Tian Shui: Battle to Dawn
The morning glory has been broken by blood-thirsty warriors, all ready to sacrifice their lives to their cause. Whether it be blood of another, the spoils of the fight, or perhaps just because of their lord's wishes, they would all fight. Merciless slaughter broke out among the ones who fought at the hillside of Tian Shui. Led by Yu Xue, the silver clad cavalry unit that the townsfolk fondly called the Jian Zhen, had broken out in a fusillade of barrages. They attacked fiercely, swords clashing with swords, spears breaking with the slices, and people yelling out in sheer pain and fear when they died at that one moment that they made a miscalculation during their bout with the enemy soldier they had fought. Yu Xue saw his men falling, but he continued on, waving his halberd at the coming Wu army. He stood over his brother's fallen body, seemingly no remorse within the expression of his face. He stood like a god to them, a true leader that would be amiable and further more accented by history. The Jian Zhen group's morale was already high, knowing that they'd always have a leader like that, and they continued to fight, just because of that.
"My men...do not let them pass...I sense glory and gold for Tian Shui! And my men, I can share it all with you...don't let them pass...for the sake of Tian Shui!" Yu Xue yelled out to his men as he suddenly charged, heading into the enemy lines with his head held high and his halberd up. The two pronged weapon was jolted forward with a sudden thrust, coming and breaking into one Wu soldier's armor, causing him to fall. There were at least twice as many Wu soldiers as the Jian Zhen group, but that only made them smile as they charged behind their leader.
"This is almost unfair." One of the soldiers stated with a grim and foretelling emotion, struck upon his face. This caused his two allies to look and nod towards to him as they charged further behind Yu Xue. "I don't want to kill them this easily!"
Indeed, the confident and skilled cavalry unit had entered the heart of the battle, each of them taking more than their skill can handle. But alas, the Wu wasn't about to let off, sending in more than enough reserves to hold of the resistance. The Wu was wise in choosing their reserves. As soon as the soldiers came into view, they crouched down, grabbed their weapon off their back and set it up. They were the most skilled archers in the Wu kingdom. All two thousand of them...
O O
Cao Kai had struck down all of the Wu soldiers around him. Crimson liquid staining their crimson armor and it looked glorious to him...Ah, but how he wished that they were his father's soldiers, and not some insignificant peons such as these. Cao Kai brought up his silver spear and pointed it towards the smiling Zhou Yu.
"All right you pretty boy, it's just you and me now. Put down your weapon and it'll be good."
"Do not worry about my safety." He said, putting his sword back by its handle, the giant Elder Sword now hanging by the velvet sash that he had wrapped around his waist. He whipped out a small flute and played a small melody...nothing special, just something that seemingly came out of his mind. Once he was done playing, he had lowered the flute and led his alluring, dark, chocolate brown eyes towards the man before him. "Ah, I see the beast has some manners..."
"Long, tipped lashes, long flowing hair..." Cao Kai shot his mouth off at him out of nowhere. He scoffed after some comments and then brought his spear down. "You must be a woman! HA!"
"How dare you...Don't think I will take this lightly at all, you monster of the Kingdoms." Zhou Yu said back smugly "I will smite you...as you simply just are, and always will be, a beast."
"Then attack me, woman!" Cao Kai dashed forwards, his spear raised up high and ready to strike at Zhou Yu's head. Zhou Yu had moved over, though, and brought his flute, throwing it at Cao Kai's head. It simply tapped and broke upon the metal plated turban that the former Wild Cat Rider had worn. Cao Kai turned around, a confident expression etched upon his face, which only turned into a wide-eyed, full blasted surprise when Zhou Yu had suddenly appeared above him in the air and was ready to counter strike with the massive blade that he had clasped his digits eagerly upon.
"I am attacking...and I am more man than you ever will be." Zhou Yu said as he had let his blade fall, the Elder Sword barely being blocked by the spear that Cao Kai had. Cao Kai was sweating now...showing how strong he actually was, he had pushed of Zhou Yu, causing the long haired strategist to go flying backwards, only to land on one foot, gracefully landing. Cao Kai had exerted a lot of power on that one push and it wasn't going to well for him as he was sweating and his breaths were suddenly frantic.
"...Wow...huff...you're fast..."
"Yes, I know..." He said as he dashed back towards Cao Kai, seemingly disappearing and reappearing behind Cao Kai...his blade had returned to its proper place on his sash/sheath and Zhou Yu had merely canted his head to the side and sighed. "Too easy..."
Cao Kai felt something odd...an odd, tingling sensation in his stomach. He looked down and was surprised at what he had seen. Cao Kai's own blood stained his navy colored armor. The silver and bluish colors were replaced with crimson and dark red. His eyes soon gave as he went unconscious, his vision blackening and his form falling to the stone walkway as he fell to the ground.
Zhou Yu's mouth was curved into a cocky grin, his victory admired by his sword. The blunt side of his sword was stained in blood as he had cut into the man's skin only to bring him unconscious. Now he could bring this tyrant back to his lord, and he would surely get some sort of reward.
O O
Shen Xiu was jumping to her left and right, the slit of her cheongsam somewhat trailing her movement as she spun left, and then jumped back with one foot. Her attacker was a very irritated Yu Chai, thrusting and swinging around her pole arm at the woman herself. The long, curly, honey brown hair that was Yu Chai's, was tossed around, becoming messed up as she attacked furiously. Of course, the confused Shen Xiu was the first one to speak up to the infuriated Yu Chai.
"Idiot! What are you doing to a potential ally?" She asked as she quickly weaved in and out, using her quickness to dodge instead of her weapon to parry. Of course, the weapon was kept in hand just in case she needed to take emergency action to Yu Chai's actions. Yu Chai wasn't at all too happy with the remark from Shen Xiu.
"Grr! I don't like the fact that you and everyone is trying to tear away the fact that Xing isn't here, and telling me to move on! I'll move on, but in what he would do...I'm going to keep his spirit with me and I ain't gonna do what I gotta do with people like YOU around!" She yelled as she took a powerful, wide swing, connecting the handle part to Shen Xiu's shoulder, causing her to shout out in pain. Shen Xiu retaliated with a furious vault kick, thrusting her weapon to the ground and using the length of it as a handle as she jumped up and landed a heel kick to Yu Chai's face.
"GRAH! Bitch!"
"You started this fight!"
They continued to exchange insults for a while before Yu Chai got tired of talking back. Yu Chai had dashed forward with her pole arm, thrusting it towards Shen Xiu. Shen Xiu had brought up her spear just in time to parry the weapon from her body. She had directed in such a way that she could do a spin attack, which was exactly what she did, stepping forward, spinning the spear low to attack at Yu Chai's legs. Yu Chai jumped up to avoid the sweep and then brought her blade downwards, the blade clashing against the spear tip of Shen Xiu as she had again blocked it.
"STOP BLOCKING!"
"Stop acting like an enemy!"
Both started another verbal argument, this time, both of them lowering the weapons for good. Unwise idea though. As soon as they had done that, Zhou Yu had ascended the hill and had knocked Yu Chai out with the bottom of the handle of his sword. Shen Xiu was about to do something about this, only to be knocked out from behind by another soldier.
O O
Shi Liu was ducking and using a table as cover...the room that she had took cover in was being repeatedly bombarded with the use of Huang Gai's explosive weapons. A bomb had nearly killed her, and if it weren't for the assortment of obstacles, she would've already been dead. Shi Liu peeked around the table, looking towards the large hole in the wall to see if the large and muscular man was still there, and to her dismay, he was. The man stopped his explosive rampage and had decided to use his own strength against this woman. Shi Liu only saw this as an opportunity to attack her foe head on with the most of her energy. A quick victory again if this man didn't block her next move...and her next move was pretty fast if she didn't say so herself. Jumping out of the cover, she had approached the unmoving Huang Gai. He was like a statue, not moving at all as he just stayed there, breathing. Inhaling and exhaling looked like it was an exercise for the tall one, his muscles on his chest rising as he breathed. His stony eyes were focused forwards, not even acknowledging the charging woman.
"Idiot!" Shi Liu yelled, as she was now in her attack position, right beside Huang Gai where guard was nearly impossible. She leaped into the air, towards the man and extended her foot out in a full flying side kick. Shi Liu yelled triumphed as she made contact with his neck...but something was wrong. The statue of a man didn't even move...but what was really interesting is what had happen. His eyes just shifted, their presence shedding off a sense of power and anger. He snapped his arm upwards, and grabbed the leg of Shi Liu, dangling her upside down and rendering her helpless...though she had tried to escape the wrath of the strong one; he didn't take kindly to her and brought his foot back. With one swift movement, he had delivered a great kick to the back of Shi Liu's head, which only made the girl's eyes widen.
"N-no...no match..." Shi Liu mumbled before she lost all consciousness whatsoever, her form becoming limp, her mouth gaped and her eyes closed.
Huang Gai had grunted, acknowledging his own victory before he had thrown the woman over his shoulders and walked out casually. He had won the fight out of sheer strength alone, and he was going to use that strength on anyone else that came if they so wished to become either dead or injured...just like Shi Liu...
O O
Grasping her fans as she ran hurriedly to the end of the alley, she was headed off by none other than the foreign language speaking man that had kicked Zhao Xing earlier. Bringing her fans up, she struck a stance, ready to fight the man off.
"By no means, mon ami, do I wish to fight you!" Lu Xun said as he approached her, one sword sheathed and the other still in his left hand. The young man stopped before Lien Qiao and smiled, the young woman responding with an eager smile of her own. "I know your sisters, and by every means, you can come with me and I'll bring you to them...You are a Qiao, no?"
Lien Qiao's eyes widened as she finally had closed the gap between them, her light brown eyes widening as they met with his calm and smooth chocolate brown eyes. She had took her fans and closed them, setting them to their attachment at the side of her dress and she now looked straight to Lu Xun, one of the happiest smiles she had ever mustered showing to the young man. Lu Xun smiled back, showing off his pearly white teeth.
"Sir, by all means, like you said then...I wish to see my sisters...take me wherever you wish so!"
Lu Xun's eyes filled with that of happiness and such, while Lien Qiao's filled with gratitude and compassion. She had her hopes higher than ever now. She knew this was a Wu high ranked officer. She knew that he could take her with him and to her sister...she knew that he was a good man. What she didn't know, was that he was fiercely loyal to his lord. His once good eyes turn to that of a fox's: sly, arrogant, cunning...All showing in the eyes, in his expression, the near sadistic grin when he had grabbed her hair with his free right hand, pulled her down and press his sword against her shoulder. Lien Qiao looked up to the young strategist with wondering eyes, with naïve and sorrowful eyes...why was he doing this? He was so nice before...everything was so nice before!
"B-but... Why?!" Lien Qiao asked before she whimpered from the sudden force upon her shoulder by the blade. Lu Xun gave off a hearty chuckle before he answered; a cocky and unrefined voice had replaced the courteous and classy one.
"Easy my dear, you were just too easy! My lord had ordered to take in anyone...no matter WHO it is...And I am supposed to be a genius of Wu...I'm proving it now by exploiting and using your weakness...Your sisters? You'll never see them where you'll be going!" He said in an almost psychotic tone, his dark chocolate oculars seemingly brightening to gold. Lien Qiao shook her head and looked away from the advancing young man. She closed her eyes and cried out, hoping someone would help her.
O O
A scream was heard throughout Tian Shui, the first one hearing it was Zhao Xing, who was still using the force of the Futae no Kiwami to push back the attacks from Zhou Tai. Lu Meng had decided to rest himself, sitting on a stone ledge to watch his friend fight this man. Japanese style of sword, versus a living encyclopedia of martial art attacks...or so he heard that he had an extensive knowledge of fighting. This would be certainly interesting if either one of them had won, considering that they were both about equal. But he had noticed a slight difference...when Lu Meng heard the scream, he had found Zhao Xing's eyes had widened, his teeth clenched. He had no choice but to watch these two people battle it out...then see who he can greet as the winner...
O O
"Lien Qiao!" Zhao Xing eyes had widened significantly, his hazels showing more as he widened his eyes, the pupils dilating and shrinking a bit due to the light. His muscles seemed to clench and he had completely stopped the Futae no Kiwami. Zhou Tai withdrew his sword and prepared for the next attack, bringing his hand back and going towards him in a stabbing motion to the neck. Yelling "This is the beginning of your story of death..." he continued full on. But Zhao Xing saw this in slow motion...everything had slowed down...images of Lien Qiao had invaded his mind...the sweet girl that he had encountered was all that he thought about in the milliseconds that he had before he was stabbed...The happy brown eyes...the black hair wrapped into two ponytails...there was something about her that reminded him of something...something that was digging at a scar in his mind...
