So, this is something I've wanted to do for quite a while, especially since I'm a HUGE Dynasty Warriors fan. This story takes place after the end of Lu Bu's 8 Extreme Legends Hypothetical scenario; the one where he defeats Li Jue and Guo Si, and becomes the most powerful lord in the land.
It's based upon a custom scenario I made for 8 Empires, called The Land of Might. It shows what happens to China after the victory of Lu Bu, from the viewpoint of some of those who survived the massive battle.
Some of the of surviving warriors such as Sun Ce and Cao Pi, along with the Western lords like Liu Zhang and Ma Teng continue to desperately hold their ground against the brutal advance of Lu Bu's massive armies.
There will also be an OC as well. He will be very important to the Wu/Sun Ce side of things. More of his story will be revealed as we go along. Without any further delay, let us begin!
This story is currently rated T for language, and also some mild romance in later chapters.
Chapter 1: The Will of Zuo Ci
The mystic had a will that none could defy. Lu Bu tore through the land of China like a mighty beast, destroying all those who stood in his way. Countless powerful warriors such as Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and Sun Quan died in the final clash at Chang An, while those who remained became bitter and thirsted for revenge.
It truly seemed as though none had the power to stop the advance of Lu Bu's awesome generals, Hua Xiong, Zhang Liao, and Gao Shun. The mighty land of China was running out of time.
There was only one choice left for Zuo Ci. His magic was mighty enough to bend the will of time itself. However, it could only be used manipulate, and not destroy. If no warrior in China could muster the strength to defeat Lu Bu's awesome feirocity, he would have to draft one from another place entirely.
From within his cave in the furthest northern mountains, the powerful mystic summoned forth all of his power into a single glyph on the floor, and stepped upon it.
"In order to halt the progress of a demon, one of extreme skill and determination will be needed," He said with a cryptic air within his voice.
The glyph within the confines of the darkened dwelling began to pulse with powerful magical energy. With everything prepared, it was time to depart for a land so very far away. The body of the mystic was consumed with the will of his magic, and slowly he flickered away and vanished.
Modern Day Europe: London – England
Zuo Ci's body slowly began to flicker back into existence. When he opened his eyes, he found the land in which he had arrived to be most intriguing. He stood in a desolate, old yard with metal tracks embedded in the ground, and stony gravel beneath his feet.
The rain beat down hard upon his head, but in his infinite wisdom of magic; he truly did not care about such trivial things. The mystical power had drawn him here for a reason. It had brought him back to this strange foreign land in search of a somebody with a poweful fighting spirit.
Thankfully, the mystic could sense such a powerful source of life energy not far away. It was burning with an intense fire that could only rival the flames of the Sun Family's brilliance. Fortunately, he did not have to move very far either, because just a few short steps away he was able to look upon that very person of whom he had been summoned to collect. He stood tall, and seemed to be fighting with a small gang of people. There was seven of them, and only one of him.
At this moment in time the Zuo Ci remained invisible with the use of black magic.
With interest beginning to peak, Zuo Ci eyed the man as he battled with these brigands. He was tall in height, with a muscular build, his chest and arms being especially well toned through hours of training. His eyes shone a bright emerald green in appreciation , and his hair was a colour the likes of which the wizard had never seen before. It was a bright blond, almost white, but not of a natural colour. It had been stripped with bleach.
The clothes he wore were again, alien to the mystic. His garments were a material he had not seen before in the land in which he resided. The unnamed fighter with blond hair wore denim jeans, and a matching jacket, which covered his semi exposed, shirtless chest. His hands remained covered by fingerless leather driving gloves, and around his neck we wore a Yin Yang pendant that shone with silver warmth.
A faint magic presence glimmered from it, one that only Zuo Ci was able detect. It was very likely that this pendent had been blessed by a form of prayer. Now content with knowing the face of the warrior he had come to this foreign land for, the elderly mystic continued to watch the battle unfold.
Two of the nameless attackers stepped forward to face the lone fighter, "You're out of time, Lennox. The boss is sick of you sticking up for that girl from the club. He sent us to deal with you..."
Alas, the name of the mysterious fighter was revealed.
A third thug stepped forward, "Just give it up, Mike…. If you bring the girl to us... the boss will let you go free."
This 'Mike' character simply gave a sly smirk in response.
