Chapter 44: Capturing Yan Liang

"Old Yan, I have an enterprise here that will leave a mark in history. How about it, care to join me?"

Yan Liang gazed at the cavalry surrounding him from all directions, with Chen Cong standing right before him. He knew well that there was no path to the heavens and no door into the earth.

He took a deep breath and let it out heavily.

In a deep voice, he said, "Those who follow different paths cannot plan together."

Chen Cong remained unperturbed, reaching out to point at the advancing Tiger and Leopard Cavalry encircling them.

He said, "Observe my Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Are they stalwart and brave?"

Yan Liang could not help but twitch the corner of his mouth. The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry...

Weren't they simply Dong Zhuo's flying bears? Spoken as if no one had ever seen them before...

"Stalwart and brave."

"Just nod your head, and I'll arrange a position for you right away."

Yan Liang was silent for a moment, then shook his head, saying, "I am touched by your undeserved praise. I have received immense grace from my lord; to die is to die, but I will never surrender. Chen Invincible, if you still cherish our past friendship, let us fight!"

Naturally, Chen Cong had never expected to persuade Yan Liang to surrender merely with words.

He would establish the tone first; there would be plenty of opportunities to slowly grind him down later.

Leave a mark in history? Commander of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry?

None of those worked?

There were still other approaches, such as: 'Surrender to the realm, but not to Cao', 'How bitter are the common folk of the borderlands? Aid the greater righteousness rather than Chen', 'How can one speak of betraying their lord without experiencing the trials of war?', and 'Even Dunzi's child at home has been enfeoffed as a marquis; how can you bear to still be a mere prisoner in chains?'

With so many options, surely one would suit Yan Liang.

Wasn't Hua Xiang quite stubborn earlier? Didn't he vow to resist unto death without surrendering?

Wasn't he now as obedient as an extension of one's own arm?

Thinking thus, Chen Cong raised a hand toward Cao Chun and instructed, "Go, get General Yan a fine horse."

"Understood."

Cao Chun acknowledged the command, then vaulted down from his saddle. He led a horse forward and handed the reins to Yan Liang.

As for fine horses, the mounts assigned to the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were all top-tier—either noble steeds from Dayuan or blood-sweating heavenly horses.

The only ones truly worthy of being called divine steeds, aside from Chen Cong's own Shadow-Chaser, were Cao Chun's Cloud-Treading Black.

That horse stood about ten feet tall, comparable to Shadow-Chaser. Its coat was pitch-black and as smooth as silk, its four hooves as white as snow, with a mane that hung lightly. Unlike the shrill neighs of ordinary horses, its vocalizations were low and deep, and a fierce glint flashed naturally within its rotating eyes.

Yan Liang gave Chen Cong a deep look, then dismounted and cupped his fists toward Cao Chun.

He murmured, "Thank you."

"Go into the city and fetch a long saber."

"Understood!"

A squad leader of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry acknowledged the order, whirled his mount, and galloped back into the city. After a short while, he returned from the prefect's residence bearing a long saber, which he offered to Yan Liang.

Yan Liang offered another 'Thank you.'

He grasped the weapon, mounted up, and violently jerked the reins. Accompanied by the Cloud-Treading Black lifting its front hooves and letting out a resonant neigh, a surge of heroic spirit rose within his chest.

Lifting the long saber high above his head, he laughed aloud, "We are enemies, yet what a fortune to be enemies! To be treated thus by Chen Invincible, I shall have no regrets even in death!"

The moment the Cloud-Treading Black's front hooves struck the earth,

Yan Liang let out a roar, spurred his horse forward, and dragged his saber heavily along the ground, kicking up a flurry of sparks.

Chen Cong stretched his neck and shoulders, reached out to pull his grounded halberd, and lightly tapped Shadow-Chaser's flank, transforming into a streak of black light.

At the exact center, the two horses crossed paths.

Saber and halberd collided, touching and parting instantly.

Yan Liang gathered his spirit. As they passed, without turning his head—as though he had eyes growing on his back—he swept his saber in an arc around his body and strapped it horizontally across his back. Then came a resounding clang as the two horses completely cleared each other.

A trace of bright red seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Although Yan Liang had precisely parried Chen Cong's turning counter-strike with his halberd, his internal organs were still churning and his viscera trembling.

Previously, when he witnessed the ferocious duel between Chen and Lü, he had felt an overwhelming yearning and surging excitement. Only now, experiencing it firsthand, did he realize how perilous it truly was.

That peerless, heaven-shattering strength could be wielded and altered effortlessly at will, with his moves flowing into one another without a trace of a gap.

And then there was his mastery of all weapons, proficient in every single one; those he had witnessed firsthand already included the saber, spear, axe, and halberd.

Yan Liang raised a hand to wipe away the blood from the corner of his mouth, finding himself harboring a shred of admiration for Lü Bu.

Against such a fierce divinity, towering like an unscalable mountain peak, he could only wonder how that fierce tiger had managed to clash with him for nearly a hundred bouts.

