Chapter 1359: Sweeping the Warlords (3)
Chapter 1359: Sweeping the Warlords (3)
January 11, 2018
In reality, Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian had long seen through Lu Hai Kong's plan.
This was partly due to Lu Hai Kong and Jia Xu underestimating the various warlords to some extent, or perhaps more accurately, underestimating the pressure Lu Hai Kong exerted on the minds of these warlords.
Lu Hai Kong believed that after suffering heavy losses, Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian would at least have some concerns.
However, what they didn't anticipate was that while Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian had their concerns, their apprehension ran even deeper!
Due to their apprehension towards Lu Hai Kong, when Jia Xu's plan commenced, Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian viewed the situation with utmost pessimism.
With this mindset, the strategists under Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian almost immediately regarded the event with the scrutiny of a conspiracy from the very beginning. From this perspective, their insight naturally elevated to a higher level.
For such an elaborate plan, even if orchestrated by a deity, it was impossible to have no flaws. Moreover, with even the slightest crack, Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian's strategists would further magnify it, viewing the situation with a paranoid gaze.
Under such scrutiny, it was only natural for Lu Hai Kong's plan to be easily seen through, and they even understood it better than Lu Hai Kong himself!
However, seeing through the plan was one thing, and whether or not to follow Lu Hai Kong's plan was another matter entirely.
In fact, when Jia Xu designed the plan, he had already anticipated that it might be uncovered. After all, having controlled Lu Hai Kong's intelligence network for many years, he was well aware of the capabilities of the strategists under the warlords. Yet, Jia Xu didn't care if his plan would be exposed.
The reason was simple: the warlords had no choice!
Indeed, faced with the terrifying might of Lu Hai Kong, the various warlords had no room for alternatives.
Over the years, they had witnessed Lu Hai Kong's strength development firsthand and were well aware of his formidable power. It was a force so formidable that even after suffering heavy losses, they dared not provoke him lightly!
In the face of such strength, when Lu Hai Kong's plan was unveiled, and Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian realized his intentions, their hearts were filled with despair in that instant.
This despair did not stem from Lu Hai Kong's deadly plan, nor was it because Lu Hai Kong could mobilize Dong Zhuo's forces and plot against them. Instead, it was the determination to eliminate them that this plan represented.
They understood that Lu Hai Kong had the power to sweep them away, and the reason he had spared them until now was not out of apprehension of their strength but merely to avoid creating additional troubles for himself when facing the external demonic forces. That was all!
Under such circumstances, once Lu Hai Kong made up his mind to eliminate them, no matter how much Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian had developed over the years or how formidable their strength had become, their fate was already sealed.
There was no way they could resist Lu Hai Kong; this was a fact!
In this situation, even if they didn't follow Lu Hai Kong's plan, what could they do? For Lu Hai Kong, if Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian didn't come to Luoyang, it would only be slightly more troublesome. Eventually, their armies would still face inevitable destruction.
Given these circumstances, Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian had only two paths to choose from. One was to surrender to Lu Hai Kong, offering everything they had and begging for mercy.
The other was the path they were currently taking—to obediently follow Lu Hai Kong's plan, pretending to be fools while being manipulated by Lu Hai Kong, all the while secretly accumulating strength to retaliate at a critical moment.
They chose the latter path and executed it flawlessly, acting cowardly when they needed to and arrogant when the situation called for it, all according to their plan.
In the end, they reached the final step perfectly, and Lu Hai Kong cooperated impeccably.
This bandit who had risen from the battlefield, even though he was now the esteemed Jin King, the most powerful and prestigious figure in the entire Three Kingdoms, still lacked the resolve of a 'son of a wealthy family.' He arrived before them with just two generals by his side.
Seizing this opportunity, Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian acted decisively, striking without hesitation and capturing Lu Hai Kong in an instant.
At that moment, their hearts were filled with euphoria, for they knew they had grasped the turning point to reverse their fortunes. Only by capturing Lu Hai Kong could they turn the tide of the battle.
And indeed, everything proceeded according to their plan. Using the props they had prepared in advance, they directly scared off Dong Zhuo, or rather, provided him with an opportunity to retreat gracefully.
With Dong Zhuo dealt with, their plan was halfway to success. The next step was to take Lu Hai Kong away, and their trap would be completely sprung.
However, they overlooked one crucial detail: from the very beginning, their plan had a significant flaw—the disparity in strength between them and Lu Hai Kong!
In fact, from the moment Lu Hai Kong decided to take action against them, their fate was sealed.
Their strength was no longer on the same level as Lu Hai Kong's. In the face of absolute power, all strategies and decisions were mere jokes.
As expected, when Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian believed they had the upper hand, the seemingly docile Lu Hai Kong, whom they had held in their grasp, suddenly unleashed his might. The divine artifact, the Yuwang Ding, devoured the other two, and Lu Hai Kong was instantly rescued from peril.
At the same time, the massive army that Lu Hai Kong had prepared in advance arrived, and the situation reversed in an instant. The favorable situation was once again in Lu Hai Kong's hands!
In this moment, despair filled the hearts of Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian.
However, these three were formidable figures in their own right, and even in such a situation, they would not give up. They knew what was crucial—as long as they could capture Lu Hai Kong again, the initiative would return to their side.
And so, at this moment, Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian employed every means at their disposal.
Liu Bei's Feng Long Yin, Cao Cao's Tai'a Jian, and Sun Jian's Yue Wang Ding—these divine artifacts in their hands were unleashed.
