Three Kingdoms: Zhang Fei was sent flying by a single spear thrust, leaving Liu Bei stunned.

Guan Yu's proud, jujube-colored face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. The veins on his hand, which was gripping the empty wine cup, bulged, and his knuckles cracked slightly from the excessive force. He abruptly raised his head, his narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes fixed on Zhang Ziqian, the anger, humiliation, and murderous intent in them almost bursting forth.

"you……"

He'd barely uttered a single word when an overwhelming arrogance surged within him. Who am I? I am Guan Yu, Guan Yunchang! How could I possibly get angry with such a boorish man here? Argue with him? That would be beneath my dignity!

He wanted to argue, to shout, to draw his sword. But when the words reached his lips, he couldn't utter a single one.

Because what the other party said was true.

He couldn't win against them.

Let alone stealing, he would need to be fully focused and fight Hua Xiong head-on for more than a dozen rounds before finding an opportunity to win. But this man in front of him, from the moment he appeared until the end, probably didn't even take as long as he drank that cup of wine.

Catching a blade barehanded.

The steel knife was broken.

He was cut in half at the waist with a single spear thrust.

Every image was like a red-hot branding iron, deeply imprinted in his mind, turning his proud martial arts skills and strength into a huge joke.

This feeling of powerless frustration was worse than death.

Guan Yu suddenly smashed the wine cup in his hand on the ground!

"Clang!"

The wine glass shattered on the hard ground.

Without uttering a word, without even glancing at Zhang Ziqian again, and without greeting anyone, he picked up his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, turned and left, his back view filled with endless desolation and anger.

The atmosphere inside the tent was extremely awkward.

Liu Bei, recovering from his shock, saw his second brother humiliated and left, and a surge of old and new resentment welled up in his heart. He abruptly stood up, pointed at Zhang Ziqian, his voice trembling: "You! You've gone too far!"

Zhang Ziqian glanced at him, feeling somewhat puzzled.

"How did I bully him? I was just trying to be helpful by reminding him so he wouldn't make a wasted trip next time. Look, he went out all that trouble, but I got the kill, and he got nothing and wasted his energy. What a loss!" He shrugged, looking completely sincere. "I was doing it for his own good."

"puff--"

A minor lord nearby had just picked up his water cup to calm his nerves when he heard this. He spat out a mouthful of water, choking so badly that his face turned red and he coughed violently.

Liu Bei was so enraged by Zhang Ziqian's twisted logic that he trembled, his face turning red. He pointed at Zhang Ziqian and stammered "You, you, you" for a long time, but couldn't find a single word to refute him. Yes, logically speaking, it seems... he really wasn't wrong?

"That's enough!"

Alliance leader Yuan Shao slammed his hand on the table, making a loud "bang".

He simply couldn't take it anymore. This brute under Cao Cao was a complete troublemaker! First, he beat Zhang Fei, offending Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei; now he publicly humiliated Guan Yu, pushing back the hearts of the people Cao Cao had worked so hard to win over.

Most importantly, this guy's existence instilled a deep-seated fear in everyone.

A monster capable of instantly killing Zhang Fei and Hua Xiong stood right behind Cao Cao. This made Yuan Shao, who was already arrogant and considered himself the leader of the alliance, feel as if he had a fishbone stuck in his throat and a thorn in his back.

He looked at Cao Cao, his tone filled with undisguised accusation: "Mengde! Is this the good general under your command? He has no respect for the alliance leader, despises his colleagues, and is arrogant and rude! If he is not disciplined, he will utterly disgrace our allied forces!"

Yuan Shu immediately jumped in to fan the flames: "Brother Benchu ​​is right! Such a vicious and unruly fellow will only cause trouble in the army sooner or later! In my opinion, he should be arrested and punished for the crime of disrupting morale!"

Immediately, many of the warlords in the tent began to echo their sentiments. They were jealous that Cao Cao had acquired such a formidable man, and even more afraid that this formidable man might not belong to them. Since they couldn't have him, they would destroy him, or at least make Cao Cao lose him as well.

Cao Cao was overjoyed inside, but his face showed a troubled expression. He stood up and bowed to the crowd.

