Wei Yan was not wounded or anything like that, but he was a bit warier after seeing the kind of pain Cao Ren could inflict. He would have to be careful; it was unlikely that anyone would come in to help him out while Liu Bei was dueling. He gripped his weapon tightly. Cao Ren was a bit less serious. Most likely that was because he trusted Cao Cao to save him. Besides, someone like Cao Ren was used to winning every battle he was in.
The Wei officer laughed a bit as he saw how shaken Wei Yan was. "What's wrong? Lost your nerve?" he laughed.
Wei Yan did not respond in words, but instead attacked with all his strength. Cao Ren underestimated his strength and was thrown off a bit by the force of the blow. He jumped back before a follow-up attack could take off his head. Then he charged forward, perceiving Wei Yan vulnerability falsely. The Shu warrior knocked aside his shield and weapon at the same time and kneed him in the face.
"You cocky little bastard!" Cao Ren shouted, ignoring the fact that Wei Yan was considerably bigger than him.
Back at the other battle scene, Cao Cao and Liu Bei were both prepared for battle. Liu Bei was dead serious as always. His face was grim set and he wouldn't look at anything but his opponent. To lose here would be a very serious setback for the Shu army. They would likely have to retreat unless there were more Wu reinforcements.
Surprisingly to most, Cao Cao was also in a very serious mood. Usually he would have taken it lightly when fighting an inexperienced warrior like Liu Bei, but this was very important. Cao Ren could not be replaced as most of his officers could be. Cao Ren was a very important officer to him. That was the only reason Cao Cao had taken this trip.
Himiko and Zhuge Liang were forced to stand next to each other, so neither would be able to interfere with the battle magically. Not that either of them would; it was mostly a formality.
"So, Himiko," Zhuge Liang started, "How goes your studies in magic?"
She replied flatly, "I don't study magic. I'm naturally gifted."
"You know you could be much stronger if you worked harder."
"I'm stronger than you'll ever be!" she snapped.
Zhuge Liang turned away, a slight grin on his face. While Himiko was very gifted, she was nowhere near the levels of magic that the sorcerer had obtained and she never would be. Zhuge Liang's magic power was completely unprecedented. Nobody had the kind of power he had. However, he had given up much to obtain this power. He had certainly given up on the prospect of ever having a normal life. Perhaps even having a relationship… He would worry about these things later.
Cao Cao took the initiative. He ran forward, holding his sword behind him. Liu Bei followed suit. It looked like there would be a clash to decide the duel. But at the last second Liu Bei slid quickly out of the way and came back inform the side, in the same move that had defeated the ancient Cao Bu. Cao Cao was much more formidable than his uncle, however, and parried the attack with no difficulty. He then smashed Liu Bei in the face with the hilt of his sword, but not hard enough to cause any real damage.
The Shu Lord fell back for a second, then tried a second swift attack. Once again, it looked like it would hit, then it was blocked, and he got smashed in the face again. He knew he shouldn't worry about looking stupid, but he knew all the officers under him were probably burying their faces in their hands at the sight of this one-sided battle. So then he fell back and decided to take the defensive.
"Given up on your attacking already?" Cao Cao asked. But there was no hint of humor in his voice. This was still dead serious business for the warlord. When Liu Bei opted not to answer, Cao Cao charged up his sword with energy, and slashed out at Liu Bei. To the Shu Lord's dismay, a stream of energy slashed across his chest, cutting him as the actual sword would.
"What is… this?" he gasped.
"Maybe that will give you an idea as to how strong I am. I am, after all, the Hero of Chaos. I didn't get that name by being weak."
Liu Bei was not seriously wounded, so he tried to stay on the defensive. If Cao Cao tried that move again, he would probably be able to dodge it. Cao Cao did not try that move again. Instead, he stabbed forward very quickly and followed that attack with about ten more attacks in the same second. Liu Bei found himself coming very near to death as stabs came very close to hitting his head as they were blocked. This was the right moment, he thought, and once again tried his sliding attack. But Cao Cao caught his sword with the point of his own sword, showing he could more than keep up that pace of fight.
Then the Lord decided to end it and stabbed Liu Bei through the shoulder. As Liu Bei knew he was defeated he just winced in pain as his opponent removed the sword and began to walk away from the battlefield. As their Lord fell to his knees, most of Liu Bei's officers crowded around him to see if he would be okay. Of course, he would. If Cao Cao had wanted to kill him, he would be stabbed through the heart or the gut.
Zhuge Liang remained where he was, next to Himiko.
"Your Lord is such a great warrior. Why does he fight as the evil one. He could help bring peace."
Himiko responded intelligently this time. "Everyone who wants to rule the country will bring peace. But everyone wants to rule. It is this want for peace that causes the very chaos that ensues."
"I never knew you were so thoughtful, Himiko."
"I've got to go and meet my Lord. See, Zhuge Liang? My side is much stronger than yours!"
He smiled. "I suppose I'll see you later then."
"Right," she winked and glided away, levitating by her magic.
Zhuge Liang's seriousness returned now. This situation was the worst thing he had possibly imagined. Now, by their own promise, they had to let Cao Ren go. Their Lord was wounded, morale was down, and everyone was now afraid of Cao Cao after seeing him fight. The only ones that really still wanted a shot at him were Gan Ning and Sun Ce, and those guys were crazy.
On the other front of the battlefield, Wei Yan was still fighting Cao Ren. Neither officer had been hurt badly. Each was bruised and cut up to high hell, but otherwise they were feeling fine.
"That's it!" Cao Ren shouted as if he hadn't been trying his hardest the entire time. He then held his shield in front of him like a gun and it shot out explosions somehow. It seemed that his shield/scabbard had yet another use. It was quite an effective cannon. Wei Yan was unable to block the explosions and he was slammed to the ground. He was defenseless as Cao Ren raised his sword for the kill.
"Cao Ren! No more fighting. We leave now."
It was Cao Cao. Cao Ren knew better than to argue with his Lord. Surely killing a Shu officer would violate whichever terms there were for his leaving. "We'll finish this some other time."
Wei Yan sighed out in relief and collapsed against the ground. That was an exhausting battle.