Pantsless Flight (1)
Despite getting tangled in all sorts of incidents, I'd prided myself on having grown quite a bit—but I never saw this trial coming.
Sun Jian had launched a full-scale invasion.
"Kkkiyaaaak!!!"
But hesitation in battle means defeat. If I died, Yonghwa would be taken too. With that single thought burning in my mind, I charged forward, sword raised high for a mighty swing.
Chaaaaeeng!!!
"Urraaaap!!"
Sun Jian met my attack with a ferocious swing of his own blade, matching my strike with insane momentum.
"Hup!!"
Guan Yu and Cheng Pu had already clashed. Their weapons whipped through the air in a chaotic frenzy, painting the burning streets of Xiaopei with sparks.
'Guan Yu's stronger than Cheng Pu.' In fact, there were few warriors in this game stronger than Guan Yu. She'd beat Cheng Pu, and Sun Jian and I? We were evenly matched?
'No, not evenly matched.'
Sun Jian: Tiger of Jiangdong
Level: 40
Possesses White Tiger's Valor
The moment I glimpsed his overwhelming presence through the status window, my breath caught in my throat.
His level was a straight-up 40. I'd scraped into the low 30s through all sorts of hustling, but he was a solid 10 levels ahead.
And then his nameplate glowed, revealing the lord-exclusive special passive.
'Awakened Sun Jian?' Shit. He'd gone and awakened at this point.
A lord-exclusive awakening passive. Granted only to Liu Bei, Cao Cao, the Sun family, and Yuan Shao.
When a lord-related figure gains enlightenment or awakens under specific circumstances, their stats skyrocket, and their key decision-making surges.
A perk for the Romance of the Three Kingdoms heavyweights. The Liu clan got the Azure Dragon, Cao Cao's the Vermilion Bird, the Suns the White Tiger, and Yuan's the Black Tortoise. They'd woven in the Four Symbols from Chinese mythology.
Thanks to these passives, those four factions somehow survived to the game's end. A nod to the history buffs.
'But Sun Jian?' The guy who inevitably gets assassinated by Huangzu after snagging the imperial seal—or if he doesn't, wastes away doing odd jobs under Yuan Shu before suddenly dropping dead in Jiangdong. I never dreamed he'd awaken.
I'd seen Sun Ce or Sun Quan's awakenings plenty, but Sun Jian's? Rare as hell.
'I'm gonna lose.' Visions of my head flying in a straight-up 1v1 duel flashed before my eyes.
"Ha. That's a hefty sword strike. I see—so you've got a wife waiting behind you. Makes sense. Humans get stronger when they have something to protect."
Sun Jian glanced back at me with a grin.
"Yes! Unleash all your courage and valor against this Sun Wentai!!!"
With the ferocity of a true beast, Sun Jian leaped forward, sword at the ready.
Swing back? The thought barely crossed my mind.
Kwaaaaang!!!
When my blade didn't reach, he twisted mid-air into a murderous knee drop to crush me.
If I'd stayed put, that knee—like a damn boulder—would've flattened me.
"Ha!!"
As I rolled to my feet, he followed up instantly with a roundhouse kick aimed at my shin.
Swordplay into a kick? Slice his leg off? Tempting for a split second, but I steadied myself.
Shring.
Sun Jian whipped through the kick and leveled his blade at me. If I swung low at his leg, he'd hurl a dagger at my throat the instant it went unguarded. His intent was clear as day.
'He's strong.' Every feint was brutally practical, backed by effortless physicality.
"Ha. Good instincts."
Sun Jian chuckled, resetting his stance.
Okay. No winning this.
Me, Kim? I knew my limits. Gamers beat fights they can win—that's the rule.
Answer was obvious: shove Sun Jian back somehow, then quickly take out Cheng Pu.
"…."
I flicked my eyes toward Guan Yu.
Chaaeng! Chaeeng!!
Under the force of Guan Yu's crescent blade, Cheng Pu's body slowly began to give ground.
Drip.
Cold sweat beaded on Cheng Pu's forehead, spotlit amid the surrounding flames.
Clink.
I gripped my sword tight and took a deep breath. Taiji Sword—deflect three times, and an opening would appear. Just three.
"Ha!! Disappointing that you're not attacking first!!"
Sun Jian laughed, unleashing a tidal wave of slashes.
Never raise first. Only at the perfect timing.
Tiiing!!
One deflection down.
Chaaaeeng!!
Then a horizontal follow-up, flicked aside.
Sun Jian deliberately paused half a beat. My razor focus let me see it coming.
Tiiiiing!!!
One beat later, I blocked the renewed heavy strike.
Wobble.
Mount Tai stance, but Sun Jian staggered for a split second.
Seizing the gap, I pulled a move impossible in the game but feasible in this possessed reality.
Thwack. Shwaaaack!!
I toed up and kicked up a storm of dirt and ash from the ground with all my might.
Pfsh!!
Grime exploded into Sun Jian's face.
"Kgh…."
Sun Jian flailed his sword wildly, staggering. Wary of a follow-up, but I had zero intention of fighting him seriously!
"Kkkiyaaaak!!"
I bolted toward Cheng Pu, who was barely holding against Guan Yu.
"Wha…."
Cheng Pu glanced over in panic.
"Hup!!!"
