Prologue

A sword never jams, never has to be reloaded, is always ready. It's worst shortcoming is that it takes great skill and patient, loving practice to gain that skill; it can't be taught to raw recruits in weeks, nor even months.

-Robert A Heinlein

Zheng De Zhao stared blearily at the stack of reports on his desk. "Haven't I filled out these forms in triplicate already?"

"Uhm, sorry Sir," his aide Boris Kalashnikov said apologetically, "This is a different stack. Congress and the oversight committee have been complaining about excessive military expenditure for months now, so we've got to jump through more hoops to get the same amount of supplies we'd been getting."

"I know, I know," De Zhao continued to grumble as he started scribbling and signing off on the first piece of paper he grabbed off the stack. "Wish we had the same leeway like back during the height of the interstellar war."

"Well, you know what they say. Success breeds complacency."

"And complacency breeds failure. Failure breeds desperation, and desperation breeds success," De Zhao rolled his eyes. "Have we anything other to do?"

"Well, there's a physical drill scheduled for today…"

De Zhao frowned, "I'm skipping it."

"Why sir?" Boris stooped down to look better at his boss's face. "Not feeling too well nowadays, eh? Those eye bags from not sleeping the whole night?"

De Zhao scowled, and while his scowl would normally send most junior officers running for their lives, Boris was made of sterner stuff. Besides, Boris had earned the right in a dozen hard fought campaigns.

"Sir, you can't keep going on like this. I know this great place for acupuncture that can cure insomnia…"

"Not interested." Came the brusque reply.

Boris failed to keep check on his tongue for once, and he spoke without thinking, "Sir, I know it's been hard for you since Yu Lin died…"

Boris stopped, knowing that he had made a big mistake. The air in the room had chilled to below absolute zero mere microseconds after he had uttered the name. The look on De Zhao's face was full of regret, grief, and unrequited rage. His body trembled with emotion, and the pen he had been holding had broke under the force exerted by his clenched fingers.

"Boris," De Zhao said softly, "Get out of my office."

Boris nodded, inching away for a few steps before turning and running out of the office for all he was worth.

De Zhao buried his head in his hands, sobbing quietly. He took out a jade necklace from a pocket, as well as a small box containing a silver and gold ring, wondering why he had waited so long, too long.

It just seemed like yesterday that she died…

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Chapter One-Everything Old is New Again

No toilet paper, shower facilities, soap, or any of the basic amenities of modern life. Ah, the joys of living in ancient China!

Thanks a lot, assholes!

-Zheng De Zhao

"Well, nice to see you again, Zheng Jiang Jun." Shang Jiang Jun(Upper General) Talon Zahn, and Zheng De Zhao's superior officer, told him. "I'll get straight to the point. SLDF High Command has got a 'request' mission they want to tap you for, and I see no reason to decline. It is an honor for our state."

De Zhao stood stiffly at attention, wondering at the 'request' which had singled him out specifically when there were probably dozens of other officers who could probably do the job just as well, if not better.

He voiced his doubts, "Sir, there must be many other men more suitable…"

"Not for this task, they aren't." Talon replied immediately. "Oh, to be sure, I have to be honest and say that the shortlist was only 5 names long, and the other 4 are all unavailable."

Understanding dawned on De Zhao. Five names? That could only mean…

"Yes," Zahn said earnestly. "You, Jian Xing, Nie Feng, Han Korsakov, and Tao Zhe. Who're all missing or sent on their own missions and are currently incognito. The candidate must be well-versed in Chinese, some form of it at least, have a working knowledge of Chinese customs," Talon paused, then added, "And must be somebody capable of killing a demon."

Zheng resisted the urge to gulp hard. Killing demons was often a fools' errand, especially the high ranking demons. "Sounds tough."

"It is tough, or you wouldn't be asked to do it. This assignment is also a NWB."

De Zhao blinked. NWB-No Way Back. At least, none that they know of. A one way ticket to hell. Sounds like they're sending me to my death. Again. Unfortunately.

He chose his next words carefully. "I thought we're through suicide missions?"

"This isn't a suicide mission, but you'll probably be stuck for some time if you go. Retrieval just isn't a priority right now."

"Where, when, what?"

