ROTK - War of the Gods

Chapter 11

After Lu Bu's defeat, Liu Bei's Angel, Zhuge Liang, appeared to him and said, "You must be cautious now my lord. Though Cao Cao's intentions appear noble, I suspected a ruse on account of his lack of integrity. Indeed, the only reason we are here now is because Cao Cao has arranged it. When he comes to you next, you must recount everything he has said to me so that I may think of a way to counter his evil machinations."

Liu Bei agreed and then went to Cao Cao's flagship to await his arrival. As Zhuge Liang predicted, Cao Cao came to him and said, "Liu Bei, we have triumphed over death yet again. I could not have done this without you."

"I am but a servant of your goodwill," Liu Bei said back to him. "I would have nothing if it were not for your kindness and that is why I have repaid my debt in full."

"Well..." Cao Cao said hesitantly. "The battle may be won, but the war has just begun."

"What do you mean?"

"Though Lu Bu has been wounded, he is still very much alive. Diao Chan has taken him to the far moon of the red planet called Daimos. If I am to take possession of Mars, I will need help yet again to ensure his absolute defeat. Will you risk your life yet again for me?"

"Cao Cao, I will again risk my life in order to repay your undying kindness. What do you need of me?"

Cao Cao responded, "Before we can reach him, we will need to get the fleet past Hu Lau Gate. It will be impossible to traverse it while it continues to flow. I will hold back the torrent of rock so that the fleet may pass. I will need you to stay in the hold of my flagship and help keep the energy shields that protect the ships in place. Will you do this?"

"I will," Liu Bei said. Cao Cao left him and Liu Bei instantly summoned his Angel and recounted what Cao Cao had said to him.

"The fool has dug his own grave," Zhuge Liang said. "This is what you are to do. When Cao Cao uses his power to hold back the asteroids, you and those with you are to teleport back to Earth as quickly as possible."

"What is Cao Cao planning?" Liu Bei asked.

"He wishes to destroy you along with his entire fleet. He cares nothing for humans and assumes their sacrifice is justified by the death of one of his two major rivals. When he destroys his own people though, you will be far away from here. He wishes, no doubt, to control both Earth and the red planet, but we will ensure he gets only one... The planet he agreed to take before this expedition started. I will be on Earth, awaiting your arrival. Good luck."

Then the Angel vanished and left Liu Bei to fulfill his plan.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Cao Cao was most excited after the fleet had been obliterated. He ordered his sons to sift through the rubble and find the bodies of the Gods he had just murdered. To their amazement though, they found only the bodies of the million archers. Liu Bei and his people were no where to be found.

Cao Cao's mood changed dramatically. He began shouting at his sons for letting them escape. Suddenly, his Angel Sima Yi appeared beside him and reported : "Liu Bei along with the Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu, are back on earth now. They teleported away before the ambush."

Cao Cao realized that he had been outsmarted by Liu Bei, though it seemed impossible. He was the embodiment of Cao Liu Sun's wisdom. "Who was behind this plan?" He asked his Angel bitterly.

"It was Liu Bei's Angel my lord. His name is Zhuge Liang, and in his time as a human, he was reported to be a God among men. Cao Cao ground his teeth together and cursed his enemy. "Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang... I will have my revenge on you two if it is the last thing I do."

Cao Cao realized that with Liu Bei on earth with the support of the human race, he would be unable to go back and battle him sufficiently. His best course was to settle on the red planet like Sun Jian had done with Venus and make it hospitable for life. He would need the prayers and worship of humans in order to gain the strength necessary to wage the coming war.

His fleet destroyed, Cao Cao went with his sons to Mars to see the place that he had conquered from the Angel of Death. It was a desolate world, completely devoid of any life. There was nothing but sand and rock as far as the eye can see. "We have found a new underworld," his General Xu Huang said when he saw the place.

Together, they all began to slow process of bringing water back to the barren planet.

---------------------------------------------------------

When Liu Bei returned to Earth, he found it almost deserted. Most of the human race had migrated to Sun Jian's New Earth. With two of the Gods away on a military expedition, the people must have been starving for a God to worship and found that God in Sun Jian. There were still a few people left behind and they quickly began erecting temples to Liu Bei, the kindest, most benevolent God they had ever known.

A year later, Liu Bei received an ominous message from his Zhuge Liang. "My lord," the Angel said. "Cao Cao's transformation of the red planet is complete. Where once there was nothing by rock and sand, lakes and vegetation have sprung up. Knowing that he could not import human immigrants from Earth because of it's severely lowered population, he had begun breathing life into the Martian sand."

Liu Bei was shocked. The first people ever had been created by Cao Liu Sun by breathing life into the sand of earth. He only created a few though, and it was from those few individuals that the race evolved. "How many has he created?" Liu Bei asked, too horrified to imagine what Cao Cao was capable of.

"My Lord," Zhuge Liang said, bowing his head. "They are too many to count, but I suspect that they number in the billions."

"Impossible," Liu Bei said, standing from his chair. "We must do something quickly. With the support of so many humans, Cao Cao will be invincible. We must stop him now before he has a chance to create anymore!"

"It will be impossible to do alone with the numbers that we have," Zhuge Liang replied. "I believe Sun Jian may be our only hope."

"Ally with Sun Jian?" Liu Bei asked in horror. "Never!"

"Though you have a quarrel with Sun Jian of the most personal nature, I must insist again that without his help, we have no hope for survival against Cao Cao. He is intelligent, but even more dangerous than that - he is ruthless. He will not stop until he alone rules Heaven and Earth."

Thoughts of Shang Xiang, the beautiful Goddess of War flood through Liu Bei's mind yet again. He had sworn to himself that Sun Jian would die by his hand, but could he really allow his personal affections to damage the fate of so many humans? At last he consented, saying thusly : "You have full authority to work on an alliance with Sun Jian, but I warn you now, it will not be easy. On his planet close to the sun, Cao Cao poses no immediate threat to him."

"I have a plan, my lord, that should work. I will use my knowledge of both men against them." And then the Angel left to go see the Sun Jian and deliver his proposition.

------------------------------------------------------------

Life on New Earth was thriving. Sun Jian had created a society based around universal respect for all living creatures and blessed the planet daily. Natural disasters, once so common on Earth, were now a thing of legend on New Earth. Children could grow up with the full knowledge that they would live in peace and prosperity on the foggy planet.

In his Temple in New Jiang Dong, Sun Jian was relaxing with his two children Sun Ce and Sun Quan and his wife Sun Shang Xiang. Affairs off planet did not concern them, and Sun Jian was happy to leave it at that, until the day Zhuge Liang arrived.

"I have coming bearing a message from my master," Zhuge Liang said to the Tiger of Jiang Dong.

"I will tell you now Angel," Sun Jian said back to him. "If you've come bearing a proposition for peace or alliance, the answer will be no, regardless of your presentation." Zhuge Liang knew then that it would take all of his brilliance to change the God's mind.

To be continued...