"Please calm down, everyone, please calm down." He sighed, looking troubled. "Ziqian... sigh, he's just that straightforward, a bit dim-witted, he says whatever comes to mind, and he has absolutely no malicious intent. He just performed a great feat for our allied forces, killing a general. If we punish him now, wouldn't that discourage all the heroes in the world?"

He paused, then changed the subject, looking at Zhang Ziqian with a stern face and scolding, "Ziqian! Hurry up and apologize to Lord Xuande and the other generals! You blockhead, can't you watch your mouth?"

Zhang Ziqian was looking down at the calluses on his hands, wondering if they were from when he broke the blade earlier, when Cao Cao suddenly called out to him. He looked up in confusion.

"Huh? Apologize? Why?" He looked completely innocent. "Did I say something wrong?"

The little voice inside him was screaming: "What the hell? I helped you take down the enemy, and not only do you not give me a reward, you want me to apologize? What kind of bizarre logic is this? I really can't understand the thought process of these ancient people. I should have known better than to come out and let them dawdle with Hua Xiong. I could have slept a little longer."

Seeing his expression, Cao Cao knew he didn't understand at all. He was both annoyed and amused, so he raised his voice and said, "You contradicted Guan Yu and angered Lord Xuande. Shouldn't you apologize?"

"Oh," Zhang Ziqian replied reluctantly. He found the whole thing incredibly boring, but since the boss had spoken, he had to give him some face.

He walked up to Liu Bei, gave him a perfunctory bow, and said, "Um... Big Ears, I'm sorry. I didn't know your brother had such a weak mentality; he ran away after just one sentence. I'll be more careful next time and won't tell him the truth."

"You...!" Liu Bei almost fainted on the spot because he couldn't catch his breath.

Is this an apology? This is clearly rubbing salt into the wound!

The air inside the tent seemed to freeze. Everyone looked at Zhang Ziqian as if he were a god. They had never seen anyone so infuriating in their lives.

Cao Cao rubbed his forehead, feeling a throbbing pain in his temples. He realized he had underestimated Zhang Ziqian's ability to incite hatred.

"Haha...hahaha..." In the midst of this awkward atmosphere, Cao Cao suddenly burst into laughter, breaking the deadlock.

He walked over to Zhang Ziqian, patted him hard on the back, and said to everyone, "You all saw it. My brother here is just that kind of honest and straightforward person; he can't keep things to himself. Please forgive him for the great contributions he has made to the alliance."

He said "simple and honest" but in his heart he was thinking, "Is this kid really stupid or just pretending? His words are so shrewd, he can kill without shedding blood. But... I like it! I've long been disgusted by Liu Bei's hypocritical behavior, and Ziqian's actions have really helped me vent my anger."

Yuan Shao and the others turned ashen-faced, wanting to say something more, but Cao Cao had already brought out the plaque praising their "great achievements." They had just killed Hua Xiong, and now Cao Cao wanted to punish them? That was indeed unreasonable.

"Hmph!" Yuan Shao snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves and sat down, saying nothing more.

Yuan Shu, realizing he had made a fool of himself, shut his mouth in embarrassment.

The whole incident was thus glossed over by Cao Cao through a combination of attack and deflection.

Zhang Ziqian had no interest in the infighting among these feudal lords; he only wanted to confirm one thing.

"System, system! Come out quickly! Have the points been credited yet?" he frantically shouted in his mind.

[Ding! Detected that the host has killed the renowned general Hua Xiong!]

[Judgment: Crushing annihilation! Achievement: Devastating!]

[Due to the highly impactful and decisive kill performed on the battlefield, causing a significant psychological shock to both sides, the additional reward is currently being calculated...]

[Gained 1000 base points!]

[Achievement Reward: Unstoppable, +500 points!]

[Receive an extra amazing reward: +500 points!]

[Total points earned: 2000! Host's current total points: 6500!]

"Two thousand points!" Zhang Ziqian was overjoyed. Wow, I'm rich! This Hua Xiong is such a good guy! Not only did he give me kills, but he did it so well, giving me so many extra rewards! That's equivalent to four bottles of ice-cold soda!