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

Chapter 9. The Mad Dog of Bingzhou, and Unryong (6)

“What’s going on?”

One of the Black Mountain Bandit leaders, Qing Niujiao, asked the subordinate kneeling before him.

“T-that is…”

The subordinate could only clatter his teeth under the weight of that stern voice.

“I will ask again. Just who dared provoke the temper of this Qing Niujiao?”

“The Mad Dog… That bizarre man who’s been causing a commotion recently has blocked the central alley and set up a formation…”

“How many?”

“At a glance, it seemed close to fifty…”

“Fifty? Are you telling me you were shaken by only fifty people?!”

Qing Niujiao widened his eyes and yelled at the subordinate.

Fifty.

And they were nothing more than ragtag bandits who had set up a poorly formed blockade.

Yet how had they already suffered such significant losses?

According to the reports so far, the number of lost troops had already reached two hundred, and the morale of the subordinates had only continued to plummet.

As their leader, Qing Niujiao couldn’t stand idly by.

“If the frontal assault isn’t working, split the forces into left and right wings. There are three paths. If we circle around and surround them, we’ll surely win.”

“Y-yes, sir…!”

Even while trembling, the subordinate hurriedly bowed his head.

Qing Niujiao had rolled through this cursed quagmire several times.

He had survived by devouring the weak over and over again.

There was no way mere bandits or thugs could stop him.

So, once again, Qing Niujiao would survive.

“Mad Dog. I will kill you with my own hands.”

‘Just like I always have.’

***

There were clearly fewer than fifty.

And looking at their ragged appearances, they didn’t even have proper weapons.

At best, they resembled untrained peasant soldiers.

Yet why couldn’t they break through?

Why did that young brat standing at the front seem so imposing?

Unryong, who had been wearing a bored expression, was calmly brushing off his sword.

“You bastard!”

Unable to contain his rage, one of the Black Mountain Bandits stepped forward boldly.

– Swish!

But as he swung his sword with all his might, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

There was nothing.

Nowhere.

The brat who should have been right there had vanished.

It had been like this since the beginning.

He would seem to be right in front of them, but then he would disappear like this.

The man looked around, trying to find Unryong, who had vanished like a ghost.

“Above!”

Then came the shouts of his comrades.

Impossible.

A person… was flying.

High above, atop a towering tree, the vague outline of a figure appeared.

Before long, a sword came cascading down.

With a sharp *thwack*, the man was cleanly split in two, from his head to his groin.

The Black Mountain Bandits, who had been watching, found themselves unable to move their feet.

It was only natural.

How could mere bandits possibly stand a chance against a martial artist?

In the silence that fell over the scene, the only sound was the wind rustling through the leaves.

Unryong, standing alone at the forefront, pressed his thumb against the left side of his chest, near his heart.

In the human body, there were three major organs for accumulating qi.

The *Lower Dantian* located about three inches below the navel, which supports the skeletal structure.

The *Middle Dantian* at the center of the chest, which distributes qi through the blood vessels.

Lastly, the *Upper Dantian*, the vessel that contains conscious thought and intention.

Unryong pressed firmly against his chest, stimulating his heart.

The heart was the passage through which all qi flowed, and the origin of it all.

By opening the *Gate of Entry*, the qi accumulated in the Lower Dantian was explosively dispersed.

“Aren’t you coming?”

Unryong’s lips curled into a grin as he tapped his shoulder with the back of his sword.

His attitude was so relaxed that even his own comrades were dumbfounded.

“Well then, I’ll come to you.”

And that was the signal.

As Unryong shot forward alone, his subordinates gripped their weapons and charged along with him.

– Clang! Clang!

Swords clashed, and weapons shimmered as they moved like dancers in a deadly performance.

As Unryong, leading the charge, advanced with a fierce momentum, the sound of his sword cutting through the air reverberated through the surroundings.

“Hit their flanks! Target the flanks!”

While Unryong held the enemies’ attention, his subordinates formed up at the flanks and struck at the Black Mountain Bandits.

The Black Mountain Bandits tried to reorganize their formation, but their movements were delayed as their comrades fell one by one.

Unryong’s movements were so fast that they couldn’t follow him with their naked eyes.

In war, it was not uncommon for a single exceptional general to change the tide of battle.

People of this caliber were called by a certain title in the world.

‘A fierce general.’

Once this realization struck, some fled, some trembled in fear, and many soiled their pants.

Thus, the one-sided massacre continued for half a day.

The Black Mountain Bandit forces dwindled steadily, unable to achieve any results, and by the time the fear of the “Mad Dog of Bingzhou” had been etched into their minds, their leader, Qing Niujiao, spoke.

