Lü Bu Wields His Halberd to Conquer Snezhnaya
Lü Bu led five thousand soldiers of the Trapped Camp to storm across the borders of Snezhnaya, breaching ten strongholds in a row and beheading twelve generals in battle.
As Capitano, the Captain of Snezhnaya, was pierced through the chest by the Sky-Piercing Halberd, he stared in disbelief:
"You… are not from Teyvat…"
The wind-up spring of the doll maiden, Sandrone, was torn clean from her body. Her metal fingers scrabbled uselessly against Lü Bu's armor.
When the Frozen Throne came into view, Lü Bu held his halberd aloft and laughed loudly:
"This shall make a worthy dowry for my beloved Diaochan!"
The wind in Snezhnaya cut like a knife laced with shards of ice, stinging sharply against the face. The endless snowfield stretched white between heaven and earth, save for the silent column of black-armored troops, burning like a red-hot iron rod, stabbing violently into this pure, silent world. The five thousand men of the Trapped Camp wore heavy armor stained with fresh blood; their breath frosted over beneath their iron visors, and their steps shattered the frozen earth, heavy as war drums. They surrounded the inhuman figure ahead—Lü Bu.
He rode Red Hare, a steed twice the size of an ordinary warhorse, its mane blazing like fire, wildly fluttering in the snowstorm. Each hoofbeat left spiderweb cracks across the hardened ground. Lü Bu himself was like a descending demon god. His Beast-Swallowing Linked Armor glinted with a dark metallic sheen under the pale sky; his tied-hair purple-gold crown seemed to pierce the low-hanging leaden clouds. In his hand, the Sky-Piercing Halberd slanted toward the ground, its long, narrow blade shimmering coldly, as if thirsting for blood. He narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing toward the end of the blizzard, his gaze colder than the extreme frost of Snezhnaya.
They had arrived. Above the snowline, the outline of the first fortress wall emerged, along with the neatly arrayed Snezhnayan army waiting beneath it. Banners flapped loudly in the wind, bearing the mark of the Fatui.
A cruel smile tugged at the corner of Lü Bu's mouth. Without even turning to address his troops, he simply pointed his halberd forward.
"Crush them."
No roars, no battle cries—only the thunderous clatter of five thousand suits of armor accelerating, like the low rumble of an avalanche beginning. The Trapped Camp moved, shifting from silent march to savage charge. The black tide of steel tore through the snow curtain in an instant.
At the first fortress, the commander brandished a giant ice-crystal axe and roared to meet them. Red Hare moved like a red bolt of lightning. The halberd flashed once, and the axe, along with its wielder, split clean in two. The spattering blood instantly froze into scarlet ice crystals in the air. The fortress wall was smashed open by the Trapped Camp's heavy shields, and the defenders were cut down like straw.
The second fortress. The third. They advanced onward, treading a path paved with flesh and blood. The generals of Snezhnaya wielded the power of frost, summoned barriers of rock, even stirred up blizzards—yet before that single halberd, all was as flimsy as paper. Lü Bu's martial prowess had long transcended mortal limits. His strength, speed, and pure, unbridled will to slaughter rendered all techniques and elemental powers pale and ridiculous. With each swing, chop, stab, or flick of the halberd, another Snezhnayan general fell, along with a swathe of his personal guards. The Trapped Camp followed close behind, efficient killing machines, grinding the routed enemy to dust.
Before the seventh fortress stood Capitano, the Captain of Snezhnaya, blocking the path. Broad and sturdy, clad in heavy Snezhnayan armor, he wielded a greatsword as large as a door, surrounded by condensed ice energy, his presence towering like a mountain. A recognized powerhouse of Snezhnaya, he had single-handedly defended the northern borders and repelled countless monsters.
"Invader! Halt!" Capitano's voice rumbled metallically through his visor.
Lü Bu finally reined in Red Hare, studying Capitano as one would study a somewhat larger prey.
"At last, someone worth facing." His tone was calm, yet suffocatingly oppressive.
Capitano spoke no more. His greatsword crashed down, its wind carrying extreme cold. The ground instantly froze thick with ice, and countless ice spikes shot toward Lü Bu from all directions. A strike capable of freezing steel brittle and shattering it.
Lü Bu moved. Red Hare surged, the ground exploding. He did not dodge or block, but charged straight into the greatsword. The Sky-Piercing Halberd struck later but arrived sooner, screaming as it sliced through the air, hitting the spine of the sword with perfect precision.
