Gongsun Du and his remaining soldiers were in distress as they avoided all combat, marching to the east and heading toward Fagan County .

  The journey was arduous as they marched across farmlands, forests, and rocky areas . The weather was also getting colder each day as winter was approaching .

  They had attempted to march north . However, once they spotted Sima Fang’s barricaded lines, Gongsun Du ordered his men to run away .

  They could have broken through those defensive lines with ease, but Gongsun Du had worries .

  Before they entered Ye territory, they had encountered the Silver Axe Legion of Xu Huang . With the threat of 40,000 elites beyond Sima Fang’s defensive lines, Gongsun Du did not want his men to be sandwiched between Sima Fang Army and Xu Huang Army .

  Getting back to his territory would be easier if he could reach the eastern coast or the Yellow River . Gongsun Du planned to resupply in Fagan County first, which they could also conscript more soldiers or extort provisions from the locals . Then, he would head south toward the Puyang City of Qiao Mao . If Gongsun Du was lucky, he could borrow more supplies from this minor lord and travel east via the water route .

  Days passed .

  As Sima Fang cut off their supply routes from the north, Gongsun Du ran out of provision . His soldiers began deserting in batches every night .

  They resorted an immoral practice by robbing nearby small peasant villages, but their food was still not enough for his men .

  When they finally reached the Fagan County wall, only 5,000 men remained in his battalion .

  Starved and exhausted, they almost collapsed when they saw the county wall .

  Wang Men consoled his clan lord, "Rejoice, my lord . Fagan County is before us! From what I know, this minor county only has like 1,000 garrison militias as guards after the long famine . We should have no problem taking over the county and resupply!"

  Gongsun Du nodded, "I think so as well! Once we have enough food, we’ll draft some meat shields and workers back with us . If everything goes as planned, we should be able to return to Xiangping before the next spring . "

  "Haha, my lord . You’re pessimistic . I think we’ll be at home before the winter!"

  The two of them laughed and chatted in a merry as they proceeded closer to the county wall . Soon, they could finally see the governor’s banners and flags .

  There were three types of banners among all flags, Zhang, Ding, and Lu .

  Gongsun Du pulled his horse reign, gazing at the banners in doubt .

  "Zhang, Ding, and Lu? Who are they? What’s this mayor’s name again?"

  "I-I don’t know as well . Let’s send our scouts to investigate . "

  Before they could even send their messenger, they heard loud noises from behind the wall .

  *BOOM*

  *BOOM*

  They were the sounds of war drums!

  "S-Send someone to appease them! We’re not here to invade them!"

  Thousands of soldiers formed ranks on top of the wall, and they were armed with crossbows . Without waiting for Gongsun Du’s messengers, they aimed and fired one arrow .

  The message arrow landed before Gongsun Du, and a loud voice man shouted from the top of the wall .

  "SLAVES OF GONGSUN FAMILY, SCRAM!!"

  Gongsun Du gazed at them in shock .

  "What!? Why!? I haven’t done anything . "

  Wang Men squinted his eyes, trying to observe the people on the wall .

  The garrison soldiers did not disappoint Wang Men . They raised two more banners at the sides of the county gate shelter .

  Mountaineer Legion

  \r \r \r

  Wang Men’s jaw dropped as he could not believe his eyes .

  "HOW THE HELL ARE THEY HERE!? I THOUGHT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN LUOYANG!"

  Gongsun Du turned to his subordinate, "What’s wrong? Who are they?"

  "They’re Zhang Tong’s elites, my lord! Those guys are the Mountaineer Legion . Their leaders are Ding Yuan, Zhang Liao, and Lu Bu!"

  "WHAT!?"

  The front county gate slowly opened, and a 5,000-man heavy cavalry battalion exited the city, forming ranks before the wall .

  Zhang Liao led his men and rode forward, standing at the forefront of his men .

  "COWARD OF THE GONGSUN, COME AND FIGHT ME!"

  Gongsun Du, however, held his head as he could not understand the reality .

  He heard that the Mountaineer Legion went to Luo Yang, which should have taken a month or two if they marched here . Betraying his expectation, the entire groups were there .

  Wang Men snapped out of his confusion . He yelled, "My lord, don’t get fooled by them! This must be imposters!"

  "Imposters?" Gongsun Du’s jaw dropped, "Really?"

  "Yes! The guy in front should have been nameless idiots that are taking the roles as their soldiers . "

  "How did you come up with that!? What if they were real?"

  "Impossible, my lord . Our spies informed us that the Mountaineer Legion had traveled to Henei to join the coalition . From that city, it should have taken them at least a month or two before they can reach this county!"

  "What!? Does that mean ……"

  "They are imposters! It’s a ploy of Zhang Tong or this city mayor to trick us into retreat!"

