Chen Rising chapter 9
The Battle begins: Invasion Countdown at zero
A lone house stood in the middle of the plains. That day, the only sound heard was the rise and fall of a hoe. Lu Meng rested the hoe down and wiped some sweat from his brow. 'Living as a commoner is harder work then I thought.' He said. 'I don't see why I don't just go back to being a pirate. That was easier then this is.' Gan Ning said from across the field. 'Because Zima Shi would send someone after you. That's common sense.' Zhou Tai said. From the house, a voice called. 'Lu Meng! Zhou Tai! Gan Ning! Food's ready!' Gan Ning dropped his hoe and ran to the house. 'Finally! I'm starving!' Gan Ning however, wasn't watching where he was going and tripped over a rock. He stumbled for a few seconds, then fell down. Lu Meng laughed while Zhou Tai grinned. 'No need to get over eager. The food's not going anywhere.' Lu Meng said, walking past Gan Ning. After Sun Quan had died, Sun Shang Xiang surrendered to Shu. Even though they had been enemies, Zima Shi had offered them positions in the military. They had declined. Zima Shi then had a home arranged for them outside Jian Ye. Over the months that had passed, the generals had given up their swords and had taken a farmer's life. As Lu Meng walked into the dining area, he saw that the women had already begun eating. 'There you all are. We were getting worried you might not come.' Sun Shang Xiang said. Lu Meng sat down. Zhou Tai then walked in followed by Gan Ning. 'Let's eat!' He said. Suddenly, hoof beats were heard. Lien Qiao looked out the window. 'It's Lu Xun and Taishi Ci!' Lien Qiao charged out of the room. 'Here we go again.' Gan Ning said. A moment later, a thud was heard. From his horse, Taishi Ci looked down at Lu Xun, who had been tackled off his horse by Lien Qiao. 'Ha ha! To be young and in love.' He said. Suddenly, another rider appeared. 'Would this be the residence of the Wu generals?' He asked. 'We are no longer generals. What are we able to do for you venerable sir?' Lu Meng said, coming out. 'I have just come to pay my respects. With General Huang Gai so recently deceased, I felt I should come.' At the mention of Huang Gai, Lu Meng fell silent. 'Forgive me. I didn't mean to revive your sorrow.' The man said. 'No. It's alright. Please come in. We were just sitting down for the midday meal.' Wine was served, and conversation among them was casual. 'These are indeed troubled times. However, this long period of division will soon end.' Gan Ning looked up from his food. 'And what does that mean?' He said. 'The land is in peril. You great Generals have the ability to curve the outcome of this war. Yet all you do is sit here. I don't mean to be rude, but you, the ones who can end this forty year period of disorder, are sitting here in blissful ignorance letting the people suffer!' Gan Ning stood up and drew his sword. 'Who are you to ridicule us old man?' Gan Ning held the sword to the old man's throat. 'You may do what you like with me. However, it's you, generals, who have the ability to end this war. You alone are the key to Shu's victory or defeat. The people yearn for champions. Give them what they desire.' He said. Gan Ning lowered his sword. 'Who are you?' He asked. The man removed his hood. 'I am Guan Lu the Diviner.' Guan Lu gave a flick of his wrist and vanished. 'So what are we going to do?' Lu Xun asked. 'Lu Meng shook his head. 'I don't know.'
'I can't believe this!' Guan Yu said. 'Zima Shi treats us like incompetent children despite our service to Brother Liu! I can't stand it!' He yelled. 'Our age has blinded him. He knows our strength and determination, but fears for us because of our age.' Zhao Yun said. 'We have to show him we're as good as the new generals! That our age means nothing!' Zhang Fei said. 'Allow me to speak with him. I shall be able to change his mind.' Zhuge Liang said. 'So be it. At the assembly of troops tomorrow, we shall make our point.' Ma Chao said. Zhuge Liang nodded and walked out. 'I shall talk to our lord. I will convince him to use us once again.' Zhuge Liang walked out of the room. He entered Zima Shi's private chamber. 'My lord, might I have a word with you?' He asked. Zima Shi looked up from his book. 'Of course Lord Zhuge. Please come in.' He said. 'My lord, as of late, I notice that you may be using a tactic I used during Lord Liu Bei's conquest of the Riverlands.' Zhuge said as he sat down. 'And what tactic would that be?' Zima Shi asked. 'During our conquest, I needed a general to conquer the city governed by Yan Yan. Zhang Fei volunteered, but I ignored him. This made him volunteer more strongly, and he promised to take the city or face death. I used that tactic to make Zhang Fei more determined. It seems that now you are using it on all of the old generals.' Zhuge Liang replied. 'You know me too well master. I knew that by ignoring the other generals, that they would be determined to prove their worth. I was planning to have them help with Wei, but now I will need them to deal with Jin.' Zima Shi looked at the cradle where Liu Chan slept. 'For Master Liu Chan, let's hope my plan has worked.'
