"Young man, you’re too arrogant! Although I’m not well, I still have these hundreds of Yellow Turban warriors. You can’t defeat me!"

"Oh, is that so?"

Immediately, in a cold voice, he ordered, "Attack!"

The five hundred guards behind him instantly mobilized, raising their Zhuge Crossbows, their glinting iron arrowheads akin to lethal poison!

They shot out.

The Zhuge Crossbow could fire multiple arrows with immense power. A single arrow could pierce through iron armor and a person’s body.

Zhang Jiao suddenly felt the imminent threat of death!

"Form up! Raise the shields!"

"Hey!"

The Yellow Turban warriors murmured lowly.

Gigantic golden shields were held in front of Zhang Jiao, deflecting the crossbow arrows.

However, the durability of these golden shields was decreasing rapidly. It was feared they wouldn’t last much longer against the barrage of arrows.

Once the durability was depleted, the shields would turn to fragments, and Zhang Jiao would be left defenseless, akin to a lamb waiting to be slaughtered!

At this critical moment of life and death.

A tender voice rang out!

"Don’t hurt my daddy!"

Following that was a young woman dressed in a black gown.

Long Chen estimated the girl to be around seventeen or eighteen years old.

Her skin was delicate and fair, her eyes clear, with a small beauty mark beneath almond-shaped eyes, her appearance quite beautiful.

While the woman’s appearance could be considered beautiful, she was far from the stunning beauty of Diaochan, but compared to palace concubines, she didn’t seem inferior.

Long Chen internally compared; this woman’s beauty was second only to Diaochan’s. She surpassed many other women, exuding a pure and serene aura.

At that moment, the girl stood in front of Zhang Jiao, her almond eyes coldly fixed on Long Chen, radiating a hint of killing intent.

However, for Long Chen, such an intent was still too weak.

Before Long Chen could react, Zhang Jiao was already furious, loudly reprimanding the girl.

"Ning’er! Why are you here? Didn’t I send someone to escort you out of the city?"

No wonder Zhang Jiao was so angry. Days ago, he had used stargazing to predict today’s defeat. Hence, he had instructed several hundred Yellow Turban guards to protect Ning’er and take her out of the city amid the chaos caused by the Han army’s siege.

But he hadn’t expected this girl to be so stubborn and willful.

"Ningtang! Ning’er, how should I even talk to you!"

Zhang Jiao coughed several times in a row, growing more and more angry at the girl’s behavior.

The girl furrowed her brows, scolding, "Father, how could I leave you behind? We should leave together!"

"Oh..." Zhang Jiao’s face grew paler, his body growing weaker.

"What a touching family drama! You’ve really moved me."

Long Chen smirked devilishly, even clapping his hands.

Such a reaction seemed somewhat odd at that moment.

"Since that’s the case, let me fulfill your wishes... Archers, fire..."op

Before he could finish, a tremendous thunderous intent erupted wildly from Zhang Jiao’s body.

"The thunderous intent, exploding outside his body, seemed like the descent of a thunder god. Invincible!"

"Master! Retreat quickly! This old man is about to make a last-ditch counterattack. We can’t resist this!"

Xu Chu shouted loudly, his rock-like muscles tensed!

Long Chen’s brows furrowed. He noticed that the arrow rain he had released earlier had all been neutralized by the thunder-formed shield. Moreover, that thunder seemed to be shaping into a thunder spear.

"Zhang Jiao, your actions will only hasten your demise!"

"Hahaha! It’s better to perish together with you all than to die alone!"

Zhang Jiao’s expression suddenly turned manic, and the thunderous aura grew even more terrifying.

Long Chen’s mind raced. If this continued, both he and Xu Chu would perish here. Zhang Jiao was indeed the most formidable boss. Even injured, he was like an injured fierce tiger, ready to counterattack at any moment!

What to do in this crisis?

At that critical moment, Long Chen saw the black-robed woman, Zhang Ning, who wore the same expression of resignation to death.

This woman was Zhang Jiao’s daughter, his only daughter.

Realizing this, Long Chen instantly formulated a plan.

"Zhang Jiao, do you want to throw your daughter into the fire?"

This statement had an immediate effect, dissipating some of the surrounding thunderous intent.

Zhang Jiao’s tyrannical gaze suddenly turned puzzled. He looked back at Zhang Ning, a trace of sorrow rising in his heart.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Jiao roared in a low voice, "...Fine... You want my head, right? I’ll give it to you... But... You must promise me... not to harm Ning’er..."

"Father! No, Ning’er is willing to die with you!"

Zhang Ning’s almond eyes were filled with tears, and her black teardrop-shaped mole was covered in streaks of tears as she sobbed.

"Ning’er... Be good... You must live on..."

He gently caressed her hair.

Then, turning calmly toward Long Chen, he said, "I can spare your life, even give my life to you... But... you must promise me... to take good care of my daughter..."

Without hesitation, Long Chen nodded solemnly, "I promise!"

"Hmph! Mere words won’t suffice! You must swear to the Thunder God above the Nine Heavens, and only then can I rest assured!"

Zhang Jiao could wield some of the Thunder God’s power. He had a close relationship with the Thunder God, almost like a disciple.

If Long Chen swore to the Thunder God and broke his promise, he would be struck by the Thunder God’s celestial thunder until death!

Long Chen’s eyes darkened, but at this moment, he had no other choice!

