New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

Dong Zhuo was completely enraged. Without further hesitation, he unleashed the gigantic hand that had been hovering in mid-air, carrying a devastating force, and slammed it down towards the spot where Wang Yun had disappeared.

With a deafening roar, a crater several meters wide was smashed into the ground. Hundreds of civilians were crushed into mincemeat by the terrifying force, and the shockwave killed more than a dozen people nearby.

Dong Zhuo's cunning gaze swept across the scene, and his distorted face grew even more ferocious. Among the pile of mangled corpses, there was no sign of Wang Yun.

Where did that old thief run off to?

Suddenly, a hearty laugh came from above, breaking Dong Zhuo's thoughts.

"Dong Zhuo! Quickly commit suicide and I might spare your life!"

Dong Zhuo suddenly looked up and saw a person standing on the hundred-meter-high roof of Zhengyang Palace.

The man's official robes fluttered wildly in the wind, his hair was disheveled, and his white hair danced wildly in the wind; it was none other than Wang Yun.

He held a cricket that had just died in his hand, his face full of smug arrogance, but his legs, hidden under his sleeves, were trembling slightly.

This was the first time he had ever been to such a high place. However, if it weren't for the "cricket that sometimes appears near and sometimes far" given to him by Chen Gong, which gave him the ability to teleport, his old bones would probably have been killed by Dong Zhuo long ago.

Just as Dong Zhuo was about to lash out, another voice suddenly rang out from the depths of his mind, freezing him in place.

"Dong Zhuo, stop. Don't harm the innocent anymore."

That was the voice of the benevolent Dong Zhuo. The evil Dong Zhuo's large hand froze in mid-air, his massive body seemingly paused, momentarily rendered inoperable.

The voice of Shan Dongzhuo continued to echo in my mind, its tone full of weariness and earnestness:

"Do you remember Cao Mengde's military strategy? A victorious army is bound to be arrogant, and an arrogant army is bound to be defeated. Look at yourself, how many layers of arrogance have you accumulated? If you continue to fight like this, you will only sink deeper and deeper until you are doomed."

The wicked Dong Zhuo roared inwardly, "No! Impossible! I've worked so hard for so long, and I'm finally about to become emperor. How can I just give up like this?"

Dong Zhuo sighed, his tone growing increasingly heavy:

"Look at yourself now. Do you think the people will accept an emperor like you?"

"With just one command from Wang Yun, those soldiers will charge forward one after another to their deaths, piling up layers of arrogance upon you. You will die whether you like it or not."

After a long silence, the wicked Dong Zhuo finally let out a resentful sigh: "Heaven's will! Heaven's will favors the King, not Dong! Tell me, what should we do now to survive?"

"There is no way to break this." Dong Zhuo's voice was full of despair. "The only way is to die, to commit suicide and return to heaven, but I can make some demands of Wang Yun."

The wicked Dong Zhuo gritted his teeth, a final glint of madness flashing in his eyes:

"What if Fengxian were here? He's a match for 100,000 men; he'd surely fight his way out! Once we return to Mei'wu, regroup, and make a comeback!"

Dong Zhuo, however, slowly shook his head in his heart: "Didn't you send Lü Bu to protect you? Where is he now? He's probably already surrendered to Wang Yun and his group."

"Although Li Ru and Wang Yun are shrewd and calculating, it is impossible for the two of them alone to devise such a flawless scheme."

"There must be a mastermind behind them, someone whose plans are flawless and should not be underestimated."

The wicked Dong Zhuo trembled with rage, his teeth clenching into a low growl filled with hatred:

"We have treated Lü Bu well, how could he betray us? It must be that old scoundrel Wang Yun who has sown discord between us! How hateful, how lamentable!"

After a moment of silence, a resolute and fierce glint flashed in Dong Zhuo's eyes:

"At this point, there's no point in saying any more. If we're not of one mind, neither of us can control this body anymore."

"Why don't we join forces and do everything in our power to kill Wang Yun, ridding the world of this scourge? In that case, even if we die, we will have no regrets."

The wicked Dong Zhuo slowly nodded, two voices resounding simultaneously in his heart, as if making a final covenant:

"Alright! With the two of us combined, how can we possibly defeat an opponent? Let's unleash our strongest killing move!"

On the rooftop, Wang Yun was initially delighted, but then his heart was filled with worry.

The good news is that Dong Zhuo is steadily marching towards his grave according to plan. The bad news is that there's still no sign of that scoundrel Lü Bu.

Shouldn't he have come with Dong Zhuo? I didn't see him on the way!

Wang Yun was extremely anxious. If Lü Bu didn't arrive soon, no one would be able to stop Dong Zhuo and buy time.

