Doesn't seem the battle's are gonna end anytime soon TT_TT

Thank you to RayneNight92 for hitting me on the head =D

And I'm sorry about the Zhang He, I totally stuffed up his personality.

Chapter 9: The Second Battle

"Come on guys, give me some more challenge!" yelled Yun Lu as she took on another bunch of peons and sergeants alike.

"I shall be your challenge!" yelled back a man, smoothly dancing his way towards Yun Lu and charged with his claws. Yun Lu dodged the attack and looked weirdly at the strange man.

What the hell, a cross dresser?

"Your eyes are glued to I, the beautiful Zhang He, are they not?" Zhang He took another swipe, which Yun Lu blocked.

"Er, no. You look weird…"

Damn, stop looking at the weirdo. Concentrate on the battle Yun Lu!

"How dare you call me weird?! No one calls me that and neither should you."

"I'm pretty sure people think you're weird too though. They're probably just not mentioning it right in front of you." Yun Lu finally spotted a gap in Zhang He's movements and dashed in for the kill. Unfortunately, it didn't hit where Yun Lu intended. Zhang He was lithe and evaded the lethal blow, but at least Yun Lu scored a slash on his hip.

"Ughh, you scarred my beautiful skin!" yelped Zhang He as he looked at the wound under his purple attire.

I'm beginning to wonder…does this man bathe in those tubs with aromatic flowers floating on the water? Those flowers which help improve the skin and make it smell all flowery. Shao keeps trying to persuade me to use it, she's so annoying!

"Zhang He, you are so gay," Yun Lu said in a slight sing song voice before she jumped at him, doing quick consecutive swipes at her enemy. Even with the wound, Zhang He dodged a large amount of them. A few blows landed on his chest which caused him to stagger back.

"You are going to pay for these ugly wounds!" Zhang He lashed out with a powerful kick which caught Yun Lu straight in the chest, winding her. She flew backwards into the dirt and coughed as she tried to catch her breath. Zhang He took the advantage and ran to her, holding his claws at the ready. He swiped at Yun Lu's head but Yun Lu stopped the attack with one of her spears. She wasn't about to give up so soon.

"I'm not letting you scratch me!" Yun Lu yelled, giving Zhang He a defying glare before pushing away with her spear.

"You have great valour, who are you?" he asked.

"Ma Yun Lu, Ma Chao's sister."

"Ah I see now were all the strength can valour comes from."

Yun Lu readied her dual spears for another attack, but before either of them could make a move, a lone arrow come out of nowhere and hit Zhang He's shoulder.

"Ergh…oww…"

Who disturbed my battle? Damn them.

Yun Lu looked around to find the archer. Failing to find the culprit, her attention then turned back to Zhang He.

"Good battle Yun Lu. I've always believed women could do the same as what men can. Sadly, this dance must end now." With that, the gender confused one retreated rather gracefully, despite his wounds.

"Hey wait!" but Yun Lu's shouts were no use. "Who interrupted my fight?"

"You didn't appreciate my help?" inquired Ma Dai, sauntering over to his cousin, bow and arrows in hand.

"No! And please, don't do that ever again. I give battles everything I have, and I certainly don't need someone to come into the middle of my battle to help me." Yun Lu frowned, indicating she was pissed off.

"Sorry…I just thought you might want some help against that woman…" Ma Dai continued but instantly regretted it as Yun Lu shook her head at him, unhappy.

"By the way, my opponent was a he," she replied. Ma Dai opened his mouth and gaped, but said nothing. Yun Lu decided to change the subject. "How's the battle right now?"

"We're winning, they're probably gonna retreat soon."

Soon enough, it was exactly like what Ma Dai predicted. "CHARGE!" they heard Ma Chao roar. War cries came from their army as they chased after their fleeing enemy.

XXXXXXXXXX

"My lord, the enemy is charging us!" a desperate soldier yelled as he rushed towards Cao Cao. But Cao Cao smiled.

"Good."

"What?" The soldier was confused. They were losing and their lord was happy?

"I've called for reinforcements," Cao Cao explained. "Let's catch them in a pincer attack. Onward my men, run from the Xiliang brutes!" He grinned again. "I am going to make you pay for the humiliation you dealt to me!" He attempted to stroke his goatee but it was unsuccessful because he failed to remember that he had cut most of it off with his sword in his escape from Ma Chao. "Argh, I keep forgetting. DAMN YOU MA CHAO!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Ma Chao's army focused on the enemy in front of them.

"Come on!" Yun Lu swiped around her with her two spears outstretched, killing many. What they didn't realise was that the more of the enemy were approaching from the rear…until it was too late.

"Ah! Lord Ma Chao! T-The e-enemy is approaching from the rear!" cried a soldier.