Clang!
A deafening clash of metal erupted. Capitano felt an irresistible force surge up the blade; his grip split open, and the sword nearly flew from his hand. He shuddered inwardly—the man's strength was inhuman! He retreated hastily, trying to gain distance and channel greater elemental power.
But Lü Bu gave him no chance. Red Hare stayed on his heels. The halberd became a black whirlwind of death. The second strike shattered his protective ice aura. The third sent his massive sword flying. The fourth was faster than the eye could follow.
Squelch!
The blade pierced through the heavy chest armor, jutted out from Capitano's back, carrying a spray of blood and mangled innards. The Snezhnayan Captain stiffened. He stared down at the halberd buried in his chest, then snapped his head up, glaring through the slits of his visor at Lü Bu's cold, domineering face.
"You… you are not from Teyvat…" Gurgling sounds escaped his throat as he forced out his last words, filled with uncomprehending shock. Snezhnaya's proud martial skills and elemental power were utterly useless against this man.
Lü Bu twisted his wrist, the blade churning inside Capitano to snuff out his life completely. He then flung the corpse aside like trash, sending it crashing against an ice cliff, leaving a glaring stain of red.
The ninth fortress. Its defender was no human, but a doll maiden as exquisite as a work of art—Sandrone, the Marionette. She hovered midair, her form crafted of smooth wood and shining metal, her joints emitting faint mechanical clicks, a delicate wind-up spring turning steadily on her back. She tilted her head, her glassy eyes empty of emotion, unleashing countless binding threads and lethal energy beams according to her programming.
Swords and blades of the Trapped Camp left only faint white marks on her body. She dodged nimbly, wrapping threads around several soldiers and snapping them in an instant.
Lü Bu lost his patience. He leaped from Red Hare's back, ignoring the threads and energy beams that shattered against his armor, diving toward Sandrone like a meteor. The doll maiden tried to retreat, but an iron-clad hand had already closed around her slender metal neck.
Sandrone's limbs kicked uselessly. Her metal fingers scraped against Lü Bu's Beast-Swallowing Linked Armor, producing a grating screech, yet not leaving a single scratch. Her gaze remained hollow, only the spring on her back spinning slightly faster.
Lü Bu reached out with his other hand, fingers hooked like claws, and seized the turning wind-up key precisely.
Click… Snap!
A crisp crack—the spring was torn clean out! Sandrone's body froze abruptly, the light in her eyes fading rapidly. All movement ceased at once. Her fingers, which had been scrabbled at the armor, went limp. She became nothing more than a lifeless, powerless doll. Lü Bu tossed her aside casually, like a broken toy, and she fell into the snow with a dull thud.
Ten fortresses broken. Twelve generals dead.
The blizzard had quieted somewhat, and the view ahead opened up. A towering city, built entirely of everlasting, unmelting ice, stood at the edge of sight: Snezhnaya. At the very heart of the city, atop a cloud-piercing palace, loomed the massive Frozen Throne, radiating endless cold. Even from afar, its majesty and power were palpable.
The five thousand men of the Trapped Camp stood rigid behind Lü Bu. Though they had fought bloody battles, their losses numbered less than one tenth—and their killing intent burned fiercer than ever, like a vicious blade forged a thousand times and drunk deep on blood. They watched their commander in silence, gazing at the royal city that symbolized Snezhnaya's supreme authority.
Lü Bu held his Sky-Piercing Halberd across his chest, its tip aimed at the Frozen Throne, its blood grooves frozen over in dark red. He threw back his head and laughed, his voice splitting the clouds, shaking snow from the surrounding cedar trees.
"Hahahaha! Excellent! This throne is grand enough!"
His laughter cut off abruptly. His eyes blazed like lightning toward Snezhnaya.
"This shall make a worthy dowry for my beloved Diaochan!"
Red Hare reared, letting out a neigh that tore through the sky. Lü Bu swung his halberd forward violently.
"Soldiers!"
"Present!" Five thousand men roared in unison, their combined voice sweeping away the last of the snowstorm.
"Follow your lord—raze this city to the ground!"
The black tide of steel surged forward once more, bearing the aura of total destruction, rushing toward their final prey. Alarms blared atop Snezhnaya's walls. Countless defenders poured onto the battlements, ice-blue elemental light flaring wildly along the ramparts. The final battle was about to begin.