Zhou Yu POV
“*Achoo*! … Ah~~ My mucus is flowing out.” I let out a big sneeze after my nose got affected from the dusty air.
Even though I only just recovered from a cold last week, now my delicate body is definitely going to fall ill again.
In this sort of weather where the cold winds buffet your body, any sweat that flows will quickly dry off. And because of physical activity, sweat will quickly stream out from your pores. It’s no wonder that one will catch a cold by being subject to this.
At this moment, I was rushing toward our ambush point with Lord Zhang Fei, who was riding alongside me and was neither sweating nor did she look tired at all. In fact, she even seemed to be in high spirits.
“…”
“… Un? What are you looking at me for Lord Zhou Yu?”
“No, it’s nothing.” This short haired petite girl was even smaller than me but her body seemed to be more robust.
As I thought so, I took out some straw paper and brought it to my nose– *Xing*~~~~
“Is Lord Zhou Yu not feeling well?”
Lord Zhang Fei’s frivolous seeming tone might be her natural one but it’s not something I can accept easily.
“*Ke*” I tossed the used straw paper away and lightly cleared my throat. “I’m not bragging but I’m well known in Jiangdong as a distinguished woman of ability, and am both capable in handling administrative affairs and skilled in martial arts. So having a weak constitution is something understandable.”
“Haa… I don’t understand what you’re trying to say at all.” She said with a blank look, from which I couldn’t tell if she really didn’t understand or if she did not believe what I said.
“Maa, all that doesn’t really matter… Back to the matter at hand, I really can’t understand Lord Zhou Yu’s scheme with my brain.” She smiled helplessly as she pointed at her head.
“What do you not understand?” I might as well ask. It would be bad if she’s clueless and something crops up later.
“A lot really, but first is…” She paused and looked up as she gathered her thoughts before continuing. “Why did you only give 1,000 cavalry to big sister to intercept Yuan Shu’s 20,000 strong army?”
Big sister? … Ah, seems like Lord Guan Yu’s relationship with her is that of sisters right? They’ve been addressing each other as sisters but their last names are different so these 2 are most likely sworn sisters.
And the 1,000 cavalry she mentioned was the total number of cavalry units in the 10,000 strong Cao army.
“1,000 cavalry units is enough.” I said with a leisurely expression. “I gave Lord Guan Yu a lot of extra flags, and with good use of the mist that has yet to dissipate there, a false report of 5,000 cavalry should be enough to give pause to Yuan Shu and her generals.”
“Additionally, the point of the interception force is just to stall for time so that we can get in position for an ambush.”
“But aren’t you afraid that Yuan Shu’s army will just charge forth?”
“Which is why I got Lord Guan Yu to falsely declare herself as Bo Fu’s subordinate general.” I looked at her as I said so but she still had a clueless look on her. “Yuan Shu is a member of a noble family with a very long history and thus has very strong pride. In coming out of the city, she definitely plans to thoroughly defeat Bo Fu. If she sees that Bo Fu has sufficient strength to send out a subordinate general to intercept her, despite the mutiny, and even challenge her, she will definitely lose her head to rage and send a general to duel Lord Guan Yu in order to make her victory even more complete.”
By declaring that we have 5,000 cavalry, Yuan Shu would likely mistake our total strength as 50,000.
“Oh!! So we just have to arrange a duel then, since big sister will win for sure.”
“Ah, I told Lord Guan Yu to show her mercy on purpose since the main objective is to stall for time.”
Of course, there is one more secondary objective which relates to the cavalry I gave her.
Cavalry are not suited to a forest environment but it is not my intention to send cavalry against the ordinary troops. The targets for the cavalry are the 1,000-man generals who will be commanding from warhorses. Since the cavalry can see from a greater height, they can easily find these generals and kill them together.
And once the 1,000-man generals are killed, the army which was ambushed will definitely descend into greater chaos.
Even though we haven’t reached the battlefield, Lord Zhang Fei is already so excited. I feel that as a warrior, she passes with flying colours.
“Is there anything else?”
