Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

Wang Shuang felt a tremendous force coming from the gun barrel, which made his hands go numb and his arms ache.

He was shocked: This Hua Xiong... he's so strong!!!

Hua Xiong was also taken aback: This guy can withstand one of my blows, so he's not bad.

The two fought fiercely, their swords and spears clashing, raising clouds of dust in the air.

Twenty rounds...forty rounds...fifty rounds...

Wang Shuang gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

Hua Xiong's blade grew faster and heavier, each strike feeling as if it would cleave a person in two.

Wang Shuang gritted his teeth and persevered, veins bulging on his forehead, sweat streaming down his face.

Sixty rounds... seventy rounds...

Wang Shuang was struggling; he could only barely parry and had no power to fight back.

Hua Xiong's knife swung back and forth in front of him, almost striking him several times.

The feudal lords could see it clearly from the wooden wall.

Yuan Shu frowned and said, "That's it? This won't do."

Cao Cao remained silent, his gaze fixed intently on the arena.

Fang Yue couldn't stand it anymore.

He spurred his horse and charged forward!

"Third brother, don't panic! I'm here!"

Fang Yue drew her sword and joined the match, slashing at Hua Xiong from behind!

Hua Xiong reacted extremely quickly, sweeping his broadsword horizontally and deflecting Fang Yue's broadsword with a "clang." He then spun around, forcing the two of them to retreat repeatedly.

"Two against one?" Hua Xiong laughed loudly, "Excellent! Grandpa was just thinking one wouldn't be enough to chop down!"

The three fought fiercely, their swords flashing and spears clashing, the battle so intense it darkened the sky.

On the camp wall, Yuan Shao watched with great interest: "These two are really good fighters; they've held out for so long."

Yuan Shu curled his lip and said, "What's the use of holding out any longer? We can't even win a two-on-one fight, how shameful!"

Cao Cao remained silent, his eyes fixed intently on the battle.

Sun Jian, an expert himself, shook his head and said, "These two brothers are skilled in martial arts, but they are still a step behind Hua Xiong."

later......

Eighty rounds... one hundred rounds...

Fang Yue and Wang Shuang worked together seamlessly, one attacking from the left and the other from the right, one sweeping upwards and the other sweeping downwards.

But Hua Xiong fought with increasing ferocity, wielding his broadsword with incredible speed and skill, showing no signs of being at a disadvantage!

After 120 rounds, Fang Yue and Wang Shuang were covered in sweat, their arms ached, and their sword and spear techniques were gradually becoming chaotic.

Hua Xiong seized an opening, swept his broadsword horizontally, forcing the two to retreat repeatedly, and then slashed, almost hitting Fang Yue's shoulder!

Fang Yue broke out in a cold sweat. Seizing an opportunity, she mustered all her strength and smashed Hua Xiong's broadsword aside with a single blow. Then, she grabbed Wang Shuang and shouted:

"withdraw!"

The two men turned their horses and galloped away without looking back, rushing into the camp gate in a flash. With a "bang," the gate slammed shut.

Hua Xiong chased after him for a few steps, then reined in his horse, looked up to the sky, and laughed loudly:

"Hahaha! That's it? That's it! You can't even beat two against one, and you still have the nerve to brag? Go back and tell your alliance leader to send a few more capable fighters! Stop sending this kind of trash!"

After laughing, he led his men back triumphantly.

...

Fang Yue and Wang Shuang entered the central command tent looking disheveled.

Upon entering, they saw all the feudal lords staring at them from the tent.

Those eyes held disappointment, mockery, and amusement...

Yuan Shu was the first to speak, his voice sarcastic and sickeningly so:

"Hey, you two brave warriors are back? You've had a tough time. Two against one, huh? You fought for ages, but you ran away pretty fast. I thought you were something special, but this is all you've got?"

Fang Yue and Wang Shuang lowered their heads, their faces flushed red, unable to utter a single word.

Yuan Shu got more and more excited as he spoke, "All you did before the fight was talk, 'Little Hua Xiong is no match for you,' 'I could take him down with one hand,' tsk tsk tsk, you guys are pretty good with your words, but your hand-to-hand combat skills are lacking. You couldn't even beat someone two against one, have you no shame?"

Wang Shuang clenched her fists, wanting to refute, but found that she really had no face to refute.

Fang Yue lowered her head even further, wishing there was a crack in the ground she could disappear into.

Liu Bei stood to the side, his face also looking very grim.

He was also heartbroken that his two brothers had been beaten like this.

He was about to say something...

Yuan Shu had already turned his attention to him, saying:

"Liu Bei! What did you just say? If you can't defeat Hua Xiong, you'll behead me first, right?"

Liu Bei's heart skipped a beat.

Yuan Shu sneered, "I'll lower my standards a bit. I won't cut off your head first. I'll cut off all three of your heads together! Neatly and cleanly, how about that? Pretty good, right?"

He waved his hand and shouted towards the outside of the tent, "Men! Throw these three out and behead them!"

Several soldiers rushed in, ready to attack.

Liu Bei's face turned deathly pale, while Fang Yue and Wang's eyes widened in disbelief, yet they couldn't utter a single word.

The tent was filled with feudal lords, but no one spoke.

Yuan Shao held his teacup, slowly blowing on the steam, as if he hadn't heard anything.

Sun Jian lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought.

Kong Rong stroked his beard, his face showing an expression that said, "Oh dear, youthful impulsiveness is the devil," but he didn't say anything.

People like Liu Dai, Zhang Miao, and Qiao Mao either looked to the heavens or the earth, but nobody paid attention to Liu Bei.

The soldiers were about to drag the three of them out...

"Wait a moment!"

A voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice... and it was Cao Cao.

Cao Cao stood up, walked to Yuan Shu, and cupped his hands in greeting, saying:

"Please calm down, Gonglu. The three Liu brothers were sent by Liu Ce, the King of Yan. Who is the King of Yan? He is the late emperor's younger brother and the current emperor's uncle, who controls the three provinces of You, Ji, and Bing..."

He paused, then emphasized, "Who supplied half of the provisions we're currently consuming? It was the Prince of Yan! The Prince of Yan, acting in the name of Ji Province, sent us provisions—what a great favor that is! If we were to kill his men, what would he think?"

He paused, glanced at the crowd, and said:

"Furthermore, although Fang Yue and Wang Shuang didn't win, they were able to fight Hua Xiong for nearly a hundred rounds and escape unscathed. That's quite impressive. How many of you generals here could have done that?"

These words made everyone a little embarrassed. Indeed, their generals might not have been as good as these two.

Cao Cao continued:

"If we kill them today, Hua Xiong will come again tomorrow. Who will fight then? Will you all go yourselves? Why not keep them alive and let them fight again next time Hua Xiong comes? Maybe we'll win then. It's better than sending our own people to their deaths, isn't it?"

Yuan Shu's expression changed; he wanted to refute, but couldn't find a reason.

Yuan Shao also realized what was happening.

That's right, Liu Bei is Liu Ce's man! If we kill them, how will we explain it to Liu Ce? That guy holds three provinces in his hands... what if he turns against us...?

He quickly put down his teacup and tried to smooth things over:

"Gonglu, Mengde is right. We must prioritize the overall situation. Let them go this time, and if Hua Xiong comes again next time, let all three of them come at once! If we still can't win, we can deal with them then."

Yuan Shu snorted, flicked his sleeves, sat back down, and remained silent.