The Three Brothers were no more. This battle had grown from a nuisance to a defentant thorn in An's side. These warriors from Wu were indeed worthy foes but it mattered little to him. He had shown his furry and strength in battle and had won their respect to a great extent. Zhu Rans broken body lay at his feet including a score of soldiers sent to try and defeat the warrior wielding a huge barbaric greatsword with the strength of the ancient world backing him. He wasn't really sure how many lives he had just crushed. It was a full regiment they had sent at him after Zhu Rans unit had proceeded with Lu Xun's fire attack. An would always remember this as the battle in which his payment would never be due. Yi Ling the soldiers here called it. It reminded him of another battle long and far away from which he knew there would be no victory. This was no different. How this victory would be his own not Shu's.
Cutting through a score of men, An forced his way past the line, leaving a wake of carnage behind him. From what he was told Liu Bie was dead and Shu's forces were in disarray. Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang were in full retreat but he remained. This battle had angered him greatly. These pathetic wretchs had routed him and found a weak spot past him to Liu Bie. It was not as if he cared at all for the Shu lord, dead was dead. It was the shear fact they had snuck past him was all that enraged An's soul. He would destroy this army…alone. It was nothing to him really…he had held back armies before.
Zhao Yun ran heldlong while Zhuge Liang was half nearly running his horse to death when he noticed a lone figure near the Chang Jian bridge. At first he didn't know who it was then brought his horse to a halt as he took note of whom it was. An…the dark swordsman. He had heard stories of him. Chang Ban he had taken Xiahou Dun, Zhang Liao and Zhang He all at once and they stood powerless before his furry and might. He had defeated all three of them, then alone he destroyed Cao Cao's army and sent the Wei ruler in full retreat. He had no clue what the warrior planned now. An walked past the strategist then stopped and looked sideways to Zhuge Liang. He was nearly tall enough to be a foot taller than his horse alone.
"……………………….Go," was his cold reply, "…..hold them here I will."
"You're insane," Zhuge Liang scolded, "there are nearly 3000 troops bearing down here, you must retreat."
"…hmmm, lots of souls there," An said. Zhuge's eyes then became fearful as An drew his Dragon Breaker, strode forward and awaited the stream of soldiers.
"….I said go," the swordsman said. Zhuge was at first reluctant then galloped off. Perhaps he could buy them some time to escape, but deep inside him he could sense something about the man. A dormant hidden power that for once in his life scared the hell out of him. Wu was about to face a foe that they were not prepared for.
An watched in silence as he noticed in the distance a score of torches flocking in his direction. Bringing Dragon Breaker to his face, Ans face was covered in blood, the naked honed finish of his blade tarnished by the life liquid of many Wu soldiers. It would drink many more this day. As soon as he saw the first soldier, he paused a moment, then let out a bloodcurdling battle cry that seemed to make the earth itself scream in terror. Wu's front line suddenly stopped in hesitation as An rushed forward, blade extended. Crashing head long into a group of privates, Dragon Breaker surged forward as many broke before the ungodly strength of the warrior. Sun Jians frontline broke as An continued his relentless butchery of his forces. Some soldiers tried to fight back, even landing a few blows here and there but they only seemed to glance off his foreign black armor. Like birds broken by the wind, An left a wake of slaughtered humanity behind him. His armor, his sword even his boots were coated in blood, the unrelenting carnage fueling his furry. They were powerless to stop him. Nothing could touch him. Slicing clean and through, An cleaved through and crashed through a host of archers that could do nothing to pierce his armor. Slashing one in half, An flung the corpse away and roared, the sound of his voice booming and destructive.
"FEEL IT WU!!"An bellowed, "FEEL THE FEAR!!!!"