Zhou Tai was nearly there, before Zhao Xing suddenly exploded in a fury of pure emotion...Lien Qiao reminded Zhao Xing of the time before the massacre, when...she was there...Lien Qiao was comparable to Zhao Xiao in his mind and that's what kept him thinking about her...she looked like his little sister...she couldn't be because she was dead, he was sure of that...but as long as Lien Qiao reminded him of his sister, Zhao Xing was going to protect her as long as he could. Zhao Xing brought his left hand up, the force of the Futae no Kiwami hitting the blade of the sword upwards. With that, Zhou Tai's hands also went upwards, still grasping at his sword. Zhao Xing moved incredibly fast this time, his mind viewing everything but himself in slow motion. Zhou Tai's stomach, though covered in armor, was exposed. Zhao Xing decided to take this chance. Before Zhou Tai had regain his posture, Zhao Xing had reeled his right hand back and delivered the most devastating move he knew...the "Fist of the Dragons" they called it...his fist made contact with the armor of Zhou Tai, cracking upon contact. Zhou Tai's eyes widened as he took a view to his midsection...blood...droplets of blood were spilling from his armor. He cringed from the slight stinging sensation and clenched his sword tighter, ready now to bring his sword upon Zhao Xing's head. But before anything was done, Zhou Tai yelled out in pain, dropping his sword and clutching at his stomach. The large, Japanese-made sword had fallen to the ground, kicking up dust all around. Suddenly, the move that Zhao Xing had delivered went into full effect. Zhou Tai's eyes closed as he suddenly was hurled from the ground, his feet going up and his body crouched down as if he was hit by a large hammer from the gods. He went flying into the side of a building, which he made contact into, the wall collapsing from the velocity and weight delivered by the flying body. Zhou Tai laid half dead amongst the rubble, his eyes glazed over and his mouth open. A red aura had surrounded his stomach, where Zhao Xing had punch...it wasn't long before it faded like morning mist and disappeared.
"The...end..." he whispered incoherently, suddenly knocked out. Zhao Xing looked at the unmoving body of Zhou Tai before he turned around and ran into the alley, ready to save Zhao Xiao or Lien Qiao...however he saw her first.
O O
"No way!" Lu Meng jumped up as he saw his comrade make contact with the wall, not emerging or moving from the site of destruction. This was not good...Lu Meng jumped down from the stone ledge and headed into the alley, to fight Zhao Xing himself...he was considered top tier among the warriors of Wu, and he was going to keep it that way. Passing a few soldiers along the way he was going, he ordered them to help Zhou Tai. Taking his halberd out, he pointed it down the darkening area of the alleyways... "You may fight like the devil, but you'll never best me!"
O O
Zhao Xing had stopped in front of the young man that was taunting Lien Qiao with his short blades, tossing out some insults and such...Zhao Xing didn't want to see this happening...His anger came and surrounded his aura, and his eyes were ablaze with power. He let out a low, feral growl, signaling himself to Lu Xun. Lu Xun, raised an eyebrow, and then turned to his left, acknowledging the man who had approached. He was expecting a formal greeting from this person, but all that he was greeted was a punch in the face, throwing him back. He managed to stay on foot, but his stomach was met by a punch as well, causing him to bend down and clutch at his midsection. The last thing he felt was the long haired man's glowing eyes as he was suddenly lifted up and thrown down the alley way.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Zhao Xing was truly in more mental and emotional pain than he looked...the fighting now and the illusion that Cao Kai had set on him earlier had brought back memories of his past. Now the resemblance of Lien Qiao to his own little sister had took the ultimate toll on his psych. He had become overprotective and a bit off the edge when he had met Lien Qiao, a bit of his past personality coming to the surface of him. He had thrown his arms up and covered the path to the now bewildered Lien Qiao as she looked to Zhao Xing's back, wondering what had made him this way. She had gone up and touched his bare shoulder with her fingertips.
"Xing, are you all right?" She asked him
Zhao Xing turned around to look at Lien Qiao, but instead of seeing the mellow woman, he saw little Xiao all grown up before him. He smiled at Lien Qiao and took her into his arms, pulling her into an embrace.
"Xiao, I'm glad you're here..." Xing said, closing his eyes and smiling...
"Xiao? Xing, it's me, Lien."
"Nonsense...don't talk that way, my sister...I'm going to protect you like mother said I should..."
"Uhm, sure, you can act like a brother...but I'm not Xiao..." The Qiao finally said, slipping out of the embrace, before bringing her hands up to clasp on his shoulder, shaking him a bit. "I'm Lien Qiao, come on Xing, come back to me..."
"Wait...what?" Xing blinked a few times before the golden fury in his eyes had finally disappeared. His calm hazel orbs of eyes were restored and his aura was cool as ice once again. Looking to Lien Qiao, he now had one of the most serious expressions on his face that the young Qiao had ever seen..."Wait...where is the one I was fighting?"
"You've beaten him and come to save me...right? Come on Xing, think...are you sure you're all right?" Lien Qiao asked her protector before looking to the beaten up young man that lay on the streets groaning. She didn't know what was going on, but this was going to be serious if he kept thinking odd thoughts such as these. But now was not the time to think. Taking Xing's hand, she dashed forward, attempting to lead both of them out of the alley. But faith had it that they wouldn't escape, as they suddenly stopped upon their heels, looking ahead. Lu Meng had stopped in front of the group, his halberd impaled into the ground and his body motionless as he stood.
"You heathens, you shall be dealt with another time! I will not stand your recklessness and evil deeds that you've accomplished." Huang Gai had approached Lu Meng as he yelled to Lien Qiao and Zhao Xing. Shi Liu hung from Huang Gai's muscular shoulder, unmoving. Zhao Xing rushed forth to attack Lu Meng, but he had brought his halberd up and next to Shi Liu's head, threatening to spill her blood. Zhao Xing stopped in his tracks, growling at them and helpless since they had someone to exploit Zhao Xing. Xing dropped his guard and placed his hands at his side. Lu Meng's eyes widened as he stepped forward and smacked the side of Zhao Xing's head with the end of his halberd's handle, knocking him out. "You fool! You could've attacked me and won with the lost of just but one! But now you're all captured and you can't do anything about it."
Lien Qiao was restrained by a newly awakened Lu Xun, the young man grabbing both of her arms to keep her from reaching her weapons and attacking Zhao Xing. Lu Xun's nose was bleeding from the earlier punch, but the talking has roused him to become awake again. He and Huang Gai had started to leave the alley, both of their hostages under their direct control. This left Lu Meng scowling upon the fallen form of Xing. He raised his weapon, about to let it fall to the long haired one's heart, when he was interrupted in the most utmost painful way possible. Zhao Xing had landed a quick punch right in Lu Meng's stomach, throwing the officer back. Lu Meng's expression quickly changed from the calm mannerism it usually is in to one of anger and frustration. Getting up, he looked to him and readied his weapon.
"I won't let up!"
"Then fight me unarmed...Coward..." Zhao Xing said simply, striking a fighting stance with vigor and an utmost confidence. Lu Meng, obviously rattled by his words, dropped his arms and walked forward, ready to fight this man with his fists.
"How irritating it is to fight someone like YOU!" He yelled as he tried a cross punch with his left hand, aiming for the face of the long haired one, but it was simply ducked. Lu Meng would repeatedly try and punch Zhao Xing, but it would be to no gain...Zhao Xing was too nimble, too quick for his attacks...But after finally getting frustrated when Zhao Xing had jumped back, Lu Meng jumped forward and punched Zhao Xing directly on the forehead.
"Got you!" Zhao Xing was taken aback by the hit, as he recoiled and grunted as a show that some damage was done. When Lu Meng stopped, he grabbed his halberd again, pointing it towards his enemy for the kill.
O O
"Xing..." Qing Yuan was having fits of hallucinations, seeing Zhao Xing just ahead of her. She had first thought it was him, but every time she stepped closer to him, he'd just run farther ahead and leave her to follow again. This was not to her liking...She needed to find him...It was some sort of impulse that had taken her over, and she was going to respond to this impulse. Soft taps of her feet came as they repeatedly hit the soft ground. She didn't stop when she saw ashes along the river. Black and brown wood littered the riverside, giving a sense of terrible nostalgia to Qing Yuan. She could almost hear the screams...wait...something happened. She stepped through the area and looked to the brush that was ahead of the area. Stepping through the brush, there was a series of buildings and connecting alleyways.
"Tian Shui?" She asked herself. She stepped into the first alley she had arrived into, and walked down, searching absentmindedly for Xing.
O O
"I will finish your tyranny forever..." Lu Meng said as he now brought his blade downwards...
"Tyranny? GWOH!" Right through his stomach, Zhao Xing felt a blade piercing through him...it left him as soon as the blade had entered...Just as that was done, a piercing scream, one of pure agony and pain had left Zhao Xing's mouth, hovering into the air and then swirling around the area, bothering the surrounding people with a sense of darkness and prolonged hatred. Zhao Xing cried out once more after the initial release of the weapon, before finally succumbing and falling to his face. Lu Meng spat upon the "evil" and turned away, walking towards where his comrades had left with the two women, leaving Zhao Xing to rot in this alley and die a most precocious death...
O O
Zhao Xing's point of view came to life...anyone could read his eyes...his emotions.
"Death...it's...coming to me..." My eyes, they filled with a dark entity, as if someone was blindfolding me, as if someone had plucked out my oculars and stomped on them, without and tears of scarlet coming out of their sockets. My chest...it's filled with contempt, with a pressure, building constantly upon itself, and I couldn't help but be depressed about it...My stomach...I can feel a hole in it...Blinding pain...the wound seemed to scream out, bleeding as its words, and constantly screaming for the world to end. My hands...they quiver...without anyone to hold them...I feel so lonely...so alone in this world...It is funny, really...why do I feel like I'm so helpless? I thought I was supposed to avenge my mother...by slaying Dian Wei...
O O
"Zhao Xing...I've found you..."
"Ugh...I'm sorry...mother..."
Qing Yuan had found him...she didn't see the bleeding, welling wound that had been the whole source of his pain at the moment, but she had found only him...
"I saw you in my dreams...and in my mind...all day, Zhao Xing..." She said, walking slowly to him, crouching down and then grabbing his arm. She had slowly helped him up, not minding the blood staining and flowing into her cheongsam. "I'm not going to let you go...Master Zhao Xing or not..."
Zhao Xing groaned as he walked, idly placing his feet where the woman he hardly recognized led him to. But there was a man in the darkness that didn't want to sit too still while this woman carry Zhao Xing off.
"Bane of the three kingdoms, eh?" Sima Yi asked as he started to chant, different hand symbols coming up as he continuously spoken in an echoing splendor as he kept the two people in his view. Qing Yuan finally laid eyes on the one chanting, but soon, it was too late. She found herself in a new place...separated from Zhao Xing. This was the last thing she wanted...But wait...this place...it didn't seem like a place at all...
O O
Qing Yuan found herself in a swirling vortex of nothingness, everything infinite blackness in one area, and everything infinite blackness in another area. Something was definitely amiss here...especially since every time she ran off in one direction, she felt her footing place, but she felt like she was in the same position. When she finally looked upwards, a voice bombarded her with questions...It was somewhat deep...but not too deep...the voice had a sort of seriousness, with a calm, soothing type of feeling backing it up...but still...it was one of the most familiar voices she known.
"What are you doing here?"
"To help Zhao Xing..." She answered the voice unwaveringly. The voice was that of Zhao Xing's, but the voice had spoken like he didn't know Qing Yuan at all.
"What is your purpose?"
"To help Zhao Xing...to help him anyway I can...and hopefully he'll learn something from me as well as I can learn something from him...again, I only want to help him..."
"Why do you want to help him?" The voice was still ridiculing her...this wasn't the least bit enjoyable to Qing Yuan but she was going to overcome this whether more questions or not.
"Because...I need to...I'm his student..." She said firmly...
"Is that it? Do you really need to help him just because of that?"
"I..." She hadn't given the last answer much thought. But she shook her head and started to shed small tears...though her voice was still strong as it was from the first question. "Because I love him...whether anyone agrees with it or not..."
Through her emotion and spirit, she was suddenly free of the questioning voice. But she was in an odd area now...it seemed familiar since there were fireflies and a serene, cool atmosphere. But the place she was in now had a green sort of mist flying around. She was standing in the center of a stone path, spectacular gardens littered about the area as far as she could see. There were several natural paths and children were all playing about. But she couldn't hear any of them, increasing the oddity of the situation. Searching for a possible explanation, she started to look around. Three cloaked figures were sitting, each of them sitting at some sort of stone step and seemingly waiting for something. Nothing strange there besides each of them wearing dark cloaks. But what surprised Qing Yuan is when she looked up. She gasped, and had to hold a hand over her chest, seeing something she had not before. And entity of some sort was hovering around in the air, swirling in the mist before it started to group up and form an image. It was transparent, but the image was clear to what it was. Zhao Xing...his eyes were closed and he was on his knees in the ghostly image, and he was holding his head, shaking as if he was in pain. Qing Yuan couldn't reach her from where she was standing, and she knew darn well she was the only one here to help him.
O O
"Most excellent...Lord Cao Cao will definitely praise me for this..." Sima Yi said aloud as he looked on to the two figures lying on the street. His form stood in a strong manner and he was filled with almost never before seen confidence. Gaze setting upon his horse, he mounted it and rode off.
"My spell...will throw her into the young Zhao's mind...And she will share the agony and pain that has been bombarding his deepest psyche. I wish I could do it the other way around...as I so love hearing the screams of women..."
