Chapter 153 Leaving the Allied Forces

"Full army charge!" Seeing that Lü Bu was actually wounded, Yuan Shao knew this was a prime opportunity and immediately ordered the allied forces to launch a full-scale assault, charging directly toward Lü Bu.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing Mission Four: Defeat Lü Bu. Reward: twenty lottery draws. You now have a total of one hundred and twelve lottery draws available."

"Good grief," Liu Yao muttered inwardly. He had originally wanted to stage a classic duel of three heroes against Lü Bu, which might have given him a real chance to cut Lü Bu down right there on the battlefield. He had not expected Huang Zhong to defeat Lü Bu just like that. Although it was not a victory won through sheer martial arts superiority, historical records never concerned themselves with such details; a defeat was a defeat. Still, this outcome was not entirely bad, as it firmly established Huang Zhong's legendary reputation. Even if he could not yet be hailed as the absolute finest warrior under heaven, he could certainly stand on equal footing with Lü Bu.

However, just as the system voice faded from his mind, Liu Yao noticed that the various warlord armies behind him were already surging forward toward Lü Bu. Leaving no time for further thought, Liu Yao immediately recalled Huang Zhong back to the main formation, watching quietly as the allied forces charged toward Lü Bu and Tiger牢 Pass.

It was absurd to think Lü Bu could be killed so easily; if he were, he would not be the foremost warrior in the world. Besides, Lü Bu was mounted on the Red Hare horse, and if he truly wished to flee, who on earth could possibly stop him? Furthermore, Liu Yao's own forces consisted entirely of cavalry, which were ill-suited for storming heavily fortified walls. Thus, he had pulled his army back to the side to spectate the performance of the allied forces.

Meanwhile, because his left hand had been pierced by Huang Zhong's arrow, Lü Bu had sustained a non-trivial injury, and a profound sense of irritation toward Huang Zhong burned within his chest. After all, this was not because his skill was inferior to his opponent's, but simply because he had run out of arrows, resulting in such a wound and leaving him in this humiliating plight.

Glancing at the tide of enemy troops rushing toward him while he had only three thousand cavalrymen by his side, he knew victory was impossible. Cursing bitterly under his breath, Lü Bu wheeled his horse around and retreated at full speed toward Tiger牢 Pass. "Fall back!" he ordered simultaneously.

Since the troops under Lü Bu were also cavalrymen, they naturally moved far faster than the infantry of the allied forces. Before Lü Bu passed through the fortress gates and they slammed shut behind him, the allied forces had failed to catch up to him at all.

Seeing that their "prey in hand" had slipped away so easily, Yuan Shao flew into a rage and ordered an immediate siege of the city. Shouts of battle filled the air incessantly. On top of the fortress walls, Dong Zhuo's soldiers rained down heavy stones, rolling logs, and boiling oil, preventing a single allied soldier from even setting foot upon the ramparts.

It had to be understood that Tiger牢 Pass was one of the grandest strategic passes under heaven, exceptionally easy to defend and immensely difficult to attack, with very few ever managing to breach it. Moreover, Dong Zhuo had invested painstaking effort into reinforcing the stronghold. Defensive armaments such as arrows, boulders, and logs were kept in abundant supply, and Dong Zhuo's troops hurled them down upon the allied forces below as if they were worthless pebbles. Consequently, the allied forces suffered devastating casualties.

Liu Yao looked on with disdain at the orders being issued by Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao was arrogant yet devoid of true strategy. Furthermore, having just recently assumed the office of Administrator of Bohai, he had not yet attracted capable strategists to his banner. That was why he foolishly issued the command to assault the fortress under such conditions.

One must realize that Dong Zhuo currently held over one hundred thousand troops within Tiger牢 Pass, while the allied forces numbered a mere two hundred thousand—a relatively insignificant disparity. To launch a siege against a formidable fortress like Tiger牢 Pass under such circumstances—even with ten times the numerical strength—would not guarantee victory, let alone with their current forces. Therefore, attempting to capture Tiger牢 Pass under the present conditions was nothing short of a foolish fantasy. Had Liu Yao been in command, he would never have engaged in such an unrewarding and exhausting endeavor.

Finally, after Yuan Shao had sacrificed the lives of over ten thousand allied soldiers, he realized that Tiger牢 Pass was not something they could conquer in their current state. He hastily sounded the gongs to order a retreat.

As Yuan Shao prepared to return to the main camp, he discovered that Liu Yao's force of forty thousand men had simply stood by and watched the battle, without participating in the siege in the slightest. Glancing back at the heavy casualties suffered by his own men, Yuan Shao erupted into fury. Pointing straight at Liu Yao's nose, he cursed, "Liu Yao, you brat! Why did you not follow this alliance leader in the assault? Could it be you harbor selfish motives?"

"Yuan Shao!" Liu Yao's eyes flashed with anger as he slammed his massive halberd down, resting the blade directly against Yuan Shao's neck. With an icy tone, he said, "You may be their alliance leader, but I, Liu Yao, have forged no alliance with you. You would do well to keep your alliance leader pretensions away from me. Who gave you the right to point fingers and dictate how I conduct myself? Besides, my entire army consists of cavalry. Have you ever seen anyone use cavalry to storm city walls?"

