It Wasn’t a Martial Arts World, but the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 85: Qi Deviation (1)

In an instant, the three of them moved.

Sword strikes flew at him from the left and right.

Unryong blocked them all at once.

—Clang!

The sound of clashing metal rang out as sparks flew.

Sun Jian crouched low and aimed for Unryong’s legs, while at the same time, Sun Ce brought his sword down on Unryong’s head.

‘Fast.’

Unryong quickly tilted his head back to dodge Sun Ce’s attack, and at the same time, stomped down on the descending sword, pinning it to the ground.

“Ho.”

Taking advantage of Sun Jian’s exclamation of admiration, Unryong’s sword flashed like lightning.

The blade grazed Sun Jian’s shoulder, and Sun Ce lunged, colliding with Unryong and destabilizing his balance.

Staggering, Unryong stomped his right foot on the ground and channeled his qi.

It was known as sword qi.

“Father! Be careful!”

Unryong’s figure, which was right in front of them, suddenly vanished.

Sun Jian calmly surveyed his surroundings, but Unryong was already within arm’s reach.

He had lowered his posture to the extreme and closed in on Sun Jian with a single step.

The sword slashed again. Sun Jian tried to dodge by tilting his head.

But even the sword strike vanished.

“…!”

—Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-kang!

Before he realized it, a thunderous roar erupted from the opposite side.

Sun Ce was barely blocking Unryong’s Linked Illusion Sword.

However, Sun Ce’s sword was gradually shattering.

Sun Jian quickly regained his senses and layered his blade over Sun Ce’s sword, desperately blocking Unryong’s strikes.

—Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-kang!

The two of them angled their blades downward simultaneously, deflecting Unryong’s sword path.

Then came the oncoming kick.

With a loud crash, Sun Jian’s body was flung back, accompanied by the sound of his armor shattering.

“Father!”

Not stopping there, Unryong dove into Sun Jian’s chest and stretched out his palm.

Exploding Palm.

The moment Unryong’s internal energy penetrated Sun Ce’s body.

—Boom!

Sun Ce, like Sun Jian, couldn’t withstand the impact and rolled across the ground as his armor cracked.

Unryong accelerated again, attempting to launch a continuous assault.

But then—

“Ugh…!”

A jolt of pain seized his legs, freezing them in place.

It was the lingering internal injuries from before and the side effects of the Shura Heart Technique.

During that time, the two opponents had reorganized their stances and gripped their swords again.

“… He’s a monster.”

Sun Jian spoke, spitting blood mixed with saliva.

“Is that guy really human?”

Sun Ce, panting heavily and spitting blood, looked down at his shattered sword blade.

In desperation, he snatched up a nearby soldier’s sword.

“… He’s coming.”

Sun Jian muttered, and Sun Ce’s eyes widened.

Unryong gritted his teeth and kicked off the ground.

“Don’t face him head-on with your sword!”

As Sun Jian shouted, Sun Ce deflected the incoming sword strike. But it wasn’t perfect. The excessive force caused his stance to collapse.

Noticing this, Sun Jian swung his sword from the opposite side.

“Damn it!”

Unryong stepped back, dodging the strike.

“Man, this is dizzying. Have you no pride?”

He laughed as he spoke, but his body ached all over.

This was the fate of an incomplete vessel.

His internal energy was growing, but his physical body couldn’t keep up.

It was a flimsy tactic to buy just a little more time.

However, Sun Jian was undeterred and charged forward.

—Clang!

To make matters worse, his sword qi was unstable, repeatedly dispersing and gathering.

It was already a struggle to deal with one opponent, but facing two, and both of them strong fighters at that, was undoubtedly a desperate situation.

“Master! I’m joining you soon…!”

“Stay back!”

Zhao Yun tried to assess Unryong’s condition and join the fight, but the resistance from Sun Jian’s forces was fierce.

Sun Xiang, a general in Sun Jian’s army, smirked and tapped his shoulder with his spear.

“Don’t interfere.”

“… Damn it.”

Next to him, Yeji silently drew her sword and blocked the path.

It was a situation where no one could step forward.

Despite his body nearing its limits, Unryong had no choice but to give his all.

While dodging Sun Jian’s sword, Unryong placed his thumb on his chest.

Three. Blood Gate.

The unstable Middle Dantian Gate opened.

The amplified internal energy surged through his entire body, and the unstable sword qi regained its shape.

—Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-kang!

It worked.

Sun Jian’s sword blade, locked against his, began to shatter rapidly. At this rate, he could cut him down…

“Uncle!”

Whoosh! Sun Ce tossed his sword to Sun Jian.

—Thud!

Sun Jian caught it with his opposite hand and drove the blade into Unryong’s shoulder.

