Mitsuko arrived at the entrance of the inner castle where two guards who spotted Mitsuko went towards her.
'My lady what are you doing here, what happened on the front line?' One questioned.
'I need to see Lord Lu Bu.' She stated however the guards refused her entrance.
'Apologies my lady, Lu Bu ordered all officers on the front lines you need to return to your post.' The other one states.
'Is that so? I'm sorry but I'm afraid that's unacceptable.' Mitsuko raised her scythe and horizontally swings it slicing the neck of the right guard. The momentum makes the body twist 360 degrees before landing on their back.
'What the-?' The other guard confused as to what's happening leaves himself open to attack as Mitsuko drops the scythe down on him, striking him diagonally downwards. She quickly started to make her way to the throne room.
At the front lines though the moment the castle's gates are crashed open due to the water. Cao Cao gives the first wave of his army to advance, there's no need for him to commit everything to the front lines and make his entire army fatigued. A wave-based strategy on a weakened garrison would suffice he thought to himself. Members of the frontline were equipped with sky carts, a hulking flight of stairs with a foundation of wood and wheels making it easy to push alongside any castle walls to climb up them. And assault covers, simple hovel like structures with foundation of wood and wheels with bars inside it. covered the top of the structure however due to the amount of straw that was placed on there, all the arrows that fired upon it couldn't penetrate the density. The sky card also provided quite a bit of cover due to the gap between each step being small though true marksmen could easily make the shot. A spear line was formed at the front of the assault cover to prevent any infantry from forcing the unit out of the cover leaving them vulnerable to missile fire.
They quickened their pace once the archers on the walls started to fire however to little effect. They manage to pick off a few of them however they're unable to deal the killing blow to many of them as they would like. As the assault cover reaches the gate, they charge forward through abandoning the cover and smashing themselves against the enemy frontlines. The archers on the walls attempt to shoot at the units pushing the sky carts. Only those at the side has a good shot at them though their numbers are limited. They dock the walls and quickly climb the flight of stairs, the archers quickly put away their bows for swords and are backed up by regular foot infantry armed with swords and spears to aid them though their numbers are little. They initially fend off the attackers that came on the wall however soon enough the enemy managed to get themselves a foothold on the walls. A fierce frontline engagement took place near the gates of the castle. Neither side willing to give in, though morale was low for Lu Bu's soldiers due to the water attack and the outnumbering of the enemy though they tried their hardest. The splashing of water quickly became the splashing of blood as countless bodies slashed and stabbed littered the already messy and damp Xia Pi. The fighting was fierce as both sides fought for their very survival, retreat here meant it was a guaranteed slaughter, the officers reminded them of that very fact before they initiated the battle.
Chen Gong looks outside the upper levels of the inner castle to see this horrible sight before him. He didn't know the enemy had planned a water attack! The majority of Lu Bu's forces were decimated in this attack, Cao Cao's troops vastly outnumber them. He didn't know what he could do in this situation. No amount of strategy can make a weakened army devoid of resources able to compare to Cao Cao's strength. He only sent a few units to clean up. And it doesn't help that Lu Bu is still holed up in his throne room! Chen Gong hated to admit it…but he made a mistake betraying Cao Cao. To be the strategist of a tactless man that was…that was a disgrace! But now he renounces Lu Bu today. He realised now that Lu Bu is nothing but an animal that can't be tamed and he was a fool to think he could. If it wasn't for him ignoring his advice none of this would happen. Then he spots him. That blasted hermit! Casually sitting on the wall overlooking the battle as if nothing was happening.
Pang Tong spots Chen Gong and gave him a friendly wave which infuriated him. That hermit has been a thorn in his side for too long, he also notices the entirety of Mitsuko's forces haven't been affected by the flood. Wait…its all coming together now. Did that hermit really outsmart him again? Did he know of this water attack!? Chen Gong holds his blood red scroll tightly as the thought of him being made a fool again plagued his mind. He tried everything to get rid of him, yet here is mocking him, taunting him. Well he will not abide by this any longer, if you want a job done right you do it yourself he tells himself. He gathers his personal guard and makes his way to him. He will kill the hermit himself and then flee to the nearest village and then proceed from there. He doesn't remember any kind of notable strategist for Yuan Shu…a noble with land as well as quite a large army could be more than a suitable replacement for that…brute.