“That would be the problem of numbers.” Lord Zhang Fei said as she pointed at the 3,000 strong behind her, “I and Lord Zhang Liao have 3,000 each, but even if it’s an ambush, can we really deal with a 20,000 strong army?”
For the ambush, I separated 6,000 troops into 2 groups. One was led by Lord Zhang Fei and the other by Lord Zhang Liao. I don’t know how strong they are but since Lord Liu Bei recommended them, then there is no reason to doubt them.
“Yuan Shu’s troops are not well trained so the first attack will completely destroy their formation. And the goal of the ambush is chaos, not decimation.” When I think about how Yuan Shu is like, I don’t think she is the sort who will spend good money to train her troops properly. “And as for the ambush, as long as it succeeds, even if we are outnumbered 10 to 1, it doesn’t mean we will necessarily lose.”
The priorities of the ambush in order of descending importance are to destroy their formation, kill their generals and lastly to reduce their numbers.
“Speaking of which, you should remember what your mission is right.”
“Un, I remember.” Though she said so, it took a while for her to recall the instructions before she continued. “… Try not to get close to Yuan Shu… Right.”
“Un, charge often but don’t stay to fight, just remember this one point. As for leaving a hole in our defenses to Yuan Shu, leave that to Lord Zhang Liao.” I feel like that person is much smarter than you. “I have also made the preparations on Lord Lu Bu’s side. As long as Yuan Shu goes in the direction of the hole, there should be no problem.”
“Haa…”
“Maa, you don’t need to care about what the others have to do and concentrate on your own task.” I couldn’t be bothered to explain any further seeing as she still didn’t get it. “And don’t get your troops to fire arrows. If we injure Yuan Shu by accident, it will negatively impact our negotiations afterwards.”
“Oh, got it.” She seemed to understand this, and soon showed a relaxed expression that was completely devoid of tension as she began swinging her Serpent Spear. “I’m so excited, we can fight soon!”
“Don’t be too reckless when the time comes, and only charge together with Lord Zhang Liao when you see the signal from her.”
“Don’t worry, leave it all to me.” She laughed loudly as she patted her chest which was roughly the same size as mine.
How could I possibly leave it all to you? I came along with you precisely because I’m afraid that something might go wrong on this side…
*Sa* *Sa*…
Un? Seems like there’s some sound coming from the grass.
“What’s wrong Lord Zhou Yu?” Zhang Fei asked when she saw me looking to the side.
“No, it’s nothing.” Was it an illusion?
… No.
“Lord Zhang Fei, I’ll be leasing a hundred men down this way.”
“Eh? Eh?! Did something happen?”
Without bothering to explain to her, I signalled my intent to a 100-man general who was running behind me and got him and his men to follow me. I then pulled the reins and headed into the forest.
Though I’m still worried about whether Lord Zhang Fei can execute her duties properly, I’m not more worried about that side of the forest.
There might be a scout there.
“Un, feels like it should be here… Search around everyone, look for anything suspicious.” I made my horse gallop forward and shouted loudly. “Check everything, even the smallest movement in the grass.”
“Yes!!” The hundred odd troops behind yelled back with gusto and then disappeared as they ran out in various directions.
If I’m not wrong, the sounds from before were not from an animal.
If it were from a human, then that means that person is not riding a horse which means that I would have caught up by now. Even if one hides himself, the smallest disturbance can reveal where one is.
And just now, a certain careful light breathing I heard mixed in amongst the sounds of the troops made me suspicious.
In this sort of situation which requires maximum caution, I cannot lower my guard no matter how small the possibility may be.
Putting it another way, I don’t wish for anything to happen, and only hope that what I detected was just me being oversensitive.
Hai, what a waste of a good morning.
I searched about the surrounding area but did not find anything suspicious and relaxed a little as I sat down on a rock under a tree.
“*Achoo*~~~~” The cold rock cooled my butt, and with some help from a breeze, I sneezed yet again.
I don’t know if it’s due to my sneeze or the wind, but some yellowed leaves floated down from the tree.
The cold, autumn forest had an ambience that was worth admiring. If I weren’t fighting a war, it would be enjoyable having a liquor banquet in a slightly yellowed natural environment.