O O
"Zhao Xing is alone..." One of the cloaked figures behind Qing Yuan said. She looked behind her shoulder, seeing the cloaked man behind approach. She turned around to reply to the limping fellow, hopefully to gain answers to Zhao Xing's state of mind.
"Zhao Xing will never be alone...with friends like Yu Chai...with someone like me to be there..."
"Zhao Xing was always alone..." He said once more, the voice echoing throughout the area now.
"He can't be alone...And that's final..." She said with confidence beyond a normal person's belief. Her eyes went back up to Zhao Xing's pained and transparent form up in the sky.
Meanwhile, the cloaked man took off his hood, revealing an ugly face of Zhao Xing, scarred in almost every place imaginable on his face. Cheeks seem to rot and his eyes seem to droop, but the face retained a dignified quality, especially as it began to disappear from the place, fading and eventually becoming no more. The Zhao Xing in the sky stopped screaming...just holding his head as if having a tremendous pressure within him was all now...he was pained, but not much as last time...The next cloaked figure came to Qing Yuan again, touching her on the shoulder and then shaking its head.
"You were never meant to take his side..." It said in a slithery, yet a most effeminate voice that Qing Yuan had heard so far. Qing Yuan turned to the figure fully, shook her head and smiled upon the cloaked one, her hair lazily tossing about on her shoulders.
"I was always meant to take his side...Never meant to be on anyone else's but his."
The figure took off its hood, revealing it to be a scarred version of Yu Chai, not us much as Zhao Xing before hand, but this one was also scarred. There was a black and red line drawing all the way around the neck and what seemed to be an impale mark on the side of her cheek. The form smiled back at the semi-surprised Qing Yuan before walking backwards and fading into nothingness like the dark Zhao Xing. Before Qing Yuan could look at Zhao Xing, the next one came up to her, clasping her fingers around either of her shoulders and holding Yuan in her place.
"What...what if he doesn't accept you?" The voice asked. It was a crackly yet obviously female voice. Qing Yuan gasped at the question, but the answer to that came fairly quick.
"He doesn't need to accept me...He'll always accept me as his student, but if he would accept me as a lover, I would not know...But I'll always be there when he needs someone there...when he needs me to be there..." Qing Yuan's response hadn't the courage like the other ones had, but her ideology was one to be admired in this one. The person that held her took off her hood, revealing a nearly clean version of her self. It was almost a mirror image, Qing Yuan saw herself staring right at herself. The dark Yuan had a dark, rotting scar right across the left cheek and she was pale, that was all the she saw of the dark self...but soon, she too had backed away and evaporated into the thin air...This was the time to look up at Zhao Xing...and indeed she looked. Zhao Xing was calm now...his body not flailing from pain...not wincing from any mental pin. She felt like she could fly...her heart certainly did...she jumped up with joy, but to her surprise, she indeed flew...Well, float more or less...but never the less, she was going upwards into the air...
There was Zhao Xing, lying all peacefully; his eyes closed his mouth semi open to let in air and his hair flowing downwards in a cascade of raven black strands. Qing Yuan brought out her arms, wrapping them around Zhao Xing's waist as they both slowly floated upwards into the air.
"Zhao Xing...we're...so near...this can't be a dream...it's all too real..."
O O
They had been journeying in Xing's subconscious, but the downed body of Qing Yuan had suddenly moved...her arm moving slowly to her side and the hand slowly moved with Zhao Xing's hand, fingers clasping around the fallen Zhao Xing's hand, intertwining themselves with the fingers of Zhao Xing's hand. He gave a reaction, even if he was knocked out, his hand tightening just a bit to give Qing Yuan a gentle squeeze to acknowledge her. But they stayed like that...their forms unmoving...
O
O
Zhao Xing would be asleep for many days, unmoving, barely breathing...He felt warmth coming across to him, he felt everything so true and beautiful to him...His body no long felt cold as it was warmed by both arms and by soothing words. He was no longer feeling emotionally and spiritually broken...Everything was so much better now...
It would be three days...before Zhao Xing had fully regained consciousness...
Hazel eyes opened and scanned the areas before him self. The great Zilong spawn was finally awake. He was lying in a bed in a small room, his body covered by a blanket. But he couldn't move...something pained him whenever he had moved, so he decided to stay still. His surroundings consisted of a black stone wall, a small wooden hatch the only possible way out. There were small windows littered about the area, but that was it. Xing felt unusually crowded and warm while he sat there, and he found out why when he lifted the blanket. Beside him was Qing Yuan, holding onto his side profoundly and her eyes closed. She seemed to be asleep at the moment so he had carefully lifted her arms away from himself and looked himself over as he took off the blanket fully. His wounds were covered and wrapped...So it must've been Qing Yuan who had wrapped them or something of the sorts.
"Ohhh...Xing? You're awake?"
"I thought I was supposed to be Master Zhao..." He looked to the awakening Qing Yuan, a smile etched across her face. She sat up and kissed Xing on the side of his face, ever so lightly grazing his cheek with her lips. Xing was very surprised by this, and at the same time, his face got redder by the minute.
"Xing...don't think you haven't received this sort of affection from me before...or when I saved you from those three cloaked copies of us."
Xing was absolutely dumbfounded. He turned even redder when Qing Yuan got on her hands and knees and crawled up the bedding, and started to nip at his ear.
"Qing Yuan!"
"I told you...when I saved you...that I'd still love you whether you accept it or not...and currently...I'm doing that..."
Xing couldn't help but let out a small groan of pleasure when Qing Yuan finished with him...Of course, that left a very red Xing and a very pleased Qing Yuan when all the playing was done...
"Uh...erhm...C-can...can we go somewhere else?" Zhao Xing was VERY uncomfortable to have her doing this to him while they were sitting atop a bed. Xing was confused as hell, but he was also enjoying this. But the more decent part of Xing shouted at him to take himself out of this room. Lucky for the debating unto self Xing, Qing Yuan happily nodded her head and stood up, walking away from the bed and knocking at the hatch on the floor.
"Li Jishan?" She beckoned as the hatch suddenly open and a young man clad thin black armor, his long hair tied back with a red band came into view. He had a spear hanging from his back, tied to his shoulders by a leather rope. There's also a long red ribbon fastened to the end of it, where the shaft and blade met. He seemed to be a bit younger by the looks of his face.
"Yes, milady?" His voice seemingly echoed with power and feeling, but his voice was also soft...it seemed to have a youthful spring to it rather than a scornful tone a normal warrior with a spear such as the one he bears. His eyes scanned Qing Yuan before looking over to Zhao Xing and with such he bowed to the man. "Ah, Lord Zhao Xing is awake..."
"Lord?" Zhao Xing was confused a bit with the title though...looking to Qing Yuan for an answer, she only laughed a bit and shook her head.
"He recognizes you as the Son of Zhao Yun, not like everyone else."
"Really? What does that make you?"
"Someone who loves you very much..." Qing Yuan's responded...again, Zhao Xing blinked oddly at her and Li Jishan just laughed out loud at him. Xing just pushed off Li Jishan's image from his mind and pretended he wasn't there as he departed through the hatch and walked outside...but to his surprise, he was in a very peculiar place...somewhere he had never seen before...just where the hell was he?!
"You like it, Milord Zhao Xing?" A voice that was earnest, inquisitive and one of utmost familiarity; it was Yu Xue's. And that's who exactly appeared behind Zhao Xing, touching him upon the shoulder and nodding to him. "You're in Tian Shui fortress...I've had this built before and it's the most impregnable fortress in all of the land."
"Really now? But what am I doing here?" He asked before groaning. Qing Yuan had exited the hatch and appeared beside Zhao Xing, wrapping her arm around his and smiling up at him once more. This triggered a few chortles from the soldiers roaming around the area. They only received a death glare each from the Zilong Spawn.
"Easy, Milord." Yu Xue said bowing deeply to him. "We found her clutching onto your arm, and when we moved her aside, we found you."
"Really?" He asked again, Xing trying to find exactly what had happened.
"Yes, it seems she was trying to prevent you from bleeding by holding herself to you...or something of those sorts...there was blood all over her when we pulled her off."
Zhao Xing didn't know what to say...or what to feel...but something he felt on his right arm told him what to feel. Qing Yuan had shed off a few tears into his arm piece, soaking into the material and leaving moist marks there...only soft ones, because she immediately wiped her eyes and smiled back up at Zhao Xing, and he couldn't help but to smile in return. But soon, embarrassment came back to him as he looked away, red as a strawberry again. Yu Xue let out a hearty chuckle before being joined by Li Jishan. But before anything was again said or done, their faces gotten serious. Xing looked to the two before Yu Xue opened his mouth to speak.
"We've got troubles. Milord...There will be an invasion of this fare fortress soon." Yu Xue said to Xing, Xing surprised at the words he only narrowed his eyes and nodded.
"And you need help, right? I'll help anyway I can..." Xing said bringing up his left hand, clenched fist shaking. Yu Xue merely nodded to him.
"Indeed, my good fellow...I believe my few people of about five hundred strong won't be able to handle a Wu siege and invasion force...much less from four sides coming up all hills."
"If it's that way, I'm staying too..." Qing Yuan said, determined and finally letting go of Xing's arm and stood before Yu Xue and Li Jishan. "I can fight...I want to fight..."
"No way-" Yu Xue tried to interject, but the Zilong spawn was quick to pick up.
"You said you need all the help you could get...and this more than most people offer at all." Was what Xing had said. Yu Xue wanted to find someway to make what Zhao Xing said wrong, but that was it. Nothing was wrong with what he had just said. Keeping his mouth shut, the young strategist went away, followed by Li Jishan, both of them getting ready for the bout ahead of them. This left Qing Yuan and Zhao Xing. And to their interest, they both started to wander around the splendid fortress, which was decorated as well as any palace.
O O O
On the horizon, a wall of soldiers started to make the green grass of the hills around Tian Shui, be gone with but a simple step. Grunts of ensigns filled the air and the barks of the commanders could be heard as they continuously stepped through the area. Red banners and streamers were being thrown about and flags that held the sacred symbol of "Wu" were being carried. There were five thousand spearmen, five hundred swordsman, three hundred archers and two hundred specialized soldiers. Each marched in single file as they now penetrated city walls, the group coming into the area of where the normally crowded, but now abandoned suburbia was. The group was further lengthened by the joint operations of different troops, each coming to increase the ranks. Horses galloped in, their thunderous hooves signifying cavalry men. Shouts were made, signifying a strong leader had arrived. And stomps were heard, signifying the personal guards were there. The numbers rose from five thousand to about ten thousand strong.
"All right, guys!" The leader yelled out to his soldiers, the winds softly moving the ribbon that his wife had tied into his long, tailed hair. His tonfar was in the air, showing his power and his confidence to win. "This'll be fun! Let's not fall behind here, guys!"
And with that, the hordes of soldiers started slowly, but steadily, making its way towards the fort, already halfway there since breaching the city gates.
O O O
The small group of soldiers readied for battle. There was about one hundred on the walls, one hundred at the keep, fifty at each door and about two hundred waiting in the back areas, ready to help if needed. The area outside, slowly became flooded with Wu soldiers, each of them battle hardened and every single one of them ready to die just to take down Tian Shui. It was the night...and as soon as the army had marched their, it was exactly an awakening time and there was sun upon their heads.
"Not only will we be taking Zhao Xing!" Sun Ce shouted out to his men. "But these rebels will be put down and the fort will be ours!"
The men took to set out the hearts by giving a hearty pre-battle cry. Each of them banged their spears on the ground, stomped their foot or shouted, creating uproar of sound and showing the size by merely the horrendous sound alone. At the fortress, Zhao Xing looked to his archers, then to Qing Yuan whom was standing beside him, before looking back down to the soldiers below. Yu Xue shouted to his men.
"Ready?!" He asked. It was definitely rhetorical and was a base for his orders. "Archers aim!"
Indeed the archers would take aim, drawing their bows back and the wood flexing. They drew back their arrows and gotten ready. But one could not hold their stance and flunked out the arrow order and had shot off the missile. The arrow spun towards the line and hit someone right in the eye, making the person groan before falling on his knees and then dying...this seemed to rouse the enemy, each of the shouting profanities at the archers. Soon, they all shouted and charged towards the base of the fortress wall, running as they could.
"Archers, get ready!!!" Yu Xue tried again. Li Jishan stepped forward with his own bow and arrow set.
"Their armor is weak below the neck and arms..." He whispered to some of his comrades as he too took aim.
Those two officers were at the keep. At the breach wall, Zhao Xing and Qing Yuan presided over the other men. Zhao Xing decided to give a short talk before ordering the men to fire...perhaps it would fuel them for victory as morale was already low.