Talon Zahn leaned back in his seat languidly, "It's all in the mission dossier, but there's no harm in telling you now. 'Where' is a dirthole parallel Earth, 'when' is currently at about 200 AD. 'What' is a demon son-of-a-gun messing up the normal course of history as it had happened on most worlds and trying to enforce a gradual worldwide takeover. Oh, before you complain about the importance of a single world, there's a strong reason why we don't want the Dark to have it."

De Zhao arched an eyebrow.

"The Fu Yi Jian is on that world."

That made De Zhao blink. The Fu Yi Jian, or Fu Yi sword, was a spirit weapon of legend, said to confer control over the 8 elements onto the person who masters it. Needless to say, it was extremely powerful, and such a weapon in the hands of a demon was the stuff strategists' nightmares were made of.

"Uh huh," Zahn spoke to De Zhao's unsaid concern, "So you've to get it before the demons do, and restore peace and prosperity, yadda, yadda, yadda, to the land as well."

That made De Zhao blink again. "Huh?"

"Huh what huh?" Zahn mocked him, "It's the Three Kingdoms Period. Messy, lots of killing? Ring a bell?"

"Crap."

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Come on, let's be honest. It's not as if you've anything left for you here. No family, a few close friends, that's all. Zahn's final words in the interview. I know your girlfriend died, and you've yet to get over her. Think of it as the chance for a fresh start. A place to begin all over again, away from your own regrets, your own past.

After all that, the offer of a choice to opt out was a joke, given with no real sincerity behind it.

The Sian Commonality defenses? He had asked. It was, had been, his responsibility. The protection of more than 50 worlds, and no easy task.

Don't worry, we've good people to take over. Zahn had assured him. This is something only you can do, De Zhao, so don't let us down.

"Okay, you set?" The burly scientist/mage in charge of the entire procedure stared at him. "This is going to be very bumpy, since we haven't exactly been able to fine-tune the process. God alone knows what you'll go through as you pass through the gate."

They got the info through captured enemy transmissions, De Zhao remembered from the mission dossier intelligence section. But the locale was so far away in the whole bloody universe that the only realistic way to get there was by shadow gating. Untested, mostly, untried, very, and utterly unreliable.

I'll be lucky if I end up there with just two limbs. But what the hey? Who dares, wins. Now who said that, hmmm? The SAS? Nah, who cares?

He took one last look at himself. He was dressed in non-descript peasant clothes that were lifted off a period drama set, some swordfighting serial based on the Three Kingdoms that was, irony of ironies, currently being shown on the holovids. There wasn't much else he had on him. They had strict guidelines to prevent him from bringing along anything which smacked of higher technology, like guns or communication devices. The only high tech items he had on him were a small supply of protein bars for nutrition, and a satchel filled full of sleeping pills he had begged to bring along for his insomnia. Even the 'water canteen' he had brought along was made from the treated skin of some animal.

No weapon hung at his sides. He had refused a sword, thinking that getting a weapon over at his destination might be a better idea. In any case, he surmised that appearing with a weapon at certain places would be a serious red flag, without knowing the exact condition and situation. Better to pass off as a lowly peasant first. Being ordinary is bliss.

The final two items he carried with him were in a small pouch hanging from his belt, carrying the jade necklace and the ring he had intended for Yu Lin. They were his tokens of love for her, and a reminder of his beloved, lost forever to him by the veil of death.

De Zhao forced himself away from the path of his memories, focusing on the now and immediate present. He saw the techs give him a thumbs up, then he stepped up to the dais, where a black void had appeared from mid air.

"Any time you want sir." The scientist reported.

Zheng stared into the black void, as though his keen eyesight could pierce through the darkness. He tried to quell the uneasiness, the fear, rolling about in his stomach. My fate, my destiny, he realized. He took one last, long look around him, marveling at the wonders of industrial and scientific civilization and what he was leaving behind, thirty years of memories and sorrows. Then he steeled his resolve. Talon Zahn was right. There was nothing left for him here. The only way for him now was forward, into the blackness.

Zheng De Zhao took a deep breath, and stepped into the void.

Traveling through a Shadow Gate was like having your insides turned out a thousand times, roasted, baked, then sent back in, while the outside that was now, well, outside got its turn. And that was just on the physical sensation side. Mentally, it was like reliving all the nightmares you've ever had all over again in the span of a few short minutes, but to all extents and purposes an eternity.

