"Not only did he dodge it, but this leopard has once again blocked Liu Xiu's path. Ju Wuba is about to arrive, and the two of them are bound to have a great battle, hmm?" Xiang Yu looked surprised.
Liu Xiu glanced back at the charging human-like figure and said, "Since you're courting death, then die. But it would be better to kill your little friend first."
roar!
As if understanding Liu Xiu's words, the leopard opened its mouth and roared. Then, it remained in the open-mouthed position until Liu Xiu walked over and cleaved its head in two with a single stroke!
Previously, Liu Xiu's sneak attacks had been evaded by the golden leopard, and just now, when Liu Xiu turned around to lure the golden leopard, he didn't fall for it either, yet he died so mysteriously.
"How was he killed?" Hao Jiu asked in disbelief.
"He simply walked over and slashed at the leopard, but the leopard neither dodged nor retaliated." Xiang Yu couldn't help but clench his fists.
"My goodness, Liu Xiu is on fire! Liu Xiu's stock is soaring! I never expected that my little trick would expose his true colors so easily," Hao Jiu said smugly.
Xiang Yu frowned. Ju Wuba's stock price skyrocketed? Liu Xiu's stock price hit the daily limit? What nonsense!
"Is Dionysus saying that Liu Xiu is the host of this target system? And that he killed the leopard with a single blow because the system helped him?"
"Let's hurry over and help, Ju Wuba is doomed." Hao Jiu didn't expect to find their target so easily. If she had known this would happen, she would have secretly followed behind Ju Wuba earlier.
However, the distance isn't that far. Even if Liu Xiu kills Ju Wuba now, he definitely won't be able to escape.
If Ju Wuba could have held out a little longer and helped test Liu Xiu's true strength, that would have been even better, but alas...
Just then, Ju Wuba finally arrived at the battlefield and saw the carcass of the golden leopard!
"Good, good, good, Liu Xiu, you little brat! I will devour you until not even a bone or a dreg remains, to avenge my beloved pet! Die!" Ju Wuba said, suddenly whipping out his long whip.
Liu Xiu dodged the elephant's impact with a leap, but was caught by Ju Wuba's whip around his waist and pulled back sharply.
Liu Xiu, who was still in the air and unable to get any leverage, was pulled over by Ju Wuba. Liu Xiu reacted quickly and slashed at the whip with his backhand, but he did not cut it off.
Liu Xiu's eyes widened instantly. If he couldn't escape now, he would run into those sharp ivory tusks!
Chapter 245 Mysterious and Unpredictable
"Reporting to the general, the rebels have all been captured... Uh, where is the general?" The junior officer in the new army just saw General Wang Xiang here, how come he's gone in the blink of an eye? Could he have gone to the restroom?
At this moment, Xiang Yu, who was riding his black horse at full speed to support Ju Wuba, suddenly opened his eyes wide, "Oh no! Liu Xiu is going to die!"
"Huh?" Hao Jiu was completely dumbfounded. Could it be that this target system was garbage?
"Liu Xiu was entangled and pulled by Ju Wuba's whip. The first strike failed to cut the whip, and although the second strike did cut it, he was still knocked away, as if he had been knocked away by an elephant's tusks. Even with armor protecting him, it was all in vain."
Xiang Yu spurred his horse, needing to hurry. With Liu Xiu dead, the target system entered a weakened state, but this weakened state wouldn't last long. If they arrived too late, the target system would escape with a time-space artifact, making it impossible to complete the mission.
"The black horse should be fast enough to make it, and Liu Xiu might not even die. If Xiang Yu were hit by that elephant, he probably wouldn't even be injured, right? Don't underestimate this cheat system." Hao Jiu felt that this target system shouldn't be so weak, unless it didn't care about the host's life or death.
But what more could he ask for than Liu Xiu as his host? Isn't being the chosen one of the plane appealing? As long as he doesn't die, he can be saved.
“The God of Wine is absolutely right. Liu Xiu was thrown a bit too far, it seems he used the momentum to his advantage. However, I saw what appeared to be blood dripping from the ivory, so Liu Xiu must be seriously injured,” Xiang Yu added.
"Could this elephant have become a spirit too?" Hao Jiu frowned. Did this giant Wu Ba have some kind of special ability? Did it hold back when it competed with Xiang Yu?
If that striped tiger was also a sentient being, how could it have been scared away by Xiang Yu's single glance and roar?
This giant bastard is quite interesting...
"Liu Xiu, you little brat, prepare to die!" Ju Wuba rode his elephant and chased after him. He had clearly seen that moment when Liu Xiu cut the whip, his body twisted strangely, he discarded his knife and grabbed the ivory with his bare hands, and then he kicked off with both legs and sprang away.
Judging from the bloodstains on the ivory, the wound was probably not very deep and did not appear to have hit a vital organ.