In Xu Chang's palace halls, a party was heard. A group of Jin's generals were celebrating. 'To our victory over Shu!' Chen Cai said. The other Jin generals raised their cups. 'The final battle is soon approaching. Has Lord Sima Dan formulated a strategy?' Xu Shao asked. 'No. He still is waiting for the month to be over.' Wei Xian said. Across the table, Zhang Cao was chugging down cup after cup of wine. 'Those weaklings in Shu won't stand a chance against us!' He said. Qiao Mei, who sat next to him, just shook her head. 'Drunken fool.' She muttered. Through the haze, Zhang Cao heard this. He laughed and slung his arm around her shoulder. 'Now don't be like that! It hurts my feelings!' He said in jest. She just shook her head and laughed. Chen Cai looked across the room at the group of Romans. 'They're up to something. I just wish I knew what.' He thought.
Matriel looked up from his food. He saw Chen Cai looking at them. Their eyes locked for a few seconds until Chen Cai looked down. 'He may be problematic to our plans.' He said quietly. 'Allow me to kill him tonight. Let me remove the one thorn that plagues us.' One of the generals said. 'We can't risk it yet Sachiel. We aren't as close to Sima Dan as we thought. It's a good thing I had Sahaqiel sneak into Shu's territory in order to assassinate Zima Shi. If this can be made any easier, then our Legionnaires will be able to conquer this land easily.' He said.
Sahaqiel snuck through the trees in Cheng Du's palace garden, his body melding in perfectly with the darkness the evening brought. 'Where is this guy?' He thought. He remembered the man's face vividly. He remembered the girl that had been with him. 'When I find one, I'll find the other.' He said to himself. He heard a sound and immediately froze. 'What a beautiful garden!' He heard a voice say. 'Yes. I still can't get over it. I'm almost glad Chen fell.' Another said. 'Something like this probably would've happened anyway.' A third said. Sahaqiel looked through the leaves and saw three women admiring a pond. He recognized the girl who had been with Zima Shi. 'But I don't see the guy.' He thought. He crept closer. Kai Mei, Son Mia and Mai Ling stood near the pond. 'These Peach Blossoms are beautiful! 'Kai Mei said. 'Lord Liu Bei had them planted here because he, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei made their oath in a peach garden.' Son Mia said. 'They're a reminder of their oath.' Son Mia sighed. Sahaqiel slowly pulled a dart gun out of his sack. ' Which darts to use? Poison or sleeping potion?' he thought. He was so deep into thought he didn't hear the branch he was on crack. 'What was that?' Kai Mei said, turning towards the tree. Sahaqiel froze, not wanting to alert them anymore. 'Someone's up there.' Mai Ling said, pulling her swords out. 'Damn. Time for plan two.' Sahaqiel thought. He pulled out a small sword and leapt from the tree. Not hesitating, he charged straight for Son Mia. 'It's an assassin!' Son Mia said, grabbing the nearby Typhoon spear. Sahaqiel ran towards Son Mia, but jumped up at the last moment. 'What?' Sahaqiel landed behind Son Mia and grabbed her. 'Where's Zima Shi?' he said. Kai Mei and Mai Ling ran towards him, but Sahaqiel held his blade at Son Mia's throat. 'I wouldn't do that if I were you. I'd hate to have this blade slip and cut your friend's throat open.' He said smugly. 'Now where is Zima Shi?' Sahaqiel repeated. 