Zheng De Zhao, former general and soldier, finally tumbled through the gate opening into the world of the Middle Kingdom, smack in the midst of a time known for endless war and conflict, lying to rest on a grassy patch. Unconscious, very much out of it, and for one of the few times in his life since becoming a soldier, sleeping soundly.

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203 AD, Middle Kingdom,

Dong Empire

"Pretty girl, bathing by the shore!" Somebody sang, badly off key. The harsh tunes stirred Zheng, and he groaned, rousing himself up from his fetal position as he regained his senses.

"Her clothes on the banks, belonging to a whore!" Zheng groaned. Yup, he could make out the words all right, and the dialect wasn't too far different from the ones he knew. He'd have to improvise a bit here and there, but no big deal. Upon hearing the tune, he wished he hadn't. It was crude, frivolous, and utterly lacking in taste.

He tested each of his limbs, then his fingers, checking to see if he had emerged unscathed, and was more than a bit surprised to realize that he had, indeed, come through without any real problem.

De Zhao took a few tentative steps, as though the fact that he was on a different world had not sunk in yet. He sighed, then shook his head vigorously to get his thoughts back in order.

First thing, find out the local situation. Gather intel. Lay low. Then I start thinking about taking action. Step by step, De Zhao, step by step.

He started walking briskly, to catch up with the man who was singing dreadfully off-key.

It was a shabbily dressed merchant, driving a two-horse wagon with goods piled up in the wagon he was on. Zheng quickened his pace and came up to the merchant.

"Greetings, fellow traveller!" Zheng offered the merchant with a sincere smile.

The merchant turned towards him, and smiled back, "Well, hello! Where're you headed?"

Zheng shook his head, "Nowhere in particular, just going where my feet lead me."

The merchant looked him over, "You look like a strong lad. What's your name?"

"Surname is Zheng, given name is De Zhao."

"Surname's Kuo, given name is Fan, style is She Jing. Nice to meet you." Kuo seemed like an honest fellow, easygoing and amiable. Zheng and Kuo chatted as they traveled on the road, and Zheng took the opportunity to note down recent events.

Kuo was talking, "Ahhh… Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Sun Jian. Great lords all. They would have split the lands between them, if not for Dong Zhuo, who foiled Wang Yun's plan to foster disagreement between him and Lu Bu."

"Is it?"

"You didn't know?"

"I was overseas for many months, and did not know of the events in the Han kingdom." That was a glib lie, and a cover story Zheng had worked to perfection. A more discerning person might question his current location in the Middle Kingdom and his apparent lack of knowledge, but a certain tone of speech often deflected all suspicion. Useful trick, really.

"Well, Dong Zhuo was advised by somebody who appeared out of nowhere of Wang Yun's plan, and he foiled it by holding Diao Chan hostage in order to force Lu Bu's loyalty to him. And then Lu Bu led his forces out and slaughtered the rebels." Kuo shook his head. "What a sad state of affairs."

"And then?"

"Liu Bei, Cao, Cao, and Sun Jian survived, and led their remaining forces away. Liu Bei, with Zhuge Liang's help, managed to set up in the western part of the kingdom. Cao Cao hung onto the northern territories he had taken, while Sun Jian consolidated in the south. But none of them ever forgot the single massive presence in the heart of the Middle Kingdom, Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu."

Kuo sighed, "It didn't last. And it couldn't have lasted. Dong simply waited for a ripe opportunity, after Chi Bi, not too long ago. He then struck at Cao Cao and Liu Bei with overwhelming forces, shattering their armies and killing many brave heroes. Wei and Shu are almost gone, and Wu is hanging on by the tips of their fingernails. With Lu Bu forced to help Dong Zhuo with Diao Chan hostage, Dong Zhuo is invincible, especially with the advisor who helped him with the plot in the first place."

"Advisor? I didn't know Dong Zhuo had good strategists."

"Oh, this strategist wasn't just smart, he's also a terror on the battlefield, I heard. Even his name is whacked out. Ruan Shi. It's rumored his style is Qin Sha."

Ruan Shi, Chaos Era. Qin Sha, Wanton Slaughter. Zheng translated to himself and winced inwardly. Ouch. That has to be it. Can't have a bigger hint than that name. Now, how do I go about hunting him down…

He asked Kuo, "So how would a merchant like you know so much?"

Kuo paled at the question, "Uhm, I just have contacts in higher places."