Sure enough, when Ju Wuba rode his elephant and trampled over, Liu Xiu was no longer near the first landing point.
The surrounding area was overgrown with weeds, making it difficult to determine at first glance which direction Liu Xiu had fled in.
But in reality, elephants have an extremely sensitive sense of smell and can quickly locate their target by scent.
Just then, the new army cavalry, who had originally come with Ju Wuba to search, arrived to provide support, drawn by the sounds of fighting.
"General! We have come to your aid!"
"Quickly search for the enemy general! He's wounded and can't have gone far! We must find him alive or dead!"
"Yes, sir!" the new army cavalry responded and immediately scattered to search.
Ju Wuba's gaze shifted between light and shadow. Could Liu Xiu really not have gone far? At least within this vicinity, there was no sign of that guy at all.
Moreover, the direction the elephant was chasing led to an open field, and there wasn't a single living creature in sight.
...
"God of Wine, it seems Liu Xiu has escaped. Ju Wuba's reinforcements have arrived, and this battle can't continue. My clone has also left, otherwise the new army cavalry would have found it soon." Xiang Yu slowed down the speed of his black horse.
"Is it a coincidence?" Hao Jiu frowned.
Xiang Yu asked in confusion, "What coincidence? The timing of the reinforcements' arrival? The moment Ju Wuba saw Liu Xiu, he had already gathered his troops by shouting. In my opinion, the arrival of reinforcements was inevitable. That Ju Wuba is rough but shrewd; he's quite capable."
"So that means that in the limited time of the duel, Liu Xiu and Ju Wuba fought to a draw. Liu Xiu killed Ju Wuba's spirit leopard, and Ju Wuba's ivory also injured Liu Xiu. Why didn't Liu Xiu take advantage of the fact that no one was around to use his ultimate move to kill Ju Wuba instantly?" Hao Jiu felt that there was something strange about this.
Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu frowned. "Could it be that Liu Xiu discovered my clone was spying nearby?"
“Perhaps, but even if Liu Xiu discovers that there is a scout observing in the dark, he can completely pretend not to know, kill Ju Wuba, and then go to your clone to silence him…” Before Hao Jiu could finish speaking, Xiang Yu interrupted him.
"I've spotted Liu Xiu. He's indeed injured, and he's also discovered my clone. Perhaps this is a good opportunity to kill him?"
"Heh, so this is to silence him? Why aren't you running? Don't use any superhuman strength, you won't be able to kill him, and you'll just alert him," Hao Jiu warned.
Xiang Yu frowned. "They might not be here to silence me, right? If they wanted to, why didn't they kill my clone and the soldier who managed to break through the encirclement? It makes no difference whether the whole army is wiped out or only two soldiers remain. Since they're not going to kill him, I have to go save him. Even if they really want to silence me, I have to go now."
At this moment, Xiang Yu's divided soul controlled the scout's body and ran quickly towards the injured Liu Xiu, then picked him up and left without saying a word.
"Save him? King Xiang, I must remind you, no matter what Liu Xiu thinks, once he knows we're here to kill him, he won't have any feelings for your clone anymore, let alone show us any mercy. This is a matter of life and death; if we fail, our fate will be extremely tragic," Hao Jiu said calmly.
"I know that Dionysus is reminding me not to get too involved, not to treat Liu Xiu as a brother, and not to be unable to bring myself to kill him. Rest assured, I know what I should do. Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself." Xiang Yu said this in a very calm tone.
Huff, huff...
The man's heavy breathing made Liu Xiu feel unreal. He never expected that there was someone in the world who was so kind to him and had specially come back to save him. However, he couldn't even remember the man's full name, only that his surname was Xiang.
But the problem is, if I keep carrying him like this, he'll bleed to death...
"Brother, put me down first. We've already shaken off our pursuers. If you don't stop my bleeding soon, I'm going to die," Liu Xiu said weakly.
The scout stopped, placed Liu Xiu on the grass, and then tore off a piece of burlap from his clothes to bandage Liu Xiu's wound.
"Your wound isn't deep, you won't die. What's a little blood loss for a grown man?"
Liu Xiu rolled his eyes at the other person, "This can be called a minor injury? My armor has such a big hole in it, I almost died! That Ju Wuba is too powerful, he can actually control elephants. Wait, didn't you see how I got injured?"
"How would I know how you got injured? Even if Ju Wuba was powerful, he couldn't stop you. Besides, your wound wasn't in a vital spot, and you didn't bleed much."
"Huh? You didn't see it? Weren't you following me and hiding in the shadows, spying on me?" Liu Xiu asked knowingly.
"You've been following me and spying on me? I came back specifically to find you, to see if you can really get out of danger. If you are in danger and I happen to be able to help, then I will help you."