"Do not show mercy...as you will not get any...and if we are to fall...so be it...let them know who the hell we are!" Zhao Xing shouted as he did the hand signal to release the arrows. Indeed, the waves of arrows were released over and over again, mowing down some dozens of troops before they reached the walls. These men made way for the specialized soldiers who carried the ladders. Throwing the ladder up, they started to make their way up the ladder to hopefully bypass and enter the castle via walls. The soldiers sent to the top first was a relatively heavy armored type, thick helmets and padding given to prevent them from falling from the debris and arrows thrown at them. Indeed, of all the five ladders sent up, all five breach men had also made it up, slicing their way through with thick machetes. Zhao Xing had seen this and had joined in the fray, attacking with melee range. His fists had cracked the armor two fold as he had thrown two abdominal punches and then did a spinning back kick, stepping over his other leg and then raising his leg, kicking him in the chest and down the wall, back to the other side. Qing Yuan had taken the liberty of destroying the ladder, slicing her bladed fan through the wooden structure. The ladder, without the top attachment, was doomed to fall back and perish anything and everything beneath it. Qing Yuan had taken out the ladder, but there were still men climbing the other four ladders, and they were coming up fast. The one hundred soldiers battled fiercely, pushing back the thousand or so soldiers that were busily and steadily climbing the ladders. Soon though, a group of soldiers had cried out as the silver clad men of the fortress started to fall off of the breach wall. Archers had arrived at the Wu's line, and they were shooting down every single person at the wall area. A shower of the fort soldiers started to rain from the wall's top screaming in pain or already dead before hitting the ground. Zhao Xing had seen this, but this did not hinder his fighting. One swift punch to another breach soldier's face and the Wu had one less man there. But something caught Zhao Xing's eyes as he continued fighting...the Wu had started to roll barrels in, placing them at the bottom of the wall area. Something was up. But as Zhao Xing realized what was going on, it was too late. The wall that he stood on had exploded into a fury of pure flame, as the explosive powder that was just recently invented had been used to blow a large hole into the wall of the fort. Bodies tossed this way and that and Zhao Xing was no exception. His body was hurled back into the fort area, but some others weren't as lucky as they fell prey to the large explosion and was engulfed or scorched by it.
Qing Yuan saw her love tossed about by the explosion and the incoming Wu spearmen. She shouted out as she jumped down from the wall, side kicking someone in the face before looking to the rest. It wasn't long before someone struck her with a punch and she was partially dazed for the moment. Staggering back, she tried to avoid the rest of the incoming spearmen with less than graceful dodges.
Zhao Xing saw what had happened and didn't let this go to waste. He didn't want Qing Yuan anymore hurt than she just was and that fueled him for his next move.
"AIM!" he shouted behind him. The archers within the fort area had taken position and were now taking aim. It wasn't long before the men were ordered to release and they let a hail of projectiles fire upon the enemy. The first ten dozen fell to the mighty missiles. But now, with new fire in their souls, the Wu charged into the fortress grounds, holding their spear up and ready for a fight. This triggered Zhao Xing to narrow his eyes at the charging enemy. For once he would need a weapon. One of the soldiers giving Zhao Xing a sword, he raised it up; all of the other archers brandished their short swords and raised it as well. "CHARGE!"
With the utmost feeling and pride, Zhao Xing ran towards the large group of invaders, sword risen, followed by one hundred and fifty or so soldiers. Some soldiers charged directly into the Wu's spears in haste, but that was quickly redeemed as the rest of them attacked and fell just as many enemies as the enemy had taken down their own allies. Zhao Xing wasn't accustomed to a sword, but he was undeniably good with it. Slicing his way through the Wu soldiers, he finally had gotten through to the somewhat hurt Qing Yuan. Reaching her, he stopped his fighting and put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her up.
"Are you all right?" He asked concerned more about her than the fight at hand for the moment.
"Yes, only a lucky shot...let's defend this area so we can truly keep our promise to Yu Xue..." She said with determination upon seeing Zhao Xing's form beside her. Both of them turned around, just in time to see an upcoming swordsman. Zhao Xing brought up his sword to block the oncoming blow, but it was going to be harder than he thought considering that he saw flashes of gold. The gold armor meant that he was one of Wu's elites and he was having a hard time just keeping the block with the sword. It wasn't long before the elite broken Zhao Xing's sword and he was ready to kill the Zilong Spawn, but his advance was stopped by Qing Yuan, who used her whip to take the sword from his grasp allowing Zhao Xing to take perfect advantage and use his fists. Zhao Xing threw a perfect Futae no Kiwami into the man's face, throwing the enemy soldier into the enemy flow of soldiers and breaking the order for a bit.
Li Jishan saw this break in the line and decided to take advantage of this. Stealing the chest plate of the next breach man's armor, merely by snatching it, he pushed the breach man back down to kill him and then placed the large plating on the stairs that led from the wall. Kicking it down, he jumped upon the plate and rode it down like some sort of riding board, and took his bow and arrows out. He headed straight for the small group of soldiers, riding upon the plate and then let out a continuous rain of arrows upon the small group of soldiers. Jumping off the armor, he threw away his archery equipment and equipped his spear. Impaling the first and foremost soldier at his right, he started to break a path towards the interior gate that led to the keep of the fortress.
Yu Xue growled, seeing his men fall one by one wasn't the most pleasant experience in the world, especially when you handpicked and trained with most of them yourself. He went to the window and shouted from the keep's tower to the men down at the fort grounds.
"RETREAT TO THE KEEP!"
That would keep some of them alive...he saw the trusted Li Jishan complying with his orders, opening the interior gate to the men, and also defending the gate from all the men that came, utilizing the amazing length of his spear. Yu Xue sighed. This battle would be a failure...With his calculating mind; he had predicted this the moment the faulty shot was fired. But he didn't have the heart to tell his men that they would fail. It was too late now...at least everyone here would be executed honorably...
Zhao Xing and Qing Yuan retreated to the keep together, helping each other by falling one another's enemies. As soon as they reached Li Jishan, they too had stopped, defending the gate along with the skilled spearman. The Wu soldiers were falling one by one here, and they needed to keep this up or they would all die...Soon, the small number of soldiers left had made it into the keep...about four or five soldiers from four hundred that had fought against them on the walls had made it back. Zhao Xing saw this as less of a chance to keep everyone alive if the gates were breached, so he pushed back Qing Yuan and Li Jishan, sealing himself within the fort grounds and keeping them safe in the keep.
Zhao Xing looked back as the gates were closed...everywhere he looked there was a Wu. Zhao Xing shouted out as he charged into the clusters of guardsmen everywhere, punching and fighting his way as he constantly gotten cut, sliced and jabbed with spears and swords. Blood was constantly flowing from his arms as he had gotten cut and his eyes widened as he pressed on. His eyes closed as he pushed onwards...
Yu Xue looked on sadly to his lord Zhao Xing...the rebel that started out only with himself and a fellow villager that had emerged with a variety of friends...was going to kill himself if he charged out of the breached wall and into the Wu's area. Which looked to be exactly what he was doing...But wait...his body was emitting a golden aura. The young master couldn't have possibly used the way of the musou!!! It was a god-given power that only was used by the greatest of warriors in the armies! How could he-
Something triggered the young Son of the Chang Ban Tiger. His eyes...they would glow the eerie essence of the tiger...his hands, clenched like a golem's...And his spirit, rising as did his shouts of anger and pain...Soon, he was engulfed in the fury of his soul and mastery, his fists aimed forwards, he charged ahead, randomly punching with his fists alit with a mysterious golden aura. Amazing as it seemed, the Wu just continuously charged him, trying to get close. Not even getting as much as a foot away before being lighted on fire and then being shot away by the force of the gods. Zhao Xing continued this form for a couple seconds before stopping and then shooting off one more punch into a man's face. The soldier spiraled through the crowds, knocking down any in the way. But someone wanted to fight him. A flash of his deep brown eyes came to Xing as he instantly closed the space between them and got close.
"Well, so you're my enemy? Ah, Xiahou Dun was better than that!" he stated cockily before kicking Zhao Xing away.
Zhao Xing did look up to who he faced now. The soldiers around had made a circle around the two men, leaving him and his adversary to duel. Zhao Xing looked back...the keep's gates were breached...so, in all this effort, he still failed...and he still had to fight?!
"Get up, ya sack o' crap!" Sun Ce shouted out as he threw away his tonfars and cracked his knuckles, getting ready to fight Zhao Xing. "I heard your reputation, pretty boy, it's great but it ain't nothin' ta me!"
"Pretty boy?" Zhao Xing asked while he got up and took a proper martial arts form, getting ready to fight fist to fist with someone for once. "I'm not going to go easy on you, Son of Sun..."
"Neither am I, Son of Zhao..." Sun Ce said as he dashed forwards. Zhao Xing dashed forwards as well, attacking Sun Ce. Zhao Xing mumbled as he stepped forwards, landing on his knee. Sun Ce attacked so fast, that even he didn't see it! Zhao Xing clutched his stomach as he looked to the obviously superior Sun Ce.
"One little attack and you're down?! How the hell did you beat Zhou Tai?" Sun Ce spat at Zhao Xing, and then kicked him on the back. It was impossible how this weakling could beat one of his best friends...But suddenly, his eyes widened, his head turned to the other direction as he heard a horn sounding off. He looked to the hills where his own forces had been earlier. There was one lone rider, his horse rearing up to as he just stayed there. Sun Ce's eyes had widened in horror at the figure upon the magnificent white steed. The man had on a type of white armor, a small sash draped around his shoulder and golden designs running around the chest plating. His hair was made into a tail type design, as it he had a green headband framing his forehead and the back of his hair laying loosely in its ponytail. He had a long spear, a dragon engraving being sighted at the spear's side. Spinning it around his head, he stopped his spear in the air, the fighting stopped and the thousands of Wu soldiers as well as the fifty or so Jian Zhen had looked up to the hill side. Suddenly, the top of the hill was lined by cavalry men, each of them having a sword or a spear. They had green armor, and their helmets were golden and green, framing their forms evenly. They each readied their weapon as the great Tiger spoke to the enemy.
"I, Zhao Yun, will not allow you to harm innocent people! And you, the state of Wu, will leave at once, or I will force you to leave!" He shouted to them. But Wu only responded with moving a spear line to the base of the hills outside, prepping them to counter. Zhao Yun was saddened a bit. But he just laughed out loud, and pointed his spear down the hill, the riders now coming down the massive hill, everyone shouting as the charged at the enemy. The spearmen were ready with the spear line, but they did the most unexpected thing, the cavalry that is. They jumped their horses over the spearmen and sliced them at their backs, Zhao Yun impaling the commander of the spear wielders and the rest of his men taking down the spearmen. Without anyone to block their way, the rest of the cavalry rode into the city, meeting up with the massive enemy with their force of two thousand strong.
Zhao Xing was left alone and definitely scared...traumatized a bit by his defeat, he crawled up into a little ball and closed his eyes, afraid for once...afraid that he may die...there were so many people that he didn't know around him...maybe that's what he was afraid of...maybe he was afraid of dying around people he didn't know...
The fifty Jian Zhen was still not faring well when Zhao Yun came, but something invigorated them far beyond what had happened and gaining backup troops. Someone jumped their horse from the mountain behind their force and landed right beside them. A flash of crimson hair from the horse and the well decorated armor and saddle was all that the people needed to tell who exactly it was.
"I AM GUAN YU! COME FORTH!" He shouted out as he and his Red Hare rode out into the hem of the Wu soldiers and started to cut his way through. With just mere minutes, hundreds of soldiers laid dead in his wake as he cut through, left and right, and his horse trampling the rest of the men. Guan Yu was indeed a spectacular sight to behold, as no one had touched him, and no one could even lay a finger on him. Everything he did was perfect in execution, and soon, he laid the blow on the last soldier charging into the castle, the head of that man splitting directly in half. The rest of the soldiers were terrified of the God of War and quickly retreated into more welcoming areas outside of the fort, rejoining the ranks of the seven thousand troops left of the ten thousand.
All the while, Yu Xue sighed in relief of Shu's appearance.
"...It's a miracle..."
O
O
End Chapter
Sorry I took so long...
Previews...Tian Shui: Aftermath
These are random quotes that will be said in the next chapter
(Within the ruins of the fort) Zhao Xing: ...Father...I can't believe he's here...
Qing Yuan: What do you mean you're leaving me?! You can't be thinking of joining Shu and abandoning your dreams?!
(Zhao Xing confronts Zhao Yun) Zhao Yun: We are father and son, young Zhao Xing, you belong at my side.
(Yu Xue looks at his fort and soldiers) Yu Xue: My home...it lays in ruins...
(In the Wu dungeons) Yu Chai: Xing....where...are you?
(Inside the Wu palace) Sun Ce: Those Zhaos! Nothing but cowardly dogs!
Sun Quan: We'll get them...don't fret brother...I have a plan...
O
O
O
ANNNND welcome!
I have one letter...come on; you people...send me some more letters!
Dear, Yu Chai...
Why do you act so funny? Is it your nature? Because if it is...you're hilarious! You and Zhao Xing are my favorite characters! Well, bye.
Your friend, Yuki or normally known as Miss Da Qiao.
Yu Chai: Heyyyyyy I'm na' funneh.... (anime bubbles float around her as she constantly hiccups and speaks in slurred speech. The other characters are covering their noses from the horrendous liquor stench) ....WEEE! LOOKEE! Elephant gimme a hug!!!
Zhao Xing: AHHH! (Saves Yu Chai but still has to run from the elephant that's trampling everything)
Send letters into my e-mail! All others will be rejected!
Well see yah again!
