Hello again, my peoples! This is KnightMan1890 with yet another edition of Chaos Reigns. The first battle finally begins! What will happen to Ren Jiang? Will he be discovered? Find out…

"speech"

'thinking'

(author's notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

flashback

narration

(Last time on Chaos Reigns…)

The boy in question, Ren Jiang, had already left the camp. However, he was close enough to hear He Jin's statement. His eyes slightly narrowed in anger.

'I was right…Fine then, you won't be seeing me again…at least, until this battle is over.' he thought as he began his march of solitude, cradling his still-hurting right arm.

If only he knew just what he was getting himself into…

(And now…)

And so, Ren Jiang set off from the Han main camp, alone.

Unsure of what he truly plans to do, he follows only some strange instinct pushing him forward. He kept the information that his uncle was alive filed away for later, for he knew that now was not the time to dwell on it.

The boy truly had no idea of what this choice of action would bring…

(play DW7 BGM - "Pierce")

The battle had begun.

Already, bodies were dropping on both sides of the war. Liu Bei and his sworn brothers, having set off slightly later than the main army, had caught up and joined the battle as well.

However, Liu Bei seemed to be distracted as he battled against the Yellow Turbans. His brothers, noticing this, decided to address it. "You seem a little out of it, Brother. What's the matter?" he asked, cutting down a few soldiers that were near him. "The boy we rescued…Ren Jiang…It was a hard deal, getting the commander to allow him within our base. I'm worried the soldiers may get a little…unruly with him." Liu Bei answered, decapitating a Turban with a strike from one of his twin swords.

"Do not worry about him, Brother. No soldier would stoop as low as to harm a child." Guan Yu said, swinging his blade and knocking away a couple of enemies who attempted to block it. "Besides, he's not our problem right now. We'll worry about him once we get rid of these Yellow Turbans first!" Fei remarked, clearing the last of the enemies out of the area the three were in. "I guess you are right, Brothers…but…something makes me feel uneasy." Bei lamented, looking back in the direction of the Han main camp.

((Meanwhile, with Ren Jiang))

The object of the brothers' discussion was currently traveling through the far western pathway, having left the camp about a half hour ago. He took down the few Turban guards in his way with quick, precise strikes using his uninjured arm.

For some strange reason, he didn't feel any remorse in the killing, like before, which had frozen him with terror. He didn't revel in it, mind you, but he didn't feel as though he would puke at any moment.

Was it because he had already killed before, even if it was a in a fit of rage? Who knows?

In any case, he continued his trek of solitude, coming to an intersection in the pathway ahead of him. Deciding to continue forward, he suddenly stopped as he began hearing the telltale sounds of a marching army, quite a few of them, apparently.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to battle them if they were the enemy(or explain himself if they were allies), he hid, using the mountainous formation that laid on the side of the pathway that would have turned him left.

They turned out to be allies(or at least, non-Yellow Turbans), as they were wearing blue armor. There were many of them, the most soldiers the boy had ever seen in a single place, including the Han main camp he had left.

Out of the army men, three stood out the most, obviously the leaders as they looked the most unique. All three had black hair and predominately blue colored armor, but there were significant differences.

The one in the middle, apparently the commander of this army, was a man with a mustache slightly parted in the middle, and small goatee on his chin. His armor had golden imprints throughout. He wore long sleeves with bracers covering his forearms and wrists, along with dark blue pants and shoes under the torso and abdomen armor. His appearance was completed with the long cape flowing behind him and large golden sword in his hand as he rode on a stark black horse with golden plating on its head and legs.

The man on the left was more burly, having lighter colored armor with a metal bracer on the left forearm and a long black scarf hanging around his neck. He had a similar facial hair style with his hair tied into a small ponytail on his head, held together by a silver metal headband on his forehead. He carried a bow in his hand as he rode, a quiver strapped to his back.

The person on the right was in-between the other two in the category of body size, wearing his blue armor with silver being the major accent color. Like the second man, he had a parted mustache leading to a goatee on his chin. Like the first man, however, he also had a large sword in hand.

As the men lead their army, Ren Jiang could practically feel the confidence rolling from them in waves as he stayed in his hiding spot. 'Nice to know there are others besides that idiot commander fighting these guys.' he thought, happy that Liu Bei and his brothers had aid in their endeavors.

However, the good feeling drained away quickly when a disembodied voice suddenly rang out for all to hear. "Foolish creatures of the Han, prepare to crushed to death under the power of the Yellow Turbans!" the voice echoed across the clearing, confusing all the listeners besides the three leading men.

'H-Huh? Where did that voice come from?' Ren wondered, looking around for the source. 'Atop the mountain?' he thought.

Oh, there was something at the mountaintop…

It was indeed the speaker, standing atop some sort of structure. It appeared to be an altar of sorts. "Heavens, grant me a miracle! Lend us your strength as we fight in your name! Do away with these infidels!" he chanted, a strange but wild energy aura suddenly appearing around his form.

