"Get lost!" Xiang Yu swept his halberd across, killing countless enemy soldiers, and then chased after him like lightning. He did not believe that Liu Ji was a suicidal person.
When Liu Ji reached the edge of the mountain and looked down, he immediately abandoned the idea of going down there. It was just too steep! Wasn't that just jumping off a cliff to commit suicide?
However, because Xiang Yu was chasing too fast and Liu Ji was running too fast, when he reached this point, a large rock under his feet happened to slip down, and Liu Ji slid down the mountain with it.
"Ahhh..." Liu Ji cried out in terror, clinging tightly to the rock as it slid faster and faster, the thrill was unbearable.
Xiang Yu rushed to the spot where Liu Ji had just slid down the mountain. Looking down, he felt dizzy, but he could tell that Liu Ji was likely still alive. He roared, "Chu soldiers down the mountain, listen up! Stop Liu Ji! Do not try to persuade him to surrender, kill him without mercy!"
Shen Tu Jia had already noticed the mountaintop when Liu Ji slid down with a series of screams. He was completely stunned. Liu Ji had actually managed to break through from his side. What a loyal follower of his former master!
"Quickly! Catch Liu Ji, who's sliding down the mountain!"
"Yes, sir!" the Chu army responded and charged forward.
However, at that very moment, an army rushed over from the east.
"Rescue the King of Han with all our might!" Xiahou Ying abandoned most of his men to cover the rear. He had barely shaken off Xiang Sheng's pursuit when he happened to see the smoke signals on Turtle Mountain. Although he couldn't understand how Liu Ji had gotten to this mountain, and wasn't even sure if it was really Liu Ji, he still chose to come to the rescue as if possessed. As soon as he arrived, he heard Shen Tu Jia shouting to capture Liu Ji.
Xiang Yu naturally saw Xiahou Ying's troops and was immediately anxious. Was Liu Ji going to escape again?
Absolutely not!
"If Liu Ji can go, so can I!"
"Hiss..." Hao Jiu gasped, and then saw Xiang Yu running down the mountain!
Modern special forces have a training exercise where they run down a building from the rooftop, stepping on the exterior wall with a rope around their waist. Although this hillside isn't vertical, Xiang Yu didn't have a rope.
Despite the occasional slips in his path, and the obstructions of trees, thorns, and boulders, nothing could stop Xiang Yu from moving forward! He accelerated forward!
Liu Ji had just seen a glimmer of hope for escape, but when he looked back, he was nearly scared to death. Xiang Yu was hopping and leaping, catching up with him at an even faster speed.
If Xiang Yu were to fall to his death like this, that would be wonderful! Liu Ji's heart skipped a beat, but he immediately thought it was unlikely. He had a system, and so did Xiang Yu. If he were to fall to his death, Xiang Yu would definitely not dare to follow him down.
But if Xiang Yu doesn't die from the fall, then Liu Ji will die. What can be done?
At this moment, Shen Tu Jia had already led his army to fight Xiahou Ying. Several Chu soldiers who were closest to Liu Ji were also hit by arrows and fell to the ground.
Xiang Sheng's cavalry also caught up from a distance. If they could arrive in time, Liu Ji would have no chance of escape.
Liu Ji finally slid down to the bottom of the mountain, but Xiang Yu was not far behind. "Old Hei! Think of something quick!"
Just then, a Chu army warhorse was startled and charged towards Liu Ji, stopping right in front of him by sheer coincidence.
"Get on your horse quickly!" Black Dragon shouted urgently.
"But I can't ride a horse!" Liu Ji said, but his body was already doing as the black dragon instructed.
Liu Ji, who couldn't even mount his horse without a mounting block, suddenly noticed a semi-circular stirrup hanging down from the horse's back. He stepped on it and grabbed the strange equipment on the horse's back, using it to get on the horse.
That's not all. After Liu Ji mounted the warhorse, he found it to be very stable. The equipment strapped to the horse's back was truly amazing. No wonder the Chu cavalry was so powerful; they had such a treasure. If the Han cavalry were also equipped with this, wouldn't they no longer have to fear the Chu cavalry?
Liu Ji was overjoyed and had a lot on his mind, but his hands didn't stop moving. He flicked the reins, and the warhorse galloped wildly as if it were a madman.
Hao Jiu's eyes widened instantly. This works?
At this moment, Xiang Yu also arrived at the foot of the mountain, rushed towards an unclaimed warhorse, leaped onto the horse, and chased after Liu Ji. Any enemy soldiers who tried to stop Xiang Yu were all killed by him.
Liu Ji couldn't ride a horse, but the warhorse was already terrified and running for its life. Liu Ji only needed to hold on tightly to the reins and saddle to ensure he wouldn't fall off. The mad horse was fleeing in the direction of Yinling.