At this time, the cries of cicadas can be heard but soon, they will fall from the trees to the ground and become a part of the soil.
Now that I think about it, doesn’t Yuan Shu resemble a cicada nearing autumn’s end? For Yuan Shu, her end is something inevitable though I don’t know whether she herself is aware about that.
Maa, probably not.
*Sa* *Sa*…
A faint sound came from the tree yet again, and several leaves fell once more.
A-re? There wasn’t a wind just now right?
I instinctively raised my head to take a look and though I’d find a bird or a worm…
“…”
“…”
But what appeared in my eyes was a man who was hugging the thick branch upside down with trembling limbs, and was staring at me with a reddened face that had a horrible expression.
I was completely frozen in that instant as I stared at him motionlessly.
“Puaa! Haa… Haa…” Seeing that I had found him, he spat out the breath he had been holding. He then waved one hand as he greeted me. “Yo, yo, hello.”
“… Ah! Who are you? Are you Yuan Shu’s scout?” I regained my senses and hurriedly drew the sabre at my waist and readied my stance. “Get down now or else–”
“No, that is… Hai~ I really am unlucky.” That man thought for a while in anguish before sighing like a man who has given up, “I’ll come down– Ah!”
“Eh?!~~~~ Waa!!” Before I could even figure out what was going on, my body was crushed under a dead weight and I fell to the ground. It was a good that I fell on my back and didn’t injure my head.
“Ouch…” My head was a little dizzy as I recovered from the shock of the fall. It felt like there was something pressing down on my body and I slowly opened my eyes as I held my head–
— And saw that the man was lying on too of me with his hands right on my tender breasts.
Because I didn’t wear a breastplate, the warmth from his hands were directly transmitted to my breasts through the thin cloth that made its way all the way to my head and dyed my cheeks red.
“I… You, you!” As a pure and innocent young girl 15 years of age, I was at a loss as to what to do.
“Ouch…” He was just regaining his senses and was shocked when he saw what kind of pose we were in. “Ah, sorry. I’ll just–”
He tried lifting himself up using his hands but he didn’t realise that what he was grasping as not the ground.
And so he put more force into his grip–
“Ah!!~~~~~~~~~~~~” A shudder ran through me as I screamed instantly. Only after I screamed did I realise how much of embarrassment I was. “You, you pervert! Where do you think you’re touching?! L, let go of me!”
“Ah, sorry.” He evaded my flailing arms and frantically lifted his hands as he stepped backwards off of me.
I sat up and instinctively tidied up my clothing as I looked at him with cautious eyes. I felt both hatred and embarrassment, and for some reason felt like I wanted to cry. When I looked at him, I felt an intense urge to skin him.
This man was slightly larger than me and had a good face but a downcast look hung about him. He was wearing coarse clothing, and every act seemed like he lacked utter confidence.
Isn’t he just a useless coward.
“U, umm…”
“Don’t speak,” I drew my sword and pointed it at his throat. He gave a “hii!” and went silent. “Whatever the case, you are my captive now so honestly answer the questions I am about to ask you.”
Nods.
“Good,” I need to first ascertain his identity. “You’re Yuan Shu’s scout… No, a 300-man general in her army right?”
Nods.
Though he did not wear plate, nor did he have a sabre at his waist, there was an insignia at his chest which I was able to identify as such.
“Where are your troops? Are they not here?”
Nods.
“Were they here just now?”
Shakes.
“Really?”
“Really! They’re all in the main body and the only one here is me.” I pressed the blade on his throat and he gave another ‘hii’ before shutting up.
“Hmph, forget it then.” I laughed as I was impressed. “Did Yuan Shu send you all here? I can’t believe she actually guessed the route of our ambush.”
Though I was speaking very casually now, I was frantic inside.
Because if what I said was correct, then Yuan Shu has seen through our plan to intercept them and we will then lose the initiative.
But it’s strange if you think about it from their point of view. If they have guessed our movements, then why didn’t they set up a counter-ambush?
Are they planning on letting us execute our plan and then countering us then? Or are they going to take a different route and avoid us altogether?
