ROTK - War of the Gods
Chapter 13
Liu Bei began to worry about his Angel ever since he arrived back from New Earth. Something heavy was pressing his mind, though he would confide in no one. Eventually, Liu Bei decided that he HAD to find out what trouble Zhuge Liang. He summoned him in his throne room and said to him, "For many weeks you have been reclusive and have spoken barely a word. I know that Sun Jian is currently constructing the fleet so that your plan may reach fruition, and that is why I do not understand the mood you have brought back with you."
"My lord," Zhuge Liang said with difficulty, "I wish that I could tell you the nature of my depression, but an Angel must know when best to serve his Lord and when best to allow the nature of the universe to lead itself. Something happened while I was on New Earth, something that has hinted at troubles in the future much too great for even me to handle."
The Angel was silent for a while, feeling that he had already said to much. "Please my lord, allow me to leave your service for a time so that I may go off by myself and clear my thoughts for the coming campaign."
Liu Bei, being the kind ruler that he was, consented to Zhuge Liang's request and allowed him to go. "If ever there is an emergency though," Zhuge Liang said, "To not be ashamed to call for me once again." With that, the Angel vanished from Liu Bei's presence. A deep sadness washed over the God when this happened. He didn't know when he would see his friend again...
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Zhuge Liang traveled across the Earth in spirit form, traveling faster than light itself. Sun Shang Xiang's words reverberated through his head. He could not escape the deep sense that the Goddess would cause something terrible to befall Liu Bei and Sun Jian's two kingdoms.
As he was passing over a certain village in Mianzhu, he suddenly spotted the house he once lived in when he was human. On a hunch, he went down to the earth and walked through the province in his physical form, wondering if any of his old friends were still alive. The first house he came to was the house of his best friend Pang Tong. Zhuge Liang was pretty sure that the man had not lived through the terrible time when Zhang Jiao unleashed the Titans upon the Earth.
Zhuge Liang went to the house and passed through the walls. The place looked exactly like it had the last time Zhuge Liang had been there. He turned and looked at the small fire place that had once kept him and his friend warm through so many winters. Was it his imagination, or was there still warmth coming from the fireplace?
Zhuge Liang went over and kneeled down next to the hearth and realized that, indeed, there were actually red coals buried beneath so much soot. Someone was living in the house! The Angel went into the bedroom and saw that someone was sleeping in Pang Tong's bed.
Infuriated, the Angel cried out as loud as he could, "Awaken human! I am the Angel of the Lord and I have come to pass judgment on you!" His cry was so loud that it shattered the windows of the small room.
Pang Tong sat up in his bed, eyes wide open in fear. "My God," he cried out when he saw Zhuge Liang. "It's a ghost!"
Zhuge Liang was just as shocked to see his friend alive. There was no way he could have survived the Titan ambush. They had originated in Han Zhong! Was he himself seeing a ghost? Both men just stared at each other for a while, neither one knowing what to say. But then, both of them smiled at the same time and Pang Tong rushed to Zhuge Liang's side and embraced him.
"It's a miracle," Pang Tong said as he wept with joy. "I thought I would not see you again until I myself had gone to the underworld, and yet you live! I'm so afraid that any moment I shall wake from this dream! Do not leave me Zhuge Liang. Not again!"
The two sat down together by the fire place after they had regained their composure some. Zhuge Liang recounted his experience of dying and going to the underworld, but then being resurrected by the God, Liu Bei to serve as his Angel. Pang Tong also recounted his experience of tricking the Titan that had come to his house to eat him.
Apparently, after Zhang Jiao released the Titans from their mountain prisons in Han Zhong, Pang Tong became aware that one of the creatures was lurking around the mountain upon which his house was built. The creature came day after day, scooping out the small house, but never coming very close. Pang Tong realized that it was only a child. It thought that it was spying on Pang Tong, though the human could clearly see the huge giant each time he came.
