Chapter 9: The Establishment of Shu Han: Part II

Forests of Yi Province. Chengdu Castle

Conquest was a messy thing.

Flora looked up at the remaining three Awakened Beings that loomed above the fortifications of Chengdu Castle. Their number had once been five. After a gruelling battle that had lasted several hours, they had slain the first two of their compatriots, and their corpses had fallen into the sacked city, casting a sinister shadow over the granite walls. Soaked in sweat and blood, Miria and her squad landed from their latest sortie and recovered themselves ever so briefly, watching the remnant colossi carefully. They were hideous – all humanoid, though one resembled a dog-headed man, and the other two in the likeness of grotesque insects with multiple sets of eyes. The first and phalanxes of Shu spearmen had been scattered, and Yue Ying had ordered the archers to fire at the Awakened Beings from a safe distance.

The longer these damn Yoma remained, the more Awakened Beings that revealed themselves. It was becoming a grim endeavour as the body count of Yi Province rose by the day. It was as if someone wanted more blood to spill. "There are too many of them," muttered Miria. "Too many in one place, at one time. This is abnormal, simply improbable. If anything, they're almost as organized as we are. Who…"

As Deneve and the Shu soldiers engaged the jackal-demon's limbs, Helen hurtled upwards and elongated her arm, shooting her sword into the beast's already injured face. He counterattacked almost instantly, and although Helen's Claymore had already skewered his head, his claws managed to cut into her stomach, sending her crashing into the forest grass ten feet from the canopy. Miria and Clare had severed the arms of an arachnid demon, and Miria's Phantom Mirage was enough to provoke him into opening himself to Clare's sword. It gurgled as Clare yelled a battlecry of triumph and carved its skull in half with an overcompensated swing.

Having felled an Awakened Being earlier, Flora moved to help Clare, but was stopped by a large appendage that swung from the final assailant, slamming into her sword and crushing her body against a tree. She refused to cry out as the tentacle retracted for a finishing blow. "Lady Flora!" cried Yue Ying, dashing in front of the winded Number Eight and blocking the thrusting limb with Jade Moon. She pushed forward with all her might as Flora rolled away to recover, but his strength was too much. He hurled her away, and she sprawled painfully along the ground, slamming into a tree of her own.

"Grand General!" cried the soldiers, hurling their spears at the one-time Claymore desperately. The weapons superficially pierced into his side, and he turned to devour them. Shaking out of her daze, Yue Ying leaped into the air, retracting her blade and snapping out her crossbow slides. With the elegance of a royal dancer, she spun through the air in several full revolutions, Jade Moon vomiting scorching fireballs that split open his flesh and bones and reduced the organs inside him to offal. He collapsed and flailed wildly as Miria and Flora hurtled forward, raising their swords. A calm, brutal strike downwards, and the Awakened Being's two halves smashed into the forest floor, gurgling itself to death.

Quite suddenly, Chengdu Castle had been purged of her invaders. Yue Ying turned to her troops proudly. She thrust her up her arm. "My brave Han gentlemen! Raise your voices! I hereby declared Yi Province liberated!"

"Grand General! Hail our Lady Grand General!!" The heartened soldiers of Shu roared along with her cry, their journey in Yi at a most welcome end. Their future was now, for the moment, secured. They hurried into rank file and marched tidily into the city gates. Miria and the other Claymores followed, their faces relieved but not overjoyed. This was no triumphant procession. They had made astonishing progress, but the Shu forces had been too late to save the people within, all of who had been massacred by the merciless foes of the Continent.

Flora swore no other Chinese city would suffer the same fate.

"Lord Liu Bei will be here soon, with our vanguard alongside my husband and Master Zhao Yun," said Yue Ying, mounting her horse. "With Guan Yu overseeing Jing Province, and our own victory here in Yi, at the very least, our people will not longer be rootless wanderers." She smiled down at the Claymores. "Valiant men of the Han! Raise your heartfelt thanks for our allies, the ladies of the Isles! Their bravery and their self-sacrifice have helped us to establish the Kingdom of Shu!"

