Chapter 543: The Only Missing Death

As CaoCao had expected, faced with CaoCao's siege, Lu Bu merely watched. "His spirit has already waned," Bai Lang said, "so it seems we must contend with him, and that will also fulfill his reputation." Lu Bu's forces launched a night raid, and one detachment slipped away toward Yuan Shu.

Bai Lang understood the situation, but he was not going to block Lu Bu over this; if Lu Bu truly came out with his daughter on his back, it would be difficult to handle. Bai Lang thought it better to go himself and hold Lu Bu, perhaps after Lu Bu puts down his daughter he will be single‑minded enough to fight a death duel with him.

When the time came to cut down Lu Bu, it would atone for his past feat of assassinating Dong Zhuo, and Bai Lang would seize the chance to become the world's foremost hero. Thus in the night battle Bai Lang only prepared without striking; GuanYu and ZhangFei achieved great merit, slashing a large portion of the returning Lu Bu army, capturing Hao Meng and extracting the situation, after which Hao Meng was beheaded, and CaoCao's forces intensified night patrols.

The following night Lu Bu indeed went out, personally escorting his daughter, but unlike the book Bai Lang remembered, he did not carry her on his back. Lu Ying wielded a long "bu"‑shaped halberd alongside his father Lu Bu, and the eight elite warriors Zhang Liao and Gao Shun broke out of the encirclement together.

First to intercept them were the three—Liu, Guan, and Zhang; Lu Bu directly blocked GuanYu and ZhangFei, while Zhang Liao and Gao Shun protected Lu Ying and surged outward. In that moment Lu Bu revived the bravery of Tiger Gate, pressing Guan and Zhang in combat. Bai Lang had also entered the field, seated on his azure‑feathered horse, his long spear laid across the saddle but not yet joining the fight.

"These days Lu Bu's Qi and blood have noticeably waned; he's on a downhill path now? What a pity," Bai Lang thought as he watched Lu Bu locked in a fierce battle with Guan and Zhang. Lu Ying was also quite strong, and Zhang Liao and Gao Shun kept pressing Liu Xuande back step by step, while CaoCao's senior general was still nowhere in sight.

After watching the fight for a moment, Bai Lang rode his flying horse forward, and with a single spear thrust he intercepted Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, giving Liu Xuande a sigh of relief. Had those two not been primarily protecting Lu Ying rather than killing Liu Xuande, the latter would have ended up with several holes in his body.

Bai Lang intercepted those two but did not also enclose Lu Ying, saying, "I advise you to return; with your martial skill it will be hard to lead troops and break the encirclement." While Bai Lang was dueling Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, he could still speak, and at that moment Liu Xuande had already surrounded Lu Bu for a second three‑hero battle.

Bai Lang fought while shifting the battlefield toward the three heroes, so it was natural for Zhang Liao and Gao Shun to throw themselves into Lu Bu's defense, and Lu Bu quickly recovered his breath to fight alongside them. The three heroes versus Lu Bu's three champions left no doubt that the heroes were at a disadvantage. Zhang Liao's skill was not far below GuanYu's, Gao Shun, though not as good as ZhangFei, was far superior to Liu Xuande, and adding Lu Bu made the opposition unquestionably strong.

Unfortunately there was a Bai Lang; Bai Lang thrust his spear forward, seamlessly taking over from Lu Bu, and Lu Ying, having figured it out, turned back to join Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, fighting while retreating to block Guan and Zhang. In the clash between Bai Lang and Lu Bu, "This man is truly hollow!" Bai Lang exclaimed, sensing something amiss the moment they engaged.

Lu Bu's fierce fight seemed to exhaust his stamina; after ten exchanges Bai Lang realized the night offered no further options, so he feigned a move and withdrew with his daughter, Zhang Liao, and Gao Shun back into the city.

After two months of failed sieges, CaoCao finally followed Guo Jia and Xun You's plan and flooded the city with river water. "This scheme must have harmed Heaven's harmony; it will soon bring early death," Bai Lang thought. Lu Bu fell into complete decadence, drinking and fooling around, while Bai Lang's repeated challenges proved futile.

"Has this man even lost his sharp spirit? This is no longer the peerless Lord Wen!" Bai Lang shouted loudly from the city gates, forcing Lu Bu to descend at once for a death duel, urging him not to act like a child. "A true man should fight to the death on the battlefield; why such pretence!" Bai Lang roared, but Lu Bu merely drew his bow and forced Bai Lang out of arrow range.

"If this continues, Lu Bu will never break through that fighting aura, and if I keep cutting him down, can I still call him Lu Bu?" Bai Lang lamented. Within months, the city changed. Lu Bu unusually did not appear on the walls, and Bai Lang seized the momentum to assault the city, becoming the first to storm the wall.

He bore a massive shield—a multi‑panel shield riveted together—and aside from people like Bai Lang, few could wield it in a charge. Bai Lang, clad in heavy armor and bearing the great shield, must have weighed over five hundred jin; the shield and exposed armor were riddled with arrows, his front like a porcupine.

Even a bed‑mounted crossbow struck him, yet Bai Lang's stance did not waver; two or three shield plates shattered, long iron‑tipped arrows lodged in the shield, and he still rushed the wall. This time he carried a short iron spear on his back, ready to drive it into the wall as a ladder.

The stones of this world are so hard that even Bai Lang's forceful thrust could barely pierce them; he could only find gaps between bricks to drive in. "In the outside world I'd have moved mountains and seas by now," Bai Lang cursed while climbing, as CaoCao's army pressed the city; the troops that could attack Bai Lang were few and weak.

Bai Lang planted his feet on the wall, let out a tiger‑like roar, tossed the shield aside, drew the long spear from his back, and began clearing the soldiers on the rampart; at that moment a Fangtian halberd arced and blocked his strike. "Indeed!" Bai Lang shouted sharply.

Lu Bu entered the field, dressed as he was at Tiger Gate, his face tinged blue yet still bearing the aura of the famed Lord Wen. "Truly a world‑renowned steed; even on a city wall he moves as if on flat ground," Bai Lang praised, admiring the coordination between Lu Bu and his Red Hare, whose spirit alone made Lu Bu's horsemanship unparalleled.

Lu Bu and Red Hare moved as one, confronting Bai Lang from high to low, their clash sending stones scattering from the wall, shattering towers and injuring many soldiers.

The White Tiger fought the Ghost God together, battling from the wall down to the city's foot, sweeping the residences into ruin. The White Tiger leapt, roaring, snapping claws and teeth, constantly pouncing and biting the Ghost God, while the Ghost God wielded a halberd, slashing and stabbing, repeatedly driving the White Tiger's claws away.

Wrapped in fighting aura, Lu Bu and Bai Lang struck each other, the violent shockwave flattening houses within ten zhang; Red Hare remained unharmed, its power perhaps eighty‑plus, its hooves transferring force to Lu Bu, the horse's spirit extraordinary, the impact matching Lu Bu's own steps, allowing the mount to surge like wind while Lu Bu's techniques turned fluidly and cleverly.

This spear technique is already rare in the world; Bai Lang's long‑spear method lacks some finesse, especially the locking technique. Their fierce duel battered the civilian houses beneath the wall, even collapsing half of Xianyang's wall, leaving it shattered. The incoming CaoCao troops and defending Lu Bu forces were drawn into their battlefield, many torn apart by the fighting aura and sharp qi.