Liu Bei POV
“Yuan Zhi, I know you might only know what you need to know but I still have to ask,” I paused and asked her softly, “Will any of us die in this battle?”
…
Yuan Zhi did not speak and merely lowered her head as she sank into silence. There was no clear indication if this was a silent admittance or if she did not know but I choose to believe that it was the latter.
As I looked at Zi Long and her troops, I saw that the surround had shrunk yet again. It would not be too long before they would be engulfed and consumed. Yet until now, Zi Long and Chen Dao had not sent any distress signal nor have they surrendered.
Just what did Zi Long feel when she chose to charge in yet again even after seeing the fate that befell the first batch of troops?
“Yuan Zhi, to me, battles hold a very simple meaning to me.” I said softly as I tidied my clothes and armour, “I do indeed hope to go as far as possible and I am very grateful to the heavens for surviving the fall in the Tan stream. It’s not wrong to say that I have begun to cherish my life after that. But all of this does not mean that I will abandon my companions for the sake of victory and survival. For now at least, I do not see any justification to sacrifice others for the greater good here.”
“… Xuan De.” Yuan Zhi called out to me. I looked at her, thinking that she had more to say but she merely remained silent.
“Feng Xian, Wen Yuan.” Seeing that she was still thinking, I turned to the other 2.”
“Here.”
“… Un.”
I have to say here first that I have very rarely felt that my decisions have been the wise ones. In fact, I am well aware that most of my decisions were made due to my obstinance. And I am going to do so again.
“Prepare to attack the Door of Fabrication.” I said slowly and clearly as I raised my arm with my sword in hand, “We’ll save Zi Long and then eradicate the enemy.”
“”Yes!”” They acknowledged the order and stood upright before turning to their troops.
I know what should be the right decision here but I am still going to gamble. No matter what, Zi Long once saved my life. No matter how poisonous her tongue may be, she still spent a day and a night in the ice-cold Tan stream trawling for me.
And so, there is no way I can set her aside for the big picture here. If I do that, how can I still claim to be benevolent and honourable?
“Alright, I got it.” Yuan Zhi suddenly said these words without trying to persuade me against it as she nodded and adjusted her bandana.
“You… Aren’t going to say anything?” I felt surprised and knew that I was doing unnecessary things here but I still had to.
“What can I say?” Yuan Zhi said as she smiled and looked at me, “You’re my lord so I will have to listen to you.”
Eh? Is she saying this because she’s angry? It does seem like that but her tone seems sincere.
“Umm… Yuan Zhi?”
“Xuan De, thank you.”
“… Eh?”
W-what is happening here? Why is she thanking me?
“Did I do something?”
“Of course you did,” Yuan Zhi nodded, “You chose not to listen to my proposal.”
“Wu…”
“No, that is a good thing.” Yuan Zhi said when she saw me looking troubled and thought for a moment as she pulled off her bandana and stared at it, “Because Xuan De helped me to make my resolve.”
“Resolve huh…”
“Yes, this so-called 8 Doors Golden Lock formation is something that I would never have been able to figure out on my own. The only reason why I knew about it is because I knew about what would happen beforehand.” She nodded and stared at me with her eyes wide open before putting her bandana back on, “Even though we already had an agreement about this.”
Yuan Zhi smiled at me when she finished.
— I know my abilities are limited but I am willing to listen to Xuan De and try once more using my own strength.
I remembered our exchange in the market before and realised that was why she was thinking so much just now. She need not be so harsh on herself. I smiled as I thought of this and also felt elated that my choice to save Zi Long was not denied.
“Alright, I understand. thanks.”
To be honest, I am really exhausted by now. I have been fighting in the city the entire time and I know my stamina is not as good as theirs too. And it’s not like my performance has been good either. So what if I do have some measure of martial prowess now? I still ended up being stiff from nervousness and if it were not for Yi De’s help, I would have died by now.
*Tatatata*
The enemy troops continued to kick up sand and dust in the distance and this made me think back to the battle that happened in the city. If I were to say that I am not afraid of charging into the fray, that would be a lie. But at the end of the day, I am a feudal lord and have no right not to charge at the front and fight as hard as I can alongside my companions.
“Are the troops ready!?” Yuan Zhi asked anxiously as she looked ahead, “If we don’t get there soon, we can’t save Lord Zhao Yun!”
“Quickly! — You lot, come join this unit! Quick!” Wen Yuan continued to arrange the troops anxiously while Feng Xian watched from the side. This reminds me. Feng Xian does not know anything about deployment operations at all but she looks like she’s trying to learn something as she’s muttering away to herself while watching Wen Yuan closely.
“Alright!” Wen Yuan roared and rode up, “We await your orders.”