"Oh, I see... I owe you a lot this time, Brother Xiang. From now on, follow me, and I'll guarantee you a bright future." Liu Xiu smiled slightly.
"Aren't we following you now? Forget about the future, let's escape back to Kunyang first. Can't you walk by yourself?"
"You have to be able to, even if you can't. Do you think I can expect you to carry me twenty miles?" Liu Xiu stood up, took off his armor and threw it away. "Let's go back to Kunyang. I will avenge today's humiliation one day!"
...
Chapter 246 Celebrating Victory
At the foot of Ziyun Mountain, Xiang Yu finally arrived at the place where Ju Wuba and Liu Xiu were fighting.
"This is outrageous! We still couldn't kill Liu Xiu, and we even lost a golden leopard for nothing. Should we head to Kunyang and ambush him?" Ju Wuba's face was full of embarrassment. The cooked duck had flown away.
"Forget it, there are too many rebels in Kunyang. It's too dangerous for us to ambush them there. It's not worth it for Liu Xiu," Xiang Yu said expressionlessly.
"Liu Xiu's martial arts skills are truly formidable. General Wang, you must be extremely careful if you encounter him in the future," Ju Wuba warned.
"Well, let's go and meet up with the Grand Marshal." Xiang Yu did not refuse Ju Wuba's offer. Liu Xiu was indeed very strong, but it was hard to say exactly how strong he was.
Hao Jiu's idea was that since they had already identified their target and had plenty of time, it would be better to play it safe and first try to test Liu Xiu's strength.
After all, the Battle of Kunyang is just around the corner, and the hundreds of thousands of new troops should be a good test. If Liu Xiu doesn't show his true abilities, it won't be easy for him to win this great battle.
Surely not all the meteorites, strong winds, and other celestial phenomena recorded in history books that aided in the battle were real?
Historical records of the Battle of Kunyang clearly aim to deify Liu Xiu, giving the impression that he was blessed by heaven. At the same time, Liu Xiu's martial prowess and leadership abilities are also exaggerated, instantly establishing his image as a wise and powerful figure.
But a fake is a fake, and upon closer inspection, the oddities go far beyond just the meteorite itself.
Of course, this is not to say that the Battle of Kunyang was entirely fabricated, but the actual course of the war probably differs somewhat from what is recorded in historical books.
The Battle of Kunyang, where 20,000 defeated 420,000, seems like a fantasy. In fact, there was another great battle in history that was similar to it. That was the Battle of Pengcheng, where Xiang Yu and Liu Ji fought each other, and 30,000 defeated 560,000!
Both of these battles were famous examples of smaller forces defeating larger ones, and they share many similarities.
The Battle of Pengcheng occurred because Liu Ji became arrogant after capturing Pengcheng, made command mistakes, or was simply not up to his true ability. In any case, it was because of an opponent like Liu Ji that Xiang Yu, who had made a long-distance raid, had the opportunity.
The two main generals in the Battle of Kunyang, Wang Yi and Wang Xun, were even more cunning than Liu Ji. At least Liu Ji was caught off guard by Xiang Yu, who did not expect Xiang Yu to return from Qi so quickly.
However, Wang Yi and Wang Xun acted rashly and personally led a force of over 10,000 men to fight Liu Xiu's 3,000 daredevils with bayonets. They even ordered the remaining 410,000 men not to move without orders. They really made a fool of themselves!
As a result, when the two sides started fighting, Wang Yi and Wang Xun were no match for them and quickly fell into a rout. The other armies, because of previous orders, dared not send troops to their aid without authorization, thinking that their commander was playing a sophisticated tactic of feigning defeat to lure the enemy.
It wasn't until Wang Xun was killed and Wang Yi lost contact that the 410,000 troops realized that the new army had been defeated. Their commanders were either dead or had fled, so what was the point of fighting?
And so, the leaderless new army was defeated, as if it had been wiped out by a meteorite.
Therefore, although Liu Xiu played a certain role in the Battle of Kunyang, Wang Yi and Wang Xun were indeed indispensable in achieving such a great victory.
Even if a commander with such a low level of military command had a million-strong new army at his disposal, it would be useless.
If a general is incompetent, a thousand soldiers will die from exhaustion. If a commander is incompetent, even a twenty-fold advantage in troops can lead to a crushing defeat!
A victory celebration banquet at the new army camp.
The Beast Army achieved a resounding victory in its first battle!
Xiang Yu and Ju Wuba greatly boosted the morale of the new army, and Grand Minister of Works Wang Yi couldn't stop smiling.
"Hahaha... This battle was well fought! Although those two rebel leaders escaped, it was still a great victory! It has boosted the morale of our army!" Wang Yi said, then turned his gaze to Xiang Yu.
"This humble general dares not take credit; it is all thanks to General Ju and the strategist," Xiang Yu said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.