~By Don Shizumi...
The morning glory has been broken by blood-thirsty warriors, all ready to sacrifice their lives to their cause. Whether it be blood of another, the spoils of the fight, or perhaps just because of their lord's wishes, they would all fight. Merciless slaughter broke out among the ones who fought at the hillside of Tian Shui. Led by Yu Xue, the silver clad cavalry unit that the townsfolk fondly called the Jian Zhen, had broken out in a fusillade of barrages. They attacked fiercely, swords clashing with swords, spears breaking with the slices, and people yelling out in sheer pain and fear when they died at that one moment that they made a miscalculation during their bout with the enemy soldier they had fought. Yu Xue saw his men falling, but he continued on, waving his halberd at the coming Wu army. He stood over his brother's fallen body, seemingly no remorse within the expression of his face. He stood like a god to them, a true leader that would be amiable and further more accented by history. The Jian Zhen group's morale was already high, knowing that they'd always have a leader like that, and they continued to fight, just because of that.
"My men...do not let them pass...I sense glory and gold for Tian Shui! And my men, I can share it all with you...don't let them pass...for the sake of Tian Shui!" Yu Xue yelled out to his men as he suddenly charged, heading into the enemy lines with his head held high and his halberd up. The two pronged weapon was jolted forward with a sudden thrust, coming and breaking into one Wu soldier's armor, causing him to fall. There were at least twice as many Wu soldiers as the Jian Zhen group, but that only made them smile as they charged behind their leader.
"This is almost unfair." One of the soldiers stated with a grim and foretelling emotion, struck upon his face. This caused his two allies to look and nod towards to him as they charged further behind Yu Xue. "I don't want to kill them this easily!"
Indeed, the confident and skilled cavalry unit had entered the heart of the battle, each of them taking more than their skill can handle. But alas, the Wu wasn't about to let off, sending in more than enough reserves to hold of the resistance. The Wu was wise in choosing their reserves. As soon as the soldiers came into view, they crouched down, grabbed their weapon off their back and set it up. They were the most skilled archers in the Wu kingdom. All two thousand of them...
O O
Cao Kai had struck down all of the Wu soldiers around him. Crimson liquid staining their crimson armor and it looked glorious to him...Ah, but how he wished that they were his father's soldiers, and not some insignificant peons such as these. Cao Kai brought up his silver spear and pointed it towards the smiling Zhou Yu.
"All right you pretty boy, it's just you and me now. Put down your weapon and it'll be good."
"Do not worry about my safety." He said, putting his sword back by its handle, the giant Elder Sword now hanging by the velvet sash that he had wrapped around his waist. He whipped out a small flute and played a small melody...nothing special, just something that seemingly came out of his mind. Once he was done playing, he had lowered the flute and led his alluring, dark, chocolate brown eyes towards the man before him. "Ah, I see the beast has some manners..."
"Long, tipped lashes, long flowing hair..." Cao Kai shot his mouth off at him out of nowhere. He scoffed after some comments and then brought his spear down. "You must be a woman! HA!"
"How dare you...Don't think I will take this lightly at all, you monster of the Kingdoms." Zhou Yu said back smugly "I will smite you...as you simply just are, and always will be, a beast."
"Then attack me, woman!" Cao Kai dashed forwards, his spear raised up high and ready to strike at Zhou Yu's head. Zhou Yu had moved over, though, and brought his flute, throwing it at Cao Kai's head. It simply tapped and broke upon the metal plated turban that the former Wild Cat Rider had worn. Cao Kai turned around, a confident expression etched upon his face, which only turned into a wide-eyed, full blasted surprise when Zhou Yu had suddenly appeared above him in the air and was ready to counter strike with the massive blade that he had clasped his digits eagerly upon.
"I am attacking...and I am more man than you ever will be." Zhou Yu said as he had let his blade fall, the Elder Sword barely being blocked by the spear that Cao Kai had. Cao Kai was sweating now...showing how strong he actually was, he had pushed of Zhou Yu, causing the long haired strategist to go flying backwards, only to land on one foot, gracefully landing. Cao Kai had exerted a lot of power on that one push and it wasn't going to well for him as he was sweating and his breaths were suddenly frantic.
"...Wow...huff...you're fast..."
"Yes, I know..." He said as he dashed back towards Cao Kai, seemingly disappearing and reappearing behind Cao Kai...his blade had returned to its proper place on his sash/sheath and Zhou Yu had merely canted his head to the side and sighed. "Too easy..."
Cao Kai felt something odd...an odd, tingling sensation in his stomach. He looked down and was surprised at what he had seen. Cao Kai's own blood stained his navy colored armor. The silver and bluish colors were replaced with crimson and dark red. His eyes soon gave as he went unconscious, his vision blackening and his form falling to the stone walkway as he fell to the ground.
Zhou Yu's mouth was curved into a cocky grin, his victory admired by his sword. The blunt side of his sword was stained in blood as he had cut into the man's skin only to bring him unconscious. Now he could bring this tyrant back to his lord, and he would surely get some sort of reward.
O O
Shen Xiu was jumping to her left and right, the slit of her cheongsam somewhat trailing her movement as she spun left, and then jumped back with one foot. Her attacker was a very irritated Yu Chai, thrusting and swinging around her pole arm at the woman herself. The long, curly, honey brown hair that was Yu Chai's, was tossed around, becoming messed up as she attacked furiously. Of course, the confused Shen Xiu was the first one to speak up to the infuriated Yu Chai.
"Idiot! What are you doing to a potential ally?" She asked as she quickly weaved in and out, using her quickness to dodge instead of her weapon to parry. Of course, the weapon was kept in hand just in case she needed to take emergency action to Yu Chai's actions. Yu Chai wasn't at all too happy with the remark from Shen Xiu.
"Grr! I don't like the fact that you and everyone is trying to tear away the fact that Xing isn't here, and telling me to move on! I'll move on, but in what he would do...I'm going to keep his spirit with me and I ain't gonna do what I gotta do with people like YOU around!" She yelled as she took a powerful, wide swing, connecting the handle part to Shen Xiu's shoulder, causing her to shout out in pain. Shen Xiu retaliated with a furious vault kick, thrusting her weapon to the ground and using the length of it as a handle as she jumped up and landed a heel kick to Yu Chai's face.
"GRAH! Bitch!"
"You started this fight!"
They continued to exchange insults for a while before Yu Chai got tired of talking back. Yu Chai had dashed forward with her pole arm, thrusting it towards Shen Xiu. Shen Xiu had brought up her spear just in time to parry the weapon from her body. She had directed in such a way that she could do a spin attack, which was exactly what she did, stepping forward, spinning the spear low to attack at Yu Chai's legs. Yu Chai jumped up to avoid the sweep and then brought her blade downwards, the blade clashing against the spear tip of Shen Xiu as she had again blocked it.
"STOP BLOCKING!"
"Stop acting like an enemy!"
Both started another verbal argument, this time, both of them lowering the weapons for good. Unwise idea though. As soon as they had done that, Zhou Yu had ascended the hill and had knocked Yu Chai out with the bottom of the handle of his sword. Shen Xiu was about to do something about this, only to be knocked out from behind by another soldier.
O O
Shi Liu was ducking and using a table as cover...the room that she had took cover in was being repeatedly bombarded with the use of Huang Gai's explosive weapons. A bomb had nearly killed her, and if it weren't for the assortment of obstacles, she would've already been dead. Shi Liu peeked around the table, looking towards the large hole in the wall to see if the large and muscular man was still there, and to her dismay, he was. The man stopped his explosive rampage and had decided to use his own strength against this woman. Shi Liu only saw this as an opportunity to attack her foe head on with the most of her energy. A quick victory again if this man didn't block her next move...and her next move was pretty fast if she didn't say so herself. Jumping out of the cover, she had approached the unmoving Huang Gai. He was like a statue, not moving at all as he just stayed there, breathing. Inhaling and exhaling looked like it was an exercise for the tall one, his muscles on his chest rising as he breathed. His stony eyes were focused forwards, not even acknowledging the charging woman.
"Idiot!" Shi Liu yelled, as she was now in her attack position, right beside Huang Gai where guard was nearly impossible. She leaped into the air, towards the man and extended her foot out in a full flying side kick. Shi Liu yelled triumphed as she made contact with his neck...but something was wrong. The statue of a man didn't even move...but what was really interesting is what had happen. His eyes just shifted, their presence shedding off a sense of power and anger. He snapped his arm upwards, and grabbed the leg of Shi Liu, dangling her upside down and rendering her helpless...though she had tried to escape the wrath of the strong one; he didn't take kindly to her and brought his foot back. With one swift movement, he had delivered a great kick to the back of Shi Liu's head, which only made the girl's eyes widen.
"N-no...no match..." Shi Liu mumbled before she lost all consciousness whatsoever, her form becoming limp, her mouth gaped and her eyes closed.
Huang Gai had grunted, acknowledging his own victory before he had thrown the woman over his shoulders and walked out casually. He had won the fight out of sheer strength alone, and he was going to use that strength on anyone else that came if they so wished to become either dead or injured...just like Shi Liu...
O O
Grasping her fans as she ran hurriedly to the end of the alley, she was headed off by none other than the foreign language speaking man that had kicked Zhao Xing earlier. Bringing her fans up, she struck a stance, ready to fight the man off.
"By no means, mon ami, do I wish to fight you!" Lu Xun said as he approached her, one sword sheathed and the other still in his left hand. The young man stopped before Lien Qiao and smiled, the young woman responding with an eager smile of her own. "I know your sisters, and by every means, you can come with me and I'll bring you to them...You are a Qiao, no?"
Lien Qiao's eyes widened as she finally had closed the gap between them, her light brown eyes widening as they met with his calm and smooth chocolate brown eyes. She had took her fans and closed them, setting them to their attachment at the side of her dress and she now looked straight to Lu Xun, one of the happiest smiles she had ever mustered showing to the young man. Lu Xun smiled back, showing off his pearly white teeth.
"Sir, by all means, like you said then...I wish to see my sisters...take me wherever you wish so!"
Lu Xun's eyes filled with that of happiness and such, while Lien Qiao's filled with gratitude and compassion. She had her hopes higher than ever now. She knew this was a Wu high ranked officer. She knew that he could take her with him and to her sister...she knew that he was a good man. What she didn't know, was that he was fiercely loyal to his lord. His once good eyes turn to that of a fox's: sly, arrogant, cunning...All showing in the eyes, in his expression, the near sadistic grin when he had grabbed her hair with his free right hand, pulled her down and press his sword against her shoulder. Lien Qiao looked up to the young strategist with wondering eyes, with naïve and sorrowful eyes...why was he doing this? He was so nice before...everything was so nice before!
"B-but... Why?!" Lien Qiao asked before she whimpered from the sudden force upon her shoulder by the blade. Lu Xun gave off a hearty chuckle before he answered; a cocky and unrefined voice had replaced the courteous and classy one.
"Easy my dear, you were just too easy! My lord had ordered to take in anyone...no matter WHO it is...And I am supposed to be a genius of Wu...I'm proving it now by exploiting and using your weakness...Your sisters? You'll never see them where you'll be going!" He said in an almost psychotic tone, his dark chocolate oculars seemingly brightening to gold. Lien Qiao shook her head and looked away from the advancing young man. She closed her eyes and cried out, hoping someone would help her.
O O
A scream was heard throughout Tian Shui, the first one hearing it was Zhao Xing, who was still using the force of the Futae no Kiwami to push back the attacks from Zhou Tai. Lu Meng had decided to rest himself, sitting on a stone ledge to watch his friend fight this man. Japanese style of sword, versus a living encyclopedia of martial art attacks...or so he heard that he had an extensive knowledge of fighting. This would be certainly interesting if either one of them had won, considering that they were both about equal. But he had noticed a slight difference...when Lu Meng heard the scream, he had found Zhao Xing's eyes had widened, his teeth clenched. He had no choice but to watch these two people battle it out...then see who he can greet as the winner...
O O
"Lien Qiao!" Zhao Xing eyes had widened significantly, his hazels showing more as he widened his eyes, the pupils dilating and shrinking a bit due to the light. His muscles seemed to clench and he had completely stopped the Futae no Kiwami. Zhou Tai withdrew his sword and prepared for the next attack, bringing his hand back and going towards him in a stabbing motion to the neck. Yelling "This is the beginning of your story of death..." he continued full on. But Zhao Xing saw this in slow motion...everything had slowed down...images of Lien Qiao had invaded his mind...the sweet girl that he had encountered was all that he thought about in the milliseconds that he had before he was stabbed...The happy brown eyes...the black hair wrapped into two ponytails...there was something about her that reminded him of something...something that was digging at a scar in his mind...
