Chapter 193
’Seriously, a Musou attack at this time?’ Tong cracked a joke in his mind .
’Oh well, Regen ... No, I won’t! I may be stupid, but I won’t disgrace this fight with cheats!’
Tong stopped using regen at the critical moment because he desired an honest duel with this legendary general . He had cheated enough to the point that he was ashamed . Deep down inside his heart and his chunnibyou spirit, Tong wanted to win without relying on the system cheats . He wanted to use the power that he acquired by his own hands, not from the help of the system .
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’I won’t use my [Time Stop] . I won’t use my regeneration!’
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’I won’t even use my sword and rely on my [Sword Mastery]!’
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’Those guns and bullets are also no good! They are my byproducts of my [Firearms Creation]!’
’I’ll only use my body, my brain, and my soul in this fight!’
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With blurred vision, Tong he could not read the messages from the auto-message system . However, he could sense that a residual soul inside him could be summoned again .
’I may be a hypocrite . I may be stupid . However, I’ll rely on my soul . Come out [Sloth]!’
The soul in a brown police uniform appeared behind Tong’s back . Its face was tranquil despite the urgent situation . The back of Tong revealed two black tentacle wings, and they grew two inches longer than the last time .
Fortunately, Huang Zhong could not see the wings on Tong’s back, but he still witnessed the soul behind Tong .
’Whether you have a guardian spirit or you have a helper, I will be the victor!’
Huang Zhong took another ten arrows from another quiver . He fired five of them at a time, two times in a row .
By the time the archer general fired the last ten arrows, the first fifty arrows which he had launched toward the sky had started to fall to earth . The location where they are falling was the spot where Tong was standing .
Fifty arrows from above, and ten arrows from the front, this was Huang Zhong last card!
Tong’s true body could not move anymore, but his [Sloth] could still see and move around . Tong switched his body control to [Sloth], and he could sense his surroundings again .
’I lacked practice, but I should be able to do this . ’
The sensitivity and Tong’s instinct from Sloth Soul was the same as Tong’s overclock mode in full power, but the [Double Accel] that Tong had used still had better performance .
The fifty arrows and the ten from the front came at the same time as if they were calculated .
’I won’t give up!’
"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!"
Tong shouted the iconic warcry while his [Sloth] threw punches at the incoming arrows, leaving dozens of afterimages .
One punch for one arrow .
Five punches for five arrows .
Ten arrows .
Twenty arrows .
*DONK*
One of the twenty arrows fell and knocked off Tong’s helmet .
Thirty arrows .
Forty arrows .
*SOEK*
*SOEK*
Two of the arrows from the front pierced Tong center chest through the armor, digging into his flesh and stuck at his ribcage .
Fifty arrows .
*SOEK*
*SOEK*
One arrow from the above landed on Tong’s right shoulder . The other cut the side of Tong’s right forehead above his left eye . That arrow ricocheted with Tong’s armor and fell on the ground .
Sixty arrows .
*SOEK*
The last arrow that slipped through the parrying of [Sloth] went through his left chest, piercing through his lung and missed the heart by a couple of centimeters .
[Sloth] returned into Tong’s body as he had not mastered controlling two bodies at the same time yet . Once the soul reentered the body, Tong’s vision became clear again .
He swallowed his pain and staggered toward Huang Zhong with five arrows embedded into his body .
Meanwhile, Huang Zhong stared at Tong as if he saw a monster . The thing just now had parried most of his arrows . Had the guardian spirit not existed, his opponent would have already turned into a porcupine .
Even though Tong walked toward Huang Zhong one step at a time without defending himself, the archer general did not follow up with another attack . He had already promised that if Tong survived his attacks, Huang Zhong would resign . He wanted to honor that oath .
"Hansheng! What are you doing!? Kill him!" Huang Zu shouted . He did not understand what Huang Zhong was thinking .
Xu Huang did not speak anything . He only kept his eyes on Huang Zu, getting ready to charge at this onlooker any time .
Tong’s slow walking took him to the front of Huang Zhong . His face was covered with blood from the cut on his forehead . Both his eyes were dark red, and his nose was dripping blood . Despite all that, Tong smiled at the general and slowly pointed his gun at Huang Zhong’s face .
"I survived . It’s my win, right?"
Huang Zhong chuckled at this young lord . "Indeed . This is my defeat . "
Tong lowered his gun . "I hope you can fulfill our bet, general . "
"Of course . " Answered Huang Zhong as he continued giving Tong a bitter smile . This archer general was satisfied, but he was worried about Tong’s condition . From the looks of it, Tong would die soon .