He took a step forward and scoffed sarcastically, "You're kidding right? If I hand her over Lance will just shoot me in the back afterwards. Screw that. She's staying with ME."
The blond haired Brit combed his hair back with his hand and smiled, "C'mon, gentleman. We might as well just get this over with, eh?"
The bunched up mob of the goons parted as their leader stepped to the front. He was a muscular man with tanned skin. His face bore a painful looking scar across the whole left side, and one of his eyes was blue, the other, brown. He held in his hands a large army knife, and smiled viciously.
"Well, that was your last warning," He said sternly before bringing the knife up and licking it in a most sadistic way.
"Okay then. Take him out, gentleman, and dump him in the river when you're done," The boss spoke his words coldly and uncaringly. Content, he began before he began to walk away with a sinister cackle.
Before Mike knew it, he had been set upon by six men, two of them carrying improvised weapons, a knife and a metal chain to be exact.
Zuo Ci watched with immense curiousity as the British fighter went barrelling headfirst into his enemies. This mysterious brawler had gained his interest, that much was certain.
Quickly and carefully, Mike snatched the chain from one of the thugs and brutally thrashed two of his attackers across the face with it. Both tumbled to the floor, and Mike twirled the chain in his hands as if it were a Nunchaku.
"Alright then guys," He nodded confidently, "Have at thee."
The other four thugs rushed forward, while the one at the front lunged with his knife, "You're dead, prick."
However, Mike did not panic. He let his body loosen up and fell into a kind of trance. His breathing became evermore steady, and his senses flared up. With each footstep his attackers took, the Brit was preparing. When they reached a good enough range he awoke again, like a beast from its slumber.
He moved quickly, and swung the chain free from his hands. It flew forward with intense speed and smacked the knife wielding goon in the face. With a grunt of pain, he was quickly sent crashing into the floor.
From there, Mike increased his speed. He charged in, grabbed one of his attackers by the shoulders, and slung him into another. After a violent collision both of them hit the floor with a bang. They didn't look to be getting up anytime soon.
The last remaining thug simply turned on his heels and started to run away, "You're a lunatic, Lennox! Lance is gonna here about this! He'll be back, with ten of the boys, and then you're screwed," He yelled before rounding the corner of an old warehouse building and vanishing from sight.
Mike simply shook his head, "I'd welcome the challenge," The blond haired fighter said as he picked up the chain from earlier and began to walk away.
It was then that Zuo Ci became visible again, with a brisk snap of the fingers. He stood in front of Mike, barring his path, "Most impressive, boy. You may indeed be the one I seek."
As if by instinct, Mikey fell back into fighting stance again, just for safety sake.
"You can't be one of Lance's guys, now can you? The outfit…. Are you a visitor from another country or something?" The Brit asked his cautious question while while remaining on guard.
Zuo Ci nodded silently, and from within his robe, he produced a deck of mystical cards. He draw one of them between his forefinger and thumb, and then looked back up to Mike. He gave a nod in response.
"You could indeed, say that. Tell me… boy," The cryptic mystic began with a slightly sly little smirk now curved upon his lips.
"Have you ever been to China, Mr Mike Lennox?" Zuo Ci spoke curiously in order to keep his true intentions hidden.
Mike was still a little uneasy about this guy's sudden appearance, as well as his unusual question. It was so bizarre in fact, that it made him take a step back, "Well, yeah... a couple of times. I went to Hong Kong once and Shanghai twice. I'm a martial artist… fought in tournaments, and I love the history of the place."
Such a response from the young man was enough to intrigue the grey robed mystic even more. He let out a cold little chuckle and held up the card in his hand.
"Most interesting indeed…. Tell me, would you like to return there?" Zuo Ci's tone of voice turned cold with his latest question.
Mike nodded, ever more confused than he was a few moments earlier, "Yes… I would. The two months I spent there last year were a very enlightening for me. I would be happy to return there again."
"Well, now is your chance, dear boy." As he spoke, Zuo Ci snapped his fingers. The card he was holding erupted into a glypth of energy. Bursting forth, it started to meld itself with Mike's chest.
The Brit looked down in extreme confusion, "What the hell?"
Before Mike knew it, the glyph lit up with an amazing white light and turned red with heat. With an intense magical glow, the glyph started to sear a Chinese symbol onto his chest. The pain was truly immense, beyond anything this young man had ever felt in his life. It was enough to cause him to double over in the most excruciating agony. Overwhelmed, he yelled out.
