Dynasty Warriors: Strength to Change the Land
Chapter 2 of my Dynasty Warriors story, enjoy
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Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: Dynasty Warriors belongs to Koei.
Chapter 2: Escape from Luoyang
Cao-Cao and Xiahou Yuan arrived at the steps leading up to the Imperial Palace where Dong Zhuo resided. Only a few seconds later Xiahou Dun arrived with their weapons.
"Cousin..." He began to speak to Cao-Cao, but he shook his head.
"No, Xiahou Dun, you know weapons are not permitted; save for any that are to be presented to him." Cao-Cao paused and then spoke again. "Be ready, we may need to leave quickly."
They both nodded and armed themselves. Xiahou Yuan with his Bow and Rod and Xiahou Dun with his Podao. Dun also held onto Cao-Cao's General's Sword, ready to hand it to him as he came out. Cao-Cao entered the palace and began to walk through to corridors, heading for the throne room. As he walked towards the room two guards blocked his path with their spears.
Eying the Seven Star Sword one of them spoke. "You cannot see Lord Dong Zhuo while carrying a weapon."
Cao-Cao did not appear phased he simply replied casually. "The sword is for Lord Dong Zhuo, a gift."
Still suspicious the guards let him through; he walked up the length of the throne room; Dong Zhuo sat on the throne. A fat and ugly man with black hair and eyes as well as a long black beard; dressed in his colourful court clothes which had been custom made to fit his girth. At his side stood a giant of a man with long black hair which he wore tied back and black eyes. He was clad in black armour and a red pheasant tail headpiece and carried a large halberd.
Cao-Cao observed this mighty warrior with a sense of trepidation.
'So that is Lu Bu.' He thought. 'Dong Zhuo's adopted son and bodyguard.'
As Cao-Cao approached even closer he beheld a third figure standing next to the throne. It was a stunningly beautiful young woman with long tied back brown hair and blue eyes; her skin was pale and she was clad in a revealing yet elegant outfit. Cao-Cao knew immediately who she was, Wang Yun's adopted daughter, Diaochan. Once he reached the foot of the stairs Cao-Cao bowed and presented the sword to Dong Zhuo.
"Lord Dong Zhuo, I come bearing a magnificent gift for you." He declared. "I have here the treasured Seven Star Sword."
Dong Zhuo's eyes betrayed his obvious greed and he stood up. Cao-Cao watched him carefully, waiting for his exact moment to strike.
"A truly magnificent gift Cao-Cao." Dong Zhuo declared as he stopped right in front of Cao-Cao.
Taking his chance he lunged forwards beginning to unsheathe the blade. However he had made a mistake. By focusing completely on Dong Zhuo, he had failed to spot Lu Bu walking at Dong Zhuo's side. In one move Lu Bu pushed Cao-Cao back, caught the sword which slid back into its sheath, and pushed Dong Zhuo out of harm's way. Dong Zhuo's eyes widened in rage as two guards used their spears to force Cao-Cao to remain kneeling on the ground. Lu Bu handed the sword to his master and took up his usual position as Dong Zhuo sat down again, glowering at Cao-Cao.
Dong Zhuo examined the sword and drew it from its sheath, examining the sharpness of the blade and the length. He grunted.
"You fool, Cao-Cao." He growled. "How dare you try and assassinate me. You, a mere stripling with no real power."
With a dismissive laugh Dong Zhuo threw the sword to the ground and continued to berate Cao-Cao.
"You need strength and power to achieve anything in this land of chaos. I happen to have both, while you have neither." Dong Zhuo declared. "Now you will perish, knowing the folly of your actions."
Cao-Cao looked up; his entire body tense, ready to spring into action. "Folly, you are the one who is guilty of folly. You have strength and power, but do not know how to temper it; with reason and logic. Therefore, you are doomed to fail."
With that Cao-Cao grabbed one of the spears pinning him down, swept the legs of the owner out from under him and dodged the others attack. He then thrust the spear into his assailant, caught his spear and used the first to kill the remaining guard. Leaving it in the body he took up the remaining spear and threw it at Dong Zhuo. Lu Bu acted swiftly and cut the spear in mid air. Cao-Cao did not see this or care however. He had already fled. On Dong Zhuo's orders Lu Bu gave pursuit. Neither of them noticed however that Diaochan had slipped out through the side passage.
Outside Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun stood waiting anxiously.
"Our cousin's been in there a long time." Yuan stated nervously.
Dun nodded. "Yes I...wait, here he comes."
They both observed Cao-Cao and noticed he was running, they knew then that the attempt had failed and they had to run for their lives. As soon as Cao-Cao came level with them they began to run with him. Xiahou Dun tossed Cao-Cao his sword, which he caught and they began to flee, Lu Bu was hot on their trail. They heard shouting and heavy footsteps and soon saw soldiers appearing from all directions.
"It looks like a city wide alert!" Xiahou Dun declared.
Yuan sighed. "Great, so now we've got who knows how many soldiers between us and getting out of here."
Cao-Cao glared. "I do not care how many troops there are, we will cut our way out. Advance, cut down any who try to stop us."
With that they raised their weapons and charged into the crowd of soldiers and immediately began fighting. It wasn't long before they had cut a trail through the soldiers; their weapons and clothes were stained with blood as they continued to advance. Two officers of Dong Zhuo's army, Li Jue and Guo Si had tried to stop them, only to get wounded in combat. Lu Bu still pursued them as they found their direct escape route cut off. Left with no choice they took a risk and jumped into a side courtyard. It was then Lu Bu lost interest and fell back to the throne room to defend Dong Zhuo.
Once they landed in the side courtyard the trio fought to catch their breath but suddenly found themselves under attack from ballista fire. It was another of Dong Zhuo's officers; Chen Gong. His gloating was cut short however when Xiahou Yuan fired a shot that pierced his shoulder. Seeing their leader injured the ballista troops panicked. Seizing the opportunity the trio continued to flee. Niu Jin and his cavalry units along with Zhang Liao soon picked up the pursuit. Cao-Cao growled.
"Argh; is there no other way out." He despaired.
Suddenly the gate behind them that led to the garden's opened and a mysterious female voice spoke up.
"Lord Cao-Cao, this way, hurry."
The trio hurried into the gardens and the gate closed behind them, it was then Cao-Cao saw the owner of the voice, it was Diaochan.
"You, why did you help us?"
Diaochan gave a small smile before replying. "My father sent me a message informing me of your plan. If it went wrong I was to help you escape, you are our best hope at stopping Dong Zhuo. But you need an army, you need help, there are others who would act against Dong Zhuo, if given the incentive."
Cao-Cao nodded.
"I see; that makes sense, so now I know what I must do."
Diaochan nodded. "Good, over here."
She then led them to the east gate of the gardens and opened it.
"This will lead you outside the city to safety. I pray for your success Lord Cao-Cao, I must go, or Dong Zhuo will be suspicious."
Before Cao-Cao could say anything else Diaochan left as quickly and mysteriously as she had come. Not wasting their opportunity the trio fled and made it out of the city.
Once they were safely outside they stopped and caught their breath; Cao-Cao's mind raced as he continued to plot and plan, he knew what he had to do to stop Dong Zhuo; all he needed was the strength and power to make it a reality.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.