69novels Chapter 1067 My strength is finally enough to crush Xiang Yu!
Chapter 1067 My strength is finally enough to crush Xiang Yu!
The halberd blade, accompanied by a fierce wind, aimed straight for Gao Yao's face.
Gao Yao did not dodge.
He didn't even raise his spear to parry; he merely shifted his body slightly, and the halberd blade, carrying immense force, grazed his shoulder armor, carving a trail of blinding sparks across the black iron plates. The halberd missed its mark, crashing heavily to the ground, creating a deep crater in the compacted loess, sending debris flying.
Xiang Yu's pupils suddenly contracted.
This was no fluke—Gao Yao's timing in turning to the side was impeccable, a judgment made at the very last moment before the halberd blade touched his body. Even more terrifying was his composure, that effortless ease, as if he were strolling leisurely.
"Is that all you've got?" Gao Yao's voice was calm and even, without raising his silver spear. "The Hegemon-King of Western Chu is a name that doesn't live up to its name."
"You're courting death!" Xiang Yu roared, his halberd sweeping back and forth.
This time, Gao Yao made his move. He finally raised his silver spear, not to parry, but to deliver a straight thrust that struck first. The spear tip precisely struck the seven-inch mark on the halberd shaft—again, the weakest point for transmitting force.
"clang--!"
The deafening clang of metal striking metal made the eardrums of the surrounding soldiers ache. Xiang Yu felt a violent tremor in his hands, a splitting pain shooting through his tiger's mouth, and his halberd nearly slipped from his grasp. He staggered back three steps, each step leaving a deep crater in the ground, and his black horse reared up with a neigh, almost throwing him off balance.
Gao Yao, however, remained completely still.
The white horse didn't even move an inch, its front hooves lightly touching the ground, as if the blow that had just struck a mountain and split rocks was nothing more than a gentle breeze.
"Impossible..." Xiang Yu murmured, a look of surprise and doubt flashing in his eyes for the first time.
He was the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, whose strength was such that no one could rival him, let alone be subjected to such humiliating suppression.
Gao Yao spurred his horse forward, his silver spear pointing diagonally at the ground: "Xiang Yu, do you know the biggest difference between you and me?"
"The difference is that you will die today!" Xiang Yu roared, forcibly suppressing the unease in his heart, and thrust out his halberd again.
This time he used technique. His halberd skills changed from being wide and sweeping to being tricky and unpredictable. The halberd blade drew strange arcs in the air, sometimes like Mount Tai pressing down, sometimes like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, alternating between feints and real attacks, each move deadly.
This is the essence of the Xiang family's halberd technique, and it was Xiang Yu's undefeated reliance as he roamed the world.
Gao Yao finally became a little more serious.
The silver spear moved.
The spear flashed like a dragon, so fast that only a blur remained. There were no complicated moves, only the most basic thrusts, parries, sweeps, and deflections, but every strike was exquisitely precise, always able to interrupt Xiang Yu's offensive at the most crucial moment, and always able to block the variations of the halberd technique from the most unexpected angle.
Ten rounds.
Twenty rounds.
Fifty rounds.
The clash of weapons was incessant, like a torrential downpour pounding on sheet metal. No one dared to approach within three zhang of the two men—a fierce wind swept through, the ground cracked, and occasional flying pebbles could pierce shields dozens of paces away.
Xiang Yu grew increasingly alarmed as the battle progressed.
He exerted all his strength, used every technique imaginable, and even risked injury for injury, but Gao Yao was like an insurmountable mountain. That silver spear was always a fraction faster, stronger, and more stable than him. Even more terrifying was Gao Yao's gaze—not the gaze of a fighter, but one of scrutiny, assessment, and a playful, cat-and-mouse game.
"Are you mocking me?" Xiang Yu's eyes were bloodshot and his voice was hoarse.
Gao Yao deflected the blade of his halberd with a single thrust of his spear, the tip gliding across Gao Yao's left shoulder armor, sending sparks and shattered pieces of armor flying: "Just noticed?"