He continued his incantations, ready to give the enemy below a little surprise…

Oblivious to the enemy plan(for now), the leading men began conversing with each other.

"Well, cousin, it looks like they know we're coming. Any ideas?" the man on the left, the burliest one, asked. "Lord Cao Cao, we should keep going. The enemy is comprised of mere commoners. Whatever plan they may have won't be a match for us." the man on the right responded. "Perhaps you are right, but even commoners can be driven to drastic acts when backed into a corner." the man in the middle, Cao Cao, said.

'Ain't that the truth…' Ren thought, remembering the events that led him to this battle now.

"Regardless, we must move onward. Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, we shall continue the advance. Just be cautious." Cao Cao continued, addressing the man on the right, then the left, respectively.

As the army resumed the march, a strange rumbling noise was suddenly heard by the ears of those around. Momentarily stopping to search for the source, one soldier had just enough time to yell and point ahead of him towards the path ahead…

…before he was crushed by a giant boulder! It was a rockslide attack!

The army was quickly put into disarray, the giant rocks utterly crushing those unfortunate enough to be caught in their path. Cao Cao and his two cousins were forcing their horses to dodge the onslaught to the best of their ability, but even they were hard pressed to do so.

Ren Jiang, seeing that the army was in danger of a total wipeout, racked his brain for a way to help. He came up with one answer; ascend the cliffside and take out the ones dropping the rocks.

Seems easy enough, right? Wrong. There were several dangers to this course of action.

One was the height of the mountainside. It was extremely tall and steep, and to fall would almost certainly mean severe injury, if not death for the 9-year-old.

Two was the soldiers themselves. Obviously, he couldn't see the very top from where he was. There could be more enemies than just the ones dropping the rocks. He'd have to go it alone, so if there were too many, he'd be in serious trouble.

Three was the army on the ground level. They may be allies to his cause, but Ren Jiang was afraid they may not see him that way.

Despite being…occupied right now, should they notice him, one of two things would happen.

If he was an ally or bystander to them, the question of his age would come up, one that he wouldn't want to answer. If he was an enemy to them, well…let's not go into that, shall we?

There were plenty of reasons to simply turn and run, but the boy never let any of that linger in his mind. He had come this far now…he wanted to put his piece against the scourge of the land.

Despite his better instincts, he began to climb the mountain. (end song)

((25 minutes later; Mountaintop))

He must have been crazy to try it.

The mountain was as steep as it looked, and although it wasn't as tall as expected, that was made up for by how hard it was climbing it.

Ren Jiang was forced to use both arms to ascend the structure, and doing so nearly reopened the wound on his right arm, so he had to take it somewhat slowly(but not too slowly, as he would've fallen off).

There was one strange thing he noticed when he had reached the top, however…

There were some soldiers, a small amount and not too much worry, but it was the rocks that caught his attention. They weren't falling from the mountain or being pushed by the soldiers, no…

…they were literally appearing and dropping from the sky!

Utterly confused and awestruck, Ren Jiang barely had enough foresight to duck just before a sword coming through the air would've decapitated him.

Right, he had to deal with the soldiers first. He'd worry about the magic, falling rocks later.

Still in his ducking position, he kicked out the legs of the initial attacker and stabbed him through the stomach with his sword. The others, attempting to use the distraction, circled around the boy and surrounded him.

Seemingly running on pure instinct, the boy gathered his wits, getting into a ready position and waiting for the enemies to make the first move.

Growing impatient, one of the Yellow Turbans decided to attack, going for an overhead smash with his club. Rather than try to block it, the boy dodged and repeated his stab attack. Going on the offensive, he took out his dagger and sliced open the neck of one of the remaining soldiers.

Seeing their partners down, the 7 who were left all moved in at once. Slashing the sword in a wide arc(much like he saw Guan Yu do before), the boy took down the enemies, varying degrees of injury on their now dead bodies depending on where the hit was.

Again, the boy's eyes had unconsciously bled into a crimson red color. For what reason and as to why he didn't notice, there was only uncertainty(for now).

Perhaps that was why he refrained from showing any emotion in his facial expression as he moved towards the large, wooden structure that he could currently see. 'An altar? Do these guys use some sort of magic?' he thought, seeing that as the only explanation for the boulders literally falling from the sky.

Once he reached the peak of the altar(which wasn't that far away from the cliffside), he saw a man performing some kind of incantation. The man, seeming to sense the foreign presence, turned around to face him. "Who dares defile this sacred altar?" he yelled out, drawing a sword from his waist and pointing it towards the boy.