Zhou Tai was nearly there, before Zhao Xing suddenly exploded in a fury of pure emotion...Lien Qiao reminded Zhao Xing of the time before the massacre, when...she was there...Lien Qiao was comparable to Zhao Xiao in his mind and that's what kept him thinking about her...she looked like his little sister...she couldn't be because she was dead, he was sure of that...but as long as Lien Qiao reminded him of his sister, Zhao Xing was going to protect her as long as he could. Zhao Xing brought his left hand up, the force of the Futae no Kiwami hitting the blade of the sword upwards. With that, Zhou Tai's hands also went upwards, still grasping at his sword. Zhao Xing moved incredibly fast this time, his mind viewing everything but himself in slow motion. Zhou Tai's stomach, though covered in armor, was exposed. Zhao Xing decided to take this chance. Before Zhou Tai had regain his posture, Zhao Xing had reeled his right hand back and delivered the most devastating move he knew...the "Fist of the Dragons" they called it...his fist made contact with the armor of Zhou Tai, cracking upon contact. Zhou Tai's eyes widened as he took a view to his midsection...blood...droplets of blood were spilling from his armor. He cringed from the slight stinging sensation and clenched his sword tighter, ready now to bring his sword upon Zhao Xing's head. But before anything was done, Zhou Tai yelled out in pain, dropping his sword and clutching at his stomach. The large, Japanese-made sword had fallen to the ground, kicking up dust all around. Suddenly, the move that Zhao Xing had delivered went into full effect. Zhou Tai's eyes closed as he suddenly was hurled from the ground, his feet going up and his body crouched down as if he was hit by a large hammer from the gods. He went flying into the side of a building, which he made contact into, the wall collapsing from the velocity and weight delivered by the flying body. Zhou Tai laid half dead amongst the rubble, his eyes glazed over and his mouth open. A red aura had surrounded his stomach, where Zhao Xing had punch...it wasn't long before it faded like morning mist and disappeared.
"The...end..." he whispered incoherently, suddenly knocked out. Zhao Xing looked at the unmoving body of Zhou Tai before he turned around and ran into the alley, ready to save Zhao Xiao or Lien Qiao...however he saw her first.
O O
"No way!" Lu Meng jumped up as he saw his comrade make contact with the wall, not emerging or moving from the site of destruction. This was not good...Lu Meng jumped down from the stone ledge and headed into the alley, to fight Zhao Xing himself...he was considered top tier among the warriors of Wu, and he was going to keep it that way. Passing a few soldiers along the way he was going, he ordered them to help Zhou Tai. Taking his halberd out, he pointed it down the darkening area of the alleyways... "You may fight like the devil, but you'll never best me!"
O O
Zhao Xing had stopped in front of the young man that was taunting Lien Qiao with his short blades, tossing out some insults and such...Zhao Xing didn't want to see this happening...His anger came and surrounded his aura, and his eyes were ablaze with power. He let out a low, feral growl, signaling himself to Lu Xun. Lu Xun, raised an eyebrow, and then turned to his left, acknowledging the man who had approached. He was expecting a formal greeting from this person, but all that he was greeted was a punch in the face, throwing him back. He managed to stay on foot, but his stomach was met by a punch as well, causing him to bend down and clutch at his midsection. The last thing he felt was the long haired man's glowing eyes as he was suddenly lifted up and thrown down the alley way.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Zhao Xing was truly in more mental and emotional pain than he looked...the fighting now and the illusion that Cao Kai had set on him earlier had brought back memories of his past. Now the resemblance of Lien Qiao to his own little sister had took the ultimate toll on his psych. He had become overprotective and a bit off the edge when he had met Lien Qiao, a bit of his past personality coming to the surface of him. He had thrown his arms up and covered the path to the now bewildered Lien Qiao as she looked to Zhao Xing's back, wondering what had made him this way. She had gone up and touched his bare shoulder with her fingertips.
"Xing, are you all right?" She asked him
Zhao Xing turned around to look at Lien Qiao, but instead of seeing the mellow woman, he saw little Xiao all grown up before him. He smiled at Lien Qiao and took her into his arms, pulling her into an embrace.
"Xiao, I'm glad you're here..." Xing said, closing his eyes and smiling...
"Xiao? Xing, it's me, Lien."
"Nonsense...don't talk that way, my sister...I'm going to protect you like mother said I should..."
"Uhm, sure, you can act like a brother...but I'm not Xiao..." The Qiao finally said, slipping out of the embrace, before bringing her hands up to clasp on his shoulder, shaking him a bit. "I'm Lien Qiao, come on Xing, come back to me..."
"Wait...what?" Xing blinked a few times before the golden fury in his eyes had finally disappeared. His calm hazel orbs of eyes were restored and his aura was cool as ice once again. Looking to Lien Qiao, he now had one of the most serious expressions on his face that the young Qiao had ever seen..."Wait...where is the one I was fighting?"
"You've beaten him and come to save me...right? Come on Xing, think...are you sure you're all right?" Lien Qiao asked her protector before looking to the beaten up young man that lay on the streets groaning. She didn't know what was going on, but this was going to be serious if he kept thinking odd thoughts such as these. But now was not the time to think. Taking Xing's hand, she dashed forward, attempting to lead both of them out of the alley. But faith had it that they wouldn't escape, as they suddenly stopped upon their heels, looking ahead. Lu Meng had stopped in front of the group, his halberd impaled into the ground and his body motionless as he stood.
"You heathens, you shall be dealt with another time! I will not stand your recklessness and evil deeds that you've accomplished." Huang Gai had approached Lu Meng as he yelled to Lien Qiao and Zhao Xing. Shi Liu hung from Huang Gai's muscular shoulder, unmoving. Zhao Xing rushed forth to attack Lu Meng, but he had brought his halberd up and next to Shi Liu's head, threatening to spill her blood. Zhao Xing stopped in his tracks, growling at them and helpless since they had someone to exploit Zhao Xing. Xing dropped his guard and placed his hands at his side. Lu Meng's eyes widened as he stepped forward and smacked the side of Zhao Xing's head with the end of his halberd's handle, knocking him out. "You fool! You could've attacked me and won with the lost of just but one! But now you're all captured and you can't do anything about it."
Lien Qiao was restrained by a newly awakened Lu Xun, the young man grabbing both of her arms to keep her from reaching her weapons and attacking Zhao Xing. Lu Xun's nose was bleeding from the earlier punch, but the talking has roused him to become awake again. He and Huang Gai had started to leave the alley, both of their hostages under their direct control. This left Lu Meng scowling upon the fallen form of Xing. He raised his weapon, about to let it fall to the long haired one's heart, when he was interrupted in the most utmost painful way possible. Zhao Xing had landed a quick punch right in Lu Meng's stomach, throwing the officer back. Lu Meng's expression quickly changed from the calm mannerism it usually is in to one of anger and frustration. Getting up, he looked to him and readied his weapon.
"I won't let up!"
"Then fight me unarmed...Coward..." Zhao Xing said simply, striking a fighting stance with vigor and an utmost confidence. Lu Meng, obviously rattled by his words, dropped his arms and walked forward, ready to fight this man with his fists.
"How irritating it is to fight someone like YOU!" He yelled as he tried a cross punch with his left hand, aiming for the face of the long haired one, but it was simply ducked. Lu Meng would repeatedly try and punch Zhao Xing, but it would be to no gain...Zhao Xing was too nimble, too quick for his attacks...But after finally getting frustrated when Zhao Xing had jumped back, Lu Meng jumped forward and punched Zhao Xing directly on the forehead.
"Got you!" Zhao Xing was taken aback by the hit, as he recoiled and grunted as a show that some damage was done. When Lu Meng stopped, he grabbed his halberd again, pointing it towards his enemy for the kill.
O O
"Xing..." Qing Yuan was having fits of hallucinations, seeing Zhao Xing just ahead of her. She had first thought it was him, but every time she stepped closer to him, he'd just run farther ahead and leave her to follow again. This was not to her liking...She needed to find him...It was some sort of impulse that had taken her over, and she was going to respond to this impulse. Soft taps of her feet came as they repeatedly hit the soft ground. She didn't stop when she saw ashes along the river. Black and brown wood littered the riverside, giving a sense of terrible nostalgia to Qing Yuan. She could almost hear the screams...wait...something happened. She stepped through the area and looked to the brush that was ahead of the area. Stepping through the brush, there was a series of buildings and connecting alleyways.
"Tian Shui?" She asked herself. She stepped into the first alley she had arrived into, and walked down, searching absentmindedly for Xing.
O O
"I will finish your tyranny forever..." Lu Meng said as he now brought his blade downwards...
"Tyranny? GWOH!" Right through his stomach, Zhao Xing felt a blade piercing through him...it left him as soon as the blade had entered...Just as that was done, a piercing scream, one of pure agony and pain had left Zhao Xing's mouth, hovering into the air and then swirling around the area, bothering the surrounding people with a sense of darkness and prolonged hatred. Zhao Xing cried out once more after the initial release of the weapon, before finally succumbing and falling to his face. Lu Meng spat upon the "evil" and turned away, walking towards where his comrades had left with the two women, leaving Zhao Xing to rot in this alley and die a most precocious death...
O O
Zhao Xing's point of view came to life...anyone could read his eyes...his emotions.
"Death...it's...coming to me..." My eyes, they filled with a dark entity, as if someone was blindfolding me, as if someone had plucked out my oculars and stomped on them, without and tears of scarlet coming out of their sockets. My chest...it's filled with contempt, with a pressure, building constantly upon itself, and I couldn't help but be depressed about it...My stomach...I can feel a hole in it...Blinding pain...the wound seemed to scream out, bleeding as its words, and constantly screaming for the world to end. My hands...they quiver...without anyone to hold them...I feel so lonely...so alone in this world...It is funny, really...why do I feel like I'm so helpless? I thought I was supposed to avenge my mother...by slaying Dian Wei...
O O
"Zhao Xing...I've found you..."
"Ugh...I'm sorry...mother..."
Qing Yuan had found him...she didn't see the bleeding, welling wound that had been the whole source of his pain at the moment, but she had found only him...
"I saw you in my dreams...and in my mind...all day, Zhao Xing..." She said, walking slowly to him, crouching down and then grabbing his arm. She had slowly helped him up, not minding the blood staining and flowing into her cheongsam. "I'm not going to let you go...Master Zhao Xing or not..."
Zhao Xing groaned as he walked, idly placing his feet where the woman he hardly recognized led him to. But there was a man in the darkness that didn't want to sit too still while this woman carry Zhao Xing off.
"Bane of the three kingdoms, eh?" Sima Yi asked as he started to chant, different hand symbols coming up as he continuously spoken in an echoing splendor as he kept the two people in his view. Qing Yuan finally laid eyes on the one chanting, but soon, it was too late. She found herself in a new place...separated from Zhao Xing. This was the last thing she wanted...But wait...this place...it didn't seem like a place at all...
O O
Qing Yuan found herself in a swirling vortex of nothingness, everything infinite blackness in one area, and everything infinite blackness in another area. Something was definitely amiss here...especially since every time she ran off in one direction, she felt her footing place, but she felt like she was in the same position. When she finally looked upwards, a voice bombarded her with questions...It was somewhat deep...but not too deep...the voice had a sort of seriousness, with a calm, soothing type of feeling backing it up...but still...it was one of the most familiar voices she known.
"What are you doing here?"
"To help Zhao Xing..." She answered the voice unwaveringly. The voice was that of Zhao Xing's, but the voice had spoken like he didn't know Qing Yuan at all.
"What is your purpose?"
"To help Zhao Xing...to help him anyway I can...and hopefully he'll learn something from me as well as I can learn something from him...again, I only want to help him..."
"Why do you want to help him?" The voice was still ridiculing her...this wasn't the least bit enjoyable to Qing Yuan but she was going to overcome this whether more questions or not.
"Because...I need to...I'm his student..." She said firmly...
"Is that it? Do you really need to help him just because of that?"
"I..." She hadn't given the last answer much thought. But she shook her head and started to shed small tears...though her voice was still strong as it was from the first question. "Because I love him...whether anyone agrees with it or not..."
Through her emotion and spirit, she was suddenly free of the questioning voice. But she was in an odd area now...it seemed familiar since there were fireflies and a serene, cool atmosphere. But the place she was in now had a green sort of mist flying around. She was standing in the center of a stone path, spectacular gardens littered about the area as far as she could see. There were several natural paths and children were all playing about. But she couldn't hear any of them, increasing the oddity of the situation. Searching for a possible explanation, she started to look around. Three cloaked figures were sitting, each of them sitting at some sort of stone step and seemingly waiting for something. Nothing strange there besides each of them wearing dark cloaks. But what surprised Qing Yuan is when she looked up. She gasped, and had to hold a hand over her chest, seeing something she had not before. And entity of some sort was hovering around in the air, swirling in the mist before it started to group up and form an image. It was transparent, but the image was clear to what it was. Zhao Xing...his eyes were closed and he was on his knees in the ghostly image, and he was holding his head, shaking as if he was in pain. Qing Yuan couldn't reach her from where she was standing, and she knew darn well she was the only one here to help him.
O O
"Most excellent...Lord Cao Cao will definitely praise me for this..." Sima Yi said aloud as he looked on to the two figures lying on the street. His form stood in a strong manner and he was filled with almost never before seen confidence. Gaze setting upon his horse, he mounted it and rode off.
"My spell...will throw her into the young Zhao's mind...And she will share the agony and pain that has been bombarding his deepest psyche. I wish I could do it the other way around...as I so love hearing the screams of women..."