Zheng nodded easily, "Sure you do. Maybe you could find some work for me, eh?" He's well fed, has a nice sword tucked behind his back. Good control over horses, has a military bearing. Spy? Deserter? Officer?

A sudden sense of unease made Zheng narrow his eyes. A familiar sensation of danger, one he had learnt not to ignore. He suddenly threw up a hand, gesturing Kuo to halt.

"What's the matter, young friend?" Kuo had his sword suddenly out in front of him.

"Danger." Zheng tensed, then raised his voice, "Whoever you are, you might as well come out now!"

For a moment, there was nothing. Then when it happened, it was like a thunderstorm blasting out of nowhere.

Ten bandits ran out of their hiding spots in the tall grass on both sides of the road section they were on, dashing for the wagon. Another five ran down the road, while the last five closed off any possible retreat.

"Fuck!" Zheng countercharged one bandit, catching the man before he could swing his sword and tossing him over and down onto the ground. A swift turn of the neck ended the threat.

Two bandits slashed at him before he could pick up the dead bandit's sword, and Zheng backed away. Casting about for a weapon, he spied a tree branch on the ground. Better than nothing.

He kicked the branch into his hands, and used it to engage a bandit. The bandit sneered, but was left wondering what happened when Zheng amazingly parried his sword with the flimsy branch, turning it round in some weird clockwise, then anti-clockwise motion, and somehow managed to flip it into his own hands after a tap on the bandit's wrist!

"Thank you!" With his new sword, De Zhao cut down the bandit with ease. He saw Kuo Fan holding off the other bandits, just barely holding on.

"Come on!" Zheng roared as he let himself into the battle rage, feeling the intoxicating sensation of adrenaline rushing through his body, but never so far that he lost his ability to think and plan.

He moved swifter than most eyes could follow, the blade in his hands almost alive as it cut down bandit after bandit. A kick here, a slash there. With pressure off him, Kuo was also able to fight back more effectively now.

Between the two of them, the twenty bandits were dead after just three minutes. They leaned over their swords, panting and watching warily for more. Zheng had accounted for 15 of the bandits, while Kuo had taken out 5.

"You okay?" Zheng asked a breathless Kuo, who was wheezing hard. Kuo nodded, unable to speak for the moment. Jeez, just hours here and I'm already involved in a fight.

Zheng stooped down to inspect the body of a bandit. He tore down the sleeves, revealing a tattoo on the dead bandit's upper arm. It was a tattoo of a bird.

"Deserters from Wei…" Kuo finally spoke. Zheng turned and looked at him, seeing guilt, disgust, and regret all rolled into one.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Zheng prodded. "I think there's more, isn't it?"

Kuo stiffened. "I can tell you, but not here. There's a town with another two hours travel. I'll tell you there."

"Okay, but hold on first." Zheng started searching the bodies of the dead bandits, taking whatever valuables he could find, as well as their swords, which he tossed onto Kuo's wagon.

"Waste not, want not." Zheng explained. "I need money, and we deserve something after making the road a bit safer for other travelers."

"That's a strange argument, but one I won't argue with. Except we better hurry before more bandits turn up."

Zheng didn't take long though, and soon they were hurrying on to Xi Tou.

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Selling the swords wasn't a problem. The town of Xi Tou needed regular and heavy tithes to pay off Dong Zhuo's pillaging armies, and Zheng had kindly sold the swords to the township for a quarter of their actual prices, allowing the town some reprieve from their heavy taxation.

They found themselves in an inn, sitting quietly in a corner while Kuo ordered the food. Zheng looked puzzled at the characters on the menu, trying to make sense of the words. Damn, speech is one thing, but words are another! I can't read these words!

"So, Zheng De Zhao, what is it you wanted to say?" Kuo asked when their food finally arrived. Half a chicken, a plate of simple vegetables, and some rice. Not the finest he ever had, but Zheng knew it was far from the worse. The worst was several cockroaches and sewer water back on… bah, it's over now anyway.

Zheng cleared his throat, then said it out. "You are, or were, from the Wei army."

Kuo stopped his eating for the barest of moments, before nodding sadly. "Yes, I was."

"So what happened? You ran away, didn't you? You were a deserter like the bandits, except you weren't forced to the hills for survival." Zheng kept his tone calm. He didn't want to agitate his friend, who obviously bore his own guilt and pain like a cross. On the road to Cavalry, Zheng thought.