Just as he was getting anxious, he suddenly saw Dong Zhuo's huge eyes, which had been dim, suddenly light up.

The enormous hands slowly rose, and a huge energy ball condensed in each palm.

The left hand held a ball of light, crackling with lightning and thunder; the right hand held a ball of darkness, surging with undercurrents.

In an instant, clusters of black mist surged from all directions above Chang'an, enveloping the entire imperial city in layers.

it's dark.

Dong Zhuo's blood-red eyes suddenly narrowed, fixing their gaze on Wang Yun on the rooftop.

Wang Yun felt as if his whole body was tightly bound by an invisible shackle, unable to move an inch.

His heart pounded with fear, and he cursed Chen Gong inwardly. Why did he have to be teleported to this godforsaken place, where he couldn't even escape!

Did Chen Gong intend to kill him from the very beginning so he could reap the benefits? How hateful, how lamentable, how tragic!

Wang Yun was filled with remorse, but it was too late.

Dong Zhuo slammed the two energy balls, one bright and one dark, together with a deafening roar. In an instant, lightning flashed and thunder roared, a gale arose, and it seemed as if a giant dragon was roaring and churning in the sky.

All that could be heard was Dong Zhuo slowly chanting—

"Strike the enemy midway before they cross the river; unite your form and spirit to attack a single point!"

"Intricate rituals, naturally formed; moving against the grain, yet finding stillness in the flow!"

"Outwardly lenient but inwardly suspicious, appointing relatives and friends; outwardly simple but inwardly transparent, appointing people based on merit!"

"He is good at planning but indecisive; he is fond of empty fame but treats his advisors with sincerity!"

"Sometimes near, sometimes far, yet always discerning; he listens to slander, seeing through everything with unparalleled clarity!"

"He was ambitious and eager for quick success, but ignorant of military strategy; yet he achieved victory with a smaller force, displaying divine skill in warfare!"

"A victorious army is bound to be arrogant, and an arrogant army will inevitably be defeated; a defeated army will inevitably be filled with sorrow, and a sorrowful army will inevitably be victorious!"

The moment the words fell, the flickering energy ball expanded to more than a hundred times its original size, and with a devastating force, it crashed down on Wang Yun.

Wang Yun knew there was no way to escape now. He opened his mouth and roared with all his might, "Where is Fengxian! Where is Fengxian! Where is my son Fengxian!"

Just when he thought he was doomed, a cold glint suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Immediately afterwards, a tall figure appeared in front of him like a god descending to earth.

The man braced himself with both hands and actually managed to withstand the energy ball that was hurtling towards him.

Wang Yun opened his eyes shakily, and when he saw who was in front of him, he almost burst into tears of joy: "Fengxian! You've finally come! You scared this old man to death!"

Lu Bu gritted his teeth, the veins on his arms bulging, his handsome face contorted and grotesque from the immense pressure.

He couldn't utter a single word.

Dong Zhuo stared at the figure blocking Wang Yun's path from afar, his brows furrowing deeply. He shouted urgently:

"Fengxian, get out of there quickly! You'll die if you keep going like this!"

Lu Bu neither spoke nor released his grip.

Looking into Lü Bu's stubborn eyes, Dong Zhuo's expression gradually shifted from anger to hesitation, and then from hesitation to deep sorrow.

He shook his head, his voice filled with pleading and sorrow: "Fengxian, this is all the work of that old scoundrel Wang Yun! You must believe your father!"

Seeing that Lü Bu remained unmoved, Dong Zhuo roared in near collapse, "Do you really not remember anything from the past?!"

Lu Bu shuddered violently. Images of his time with Dong Zhuo flooded his mind like a burst dam.

He recalled the first time Dong Zhuo met him, when Dong Zhuo patted him on the shoulder, his tone full of admiration and probing.

He remembered what he had told him: "Fengxian, if anything happens in the future, just tell your godfather, and your godfather will take care of it for you."

I recall him loudly proclaiming before the entire court of officials that he was to appoint me as the Grand General of the Imperial Court, in command of all the troops in the land.

I remember him patting me on the back and saying earnestly, "We have no sons, so you are our own son."

She remembered him bending down, pulling her into his arms, and whispering words of comfort: "Don't cry, a grown man shouldn't be crying like this."

Lü Bu's face was already streaked with tears. He choked back sobs, his voice broken and intermittent due to violent trembling:

"Father, you have been kind to me, and I have no way to repay you! Minister Wang has also been kind to me, and I have no way to repay you either!"

