Chapter 146: Hua Xiong Submits

Outside the allied army camp, Huang Zhong stood face-to-face with three thousand men from the vanguards, alongside Hua Xiong and his five thousand cavalrymen.

"Are there no capable men left in the coalition, that they actually send a white-haired old man out? Does he wish to become yet another soul beneath my blade?" Having recently slain two major generals of the coalition, Hua Xiong was riding high on his success. Seeing that the allied forces had sent an elderly man, his disdain grew even stronger.

Given Huang Zhong's composure, he was naturally unfazed by such provocation. Calmly, he spoke, "Huang Hansheng of Nanyang has come to take your life." With that, he squeezed his heels against the belly of his steed, Prairie Fire, which instantly surged forward like a flying arrow toward Hua Xiong.

Before Hua Xiong could react properly, Huang Zhong was already right in front of him. A cold shriek echoed in Hua Xiong's heart as he realized he had underestimated his foe. He had never expected the opponent to possess such a magnificent steed—one that fell only slightly short of Lü Bu's Red Hare.

At this moment, Huang Zhong raised his great saber high. Borrowing the tremendous momentum of his charging horse, he delivered a powerful, bone-crushing slash straight toward Hua Xiong's head.

Caught off guard and too late to dodge, Hua Xiong had no choice but to brace himself, raising his saber horizontally with both hands to block Huang Zhong's strike with the shaft of his weapon.

With a deafening crash, Huang Zhong retreated a few steps, propelled by the recoil. As for Hua Xiong, disaster struck him hard. His Dawan steed bore the brunt of the force, letting out a painful whinny as it nearly collapsed on the spot. Hua Xiong himself fared no better; the webbed spaces between the thumbs and forefingers of both hands ruptured, and he suffered severe internal injuries, causing a mouthful of blood to spill from his lips. Fortunately, Hua Xiong's physical resilience was formidable; otherwise, such an injury would have been fatal. Had it been an ordinary person, thanking the heavens for surviving and being bedridden for a year or two would have been the best outcome.

Huang Zhong, having failed to finish him in one blow, wheeled around for another round, raining down a flurry of blade shadows upon Hua Xiong. Enduring his physical discomfort, Hua Xiong gritted his teeth and continued to fight.

However, after a dozen or so more exchanges, Hua Xiong noticed that Huang Zhong's attacks were growing progressively weaker. Furthermore, Huang Zhong's breathing began to grow erratic, and with his breathing disordered, his stances became somewhat sloppy. Seeing this, Hua Xiong could not help but sneer inwardly. In his mind, Huang Zhong was simply old and unaccustomed to prolonged combat; that very first strike must have been the extent of his abilities. Therefore, Hua Xiong resolutely chose to wear Huang Zhong down through a protracted duel, exhausting the old man's stamina before finishing him off with a single decisive blow. It had to be said that Huang Zhong's head of white hair was indeed deeply deceptive.

After another dozen clashes, seeing that Huang Zhong's stamina was reaching its breaking point, Hua Xiong increased the speed of his great saber by a further thirty percent and slashed fiercely toward his opponent. At that exact moment, Huang Zhong mustered all his remaining strength and thrust Hua Xiong back with a heavy parry. Then, he whipped his horse around and bolted toward the right side of his main formation, dragging his saber along the ground, which carved a deep trench into the earth.

Seeing this, Hua Xiong burst into loud laughter, convinced that Huang Zhong was no match for him and had turned to flee. However, he overlooked one detail: if Huang Zhong wanted to escape, why didn't he retreat toward his own main camp instead of riding away from the army?

"Old man Huang Zhong, do not run!" Hua Xiong roared, spurring his horse in pursuit. Yet, the very same Dawan steed of Hua Xiong's—which should have been on the verge of exhaustion—gradually managed to catch up to Huang Zhong's famed steed, Prairie Fire. Regrettably, Hua Xiong was far too intoxicated by his own impending triumph to notice this anomaly.

Seeing that Hua Xiong was about to overtake him and that Huang Zhong's life seemed forfeit beneath Hua Xiong's blade, the coalition soldiers watching from the city walls couldn't help but gasp in shock. Viewing him as yet another inevitable victim of Hua Xiong's prowess, their terror deepened, plunging their morale to an even lower ebb. Meanwhile, the soldiers of the vanguard unit watched the pursuing Hua Xiong with utter contempt. They were intimately familiar with Huang Zhong's martial might. How could a man who could routinely spar with Zhang Fei for three hundred rounds without breaking a sweat possibly be this exhausted?

Just as the vanguard soldiers had anticipated, right as Hua Xiong was about to close the distance, a sharp glint flashed in Huang Zhong's eyes, and a faint smile touched the corner of his lips. With a single pull on the reins with his left hand, Prairie Fire spun around and reared up on its hind legs. Leveraging the horse's momentum, Huang Zhong swung his saber with one hand, delivering a mighty, thunderous slash directly toward Hua Xiong.