O O
"Zhao Xing is alone..." One of the cloaked figures behind Qing Yuan said. She looked behind her shoulder, seeing the cloaked man behind approach. She turned around to reply to the limping fellow, hopefully to gain answers to Zhao Xing's state of mind.
"Zhao Xing will never be alone...with friends like Yu Chai...with someone like me to be there..."
"Zhao Xing was always alone..." He said once more, the voice echoing throughout the area now.
"He can't be alone...And that's final..." She said with confidence beyond a normal person's belief. Her eyes went back up to Zhao Xing's pained and transparent form up in the sky.
Meanwhile, the cloaked man took off his hood, revealing an ugly face of Zhao Xing, scarred in almost every place imaginable on his face. Cheeks seem to rot and his eyes seem to droop, but the face retained a dignified quality, especially as it began to disappear from the place, fading and eventually becoming no more. The Zhao Xing in the sky stopped screaming...just holding his head as if having a tremendous pressure within him was all now...he was pained, but not much as last time...The next cloaked figure came to Qing Yuan again, touching her on the shoulder and then shaking its head.
"You were never meant to take his side..." It said in a slithery, yet a most effeminate voice that Qing Yuan had heard so far. Qing Yuan turned to the figure fully, shook her head and smiled upon the cloaked one, her hair lazily tossing about on her shoulders.
"I was always meant to take his side...Never meant to be on anyone else's but his."
The figure took off its hood, revealing it to be a scarred version of Yu Chai, not us much as Zhao Xing before hand, but this one was also scarred. There was a black and red line drawing all the way around the neck and what seemed to be an impale mark on the side of her cheek. The form smiled back at the semi-surprised Qing Yuan before walking backwards and fading into nothingness like the dark Zhao Xing. Before Qing Yuan could look at Zhao Xing, the next one came up to her, clasping her fingers around either of her shoulders and holding Yuan in her place.
"What...what if he doesn't accept you?" The voice asked. It was a crackly yet obviously female voice. Qing Yuan gasped at the question, but the answer to that came fairly quick.
"He doesn't need to accept me...He'll always accept me as his student, but if he would accept me as a lover, I would not know...But I'll always be there when he needs someone there...when he needs me to be there..." Qing Yuan's response hadn't the courage like the other ones had, but her ideology was one to be admired in this one. The person that held her took off her hood, revealing a nearly clean version of her self. It was almost a mirror image, Qing Yuan saw herself staring right at herself. The dark Yuan had a dark, rotting scar right across the left cheek and she was pale, that was all the she saw of the dark self...but soon, she too had backed away and evaporated into the thin air...This was the time to look up at Zhao Xing...and indeed she looked. Zhao Xing was calm now...his body not flailing from pain...not wincing from any mental pin. She felt like she could fly...her heart certainly did...she jumped up with joy, but to her surprise, she indeed flew...Well, float more or less...but never the less, she was going upwards into the air...
There was Zhao Xing, lying all peacefully; his eyes closed his mouth semi open to let in air and his hair flowing downwards in a cascade of raven black strands. Qing Yuan brought out her arms, wrapping them around Zhao Xing's waist as they both slowly floated upwards into the air.
"Zhao Xing...we're...so near...this can't be a dream...it's all too real..."
O O
They had been journeying in Xing's subconscious, but the downed body of Qing Yuan had suddenly moved...her arm moving slowly to her side and the hand slowly moved with Zhao Xing's hand, fingers clasping around the fallen Zhao Xing's hand, intertwining themselves with the fingers of Zhao Xing's hand. He gave a reaction, even if he was knocked out, his hand tightening just a bit to give Qing Yuan a gentle squeeze to acknowledge her. But they stayed like that...their forms unmoving...
O
O
Zhao Xing would be asleep for many days, unmoving, barely breathing...He felt warmth coming across to him, he felt everything so true and beautiful to him...His body no long felt cold as it was warmed by both arms and by soothing words. He was no longer feeling emotionally and spiritually broken...Everything was so much better now...
It would be three days...before Zhao Xing had fully regained consciousness...
Hazel eyes opened and scanned the areas before him self. The great Zilong spawn was finally awake. He was lying in a bed in a small room, his body covered by a blanket. But he couldn't move...something pained him whenever he had moved, so he decided to stay still. His surroundings consisted of a black stone wall, a small wooden hatch the only possible way out. There were small windows littered about the area, but that was it. Xing felt unusually crowded and warm while he sat there, and he found out why when he lifted the blanket. Beside him was Qing Yuan, holding onto his side profoundly and her eyes closed. She seemed to be asleep at the moment so he had carefully lifted her arms away from himself and looked himself over as he took off the blanket fully. His wounds were covered and wrapped...So it must've been Qing Yuan who had wrapped them or something of the sorts.
"Ohhh...Xing? You're awake?"
"I thought I was supposed to be Master Zhao..." He looked to the awakening Qing Yuan, a smile etched across her face. She sat up and kissed Xing on the side of his face, ever so lightly grazing his cheek with her lips. Xing was very surprised by this, and at the same time, his face got redder by the minute.
"Xing...don't think you haven't received this sort of affection from me before...or when I saved you from those three cloaked copies of us."
Xing was absolutely dumbfounded. He turned even redder when Qing Yuan got on her hands and knees and crawled up the bedding, and started to nip at his ear.
"Qing Yuan!"
"I told you...when I saved you...that I'd still love you whether you accept it or not...and currently...I'm doing that..."
Xing couldn't help but let out a small groan of pleasure when Qing Yuan finished with him...Of course, that left a very red Xing and a very pleased Qing Yuan when all the playing was done...
"Uh...erhm...C-can...can we go somewhere else?" Zhao Xing was VERY uncomfortable to have her doing this to him while they were sitting atop a bed. Xing was confused as hell, but he was also enjoying this. But the more decent part of Xing shouted at him to take himself out of this room. Lucky for the debating unto self Xing, Qing Yuan happily nodded her head and stood up, walking away from the bed and knocking at the hatch on the floor.
"Li Jishan?" She beckoned as the hatch suddenly open and a young man clad thin black armor, his long hair tied back with a red band came into view. He had a spear hanging from his back, tied to his shoulders by a leather rope. There's also a long red ribbon fastened to the end of it, where the shaft and blade met. He seemed to be a bit younger by the looks of his face.
"Yes, milady?" His voice seemingly echoed with power and feeling, but his voice was also soft...it seemed to have a youthful spring to it rather than a scornful tone a normal warrior with a spear such as the one he bears. His eyes scanned Qing Yuan before looking over to Zhao Xing and with such he bowed to the man. "Ah, Lord Zhao Xing is awake..."
"Lord?" Zhao Xing was confused a bit with the title though...looking to Qing Yuan for an answer, she only laughed a bit and shook her head.
"He recognizes you as the Son of Zhao Yun, not like everyone else."
"Really? What does that make you?"
"Someone who loves you very much..." Qing Yuan's responded...again, Zhao Xing blinked oddly at her and Li Jishan just laughed out loud at him. Xing just pushed off Li Jishan's image from his mind and pretended he wasn't there as he departed through the hatch and walked outside...but to his surprise, he was in a very peculiar place...somewhere he had never seen before...just where the hell was he?!
"You like it, Milord Zhao Xing?" A voice that was earnest, inquisitive and one of utmost familiarity; it was Yu Xue's. And that's who exactly appeared behind Zhao Xing, touching him upon the shoulder and nodding to him. "You're in Tian Shui fortress...I've had this built before and it's the most impregnable fortress in all of the land."
"Really now? But what am I doing here?" He asked before groaning. Qing Yuan had exited the hatch and appeared beside Zhao Xing, wrapping her arm around his and smiling up at him once more. This triggered a few chortles from the soldiers roaming around the area. They only received a death glare each from the Zilong Spawn.
"Easy, Milord." Yu Xue said bowing deeply to him. "We found her clutching onto your arm, and when we moved her aside, we found you."
"Really?" He asked again, Xing trying to find exactly what had happened.
"Yes, it seems she was trying to prevent you from bleeding by holding herself to you...or something of those sorts...there was blood all over her when we pulled her off."
Zhao Xing didn't know what to say...or what to feel...but something he felt on his right arm told him what to feel. Qing Yuan had shed off a few tears into his arm piece, soaking into the material and leaving moist marks there...only soft ones, because she immediately wiped her eyes and smiled back up at Zhao Xing, and he couldn't help but to smile in return. But soon, embarrassment came back to him as he looked away, red as a strawberry again. Yu Xue let out a hearty chuckle before being joined by Li Jishan. But before anything was again said or done, their faces gotten serious. Xing looked to the two before Yu Xue opened his mouth to speak.
"We've got troubles. Milord...There will be an invasion of this fare fortress soon." Yu Xue said to Xing, Xing surprised at the words he only narrowed his eyes and nodded.
"And you need help, right? I'll help anyway I can..." Xing said bringing up his left hand, clenched fist shaking. Yu Xue merely nodded to him.
"Indeed, my good fellow...I believe my few people of about five hundred strong won't be able to handle a Wu siege and invasion force...much less from four sides coming up all hills."
"If it's that way, I'm staying too..." Qing Yuan said, determined and finally letting go of Xing's arm and stood before Yu Xue and Li Jishan. "I can fight...I want to fight..."
"No way-" Yu Xue tried to interject, but the Zilong spawn was quick to pick up.
"You said you need all the help you could get...and this more than most people offer at all." Was what Xing had said. Yu Xue wanted to find someway to make what Zhao Xing said wrong, but that was it. Nothing was wrong with what he had just said. Keeping his mouth shut, the young strategist went away, followed by Li Jishan, both of them getting ready for the bout ahead of them. This left Qing Yuan and Zhao Xing. And to their interest, they both started to wander around the splendid fortress, which was decorated as well as any palace.
O O O
On the horizon, a wall of soldiers started to make the green grass of the hills around Tian Shui, be gone with but a simple step. Grunts of ensigns filled the air and the barks of the commanders could be heard as they continuously stepped through the area. Red banners and streamers were being thrown about and flags that held the sacred symbol of "Wu" were being carried. There were five thousand spearmen, five hundred swordsman, three hundred archers and two hundred specialized soldiers. Each marched in single file as they now penetrated city walls, the group coming into the area of where the normally crowded, but now abandoned suburbia was. The group was further lengthened by the joint operations of different troops, each coming to increase the ranks. Horses galloped in, their thunderous hooves signifying cavalry men. Shouts were made, signifying a strong leader had arrived. And stomps were heard, signifying the personal guards were there. The numbers rose from five thousand to about ten thousand strong.
"All right, guys!" The leader yelled out to his soldiers, the winds softly moving the ribbon that his wife had tied into his long, tailed hair. His tonfar was in the air, showing his power and his confidence to win. "This'll be fun! Let's not fall behind here, guys!"
And with that, the hordes of soldiers started slowly, but steadily, making its way towards the fort, already halfway there since breaching the city gates.
O O O
The small group of soldiers readied for battle. There was about one hundred on the walls, one hundred at the keep, fifty at each door and about two hundred waiting in the back areas, ready to help if needed. The area outside, slowly became flooded with Wu soldiers, each of them battle hardened and every single one of them ready to die just to take down Tian Shui. It was the night...and as soon as the army had marched their, it was exactly an awakening time and there was sun upon their heads.
"Not only will we be taking Zhao Xing!" Sun Ce shouted out to his men. "But these rebels will be put down and the fort will be ours!"
The men took to set out the hearts by giving a hearty pre-battle cry. Each of them banged their spears on the ground, stomped their foot or shouted, creating uproar of sound and showing the size by merely the horrendous sound alone. At the fortress, Zhao Xing looked to his archers, then to Qing Yuan whom was standing beside him, before looking back down to the soldiers below. Yu Xue shouted to his men.
"Ready?!" He asked. It was definitely rhetorical and was a base for his orders. "Archers aim!"
Indeed the archers would take aim, drawing their bows back and the wood flexing. They drew back their arrows and gotten ready. But one could not hold their stance and flunked out the arrow order and had shot off the missile. The arrow spun towards the line and hit someone right in the eye, making the person groan before falling on his knees and then dying...this seemed to rouse the enemy, each of the shouting profanities at the archers. Soon, they all shouted and charged towards the base of the fortress wall, running as they could.
"Archers, get ready!!!" Yu Xue tried again. Li Jishan stepped forward with his own bow and arrow set.
"Their armor is weak below the neck and arms..." He whispered to some of his comrades as he too took aim.
Those two officers were at the keep. At the breach wall, Zhao Xing and Qing Yuan presided over the other men. Zhao Xing decided to give a short talk before ordering the men to fire...perhaps it would fuel them for victory as morale was already low.
