134, mighty and formidable.

Seeing the massive banner bearing the character "Bo" crash heavily to the ground, Huangfu Song finally snapped back to reality. Beaming with joy, he was too excited to form coherent words, his voice cracking entirely as he roared at the top of his lungs, "Quick! Advance the troops, beat the battle drums!"

"Boom, boom, boom, boom..." Tens of thousands of imperial soldiers moved as one, swarming forward to slaughter the remnants of the Yellow Turban rebel general Bo Cai's faction.

"Rescue the Supreme Pontiff!" Xu Shu waved his long sword, shouting at the top of his voice, "For the glory of the Holy Mother!" As a military strategist, out of sheer worry for Luan Yi, he had actually mounted a warhorse and charged straight into the enemy formation.

Seeing their commander's banner fall, the rebel soldiers mistakenly assumed their leader had been killed by Luan Yi. With the commander supposedly dead, there was no fight left in them; morale completely collapsed, and the will to fight vanished entirely. As the first deserter appeared, more and more men joined the rout, entirely ignoring every effort by the discipline enforcers dispatched by Bo Cai to stop them.

Seizing the moment, Huangfu Song unleashed his momentum, ordering the entire army to roar in unison, "Bo Cai is dead! Why not surrender early?"

Unaware of the truth and believing it hook, line, and sinker, a legion of rebels was instantly terrified by this well-intentioned lie, dropping to their knees to beg for surrender.

Having suffered consecutive defeats, Bo Cai was burning with anxiety and completely helpless. As he attempted to withdraw his remaining troops with him, he found himself completely surrounded by the encircling imperial forces and died amidst a hail of arrows.

Meanwhile, Xu Shu led the guards of the Templar Knight Battalion through the thick of the encirclement to rescue Luan Yi. With tears in his eyes, he pleaded with Luan Yi, "Brother Yi, can we... please not do something like that again next time?"

"Do what?" Luan Yi feigned ignorance, playing dumb.

"Stop being so damn reckless!" Inadvertently, Xu Shu had picked up quite a few of Luan Yi's catchphrases. He spoke angrily, tears spilling from his eyes as he hopped up and down in agitation.

A wave of warmth washed over Luan Yi, and his own eyes inadvertently grew damp. "Understood, understood! Next time, beat me to death and I still won't do such dangerous things, alright?"

"No, you have to swear an oath!" Xu Shu still remained uneasy.

Luan Yi smacked his lips, extended three fingers, and declared, "I, Luan Yi, hereby swear to the Holy Mother that from now on I will never again put myself in peril or disregard my own life. That should do it, right?"

Xu Shu broke into a tearful smile. "That's more like it!"

Watching Luan Yi being lectured to the point where he couldn't even raise his head, Zhao Yun and Taishi Ci exchanged glances. It was truly rare to see a subordinate and a lord interacting in such a manner, which clearly demonstrated the deep fraternal bond between Luan Yi and Xu Shu, as well as Luan Yi's magnanimous heart.

Once Xu Shu's anger subsided, the tense atmosphere dissipated along with it. A group of church generals gathered around Luan Yi, exchanged glances, and—to Luan Yi's stunned amazement—swarmed him, lifting him into the air with a flurry of hands and feet. "Fourth Brother is mighty! Haha... Old Zhang is truly convinced..."

"The Pontiff is mighty, valiant..."

"Hey? Second Brother, why are you joining in on the nonsense!" Luan Yi looked at the red-faced giant beside him, utterly dumbfounded. Even Lord Guan, who was normally as sparing of words as gold and as tranquil as still water, had actually joined in the game of tossing people into the air.

Lord Guan's phoenix eyes opened slightly as he smiled and said, "Second Brother is simply happy for Fourth Brother. Come on, brothers, toss him up..."

"As you command..."

"Ah!" Luan Yi felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. The wind whistled past his ears ceaselessly as his body grew lighter and lighter, floating straight toward the sky. Today's sky was such a brilliant blue, and the plains below were so vast and open... Everything was simply wonderful, and the future would be even better. It surely would!

As the fires of war subsided, soldiers from the other armies saw the forces of Jinan Commandery gathered in celebration, tossing Luan Yi up and down while laughing endlessly, and they too came over to join the crowd.