But despite their efforts, it was all in vain. The divine artifacts they wielded couldn't even dent the defense of the Renhuang Ding.
Of course, it wasn't that their divine artifacts were weak, but rather that they themselves were too weak to unleash the true power of these artifacts.
Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian had been attacking the illusory Renhuang Ding for half an hour when Cao Cao finally stopped.
Liu Bei immediately grew furious, "Why stop? If we keep going, we'll..."
Cao Cao interrupted with a dejected tone, "It's useless. Look at them!"
Liu Bei paused, then turned to glance at Huang Zhong and Dian Wei behind him, and then at Lu Hai Kong in front of them.
At this moment, whether it was Huang Zhong, Dian Wei, or Lu Hai Kong before them, none showed any expression or intention to fight back. They just stood there, allowing the attacks to land on Lu Hai Kong.
Seeing this, Liu Bei and Sun Jian's attacks also halted.
After realizing that their actions were merely a joke to others, almost no one could continue.
As the trio of Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian stopped, the atmosphere became awkward. After a moment of staring at Lu Hai Kong, who was still enveloped by the Renhuang Ding's illusion, Cao Cao was the first to break the silence with a slightly dejected yet carefree smile.
"Although I suspected this outcome from the start, I still feel a hint of reluctance at this moment."
"No worries, I'll stand here and let you try again!" Lu Hai Kong said with a smile, his words infuriating the others.
However, Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian didn't show much anger. Having fallen from their initial euphoria to the depths of despair, their current emotions were more of dejection than anger.
The generals beside Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian seethed with indignation, but they could only suppress their anger.
Amidst the silence of the trio, Lu Hai Kong's playful expression faded, and he calmly scanned the room. "You all know about the battle a few months ago, right? Are you interested in guessing who my opponent was?"
Lu Hai Kong's sudden change of topic was somewhat abrupt and puzzling, leaving the generals on Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian's side bewildered.
However, not everyone was caught off guard. Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian knew what Lu Hai Kong was about to reveal, but they remained silent, watching him intently.
The atmosphere grew awkward, but Lu Hai Kong didn't seem too concerned.
"No one's interested? Then I'll just tell you! My opponent in that battle was mainly two people: Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng and Xi Chu Bawang Xiang Yu!"
Upon hearing these names, the faces of Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian changed slightly, but Lu Hai Kong ignored their reactions.
"That battle was incredibly challenging. Qin Shi Huang sent generals like Wang Jian, Zhang Han, Meng Yi, and Meng Tian. Each of them either had a combat strength over 120 or a command strength over 120, making them terrifyingly formidable.
Oh, you might not understand what a combat strength or command strength of 120 means. Let me explain. Remember the foreign demon Yuwen Cheng, who had a combat strength of 120, from the previous battle in Luoyang City?
Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and the other generals who had fought or witnessed Yuwen Cheng's power paled at the mention of his name, clearly remembering his formidable strength.
"Just the group under Qin Shi Huang was already this terrifying, and Xi Chu Bawang Xiang Yu could take on ten opponents with a combat strength of 120. Imagine how difficult that battle was for me!"
Zhang Fei, irritated by Lu Hai Kong's mysterious topic, spoke up, "What are you trying to say? Are you making excuses for your failure?"
"No, I want to tell you that despite facing such formidable opponents, I emerged victorious. Whether it was Qin Shi Huang or Xi Chu Bawang, they both met their end in Luoyang City!" Lu Hai Kong declared proudly.
"So, you're just showing off your achievements? Is it interesting to brag when you've already won and haven't even killed us? What's the point of boasting here?" Zhang Fei retorted.
Zhang Fei's behavior caused the nearby generals to frown, and the fierce warriors in Lu Hai Kong's camp glared at him with dangerous intent, wishing to eliminate this disrespectful individual.
Lu Hai Kong, however, remained unbothered.
"Boasting? Perhaps, but that's not the main point. What I want to tell you is that I won that battle and secured a decade of peace for this world. For the next ten years, there won't be any foreign demon invasions!"
As Lu Hai Kong revealed this, Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian's eyes flashed with understanding. They realized why Lu Hai Kong had attacked them—he had temporarily resolved the threat of foreign demon invasions.
"Since the external threat is temporarily resolved, the next problem to address is the internal one," Lu Hai Kong declared without hesitation.
After defeating them, Lu Hai Kong would have no internal or external threats for the next ten years. As long as he could develop his strength during this time, he wouldn't fear the return of the foreign demons.
In that instant, not only Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian, but also their generals, understood the situation. Their resentment towards Lu Hai Kong's scheme diminished significantly.
Zhang Fei waved his Zhanga Ba She Mao and spoke up again, "Then why are you still talking? You've already lured us into your trap. Isn't this just a prelude to battle? Stop the nonsense! If you want to kill us, just do it!"
"No, no, no! You've misunderstood. I didn't gather you here to kill you. Despite our differences, you are all top talents in this world, and killing you would be a waste."
"Although I repelled Qin Shi Huang and Xi Chu Bawang and even killed them, I only defeated their clones, not their true selves. They aren't truly dead. We will undoubtedly face them again in ten years!
That's why I hope you will help me. Well, to be precise, I'm talking about all of you!"
With these words, everyone understood Lu Hai Kong's intentions.
Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian's faces changed dramatically, with Liu Bei showing the strongest reaction: "You want to subjugate us? Humph, even if we agree to serve you, would you dare to use us?"
"All under heaven belongs to the king, and all along the borders are subjects of the king. What is there for me to fear?" Lu Hai Kong declared.
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed...
(End of Chapter)
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