a bowstring pulled taut, ready to be released.

“What, are you begging for your life?”

“No, in this world, debts must be repaid. Someday, I’ll return the favor.”

Unryong crouched down and placed his thumb over his heart once more.

Two, Gate of Opening.

It was unbearably hot.

It hadn’t even been a few days since the battle with Hua Xiong.

This was the first time he’d ever opened the Gate of Opening consecutively in such a short span.

“I was caught off guard before, but the same trick won’t work again.”

She was right.

She had even blocked the Linked Illusion Sword on her first encounter, so it wouldn’t work a second time.

However, at the very least, it could still confuse her.

The Heavenly Extreme Linked Illusion Sword Technique’s basic form, the Linked Illusion Sword, was only the beginning.

The next step, Six Linked Illusion Slashes, relied on the rebound force generated from the shoulders to execute the technique.

And then—

Without warning, they both charged forward.

Even with the Gate of Opening released, Lü Bu’s speed was far superior.

She thrust her halberd swiftly, a powerful strike.

Unryong parried the blow with the back of his sword, deflecting it sideways.

Then came the Linked Illusion Sword.

This time, it was a continuous strike, descending from high to low.

But Lü Bu, as if existing in her own realm of time, read the trajectory with ease.

– Kang!

She blocked it effortlessly.

Unryong rolled between the legs of the Red Hare, barely avoiding its hooves, and slashed upward with his sword.

Lü Bu responded with a brutal downward swing.

It was no longer a battle within human limits.

A single lapse in concentration would mean his death at the tip of that halberd.

Thus, the fierce exchange continued for a while.

Thrusts, slashes, dodges, and thrusts again.

Unryong’s hands trembled as they neared their limit.

Gradually, his balance began to falter.

Slash!

Unryong’s shoulder was cut open. He tumbled under the hooves of the Red Hare, rolling this way and that, his body now in tatters, barely holding together.

“Yes! That’s it! You’re not just all talk after all!”

Lü Bu relentlessly continued her barrage of attacks, unfazed.

To anyone watching, it was clear that Unryong was being utterly overwhelmed.

And yet, strangely enough, he was smiling.

As if he had been waiting for her to get excited, as if he had predicted this very moment.

At last, Unryong stepped forward.

And then, before Lü Bu, six swords materialized, flooding her vision.