Before he finished speaking, Gao Yao's offensive suddenly changed.
The silver spear was no longer limited to defense and dismantling; it began to attack. But the target of the attack was not only Xiang Yu.
Seeing that their lord was unable to gain the upper hand after a long battle, a squad of Xiang Yu's personal guards launched a surprise attack from the flank. These were elite soldiers who had followed Xiang Yu for many years and had fought countless battles. Their charging formation consisted of thirty men, with spears like a forest and shields like a wall. Even against a thousand troops, they could break through the enemy lines.
They rushed to within five steps of Gao Yao.
Gao Yao didn't even look back.
As the silver spear parried Xiang Yu's halberd strike, it swept backward with its butt. This seemingly casual sweep struck precisely the edge of the foremost shield—its most vulnerable point. The iron-clad wooden shield shattered with a crash, and the soldier wielding it was sent flying backward, shield and all, knocking down three men behind him.
But this is only the beginning.
Gao Yao loosened the reins with his left hand and took a short halberd from beside the saddle—he had casually picked it up from the corpses of Chu soldiers. The halberd flew out, spinning in an arc, striking three guards in the throat, who fell to the ground dead.
Meanwhile, in his right hand, his silver spear and Xiang Yu's halberd were exchanging blows at a dazzling speed.
"Clang, clang, clang, clang--!"
A series of rapid, indistinguishable clashes erupted. Xiang Yu gritted his teeth, pushing his halberd skills to their limit. His black steed, Wuzhui, galloped swiftly around Gaoyao, attempting to attack from every angle.
Gao Yao remained in place, using stillness to control movement. The silver spear in his hands seemed to come alive, sometimes moving like a nimble snake emerging from its hole, sometimes pressing down like Mount Tai, not only neutralizing all of Xiang Yu's attacks, but also occasionally taking the opportunity to stab at the surrounding personal guards.
One of the guards raised his spear and thrust it into the belly of the white horse.
Gao Yao pressed down with his spear shaft, deflecting Xiang Yu's diagonal slash, while simultaneously flicking the spear tip upward—not at Xiang Yu, but in a strange arc, piercing the guard's temple from the side.
“The thirteenth,” Gao Yao said calmly.
Xiang Yu then noticed that in just a short while, nearly half of his thirty personal guards had fallen. Gao Yao, on the other hand, remained unharmed.
"Damn it!" Xiang Yu roared in fury, his halberd flashing like a black light as he launched a relentless attack.
This time, he abandoned all defense, fighting with his halberd with a life-or-death mentality. This was Xiang Yu's last act of pride—even if he was no match for his opponent, he would make them pay the price.
Gao Yao's eyes finally showed a slight change.
Was it admiration? Or pity?
The silver spear suddenly increased in speed.
“Ding ding ding ding——!”
The dense clanging sounds were like rain pattering on banana leaves. Every desperate attack Xiang Yu launched was precisely intercepted, and every attempt to take someone down with him was easily thwarted. Even more terrifying was that as Gao Yao parried, the tip of his spear always managed to leave scratches on Xiang Yu's armor.
Cracked nail on left arm.
The right shoulder armor is broken.
A dent appeared on the breastplate.
These were not fatal wounds, nor did they even affect the fight, but each wound told the same story: Gao Yao could kill him at any time, but he just didn't want to.
"Why?!" Xiang Yu roared, his voice trembling without him even realizing it. "If you want to kill me, then kill me! Why humiliate me like this?!"
Gao Yao deflected his halberd with a single thrust of his spear, the tip grazing his cheek and leaving a bloody mark: "Because I want you to see clearly how laughable your so-called 'overlord's courage' is in this world."
Before he finished speaking, more than twenty more guards rushed over.
This time they learned their lesson and no longer charged in formation. Instead, they spread out to encircle the enemy, with archers in the rear, spearmen in the front, and swordsmen and shieldmen flanking from both sides. This was the standard tactic of the Chu army against fierce generals—using numbers to wear them down and using ranged attacks to create openings.