*

Clad in humble clothing and swathed in a bright emerald cape, Liu Bei was a man of moderate height, with a heroic jaw and gentle, compassionate eyes. The self-proclaimed descendant of the great Han kings, he strode with purpose and dignity into the city of Chengdu, waving proudly at the cheering, clapping warriors who had fought so boldly against the Yoma and Awakened Beings that infested western China. His twofold purpose, thanks to Yue Ying and her Claymore allies, had been achieved: he had driven out the filthy Yoma from Sichuan, and also secured a permanent base of his own.

As the women warriors recovered their strength in one of the abandoned houses that had not been crushed by the Awakened Beings' corpses, Yue Ying approached a seated Flora and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for helping me," said Flora quietly, glancing outside and watching the jubilant Shu troops welcome Liu Bei into the city.

"No, I thank you for your heroism." The two women shared a discreet, affectionate glance. "But… I must be honest with you. Despite your efforts – and they are estimable indeed – I can see no end to our new Kingdom's problems." Yue Ying did her best to smile, but it was soon gone. "My husband and Lord Liu Bei believe that taking Chengdu Castle will solve most of the tribulations that we faced earlier, prior to your arrival in China. But I cannot help but fear we are no closer to saving our people from the Yoma." Flora looked closely at Yue Ying's saddening expression. "Each day, their number seems to double. It is as if we are cutting away at the branches of a tree, instead of uprooting it. I fear China may truly be doomed unless we defeat the leaders of these Yoma, these Awakened Beings…" she turned away, unfinished.

"What troubles your heart, my Lady?" encouraged Flora softly.

"I… received a letter from my husband. He said he saw the same vision last night, the same visions he has been experiencing for the past month. He glimpsed a man with calm eyes. He said he should not have been afraid of such calm, tranquil eyes, but he was terrified. As Yoma flooded from across the Ten Directions and into China, he simply smiled. He smirked, and continued walking into the darkness – "

"Your husband's dreams are no coincidence," came Clare's quiet voice. Yue Ying paused and looked at the Number Forty-Seven warrior. "What does this man look like?" she asked.

Yue Ying's faced tensed in recollection. "My husband said he was pale in complexion, very pale. His blonde hair was long, covering a blue cloak that constantly enveloped him. And by his side was a small girl, with rich, dark brown hair. She did not say anything; she merely followed him everywhere he went."

Clare's eyes widened, and then narrowed dramatically. There was no mistaking him. "His name is Isley," she confirmed, "and he is an Abyssal One."

Helen, Deneve and Flora's eyes widened. "Abyssal One?" asked Yue Ying.

"So you know too, Clare?" said Miria quietly.

Clare nodded. "Of all Awakened Beings, there are three whose power dwarfs all others: Isley of the North, Lucelia of the South, and Riful of the West. But Isley's power is the greatest amongst them, for that small girl by his side… that girl in your premonition… is the most horrific Awakened Being to walk the Continent and the Isles." She pressed on. "I was previously involved in a… skirmish against Riful. She told me everything. And after that, we received orders to set sail for an unknown land unknown to the Continent, an ancient realm called China. It was… dubious, to say the least," she added, noticing Flora's horrified face.

"So you had contact with Riful as well," said Miria. "I knew something was amiss here. Ever since I began my investigation into the Organization, I have studied every possible attribute of Awakened Beings. This concentration of their numbers is completely unnatural, unrecorded in the archives I broke into. There is indeed someone directing the systematic invasion of this nation, and from Clare's encounter with the Abyssal One of the West and Lord Zhuge Liang's dream… I believe we've found our first culprit." She turned to look out the window. "How many are involved in this, I cannot say. But at least it's a start."

Yue Ying shook her head, slightly dazed. "Clare? Miria?" she said embarrassedly. "Perhaps you should fill me in on what happened… before you departed from the Isles."

*

If Cynthia were honest with herself, she would have acknowledged that Zhou Tai was becoming proficient enough in his control of Yoki to practice on his own. But she dared not to admit that in her heart, otherwise there would be no more excuses for her to spend time with him. She entertained an inkling that she was overstaying her welcome in the Wu camps as a foreign guest, but Zhou Tai's persona as a stoic, quiet general was well-respected, and if he asserted that she had good reasons for staying, not even his peers would protest.