'Right behind you.' A voice said. Sahaqiel, hearing the voice behind him, turned his head only to have a sword inches away from his face. 'Let her go.' Zima Shi said. Behind him Son Ja, Zima Shao, and Huan Xong all had their weapons drawn. 'There may be more around here.' Huan Xong said. 'Put your sword down or her blood will decorate the ground.' Sahaqiel said. 'Let her go first then I'll put my sword down.' Zima Shi said. Zima Shao looked at Son Mia and saw that she still had a grip on her typhoon spear. He then raised his sword at Sahaqiel. 'Let her go first.' He said. Son Mia noticed his glance caught onto his plan. 'With him distracted by Zima Shi and Zima Shao, he isn't paying any attention to me.' She thought. She carefully used the wooden part of her spear and hit Sahaqiel's shin. He dropped to ground, grasping his shin and muttering curses under his breath. Sahaqiel opened his eyes to see the Typhoon spear in front of his face. 'This will teach you.' Son Mia said, pulling the spear back to strike. Sahaqiel closed his eyes, waiting for the blow. 'Looks as though I was unable to repay master Matriel's kindness.' He thought. He heard the blade swing down and braced himself for the pain. Instead, a metallic clang was heard. Before he could see what had happened, he felt himself pinned down to the ground. He opened his eyes to see Zima Shi blocking Son Mia's blade, while Son Ja and Huan Xong were holding him down. 'Why'd you stop me?' Son Mia asked outraged. 'Look closely at him. He's no assassin. He's from Jin.' Zima Shao said. 'Disarm him.' Zima Shi said. Son Ja and Huan Xong began going through his bag, taking out several bottles of poison, throwing knives, dart guns, smoke bombs, and a grappling hook. The only item they found on him was a journal. 'Take him to the dungeon for now.' Zima Shi said, taking the journal. Sahaqiel struggled to try and escaped, but was quickly knocked out by Son Ja. 'Too fidgety.' He said. Zima Shi let out a small laugh. 'So all they found on him was a journal.' Son Mia said. Zima Shi sat down and opened it. Son Mia sat down next to him. Kai Mei and Mai Ling looked over Zima Shi's shoulder. Zima Shi read the first entry. 'Master Matriel gave me this journal, saying that it would be more advantageous to keep some sort of record. I'm not too sure if he's correct, but after what he did for me, this can be thought of as part of my new devotion to him. Let me just start from the beginning. My name is Sahaqiel. That's is the name Master Matriel gave me anyway. My real name was Tian Lei. I was born on the twentieth day of the first month of the year 205 by the Roman's date. The current date is the third day of the eighth month of the year 218. This is what has happened to this date.' Son Mia stopped him. 'This was written two months ago. This assassin is only a kid.' She said. Zima Shi read on, the journal telling of the boy's parents being killed by bandits, of scrounging a living of Chang An's streets, and Matriel finally finding him and taking him to Rome. 'This kid's had it hard.' Zima Shi said, closing the diary. He looked at around, noticing Kai Mei and Mai Ling were gone. 'Sneaky aren't they?' Son Mia said. Around the corner, Kai Mei and Mai Ling hid in the bushes. Mai Ling giggled. 'The love birds need some time to themselves.' She said. 'Just like my little sister to pull something like this.' Zima Shi said. He stood up. 'We'll get them back later.' He whispered to Son Mia.