“Divide into left and right wings.”

In other words, abandon the frontal attack and execute a flanking strike.

The terrified Black Mountain Bandits rejoiced inwardly.

After all, there was no sign that this Mad Dog would tire anytime soon.

However, there was one thing they hadn’t anticipated.

While the Mad Dog held the front, another monster lurked on their right.

Red hair, black irises, and a massive ‘Fangtian Huaji’.

“T-that’s…”

It was unbelievable.

How could such a thing be here?

She wasn’t supposed to exist in a place like this.

Why, in this remote corner of the world, was *she* here…?

“L-Lü Bu!”

Under the sky that covers the world, there was no one who could stand against her.

The people called her by this name: ‘Peerless Warrior of the World Lü Bu’

To the trembling Black Mountain Bandits, who stared in disbelief, she was drawing near.

***

Once the momentum of the Black Mountain Bandits on the front began to weaken, I had a moment to catch my breath. So, I took the chance to glance at the other battlefield.

Whoa, is that person flying? Is that the kind of strength a normal human can have?

That must be Lü Bu.

When she swung her ‘Fangtian Huaji’ dust storms would rise from the force of the wind, and with one hand, she casually grabbed the bandits by the hair and tossed them away.

She’s like a gorilla.

Lü Bu is a gorilla.

Thanks to her, the Black Mountain Bandits’ movements became even more sluggish.

It made sense.

She was ‘Peerless in the World’, an existence that couldn’t be unknown or unnoticed in the Han Dynasty.

A figure of pure terror that rooted them in place.

Meanwhile, on the other side, there were some loud clashes, but they were managing to hold their ground.

Victory was certainly within our grasp.

However, the finishing blow was still lacking.

As long as the enemy leader remained, we couldn’t completely break their momentum.

“Tch, if only we could wrap this up.”

“Why, Big Brother? Isn’t it safe to say we’ve practically won at this point?”

Gilsam, who had been stretching nearby, asked.

“Don’t be so sure. This isn’t a fight we can afford to drag out. They won’t keep throwing themselves at us recklessly, and with their greater numbers, we’ll tire out first.”

“Well, it’s true they aren’t able to do much right now…”

That was true, but…

I could see that the forces in the center and on the right were scattering.

They must’ve realized by now that they had no chance of winning if things continued like this.

They’d likely regroup and launch a different kind of attack.

This made the relatively weaker left flank a concern.

No matter how talented Baekrang and Unsam were among our forces, they didn’t have the overwhelming power to take on dozens at once like Lü Bu or me.

If the enemy regrouped, we would have to come up with a new strategy.

At that moment, something felt off about the left flank’s movements.

The formation that my brothers had maintained admirably for half the day was beginning to crumble.

Like a ship that had lost its sail, they were starting to drift aimlessly.

Soon, more Black Mountain Bandits began to gather.

The path on the left was narrower than the center or the right, but with the formation breaking down like this, we would soon lose control of that path.

Why?

They had held out so well until now, so why was the formation falling apart?

I could feel the blood draining from my body, and my heart pounded as if it would burst.

No.

This can’t happen.

If I lose you all, how am I supposed to go on living?

What would be honorable about letting you die because of my stubbornness?

I should never have brought you here.

I should have beaten you half to death to keep you from coming.

Yes.

The left flank was clearly collapsing.

***

Baekrang and Unsam, who were blocking the left alley, were putting up a decent fight.

If they could hold out like this, as long as their stamina didn’t run out, they would surely endure.

That’s what I had thought.

Unryong and Lü Bu were beings who didn’t even need strategy.

That’s what made them monsters.

While ordinary people used intricate tactics and strategies to maintain the battlefront, they could overturn the tide of battle with sheer overwhelming force.

Therefore, for those who weren’t monsters, the most crucial asset was the only strategist among us: Haryeong.

She was the only one in our group who could read, and she devised all of our strategies.

But Haryeong had disappeared.

She had been in the rear, but at some point, she vanished without a trace.

“Hold the line! Damn it, hold it!”

Unsam was doing his best to fill the gap left by her absence, but it was futile.

Without systematic control, they were just a disorderly group of fighters.

However, retreat wasn’t an option.

Unryong was counting on them.

They couldn’t afford to ruin everything here.

“Unsam! Don’t get worked up, reorganize the formation! If the line breaks, it’s over!”

“I know! I know, but…!”

The strength in his grip was weakening. The enemy’s numbers were increasing, more and more.

It was uncanny how quickly the enemy forces were growing.

“Damn it…”

Unsam muttered under his breath.

Finally, the enemy launched their full-scale assault.