And how could she have done all this in such a short time? After entering the forest, Yuan Shu actually had the capacity to see through me scheme and prepare accordingly?
If that’s the case, then the only reason why would be that the Cao army’s tracks were exposed. But that would be equally strange as why wouldn’t they be more cautious about leaving behind an empty city?
C, could it be that they plan on counterattacking once we execute our plan from the very beginning then?! That is…
“No, this is not my lord’s will. Everything was just my own conjecture. Yesterday night, I detected the Cao army and thought that you would definitely be lying in wait somewhere near Sun Ce army’s encampment for us.” Just as I was sinking into despair in my thoughts, he began explaining with a frustrated look and clenched teeth. “I was planning to discuss this with my lord and wanted to suggest that we go around the forest. But I was stopped from doing so at the gates by Lord Yan Xiang.”
“Hou~~ And then?” My heart nearly stopped when I heard this. Though the success of this plan was important, I never thought that my plan was completely predicted ahead of time by this man.
“My suggestion was rejected. When I heard this, my worries were finally allayed. “She very resolutely said we would not be ambushed in the forest and then went on and on about the benefits of going through the forest, like how it could cover our tracks etc. But I know that there were deficiencies in those benefits that could be exploited against us.”
“Hou~~~” I’d thought he was just a useless coward but he was actually such an extraordinary person.
Maa, that is indeed the case. The odds of being ambushed in such a small route through the forest are practically nil but the side being ambushed forgot that as long as the ambushing side knows the destination of the side that is being ambushed, it doesn’t matter what route they take.
As long as we station troops around the vicinity of the encampment, even if we don’t specially challenge them, Yuan Shu’s army can’t ignore us.
And then, it will be our opportunity to strike.
Though I don’t know what Yan Xiang is like, from what she said to this man, she’s probably just an ordinary person, an appropriate candidate to be Yuan Shu’s strategist.
Maa, whatever the case, it’s a good thing for me that she wasn’t convinced by this man.
Though this man seems unreliable, he is extraordinarily prudent and intelligent. Using him as a 300-man general would be an utter waste of talent.
But~~
“And so you came here hoping to see if we would send our ambushing troops through this way to confirm your conjectures?”
“… Un.”
“You know,” I bent my waist and looked at him from up close with a furious expression which made him withdraw a little. “You came here just to confirm your conjectures? How can that possibly save the situation?”
“Wu…” Your silence means consent then. But thereafter, he retorted with, “Actually I know it deep down inside that someone like me can’t even be a lowly ranked official. Nor am I any good at leading troops in battle. The only thing I’m good at is making wid guesses so it’s normal if I’m not recognised.”
“Stop saying such self-deprecating words!”
“Eh?”
“… No, nothing.” I lost my cool there and let him drag me down with that retort, and turned my face away.
Hmph, showing that again, that smile of a useless coward that makes one hate him.
If it were me, I would have stopped Yuan Shu at all costs even if I had to kill Yan Xiang instead of giving up and coming out here for my own self-satisfaction.
But, perhaps this person’s talents can serve my lord…
“Let’s go.”
“Eh? Where to?”
“We can’t catch up to the main party now so we’ll head to the Cao camp and wait for the battle to end.” I twirled the sword in my hands as I sheathed it. “Don’t forget that you’re a captive so be more obedient.”
Because he was a little taller than me, I ordered him to squat out of spite. Thereafter, I picked out some vines which I used to tie his hands with. If I’m not careful, who knows what this pervert might do to me.
“… Ah, yes.” He said falteringly. And as he got up, he bowed in the direction where his lord was marching towards before following me.
Seems like he’s quite a loyal person. I don’t hate decorous people.
“… What’s your name?” I asked as I looked at him seriously. Personally, I rarely ask for people’s names.
“Eh?” He hesitated for a moment at my words before he replied. “My last name is Lu, my given name is Su, and my courtesy name is Zi Jing.”
Un, Lu Su huh. It’s a good name, but this isn’t reason enough to praise him.
“Is that so,” I only said as much in reply. “Let’s go then.”
As I turned around, for some reason, my lips curled up.