Zima Shi and Son Mia walked to Zima Shi's chamber. Zima Shi said to the guard 'Bring me the prisoner that was just captured.' The guard saluted and walked to the dungeon. 'The emperor wants to see you.' He said to Sahaqiel. Sahaqiel said nothing, but stood up. The guard escorted him to the chamber. Sahaqiel was shoved into the chamber. The door behind him closed with a slam. He was locked in. Sahaqiel looked up, and his eyes widened. He had been expecting anything but this. He had been expecting to be harshly interrogated, tortured. He had even been expecting death before this. Zima Shi stood unarmed before him. 'I hope the guard didn't harm you too much. He can be a bit rough at times.' Zima Shi said, removing Sahaqiel's bonds. Sahaqiel looked around for anything out of the ordinary. Axe men hiding behind curtains, hidden crossbow men, anything. He saw nothing. 'Come now. We must eat or the food shall get cold.' Sahaqiel looked at the table in the middle of the room and saw a veritable banquet set out. 'You must be hungry. My brother found no food or money whatsoever on you.' Son Mia said. Sahaqiel stayed quiet, not wanting to show his hunger. His stomach, however, growled loudly. 'Traitor.' He thought, sitting down. He looked at the food. 'Is it poisoned?' He thought. 'Can't be. If he was going to kill me, he would've done it already.' Controlling his appetite, he ate his food slowly. 'He's starving, yet his manners are comparable to those of a king's.' Zima Shi thought. The conversation was casual, with no mention from any of the three about the upcoming battle. 'Zima Shi. He's so kind. Not even Master Matriel has ever treated me this well.' Sahaqiel thought. With the food finished, Wine was brought in. 'This is some of the finest Cheng Du brew available.' Zima Shi said. 'Only the finest for our guest.' Son Mia replied. Once the wine had gone around, Sahaqiel finally began a topic of conversation. 'This kind of treatment is highly unorthodox.' He said. 'And what do you mean by that?' Zima Shi said. 'In Rome, you would be thrown into prison. Or thrown to the lions in the coliseum. They would never be treated as guests or as good friends.' He said. 'In case you haven't noticed, this isn't Rome.' Son Mia said. Zima Shi laughed. 'She's right you know. Rome is far to the northwest.' He said. While this conversation was going on, Sahaqiel made a decision. 'This man. He's different the Sima Dan and Master Matriel. Such kindness has won me over. Such kindness could win over the allegiance of any man.' He thought.
Zima Shi stood on the castle walls, the entire army of Shu before him. 'The time has come my people! One month ago, the warriors of Jin said their invasion would begin on this day! At this time, we have trained for a month and prepared as much as possible! Now, we go into battle to achieve victory for Lord Liu Chan! Let us go and achieve victory!' The soldiers gave a great battle cry so great that the castle walls shook. Zima Shi turned to Sahaqiel. 'I thank you for your help concerning the Roman's strategy. I have a last set of instructions for you to carry out. After that, you are free to go. You will no longer have to fight for me.' Zima Shi whispered his instructions. 'That is all I ask.' Sahaqiel nodded and left. 'Now it's time to see if we are indeed ready for this.'
A lone house stood in the middle of the plains. That day, the only sound heard was the rise and fall of a hoe. Lu Meng rested the hoe down and wiped some sweat from his brow. 'Living as a commoner is harder work then I thought.' He said. 'I don't see why I don't just go back to being a pirate. That was easier then this is.' Gan Ning said from across the field. 'Because Zima Shi would send someone after you. That's common sense.' Zhou Tai said. From the house, a voice called. 'Lu Meng! Zhou Tai! Gan Ning! Food's ready!' Gan Ning dropped his hoe and ran to the house. 'Finally! I'm starving!' Gan Ning however, wasn't watching where he was going and tripped over a rock. He stumbled for a few seconds, then fell down. Lu Meng laughed while Zhou Tai grinned. 'No need to get over eager. The food's not going anywhere.' Lu Meng said, walking past Gan Ning. After Sun Quan had died, Sun Shang Xiang surrendered to Shu. Even though they had been enemies, Zima Shi had offered them positions in the military. They had declined. Zima Shi then had a home arranged for them outside Jian Ye. Over the months that had passed, the generals had given up their swords and had taken a farmer's life. As Lu Meng walked into the dining area, he saw that the women had already begun eating. 'There you all are. We were getting worried you might not come.' Sun Shang Xiang said. Lu Meng sat down. Zhou Tai then walked in followed by Gan Ning. 'Let's eat!' He said. Suddenly, hoof beats were heard. Lien Qiao looked out the window. 'It's Lu Xun and Taishi Ci!' Lien Qiao charged out of the room. 'Here we go again.' Gan Ning said. A moment later, a thud was heard. From his horse, Taishi Ci looked down at Lu Xun, who had been tackled off his horse by Lien Qiao. 'Ha ha! To be young and in love.' He said. Suddenly, another rider appeared. 'Would this be the residence of the Wu generals?' He asked. 'We are no longer generals. What are we able to do for you venerable sir?' Lu Meng said, coming out. 'I have just come to pay my respects. With General Huang Gai so recently deceased, I felt I should come.' At the mention of Huang Gai, Lu Meng fell silent. 'Forgive me. I didn't mean to revive your sorrow.' The man said. 'No. It's alright. Please come in. We were just sitting down for the midday meal.' Wine was served, and conversation among them was casual. 'These are indeed troubled times. However, this long period of division will soon end.' Gan Ning looked up from his food. 'And what does that mean?' He said. 'The land is in peril. You great Generals have the ability to curve the outcome of this war. Yet all you do is sit here. I don't mean to be rude, but you, the ones who can end this forty year period of disorder, are sitting here in blissful ignorance letting the people suffer!' Gan Ning stood up and drew his sword. 'Who are you to ridicule us old man?' Gan Ning held the sword to the old man's throat. 'You may do what you like with me. However, it's you, generals, who have the ability to end this war. You alone are the key to Shu's victory or defeat. The people yearn for champions. Give them what they desire.' He said. Gan Ning lowered his sword. 'Who are you?' He asked. The man removed his hood. 'I am Guan Lu the Diviner.' Guan Lu gave a flick of his wrist and vanished. 'So what are we going to do?' Lu Xun asked. 'Lu Meng shook his head. 'I don't know.'
