Chapter 16: Xue Rengui vs. Zhang Yide (Part Two)

Zhang Fei wielded his eighteen-span serpent spear, charging at Xue Rengui with the overwhelming force of a collapsing mountain and a raging sea. Borrowing the momentum of his charging steed, and combined with Zhang Fei's already immense innate strength, Xue Rengui was instantly forced back two steps.

However, that was the extent of it. Helped by the momentum of a cavalry charge, and with Xue Rengui choosing to meet Zhang Fei's attack head-on while stationary, he had naturally found himself temporarily at a slight disadvantage.

Now that the two were engaged in a direct, toe-to-toe clash, the current Zhang Fei could naturally do nothing to shake Xue Rengui.

Zhang Fei's long spear thrust toward Xue Rengui's vital points like a venomous snake darting out its tongue, striking with angles so tricky they were nearly impossible to guard against.

Yet Xue Rengui remained completely unruffled and unhurried. His halberd slashed out in a continuous flurry, instantly rendering Zhang Fei's fierce succession of combos completely ineffective.

The two exchanged more than thirty blows in rapid succession, yet fought to a dead even draw, neither seemingly able to gain the upper hand over the other.

Still, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Zhang Fei was clearly at a disadvantage. From the very beginning of the battle, Zhang Fei had been on the relentless offensive, while Xue Rengui had merely maintained a passive defense; yet despite this, Zhang Fei could not scratch Xue Rengui in the slightest.

Zhang Fei himself naturally sensed this as well. Ever since he, Third Master Zhang, had first made his name, he had never encountered such a frustrating and stifling situation.

With this thought, the offensive momentum in Zhang Fei's hands grew even fiercer and more violent.

"Roar! White-faced brat, take another thrust from your Third Master!"

With a sudden, earth-shaking roar, Zhang Fei swung his serpent spear as if it were a club, smashing it down toward Xue Rengui with the crushing weight of Mount Tai.

"Ding! Zhang Fei's skill 'Roar' is activated.
Roar, Effect 1: Increases combat strength by 3 when facing an enemy.
Effect 2: In single combat, reduces the enemy's combat strength by 1 to 4 points; in group combat, reduces the combat strength of all opposing enemies by 1 to 2 points.
Effect 3: A roar that shakes the heavens and makes the earth tremble. When this effect is activated, there is an extremely high probability of drastically reducing the morale of the enemy's entire army.
Zhang Fei's skill 'Roar' Effect 1 activated: combat strength +3. Base combat strength 102, Eighteen-Span Serpent Spear +1, Cloudy Snow-Treading Steed +1. Zhang Fei's current combat strength rises to 107."

Though Zhang Fei had only initially triggered his skill, he had not yet reached the peak combat strength of his prime, and thus could not truly threaten Xue Rengui. After all, even without activating any skills, Xue Rengui's combat strength could reach 107 when fully equipped with arms and steed.

Nevertheless, Xue Rengui no longer dared to let Zhang Fei press the attack at will and took the initiative to counter-attack. Instantly, the clashing sounds of spear and halberd rang out furiously. Though only two men were fighting, the sheer momentum they erupted with seemed no less formidable than the clash of ten thousand troops.

Liu Bei had initially felt a pang of worry upon seeing Zhang Fei at a disadvantage, but seeing him erupt and fight Xue Rengui to a standstill, he finally set his hanging heart at ease.

At the same time, however, Liu Bei gazed at Xue Rengui's figure with a burning intensity in his eyes, clearly harboring new thoughts in his mind.

In stark contrast to Liu Bei, given Guan Yu's keen discernment, how could he fail to see that Xue Rengui—who was trading blows with his third brother—had not even used his full strength? It was likely that his third brother was destined to lose this fight.

At this thought, Guan Yu gripped the handle of his heavy blade tightly. It wasn't that he couldn't afford to lose—moreover, the one about to lose wasn't even him—rather, Guan Yu had simply been stirred by a burning desire to battle. After all, an opponent of such formidable strength was a rare find indeed.

As for Zhang Fei, realizing that even after unleashing his skill he had only managed to fight Xue Rengui to a narrow draw, his fighting spirit soared to new heights, and his strikes grew even more berserk.

"Ding! Zhang Fei's skill 'Roar' Effect 2 is activated, reducing Xue Rengui's combat strength by 3 points. Xue Rengui's current combat strength drops to..."

"Ding! Xue Rengui's skill 'White Tiger' Effect 3 is activated: 'Aura of Killing'. Negative suppression effects on combat strength and command are halved. The 3-point reduction from 'Roar' is halved, rounding down to the nearest integer. Xue Rengui's current combat strength drops to 106."

"Ding! Xue Rengui's skill 'White Tiger' Effect 1 is activated: combat strength +5. Xue Rengui's base combat strength is 105, Halberd +1, Snow-Treading Steed +1, Roar suppression -1. His current combat strength rises to 111."