Zhou Yu POV
“*Achoo*! … Ah~~ My mucus is flowing out.” I let out a big sneeze after my nose got affected from the dusty air.
Even though I only just recovered from a cold last week, now my delicate body is definitely going to fall ill again.
In this sort of weather where the cold winds buffet your body, any sweat that flows will quickly dry off. And because of physical activity, sweat will quickly stream out from your pores. It’s no wonder that one will catch a cold by being subject to this.
At this moment, I was rushing toward our ambush point with Lord Zhang Fei, who was riding alongside me and was neither sweating nor did she look tired at all. In fact, she even seemed to be in high spirits.
“…”
“… Un? What are you looking at me for Lord Zhou Yu?”
“No, it’s nothing.” This short haired petite girl was even smaller than me but her body seemed to be more robust.
As I thought so, I took out some straw paper and brought it to my nose– *Xing*~~~~
“Is Lord Zhou Yu not feeling well?”
Lord Zhang Fei’s frivolous seeming tone might be her natural one but it’s not something I can accept easily.
“*Ke*” I tossed the used straw paper away and lightly cleared my throat. “I’m not bragging but I’m well known in Jiangdong as a distinguished woman of ability, and am both capable in handling administrative affairs and skilled in martial arts. So having a weak constitution is something understandable.”
“Haa… I don’t understand what you’re trying to say at all.” She said with a blank look, from which I couldn’t tell if she really didn’t understand or if she did not believe what I said.
“Maa, all that doesn’t really matter… Back to the matter at hand, I really can’t understand Lord Zhou Yu’s scheme with my brain.” She smiled helplessly as she pointed at her head.
“What do you not understand?” I might as well ask. It would be bad if she’s clueless and something crops up later.
“A lot really, but first is…” She paused and looked up as she gathered her thoughts before continuing. “Why did you only give 1,000 cavalry to big sister to intercept Yuan Shu’s 20,000 strong army?”
Big sister? … Ah, seems like Lord Guan Yu’s relationship with her is that of sisters right? They’ve been addressing each other as sisters but their last names are different so these 2 are most likely sworn sisters.
And the 1,000 cavalry she mentioned was the total number of cavalry units in the 10,000 strong Cao army.
“1,000 cavalry units is enough.” I said with a leisurely expression. “I gave Lord Guan Yu a lot of extra flags, and with good use of the mist that has yet to dissipate there, a false report of 5,000 cavalry should be enough to give pause to Yuan Shu and her generals.”
“Additionally, the point of the interception force is just to stall for time so that we can get in position for an ambush.”
“But aren’t you afraid that Yuan Shu’s army will just charge forth?”
“Which is why I got Lord Guan Yu to falsely declare herself as Bo Fu’s subordinate general.” I looked at her as I said so but she still had a clueless look on her. “Yuan Shu is a member of a noble family with a very long history and thus has very strong pride. In coming out of the city, she definitely plans to thoroughly defeat Bo Fu. If she sees that Bo Fu has sufficient strength to send out a subordinate general to intercept her, despite the mutiny, and even challenge her, she will definitely lose her head to rage and send a general to duel Lord Guan Yu in order to make her victory even more complete.”
By declaring that we have 5,000 cavalry, Yuan Shu would likely mistake our total strength as 50,000.
“Oh!! So we just have to arrange a duel then, since big sister will win for sure.”
“Ah, I told Lord Guan Yu to show her mercy on purpose since the main objective is to stall for time.”
Of course, there is one more secondary objective which relates to the cavalry I gave her.
Cavalry are not suited to a forest environment but it is not my intention to send cavalry against the ordinary troops. The targets for the cavalry are the 1,000-man generals who will be commanding from warhorses. Since the cavalry can see from a greater height, they can easily find these generals and kill them together.
And once the 1,000-man generals are killed, the army which was ambushed will definitely descend into greater chaos.
Even though we haven’t reached the battlefield, Lord Zhang Fei is already so excited. I feel that as a warrior, she passes with flying colours.
“Is there anything else?”