'I can't believe this!' Guan Yu said. 'Zima Shi treats us like incompetent children despite our service to Brother Liu! I can't stand it!' He yelled. 'Our age has blinded him. He knows our strength and determination, but fears for us because of our age.' Zhao Yun said. 'We have to show him we're as good as the new generals! That our age means nothing!' Zhang Fei said. 'Allow me to speak with him. I shall be able to change his mind.' Zhuge Liang said. 'So be it. At the assembly of troops tomorrow, we shall make our point.' Ma Chao said. Zhuge Liang nodded and walked out. 'I shall talk to our lord. I will convince him to use us once again.' Zhuge Liang walked out of the room. He entered Zima Shi's private chamber. 'My lord, might I have a word with you?' He asked. Zima Shi looked up from his book. 'Of course Lord Zhuge. Please come in.' He said. 'My lord, as of late, I notice that you may be using a tactic I used during Lord Liu Bei's conquest of the Riverlands.' Zhuge said as he sat down. 'And what tactic would that be?' Zima Shi asked. 'During our conquest, I needed a general to conquer the city governed by Yan Yan. Zhang Fei volunteered, but I ignored him. This made him volunteer more strongly, and he promised to take the city or face death. I used that tactic to make Zhang Fei more determined. It seems that now you are using it on all of the old generals.' Zhuge Liang replied. 'You know me too well master. I knew that by ignoring the other generals, that they would be determined to prove their worth. I was planning to have them help with Wei, but now I will need them to deal with Jin.' Zima Shi looked at the cradle where Liu Chan slept. 'For Master Liu Chan, let's hope my plan has worked.'
In Xu Chang's palace halls, a party was heard. A group of Jin's generals were celebrating. 'To our victory over Shu!' Chen Cai said. The other Jin generals raised their cups. 'The final battle is soon approaching. Has Lord Sima Dan formulated a strategy?' Xu Shao asked. 'No. He still is waiting for the month to be over.' Wei Xian said. Across the table, Zhang Cao was chugging down cup after cup of wine. 'Those weaklings in Shu won't stand a chance against us!' He said. Qiao Mei, who sat next to him, just shook her head. 'Drunken fool.' She muttered. Through the haze, Zhang Cao heard this. He laughed and slung his arm around her shoulder. 'Now don't be like that! It hurts my feelings!' He said in jest. She just shook her head and laughed. Chen Cai looked across the room at the group of Romans. 'They're up to something. I just wish I knew what.' He thought.
Matriel looked up from his food. He saw Chen Cai looking at them. Their eyes locked for a few seconds until Chen Cai looked down. 'He may be problematic to our plans.' He said quietly. 'Allow me to kill him tonight. Let me remove the one thorn that plagues us.' One of the generals said. 'We can't risk it yet Sachiel. We aren't as close to Sima Dan as we thought. It's a good thing I had Sahaqiel sneak into Shu's territory in order to assassinate Zima Shi. If this can be made any easier, then our Legionnaires will be able to conquer this land easily.' He said.