One day, the creature did not arrive like it usually did and Pang Tong knew that meant trouble. Without wasting any time, he went out and butchered one of his cows and put the dead animal in his bed, covering it up completely so that one could not make out the beds contents.
Then, he ran outside to where his scarecrow was posted and took it down. Though he had no crops, he used the scarecrow to keep the birds from landing on his roof and defecating like they so often liked to do. Tong then covered himself in cow manure and dressed in the scarecrows clothing. He jumped up on the post to make it look like he himself was the scarecrow and then waited there all day.
Sure enough, at sunset of that day, the Titan returned, with about three of his Titan friends. They ripped the roof off the house and picked up Pang Tong's bed and all began fighting over the bloody mess that fell out of the sheet. They ate the cow, thinking that it was Pang Tong. Then, one of them spotted Pang Tong posted up outside the house and leaned down and sniffed him. The disgusting odor of cow manure quickly drove him away and the three of them went back down the mountain, never to return again.
Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong continued recounting stories late into the night, drinking wine and catching up on all that had happened since Zhuge Liang's 'death.'
As the sun was coming up the next morning, Zhuge Liang was just starting to tell Pang Tong about his troubles. He told his human friend about the deal he had made with Sun Jian and also about Sun Shang Xiang's secret confession to him.
"Well," Pang Tong said. "I certainly won't be able to give you any advice about dealing with women, but I think I may have an idea about how to make the fire attack against Cao Cao work. Come outside with me." Pang Tong led his friend outside after grabbing something from his work desk. Outside of the front door, Pang Tong reached over and grabbed a bow and arrow that was leaning against the door. "Watch carefully now," he said to Zhuge Liang.
The Angel realized that the Tong had grabbed some sort of arrow from his desk. Upon the tip though, there was a small packet of some sort tied, rather than a conventional arrow head. Pang Tong pulled the bow back and aimed at the scarecrow that once again hung about twenty yards away.
He released the string and the arrow flew threw through the air and struck the scarecrow square in it's chest. Immediately, the thing bust into flames. "Spontaneous combustion!" Zhuge Liang exclaimed.
"Not exactly," Pang Tong said. He led Zhuge Liang back into his house and showed him how it worked. Inside the packet, there were actually three different types of chemicals, all separated by cloth. When the arrow struck it's target, the cloth dividing the three chemicals was ripped and they all combined. The first two chemicals, when combined, created a spark. The third chemical was a fuel that was ignited by that spark. "Not spontaneous combustion," Pang Tong said at last. "Chemistry."
Zhuge Liang stepped away from the work desk and thought deeply. "Well, that will deliver fire from our ships to theirs through the vacuum of space, but still that does not solve the other problem. How can we make the fire spread from ship to ship? There is no wind in space, and Cao Cao will have individual energy shields for each ship.
"I have another idea," Pang Tong said. "This one is a little more risky though."
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Liu Bei wasn't so sure of the idea, but Zhuge Liang told him it was the only way the plan would work. At last he consented and Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong were sent to Zhou Yu's fleet which was in orbit over Earth.
The fleet consisted of five hundred wooden warships and 20,000 archers. Not that many archers were not needed to transport the packets of chemicals to the enemy ships, though. Pang Tong had only brought with him about twenty of the specially made arrows, the only ones that would be effective in the fire attack.
Zhuge Liang had thought that they would be leaving right after he got aboard, but Zhou Yu had requested to see him on his flagship before they left Earth's orbit. Zhuge Liang went alone and found the Angel Zhou Yu surrounded by a pantheon of Sun Jian's Gods. Around him stood Huang Gai, Lu Meng, Zhou Tai, and the sons Sun Ce and Sun Quan.
Zhou Yu said to him, "Because you have previously acknowledged that this alliance is one of convenience and that we are both looking out only for ourselves, I feel free to say this. Cao Cao is the threat YOU face. You have dragged Sun Jian into this and for that, we demand retribution. Because we are helping you now, Sun Jian declares that after this battle, the Earth's moon is to be handed over us."
To be continued...