She felt guilty for that. She hated herself for having inflicted this curse on him, and could hardly understand why he didn't despise her – what if he was to lose control in battle one day? Would that have meant that she did not do enough to help him? For every day that passed by without her tutelage, he was one step further away from the true predicament: the problem of unleashing all his Yoki, and in one surge of ecstatic pleasure, Awaken.

Even as a woman, she had to carefully limit the Yoki she used, lest she lose her humanity and her life at the hands of her own comrades – the black card was something every warrior dreaded having to use, and dreaded receiving. It was the ultimate tragedy of their lives, this black card. It was the curse of their existence as "Claymores." She dared not to think of the possibility that Zhou Tai would one day be forced to send her a black card too.

They had met at their usual enclave, a secret location where no one could find them. It was precariously close to the Ninth Camp, but the forest that shrouded their presence from the troops would be enough to throw off any suspicious soldier wondering where their commander had disappeared to. Zhou Tai had been training alone, his bare torso glimmering with perspiration as he swung Duskstrike, visualizing his opponent as the thick-skinned, unholy troll that had nearly killed him.

By now, he was capable of activating the precarious flow of energy and maintaining it at a safe level, granting him temporary augmentation of his already formidable strength, endurance and reflexes. He exhaled, and tapped into his Yoki. His silver eyes bled yellow, and he swung his sword at a nearby tree. Duskstrike was strong before, but it now carved apart the forest canopy itself, splintering several trees into nothingness. The forest shook as they fell to the grass.

The amplification of his power was considerable.

"Hey, Tai," came a bashful voice. His heart skipped a beat. With some difficulty, he allowed his Yoki to settle, his irises returning to their usual chrome as Cynthia approached, clad in her grey outfit and silver armour. He lowered his sword, offering a small smile. Encouraged, she continued. "I overheard the troops. They want to know when they're marching to He Fei."

"They are impatient," was his curt reply.

"Well, I think they're more troubled by the reports of an especially powerful Awakened Being there. Doesn't that mean we'll have two enemies to deal with?"

He sheathed his sword and neared her. "Yes. But things have become more complicated." He grimaced. "Liu Bei has declared himself the King of Shu. His new territory is comparatively small compared to Wu and Wei, but he's now strong enough to be our rival. Our land is now carved into three, with us in the south, Shu in the West, and Wei in the centre and north."

"His foothold can't be so secure," she said. "I overheard your men saying Liu Bei's stolen Jing Province from Wu. I don't really know who Guan Yu is, but he seems to have repulsed the Yoma there, but refuses to hand over the region to Sun Quan."

"Yes. His Majesty claims ownership over Jing. It is understandable that tensions will now surface, should Liu Bei defy him." He frowned down at her. "Your friend… Flora. Is she not with the people of Shu? Should relations between our Kingdoms deteriorate, you and I may be forced to…"

"I don't know," she whispered, shuffling closer. "I don't want to think about it now. Your nation is so confusing, Tai. Why are there now three Kingdoms in one country? It's madness."

He gave a tired smile. "And despite all this, Wei remains the foremost power. That is why we must defend ourselves against it above all others. You must rest," he murmured, his voice concerned. Her large silver eyes blinked up at him, and he could not help smiling. "We will ride for He Fei Castle soon enough. We must push back Wei's frontlines and destroy the Awakened Being there, too."

He paused, falling silent. He could not bring himself to move. It was as if she had cast a spell on him, bidding him to stare stupidly at her snowy skin, her endearing hairtails, and her small, rounded shoulders. A certain warmth began to creep across his face as they gazed at each other under the moonlight.

"Do… do you need something else, Tai?" she asked, her voice shy but hopeful.

Despite himself, he shook his head. "No. That will be all. Good night, Cynthia." He gently brushed past her, his heart beating loudly. He did not wish to impose any obligation on her. His secret fondness for this soft, buxom, kind-hearted lady was not something he should indulge in. He walked back to the riverside, where his tent and divan awaited. He would not pressure her into anything too personal, especially in such a time of dire war.

But then again, he never looked back to see her disappointed face.