Alas, Mike collapsed in a heap and was unable move. His eyes closed, and as the moments passed his vision faded away.
"Damn… you," The emerald eyed fighter muttered before finally losing consciousness all together.
"Fear not…. When you awaken you will have your wish, and your destiny shall unfold. You have been chosen, warrior of chance, or perhaps, it was fate…." Once he finished speaking, Zuo Ci called upon his magic to conceal himself and Mike in an orb of darkened energy.
They both slowly started to fade out of existence in this time and place.
Heifei – China 205 AD
The ground was cold. It was hard and unwelcoming, and even through the darkness Mike could sense that something was not right about his situation. Slowly but surely each one of his senses started to return to his body.
Wind blew softly, but this was no comforting feeling of home for him. As the Brit's ears started to pick up sounds again, he heard frantic shouting and cries. The sudden contrast in volume was enough to force his eyes open slowly.
His vision panned upward through the pain of his newly spinning head. The first thing his dark and powerful green eyes made contact with was a man. He was shorter than Lennox, clad in a well-kept red uniform. He clutched a spear tightly in his chunky hands.
The strange man leaned forward with careful intent, and slowly poked at Mike with the blunt wooden side of his spear.
This caused the British fighter to jump to his feet. Mike felt a shooting pair burst surge through the front of his head as he tried to keep his balance. He tried to remember something, anything, but no memories came to him…. He could not remember a single thing.
The soldier let out a short shout of hostility and twirled the other side of his spear, "HALT! Don't you move. Inform Lord Lu Su," The red clad man called out, "We have a live one here. His clothing is most… bizarre."
The full awakening of Mike's senses allowed him to grasp the gravity of the situation. He looked from left to right, and saw chaos and carnage all around him. Men lunged and stabbed at eachother as fires raged. People were screaming, shouting and dying all around him, and it was utter madness.
Quick observation on his part allowed him to notice something about this bloody conflict. The two groups of men that were fighting seemed to have different colored uniforms. One side wore black, and the other, red.
Mike's attention was snapped back to his immediate situation once he found himself violently restrained. The pressure they applied on his arms was somewhat painful, and as much as he wrestled and fought, he was unable to break free. He was hauled away from the screaming of battle rather uncaringly, until eventually it seemed to be behind him.
Not out of the fire yet though, the British fighter was still victim of being dragged along. After a little while longer he was tossed once again. With a thump he landed violently at somebody's feet. He looked upward; rage and frustration in his eyes, to see a red robe clad man with a fairly determined face. He held a weapon in his other hand…. It resembled a garden rake.
"My name is Lu Su, stranger," The man spoke his words warmly, yet with an air of caution too.
Mike got to his feet with a rather hostile aura and felt his torso as if by instinct. The first thing that entered his mind was the burning of the glyph on his chest. He felt an aura of unease coursing through his body as a result of it being there.
It was at that moment that Mike heard a whisper crawl into his head, "With that glyph burned into your flesh, you are able to understand the language spoken by those who inhabit this land. Welcome to the land of imperial China, Warrior of Chance."
The one voice Mike could remember was the one he felt a great sense of anger toward. Zuo Ci was within the confines of his head. The presence of another voice within his part from his own caused him to feel somewhat dizzy. He snarled in annoyance and shook his head stiffly to stop the voice of the mystic from crawling around in his brain.. It was then that he realized the presence of Lu Su for a second time, who was very much still staring with a serious face.
"Answer my question," Lu Su demanded of Mike sternly, this time with much more authority in his voice.
Lennox felt slightly nervous about the gravity of this place. He opened his mouth to speak, but was abruptly cut off by the sound of shouting coming ever so closer.
A man barged past; dressed in full battle armour. He bowed on one knee, hastily yet respectfully in the direction of Lu Su.
"My lord!" The armour clad man shouted. "Zhang Liao's pursuit forces are closing in! We must signal for reinforcements at once."
The man who Mike could now attach a name to, Lu Su, seemed noticeably disheartened by this news.
"I was wondering how long it would take Zhang Liao to catch up…. Send word to Master Sun Ce at the Main Camp. We must request reinforcements so that we may continue our withdrawal to Jianye."
The armour clad soldier nodded respectfully, "Yes, M'lord."