  "B-But that general looks strong . "

  "I’ll prove it to you, my lord! I shall duel with him and get his head for you . Once he’s dead, I’ll expose their stupid tactic and punish these mongrels!"

  "O-Oh! Okay, go then . Bring me victory!"

  "Of course, my lord . Please wait and witness my triumph return . "

  Though Wang Men was nervous, he rode forward alone, challenging Zhang Liao into a duel .

  "I, WANG MEN OF GONGSUN DU, CHALLENGE YOUR STRONGEST WARRIOR!"

  Zhang Liao flinched when he heard the name . As he was a member of Tong’s clan chat, he marked the name, Wang Men, as a wanted man since he killed He Xing .

  With bloodshot eyes, Zhang Liao muttered, informing his subordinates .

  "None of you interfere . I need this bastard alive for our lord!"

  The killing intent aura from Zhang Liao intensified . Compared to Lu Bu, his aura was not up to the god of war’s level, but Zhang Liao still had enough intimidating presence to make a strong man wet himself .

  Zhang Liao’s murderous glare locked on to Wang Men, who froze from the pressure on the spot .

  ’W-W-What is this aura!?’

  As someone who had never fought against true elites, Wang Men’s mind was in disarray .

  Zhang Liao rode forward with his halberd . His redhare jogged in in leisure as if it was out for a stroll .

  "Are you Wang Men?"

  Flustered and intimidated, Wang Men’s voice cracked, "W-Who goes there!?"

  "Zhang Liao, Zhang Wenyuan!"

  Zhang Liao’s redhare dashed forward . In two breath, Zhang Liao reached Wang Man, and his halberd slashed downward .

  Wang Men’s mind was still empty because of the oppressing aura, but his muscle memory kicked in . He raised his spear shaft to block it .

  *SWUA*

  The halberd cut through Wang Men’s iron spear shaft like butter . As Wang Men could not block it, the halberd continued down, cutting his right arm in the process .

  Wang Men lost his balance on horseback, and he fell off, rolling down on the ground . His eyes were still staring straight, unable to comprehend the entire event .

  He turned to his right shoulder as he did not feel anything beyond his right arm .

  Seeing the missing arm, Wang Men screamed, crying in a panic . Soon, the heart-wrenching pain struck him, and his voice got louder .

  Zhang Liao pulled back his rein, disregarding Gongsun Du and his remaining troops . He jumped off his horse and strode toward Wang Man .

  He rotated his halberd and slammed the halberd’s blunt edge onto Wang Men’s spine .

  *CRACK*

  Wang Men lost his consciousness as he felt into comatose .

  Zhang Liao turned around, glaring at the remaining soldiers .

  "Who’s next?"

  Gongsun Du shrunk back in a panic . Since he heard Zhang Liao’s name and Wang Men fell, this new clan lord did not have enough courage to fight back .

  "R-RETREAT!! FULL RETREAT!!"

  Without bothering waiting for his men, Gongsun Du pulled his horse around and galloped away .

  The rest of his men came to their sense later . They galloped after their lord despite their exhaustion .

  A few hundreds of Gongsun Du’s horses could not run anymore . They knelt and threw off their riders while their mouth foamed .

  Zhang Liao did not pursue . He turned around and carried Wang Men by his collar, dragging his body back to the county .

  Upon entering the gate, Lu Bu gazed at Zhang Liao and nodded .

  "You’ve gotten stronger . "

  Zhang Liao shook his head, "It was Tong’s skill . "

  "Still, you’re now stronger . If I had never awakened immortal power, you would have surpassed me . "

  "Eh, if you say so . "

  Zhang Liao shrugged it off as he was not proud of his feat one bit . Glancing at his status menu, he had a complicated thought about his new system skill . .

  [Sword Mastery] Cannot be leveled up -

  Master all kinds of swords . Increase all attributes by ten times if the host is using a sword . -

  If the host kills an enemy, increase the host’s lifespan by the remaining lifespan of the dead enemy . -

  Upkeeps: 2,000 Lifespans per year . .

  Zhang Liao was carrying a sword in a sheath behind his back . As long as he had it, his physical strength would increase, which Zhang Liao could feel the surge of power in his body .

  He could see the remaining lifespans he had . Since Tong blessed all generals with over 10,000 lifespans, Zhang Liao did not have to worry about the annual upkeep .

  Furthermore, Zhang Liao could absorb other’s lifespans if he ran short of it .

  Also, he obtained this angelic cultivation manual from Tong, which made his growth potential higher . Once Zhang Liao could obtain wings, his natural strength would multiply further .

  ’It feels so unreal . ’

  Zhang Liao glanced at his boss, Lu Bu, thinking about the other skill that this god of war received from Tong .

  ’Tong said that he didn’t want to part with that skill . I wonder what the skill effect is . ’