Whinny!

The Cloud-Treading Black gave a soft cry, seeming to express concern for the man on its back.

Yan Liang smiled and stroked the horse's mane, murmuring softly, "Good steed, I must trouble you to gallop for me a few more times."

The Cloud-Treading Black shook its head and began to pace.

On the other side, Shadow-Chaser remained rooted to the spot, motionless as if fast asleep.

The moment the Cloud-Treading Black flew forward and saber and halberd clashed once more, Chen Cong did not even need to touch the reins; his mount turned its head and pursued the Cloud-Treading Black from behind.

When two rays of dark light ran neck and neck, the silhouettes of the two black horses merged into one.

Knowing he could not prevail through defense alone, Yan Liang abandoned all caution, adopting an all-out stance of fighting to the death.

Amidst thrusting, blocking, parrying, and striking, Chen Cong handled it all with effortless ease, batting away Yan Liang's long saber as if swatting a fly.

After a fierce engagement, just as they were about to cross paths once again,

Chen Cong suddenly thrust his halberd forward. With a twist and a flick, the small blade of his Flying Tiger Halberd hooked onto the protrusion on the back of the saber. Pulling back on the shaft of the halberd, he wrenched Yan Liang's long saber clean out of his grip.

Without pausing to tend to his lacerated palms, Yan Liang urged his horse forward ten paces, leaned down, and scooped up the discarded blade he had abandoned earlier.

Just as he moved to yank his reins, Shadow-Chaser was upon him once more.

The streak of halberd light that tore through the sky was both swift and heavy, kicking up a howling gale that stung his cheeks.

Yan Liang knew full well the consequence of meeting such a blow head-on, but having just stooped to retrieve his weapon, he had nowhere left to dodge. He could only raise his saber horizontally above his head and grit his teeth to await death.

Yet,

When the Flying Tiger Halberd struck the saber hilt, there was hardly any force behind it.

As Yan Liang felt a flicker of doubt, he saw Chen Cong release his grip on the halberd and leap past him on horseback.

Capitalizing on the tremendous momentum, the Flying Tiger Halberd circled once around the saber hilt and struck heavily across Yan Liang's shoulder. Before he could even react, Yan Liang tumbled backward off his horse, rolling to the ground and losing consciousness.

Undoubtedly, Yan Liang possessed peerless martial prowess and the resolute will to fight to the death.

Pity...

There was a threshold to playing with your life against Chen Cong.

If another peerless warrior who wielded a halberd, spear, or lance had come to fight Chen Cong to the death, they might have lasted anywhere from a dozen to several dozen bouts.

It was simply unfortunate that Yan Liang used a saber.

First, saber techniques were Chen Cong's absolute forte; at a single glance, Yan Liang was as transparent to him as if he were naked.

Second, the cost of blows that were heavy and relentless was a lack of agility.

And before a monster like Chen Cong—who moved with boundless agility regardless of the weapon in hand—the consequence of lacking agility was being kneaded and manipulated at will.

Chen Cong turned his horse to retrieve his halberd.

He glanced down at the unconscious Yan Liang and remarked casually, "No need to tie him up. Just toss him into the main hall of the prefect's residence; this fellow won't be waking up anytime soon."

The cavalrymen withdrew their ropes and cupped their fists in acknowledgment. "Understood."

A moment later,

The billowing dust kicked up by the distant advancing army was already visible.

Chen Cong wasted no time. He turned back and hung Zhang Yang from his halberd.

With a wave of his hand,

The elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry arrayed themselves in a single line outside the city gate.

Zhang Yang shifted uneasily and muttered, "If Zining wishes to persuade the Shangdang army to surrender, taking my golden helmet to show them would have been enough. Why humiliate me so?"

Chen Cong let out a cold snort.

"First of all, you are blind. You ignored me, the rightful Inspector of Bingzhou, and instead flirted with a mere prefect of Bohai. If we speak of humiliation, you humiliated me first. Has Zhiyu never heard the saying, 'He who humiliates others is constantly humiliated'?"

Zhang Yang fell silent. Even though he had long known Chen Cong was shameless, he had never imagined the fellow could be this shameless.

Yuan Shao—the venerable scion of a lineage of three dukes over four generations, leader of the alliance against the tyrant, self-proclaimed Inspector of Jiuzhou, and ruler of the greater part of Ji Province—was dismissed in his mouth as a mere prefect of Bohai.

And what of Chen Cong himself?

He was merely the General Conquering the West appointed by Yuan Shao and recommended by Cao Cao as Inspector of Bingzhou, holding actual sway over a single commandery of Taiyuan—yet he called himself the rightful Inspector of Bingzhou?

Even setting aside matters of legal legitimacy,

Did Bingzhou even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Ji Province?

One was the wealthiest land among the thirteen provinces of the realm; the other was a barren, impoverished frontier fortress.

Even if Yuan Shao truly were a 'mere' prefect of Bohai, he still had far more prospects than Chen Cong's 'grand' Inspector of Bingzhou...