The Chasm: Lu Bu's Wrath Against the Abyss
Deep within the mining tunnels of The Chasm, damp mist and the sharp tang of ore lingered year-round. Even ordinary miners tread carefully here, fearful of stirring slumbering geo-spirits or plunging into bottomless pits. But ever since Lü Bu and his army seized the place, the air had grown heavy with killing intent—the clink of armor, the snorts of warhorses, and the shouts of drilling soldiers wove together the mark of rule belonging to none other than "Lü Bu, the finest among men." He set his main tent in a massive natural cavern, where stalactites hanging from the ceiling glinted like fangs in torchlight. Before the tent, his Sky-Shattering Halberd stood slanted in a stone crevice, radiating cold menace like a dormant beast ready to pounce.
Early that morning, before the patrols guarding the outer tunnels signaled for a shift change, a grating creak echoed from the abyss. At first it sounded like rock splitting, then it swelled into a dense, unearthly screech—no living creature under heaven could make such a sound. It carried bone-chilling cold and madness, flooding through every crack and fork of the tunnels like a tide.
"Enemy attack!" The sentry who first spotted the danger only managed a short cry before an Abyss monster lunged from the shadows and tore him apart. The creature sported a centipede's hundred legs, its upper body a twisted humanoid shape, and the mucus dripping from its claws corroded the rock with a hissing sizzle.
As alarms blared through The Chasm, Lü Bu sat in his tent polishing his halberd. At the noise, he snapped his head up. His tiger eyes, usually lazy and arrogant, narrowed sharply—and a bloodthirsty smirk curved his lips. "Good timing," he growled. Snatching the halberd with one hand, he shot out of the tent like a loosed arrow.
By then, the tunnel entrance had become a living hell. Tens of thousands of Abyss monsters poured from the rift like a black tide: enormous hilichurl berserkers wielding greataxes, their skin glowing sickly green, each swing cratering solid stone; floating Abyss Mages wreathed in auras of hydro, pyro, electro, and geo, unleashing waves of elemental power with a flick of the wrist, instantly freezing soldiers into ice statues or burning them to cinders; and swarms of tiny, ant-like hilichurls charging fearlessly with crude stone spears, using sheer numbers to close the gap with Lü Bu's troops.
"General! There are too many! The western tunnel is about to fall!" A blood-soaked lieutenant roared toward him—only to be swallowed whole by an Abyss worm bursting from the ground.
Far from flinching, Lü Bu burst into loud laughter. "A pack of trash, daring to run wild before me!" He stamped his foot hard, cracking the solid rock. Using the recoil, he shot forward like a scarlet lightning bolt, plunging straight into the densest horde.
The Sky-Shattering Halberd moved as if alive. A flick of his wrist sent its crescent blade arcing perfectly, severing three hilichurl berserkers' heads in an instant. Spinning, he swept the halberd's shaft, cutting through a dozen more hilichurls at the waist. Dark green blood splattered his armor, only making him look more ferocious.
"Peerless Might!" By now, Lü Bu's eyes burned crimson. The aura he exuded made the surrounding monsters freeze for a moment. This was his unique battle art—once unleashed, he became a god of war, his strength, speed, and reflexes pushed to their limit.
He fixed his gaze on the Abyss Mages in the distance, casually unleashing elemental magic. Floating high and thinking themselves safe, they grinned at the slaughter below. Lü Bu snorted and hurled his halberd. It sliced through the air with a piercing whistle, a scarlet dragon piercing straight through a cryo Abyss Mage's shield and nailing it to the wall. Before the others could react, Lü Bu leaped into the air, stepping on monster heads and corpses as if running on flat ground.
A pyro Abyss Mage hastily formed a giant fireball and hurled it at him. Lü Bu did not dodge. He grabbed the fireball with his left hand and crushed it! The searing flame singed his fingertips, but he did not even flinch. Yanking his halberd free from the rock, he swung it in a wide arc. With a wet squelch, another Abyss Mage was split in two, its elemental core bursting into sparks.
Lü Bu fought in a frenzy. At times he charged like a tiger, his halberd whirling into a storm that shredded whole groups of monsters. At others he darted like a nimble ape, slipping through the fray to pick off mages hiding in the rear. Every swing brought screams and death; every landing left a mound of corpses beneath his feet.
His soldiers were set ablaze by his valor. The terror of facing a hundred thousand monsters vanished, replaced by fanatical battle lust. "Fight with the general!" someone shouted. Ten thousand of Lü Bu's troops surged forward, forming tight formations, their blades weaving open bloody paths through the tide.
The battle raged from dawn till dusk, and on into the dead of night. The once-gloomy tunnels of The Chasm were stained dark green with monster blood, charred black by flame, and pale white by frost. The air reeked of blood, burnt flesh, and the sharp tang of residual elemental energy. The ground was buried under corpses and fragments, squelching like mud underfoot.
Lü Bu did not know how long he had fought. His armor was soaked in blood, his face spattered with grime—but his crimson eyes still blazed brightly. With a final thrust, he cut down the last electro Abyss Mage. Glancing down, he counted well over a hundred Abyss Mages slain by his own hand, and thousands more monsters crushed or cut apart by his halberd. "A thousand kills… not enough. Far from enough," he growled, charging back into the thickest fray.
When the first faint light touched the sky, the fighting slowly died down. Of the hundred thousand Abyss monsters, only corpses and a few whimpering stragglers remained. They stared at Lü Bu, standing like a war god among them, their eyes filled with nothing but fear, too paralyzed to move.
Lü Bu leaned on his halberd, breathing heavily. Sweat and blood dripped down his face. His soldiers collapsed, exhausted, but every face held the relief of survival and the pride of victory.
"Count the spoils," his voice was hoarse, but carried unshakable authority.
The report soon came: one hundred thirty-seven Abyss Mages killed, over thirty thousand Abyss monsters in total. Lü Bu's losses: fewer than three thousand.
Ten thousand against a hundred thousand. Thirty thousand enemies killed, losses under thirty percent. A feat worthy of history.
Lü Bu looked up at the Abyss rift—still pitch-black, as if countless threats lurked within. He did not care. He slammed his halberd into the ground, sending a deafening rumble through the caverns.
"Tell the trash in the Abyss," his voice boomed like thunder through The Chasm, "as long as Lü Bu lives, you shall not set foot here again! Next time you come, none shall return!"
Sunlight filtered through the tunnel cracks, falling on his bloodstained armor and glinting brilliantly. Against the sea of corpses, his figure stood tall and unyielding—an immortal war god guarding The Chasm.