If he didn’t agree, he would die under Zhang Jiao’s last-ditch counterattack.

"Hurry up! Don’t delay, or else I’ll take you all down with me!" Zhang Jiao urged.

"Good! Thunder God above! Long Chen swears: in this life, I will take good care of Zhang Ning!"

After the oath, Long Chen suddenly felt an imperceptible connection with Zhang Ning. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Zhang Ning also sensed it, but her beautiful eyes were filled with hatred. If it weren’t for the man in front of her, her father wouldn’t be in such a dire situation...

"Good! Since you’ve done it, I won’t break my promise! You can take my life at any time!"

After a pause, Zhang Jiao gave some instructions to the surrounding Yellow Turban warriors and handed the sacred staff to Zhang Ning.

Then, Zhang Ning was enchanted by Zhang Jiao’s spell, and a few female Yellow Turban warriors carried her away.

Zhang Jiao took out two skill books emitting a golden light from his Daoist robe.

As if reminiscing, and somewhat reluctant.

"Sigh, I have some regrets! At the beginning of the Yellow Turban uprising, the momentum was vast and magnificent. I didn’t expect that in just a few months, it would decline... Well, young man, since you’re willing to take care of my Ning’er, we’re not strangers. These two books are the culmination of my life’s learning. I’ll give them to you!"

Long Chen gladly accepted the golden-glittering books, causing a stir of emotions in his heart.

"The Book of Great Peace":

Extra Strategy Value +20

Can enchant subordinates for an hour; as the level increases, the duration extends. Subordinates, when enchanted, gain a damage increase of 150%.

"Fallen Thunder": Three levels in total.

Condense the might of thunder, casting down thunder punishment on the target (damage rate 120%).

Gather the power of thunder into a spear, throwing it forward to pierce through everything, knocking back enemies along the way, dealing thunder damage (damage rate 150%, with paralysis effect).

(God. Seal) Comparable to an SSS divine skill, transform into the body of the Thunder God, destroying everything in its path (damage rate 200%) (using it in a fatigued state will drain the host’s life force).

"Ding! Congratulations on acquiring the SSS divine-level skill ’The Book of Great Peace.’ Would you like to learn it?"

"Ding! Congratulations on acquiring the SS-level skill ’Fallen Thunder.’ Would you like to learn it?"

"Learn all!" Long Chen silently declared.

"Ding! The SSS divine skill ’The Book of Great Peace’ additionally increases Strategy Value by 20..."

These were top-notch strategical (magical) skills. However, it seemed like he was taking the path of a warrior, unintentionally.

Well, he had to reluctantly take the route of both physical and magical cultivation now.

Thanks to the additional effects of the SSS divine skill, his Strategy Value had increased significantly!

It was like being a warrior with strong burst power in close combat and a long-range attacking mage!

This was simply awesome!

Moreover, it was fortunate that Zhang Jiao had given him these two skills in advance. Otherwise, if he killed Zhang Jiao, he might not have obtained such divine skills!

"Thank you, Master Zhang!"

Long Chen bowed sincerely from the bottom of his heart.

Regardless of the circumstances, Zhang Jiao had done him a great favor, providing him with tremendous benefits. It was only appropriate for him to show respect.

Long Chen felt too embarrassed to kill Zhang Jiao after all this.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up!" Zhang Jiao said calmly.

Seeing their lord not giving the order, Xu Chu and the others naturally didn’t dare to act rashly, only glaring at Zhang Jiao and the few guards behind him.

"I understand your concern, but even if you don’t act, I can’t avoid death..." Zhang Jiao spoke calmly. "Better to have a swift death than be humiliated by the Han army!"

Long Chen wasn’t one to hesitate or be indecisive. Besides, the sounds of battle outside the mansion were growing louder.

If he didn’t take action now, someone else might claim the credit. After all, under the siege of the Han army, even with Zhang Jiao’s extraordinary abilities, it would be impossible to escape the encirclement of hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

He slowly raised his blood-drinking blade and approached Zhang Jiao.

As he faced this elder who had disregarded life and death, his heart twitched inexplicably.

"Remember... to treat... the people well..."

"Chen, I will remember!"

"Zhang Gong, forgive me!"

The blood-drinking blade swiftly pierced Zhang Jiao’s chest. The strike was as quick as lightning, causing Zhang Jiao to feel no pain before meeting his end.

"Ding! Killed General of Heaven Zhang Jiao, experience +80000."

"Ding! Congratulations, you have leveled up to level 61!"

Simultaneously, a shining golden tiger tally fell into Long Chen’s palm.

Two words were written in seal script: "Warrior."

It was none other than the third-tier special unit Long Chen had been longing for—the Yellow Turban Warrior!

...

Meanwhile, at the mansion’s entrance, the gate was forcefully knocked down.

"Hahaha! Big boss, you’re mine! Supreme skill, [Golden Mysterious Gift], I, Monkey King, have arrived!"

"Brothers, follow me!"

Monkey King felt an indescribable joy within him.

He had faced countless difficulties on this journey, lost tens of thousands of Super Bombing members, and only reached General Zhang Jiao’s mansion with the help of General Zhu Jun.

Zhang Bao, that Earth General, was too stubborn, so Monkey King decisively abandoned Zhang Bao and chose to attack the heavily wounded Zhang Jiao instead.