Chapter 13
Liu Bei began to worry about his Angel ever since he arrived back from New Earth. Something heavy was pressing his mind, though he would confide in no one. Eventually, Liu Bei decided that he HAD to find out what trouble Zhuge Liang. He summoned him in his throne room and said to him, "For many weeks you have been reclusive and have spoken barely a word. I know that Sun Jian is currently constructing the fleet so that your plan may reach fruition, and that is why I do not understand the mood you have brought back with you."
"My lord," Zhuge Liang said with difficulty, "I wish that I could tell you the nature of my depression, but an Angel must know when best to serve his Lord and when best to allow the nature of the universe to lead itself. Something happened while I was on New Earth, something that has hinted at troubles in the future much too great for even me to handle."
The Angel was silent for a while, feeling that he had already said to much. "Please my lord, allow me to leave your service for a time so that I may go off by myself and clear my thoughts for the coming campaign."
Liu Bei, being the kind ruler that he was, consented to Zhuge Liang's request and allowed him to go. "If ever there is an emergency though," Zhuge Liang said, "To not be ashamed to call for me once again." With that, the Angel vanished from Liu Bei's presence. A deep sadness washed over the God when this happened. He didn't know when he would see his friend again...
---------------------------------------------------------
Zhuge Liang traveled across the Earth in spirit form, traveling faster than light itself. Sun Shang Xiang's words reverberated through his head. He could not escape the deep sense that the Goddess would cause something terrible to befall Liu Bei and Sun Jian's two kingdoms.
As he was passing over a certain village in Mianzhu, he suddenly spotted the house he once lived in when he was human. On a hunch, he went down to the earth and walked through the province in his physical form, wondering if any of his old friends were still alive. The first house he came to was the house of his best friend Pang Tong. Zhuge Liang was pretty sure that the man had not lived through the terrible time when Zhang Jiao unleashed the Titans upon the Earth.
Zhuge Liang went to the house and passed through the walls. The place looked exactly like it had the last time Zhuge Liang had been there. He turned and looked at the small fire place that had once kept him and his friend warm through so many winters. Was it his imagination, or was there still warmth coming from the fireplace?
Zhuge Liang went over and kneeled down next to the hearth and realized that, indeed, there were actually red coals buried beneath so much soot. Someone was living in the house! The Angel went into the bedroom and saw that someone was sleeping in Pang Tong's bed.
Infuriated, the Angel cried out as loud as he could, "Awaken human! I am the Angel of the Lord and I have come to pass judgment on you!" His cry was so loud that it shattered the windows of the small room.
Pang Tong sat up in his bed, eyes wide open in fear. "My God," he cried out when he saw Zhuge Liang. "It's a ghost!"
Zhuge Liang was just as shocked to see his friend alive. There was no way he could have survived the Titan ambush. They had originated in Han Zhong! Was he himself seeing a ghost? Both men just stared at each other for a while, neither one knowing what to say. But then, both of them smiled at the same time and Pang Tong rushed to Zhuge Liang's side and embraced him.
"It's a miracle," Pang Tong said as he wept with joy. "I thought I would not see you again until I myself had gone to the underworld, and yet you live! I'm so afraid that any moment I shall wake from this dream! Do not leave me Zhuge Liang. Not again!"
The two sat down together by the fire place after they had regained their composure some. Zhuge Liang recounted his experience of dying and going to the underworld, but then being resurrected by the God, Liu Bei to serve as his Angel. Pang Tong also recounted his experience of tricking the Titan that had come to his house to eat him.
Apparently, after Zhang Jiao released the Titans from their mountain prisons in Han Zhong, Pang Tong became aware that one of the creatures was lurking around the mountain upon which his house was built. The creature came day after day, scooping out the small house, but never coming very close. Pang Tong realized that it was only a child. It thought that it was spying on Pang Tong, though the human could clearly see the huge giant each time he came.