It was then that Lu Su returned his attention to the somewhat downtrodden Mike, "Now stranger," he began, "You will tell me what I need to know…."
In the nervous heat of the moment Mike could only think to answer with his instincts, "I'm a fighter; a martial artist. I don't know why I'm here. Just… let me get have a moment to clear my head. I need to collect my thoughts."
The brow of Lu Su was raised. He was very curious about the situation, "You're not one of Lu Bu's," he started, "The unusual clothing you wear is proof enough of that. Are you a mercenary?"
Truth be told, Mike's head began to hurt progressively more each time he tried to think about the situation. He winced in discomfort as trying to recall his thoughts generated more unease, until he eventually gave up.
"I don't know," The Brit spoke in a pained fashion, "Look… I've always been something of a wanderer, but at this moment in time nothing is making sense to me.. I'd rather you just let me get out of here."
Lu Su looked Mike in the eyes. They burned with determination, and that determination spurred something within the mighty strategic mind of the Wu officer.
"I'm afraid I cannot do that. We are currently at war," Lu Su spoke frankly and firmly.
"However," He began, "If you are a mercenary, I have an offer for you…."
With a snap of Lu Su's fingers, a soldier moved to toss a sword at Mike's feet. It clanked on the ground as it impacted, causing Mike to stare at it with great fixation.
"Fight on the frontlines in our next battle. Your only other choice in these times of war is our dungeon, at least until we figure out what to do with you," Lu Su spoke plainly as he placed his hand on his chin in thought.
Unable to think of anything; recall a single memory, the fighter with blond hair reached down and touched the sword. Upon doing so his head throbbed with unbearable pain, as Zuo Ci's voice started to echo again.
"In time, things will return to you, boy. Until then, follow the path of your fate..."
Mike reached out with his right hand and gripped the sword tightly, "Alright… I'll do it. I hope you understand though, that this is because I don't have a choice."
There was a serious nod given by Lu Su in response to the words of the young vagabond, "In this land of conflict, there is little choice for any of us."
Hurried feet started to patter up from behind. Another solider barged past Mike and threw himself on his knees before Lu Su, "My Lord…. Zhang Liao's vanguard are attacking! We must deploy to meet them right away."
With those words acting as a warning of the events to come, Mike looked down at the sword in his hands, "It's time," He said to himself with a small smile.
Sun Ce's Main Camp – several miles away
Sun Ce remained seated within the safety of his small fort with troops all around him. Also in his company was Lianshi.
Sun Ce was aware that this battle was taking a turn for the worst. However, they needed to hold the line just long enough to return to their capital.
The Little Conqurer was greeted by a messenger who bowed respectfully.
"My Lord," He spoke with the utmost respect, "Master Lu Su is requesting our aid to successfully finish our retreat. He is under attack by the vangauard forces of Lu Bu's army."
Those words of battle served to make an intense fire burn within Sun Ce's veins! He loved battle, he loved the thrill and the excitement of combat. He jumped up from his seating within the main camp and reached for his Tonfa's.
"ALRIGHT THEN!" The young ruler declared loudly.
With a twirl of his weapons, he looked to Lianshi, "Looks like we're the only ones that can do this! Let's go, Lianshi! They need somebody to protect them."
Lianshi, the pale skinned beauty in her elegant long red skirt, gave a solemn little nod and produced her Mandarin Duck Hooks from their hiding places at each thigh.
"I will act as their protector in this battle, my lord. I promise you that," She said softly as her deep brown eyes beamed with courage.
With all said and done, the remainder of Sun Ce's forces, led by the conquer himself, turned around to join the battle. A bloody conflict was going to erupt on the outskirts of Hefei very soon, and the destinies of an unknown warrior, as well as that of the head of the Sun family, were about to take shape….
The final plan of Zuo Ci was now in motion. Would those few brave warriors that remained after the gruesome battle of Chang An be enough to halt the progress of the great battle demon, Lu Bu?
If not, the world would certainly be held in the grip of Lu Bu's brute power for many years to come…..
End of Chapter 1
Alrighty! The first chapter is done. In the next one we're going to be focusing a lot more on Sun Ce's forces, and their battle Lu Bu's army. I hope you all enjoyed this story, and please do keep in mind that this is based loosely off my current 8 Empires run.
If you liked it or want to see more, please feel free to leave me some feedback. Thank you again for taking the time to read this, and I hope to see you all in the next chapter!