Sahaqiel snuck through the trees in Cheng Du's palace garden, his body melding in perfectly with the darkness the evening brought. 'Where is this guy?' He thought. He remembered the man's face vividly. He remembered the girl that had been with him. 'When I find one, I'll find the other.' He said to himself. He heard a sound and immediately froze. 'What a beautiful garden!' He heard a voice say. 'Yes. I still can't get over it. I'm almost glad Chen fell.' Another said. 'Something like this probably would've happened anyway.' A third said. Sahaqiel looked through the leaves and saw three women admiring a pond. He recognized the girl who had been with Zima Shi. 'But I don't see the guy.' He thought. He crept closer. Kai Mei, Son Mia and Mai Ling stood near the pond. 'These Peach Blossoms are beautiful! 'Kai Mei said. 'Lord Liu Bei had them planted here because he, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei made their oath in a peach garden.' Son Mia said. 'They're a reminder of their oath.' Son Mia sighed. Sahaqiel slowly pulled a dart gun out of his sack. ' Which darts to use? Poison or sleeping potion?' he thought. He was so deep into thought he didn't hear the branch he was on crack. 'What was that?' Kai Mei said, turning towards the tree. Sahaqiel froze, not wanting to alert them anymore. 'Someone's up there.' Mai Ling said, pulling her swords out. 'Damn. Time for plan two.' Sahaqiel thought. He pulled out a small sword and leapt from the tree. Not hesitating, he charged straight for Son Mia. 'It's an assassin!' Son Mia said, grabbing the nearby Typhoon spear. Sahaqiel ran towards Son Mia, but jumped up at the last moment. 'What?' Sahaqiel landed behind Son Mia and grabbed her. 'Where's Zima Shi?' he said. Kai Mei and Mai Ling ran towards him, but Sahaqiel held his blade at Son Mia's throat. 'I wouldn't do that if I were you. I'd hate to have this blade slip and cut your friend's throat open.' He said smugly. 'Now where is Zima Shi?' Sahaqiel repeated. 'Right behind you.' A voice said. Sahaqiel, hearing the voice behind him, turned his head only to have a sword inches away from his face. 'Let her go.' Zima Shi said. Behind him Son Ja, Zima Shao, and Huan Xong all had their weapons drawn. 'There may be more around here.' Huan Xong said. 'Put your sword down or her blood will decorate the ground.' Sahaqiel said. 'Let her go first then I'll put my sword down.' Zima Shi said. Zima Shao looked at Son Mia and saw that she still had a grip on her typhoon spear. He then raised his sword at Sahaqiel. 'Let her go first.' He said. Son Mia noticed his glance caught onto his plan. 'With him distracted by Zima Shi and Zima Shao, he isn't paying any attention to me.' She thought. She carefully used the wooden part of her spear and hit Sahaqiel's shin. He dropped to ground, grasping his shin and muttering curses under his breath. Sahaqiel opened his eyes to see the Typhoon spear in front of his face. 'This will teach you.' Son Mia said, pulling the spear back to strike. Sahaqiel closed his eyes, waiting for the blow. 'Looks as though I was unable to repay master Matriel's kindness.' He thought. He heard the blade swing down and braced himself for the pain. Instead, a metallic clang was heard. Before he could see what had happened, he felt himself pinned down to the ground. He opened his eyes to see Zima Shi blocking Son Mia's blade, while Son Ja and Huan Xong were holding him down. 'Why'd you stop me?' Son Mia asked outraged. 'Look closely at him. He's no assassin. He's from Jin.' Zima Shao said. 'Disarm him.' Zima Shi said. Son Ja and Huan Xong began going through his bag, taking out several bottles of poison, throwing knives, dart guns, smoke bombs, and a grappling hook. The only item they found on him was a journal. 'Take him to the dungeon for now.' Zima Shi said, taking the journal. Sahaqiel struggled to try and escaped, but was quickly knocked out by Son Ja. 'Too fidgety.' He said. Zima Shi let out a small laugh. 'So all they found on him was a journal.' Son Mia said. Zima Shi sat down and opened it. Son Mia sat down next to him. Kai Mei and Mai Ling looked over Zima Shi's shoulder. Zima Shi read the first entry. 'Master Matriel gave me this journal, saying that it would be more advantageous to keep some sort of record. I'm not too sure if he's correct, but after what he did for me, this can be thought of as part of my new devotion to him. Let me just start from the beginning. My name is Sahaqiel. That's is the name Master Matriel gave me anyway. My real name was Tian Lei. I was born on the twentieth day of the first month of the year 205 by the Roman's date. The current date is the third day of the eighth month of the year 218. This is what has happened to this date.' Son Mia stopped him. 'This was written two months ago. This assassin is only a kid.' She said. Zima Shi read on, the journal telling of the boy's parents being killed by bandits, of scrounging a living of Chang An's streets, and Matriel finally finding him and taking him to Rome. 'This kid's had it hard.' Zima Shi said, closing the diary. He looked at around, noticing Kai Mei and Mai Ling were gone. 'Sneaky aren't they?' Son Mia said. Around the corner, Kai Mei and Mai Ling hid in the bushes. Mai Ling giggled. 'The love birds need some time to themselves.' She said. 'Just like my little sister to pull something like this.' Zima Shi said. He stood up. 'We'll get them back later.' He whispered to Son Mia.
