Chapter 63

Yuan Fang felt a sharp pain in his right eye, as if a needle was hidden in it and was rapidly drilling outwards.

The piercing pain made Yuan Fang groan, and he almost dropped the bow and arrow in his hand.

"What's going on? Why is my eye suddenly so painful?"

Just as Yuan Fang was startled and puzzled, the pain suddenly disappeared in the next breath.

This sudden eye pain, which came and went, left Yuan Fang utterly baffled. However, he did not realize that in that instant, his eye had undergone a subtle change.

Beside the pupil of his right eye, a black spot had silently appeared.

The spot was as small as a grain of rice, shaped like a miniature pupil.

Double pupils! Yuan Fang's right eye had become a double pupil!

Yuan Fang, of course, could not see that his right eye had grown another small pupil, but when he opened his eyes and aimed at Zang Ba behind him again, he made a surprising discovery.

In his field of vision, Zang Ba's figure had suddenly become more than twice as large.

He could even clearly see the sweat beads rolling down Zang Ba's forehead.

His eyes were like a sniper's scope, suddenly magnifying Zang Ba, the target, by two times.

After the initial shock, Yuan Fang quickly realized that this must be due to the biochemical virus in his body causing his body to change again at a critical moment.

The virus itself had an extremely strong ability to adapt to environmental changes and could even alter its structure at any time to adapt to dangerous environments and protect itself.

Yuan Fang speculated that after injecting this biochemical virus, he not only gained the ability to regenerate but also possessed the virus's ability to change his body structure to cope with dangerous environments.

In the current situation, with Zang Ba chasing him and his desperate need to aim at Zang Ba, he might have just triggered this latent ability, causing his eyes to undergo this miraculous change.

Apart from this, Yuan Fang could not think of any other reasonable explanation.

He had no time to think, as Zang Ba, unaware of what was happening, was charging at him with a large spear.

"Alright, Zang Ba, this is you running into the muzzle, don't blame me."

Yuan Fang took a deep breath, drew the bowstring to its fullest, and aimed the arrow at Zang Ba again.

In his field of vision, the figure that was previously blurry and hard to aim at had suddenly doubled in size, making it impossible for it to escape the arrow's range no matter how it moved.

In the next breath, he released the arrow, which whistled towards Zang Ba.

Hearing the whistling wind, Zang Ba, knowing that Yuan Fang was shooting an arrow at him, did not dodge but charged forward on his horse with his chest out.

Even a smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Kid Yuan Fang, with your lousy archery skills, I wouldn't even bother to dodge. If you can hit me, I'll write my name backwards!"

The arrow, surrounded by a cold glow, pierced through the air.

Pfft!

The sharp arrow hit Zang Ba's right chest.

"How is this possible? How could he hit me? How could he...?"

Zang Ba's face changed dramatically, and all his contempt vanished in an instant when he was hit by the arrow.

Infinite shock and pain instantly overwhelmed him, and under the intense pain of the arrow wound, Zang Ba lost his balance and fell off his horse with a groan.

At such a close distance, and without armor for protection, even with his skin as thick as cowhide, Zang Ba could not withstand such an arrow.

Hitting the mark, Yuan Fang was overjoyed. His tense nerves relaxed, and as his mood eased, the second small pupil in his eye faded away, and the ability to magnify his vision disappeared.

Yuan Fang did not have time to think. He turned his horse around, raised his skull-crushing club, and came to Zang Ba's side.

Zang Ba, who had just struggled to get up, was still unsteady when Yuan Fang's towering figure loomed over him in the shadow.

Without his weapon and having lost his horse, and with a serious injury, Zang Ba was no match for Yuan Fang.

Zang Ba was well aware of this. He clutched his arrow wound, his face dark, and gritted his teeth. "Liu Bei was right; you are indeed a treacherous and cunning fellow. If you're going to kill me, do it quickly!"

He clearly thought that Yuan Fang had deliberately missed his previous shots to make him lower his guard so that he could hit him with the final arrow.