"I ran away. I abandoned my honor. I abandoned my lord. There was no hope left. I had seen too much."

And then Kuo told Zheng his tale, and that of the Middle Kingdom.

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Kuo Fan had been the son of a minor official. Growing up, he had become a junior officer. He was not the finest of warriors nor the smartest of tacticians, but he did okay. Early on, he attached himself to Cao Cao's rising star, and was one of the future Lord of Wei's earliest supporters.

For 16 years he had fought bravely under Cao Cao, until the terrible Battle of Chi Bi, where Zhou Yu, Zhuge Liang, and Pang Tong had conspired to send the mighty Wei army to crushing defeat. Cao Cao had been lured into attacking the weaker Wei and Shu Kingdoms before he would turn his attentions to the mighty armies of Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu, and the three kingdoms paid heavily for his decision.

Shu was annihilated in its infancy, Zhuge Liang killed by a posse of Dong Zhuo's officers as they ganged up on Liu Bei's retreating forces. The three oath brothers died holding the lines, fulfilling their oaths to one another as they died within hours of one another. It was said that the very skies themselves wept on that day. Not much was known of the fate of Liu Bei's other generals.

Then Dong Zhuo's horde turned towards Cao Cao's beaten army in pursuit. Kuo cried into his wine as he described the slow, humiliating retreat, nipped off bit by bit by Dong Zhuo's generals. The deaths of so many friends and renowned heroes, first on the sea, then by Dong Zhuo's men, broke him. He tore off his uniform, and hid in the forests until the danger was past. Cao Cao was killed, as were many of his top generals and strategists, like Xiahou Dun, Xu Zhu, Zhang He, and Sima Yi.

Sun Ce was next. Dong Zhuo sent the full force of his fury against the son and heir of Sun Jian, and while Sun Ce managed to hold by dint of tremendous sacrifice in men and material, losses were so heavy that Kuo privately doubted if Sun Ce could ever hold an offensive again. Even worse were the loss of many of his best generals, as well as the capture of his wife and sister-in-law, the beautiful Qiao sisters, and his sister Lady Sun. That alone had made the ruler of Wu a broken man, unwilling to fight any more except to safeguard his holdings.

Dong Zhuo finally declared himself emperor only a few weeks ago.

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"So, what do you think now, young man?" Kuo said as he downed another cup of wine. "Our country is heading towards oblivion, and there's nothing I can do. Nothing I would do."

Zheng smiled ruefully, "For starters, I'm not all that young. I've seen thirty winters myself. Next, as for what I really think… You had no choice. None at all. From the moment Cao Cao planned to attack Wei, everything was set. A balance of 4 forces is… somewhat complicated…" How the hell do I explain lopsided 4 faction game theory to him?

"As for Dong Zhuo, maybe you wouldn't have to worry about him too long. Sooner or later, his armies will grow weak, vulnerable."

When Kuo started to shake his head, Zheng insisted, "No, look around you. The lands in Dong Zhuo's hands are lying barren, stripped of their value, without people to work on them as he concentrates on his own pleasures and his armies. In," Zheng closed his eyes, making a quick guesstimate, "20 years, his empire would have collapsed under its own weight as the system he is sucking off gets sucked away into nothing."

"But by that time, how many more would have died?" Kuo replied. "Would you abandon more souls to their fate under Dong Zhuo's rule, knowing that many, many more would die, if not of war and battle, then of starvation and disease?"

Zheng stared into his own wine cup, unable to reply.

"You are a fine man, Zheng De Zhao." Kuo said abruptly. "I cannot, am not, able to make a difference. I do not have the ability to. But you have."

"And how would you know that?" I'm half broken myself, or can't you see that? I've seen more men die in one bloody battle than you ever did. I've held my lover in my arms as she died. Is there anything worse in life than that?

"One. Your skills in battle. Two, you are smart. Three, there's something in you I cannot understand, but which both terrifies me and gives me hope."

Zheng waved his hands, "Undeserved praise."

"Talent is talent, Zheng, and I see it in you." Kuo's eyes were no longer filled with despair, but were filled with a strange fire. "Go to Wu, my friend, and enlist in their army. The Middle Kingdom's last hope against Dong Zhuo's tyranny is Sun Ce and his kingdom. You will find yourself useful there."

They stared at each other for several moments after that, before Zheng said, "And that's not all, isn't it? There's still a lot you're not telling me."