“That would be the problem of numbers.” Lord Zhang Fei said as she pointed at the 3,000 strong behind her, “I and Lord Zhang Liao have 3,000 each, but even if it’s an ambush, can we really deal with a 20,000 strong army?”
For the ambush, I separated 6,000 troops into 2 groups. One was led by Lord Zhang Fei and the other by Lord Zhang Liao. I don’t know how strong they are but since Lord Liu Bei recommended them, then there is no reason to doubt them.
“Yuan Shu’s troops are not well trained so the first attack will completely destroy their formation. And the goal of the ambush is chaos, not decimation.” When I think about how Yuan Shu is like, I don’t think she is the sort who will spend good money to train her troops properly. “And as for the ambush, as long as it succeeds, even if we are outnumbered 10 to 1, it doesn’t mean we will necessarily lose.”
The priorities of the ambush in order of descending importance are to destroy their formation, kill their generals and lastly to reduce their numbers.
“Speaking of which, you should remember what your mission is right.”
“Un, I remember.” Though she said so, it took a while for her to recall the instructions before she continued. “… Try not to get close to Yuan Shu… Right.”
“Un, charge often but don’t stay to fight, just remember this one point. As for leaving a hole in our defenses to Yuan Shu, leave that to Lord Zhang Liao.” I feel like that person is much smarter than you. “I have also made the preparations on Lord Lu Bu’s side. As long as Yuan Shu goes in the direction of the hole, there should be no problem.”
“Haa…”
“Maa, you don’t need to care about what the others have to do and concentrate on your own task.” I couldn’t be bothered to explain any further seeing as she still didn’t get it. “And don’t get your troops to fire arrows. If we injure Yuan Shu by accident, it will negatively impact our negotiations afterwards.”
“Oh, got it.” She seemed to understand this, and soon showed a relaxed expression that was completely devoid of tension as she began swinging her Serpent Spear. “I’m so excited, we can fight soon!”
“Don’t be too reckless when the time comes, and only charge together with Lord Zhang Liao when you see the signal from her.”
“Don’t worry, leave it all to me.” She laughed loudly as she patted her chest which was roughly the same size as mine.
How could I possibly leave it all to you? I came along with you precisely because I’m afraid that something might go wrong on this side…
*Sa* *Sa*…
Un? Seems like there’s some sound coming from the grass.
“What’s wrong Lord Zhou Yu?” Zhang Fei asked when she saw me looking to the side.
“No, it’s nothing.” Was it an illusion?
… No.
“Lord Zhang Fei, I’ll be leasing a hundred men down this way.”
“Eh? Eh?! Did something happen?”
Without bothering to explain to her, I signalled my intent to a 100-man general who was running behind me and got him and his men to follow me. I then pulled the reins and headed into the forest.
Though I’m still worried about whether Lord Zhang Fei can execute her duties properly, I’m not more worried about that side of the forest.
There might be a scout there.
“Un, feels like it should be here… Search around everyone, look for anything suspicious.” I made my horse gallop forward and shouted loudly. “Check everything, even the smallest movement in the grass.”
“Yes!!” The hundred odd troops behind yelled back with gusto and then disappeared as they ran out in various directions.
If I’m not wrong, the sounds from before were not from an animal.
If it were from a human, then that means that person is not riding a horse which means that I would have caught up by now. Even if one hides himself, the smallest disturbance can reveal where one is.
And just now, a certain careful light breathing I heard mixed in amongst the sounds of the troops made me suspicious.
In this sort of situation which requires maximum caution, I cannot lower my guard no matter how small the possibility may be.
Putting it another way, I don’t wish for anything to happen, and only hope that what I detected was just me being oversensitive.
Hai, what a waste of a good morning.
I searched about the surrounding area but did not find anything suspicious and relaxed a little as I sat down on a rock under a tree.
“*Achoo*~~~~” The cold rock cooled my butt, and with some help from a breeze, I sneezed yet again.
I don’t know if it’s due to my sneeze or the wind, but some yellowed leaves floated down from the tree.
The cold, autumn forest had an ambience that was worth admiring. If I weren’t fighting a war, it would be enjoyable having a liquor banquet in a slightly yellowed natural environment.