"All of this is because of me. If I side with Minister Wang, I will be disloyal to the Prime Minister; if I follow the Prime Minister, I will be disloyal to Minister Wang!"

"I, Lü Bu, will bear all the blame and all the suffering! Prime Minister, we will meet again in the next life. In the next life, I will still be your son!"

Before he finished speaking, Lü Bu suddenly released his grip.

However, he did not dodge away. Instead, he activated all the strange power within his body and forcefully caught the energy ball intertwined with light and darkness with his chest.

The moment the energy ball touched his body, Lu Bu's face contorted in agony.

But he gritted his teeth, neither dodging nor flinching, and simply stood there, enduring the force, using his own flesh and blood to gradually wear down that devastating power.

Dong Zhuo stared blankly at Lü Bu, his huge, scarlet eyes churning with indescribable complex emotions.

His large hand hovered in mid-air, trembling and hesitating, before finally turning into a heavy, mountain-like sigh.

His massive, mountain-like body swayed slightly before appearing behind the energy sphere.

He stretched out his giant hand and gently pressed it against the back of the sphere of light, using his own flesh and blood to counteract the strange power he had personally infused into it.

The father and son, one in front and one behind, one positive and one negative, worked together to wear down what should have been a mutually destructive killing situation.

When the ball of light finally dissipated completely and turned into nothingness, Lü Bu had only lost his arms.

Dong Zhuo's body was covered in blood and gore. Exhausted, he could no longer maintain his enormous, bizarre form and returned to his original size, collapsing to the ground.

He stared blankly at the sky above, obscured by dark clouds, his lips moving slightly as he repeated only two words: "Fate...fate..."

Lu Bu used the remaining strange power within his body to barely repair his crippled arms to some extent.

He turned around, grabbed Wang Yun, who was already trembling with fear, and lifted him up by the waist. With a leap, he jumped down from the hundred-meter-high palace roof and landed steadily on the square.

In the shadows, a strategist toyed with a cricket jar in his hand, gazing at the ravaged square and Dong Zhuo slumped on the ground, a smug smile slowly creeping onto his lips.

After landing steadily, Wang Yun let out a long breath.

He straightened his disheveled clothes and strode towards Dong Zhuo, a triumphant laugh plastered on his old face. His voice echoed across the empty square, as if he were proclaiming a pre-prepared verdict:

"Dong Zhuo! You have been defeated! You have been utterly defeated! I, Wang Yun, will rid the world of a great scourge today! Do you have anything else to say?"

Dong Zhuo slowly raised his eyes and looked at the old minister who used to be obsequious to him but now stood tall and proud. There was no hatred in his eyes, only a weary calm.

His voice was hoarse and weak, each word sounding like the last breath squeezed from his chest:

"Things have come to this, there's nothing more to say. It's all fate. The victor is king, the loser is a thief. From this day forward, you, Wang Yun, are a hero who eliminated the traitor and supported the Han dynasty, while I, Dong Zhuo, am an utterly wicked villain."

"I have only one request. Please, do not become the next Dong Zhuo. Also, please treat these people kindly and protect them."

Wang Yun snorted coldly, then threw his head back and laughed wildly, his laughter filled with the satisfaction of triumphant revenge and undisguised sarcasm:

"Dong Zhuo, you're about to die, and you're still putting on this act, trying to create a respectable persona! Don't you feel ashamed?"

Dong Zhuo remained silent.

He simply stood up slowly, bent down to pick up the blood-stained sword from the ground, turned around, looked in the direction of the ancestral temple, and murmured to himself:

"The late Emperor, Zhuo, can no longer fight against traitors on the front lines."

"The will of Heaven is so cruel to me, why has it been so unkind?"

The moment he finished speaking, the sword slipped silently from his hand and crashed onto the blood-red stone slab with a clang.

His exhausted, bloodied body slowly collapsed.

Dong Zhuo is dead.

The officials surrounding the area were stunned for a moment, then threw their heads back and burst into deafening laughter.

Some people laughed so hard they were doubled over, some laughed until tears streamed down their faces, and some laughed so hard they slapped their thighs, not even bothering to straighten their official hats which were askew.

The crowd erupted in wild cheers, some jumping up and down, some shouting at the top of their lungs, and others dancing on the blood-stained ground.

Everyone was laughing, everyone was shouting, the whole square was like a boiling cauldron, churning with hysterical ecstasy and release.

Wang Yun laughed too. His laughter, amidst the jubilation of the officials and the common people, was louder and more joyful than anyone else's.

He laughed so hard his whole body trembled, every wrinkle on his old face shook, and his eyes gleamed with an almost insane light.

He whirled around and roared at Lü Bu, "Fengxian! Attack!"