Under these circumstances, only the treacherous terrain of Yinling could shake off Xiang Yu, and Liu Ji, with his incredible luck, might actually be able to get out of the swamp.
The horse Xiang Yu was riding was just an ordinary warhorse. Even though Xiang Yu was a skilled rider, it wouldn't be easy for him to catch up with the mad horse. Until the horse in front of him was exhausted or calmed down, the chances of success were not high.
However, Xiang Yu was not without options. He took out his bow and arrow, aimed at Liu Ji in front of him, and fired a deadly arrow!
Swoosh...
"Liu Ji! Prepare to die!" Xiang Yu's earth-shattering roar shook the heavens and could be heard clearly for miles around!
Chapter 91 The Decisive Battle of Jiujiang (Part 20)
Judging from historical records, Xiang Yu's archery skills were indeed extraordinary.
At that time, Liu Ji fabricated ten major crimes against Xiang Yu across the river, turning black into white and falsely accusing the villain first. This enraged Xiang Yu, who shot an arrow that struck Liu Ji squarely in the right chest. Liu Ji then lied and claimed that he had been shot in the toe, thus calming the army's morale.
Historical records state that it was shot with a weapon such as a ballista, but upon closer examination, it becomes clear that this is impossible, because the crossbow bolts used by large ballistae and other large crossbows are all large. If Liu Ji were really hit by such an arrow, even if it did not hit a vital spot, he would bleed to death.
Therefore, it was more reliable for Xiang Yu to use the Overlord Bow to shoot. He hit the target squarely across the river, missing Liu Ji by only two inches.
There are also records about Lou Fan, a general of Shu. He was a sharpshooter who shot and killed three generals of Chu in succession. Xiang Yu himself came out and scared Lou Fan away with a roar.
In reality, there couldn't be such a cowardly general, especially from such a distance. What Lou Fan truly feared was Xiang Yu's archery skills, and he dared not engage in a duel with Xiang Yu.
After Hao Jiu and Xiang Yu became sworn brothers, Hao Jiu naturally knew very well how skilled Xiang Yu was at archery. Hitting a willow leaf from a hundred paces was nothing to him; he was a true master archer.
At this very moment, the first arrow Xiang Yu fired while pursuing Liu Ji missed Liu Ji's horse because the horse suddenly veered off course, and due to factors such as changes in terrain elevation, it inexplicably grazed the horse's thigh.
Not only did they fail to hit Liu Ji, but they also startled the warhorse, causing it to run even faster, which was utterly baffling.
"Die!" Xiang Yu was unwilling to give up and shot another arrow, but this time he didn't even touch the horse's hair. By chance, the mad horse dodged the arrow. Even Xiang Yu's special skills of firing three arrows at once and firing three arrows in quick succession failed to work.
"God of Wine! Why can't I hit that fellow!" Xiang Yu was furious, but his warhorse was not cooperating, and the distance between him and Liu Ji seemed to be getting wider and wider.
Hao Jiu smiled slightly, "Overlord, don't be impatient. Just keep a good grip on your warhorse. If it stumbles, you really won't be able to catch up. Liu Ji's incredible luck must be related to the black dragon inside him, but Liu Ji's good fortune will eventually come to an end."
"As long as you, Overlord, stick with Liu Ji, the moment that horse runs out of steam will be Liu Ji's death. Don't forget, Overlord, you also possess a heaven-defying artifact."
"A divine artifact... Excellent! Then I, the King, will test my endurance against Liu Ji!" Xiang Yu said, taking out a stamina potion from his robes.
"Wait! Ba Wang should just cut a piece off the medicine and feed it to the warhorse, don't feed it the whole thing!" Hao Jiu hurriedly added.
Xiang Yu's lips twitched violently. He pried off a piece of the stamina potion, leaned forward, and stuffed it into his warhorse's mouth.
hoo~~~
With a neigh, the warhorse regained its strength and the distance between it and Liu Ji finally stopped widening. However, limited by the horse's speed, that was all it could do. To catch up with Liu Ji, it would have to wait for the mad horse in front to run out of steam and slow down.
Liu Ji finally realized that Xiang Yu couldn't catch him, and even Xiang Yu's most prized archery skills were no match for him.
"Hahaha! Xiang Yu, you little brat! If you're so capable, catch up with me! Your horsemanship isn't all that great either!" Liu Ji turned around and mocked.
"Liu Ji, you old scoundrel, don't be so arrogant!" Xiang Yu was furious. If he had been riding his black horse, he would have caught up with Liu Ji by now. Unfortunately, Xiang Yu had left his horse behind in Shanxi when he went up the mountain, and he had followed Liu Ji down the mountain from Shandong.
"Hehe! So what if I'm arrogant? Once I'm free, I'll unite all the lords of the land and crush Jiangdong in one fell swoop! I'll be the ultimate victor!" Liu Ji was full of confidence.
