The Legend from the House of Lu Bu coughed out blood. “Well… I was hoping to buy some more time, that's for sure… You are stronger than we thought.”

Tarquin’s brows furrowed. “We? What do you mean we…?”

“Hahaha… I mean you’re already dead old man… All of you are already dead…” The man spat some blood on the ground, smiling wryly.

“Alright… I’ve heard enough.” The old master pulled back his blade in one swift motion. Blood spilt out of his opponent’s throat, and the lifeless corpse hit the ground with a low thud, painting the surrounding snow red.

‘So… unremarkable…’ Edward stared blankly. A Legend has just fallen before his eyes. But there was no explosion, no miraculous light. Just a single flash of a sword, and the warrior known as Atlas laid dead in the dirt. Such a grand figure had met his end in the same way any other man would.

‘All are equal before death they say…’ thought the young warrior. He looked around. The entire battlefield seemed to freeze when Atlas perished.

Master Tarquin cleaned his blade, wiping the blood off on his black robe. He stared down the enemy army, as if asking if anybody else dared challenge him. He held up a stalwart front, but Edward noticed the thoughts churning behind his eyes. It was obvious what he was thinking about since the same thing was bothering Ed. ‘What did Atlas mean by his last words…? Did the enemy have something else up their sleeves? If so, Atlas’s death surely wasn’t part of it, was it?’

The rest of the battle sort of lost its meaning, but just to be sure, Edward passed between the artillery units, cutting through their cannons, disabling the weaponry. Some soldiers aimed their guns at him, but one look from Ed made them lower their weapons. Once that part of the job was done, he walked towards Tarquin.

“What do you think he meant,” said Edward, standing face to face with his teacher.

“I’m not sure yet… Check on Marcus and Layla.”

The young man nodded. “Marcus? Layla? How’s the situation?”

*We’re finishing up on our end, but this woman Camilla… She slipped away into the forest.* Marcus spoke.

*Sorry everyone, I couldn’t finish her off… Fuck. I think it has something to do with her legend… Whatever it was, it felt… weird.* Layla’s voice followed.

Edward furrowed his brows. He didn’t notice anything earlier… But this wasn’t the time to wonder about that anyway.

“Alright everyone, gather around me.” Tarquin spoke up. His eyes kept scanning the surroundings.

Edward moved closer, standing side by side with his master. He looked around the field and then onto the old man’s face. Tarquin was now staring into the distance, towards the east. His eyes slowly squinted, as he seemed to focus on something. Suddenly his expression dropped, and he almost screamed into his earpiece. “Call for Alexander! Right now!” The old man turned towards his student. “Stay back, gather with Marcus and Layla. You’ll have to support me from behind.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The surrounding soldiers looked around in confusion. First their leader was eliminated, and now the ones responsible for it seemed to be panicking for no reason.

Ed recognized, this wasn’t the time to ask questions and immediately followed his orders. Marcus and Layla must’ve heard the command too, since they appeared by his side moments later.

Edward couldn’t see his master’s face from behind, but he could see his grip on the sword tightening. A moment later, the youth could finally see what Tarquin seemed to be stressing about.

A small silhouette, barely visible against the night sky, was flying right towards them.

“The Flying General…” Tarquin whispered under his breath.

Edward scrunched his forehead. ‘The Flying General…? He can’t mean… Lu Bu?!’ He looked at his friends, who stared back at him with shocked faces. When they looked back towards the approaching figure, the man was already close enough to make out more of his details. He wore an old lamellar armor with plates overlapping like slates on a roof. Leather straps and loose fabric fluttered in the air, as the man flew forward, held up by unknown means. He held a long halberd on his side, which his long black hair sometimes brushed against.

Fear gripped Edward’s heart when the man arrived above the battlefield. At the same time the young warrior couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of the Legend, which looked like he came straight from the Han dynasty of China.

“He’s so…” Ed looked for the right words.

“Revolting?” Layla suggested.

‘Oh… That’s right…’ Edward remembered the story she shared with him in the forest. He noticed Marcus putting a hand on her shoulder. ‘Good, the last thing we need right now is for Layla to explode and rush towards the guy…’

“We’re backing up towards the fortress, right now,” ordered Tarquin.

First the man scanned the battlefield, frowning at the sight of Atlas’s dead body. As Edward and the others moved back, Lu Bu’s eyes jumped towards them, like an eagle locking in on its prey. He swung down his Fangtian Ji, which split the sky, stopping the snowfall for a moment.

“Watch out!” Tarquin dodged to the side. His students followed suit barely making it in time. The attack coming from above cracked the ground and kept going forward, hitting Alexander’s forces, cleaving every vehicle in its path and sending their parts flying.

The Flying General descended slowly, gently stepping onto the ground. He walked forward. His steps left no traces in the snow. He extended his weapon and slashed horizontally. Master Tarquin stepped in front of the group, swinging his blade. The metal clung loudly, but the old man managed to redirect the attack upwards, even if he slid back under the effort.

Edward couldn’t even comprehend the power behind that strike. His master was already a seemingly insurmountable mountain to him, but to see him pushed back by a single attack…

‘Seems like even when it comes to Legends, some are much stronger than others.’

It made sense when you thought about it. Lu Bu’s legend, a legend passed down from ancient times, powerful enough to become a foundation for an entire clan. Against Tarquin’s legend, which… Edward didn’t know anything about, come to think of it. Either way, the point was clear.

Tarquin recovered after the blow. He straightened his posture and stood against Lu Bu, staring him down. His right hand held the sword, but he hid his left hand behind his back, gesturing towards Edward and the others to stay back. “Lu Bu… I’m surprised to see you here. I’m sure you’re aware of the reason why Incarnations don’t appear on the battlefield often…” said the master.

“Oh, you’re that old man!” Lu Bu grinned. “I understand what you mean of course, but Alexander isn’t going to get here in at least a couple more minutes. That’s plenty of time to kill you, and destroy that little fortress…”