“Good!” Yuan Zhi yelled back as she brandished her sword and placed a hand hind her back, “Lord Lu Bu, Lord Zhang Liao, you both will bring half of the troops here and do exactly what Lord Zhao Yun just tried to do. After that, we will charge in and rescue Lord Zhao Yun before attempting to tear the formation apart as you did.”
“Eh? So we’re going to use what Lord Zhao Yun used?” Wen Yuan asked.
Yuan Zhi blinked, “Lord Zhao Yun’s method can work. But you must keep this in mind. When you charge in, do not get engrossed in battle. Do your best to keep your troops together and just keep moving forward and charging ahead in a straight line.”
“Just keep moving forward and charging ahead in a straight line… That’s all right?” Feng Xian asked.
Yuan Zhi blinked again in a gesture of agreement. But is that really all that is needed?
“Alright, since you’ve said so.” Feng Xian seemed to not have any hesitation about this unlike Wen Yuan and swung her halberd about as she bellowed, “Is everyone ready in this final battle!”
“Oh!!!” The troops behind fervently roared back in response.
“Xuan De,” Feng Xian called out to me as she saluted me, “I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Un, see you in a bit.” I returned the gesture as did all of us.
“Everyone–” Feng Xian bellowed out once more as she pulled back on her reins and her horse reared up on its front legs before charging ahead, “– Charge!”
When she finished, the zealous troops charged ahead without any hesitation for the enemy led by the 2 heroic generals. As I looked at them, I still felt worried. If this formation was that impressive, then Feng Xian might meet with the same fate as Zi Long.
“What are the odds of victory in this battle?” I asked, more to myself than to Yuan Zhi.
“Not high, especially if you’re asking about the sort of ending where everyone lives happily ever after.” Yuan Zhi answered, “But I do have some confidence as it is something I planned after all.”
Yuan Zhi… I looked at Yuan Zhi and saw that she seemed rather energetic.
“Well then, we should be getting ready now.” Yuan Zhi said as she stretched her neck.
“You’re going too?”
“Of course,” Yuan Zhi replied as though it were a matter of fact, “As Xuan De said, my swordsmanship is the one thing that I’m relatively good at.”
There is your horsemanship as well, I thought but did not speak out as I looked ahead and say that Feng Xian had already begun to penetrate into the enemy formation. They did not stop at all and continued charging ahead.
Will they really be alright…
Liu Bei POV
“Yuan Zhi, I know you might only know what you need to know but I still have to ask,” I paused and asked her softly, “Will any of us die in this battle?”
…
Yuan Zhi did not speak and merely lowered her head as she sank into silence. There was no clear indication if this was a silent admittance or if she did not know but I choose to believe that it was the latter.
As I looked at Zi Long and her troops, I saw that the surround had shrunk yet again. It would not be too long before they would be engulfed and consumed. Yet until now, Zi Long and Chen Dao had not sent any distress signal nor have they surrendered.
Just what did Zi Long feel when she chose to charge in yet again even after seeing the fate that befell the first batch of troops?
“Yuan Zhi, to me, battles hold a very simple meaning to me.” I said softly as I tidied my clothes and armour, “I do indeed hope to go as far as possible and I am very grateful to the heavens for surviving the fall in the Tan stream. It’s not wrong to say that I have begun to cherish my life after that. But all of this does not mean that I will abandon my companions for the sake of victory and survival. For now at least, I do not see any justification to sacrifice others for the greater good here.”
“… Xuan De.” Yuan Zhi called out to me. I looked at her, thinking that she had more to say but she merely remained silent.
“Feng Xian, Wen Yuan.” Seeing that she was still thinking, I turned to the other 2.”
“Here.”
“… Un.”
I have to say here first that I have very rarely felt that my decisions have been the wise ones. In fact, I am well aware that most of my decisions were made due to my obstinance. And I am going to do so again.
“Prepare to attack the Door of Fabrication.” I said slowly and clearly as I raised my arm with my sword in hand, “We’ll save Zi Long and then eradicate the enemy.”
“”Yes!”” They acknowledged the order and stood upright before turning to their troops.
I know what should be the right decision here but I am still going to gamble. No matter what, Zi Long once saved my life. No matter how poisonous her tongue may be, she still spent a day and a night in the ice-cold Tan stream trawling for me.
And so, there is no way I can set her aside for the big picture here. If I do that, how can I still claim to be benevolent and honourable?
“Alright, I got it.” Yuan Zhi suddenly said these words without trying to persuade me against it as she nodded and adjusted her bandana.
“You… Aren’t going to say anything?” I felt surprised and knew that I was doing unnecessary things here but I still had to.
“What can I say?” Yuan Zhi said as she smiled and looked at me, “You’re my lord so I will have to listen to you.”