Cao Cao was among them. A profound sense of admiration welled up within him, mixed naturally with a touch of jealousy. Yet, ultimately, his admiration far outweighed his jealousy. Cao Cao could not help recalling that morning three years ago by the banks of the Wei River, the very first time he had laid eyes on Luan Yi at a poetry gathering. At that time, Luan Yi was merely a boy, yet within the short span of three years, he had achieved such astounding feats—becoming an army general whose military rank surpassed his own.

Did this achievement come out of nowhere? No, of course not. It was built upon countless battles just like the one today, forged through life-or-death struggles.

"Ziqi, how many more miracles will you create?" Cao Cao murmured softly. Pulling his thoughts back, he joined the celebration, stepping up to Dian Wei's side, grabbing one of Luan Yi's arms, and happily helping to toss Luan Yi into the air. "God of War... The God of War of the Great Han!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

Thousands of imperial soldiers echoed the cry in unison: "The God of War of the Great Han!" "Mighty!" Tens of thousands of surrendered troops shook like leaves in a sieve as they too became utterly convinced of Luan Yi's title as the "God of War."

If he were not a god, how could he take an enemy general's head from amidst tens of thousands of troops as easily as reaching into his pocket? How could he dare to slay generals and capture flags while heavily surrounded? More importantly, everyone across the entire Great Han proclaimed him to be a divine talent. What did a divine talent mean? Ordinary commoners didn't understand the complexities, but they knew it contained the word "god," and anything with "god" in it made him a deity!

In this battle, the imperial forces achieved total victory in one sweeping motion, recapturing Runan Commandery from the rebels with minimal casualties. Yuzhou was pacified.

Following the battle, Huangfu Song ordered all armies to rest and regroup on the spot, and hosted a grand banquet inside Runan City to reward the tripartite forces.

Inside the main hall of the prefectural office, four large eight-immortal tables were set up. The head table seated the primary commanders such as Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, Luan Yi, and Cao Cao, while Dian Wei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and other subordinate generals and junior officers occupied the secondary tables.

Dish after dish was laid out across the tables—mostly ordinary fare like scrambled eggs with scallions, stewed mother hen, and stewed dog meat, which had nothing whatsoever to do with gourmet delicacies. Yet, faced with such a spread, the normally picky Luan Yi ate with immense relish. The reason was simple: to immerse himself among the masses and demonstrate that everyone was treated equally, he had discarded his privileges as a commanding general, demanding to share the exact same food and lodging as the lowest-ranking soldiers. Consequently, having endured days of wind and exposure, his meals consisted entirely of hard rations or dry noodles washed down with water. On good days, he might manage to chew on some dried horse jerky, while on bad days there was no time to eat at all, forcing him to subsist purely on marching. For someone who hadn't really suffered any hardships since his past life, this was nothing short of a severe trial.

He silently endured it all, treating it as both character-building and a form of latent humanitarian concern for his subordinates. But while the consideration was there, his appetite was always acting up. Now, seeing meat—regardless of whether it was steamed or boiled—his eyes instantly turned green. He didn't care if it was salty, bland, sour, or sweet; as long as it was meat... everything tasted delicious!

Every single military officer in the hall was the same, gorging themselves, eating and drinking heartily to the great merriment of all.

Just as Luan Yi was eating with gusto, he heard someone coming over to offer him a toast. To his surprise, it was none other than Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun.

He quickly set down the chicken leg in his hand and said, "As both a junior and a subordinate, how could I possibly trouble the two generals to toast me? It is I who should be toasting the two generals."

Huangfu Song stroked his beard and smiled. "Ziqi is being too modest! Today is a celebration banquet, and Ziqi distinguished himself by slaying the enemy and boosting our military might, rendering the foremost contribution. Therefore, the two of us ought to toast our meritorious hero first!"

Luan Yi tried to decline further, but his wine bowl was intercepted and clinked by Huangfu Song first. This was the final word; he had no choice but to drink! Luan Yi had no option but to comply, following Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun by tilting his head back and draining the entire bowl of clear wine in one go.

"Fine capacity for liquor!" Zhu Jun praised loudly, adding, "Splendid, simply splendid! Ziqi's heroic drinking and slaying of Peng Tuo yesterday will surely be remembered for all eternity!"