"Furthermore, I am a General Who Conquers the East and a senior pillar of the state. Is this the tone you use to address me? Do you know nothing of respect and hierarchy?" Since there was no possibility of cultivating a friendly relationship with Yuan Shao anyway, he felt no qualms about humiliating him further.

"Unhand my lord!" At that moment, two mighty generals dashed out from behind Yuan Shao, raising their spears as they prepared to charge at Liu Yao.

Seeing this, Liu Yao glared fiercely at the two and shouted, "Do the two of you wish to see your lord's head severed from his shoulders?" With that, he exerted a slight pressure with the Heavy Halberd of Primordial Chaos. The weapon, weighing well over a hundred and forty catties, instantly bore down upon Yuan Shao's left shoulder, wrung a sharp groan of agony from him, and caused him excruciating pain.

"Yan Liang! Wen Chou! Stand down at once!" Feeling the crushing weight of the giant halberd, Yuan Shao roared in panic. With his life hanging by a thread in Liu Yao's hands, he had no choice but to bark orders at his subordinates. He knew all too well how reckless and bold Liu Yao was; if Yan Liang and Wen Chou dared to make a move, his own head would likely roll first. And with ferocious powerhouses like Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun standing by Liu Yao's side, it remained entirely uncertain whether Yan Liang and Wen Chou could actually kill Liu Yao.

"Understood," Yan Liang and Wen Chou acknowledged through gritted teeth, stepping backward by a few paces.

Liu Yao looked at the pair with an expression that clearly telegraphed, *I knew it all along.* "Yuan Shao, did you not claim earlier that your formidable generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou were not present here? Then why have they suddenly popped up now? If they had been sent out to deal with Hua Xiong previously, would Yu She and Pan Feng have needlessly lost their lives?" Liu Yao asked with a cold smile. His purpose in saying this was naturally to sow discord among the allied forces, exposing the true colors of this so-called Alliance Leader Yuan to everyone present.

As Liu Yao's voice trailed off, Yuan Shu glared furiously at Yuan Shao. Though not entirely surprised—given that the animosity between the two brothers ran deep and was nearly irreconcilable—Han Fu stared at Yuan Shao in utter astonishment. Han Fu was, after all, a protégé of the illustrious Yuan family of the "Three Dukes over Four Generations," and he had always maintained friendly ties with Yuan Shao. Yet now, it was evident that Yuan Shao had deliberately allowed his own allies to walk to their deaths. This revelation instantly drove a wedge of distrust into Han Fu's heart regarding Yuan Shao.

The rest of the warlords similarly eyed Yuan Shao with looks of profound suspicion. While each of these lords certainly harbored their own hidden agendas, watching Yuan Shao treat them as cannon fodder while preserving his own strength left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth.

"Liu Yao, you scoundrel..." Yuan Shao sputtered, choked with rage. With Liu Yao exposing him thus, his prestige among the allied forces was bound to plummet drastically. Although he still possessed the illustrious heritage of his clan to keep the warlords in check, the seed of distrust had already been sown, making it highly unlikely that these independent lords would continue to obey him without reservation.

"Hmph!" Seeing that Yuan Shao still dared to harbor resentment, Liu Yao pressed down with another fraction of his strength. The sudden increase in pressure wrung a fresh groan of torment from Yuan Shao, who hastily pleaded for mercy, "General... it was I who spoke foolishly. I beg the General to forgive this transgression!"

Satisfied with this submission, Liu Yao finally withdrew his heavy halberd. Forcing Yuan Shao to humble himself in public was sufficient for now; as for whether the apology was sincere, even a fool could guess it was not.

Sensing the weapon lift away from his body, Yuan Shao hurriedly clutched his bruised left shoulder as a wave of piercing pain rippled through him. He had undoubtedly been injured by Liu Yao's immense physical strength. He glared at Liu Yao with eyes filled with venomous hatred.

"My lord!" Seeing this, Yan Liang and Wen Chou rushed to Yuan Shao's side, shielding him from the front in mortal terror that Liu Yao might strike again.

A cold smile tugged at the corner of Liu Yao's mouth. He cupped his fists toward the assembled warlords and declared loudly, "Lords, Sishui Pass was captured by my hand, and Lü Bu was driven back by me as well. I, Liu Yao, have contributed greatly to all of you this day, and I have more than fulfilled any obligation I owed to your alliance. From this moment onward, we shall part ways!"

The gathered warlords were utterly astounded upon hearing this. They knew very well that all the major obstacles along this campaign had been cleared solely by Liu Yao. If Liu Yao were to leave now, how on earth were they supposed to continue the campaign? Were they expected to rely on a bumpkin like Yuan Shao to lead them? If he took command, he would likely squander all their troops into oblivion!

Cao Cao quickly stepped forward, his expression filled with righteous indignation as he demanded, "Where does the General intend to go? Can it be that you are willing to abandon the Great Han Dynasty to its fate and stand idly by while Dong Zhuo wreaks havoc?" He assumed Liu Yao had lost interest in the affairs of Luoyang and intended to retreat back to Youzhou.

"Mengde has misunderstood," Liu Yao replied with a sigh. "How could I ever abandon the Great Han? Besides, I never formally joined the alliance in the first place; my previous cooperation with you all was simply out of regard for everyone's collective endeavor. However, certain individuals have truly left me profoundly disappointed. As for Dong Zhuo, I shall naturally deal with him in my own way, without troubling you lords any further. I bid you all farewell."