At the same time, he plunged the hilt of his broken sword into Unryong’s right side.

Even in that situation, Unryong grinned and grabbed Sun Ce by the nape.

“Got you.”

Crunch! Sun Ce’s eyes widened. He felt his bones shattering.

Sun Ce was also a formidable warrior known as the Little Conqueror.

Even the most famous strongmen in the land couldn’t hold a candle to him.

But how could such an ordinary-looking man display this kind of brute strength?

At this rate, his neck would snap, and he’d be dead.

—Whack!

In that moment, Sun Jian kicked the back of Unryong’s knee.

Unryong’s left knee buckled. Sun Ce, abandoning the hilt embedded in his side, struck the hilt with his elbow.

“Ugh…!”

Unryong staggered, barely keeping a grip on his trembling sword hand.

He had almost dropped it.

“Uncle, catch!”

This time, Sun Jian threw his sword to Sun Ce.

Sun Jian then faced Unryong head-on, unarmed.

Sun Ce swung his sword, and Unryong countered with his own.

However, Sun Jian’s punch struck Unryong’s face, spinning his vision.

As a result, Sun Ce’s blade dug into Unryong’s shoulder.

And it continued.

Shoulder, side, knee, hamstring, chest.

They exchanged blows with Unryong, gradually wearing him down.

Unryong was forced to retreat step by step due to their unpredictable attacks.

Adding insult to injury, Sun Jian’s soldiers began to join the two.

From the start, the battle was unfavorable. The difference in forces and formations was all part of their carefully crafted plan.

It was a strategy devised solely to kill Unryong.

Their goal was never to seize control of Chang’an.

And Sun Jian fully realized that his decision was correct.

That thing was no human.

Killing him here was worth any loss they might suffer.

“Surround him!”

At Sun Jian’s command, dozens of Sun Jian’s soldiers encircled Unryong.

Sun Ce, who had been empty-handed, received another sword from a soldier.

Unryong knelt on one knee, clutching his side and panting heavily.

“There’s no time! We must kill him now!”

Now, Unryong’s reinforcements were moving to join the fray.

There was literally no time left.

They had to kill him now.

Otherwise, they might never get another chance to kill him.

And finally, dozens of blades slashed toward Unryong.

This was the end.

Sun Jian silently watched his demise.

The fact that he, as a warrior, had crossed swords with such a man would be remembered as a future honor for his family.

—Crunch!

“… Agh!”

“You bastard…! Why did you…!”

“He’s gone! He’s disappeared!”

But he wasn’t there.

The bloodied man who should have been on his knees had vanished.

Suddenly, a story he had heard about Unryong from his soldiers flashed through Sun Jian’s mind.

“A ghost?”

“Yes, the rumors are widespread.”

“Do you believe in such superstitions?”

“But there are numerous witnesses. They say he’s someone who can’t be cut no matter how many times he’s struck. They claim he’s definitely a ghost.”

Sun Jian shook his head.

There was no way. It was obviously nonsense, and he had even laughed about it.

But why now?

How could the man who should be dead be right in front of him?

Sun Ce, the first to react, slashed at Unryong’s side.

“…”

But again, his form vanished.

It was like a soul.

Unlike a person, it moved freely across the vast battlefield like a wandering spirit.

This was the third form of the Heavenly Extreme Linked Illusion Sword Technique: Phantom Soul.

Unryong continued to charge.

Sometimes disappearing, other times calmly swinging his sword.

The erratic sword strikes, as untamed as his body, were impossible to react to even if seen.

In no time, the soldiers surrounding Unryong began to fall one by one.

“Strong enough to lift mountains, with a spirit that covers the world.”

Sun Jian muttered.

“Are you truly comparable to the Conqueror?”

The grip on his sword hilt loosened slightly.

Overwhelming force.

He was worthy of being called the reincarnation of a Conqueror.

An inescapable fear for any human.

Yet at the same time, the blood of a warrior boiled within him.

“… Uncle, our reinforcements will arrive soon. You should retreat to the rear and regroup.”

“What do you plan to do, Father?”

“Can we really leave him alive here? I, Sun Jian, will open the path for you, Uncle. As long as that man lives, the world can never be ours.”

Sun Jian gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands.

Then, he aimed his blade toward Unryong, who was appearing and disappearing erratically.

Dozens had already fallen. It had all happened in an instant.

Now the man would come here to take his head.

At that moment.

—Thud!

The man slammed his sword into the ground.

“Hah…”

In front of him, blood had pooled into a puddle.

Blood was pouring from his mouth like waves.

And around him, blue qi surged visibly, swirling intensely.

No one could comprehend what was happening, but only Unryong knew.

“… Shit, this is bad.”

It was qi deviation.