On the frontlines where Mitsuko's unit were fighting Pang Tong sat casually on the wall with his left leg dangling in the air above the battle with some soldiers protecting him. He has his right elbow on his right knee as a sky cart attaches himself to another section of the wall with more of Cao Cao's troops climbing up the flight of stairs and initiated battle with the soldiers on the walls. During the fighting one manages to sneak past the lost and attempts to attack Pang Tong in his vulnerable position. Though he was so focused on the easy target he didn't see another soldier armed with a spear thrust it towards him, piercing his neck. The blade narrowly missed Pang Tongs hat as the body gets pushed away from him, landing on his right shoulder before slumping to a face down position. The soldier immediately kneels next to Pang Tong.
'Master Pang Tong it is too dangerous for you to be on the frontline, we must withdraw!' He quickly stands up though as he sees another soldier lunging towards him. He deflects the attack and shoves the spear to one side and quickly thrusts in the middle of the enemy's chest. As he withdraws it the corpse promptly falls backwards.
'Perhaps but there's no need to hurry out of here, besides with men you all around me I think I can afford the odd risk.' Pang Tong chuckled as he takes a sip of his flask. He looks up to see Chen Gong no longer there, with that he stands up on the wall and stretches casually as battle is happening all around him.
'However now that I think about it, I could use a bit of exercise. Why don't we take a bit of a walk?' Pang Tong asks his guard as a soldier rushed towards him, before the guard could warn him. Pang Tong smacks him in the face from behind without looking, the hit caused him to break his nose and knock him unconscious. Pang Tong looked down and saw Zang Ba and Wu Zi fighting hard on the frontline to keep the enemy at bay.
'Hey Ba!' Pang Tong yelled at him from above as Zang Ba knocked down an enemy and impales him with his glaive.
'Yeah?'
'You think you could spare a couple of men? I want to go for a walk but as you can see.' Pang Tong paused as one of his soldiers stab someone in the gut. They grab their wound and hunch over causing them to fall off the wall landing on the ground head first, causing it to split open as it was just before the enemy's backline.
'It's a little dangerous to go by myself. Thinking about paying lord Chen Gong a visit.' Pang Tong chuckled. Zang Ba smirked at him, knowing what he was thinking.
'All right but get back as soon as possible, we need all the help we can get. Some of the boys in the back seem eager for a fight.' He yells back before blocking an attack form a sword aiming for his head. However he raises the wooden side of his polearm and pushes the blade away causing the enemy to overextend giving Zang Ba an opening to give an opportunity to backfist him wildly, knocking him down on the ground and promptly impaled him with his glaive in the abdomen. Before he could withdraw his weapon another soldier is poised to attack with his sword risen in the air however, he's stopped by Wu Zi's sword which stabs him in the gut. He kicked the new corpse away form him to make him slide off his sword.
'If you don't keep your mind on the battle then I'd have to get all the glory for myself.' Wu Zi stated while attempting a dead pan expression though he couldn't help but smirk.
'Fair enough, I'll leave you two to it. Lets see here.' Pang Tong walked along the wall pointing at several soldier in the backlines after examining them while yelling.
'You, you, you…aaaaand you.' Pang Tong summoned up walking alongside the flight of steps on the opposite side of the fighting. All the soldiers that he pointed out were stationed on the final line of defence. They all heard the exchange between Pang Tong and Zang Ba so they did as they were ordered. They walked up the flight of stairs and join Pang Tong.
'Excellent, now that we're prepared. Lets go pay Chen Gong a final visit before a departure, its only polite to thank him personally for his generosity.' Pang Tong chuckled yet again though no one could pick up his sinister undertone in his voice as he starts to walk away from the fight as if it was just another day with his personal guard following closely behind him.