"General, you flatter me! It was merely a momentary impulse on my part."

"Ah, Ziqi, do not be modest. Sometimes, impulse is a matter of righteousness, and even more so of courage. Fighting on the battlefield requires a certain degree of daring spirit." With that, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun exchanged a hearty laugh.

Zhu Jun picked up his chopsticks and shoved a large chunk of dog meat into his mouth. Chewing, he remarked, "Speaking of which, this method of communal dining that Ziqi created is indeed far more lively than each person having their own small table and eating separately. Even the dishes taste much more fragrant. Look at that..." He gestured with his chopsticks toward the three surrounding large tables and said, "If we dined separately, how could so many people possibly fit together?"

"It is indeed lively. And it makes conversation much more convenient!" Huangfu Song nodded in agreement.

"It was just a sudden flash of inspiration. I hope it didn't make a laughingstock of the two generals!" While Luan Yi was busy remaining modest, Cao Cao chimed in as if presenting a rare treasure, "That's not all! Ziqi once said that besides those benefits, this method of communal dining also conceals the principle of brothers sharing a single heart."

"Oh? How so?"

"May I ask the two generals, how was the character 'can' (meal/dine) written prior to the pre-Qin period?" Cao Cao countered with a question.

Compared to Zhu Jun, Huangfu Song was even more well-read. He dipped his finger in wine and drew a large character "Gui" (tureen/sacrificial vessel) on the table. "That won't stump this old man. In ancient times, the character for meal was written like this!"

"General, your learning is truly profound. It was indeed written that way. Now look at this character, generals—what is its posture? What does it resemble? And what is its underlying meaning?" Cao Cao fired off a series of questions.

Huangfu Song looked completely baffled. Zhu Jun urged him on, "Mengde, stop keeping us in suspense. Tell us quickly."

With a smile, Cao Cao explained, "Generals, look at this character 'Gui'. Doesn't the top part—the radical for bamboo—look like two people sitting facing each other? The component 'Gen' is related to 'Liang' (good), meaning two individuals with a profound relationship are keeping watch before a 'Min' (vessel). What is inside the vessel? There is no need to explain, of course—it's food. From this, we deduce that two people are dining out of the same 'vessel,' which signifies that their relationship is excellent!"

"So that's how it is!" Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun burst into laughter. "Wondrous, truly wondrous! What a brilliant 'Gui', and what a brilliant communal meal."

Cao Cao continued, "Moreover, according to Ziqi's theory, this is called tasting the five flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, pungent, and salty together, and sharing the two extremes of poverty and wealth. As long as people eat at the same table, regardless of status or position, they are brothers. What you eat, I eat; if I have a mouthful of meat, I won't let you drink creek water, and even if the food were laced with poison, I would face death alongside you. This is what we call sharing both blessings and misfortunes!"

Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun's eyes lit up. "Ziqi is truly a man of benevolence!"

Luan Yi repeatedly protested his modesty. "These are merely flattery words from brother Mengde; the two generals must not take them seriously!"

"Ziqi is being overly modest!" Zhu Jun chuckled heartily. "In that case, since we are drinking and dining at the same table, we are now brothers. For the sake of our fraternal bond, we must drink this bowl to the bottom!"

All the officers raised their bowls simultaneously and roared, "Bottoms up!"

Since everyone else had downed theirs, Luan Yi had no choice but to follow suit. "Bottoms up!"

As the primary contributor to this victory, Luan Yi received special attention from all the officers at the banquet. After Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, and Cao Cao toasted him, the other officers followed suit one after another. In what felt like no time at all, they had filled Luan Yi with enough alcohol to leave him dizzy, disoriented, and entirely bewildered.

What made it even more exasperating was that his own people—Xu Shu, Dian Wei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei—not only refused to block any of the drinks for him, but actually joined in the chaotic mess. Toasting was fine; considering they saw each other day in and day out and drank together constantly, he figured they could just go through the motions since there was an "enemy at the gates." But no, they insisted on draining full bowls, leaving behind the remark: "I've finished mine, Fourth Brother / Pontiff, drink as you please."

How on earth could anyone "drink as they please" with that kind of treatment!

Luan Yi swallowed hard, and could only follow along and drink up!

Before the first round of toasts was even finished, his tongue was already thick from the alcohol.