One day, the creature did not arrive like it usually did and Pang Tong knew that meant trouble. Without wasting any time, he went out and butchered one of his cows and put the dead animal in his bed, covering it up completely so that one could not make out the beds contents.
Then, he ran outside to where his scarecrow was posted and took it down. Though he had no crops, he used the scarecrow to keep the birds from landing on his roof and defecating like they so often liked to do. Tong then covered himself in cow manure and dressed in the scarecrows clothing. He jumped up on the post to make it look like he himself was the scarecrow and then waited there all day.
Sure enough, at sunset of that day, the Titan returned, with about three of his Titan friends. They ripped the roof off the house and picked up Pang Tong's bed and all began fighting over the bloody mess that fell out of the sheet. They ate the cow, thinking that it was Pang Tong. Then, one of them spotted Pang Tong posted up outside the house and leaned down and sniffed him. The disgusting odor of cow manure quickly drove him away and the three of them went back down the mountain, never to return again.
Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong continued recounting stories late into the night, drinking wine and catching up on all that had happened since Zhuge Liang's 'death.'
As the sun was coming up the next morning, Zhuge Liang was just starting to tell Pang Tong about his troubles. He told his human friend about the deal he had made with Sun Jian and also about Sun Shang Xiang's secret confession to him.
"Well," Pang Tong said. "I certainly won't be able to give you any advice about dealing with women, but I think I may have an idea about how to make the fire attack against Cao Cao work. Come outside with me." Pang Tong led his friend outside after grabbing something from his work desk. Outside of the front door, Pang Tong reached over and grabbed a bow and arrow that was leaning against the door. "Watch carefully now," he said to Zhuge Liang.
The Angel realized that the Tong had grabbed some sort of arrow from his desk. Upon the tip though, there was a small packet of some sort tied, rather than a conventional arrow head. Pang Tong pulled the bow back and aimed at the scarecrow that once again hung about twenty yards away.
He released the string and the arrow flew threw through the air and struck the scarecrow square in it's chest. Immediately, the thing bust into flames. "Spontaneous combustion!" Zhuge Liang exclaimed.
"Not exactly," Pang Tong said. He led Zhuge Liang back into his house and showed him how it worked. Inside the packet, there were actually three different types of chemicals, all separated by cloth. When the arrow struck it's target, the cloth dividing the three chemicals was ripped and they all combined. The first two chemicals, when combined, created a spark. The third chemical was a fuel that was ignited by that spark. "Not spontaneous combustion," Pang Tong said at last. "Chemistry."
Zhuge Liang stepped away from the work desk and thought deeply. "Well, that will deliver fire from our ships to theirs through the vacuum of space, but still that does not solve the other problem. How can we make the fire spread from ship to ship? There is no wind in space, and Cao Cao will have individual energy shields for each ship.
"I have another idea," Pang Tong said. "This one is a little more risky though."
-----------------------------------------------
Liu Bei wasn't so sure of the idea, but Zhuge Liang told him it was the only way the plan would work. At last he consented and Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong were sent to Zhou Yu's fleet which was in orbit over Earth.
The fleet consisted of five hundred wooden warships and 20,000 archers. Not that many archers were not needed to transport the packets of chemicals to the enemy ships, though. Pang Tong had only brought with him about twenty of the specially made arrows, the only ones that would be effective in the fire attack.
Zhuge Liang had thought that they would be leaving right after he got aboard, but Zhou Yu had requested to see him on his flagship before they left Earth's orbit. Zhuge Liang went alone and found the Angel Zhou Yu surrounded by a pantheon of Sun Jian's Gods. Around him stood Huang Gai, Lu Meng, Zhou Tai, and the sons Sun Ce and Sun Quan.
Zhou Yu said to him, "Because you have previously acknowledged that this alliance is one of convenience and that we are both looking out only for ourselves, I feel free to say this. Cao Cao is the threat YOU face. You have dragged Sun Jian into this and for that, we demand retribution. Because we are helping you now, Sun Jian declares that after this battle, the Earth's moon is to be handed over us."
To be continued...