Eh? Is she saying this because she’s angry? It does seem like that but her tone seems sincere.
“Umm… Yuan Zhi?”
“Xuan De, thank you.”
“… Eh?”
W-what is happening here? Why is she thanking me?
“Did I do something?”
“Of course you did,” Yuan Zhi nodded, “You chose not to listen to my proposal.”
“Wu…”
“No, that is a good thing.” Yuan Zhi said when she saw me looking troubled and thought for a moment as she pulled off her bandana and stared at it, “Because Xuan De helped me to make my resolve.”
“Resolve huh…”
“Yes, this so-called 8 Doors Golden Lock formation is something that I would never have been able to figure out on my own. The only reason why I knew about it is because I knew about what would happen beforehand.” She nodded and stared at me with her eyes wide open before putting her bandana back on, “Even though we already had an agreement about this.”
Yuan Zhi smiled at me when she finished.
— I know my abilities are limited but I am willing to listen to Xuan De and try once more using my own strength.
I remembered our exchange in the market before and realised that was why she was thinking so much just now. She need not be so harsh on herself. I smiled as I thought of this and also felt elated that my choice to save Zi Long was not denied.
“Alright, I understand. thanks.”
To be honest, I am really exhausted by now. I have been fighting in the city the entire time and I know my stamina is not as good as theirs too. And it’s not like my performance has been good either. So what if I do have some measure of martial prowess now? I still ended up being stiff from nervousness and if it were not for Yi De’s help, I would have died by now.
*Tatatata*
The enemy troops continued to kick up sand and dust in the distance and this made me think back to the battle that happened in the city. If I were to say that I am not afraid of charging into the fray, that would be a lie. But at the end of the day, I am a feudal lord and have no right not to charge at the front and fight as hard as I can alongside my companions.
“Are the troops ready!?” Yuan Zhi asked anxiously as she looked ahead, “If we don’t get there soon, we can’t save Lord Zhao Yun!”
“Quickly! — You lot, come join this unit! Quick!” Wen Yuan continued to arrange the troops anxiously while Feng Xian watched from the side. This reminds me. Feng Xian does not know anything about deployment operations at all but she looks like she’s trying to learn something as she’s muttering away to herself while watching Wen Yuan closely.
“Alright!” Wen Yuan roared and rode up, “We await your orders.”
“Good!” Yuan Zhi yelled back as she brandished her sword and placed a hand hind her back, “Lord Lu Bu, Lord Zhang Liao, you both will bring half of the troops here and do exactly what Lord Zhao Yun just tried to do. After that, we will charge in and rescue Lord Zhao Yun before attempting to tear the formation apart as you did.”
“Eh? So we’re going to use what Lord Zhao Yun used?” Wen Yuan asked.
Yuan Zhi blinked, “Lord Zhao Yun’s method can work. But you must keep this in mind. When you charge in, do not get engrossed in battle. Do your best to keep your troops together and just keep moving forward and charging ahead in a straight line.”
“Just keep moving forward and charging ahead in a straight line… That’s all right?” Feng Xian asked.
Yuan Zhi blinked again in a gesture of agreement. But is that really all that is needed?
“Alright, since you’ve said so.” Feng Xian seemed to not have any hesitation about this unlike Wen Yuan and swung her halberd about as she bellowed, “Is everyone ready in this final battle!”
“Oh!!!” The troops behind fervently roared back in response.
“Xuan De,” Feng Xian called out to me as she saluted me, “I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Un, see you in a bit.” I returned the gesture as did all of us.
“Everyone–” Feng Xian bellowed out once more as she pulled back on her reins and her horse reared up on its front legs before charging ahead, “– Charge!”
When she finished, the zealous troops charged ahead without any hesitation for the enemy led by the 2 heroic generals. As I looked at them, I still felt worried. If this formation was that impressive, then Feng Xian might meet with the same fate as Zi Long.
“What are the odds of victory in this battle?” I asked, more to myself than to Yuan Zhi.
“Not high, especially if you’re asking about the sort of ending where everyone lives happily ever after.” Yuan Zhi answered, “But I do have some confidence as it is something I planned after all.”
Yuan Zhi… I looked at Yuan Zhi and saw that she seemed rather energetic.
“Well then, we should be getting ready now.” Yuan Zhi said as she stretched her neck.
“You’re going too?”
“Of course,” Yuan Zhi replied as though it were a matter of fact, “As Xuan De said, my swordsmanship is the one thing that I’m relatively good at.”
There is your horsemanship as well, I thought but did not speak out as I looked ahead and say that Feng Xian had already begun to penetrate into the enemy formation. They did not stop at all and continued charging ahead.
Will they really be alright…