Gan Ning ran forward as quickly as his feet could take him. Lu Xun had ordered him to try and take Zhuge Liang alive and that Shu's decimated forces were in retreat. He did not have the oppurtunity as he then received word that something was butchering men by the hundreds. An unstoppable force that stood between them and the now retreating Zhuge Liang. He even heard some men were fleeing in fright from the warrior that no matter what they did nothing could not stop him. Weapons were powerless against his armor and arrows did nothing to him. There was something malevont about his power and strength. Regardless he had to break through somehow. Shu was nearly gone, only one thing remained; Zhuge Liang.
Sprinting forward, Seven Seas Blade in hand, Gan Ning finally came over the ridge to see a horrid seen of carnage. Scores of dead lay on the ground including one of his subordinates and the distance he could make out a tall man, white haired seething like death and a sword in his hand so huge that he felt his was nothing but a mere toothpick in comparison. As the swordsman broke down men one after the other the ex-pirate brought up his courage and charged forward. He wasn't ready to die yet.
An thrust forward and impaled his sword deep into a corporals midsection. Hoisting the body up he noticed at the corner of his eye a man wielding a scimitar type weapon with what looked like bells around his belt, charging at him. The swordsman responded by pulling the broken body of the corporal off his blade and heaved the corpse in the pirates surprised face. Gan Ning tried to save himself but was to late as the corpse hit him full force, landing in a tangle. Regaining his focus the pirate looked up to see the mans massive sword descending upon him. Squeezing his eyes shut Gan Ning prepared himself. Instead he heard steel clash.
Opening an eye he noticed two familiar dual blades weakly holding Dragon Breaker fast. Lu Xun tried to brace against the swordsmans blade only to find himself being taken by the scruff of his armor and hoisted bodily into the air. Trying to fight off An's incredible strength, Lu Xun instead saw stars as the white-haired man headbutted him and flung him aside like a doll. Lu Xun lay unconcious as Gan Ning heaved the dead body off himself, regained his feet and attacked while An was preoccupied. He felt steel bite deep as he stabbed through, finding a weak point in his armor, a satisfied grin crossing his lips. At first An looked somewhat surprised at the blade in his chest then he looked up and bashed his fist against Gan Nings unprotected face. The pirate grunted in pain as he was thrown back, his grip on his sword broken as the blade lay imbedded in Ans chest. Regaining himself, Gan Ning watched in horror as the white-haired warrior methodically wrenched the blade out of his chest, the wound suddenly sealing itself as if there was no injury at all. An looked at him, then the Seven Seas Blade, then grinned evilly.
"…..you must need this I trust," he seethed. At that he flung the blade at him, the honed edge spinning at the pirate at incredible speed. Gan Ning had barely enough time to save himself as his own sword whirled past him, the blade imbedding itself deep into a wooden log. Flinging himself aside the pirate had little time to refocus as An suddenly let loose, flatblading him across the skull. Gan Nings world became a blur as his vision showed An standing over him. He knew what was coming, but he didn't think like this. Everything went dark as his eyes last seen An bringing Dragon Breaker high for a crushing blow.
She had been hearing odd reports of a lone swordsman laying waste to their forces. All attention had shifted from the retreating Zhuge Liang to the juggernaut killing men by the hundreds. Approaching the ridge she could hear the sounds of battle in the distance then the sound of Gan Ning grunted in pain. Fearing the worst she sprinted forward just in time to see the swordsman bring his sword high above the pirate for a final devasting blow. Rushing forward she used all her strength to bash against him, halting the blade from descending on her comrade. She was rewarded with a backhanded blow across her skull. Tendrils of pain flared in her eyes as she regained her feet and looked up just in time to see his massive sword hurtling toward her. Bringing her chakrams forward, the force of the blow was enough to send her weapons askew. She then gasped in pain as he then landed a punch to her stomach and sent her sprawling. Weakly getting to her feet, the very wind knocked out of her, she looked up at the tall warrior who stopped for a moment, his eyes scanning the petite female.
"…not many women warriors nowadays," he rasped, "Sun Shang Xiang I trust?"
"The same," she said, the pain in her midsection almost unbearable, "don't underestimate me just because I'm a woman."
"Hardly," he replied coldly, "…you bleed just as well."