The Dragging-Saber Tactic—this was precisely the famous dragging-saber maneuver. Originally, this technique was the specialty of Guan Yu, but Liu Yao had since adopted it and taught it in advance to the generals under his command. For those using sabers, it was the dragging-saber tactic; for those using spears, it was the returning-horse spear. Though the weapons differed, the underlying principle remained exactly the same.

Believing he was about to slay Huang Zhong and claim a massive victory, Hua Xiong suddenly found his vision plunging into darkness as the towering figures of Huang Zhong and Prairie Fire enveloped him entirely. Gripped by sudden terror, Hua Xiong instinctively raised his great saber to block the incoming blow.

With a thunderous crash, Hua Xiong and his heavy saber were sent flying twenty to thirty feet away. Meanwhile, Huang Zhong's great saber, the Summer Dragon Sparrow, maintained its unstoppable trajectory and cleaved Hua Xiong's Dawan steed clean in two.

Yet, the sent-flying Hua Xiong managed to climb back to his feet. After quickly inspecting himself and discovering no life-threatening injuries, he stared at Huang Zhong in utter disbelief and demanded, "Why didn't you kill me?!"

Huang Zhong rode his horse up to Hua Xiong and replied, "I see you are a man of capability. Why must you throw your life away serving a treacherous villain like Dong Zhuo, who brings ruin to the country and misery to the people? Why not turn away from the darkness and embrace the light by joining my lord's command? Together, you could accomplish great things and avoid leaving behind a legacy of infamy for eternity."

Noticing that Hua Xiong possessed considerable martial skill, Huang Zhong—acting in accordance with the time-honored Youzhou tradition of poaching talent—decided to recruit him for Liu Yao, thereby adding another asset to Youzhou's strength. One could only wonder how Liu Yao would react if he knew Huang Zhong had spared an enemy general for such a reason.

"Who is your lord?" Hua Xiong asked dubiously, still unaware of whose forces Huang Zhong served.

"He is the Prince of Ji, General Who Attacks the West, and Governor of Youzhou, Liu Yao!" Huang Zhong declared loudly.

"It's him?!" Hua Xiong's heart skipped a beat. At present, if anyone failed to know who Liu Yao was, they would be too ashamed to show their face outside. Furthermore, Hua Xiong had served as a general under Dong Zhuo for three or four years. Though he had never laid eyes on Liu Yao in person, every time he heard Dong Zhuo speak of Liu Yao and his military strength, it was always with deep admiration. Dong Zhuo had even stated with his own mouth that throughout his entire life of conquering battlefields, he had never yielded to anyone except Liu Yao and the iron cavalry of Youzhou, whom Dong Zhuo held in the highest regard.

For a moment, Hua Xiong's mind was in turmoil. On one hand, he knew full well that Dong Zhuo's recent actions were treasonous crimes that harmed the nation, and the temptation to join Liu Yao's ranks and achieve glory was intensely alluring. On the other hand, Hua Xiong was bound by the principle that a loyal minister does not serve two masters, leaving him torn and unable to decide.

Seeing this, Huang Zhong easily guessed a fraction of Hua Xiong's inner conflict and quickly pressed on, "It is true that a loyal subject does not serve two masters, but that depends entirely on who the master is. Does a vile traitor like Dong Zhuo truly deserve your loyalty?"

Hearing this, Hua Xiong shuddered. When he recalled Dong Zhuo's cold treatment of him in recent days, a strong impulse to defect flared within him. Yet, remembering how many coalition generals he had just slain, he offered a bitter smile and said, "Even if I am willing to surrender, would the coalition forces ever let me live?"

"Hmph!" Huang Zhong let out a cold snort of utter disdain. "Those warlords are a bunch of worthless fools; how could they possibly compare to my lord? They are united in appearance only, divided in heart. If they had truly pooled their strength, the Hangu Pass would have fallen long ago instead of dragging on until now. Have no fear, Hua Xiong. With my lord present, those warlords would never dare to lay a hand on you."

"Many thanks, General Huang. I am willing to join Youzhou," Hua Xiong said gratefully. Since Huang Zhong had given him such assurance, Hua Xiong had no further reservations.

"I shall return to Hangu Pass right now, open the city gates, and let the allied forces inside," Hua Xiong added. He understood that unless he made a tangible contribution, even Liu Yao might face unnecessary complications. This would serve as his formal token of allegiance to Liu Yao.

"Very well!" Huang Zhong laughed heartily. If they could capture Hangu Pass without losing a single soldier, it would undoubtedly be a monumental achievement, leaving the various warlords with nothing to say.