At this time, the cries of cicadas can be heard but soon, they will fall from the trees to the ground and become a part of the soil.
Now that I think about it, doesn’t Yuan Shu resemble a cicada nearing autumn’s end? For Yuan Shu, her end is something inevitable though I don’t know whether she herself is aware about that.
Maa, probably not.
*Sa* *Sa*…
A faint sound came from the tree yet again, and several leaves fell once more.
A-re? There wasn’t a wind just now right?
I instinctively raised my head to take a look and though I’d find a bird or a worm…
“…”
“…”
But what appeared in my eyes was a man who was hugging the thick branch upside down with trembling limbs, and was staring at me with a reddened face that had a horrible expression.
I was completely frozen in that instant as I stared at him motionlessly.
“Puaa! Haa… Haa…” Seeing that I had found him, he spat out the breath he had been holding. He then waved one hand as he greeted me. “Yo, yo, hello.”
“… Ah! Who are you? Are you Yuan Shu’s scout?” I regained my senses and hurriedly drew the sabre at my waist and readied my stance. “Get down now or else–”
“No, that is… Hai~ I really am unlucky.” That man thought for a while in anguish before sighing like a man who has given up, “I’ll come down– Ah!”
“Eh?!~~~~ Waa!!” Before I could even figure out what was going on, my body was crushed under a dead weight and I fell to the ground. It was a good that I fell on my back and didn’t injure my head.
“Ouch…” My head was a little dizzy as I recovered from the shock of the fall. It felt like there was something pressing down on my body and I slowly opened my eyes as I held my head–
— And saw that the man was lying on too of me with his hands right on my tender breasts.
Because I didn’t wear a breastplate, the warmth from his hands were directly transmitted to my breasts through the thin cloth that made its way all the way to my head and dyed my cheeks red.
“I… You, you!” As a pure and innocent young girl 15 years of age, I was at a loss as to what to do.
“Ouch…” He was just regaining his senses and was shocked when he saw what kind of pose we were in. “Ah, sorry. I’ll just–”
He tried lifting himself up using his hands but he didn’t realise that what he was grasping as not the ground.
And so he put more force into his grip–
“Ah!!~~~~~~~~~~~~” A shudder ran through me as I screamed instantly. Only after I screamed did I realise how much of embarrassment I was. “You, you pervert! Where do you think you’re touching?! L, let go of me!”
“Ah, sorry.” He evaded my flailing arms and frantically lifted his hands as he stepped backwards off of me.
I sat up and instinctively tidied up my clothing as I looked at him with cautious eyes. I felt both hatred and embarrassment, and for some reason felt like I wanted to cry. When I looked at him, I felt an intense urge to skin him.
This man was slightly larger than me and had a good face but a downcast look hung about him. He was wearing coarse clothing, and every act seemed like he lacked utter confidence.
Isn’t he just a useless coward.
“U, umm…”
“Don’t speak,” I drew my sword and pointed it at his throat. He gave a “hii!” and went silent. “Whatever the case, you are my captive now so honestly answer the questions I am about to ask you.”
Nods.
“Good,” I need to first ascertain his identity. “You’re Yuan Shu’s scout… No, a 300-man general in her army right?”
Nods.
Though he did not wear plate, nor did he have a sabre at his waist, there was an insignia at his chest which I was able to identify as such.
“Where are your troops? Are they not here?”
Nods.
“Were they here just now?”
Shakes.
“Really?”
“Really! They’re all in the main body and the only one here is me.” I pressed the blade on his throat and he gave another ‘hii’ before shutting up.
“Hmph, forget it then.” I laughed as I was impressed. “Did Yuan Shu send you all here? I can’t believe she actually guessed the route of our ambush.”
Though I was speaking very casually now, I was frantic inside.
Because if what I said was correct, then Yuan Shu has seen through our plan to intercept them and we will then lose the initiative.
But it’s strange if you think about it from their point of view. If they have guessed our movements, then why didn’t they set up a counter-ambush?
Are they planning on letting us execute our plan and then countering us then? Or are they going to take a different route and avoid us altogether?