Though this was also merely the initial trigger of his skill, even with his combat strength suppressed by Zhang Fei's 'Roar', Xue Rengui still surged to a level of 111.

A gap of 4 points in combat strength was not yet wide enough to place them in entirely different tiers, but it was more than enough for Xue Rengui to suppress Zhang Fei with ease.

Executing a move known as "Azure Cloud Ascending to Heaven," Xue Rengui thrust his massive halberd straight at Zhang Fei. Though Zhang Fei dodged it by a hair's breadth, the maneuver threw him into a position of disadvantage.

Seizing the opportunity, Xue Rengui unleashed a fierce wave of attacks. Zhang Fei could only struggle to parry, reduced entirely to defending rather than attacking.

Xue Rengui intended to go all out and end the fight swiftly, but he never expected that under such immense pressure, Zhang Fei would erupt yet again.

"Ding! Zhang Fei's skill 'Berserk' is activated.
Berserk, Effect 1: Upon activation, combat strength +5.
Effect 2: The more he fights, the more berserk he becomes; the more berserk he becomes, the harder he fights. As the madness in his heart is unleashed and the battle rages on, combat strength +3. This effect can be triggered up to three times. Once all three triggers are activated, his heart becomes completely filled with madness and fighting intent, while his rationality partially recedes, transforming into pure combat instinct.
Effect 3: After consuming alcohol, combat strength can be additionally increased by 2, at the cost of halving his intelligence.
Ding! Zhang Fei's skill 'Berserk' Effect 1 is activated, current combat strength rises to 112."

With the release of Zhang Fei's second skill, the stalemate returned once more.

Meanwhile, Li Xiang was inwardly analyzing Zhang Fei's skills.

As one of the three pillars of the late Han dynasty, Liu Bei would never willingly submit to others in the future. Besides, even if Liu Bei were inclined to pledge his allegiance to Li Xiang, Li Xiang might not necessarily accept him.

Lest anyone forget, throughout the late Han period, every warlord who had ever taken in Liu Bei—from Gongsun Zan in the beginning to Liu Biao and Liu Zhang in the end—Liu Bei had practically made the rounds of all the warlords under heaven. Yet the ultimate outcome was always the same: whoever dared to shelter Liu Bei would meet a terrible misfortune.

That being the case, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who shared such a deep bond of brotherhood with Liu Bei, would inevitably become enemies in the future. Figuring out the ins and outs of these two early on would allow for targeted preparations when the time came.

Thinking of Zhang Fei, Li Xiang could only say he truly deserved to be ranked sixth among the twenty-four legendary generals of the Three Kingdoms.

Once this fellow grew to his absolute peak and unlocked all his skills, his combat strength would soar directly to 123; if he were drunk, it could reach as high as 125.

And that was merely the self-buffing effect of Zhang Fei's skills, not even counting the suppression effects they inflicted on the enemy's combat strength.

Fierce Zhang Fei's 'Roar' skill might not provide an overwhelming boost to his own combat strength, but it was effective in both single and group combat. Combined together, its buffing and suppressing effects were far from negligible.

Yet the most troublesome part of all was the third effect of the 'Roar' skill. There was no need to elaborate on the utility of this third effect; one only needed to recall the tale of Zhang Yide at Changban Slope in *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* to understand.

In the romance, Zhang Fei once shouted in a stern voice at Changban Slope: "I am Zhang Yide of Yan! Who dares to fight me to the death?" His voice sounded like a peal of thunder.

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao's troops trembled in every joint. Cao Cao hurriedly ordered his parasol canopy to be removed, looked back at his attendants and said, "I used to hear Yunchang say that Yide could take the head of a supreme general amidst an army of a million as easily as taking something from his own pocket. Meeting him today, we must not take him lightly." Before he finished speaking, Zhang Fei opened his eyes wide and shouted again, "Zhang Yide of Yan is here! Who dares come and fight to the death?"

Seeing such heroic spirit in Zhang Fei, Cao Cao grew rather inclined to retreat. Catching sight of the shifting formations in Cao Cao's rear guard, Zhang Fei brandished his spear and shouted once more, "To fight you will not, to retreat you will not—what is the meaning of this!" Before the echo of his shout had even faded, Xiahou Jie, who stood right beside Cao Cao, was so terrified that his liver and gallbladder shattered, and he tumbled backward off his horse. Seeing this, Cao Cao whipped his horse around and fled, whereupon all the generals and troops turned and galloped away to the west.

From this, one could see that the seemingly inconspicuous third effect of the 'Roar' skill might actually be its most refined and formidable essence.

While Li Xiang was secretly analyzing Zhang Fei's skills, the fierce battle between the two combatants underwent yet another dramatic shift.