"The enemy? What?! Aren't the ones in front of us all they have?" shouted Ma Chao frantically.

"Maybe they called for reinforcements while we were still fighting," said Yun Lu.

"We have to pull back. We're getting attacked both sides!" yelled Pang De over the fighting. Ma Chao ordered retreat. But that was easier said than done. Only the best warriors would be able to escape the pincer attack.

"Watch over each other!" shouted Ma Dai. Yun Lu, Ma Chao, Ma Dai and Pang De charged out together with some of their men. Stabbing left and right, they found a gap in the enemy formation and bolted towards it.

Finally, they got out. The group continued to gallop away until they were sure no one was following them. Ma Chao looked at the remainder of his army. Tired, bedraggled soldiers, he had no more than 5000 men left and had started off with 25000.

"SHIT!" Ma Chao lashed out with an anger fuelled kick at a poor old innocent tree. Yun Lu patted her brother on the back.

"Live with it Mengqi. It's okay. Losing and winning is a common thing. The main thing is, to learn from our mistakes and do better next time," said Yun Lu, attempting to soothe her fuming brother. Ma Chao looked at her with despair.

"IT'S NOT OKAY. This my first battle as a commander. And what happens? We lose! How are the soldiers going to fight for me ever again?"

Yun Lu looked down on the ground, searching for something to say.

"I have a feeling someone's missing…" said Ma Dai.

"What?" asked Yun Lu. Silence followed as they looked around.

"Han Sui…yeah, Han Sui's not here," discovered Pang De.

XXXXXXXXXX

Han Sui was surrounded by the enemy. Five of his subordinates stood by his side, Hou Xuan, Li Kan, Liang Ying, Ma Wan and Yang Qiu.

"Surrender now! You are completely surrounded!" yelled a sergeant.

"Should I…" Han Sui looked at his sword and considered the option, suicide, "Or should I not?" he muttered to himself.

"General Han Sui, I recommend submitting to Cao Cao," said Yang Qiu. "We have no other choice!"

"I can't do that! How can I abandon my dear friend's son?"

"It's more like Ma Chao abandoned you my lord. He hasn't even come back to find you!" persuaded Li Kan.

"And, Cao Cao was your friend, was he not? We'll get decent positions, ranks and recognition my lord!" continued Yang Qiu.

Han Sui was extremely muddled at the moment. "We have no other choice…really?" he thought. "Suicide is the fastest way out of this…but only I would do so. These five will not, they have no ties with Ma Chao, unlike me." Han Sui gripped the sword handle tighter and slowly lifted it up.

"My lord, I've noticed Ma Chao has been suspicious of you since that day you talked with Cao Cao on the battle field. It's not worth going back or suiciding," said Hou Xuan. Han Sui grimaced as the point collided with his want to keep his loyalty forever to Ma Teng and his son. Ma Chao no longer trusted him, and that hurt because Ma Chao was like his son. Han Sui sighed in hopelessness and lowered the sword.

"All right, we surrender," decided Han Sui. The five subordinates sighed in relief.

"Your choice is most excellent Han Sui," said a voice. The owner revealed himself as Cao Cao as he strided towards them.

"Ah, Mengde–"

"I'm glad you thought it over," cut in Cao Cao. "Now, I have a mission for you. This can be a test of your loyalty.

"And what is it?"

Cao Cao smiled once again. "Kill Ma Chao for me."

Han Sui gaped in horror. "WHAT? I-I can't! Don't, please…" he pleaded.

"Well, it doesn't have to be you who carries it out. I want you o go back to Ma Chao, tell him you're still on his side, and then…silently kill him. And since you can't bear it, I'm sure your subordinates can carry it out for you, right?" Cao Cao pointed to the five other generals.

"Of course we can!" they said eagerly in unison.

Han Sui nodded, "Understood…" he'd have to get used to saying this now, "my lord."

"I'll be expecting some good news when you return."

"Let's think up our plan now and finalise it when we get to Ma Chao's camp," suggest Liang Ying.

"And we'll kill him when everyone's asleep," said Yang Qiu. Han Sui nodded dismally at the idea. As they set off, Han Sui kept himself slightly apart from their chat because he felt extremely guilty.

"I've failed you Ma Teng. You entrusted me with the responsibility to look after your children, but now, not only have I become their enemy, but I must kill them too. I'm…so, so sorry," Han Sui thought to himself with deep regret.

"What have I done?"

A/N: Man, 5 pages, that took me a while to type coz I still had random bits of end of year assignments.

lol, I think I make Cao Cao smile too much XD

AHHHH, I still take too long to update *hits self on head* lol, that's the second time Ima get hit on the head.

R&R please and if you've reviewed, keep reviewing! *grins* Thanks for reading guys!