'So, these guys do perform sorcery…pretty well at that. I'd better be careful.' "Are you the one creating those rocks down there?" Ren asked, readying for a fight. "Yes. I am Zhang Liang, the General of the People and brother of the Great Teacher! Who are you that stands against us?" the man asked, realizing immediately that the boy in front of him was armed and could be a potential enemy. "My name is Ren Jiang, and I'm here to get back at you Yellow Turbans for destroying my home!" the boy answered.

Almost immediately, he wondered where the outburst had come from. Was his only desire for revenge? Were his actions that led him here driven only out of a hidden resentment towards these people? He was brought out of his thoughts by the man beginning to speak again.

"And a mere boy such as you plans to stop us? How laughable! You know nothing of the power of the Yellow Turbans! Suffer our divine wrath!" Zhang Liang cried as an electric aura appeared around him.

Sensing danger, the crimson-eyed boy quickly rolled to the left, just in time to dodge…a lightning bolt that shot forth from the man's hands! It struck the ground where he was, leaving a small burn mark.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to evade the wind blade that came with it, as he only heard the sound of the air traveling with the bolt. It cut into his right arm, making him cry out loudly, as it hit the old wound and cut open the bandages, revealing the scar that had turned an angry red with the applied pressure.

"Hah! Was that too much for you? Do not worry, it will all be over soon!" the man declared, charging a powerful lightning shot in order to finish the boy off.

Fighting through the pain, Ren Jiang charged forth with a loud yell, shocking Zhang Liang, who was still in mid-charge. The boy ran him through the chest with his sword, hitting his heart. "T-This can't be…H-How…could this have happened…? Defeated…by a mere boy…" he lamented, spitting out globs of blood with each break in words. "You lost because you underestimated me, severely." the boy responded coldly. "Curses…you damned child…" Liang spat out.

These were to be his dying words as Ren Jiang yanked out the impaled weapon, allowing him to collapse to the ground, his aura evaporating.

Staring at the man's corpse, the boy felt a surge of remorse as his eyes returned to their normal blue hue. He only fought against the Yellow Turbans because of the clashing beliefs between them. In a different world, he dare thought that he may have joined the Yellow Turbans' cause.

'I have more than enough reason to simply turn back and simply run away…but…I just can't. I've come too far now. I need to find this Great Teacher of theirs…and maybe give him a piece of my mind when I do.' he thought, descending the steps of the altar. 'But first…'

Nearing the cliffside he had originally climbed up on, the boy noticed that the rocks had finally stopped falling, the sorcery dissipated. The army below, seizing the opportunity, had already started to regroup.

Without really thinking, the boy let out a loud whistle, catching the attention of the men on the ground.

((with Cao Cao's forces))

The assault had suddenly stopped as quickly as it had begun. Despite not knowing the cause, Cao Cao and his forces were planning to take advantage of it.

As they reorganized the troops, they suddenly heard a loud whistle ring throughout the clearing. Knowing that it could possibly be a signal for a secondary attack, they got on their guard while searching for the source.

Xiahou Yuan, the expert marksman that he is, was the first to find it. Scanning the top of the mountain next to their position, he saw a very young, silver-haired boy standing there. "Hey, up there! Who's that?" he yelled to the others, pointing at the boy, who looked surprised for a second, but afterwards, jerked his head towards the way forward, as if telling them…the path was clear! "Yuan, what is it?" Xiahou Dun asked, following his outstretched arm. "I think our little buddy here is telling us to go on ahead. The way should be clear." Yuan answered.

"Then, we mustn't waste the chance that has been given to us. Resume the march!" Cao Cao ordered, the army beginning to move once again.

The boy they saw had already disappeared.

((with Ren Jiang))

The boy wasn't sure as to whyhe had done that. His plan was to not garner attention from the others. Most would say it was to let them know that the path was clear and the way to go was here. But, wouldn't they have realized that already when the rocks stopped?

Perhaps it was a call for attention, subconscious or otherwise. Although having gone through much in his young life as of late, Ren Jiang was still a child, and as such, maybe he just wanted recognition, as many children do, whether they notice or not.

In any case, the job here was done, and it was time to move on…

…to face the next challenge.

Notes

And another one is down. Eventually, I will start having filler chapters I call interludes. They will basically be a chapter of nothing but narration explaining the plotline throughout long breaks between major battles.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion will be split into several chapters, this one being the first. And before you say anything, I know Cao Cao's forces dealt with the violent winds, not the rockslide(at least, in DW5). Just bear with me on all that, please.

Anyways, the weekend is here, so another chappie should be up before it's over.

Here are the ages for the major characters. Since the ones for Ren Jiang and the sworn brothers haven't changed, I'll just give you the ones for the new people introduced here. If I don't know the ages of someone(meaning that I can't find them in either the Koei games or the Internet), then the number will just be marked with a "?".

Cao Cao: 29
Xiahou Dun: ?
Xiahou Yuan: ?

KnightMan1890, signing off! R&R, please!