Dynasty Warriors: Outcast
Chapter One
Muted sunlight filtered in through the screen windows of Bai Di castle's throne room, casting a checkered pattern on the smooth wood floor. Shu officers and bodyguards stood at attention at either side of the hall, waiting for news of the attack on Wei's Fan castle. Liu Bei seemed troubled since it had been Guan Yu who had volunteered to head the attack.
Zhao Yun stood at Liu Bei's left hand across from Zhuge Liang. He was also quite anxious for the god of war's safety since they had been together on the battlefield many a time. Though he hadn't sworn the oath of brotherhood with Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, he had been one of their first followers. He was distracted from his thoughts, though, as he heard hurried footsteps approaching.
A Shu soldier, who Tzu-Lung later recognized to belong to Guan Yu's troop, burst into the room. He was obviously injured, and seemed to be refusing help from a few servants who had followed him in. He fell to his knees before Liu Bei, clutching his side and struggling to speak.
"L-lord Liu Bei," he gasped out, his tone one of utmost urgency. "During the assault on Fan castle… The Wu army surrounded general Guan Yu and…" Here the soldier trailed off into a coughing fit, but no more words were needed to confirm his message.
"Impossible," Yun said almost at once, the words taking a while to register in his mind. Yun-Chang was too fierce a fighter to be taken out. The soldier HAD to be mistaken. He looked quickly over at Liu Bei to see how the soldier's words had affected him. The Shu commander had gone rigid in his seat, one hand tightly clenched on the arm of the throne.
"Guan Yu..."
With sudden ferocity, Liu Bei slammed his fist onto the wood, startling all in the room. He stood and ordered the nearest officer to bring him his sword. Yun stared at Yuan-te, somewhat scared of the unfamiliar flame now burning in the commander's eyes. "Everyone!" Bei said in a voice that resounded threateningly in the room. "Begin preparing for war!"
As Liu Bei started down the hall, Zhao Yun snapped out of the shock caused by his words. "No, my lord!" he said desperately, hurrying to kneel in front of the sovereign. "Our enemy is Wei! It wouldn't be just to attack Wu-!" But for the first time, Liu Yuan-te ignored him completely, continuing forward as if he hadn't spoken.
Somewhat hurt, Yun didn't rise, even as he heard Zhuge Liang talking to Liu Bei, trying to convince him to reconsider. Liu Bei had always listened to what he had to say before… Would a rift rise between them now because of Guan Yu's death?
Zhao Yun stood next to his horse outside the fortress they had constructed at Yi Ling. His Fierce Dragon Spear felt unusually leaden, as did his guilt. It wasn't like Liu Bei to send his whole army to battle for vengeance's sake. The virtuous Yuan-te Yun had always known seemed to have changed after Yu's passing on.
Yun could just see the trail of smoke from watch fires being lit across the river where Wu had camped. Sunset was minutes away now, leaving only a light orange cast over the land and the Wu army seemed just about ready to march.
Tzu-lung noted a suspicious group of soldiers near the edge of the river just across from their camp, but couldn't work out their intentions. They were out of bow range and a fire attack would be useless with the wind blowing away from the Shu camp. Still, he decided to stay close in case they tried something.
The sun was soon out of sight behind the distant mountains, but the fires burning from both camps cast enough light to see by. Zhao Yun mounted his horse and led it to the doors of the fortress, taking up a position where he could easily go to Liu Bei's aid if needed.
But a part of him, the part that had been hurt by how Yuan-te had treated him earlier, questioned why he had to guard a man who wouldn't listen to anyone. Yun shook his head, trying to rid himself of the doubt. He would just have to trust Bei... that was all.
Zhao Yun charged into ranks of Wu soldiers, cutting through their lines mercilessly. In his opinion, the Wu army was greatly outnumbered since they probably hadn't expected Liu Bei to use every last of his resources on them. Then again, he had heard that Sun Quan's new strategist Lu Xun was not to be underestimated.
Almost as if in response to his thoughts, a sudden cluster of soldiers came into view at the edge of the river where Yun had seen them earlier, but this time they had some kind of device with them. He wheeled his horse away from the troop he had been fighting with for a closer look. Then he realized what it was with shock—a bridge layer. So that was their plan. They had wanted to attack Shu from an unexpected direction.
The hurried gallop of Zhao Yun's steed kicked up great amounts of earth as he drove towards the riverbank. Since their forces were concentrated mostly on the West and East, not the center, no one else seemed to have realized what was happening.
When Tzu-lung was mere yards away from the river, the bridge layer came down with a crash, frightening his horse. It reared frantically, front hooves pawing the air and Yun was nearly thrown clear. A battalion of red-clad soldiers raced across the makeshift bridge, led by an officer Zhao Yun vaguely remembered to be Zhu Ran.
Managing to calm his horse, he urged it forward to attack, but was almost immediately intercepted by two other officers who had managed to get into the camp: Ling Tong and Gan Ning. Caught unaware, Yun had to abandon his horse to dodge a stab from the pirate's sword.
Yun backed away from the pair, warding off blows as he tried to see where the officer had gone. He caught sight of him running towards the fortress and tried to follow, but Ling Tong jumped in his way and drove him back. He tried to escape, but each time he tried to attack one of the two, the other forced him back. Their combined efforts only proved to aggravate him further.
At length, Zhao Yun managed to get away and began to search for Zhu Ran. But as he ran towards the fortress, a new troop coming from the East caught his eye. Yun saw a young boy with twin sabers standing at the head of the group and recognized him to be Lu Xun. Then the strategist gave a signal and his archers fired. Flaming arrows arched through the air, and found their target—the fortress.
Cries of panic erupted almost instantly from the stronghold as it was engulfed in roaring flames. Frozen in horror for only a split second, Tzu-lung charged forward. The doors that had been barred shut to keep Wu soldiers out were now doing the opposite and had trapped the Shu troops inside along with Liu Bei.
With a battle cry, Yun fought to get the door open from the outside before it caught fire as well. He could hear the soldiers panicking within and knew they were too disorganized to get it open themselves. Finally, he quickly moved out of the way as the doors gave and the injured soldiers stumbled out in a fray.
To Zhao Yun's great relief, he spotted Liu Bei on his horse Hex Mark amongst the crowd, injured but alive. All of the troops just seemed intent on getting away from the burning stronghold and ran in all directions. Yun saw that Yuan-te was going to his brother's aid since Zhang Fei's company seemed to be having trouble fending off Lu Xun's troop.
Tzu-lung ran to help as well, but when he was only halfway there, one of Lu Xun's officers raised a sword and struck Zhang Fei down from behind. Despite the distance, Yun could still sense the Shu commander's rage as he leapt off Hex Mark and charged down the officer.
Then Yun saw the Wu strategist raise his own bow and aim at Liu Bei who, in his anger, didn't notice him. Even as Zhao Yun cried out a warning, the arrow lanced through the air and struck Yuan-te in the side. Time seemed to slow as he fell and Yun could already see the fire leave his lord's eyes.
End of Chapter One