ROTK - War of the Gods

Chapter 10

Liu Bei stands upon Cao Cao's flag ship as they sail away from Earth. They lead a fleet of about one thousand battle ships, hastily constructed in the lakes of China and then taken into space by the power of the Gods. The humans crews are protected by energy shields that the Gods have erected around the ships. They have also restored gravity to the ships with their power so that none of the humans float away into the void of space. One of two get lost in the process, but not enough to bother Cao Cao.

Together, they head for Hu Lao Gate, the nickname for the asteroid belt that separates Mars from Earth. It was the planets permanent line of defense. Cao Cao was expected to lose hundreds of ships in it's crossing, and that's why he had demanded the construction of so many. They were on a quest to take possession of the red planet from Lu Bu, who had escaped there with Diao Chan after murdering Dong Zhuo.

Liu Bei stared out into the star filled void that passed around them in their slow journey. A God could teleport their instantaneously, but Cao Cao insisted on the enchanted space fleet. They would need all the help they could get against Lu Bu and the dragon Red Hare.

Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei's Angel, appeared beside him. "I bring news from Venus my lord."

"What is it?" Liu Bei asked, not really wanting to know. If Shang Xiang was involved, it would only cause him heart ache...

"She has married Sun Jian and taken on the name Sun Shang Xiang. She has given birth to two boys, Sun Ce and Sun Quan. Each possesses the fierceness of the father."

Liu Bei closed his eyes and tried to forget about the woman he once thought he loved. She had chosen Sun Jian over him, and nothing was ever going to change that fact. "Is that all?" He asked his Angel with some difficulty.

"Venus has been completely transformed my lord," Zhuge Liang said. "Where once there was nothing but poisonous gas, Sun Jian has created a jungle planet of sorts. There are no Oceans or Seas, but the air is filled with water to such a capacity that it's constantly foggy. The only things that can grow there are mosses and certain types of trees that do not require much sunlight." Zhuge Liang could tell that his master wanted to be alone, but he had one last thing to report. "Humans who worship him have begun migrating to Venus with his help. He is calling his planet True Earth."

Liu Bei shook his head. "None of this matters. Not anymore. Please Zhuge Liang, do not bring me word of the Suns anymore. They are dead to me."

"Understood sir," the Angel said, and disappeared. Suddenly, an alarm was sounded and Cao Cao ran out onto the command deck where Liu Bei was standing.

"Do you see him yet?" Cao Cao said, grabbing hold of the railing next to Liu Bei.

They peered out at the approaching river of rock that flowed endlessly through space. It looked like a line upon the horizon, but with their perfect vision, they spotted Lu Bu. He was on the back of Red Hare and Diao Chan was with him. Red Hare was perched atop one of the larger asteroids, peering back at the two men...

The archers needed only one warning. The decks of all one thousand were now crowded full of archers and they trained their enchanted weapons at the enemy perched atop Hu Lao Gate. Closer and closer they crept. Soon, the tiny line on the horizon had become a huge sea of floating rocks right before them. Red Hare swooped down and Lu Bu began yelling at Cao Cao.

"You swine! How dare you come here! Diao Chan knows of your treachery. How can you look at her in the face and call her your daughter? You are nothing! You are less than nothing! I will kill you as I kill so many flies!"

Red Hare flipped into a frenzy, lashing out at the wooden fleet in front of him. It tried to spray fire at them as well, but there was no oxygen in space to fuel the flame. "Ah ha!" Cao Cao exclaimed when he saw that the creature could not attack them with fire. "Just as I suspected. Fire now archers!"

The archers, numbered in the thousands, unleashed a barrage of arrows at the red dragon and it's riders. The enchantment of their bows made the arrows fire like lasers at the creature, striking it on every side. The animal flew through the fleet, smashing ships as it passed. It was getting shot more and more though and soon it began floating lifelessly through space. It's Angel rider leaped from the animal and floated out into space before Cao Cao and Liu Bei.

