094 Evenly Matched
A chill gleam flashed first, and then the spear struck like a dragon.
Zhao Yun was the first to move, his long spear thrusting straight for Qu A’s heart.
Do not be deceived by the heart mirror on Qu A’s chest; if Zhao Yun’s spear were to land true, it would pierce straight through that armor and leave a bloody hole in Qu A’s heart.
The reputation of Zhao Zilong of Changshan was indeed no exaggeration. His spear was frighteningly fast.
So fast, in fact, that most men could not even make out the form of the strike.
They only saw a streak of cold light flash past like lightning, and the attack was already upon them.
Zhao Yun’s martial skill was superb, but Qu A was no easy prey either.
More importantly, Qu A had been raised by tigers since childhood, and because of that, his instinctive sense of danger was extraordinarily keen.
In that regard, Qu A seemed more like a fierce beast himself.
A gust of wind slammed into him, and without even looking, Qu A raised the long weapon in his hand to block, just in time to catch Zhao Yun’s spear.
That move was like striking a serpent at its seventh inch: precise and merciless.
Neither a hair’s breadth too far nor too short, Qu A had perfectly intercepted Zhao Yun’s attack.
“Good!”
“What extraordinary skill!”
Zhao Yun could not help but praise him.
An expert needed only one exchange to know whether another was real or false.
From this first probing strike, Zhao Yun knew that Qu A was a true master.
Many men could block that spear thrust, but so casually, so effortlessly, with such composure as Qu A had shown, there had been no second man yet who could do it.
After the first exchange, they clashed again.
The first move had only been a test. From here on, each side would begin to unveil his hidden trump card.
Zhao Yun’s long spear danced in his hands, and after a flurry of motion, faint silhouettes of phoenixes spreading their wings seemed to appear wherever the spear shadows passed.
Spear force into phoenix form - this was Zhao Yun’s ultimate art.
The Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear.
A killing move.
The phoenixes formed from the spear force were both real and illusory, both strong and weak.
Only by fending off all of them could one remain unharmed.
Zhao Yun had unleashed the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix, yet Qu A showed no fear at all.
With the long weapon in hand, Qu A swept it out in a defense so airtight it was utterly impenetrable.
In the blink of an eye, battle force coalesced on its own.
That force formed the shape of a fierce tiger, equally awe-inspiring in presence.
Zhao Yun’s spear carried a phoenix; Qu A’s weapon bore a tiger. The two crashed into each other with tremendous force.
A sharp clang rang out, followed at once by the humming resonance born from the collision of metal.
The tremendous shockwave kicked up dust and sand from the ground. When the haze cleared, both men were still mounted in the center of the battlefield.
Neither had been unseated. This clash, too, had ended in a dead heat.
If it was a tie, then they would simply keep fighting.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the two spurred their horses and lunged back into battle.
The fight between Zhao Yun and Qu A was fierce beyond measure, perhaps rivaled only by the famous three heroes battling Lu Bu beneath the gates of Hulao in years past.
While the duel raged on, those watching from the sidelines were all stunned speechless.
“What fearsome generals they are!”
“Those two may both possess valor no less than Lu Bu Fengxian’s!”
Xiahou Yuan, standing nearby, murmured these words into Cao Cao’s ear.
At any rate, ever since Lu Bu’s death, any warrior worthy of note had to be praised as possessing courage no less than Lu Bu Fengxian’s.
Watching the battlefield, Cao Cao could not help thinking to himself: These young generals are truly terrifying. Where on earth did my son find such fierce men?
Though Cao Cao’s power was great now, he had always envied Liu Bei.
What did he envy Liu Bei for?
He envied him for having Guan Yu, his second brother, and Zhang Fei, his third brother, both mighty warriors. And now Liu Bei had gained a fourth brother as well: Zhao Yun.
By comparison, Cao Cao envied Liu Bei even more.
After all, none of his own men - whether Xu Chu, Zhang Liao, Xiahou Yuan, or Xiahou Dun - could match those three brothers of Liu Bei’s.
“My son, these two generals are exceedingly brave. They are somewhat wasted in that little place called Jiangxia. What do you say if I transfer them to my own command?”
Cao Cao made the proposal to Su Ming.
What did he say?
He thought it was not a very good offer at all.
Su Ming thought: So you are trying to poach my men right in front of me?
Although Cao Cao was Su Ming’s bargain-bin father, blood or not, a clear account had to be kept. Father and son were no different in that respect.
Besides, Cao Cao had plenty of other sons.
If Cao Cao were to keel over one day, Su Ming would not be first in line to inherit his position anyway.
So there was no way Cao Cao was going to hand over his own core forces.
Still, a flat refusal would seem a little disrespectful to Cao Cao’s face.
Especially with all the commanders of Cao’s camp standing right there.
So Su Ming’s eyes rolled, and he said, “I am not short of warriors, but I am short of a strategist.”
“In that case, Chancellor, lend me your Adviser Fengxiao for a while, and I will send Ziyi and Qu A to your command.”
“Two for one, Chancellor - you are getting a bargain!”
Swap?
Could Cao Cao really agree to that?
Guo Jia, Fengxiao, was known as a prodigy of uncanny genius.
He was Cao Cao’s foremost strategist. Cao Cao’s present achievements had all depended on Guo Jia’s counsel.
Let alone two fierce generals - even ten, even eight of them, Cao Cao could not possibly trade away Guo Jia.
Guo Jia had been watching the lively exchange between father and son from the side, thinking: Why have they dragged me into this?
“Lord, those two brave generals are just the same whether they serve under the Young Master or under you, are they not?”
“If you have need of them, and send a letter, would not the Young Master bring them at once?” Guo Jia hurriedly interceded, smoothing things over.
As he spoke, he was thinking anxiously: Please, Lord, do not actually trade me away.
Cao Cao considered it and found Guo Jia’s words reasonable, so he did not bring up the matter again.
By then, on the battlefield, Qu A and Zhao Yun had already fought several dozen rounds.
Even after dozens of exchanges, neither could gain the upper hand.
Having fought so long without a victor, the two had both grown truly heated.
By this point, each was putting forth one hundred and twenty percent of his skill, and neither was holding anything back.
After another dozen exchanges, Qu A suddenly abandoned the long weapon in his hand and drew two short weapons from behind him.
There were two kinds of zhua: long and short. The long one was suited to mounted combat, while the short one was meant for close-quarters fighting.
Seeing that the prolonged struggle was not going his way, Qu A simply decided to close in and brawl hand to hand with Zhao Yun.
He leaped from his horse and sprang toward Zhao Yun’s mount.
This blow was not aimed at Zhao Yun, but at the horse beneath him.
The white steed beneath Zhao Yun had followed him for many years. Ever since Zhao Yun served under Gongsun Zan, that horse had ridden through northern and southern campaigns with him, blocking and slaying wherever he went.
If Qu A were to kill that horse, Zhao Yun would feel heartache for a long time.
Zhao Yun thought to himself: Since you want to dismount and fight, then I shall dismount and fight you.
With that thought, Zhao Yun drew his treasured sword and also leapt from his horse, going up to meet Qu A head-on.
Qu A had been raised by tigers, and his close combat skill was indeed formidable.
But Zhao Yun’s close combat skill was no less impressive. In history, during that seven-entry and seven-exit charge at the Battle of Changban, he even seized Cao Cao’s Green Steel Sword.
After all, this chapter ended here.