Wei's attack was swift and merciless. Archers assaulted the sentry guards, and out of the forest, rams and catapults appeared. Taishi Ci was not the only casualty - many other guards were injured, and many were also killed.
Sun Ce was awoken and notified of the sudden turn of events. Instantly, he ordered his army to deploy to combat Wei.
"Send a message to my father and brothers in Chang Sha," Sun Ce told a soldier. "We need reinforcements!"
"I will deliver this message as fast as I can, my lord!" the soldier cried, running to his steed. Sun Ce silently wished the soldier well as he bolted for his tonfas. If Wei wanted a fight, then they'd get one.
==============================
Zhang He ripped through a cluster of Wei soldiers, their blood splattering on his claws and to the ground blow. His graceful elegance contrasted with his brutality, and the seemingly arrogant expression on his face never changed.
"Most beautiful," Zhang He said, licking the blood off of one of the blades. Even his own soldiers were terrified of this show of brutality.
"Bastard! How about you fight me?" a voice came from nearby.
Gan Ning appeared in sight, an unfortunate Wei soldier impaled on his sword. The soldier was still struggling in his death throes as Gan Ning dragged him on the ground behind him using only his sword, leaving a trail of blood. With a solid yank, the sword was pulled from the soldier's now lifeless body.
"I am Gan Ning of the bells! Show me what you got!" he sneered.
"Such a battle is a farce," Zhang He said, crossing his blades in front of his chest. "You know as well as I that you are doomed to ugly, ugly failure."
"If you want ugly, then try looking in a mirror every now and then!" Gan Ning shouted.
"How dare you?" Zhang He said, growing increasingly angry with each word he spoke. "How... DARE... YOU?!?"
Junyi charged at Gan Ning, to which Xingba replied by charging as well. Zhang He swung an arm at Gan Ning, to which Ning replied by parrying his attack with his blade and striking back. Junyi dodged the attack deftly, and the vicious cycle continued.
==============================
"Zhou Yu!" a voice shouted from behind Gongjin as he paced down the hall to find Sun Ce. He turned and saw his wife, running after him.
"Xiao?" he said as he caught up to him.
"Zhou Yu! I can't let you go out there alone!" she said, grabbing ahold of his arms.
"It's too dangerous out there, Xiao," he pleaded with her.
"I'm going out there with you, Zhou Yu, and that's final!" she scolded stubbornly.
Zhou Yu sighed. There was no arguing with Xiao Qiao when she was like this...
==============================
Taishi Ci watched as the soldier tending to his wounds bandaged his stomach. Ziyi had been struck by an arrow fired by the first wave of Wei forces. It still felt like there was part of the arrow stuck in his stomach, but he knew it was his mind playing tricks on him.
"There you are, sir," the soldier stated.
"Thank you," Taishi Ci replied as he began to get up.
"Lord Taishi Ci! You can't get up!" another soldier shouted hurriedly. "You're injured!"
"I don't care!" Taishi Ci answered. "We're under attack! I have to help!"
And with that, Ziyi walked out of the room. The other soldiers looked at him as he left, in awe of his dedication.
==============================
Zhen Ji watched the chaos as she stood on the ramparts of the city. Already, Wei had overrun the patrol and was gaining ground in the city. Xu Zhu stood by her side, with strict orders not to leave. It would be hard, of course, for Zhongkang was an easily distracted man. Still, she trusted him with her life.
"Sun Ce is nowhere to be found," she said to herself, clutching her flute with one hand. "Where could he be...?"
"He'll show up," Xu Zhu said to her. "And I won't let you down!"
"Of course not," she answered. To anybody else, she would have spoken coolly. But Xu Zhu was a friend of hers, despite his clumsy demeanor and strange appearance.
==============================
Xiahou Dun saw a figure out of the corner of his eye as he pulled his blade from a dead Wu soldier.
"Sun Ce!" he shouted. "Come fight me! I am Xiahou Dun, and I will be your executioner!"
Zhen Ji sighed and spoke quietly so that only she could hear herself. "Xiahou Dun... what a one-track mind you have..."
Xiahou Dun chased after Sun Ce, who said nothing and turned his steed to ride away.
"Running away?!?" Xiahou Dun said, incredulous. "Hyaaaaah!" He spurred his horse to go faster in pursuit of the Wu prince.
"S-sir!!! We can't keep up!" Yuanrang's soldiers shouted from behind him as, in vain, they gave chase.
Bofu couldn't help but chuckle to himself as Xiahou Dun chased after him across the city. In his rush for glory, Xiahou Dun had left his entire army behind.