"Don't even think about it!" Xiang Yu roared, spurring his horse on, and the horse accelerated again, closing the distance to Liu Ji.
However, this warhorse was not a fine horse to begin with, and with Xiang Yu and his equipment being quite heavy, it actually broke through the ground while galloping hard, and the horse really lost its footing!
hoo~~
Bang!
The warhorse tumbled to the ground, but Xiang Yu reacted quickly and leaped to land safely.
When Xiang Yu looked back, he saw that the ground had been hollowed out by some kind of animal. Liu Ji ran over and just happened to avoid stepping on it, but when it was Xiang Yu's turn, tragedy struck.
"Hahaha... Xiang Yu, farewell!" Liu Ji had just been thinking that it would be good if Xiang Yu's warhorse fell over, but heaven really gave him a big surprise.
Xiang Yu remained silent, walked over to the warhorse, and helped the dazed horse to its feet. However, both Xiang Yu and Hao Jiu knew that their chances of catching up with Liu Ji were slim.
Because of Liu Ji's good luck, that warhorse might run until it dies, and that will surely be after Liu Ji is completely out of danger.
When the warhorse's leg was scraped, Xiang Yu immediately took out some medicine from his pocket without saying a word. "God of Wine, there's no need to remind me. I know that just a small piece will be enough."
Hao Jiu, "..."
Just then, a very loud neighing of a warhorse suddenly came from afar.
Howl~~~~~!
The steed, Black Steed, actually caught up with Xiang Yu by following his voice all the way!
"Hahaha... My luck has come!" Xiang Yu was overjoyed. He stuffed the small piece of healing medicine into the mouth of the injured warhorse, then leaped onto the black horse, fed it half a stamina pill, and chased after Liu Ji in the direction he had left!
At this moment, Liu Ji's excitement had not yet subsided. He was riding high, like a horse galloping swiftly in the winter wind. He had become an experienced driver in a day, and the horse was running fast and steadily.
However, as he ran, he faintly heard the sound of horses' hooves behind him. Was it just his imagination? How could Xiang Yu possibly catch up? The horse was injured…
Liu Ji turned around and his smile froze on his face. This must be an illusion!
"Ouch..." Liu Ji pinched his thigh, it hurt!
"Xiang Yu, you really are a persistent ghost! But rest and catch up with me!"
Xiang Yu scoffed, "Old fool, do you recognize my prized steed, Wuzhui?"
"Hiss... Impossible! The horse you were just riding was definitely not this one!" Liu Ji exclaimed, then suddenly realized. Could it be that someone had brought him Xiang Yu's black horse? What to do!
"What's the panic! Xiang Yu hasn't caught up with you yet!" Black Dragon sensed something; it seemed the final battle with the system was today.
What's infuriating is that Liu Ji has spent all his energy on women since he was a child. He relies entirely on his words and sheer luck to get things done, and his combat ability is truly pathetic. Otherwise, with the help of this system, he might not have lost even if he directly fought Xiang Yu.
But now, Liu Ji has no soldiers or generals by his side, so he can only continue to flee.
"Liu Ji, run whichever way is worse! Try to control your warhorse and change direction. Don't worry, this horse will listen to you!" Black Dragon roared.
Liu Ji gritted his teeth, decisively ran off the dirt road, and began to gallop wildly in the wilderness. No matter how bad the road conditions were, his horse still ran steadily and swiftly.
However, it wasn't just Liu Ji's horse that was incredibly fast; Xiang Yu's steed, Wuzhui, was just as fast, if not faster!
Chapter 92 The Final Battle of Jiujiang (The End)
As the two drew closer, Liu Ji's fear intensified.
Suddenly, a small river appeared in Liu Ji's field of vision. There was only a single log bridge across the river, and the water was more than ten feet above the bridge. The riverbank was steep, meaning that even if the black horse could swim across, it wouldn't be possible.
If they could break the bridge after he crossed it, Xiang Yu probably wouldn't have been able to catch up with him.
However, Liu Ji couldn't come up with a good solution no matter how hard he tried. He had neither a flammable material nor the strength to dismantle the bridge, unless the horse could help him.
Finally, Liu Ji rode his horse onto the log bridge. In fact, although it looked like a log bridge from a distance, it was not just a narrow log when you got closer and it was wide enough for a horse to pass through.
However, the bridge had fallen into disrepair over the years and was so dilapidated that it collapsed as soon as Liu Ji's warhorse stepped across it...
"Hahaha... This is truly heaven's help!" Liu Ji exclaimed excitedly. It seems that his earlier thoughts about how to break the bridge were completely unfounded.
Liu Ji turned his horse around and looked at Xiang Yu with a smile. He wanted to see what Xiang Yu's expression would be when he saw this scene. He thought he would probably be furious.