Zima Shi and Son Mia walked to Zima Shi's chamber. Zima Shi said to the guard 'Bring me the prisoner that was just captured.' The guard saluted and walked to the dungeon. 'The emperor wants to see you.' He said to Sahaqiel. Sahaqiel said nothing, but stood up. The guard escorted him to the chamber. Sahaqiel was shoved into the chamber. The door behind him closed with a slam. He was locked in. Sahaqiel looked up, and his eyes widened. He had been expecting anything but this. He had been expecting to be harshly interrogated, tortured. He had even been expecting death before this. Zima Shi stood unarmed before him. 'I hope the guard didn't harm you too much. He can be a bit rough at times.' Zima Shi said, removing Sahaqiel's bonds. Sahaqiel looked around for anything out of the ordinary. Axe men hiding behind curtains, hidden crossbow men, anything. He saw nothing. 'Come now. We must eat or the food shall get cold.' Sahaqiel looked at the table in the middle of the room and saw a veritable banquet set out. 'You must be hungry. My brother found no food or money whatsoever on you.' Son Mia said. Sahaqiel stayed quiet, not wanting to show his hunger. His stomach, however, growled loudly. 'Traitor.' He thought, sitting down. He looked at the food. 'Is it poisoned?' He thought. 'Can't be. If he was going to kill me, he would've done it already.' Controlling his appetite, he ate his food slowly. 'He's starving, yet his manners are comparable to those of a king's.' Zima Shi thought. The conversation was casual, with no mention from any of the three about the upcoming battle. 'Zima Shi. He's so kind. Not even Master Matriel has ever treated me this well.' Sahaqiel thought. With the food finished, Wine was brought in. 'This is some of the finest Cheng Du brew available.' Zima Shi said. 'Only the finest for our guest.' Son Mia replied. Once the wine had gone around, Sahaqiel finally began a topic of conversation. 'This kind of treatment is highly unorthodox.' He said. 'And what do you mean by that?' Zima Shi said. 'In Rome, you would be thrown into prison. Or thrown to the lions in the coliseum. They would never be treated as guests or as good friends.' He said. 'In case you haven't noticed, this isn't Rome.' Son Mia said. Zima Shi laughed. 'She's right you know. Rome is far to the northwest.' He said. While this conversation was going on, Sahaqiel made a decision. 'This man. He's different the Sima Dan and Master Matriel. Such kindness has won me over. Such kindness could win over the allegiance of any man.' He thought.
Zima Shi stood on the castle walls, the entire army of Shu before him. 'The time has come my people! One month ago, the warriors of Jin said their invasion would begin on this day! At this time, we have trained for a month and prepared as much as possible! Now, we go into battle to achieve victory for Lord Liu Chan! Let us go and achieve victory!' The soldiers gave a great battle cry so great that the castle walls shook. Zima Shi turned to Sahaqiel. 'I thank you for your help concerning the Roman's strategy. I have a last set of instructions for you to carry out. After that, you are free to go. You will no longer have to fight for me.' Zima Shi whispered his instructions. 'That is all I ask.' Sahaqiel nodded and left. 'Now it's time to see if we are indeed ready for this.'