Xiahou Dun had started to close the gap between himself and Sun Ce when suddenly, Sun Ce quickly turned to face him. The two were nearly upon each other now. Xiahou Dun was startled by the sudden move and his horse reared back, nearly throwing him off. It was by willpower alone that he had managed to stay on the steed. Then, Sun Shang Xiang and a large group of soldiers appeared. Archers were aiming directly at Yuanrang.
Xiahou Dun looked around, surprised. Sun Ce grinned.
"You know, Xiahou Dun... even though you only have one eye, you should've seen this coming."
Realizing that he was hopelessly outnumbered, Xiahou Dun cursed and rode away.
==============================
"My lady!" a soldier said, kneeling in front of Zhen Ji and Xu Zhu and bowing his head. "Sun Ce has been spotted!"
"But how will we lure him to our trap?" she said, pondering.
Suddenly, Zhen Ji heard a noise - barely audible. Footsteps. She turned towards the nearby guard tower, suspecting that the intruder was there. Xu Zhu had heard the noise as well, for he turned and brought his iron mallet up in preparation.
"Cover your ears," she said in a very quiet voice to Xu Zhu and the soldier. They quickly did so. Zhen Ji closed her eyes and brought the flute to her lips. She gave a loud, sustained blow, and an extremely high-pitched note sounded, cutting through the air. A painfully high note.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" a voice cried from the guard tower. Da Qiao stumbled out, clutching at her ears.
"Grab her!" Zhen Ji shouted. Xu Zhu bounded over and grabbed her with his massive arms, bringing over to Zhen Ji.
"What a pretty one you are," Zhen Ji observed, watching Da Qiao struggle. "Let her go, Zhongkang."
Xu Zhu noted and released the woman. Zhen Ji walked up to her coldly.
"So this is the famous Da Qiao, wife of Sun Ce?" she asked. "Quite frankly, I would have expected the Little Conqueror to marry somebody a bit more on his level..."
Da Qiao scowled and slapped Zhen Ji across the face - hard. "Who? You?!? You aren't even fit to lick his boots!" she cried.
Zhen Ji recoiled, rubbing her reddened cheek in shock. "Fine. Play it your way. Tie her up!"
As Xu Zhu dragged Da Qiao to Zhen Ji's handmaidens, Zhen Ji smiled - a cold, plotting smile.
"So now we have the bait. And Sun Ce will fall for it..."
Sun Ce was awoken and notified of the sudden turn of events. Instantly, he ordered his army to deploy to combat Wei.
"Send a message to my father and brothers in Chang Sha," Sun Ce told a soldier. "We need reinforcements!"
"I will deliver this message as fast as I can, my lord!" the soldier cried, running to his steed. Sun Ce silently wished the soldier well as he bolted for his tonfas. If Wei wanted a fight, then they'd get one.
==============================
Zhang He ripped through a cluster of Wei soldiers, their blood splattering on his claws and to the ground blow. His graceful elegance contrasted with his brutality, and the seemingly arrogant expression on his face never changed.
"Most beautiful," Zhang He said, licking the blood off of one of the blades. Even his own soldiers were terrified of this show of brutality.
"Bastard! How about you fight me?" a voice came from nearby.
Gan Ning appeared in sight, an unfortunate Wei soldier impaled on his sword. The soldier was still struggling in his death throes as Gan Ning dragged him on the ground behind him using only his sword, leaving a trail of blood. With a solid yank, the sword was pulled from the soldier's now lifeless body.
"I am Gan Ning of the bells! Show me what you got!" he sneered.
"Such a battle is a farce," Zhang He said, crossing his blades in front of his chest. "You know as well as I that you are doomed to ugly, ugly failure."
"If you want ugly, then try looking in a mirror every now and then!" Gan Ning shouted.
"How dare you?" Zhang He said, growing increasingly angry with each word he spoke. "How... DARE... YOU?!?"
Junyi charged at Gan Ning, to which Xingba replied by charging as well. Zhang He swung an arm at Gan Ning, to which Ning replied by parrying his attack with his blade and striking back. Junyi dodged the attack deftly, and the vicious cycle continued.
==============================
"Zhou Yu!" a voice shouted from behind Gongjin as he paced down the hall to find Sun Ce. He turned and saw his wife, running after him.
"Xiao?" he said as he caught up to him.
"Zhou Yu! I can't let you go out there alone!" she said, grabbing ahold of his arms.
"It's too dangerous out there, Xiao," he pleaded with her.
"I'm going out there with you, Zhou Yu, and that's final!" she scolded stubbornly.