’Zhang Tong, son of Zhang Jiao . I’ll remember your name . ’
Huang Zhong thought that Tong sacrificed his life to get the victory in this duel so that his men would not have to fight in this war . If this young lord could go this far for his soldiers, how could he be the cold-blooded rebel as the Emperor said in the edict? He felt guilty and ashamed for fighting for the corrupted Emperor and killed this chivalrous young lord .
He felt pity for Tong’s future .
’A good person always dies young . ’
Huang Zhong bit his lower lips as he stared into the eyes of Tong . He wanted to engrave Tong’s face into his memories as the face of a hero .
"The victor can ask the loser anything . What do you want me to do?" Huang Zhong asked .
"The victor is not decided yet! Hansheng, what are you doing!?" Huang Zu protested .
"Noisy!"
Huang Zhong shouted back and locked his killing intend on his comrade . The pressure of this archer general was on the same level as Lu Bu, which weaken Huang Zu’s legs and made his horse neighed in a panic .
The intimidation of Huang Zhong was effective . However, Huang Zu was stubborn . He drew his bow and fired at Tong before anyone could react .
"You!" Huang Zhong wanted to block the arrow, but he was too late . The arrow passed him .
’Regen! Time Stop!’
With two activations at the same time, Tong blinked and reappeared behind as he stood on the back of his horse, with a gun pointing on Huang Zu’s head . All wound on his body and the arrows, which embedded onto his body, disappeared .
"You know, if it weren’t for him and the bet agreement, I would have killed you . "
Huang Zhong, Xu Huang, and Huang Zu were shocked . This sorcery was too miraculous that their logic could not comprehend it .
(Author’s note: too many Huang . I cringed . )
Staring at Tong for a while, Huang Zhong realized something . The dying sign on Tong was no more . Also, he did not use those sorceries during the duel .
"Zhang Tong, if you had used those sorceries on me from the beginning, you would have won easily . Why didn’t you do it?" Huang Zhong asked .
"This is a gentlemen’s duel . Why should I use my power in a fight between mortals? Will you use a sharp-edged weapon when your opponent uses a wooden stick in a competition of skills?"
Hearing Tong’s answer, Huang Zhong burst into laughter while Xu Huang had a wry smile on his face while he thought, ’You said you didn’t use your power, but what in the heaven was that guardian spirit? You still cheated, my lord . ’
Huang Zhong swiped his tears from the laugh .
"Indeed . That was fun . Well, what do you want me to do? You won, I lost . I have to follow your order . "
Tong pondered while he still stood on the horse behind Huang Zu .
’Can I ask him to join me right away?’
’No, that won’t work . Huang Zhong has a family back in Xiangyang . If he defects right now, his family members will be killed by Liu Biao . ’
’I have to delay the invitation for now . Recruiting legends are troublesome . Oh, wait! I can still use that trick . ’
An idea popped up inside Tong’s brain . He smiled at Huang Zhong and said .
"For now, please be my hostage until the Imperial troops withdraw from Liyang territory . "
Huang Zhong shrugged as he did not mind it . "Alright, but get me a good physician to treat my wounds . I still want to have another rematch with you . "
"Not a problem . I’m also a physician apprentice . I can look at your wounds . "
While the two laidback duelists chatted in a friendly manner, Xu Huang and Huang Zu observed them with an awkward smile .
’They were killing each other a few minutes ago . How could they get along so fast!?’
...
...
Tong and Xu Huang guided Huang Zhong to Liyang City while Huang Zu returned to Liu Biao with bad news .
When Liu Biao heard the news about Huang Zhong’s defeat and that general became Tong’s hostage, he shook his head .
"A golden opportunity, yet a shocking discovery . I don’t blame him for losing to that sorcerer Zhang Tong . "
Liu Biao did not get angry at Huang Zu or Huang Zhong . The opponent was too mysterious and powerful . Losing to him in a fair duel and this war was justified . Besides, Liu Biao was not a harsh warlord . He often forgave his subordinates for mistakes and blunders if the reason was acceptable .
As Liu Biao was about to open his mouth and order the army to retreat to Luo Yang, a messenger rushed in with an urgent report .
"Report! Our granaries at the camp are on fire! An unknown army raid our camp while we’re here!"
The corner of Liu Biao’s eyebrows twitched . That raid was unnecessary as he was planning to back away from this battlefield .
"Haiz, I know . Give my order to everyone . We’ll withdraw back to Luo Yang . "
"Y-Yes, general!"</your></if></your></your></your></your>