Guan Yu spotted my charge and pressed him with a weighted strike.
With Cheng Pu's sword locked against her blade, I was wide open.
"Die!!!"
I swung clean and hard.
"L-Lord…."
Cheng Pu's panicked look flashed by.
Kwadududuk!!
Namun Sword's edge gouged through Cheng Pu's neck.
Pushaaaak!!!
Blood sprayed wildly from his throat.
"Nu-na!! Let's go!"
We weren't dueling Sun Jian. We had to somehow rally Xiaopei's people and bolt straight for Xuzhou for reinforcements.
'Habbi's worrying me too….' But detouring there would delay Xuzhou. No choice—a gamble. Praying Mi Fang had bugged out on his own, I led Guan Yu and Yonghwa sprinting through the burning streets.
"Kgh…. Cheng Pu…!!"
Sun Jian's face hardened for a moment before he barked orders.
"Pursue them!! Leave none alive!!"
His roar like thunder sent chills down my spine.
Meanwhile.
Yeo Po, Jang Liao, and Go Sun were desperately holding off Sun Jian's army while punching through the rear gate.
"Save the civilians!! Get them out safely!!"
Yeo Po—uncharacteristically—was herding the common folk.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Tears streaming, the people thanked her profusely as they fled the burning Xiaopei.
Frankly, Yeo Po still didn't get why she was doing this.
Civilians were like blades of grass to her. Sway left in the wind, right in the gust, burn in a wildfire—that was natural. She held the typical warlord view of the era's masses.
Beings meant to be plundered and slain. From that perspective, this was a total waste of time… but circumstances differed.
'Kim likes it when I do this.'
That was Yeo Po's sole motivation. Meaningless heroics earned Kim's praise, and she craved that praise.
"Bongseon!! What are you doing?! We need to escape!!"
Seeing it, Ju Chang yelled at her in frustration, waving his arms.
"Still, we gotta save the civilians. Makes Kim happy, right? Gotta uphold benevolence or whatever."
Yeo Po teased back at Ju Chang.
"No! Liu Bei's done for! Sun Jian's gunning to kill us! We flee first, plan later…."
Ju Chang shouted, exasperated.
"Nah, I like it here. Lord Xuande took us in—he's our benefactor. Gotta see it through."
Yeo Po dropped a line utterly unlike her.
Truth was, her motivation boiled down to one thing: Kim. She'd fallen for the strong male who might one day surpass her as she grew.
"Damn!!!! Bongseon!! You've caught the Liu Bei Plague too!! Gonna flail in ideals till you drown?!"
Ju Chang pegged her as infected by what he'd dubbed the "Liu Bei Plague."
"Everyone!! Escape!! Hide in the woods for now!"
Ignoring him, Yeo Po guided the refugees while cleaving a charging Wu soldier.
"Kim Gong!! You're alive!!"
"General…!!"
Running like some freak family reunion opening, we bumped into Kim Squad holdouts fighting tooth and nail everywhere.
"Hohohl…. Lady Bongseon led the Xiliang troops in evacuating the civilians…."
The old northerner grinned with his half-missing teeth, explaining the sitch.
Damn, this geezer survived the chaos? Tough old bird.
"Kgh…. Just a graze mid-fight, no problem!!"
Gwang Yeom, the blood-soaked bald guy, thumbs-upped. Body riddled with arrows, though.
"You…. You good?"
You're not dying, right? Skin and iron allergy, he'd said—no armor whatsoever. Hence the pincushion look.
"I'm fine! Body's tough as nails!"
Gwang Yeom declared firmly, bleeding out.
"Just a graze!!"
No. Not a graze by any stretch.
"Kim!! We gotta go!! Rear gate's barely open, but the battle's lost!"
Mok Lan yelled.
"Hurry!!"
Guan He—thought he'd bailed, but stuck around surprisingly.
"General!! Let's move!"
Ju Chang panted, eyeing us.
Wanted to save everyone left in Xiaopei… but objectively, impossible. Lose these guys playing hero? Disaster.
"Right!! Link up with the Xiliang troops, then straight to Xuzhou!!"
I carved a path to the rear gate.
"Kim!!"
Yeo Po waved happily, relieved.
'Xiliang troops on civvie duty.' Live and learn.
"Kim Gong!! Horses are ready!! Let's go!!"
Huseon had freed the stables and prepped them here.
"Mount up!!"
Time to run.
"Kill those bastards!! Pursue!!!"
Sun Jian hot on our tails like a madman. No hesitation.
Clop clop!! Clop clop!!
Xiaopei had fallen.
Me, Guan Yu, Ju Chang, Guan He, Mok Lan's officers, Gwang Yeom, Chun Seol, the old northerner—we'd all scraped by somehow.
Xiliang troops were battered but Yeo Po, Jang Liao, Go Sun, and other Xiliang generals survived too.
'Xuzhou okay?' Zhao Yun, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei should hold, but Chun Seol said Huang Gai, Sun Ce, Tai Shici, and Zhu Tai led the main force. Source unknown, but those names drained me instantly.
Plus Xuzhou had Cho Seon, Choi Yeom, Cai Yong—zero combat power. Worried about them too.
"Full gallop!! Or we're all dead!!"
I whipped the squad onward, urging our horses.