Zhou Yu sighed. There was no arguing with Xiao Qiao when she was like this...
==============================
Taishi Ci watched as the soldier tending to his wounds bandaged his stomach. Ziyi had been struck by an arrow fired by the first wave of Wei forces. It still felt like there was part of the arrow stuck in his stomach, but he knew it was his mind playing tricks on him.
"There you are, sir," the soldier stated.
"Thank you," Taishi Ci replied as he began to get up.
"Lord Taishi Ci! You can't get up!" another soldier shouted hurriedly. "You're injured!"
"I don't care!" Taishi Ci answered. "We're under attack! I have to help!"
And with that, Ziyi walked out of the room. The other soldiers looked at him as he left, in awe of his dedication.
==============================
Zhen Ji watched the chaos as she stood on the ramparts of the city. Already, Wei had overrun the patrol and was gaining ground in the city. Xu Zhu stood by her side, with strict orders not to leave. It would be hard, of course, for Zhongkang was an easily distracted man. Still, she trusted him with her life.
"Sun Ce is nowhere to be found," she said to herself, clutching her flute with one hand. "Where could he be...?"
"He'll show up," Xu Zhu said to her. "And I won't let you down!"
"Of course not," she answered. To anybody else, she would have spoken coolly. But Xu Zhu was a friend of hers, despite his clumsy demeanor and strange appearance.
==============================
Xiahou Dun saw a figure out of the corner of his eye as he pulled his blade from a dead Wu soldier.
"Sun Ce!" he shouted. "Come fight me! I am Xiahou Dun, and I will be your executioner!"
Zhen Ji sighed and spoke quietly so that only she could hear herself. "Xiahou Dun... what a one-track mind you have..."
Xiahou Dun chased after Sun Ce, who said nothing and turned his steed to ride away.
"Running away?!?" Xiahou Dun said, incredulous. "Hyaaaaah!" He spurred his horse to go faster in pursuit of the Wu prince.
"S-sir!!! We can't keep up!" Yuanrang's soldiers shouted from behind him as, in vain, they gave chase.
Bofu couldn't help but chuckle to himself as Xiahou Dun chased after him across the city. In his rush for glory, Xiahou Dun had left his entire army behind.
Xiahou Dun had started to close the gap between himself and Sun Ce when suddenly, Sun Ce quickly turned to face him. The two were nearly upon each other now. Xiahou Dun was startled by the sudden move and his horse reared back, nearly throwing him off. It was by willpower alone that he had managed to stay on the steed. Then, Sun Shang Xiang and a large group of soldiers appeared. Archers were aiming directly at Yuanrang.
Xiahou Dun looked around, surprised. Sun Ce grinned.
"You know, Xiahou Dun... even though you only have one eye, you should've seen this coming."
Realizing that he was hopelessly outnumbered, Xiahou Dun cursed and rode away.
==============================
"My lady!" a soldier said, kneeling in front of Zhen Ji and Xu Zhu and bowing his head. "Sun Ce has been spotted!"
"But how will we lure him to our trap?" she said, pondering.
Suddenly, Zhen Ji heard a noise - barely audible. Footsteps. She turned towards the nearby guard tower, suspecting that the intruder was there. Xu Zhu had heard the noise as well, for he turned and brought his iron mallet up in preparation.
"Cover your ears," she said in a very quiet voice to Xu Zhu and the soldier. They quickly did so. Zhen Ji closed her eyes and brought the flute to her lips. She gave a loud, sustained blow, and an extremely high-pitched note sounded, cutting through the air. A painfully high note.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" a voice cried from the guard tower. Da Qiao stumbled out, clutching at her ears.
"Grab her!" Zhen Ji shouted. Xu Zhu bounded over and grabbed her with his massive arms, bringing over to Zhen Ji.
"What a pretty one you are," Zhen Ji observed, watching Da Qiao struggle. "Let her go, Zhongkang."
Xu Zhu noted and released the woman. Zhen Ji walked up to her coldly.
"So this is the famous Da Qiao, wife of Sun Ce?" she asked. "Quite frankly, I would have expected the Little Conqueror to marry somebody a bit more on his level..."
Da Qiao scowled and slapped Zhen Ji across the face - hard. "Who? You?!? You aren't even fit to lick his boots!" she cried.
Zhen Ji recoiled, rubbing her reddened cheek in shock. "Fine. Play it your way. Tie her up!"
As Xu Zhu dragged Da Qiao to Zhen Ji's handmaidens, Zhen Ji smiled - a cold, plotting smile.
"So now we have the bait. And Sun Ce will fall for it..."