And how could she have done all this in such a short time? After entering the forest, Yuan Shu actually had the capacity to see through me scheme and prepare accordingly?
If that’s the case, then the only reason why would be that the Cao army’s tracks were exposed. But that would be equally strange as why wouldn’t they be more cautious about leaving behind an empty city?
C, could it be that they plan on counterattacking once we execute our plan from the very beginning then?! That is…
“No, this is not my lord’s will. Everything was just my own conjecture. Yesterday night, I detected the Cao army and thought that you would definitely be lying in wait somewhere near Sun Ce army’s encampment for us.” Just as I was sinking into despair in my thoughts, he began explaining with a frustrated look and clenched teeth. “I was planning to discuss this with my lord and wanted to suggest that we go around the forest. But I was stopped from doing so at the gates by Lord Yan Xiang.”
“Hou~~ And then?” My heart nearly stopped when I heard this. Though the success of this plan was important, I never thought that my plan was completely predicted ahead of time by this man.
“My suggestion was rejected. When I heard this, my worries were finally allayed. “She very resolutely said we would not be ambushed in the forest and then went on and on about the benefits of going through the forest, like how it could cover our tracks etc. But I know that there were deficiencies in those benefits that could be exploited against us.”
“Hou~~~” I’d thought he was just a useless coward but he was actually such an extraordinary person.
Maa, that is indeed the case. The odds of being ambushed in such a small route through the forest are practically nil but the side being ambushed forgot that as long as the ambushing side knows the destination of the side that is being ambushed, it doesn’t matter what route they take.
As long as we station troops around the vicinity of the encampment, even if we don’t specially challenge them, Yuan Shu’s army can’t ignore us.
And then, it will be our opportunity to strike.
Though I don’t know what Yan Xiang is like, from what she said to this man, she’s probably just an ordinary person, an appropriate candidate to be Yuan Shu’s strategist.
Maa, whatever the case, it’s a good thing for me that she wasn’t convinced by this man.
Though this man seems unreliable, he is extraordinarily prudent and intelligent. Using him as a 300-man general would be an utter waste of talent.
But~~
“And so you came here hoping to see if we would send our ambushing troops through this way to confirm your conjectures?”
“… Un.”
“You know,” I bent my waist and looked at him from up close with a furious expression which made him withdraw a little. “You came here just to confirm your conjectures? How can that possibly save the situation?”
“Wu…” Your silence means consent then. But thereafter, he retorted with, “Actually I know it deep down inside that someone like me can’t even be a lowly ranked official. Nor am I any good at leading troops in battle. The only thing I’m good at is making wid guesses so it’s normal if I’m not recognised.”
“Stop saying such self-deprecating words!”
“Eh?”
“… No, nothing.” I lost my cool there and let him drag me down with that retort, and turned my face away.
Hmph, showing that again, that smile of a useless coward that makes one hate him.
If it were me, I would have stopped Yuan Shu at all costs even if I had to kill Yan Xiang instead of giving up and coming out here for my own self-satisfaction.
But, perhaps this person’s talents can serve my lord…
“Let’s go.”
“Eh? Where to?”
“We can’t catch up to the main party now so we’ll head to the Cao camp and wait for the battle to end.” I twirled the sword in my hands as I sheathed it. “Don’t forget that you’re a captive so be more obedient.”
Because he was a little taller than me, I ordered him to squat out of spite. Thereafter, I picked out some vines which I used to tie his hands with. If I’m not careful, who knows what this pervert might do to me.
“… Ah, yes.” He said falteringly. And as he got up, he bowed in the direction where his lord was marching towards before following me.
Seems like he’s quite a loyal person. I don’t hate decorous people.
“… What’s your name?” I asked as I looked at him seriously. Personally, I rarely ask for people’s names.
“Eh?” He hesitated for a moment at my words before he replied. “My last name is Lu, my given name is Su, and my courtesy name is Zi Jing.”
Un, Lu Su huh. It’s a good name, but this isn’t reason enough to praise him.
“Is that so,” I only said as much in reply. “Let’s go then.”
As I turned around, for some reason, my lips curled up.