"Do not show mercy...as you will not get any...and if we are to fall...so be it...let them know who the hell we are!" Zhao Xing shouted as he did the hand signal to release the arrows. Indeed, the waves of arrows were released over and over again, mowing down some dozens of troops before they reached the walls. These men made way for the specialized soldiers who carried the ladders. Throwing the ladder up, they started to make their way up the ladder to hopefully bypass and enter the castle via walls. The soldiers sent to the top first was a relatively heavy armored type, thick helmets and padding given to prevent them from falling from the debris and arrows thrown at them. Indeed, of all the five ladders sent up, all five breach men had also made it up, slicing their way through with thick machetes. Zhao Xing had seen this and had joined in the fray, attacking with melee range. His fists had cracked the armor two fold as he had thrown two abdominal punches and then did a spinning back kick, stepping over his other leg and then raising his leg, kicking him in the chest and down the wall, back to the other side. Qing Yuan had taken the liberty of destroying the ladder, slicing her bladed fan through the wooden structure. The ladder, without the top attachment, was doomed to fall back and perish anything and everything beneath it. Qing Yuan had taken out the ladder, but there were still men climbing the other four ladders, and they were coming up fast. The one hundred soldiers battled fiercely, pushing back the thousand or so soldiers that were busily and steadily climbing the ladders. Soon though, a group of soldiers had cried out as the silver clad men of the fortress started to fall off of the breach wall. Archers had arrived at the Wu's line, and they were shooting down every single person at the wall area. A shower of the fort soldiers started to rain from the wall's top screaming in pain or already dead before hitting the ground. Zhao Xing had seen this, but this did not hinder his fighting. One swift punch to another breach soldier's face and the Wu had one less man there. But something caught Zhao Xing's eyes as he continued fighting...the Wu had started to roll barrels in, placing them at the bottom of the wall area. Something was up. But as Zhao Xing realized what was going on, it was too late. The wall that he stood on had exploded into a fury of pure flame, as the explosive powder that was just recently invented had been used to blow a large hole into the wall of the fort. Bodies tossed this way and that and Zhao Xing was no exception. His body was hurled back into the fort area, but some others weren't as lucky as they fell prey to the large explosion and was engulfed or scorched by it.
Qing Yuan saw her love tossed about by the explosion and the incoming Wu spearmen. She shouted out as she jumped down from the wall, side kicking someone in the face before looking to the rest. It wasn't long before someone struck her with a punch and she was partially dazed for the moment. Staggering back, she tried to avoid the rest of the incoming spearmen with less than graceful dodges.
Zhao Xing saw what had happened and didn't let this go to waste. He didn't want Qing Yuan anymore hurt than she just was and that fueled him for his next move.
"AIM!" he shouted behind him. The archers within the fort area had taken position and were now taking aim. It wasn't long before the men were ordered to release and they let a hail of projectiles fire upon the enemy. The first ten dozen fell to the mighty missiles. But now, with new fire in their souls, the Wu charged into the fortress grounds, holding their spear up and ready for a fight. This triggered Zhao Xing to narrow his eyes at the charging enemy. For once he would need a weapon. One of the soldiers giving Zhao Xing a sword, he raised it up; all of the other archers brandished their short swords and raised it as well. "CHARGE!"
With the utmost feeling and pride, Zhao Xing ran towards the large group of invaders, sword risen, followed by one hundred and fifty or so soldiers. Some soldiers charged directly into the Wu's spears in haste, but that was quickly redeemed as the rest of them attacked and fell just as many enemies as the enemy had taken down their own allies. Zhao Xing wasn't accustomed to a sword, but he was undeniably good with it. Slicing his way through the Wu soldiers, he finally had gotten through to the somewhat hurt Qing Yuan. Reaching her, he stopped his fighting and put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her up.
"Are you all right?" He asked concerned more about her than the fight at hand for the moment.
"Yes, only a lucky shot...let's defend this area so we can truly keep our promise to Yu Xue..." She said with determination upon seeing Zhao Xing's form beside her. Both of them turned around, just in time to see an upcoming swordsman. Zhao Xing brought up his sword to block the oncoming blow, but it was going to be harder than he thought considering that he saw flashes of gold. The gold armor meant that he was one of Wu's elites and he was having a hard time just keeping the block with the sword. It wasn't long before the elite broken Zhao Xing's sword and he was ready to kill the Zilong Spawn, but his advance was stopped by Qing Yuan, who used her whip to take the sword from his grasp allowing Zhao Xing to take perfect advantage and use his fists. Zhao Xing threw a perfect Futae no Kiwami into the man's face, throwing the enemy soldier into the enemy flow of soldiers and breaking the order for a bit.
Li Jishan saw this break in the line and decided to take advantage of this. Stealing the chest plate of the next breach man's armor, merely by snatching it, he pushed the breach man back down to kill him and then placed the large plating on the stairs that led from the wall. Kicking it down, he jumped upon the plate and rode it down like some sort of riding board, and took his bow and arrows out. He headed straight for the small group of soldiers, riding upon the plate and then let out a continuous rain of arrows upon the small group of soldiers. Jumping off the armor, he threw away his archery equipment and equipped his spear. Impaling the first and foremost soldier at his right, he started to break a path towards the interior gate that led to the keep of the fortress.
Yu Xue growled, seeing his men fall one by one wasn't the most pleasant experience in the world, especially when you handpicked and trained with most of them yourself. He went to the window and shouted from the keep's tower to the men down at the fort grounds.
"RETREAT TO THE KEEP!"
That would keep some of them alive...he saw the trusted Li Jishan complying with his orders, opening the interior gate to the men, and also defending the gate from all the men that came, utilizing the amazing length of his spear. Yu Xue sighed. This battle would be a failure...With his calculating mind; he had predicted this the moment the faulty shot was fired. But he didn't have the heart to tell his men that they would fail. It was too late now...at least everyone here would be executed honorably...
Zhao Xing and Qing Yuan retreated to the keep together, helping each other by falling one another's enemies. As soon as they reached Li Jishan, they too had stopped, defending the gate along with the skilled spearman. The Wu soldiers were falling one by one here, and they needed to keep this up or they would all die...Soon, the small number of soldiers left had made it into the keep...about four or five soldiers from four hundred that had fought against them on the walls had made it back. Zhao Xing saw this as less of a chance to keep everyone alive if the gates were breached, so he pushed back Qing Yuan and Li Jishan, sealing himself within the fort grounds and keeping them safe in the keep.
Zhao Xing looked back as the gates were closed...everywhere he looked there was a Wu. Zhao Xing shouted out as he charged into the clusters of guardsmen everywhere, punching and fighting his way as he constantly gotten cut, sliced and jabbed with spears and swords. Blood was constantly flowing from his arms as he had gotten cut and his eyes widened as he pressed on. His eyes closed as he pushed onwards...
Yu Xue looked on sadly to his lord Zhao Xing...the rebel that started out only with himself and a fellow villager that had emerged with a variety of friends...was going to kill himself if he charged out of the breached wall and into the Wu's area. Which looked to be exactly what he was doing...But wait...his body was emitting a golden aura. The young master couldn't have possibly used the way of the musou!!! It was a god-given power that only was used by the greatest of warriors in the armies! How could he-
Something triggered the young Son of the Chang Ban Tiger. His eyes...they would glow the eerie essence of the tiger...his hands, clenched like a golem's...And his spirit, rising as did his shouts of anger and pain...Soon, he was engulfed in the fury of his soul and mastery, his fists aimed forwards, he charged ahead, randomly punching with his fists alit with a mysterious golden aura. Amazing as it seemed, the Wu just continuously charged him, trying to get close. Not even getting as much as a foot away before being lighted on fire and then being shot away by the force of the gods. Zhao Xing continued this form for a couple seconds before stopping and then shooting off one more punch into a man's face. The soldier spiraled through the crowds, knocking down any in the way. But someone wanted to fight him. A flash of his deep brown eyes came to Xing as he instantly closed the space between them and got close.
"Well, so you're my enemy? Ah, Xiahou Dun was better than that!" he stated cockily before kicking Zhao Xing away.
Zhao Xing did look up to who he faced now. The soldiers around had made a circle around the two men, leaving him and his adversary to duel. Zhao Xing looked back...the keep's gates were breached...so, in all this effort, he still failed...and he still had to fight?!
"Get up, ya sack o' crap!" Sun Ce shouted out as he threw away his tonfars and cracked his knuckles, getting ready to fight Zhao Xing. "I heard your reputation, pretty boy, it's great but it ain't nothin' ta me!"
"Pretty boy?" Zhao Xing asked while he got up and took a proper martial arts form, getting ready to fight fist to fist with someone for once. "I'm not going to go easy on you, Son of Sun..."
"Neither am I, Son of Zhao..." Sun Ce said as he dashed forwards. Zhao Xing dashed forwards as well, attacking Sun Ce. Zhao Xing mumbled as he stepped forwards, landing on his knee. Sun Ce attacked so fast, that even he didn't see it! Zhao Xing clutched his stomach as he looked to the obviously superior Sun Ce.
"One little attack and you're down?! How the hell did you beat Zhou Tai?" Sun Ce spat at Zhao Xing, and then kicked him on the back. It was impossible how this weakling could beat one of his best friends...But suddenly, his eyes widened, his head turned to the other direction as he heard a horn sounding off. He looked to the hills where his own forces had been earlier. There was one lone rider, his horse rearing up to as he just stayed there. Sun Ce's eyes had widened in horror at the figure upon the magnificent white steed. The man had on a type of white armor, a small sash draped around his shoulder and golden designs running around the chest plating. His hair was made into a tail type design, as it he had a green headband framing his forehead and the back of his hair laying loosely in its ponytail. He had a long spear, a dragon engraving being sighted at the spear's side. Spinning it around his head, he stopped his spear in the air, the fighting stopped and the thousands of Wu soldiers as well as the fifty or so Jian Zhen had looked up to the hill side. Suddenly, the top of the hill was lined by cavalry men, each of them having a sword or a spear. They had green armor, and their helmets were golden and green, framing their forms evenly. They each readied their weapon as the great Tiger spoke to the enemy.
"I, Zhao Yun, will not allow you to harm innocent people! And you, the state of Wu, will leave at once, or I will force you to leave!" He shouted to them. But Wu only responded with moving a spear line to the base of the hills outside, prepping them to counter. Zhao Yun was saddened a bit. But he just laughed out loud, and pointed his spear down the hill, the riders now coming down the massive hill, everyone shouting as the charged at the enemy. The spearmen were ready with the spear line, but they did the most unexpected thing, the cavalry that is. They jumped their horses over the spearmen and sliced them at their backs, Zhao Yun impaling the commander of the spear wielders and the rest of his men taking down the spearmen. Without anyone to block their way, the rest of the cavalry rode into the city, meeting up with the massive enemy with their force of two thousand strong.
Zhao Xing was left alone and definitely scared...traumatized a bit by his defeat, he crawled up into a little ball and closed his eyes, afraid for once...afraid that he may die...there were so many people that he didn't know around him...maybe that's what he was afraid of...maybe he was afraid of dying around people he didn't know...
The fifty Jian Zhen was still not faring well when Zhao Yun came, but something invigorated them far beyond what had happened and gaining backup troops. Someone jumped their horse from the mountain behind their force and landed right beside them. A flash of crimson hair from the horse and the well decorated armor and saddle was all that the people needed to tell who exactly it was.
"I AM GUAN YU! COME FORTH!" He shouted out as he and his Red Hare rode out into the hem of the Wu soldiers and started to cut his way through. With just mere minutes, hundreds of soldiers laid dead in his wake as he cut through, left and right, and his horse trampling the rest of the men. Guan Yu was indeed a spectacular sight to behold, as no one had touched him, and no one could even lay a finger on him. Everything he did was perfect in execution, and soon, he laid the blow on the last soldier charging into the castle, the head of that man splitting directly in half. The rest of the soldiers were terrified of the God of War and quickly retreated into more welcoming areas outside of the fort, rejoining the ranks of the seven thousand troops left of the ten thousand.
All the while, Yu Xue sighed in relief of Shu's appearance.
"...It's a miracle..."
O
O
End Chapter
Sorry I took so long...
Previews...Tian Shui: Aftermath
These are random quotes that will be said in the next chapter
(Within the ruins of the fort) Zhao Xing: ...Father...I can't believe he's here...
Qing Yuan: What do you mean you're leaving me?! You can't be thinking of joining Shu and abandoning your dreams?!
(Zhao Xing confronts Zhao Yun) Zhao Yun: We are father and son, young Zhao Xing, you belong at my side.
(Yu Xue looks at his fort and soldiers) Yu Xue: My home...it lays in ruins...
(In the Wu dungeons) Yu Chai: Xing....where...are you?
(Inside the Wu palace) Sun Ce: Those Zhaos! Nothing but cowardly dogs!
Sun Quan: We'll get them...don't fret brother...I have a plan...
O
O
O
ANNNND welcome!
I have one letter...come on; you people...send me some more letters!
Dear, Yu Chai...
Why do you act so funny? Is it your nature? Because if it is...you're hilarious! You and Zhao Xing are my favorite characters! Well, bye.
Your friend, Yuki or normally known as Miss Da Qiao.
Yu Chai: Heyyyyyy I'm na' funneh.... (anime bubbles float around her as she constantly hiccups and speaks in slurred speech. The other characters are covering their noses from the horrendous liquor stench) ....WEEE! LOOKEE! Elephant gimme a hug!!!
Zhao Xing: AHHH! (Saves Yu Chai but still has to run from the elephant that's trampling everything)
Send letters into my e-mail! All others will be rejected!
Well see yah again!
~By Don Shizumi...