"You may have killed my dragon, Cao Cao, but you will not kill me." Lu Bu grew to five times his normal height and loomed before the fleet ominously.

"You fool," Cao Cao said. "You've given us more to hit." He launched off the ship and floated out to where Lu Bu was, growing to equal the other man in size. Liu Bei followed him out and both men drew their swords as they went out to Lu Bu. The Angel was the first to strike.

Lu Bu came at them, swinging his halberd in giant circles on each side of him. He was heading for Cao Cao! Liu Bei took the chance to get behind Lu Bu and attack him there. Lu Bu was quicker though and blocked Liu Bei's blade and the same time he blocked an attack by Cao Cao with the handle of his weapon.

The three men fought close to fifty bouts when suddenly Xu Shu came out to help Cao Cao and Zhang Fei and Guan Yu came out to help their lord. Now, the Angel of Death was fighting 3 Gods and 2 enchanted humans - but he knew he couldn't keep it up much longer. He reached out with his mind and touched Diao Chan. He said to her, "Give me your power now."

She reached out and touched him back and Lu Bu suddenly went berserk and became completely invincible for a few seconds and swung his weapon about violently, knocking both Zhang Fei and Xu Shu back. "Now!" Cao Cao shouted.

At the same moment, Guan Yu's sword swung toward Lu Bu's head as Liu Bei's swung toward his stomach and Cao Cao's swung toward his legs. Unable to block them all, the Angel of Death decided to block none of them. Liu Bei's attack sliced him in his ribs. Cao Cao's attack chopped off one of his legs. Guan Yu's attack loped off the side of the Angels head.

Lu Bu's body shrank down to normal size, but the blood that had been spilled remained large, floating in space about the three gods likes crimson spheres. Diao Chan screamed in horror and rushed down to her fallen lover. "Curse you Cao Cao," she said, weeping like a mother would for a lost child. "You've killed him."

She reached into the Angel's mind with hers but suddenly realized something... He was still alive! Barely though. Diao Chan closed her eyes and focused all her power on sustaining any life that may be there. Cao Cao was reaching down to take the body from her, but she somehow managed to teleport them away. She had taken them to one of two moons that orbited the red planet. The moon she took him to was called Daimos.

There, she sat upon the surface of that cold and windless moon, The Goddess of Love holding on to the only love she had ever known. She could keep him alive like this forever, the Angel of Death suspended between life and death for an eternity. And so she did. They remained on that moon forever, neither one really alive, but neither one really dead. Suspended in a moment of time forever...

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Cao Cao turned to his two Demigod children, Cao Hong and Cao Ren, and said to them, "Now that Lu Bu's threat has been eliminated, we will deal with Liu Bei." Cao Cao had made it abundantly clear that Liu Bei was not to return to Earth, and now his plan was set. "I will tell Liu Bei to go into the flagship with his supporters and await our arrival at Daimos. I will tell him that we are going there to finish off Lu Bu. In order to pass through Hu Lao Gate though, I will need to use all of my powers to hold back the river of rock. Make sure that none of my supporters besides the humans are on those ships when they cross."

His children agreed and Cao Cao went and told his plan to Liu Bei. The other God agreed that he would stay in the holding area of the flagship until they had reached the other side. Then, Cao Cao went out to the asteroid belt and held up his hand. Calling forth the power of Heaven, he held back the rock field. It took every ounce of power he had though.

"Now," he shouted. The fleet began making it's way through the opening in the Gate which Cao Cao had produced. Cao Cao could feel himself losing control of the tidal wave of space boulders that threatened to pour forth. "Just a little further," Cao Cao told himself through the strain.

Finally, when the entire fleet was in the middle of the pass, Cao Cao released his hold on the river and the asteroids rushed forth and decimated the fleet, pulverizing it into a mess of shattered wood and mangled bodies. Cao Cao raised his fist up triumphantly. Liu Bei had been destroyed!

To be continued...