'My lady what are you doing!?' A Lu Bu soldier questioned horrified at Mitsuko's presence as she slays a fellow guard of the castle. She upwardly attacks the guard sending him flying, tearing a wound in the torso. The other guards surround Mitsuko while looking petrified.
'Lu Bu dies by my hand today, get out of my way!' She announced as they look at each other with consideration however a couple of them shake their head defiantly.
'We can't let you pass, we need lord Lu Bu to fight and help us survive another day.' One responded though their legs were trembling with fear. Mitsuko after seeing this smiled demonically.
'Then this castle will be your grave.' Mitsuko declared as she sprinted forward with a heavy horizontal swing slaying up to three soldiers at once. The rest of the soldiers knew at that point there was no turning back, they had to slay the serpent who had made a name for herself despite their better judgement. They deluded themselves thinking Lu Bu would be their saviour. They had to, despite their recent losses Lu Bu was the mightiest warrior in the land, going against him is suicide right? If they let her past and went out to the frontline they'd be slaughtered, Cao Cao covered the majority of the castle there was no way to escape for long. They all charged towards her blindly. Though Mitsuko was able to pick them off one at a time. She takes a step back and swings to her right side, catching someone an enemy as they yell, striking them through their mouth. The momentum of the swing caused them to spin in the air once before landing on their back.
Mitsuko then raised her scythe high after she twists the polearm to make the crescent blade point upwards. She then raised her left leg, twists her body and slams down the scythe. Penetrating a guards skull with a noticeable blot of blood appeared near his throat as she dragged the body to the floor face down. Removing the scythe promptly from the corpse and swings horizontally to the left, slicing a guards stomach with a thin but deadly wound. He clutches the wound tightly to prevent more blood from spilling out though the pain overwhelmed him as he crashed down though the crescent blade continues its trajectory. Hitting another gut in the torso with the tip of the blade sticking out of his back. This guard coughed out a splatter of blood before Mitsuko picked him up using her momentum and strength. She twists the polearm and slams it down behind her, causing the guard to land on an attacker. The bottom soldier had the skull crushed due to the strength of the slam.
Another soldier runs up towards her from behind seeing an opportunity to strike the vulnerable Mitsuko as she puts her foot on the back of the head of the slain soldier to forcefully remove the bloodstained crescent blade. However Mitsuko noticed his attempt. She moves her right foot behind her to make herself turn towards him, using the momentum again she swings upwards striking at the soldiers torso, making him fly away while suffering a large vertical wound in his torso. With that the rest of the guards tremble with fear to the point where they prefer to take their chances. The three or four survivors that are left quickly attempt to flee. However as they sprint past Mitsuko, one was unlucky as Mitsuko extends her scythe backwards catching the unfortunate soul who was caught in the crest of the crescent blade and with one arm was thrown back in front of her next to the wounded soldier who keeps clutching his stomach though now he was hunching over with his face on the ground though his torso was high. He felt his life slip away as he slowly slumped to the side.
The living survivor looks upon Mitsuko with fear and grovels crawls backwards as she walked towards him with an authoritative stance.
'My lady please, have mercy! I didn't even want to join lord Lu Bu, I only just wanted to survive this war!' He pleaded. He continued to crawl backwards until his back hit a wall at which point Mitsuko hovered over him.
'And yet you decided to foolishly defend him when you could've fled. But no you decided to attack me. A rather stupid decision. And I.' Mitsuko paused as she raised her crescent blade high in the air.
'Am tired of tolerating stupidity in this world!' Mitsuko declared furiously before she wore the same demonic smile as before. The soldier raised their hands in defiance while protesting which Mitsuko ignored as she slashed the right side of his neck, a blood splatter appeared on the other side of his neck while blood pours from the open wound. He covered it with his hand to attempt to stop it, though it was futile. He felt his life slipping away as his strength weakened. Mitsuko left him to his fate as she continued her journey to the throne room.