"And there's lots you're not telling me as well, friend." Kuo smiled sadly. "Away for a long time?" Kuo raised an eyebrow.

Zheng shrugged, "Hey, it works most of the time."

"I can't tell you because too much is at stake."

"And I can't tell you because you won't understand."

They stared at each other, then broke out into laughter simultaneously.

"Then come, my friend! Let us drink, to two idiots who have secrets to hide!" Kuo grinned.

"Come on, give me your best shot!" Zheng challenged, grinning stupidly.

Both men drained their cups in a single swallow. Zheng shook his head slightly to rid himself of the encroaching tipsiness, then suggested, "Since fate has brought us together on this day, why don't we become sworn brothers?"

"Very well!" Kuo agreed. "I would be honored!"

The two men kneeled outside the inn in the dead of the night, on a small altar used by the townsfolk for their daily rituals. There were no crowds of spectators, no beautiful scenery, no expensive setup and sacrifices at the altar. They knelt in the dirt, cheap wine cups in their hands, dressed in dirty and bloodied clothes. They said their oaths, kowtowed three times to the altar, then to each other.

"Elder brother!" Zheng said as he grasped Kuo by the arms.

"Younger brother!" Kuo said happily. "Hah! I can finally claim to my friends that I have a younger brother who is far more talented than I!"

"Boasting's not good, elder brother." Zheng smirked.

"Ahh, anyway, we should rest now. I'd have things to tell you tomorrow." They stood, and Kuo nodded to Zheng, smiling contentedly. For a moment, Zheng did not see the broken man who had cried into his wine cup over his failures, but rather the man who had once been a proud officer in the armies of Wei.

Kuo went into the inn, while Zheng stared up into the sky, looking at the stars, wondering which one was home and clutching the pouch by his side, thinking of other times when he had walked under a starlit sky with his loved one…

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Chang Sha

Zhou Yu gasped as he stared up at the sky. A new formation! A new star!

He had been seized by apathy for the past few weeks, ever since Xiao Qiao had been captured. Everything was done as though he was in a daze, and it seemed that Zhang Zhao was the only one holding the realm together, with Sun Ce afflicted as well with worry and pain for his wife.

But now he had seen a new star. The last time such a thing had happened, Wang Yun's plan had fallen through and Yuan Shao's alliance broken by Dong Zhuo's armies, led by Lu Bu. Would this new star and the alignment of the planets herald ill as well?

His mind moving faster than it had for days, Zhou Yu calculated silently, and reached a startling conclusion. The previous omen was for the Killer of Man. This time, it is for the Divine Sword of Heaven. A warrior, making his mark on the world.

He continued staring at the sky for several more moments, before coming to a decision. No more moping around. If there truly is a Divine Sword of Heaven out there, that means we finally have hope. We must find him, and fast!

Because the alternative was simply too ghastly to contemplate.

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Zheng De Zhao-His name has a variety of meanings in Chinese or Mandarin. 'De' is for virtue, while 'Zhao' means shine. Roughly, it could mean a beacon of virtue(which he protests vehemently). An alternative interpretation is by taking his surname and using it to mean the emperor. Zheng De Zhao would mean "Emperor under care", which he insists is even worse. A common joke slightly mispronounces his name to Jin De Zhao, which means in a certain dialect-"Very good at running away". Oops.

Zheng's style name-He has one, but not revealed yet. Oh, okay, I'll bite. It's 'Po Jun'-Breaker of Armies. Which army? Zheng is embarrassed to admit that while he had broken almost every single one of the armies he has faced, more than half the time his own had to crawl off the field. But hey, being outnumbered all the time, that's pretty good results.

Kuo Fan-'Kuo' refers to wide, encompassing. 'Fan' means ordinary. The two words together mean extreme ordinariness. Not a good thing for a soldier, but Kuo has found his new niche… a spy for Wu, where being ordinary is a Very Good Thing™.

Kuo's style name-She Jing. 'She' means snake, while 'Jing' means channel, dimension. This refers to Kuo's crafty nature and ability to squirm out of the tightest spots.

Ruan Shi-Like Zheng knew, it meant Chaos Era, or Era of Chaos if you want that bit of extra oomph.

Ruan's style name-Qin Sha. Wanton Slaughter. Kinda says it all, huh?

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Reviews are definitely welcome! Considering the crap I write…