But Zang Ba could never have imagined that the reason Yuan Fang hit him was completely different from what he thought.

Hearing his angry words, Yuan Fang snorted. "Liu Bei again. If I'm not mistaken, Liu Bei probably also told you that I, Yuan Fang, am cruel and inhumane, that my iron hooves trample, burn, and plunder, and that I do every evil deed, right?"

Zang Ba was taken aback, his face showing surprise, clearly hit by Yuan Fang's words.

Seeing Zang Ba's expression, Yuan Fang knew that Liu Bei had spread rumors about him, all the way from Qingzhou to Xuzhou.

Suppressing his surprise, Zang Ba countered, "Isn't that true?"

Yuan Fang did not argue but laughed. "I, Yuan Fang, act with integrity. Why should I fear the slander of a small man? Let Liu Bei spread his rumors as he pleases."

Yuan Fang's arrogance and confident demeanor seemed to shock Zang Ba for a moment.

He frowned and said solemnly, "Talking about this is useless. I, Zang Ba, am in your hands. Do what you will."

Zang Ba thought that Yuan Fang would certainly kill him.

Yuan Fang, however, sneered. "If I really wanted to kill you, I would have hit your chest with the first arrow. Why would I go through the trouble of doing this?"

Zang Ba was taken aback again, his face showing confusion, not knowing when Yuan Fang had made this decision.

At this moment, a group of his personal troops arrived, and Yuan Fang ordered them to bind Zang Ba and take him back to camp to have a doctor treat his wounds.

Zang Ba was well-respected in the Qing and Xu regions and was a capable general. Yuan Fang wanted to keep him alive to use his influence and abilities to oppose Tao Qian.

After capturing Zang Ba, Yuan Fang returned to the battlefield and continued his slaughter.

The killing lasted from late at night until dawn, ending only when the sky was bright.

As the sun rose and the morning light shone, the southeast gates of Gaomi were covered with corpses and rivers of blood.

Yan Liang also arrived with Wu Dun's head, meeting up with Guo Huai. Both of them were shouting in excitement about the thrill of the battle.

The fire in Gaomi burned until mid-afternoon before gradually dying down.

This fire, combined with the ambush outside the city, resulted in heavy casualties for the 15,000 Xuzhou troops, with nearly 3,000 captured and the rest scattered in retreat.

The Xuzhou army, which had come with great momentum, was defeated by Yuan Fang in a single night.

The defeated soldiers fled south in panic, bringing the news of Zang Ba's defeat to Liu Bei's rear army.

In the northernmost part of Langya, in Dongwu City.

Liu Bei's 5,000 rear army had been stationed here for three days but had not moved.

In the county hall, Liu Bei and his two brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, were drinking wine by the stove, discussing their future plans.

"Brother, we've been holed up here for three days. Why haven't we moved north to take revenge on that scoundrel Yuan Fang?" Zhang Fei asked, puzzled.

Liu Bei smiled without speaking, a sly look on his face.

Guan Yu stroked his long beard and said slowly, "We finally got 5,000 troops from Tao Qian. How can we easily use them to fight a bloody battle with that young brat Yuan Fang? Let Zang Ba fight him, and we'll follow behind to reap the benefits."

Guan Yu understood Liu Bei's intentions and explained on his behalf.

Liu Bei chuckled and said proudly, "That brat Yuan Fang is in a difficult situation both inside and out. He is no match for Zang Ba. And Zang Ba is a guest army and cannot stand in Qingzhou. When we return to Qingzhou with these 5,000 troops, we will have no trouble rising again."

Liu Bei explained his deeper intentions, and Zhang Fei finally understood, praising his brother's wisdom.

Liu Bei became even more pleased and raised his cup to drink.

Just as the cup was about to reach his lips, a personal guard rushed in and bowed. "My lord, urgent news from Gaomi. Our army was defeated by Yuan Fang's forces, with heavy casualties, and General Zang Ba was captured in battle!"

Clang!

Liu Bei's wine cup fell from his hand.