Victory's Banquet and the Serpent's Oath
War itself demanded immense stress, so managing the soldiers' morale was crucially important.
That was why, after a victory, it was essential to hold banquets where the troops could eat and drink their fill. Otherwise, they'd desert.
Inside the half-burned Wancheng, barracks had been set up, and a primal feast began with everyone tearing into meat and guzzling booze.
"Eat and drink freely, everyone!!! And rest up before we send word of our triumph!!"
Cao Ang seemed genuinely thrilled about their first operation being a success.
"Kim Gong was the hero of this victory!!" And he praised me.
"Ah…. You're too kind."
I said that, but honestly, I'd carried pretty hard. That was my real thought.
"I'll make sure to tell my father about this and ensure you get a proper reward!!"
His exaltation made me a bit uncomfortable.
"Ahaha…."
Something about Cao Ang not taking his eyes off me felt burdensome.
And there was another reason for the discomfort.
"Hehe. Kim Gong. Is the seat next to you free?"
Jia Xu sat demurely beside me.
To my left and right were Mok Lan and Lu Bu. I was completely surrounded by beauties.
"Hehe. Your cup is empty."
Jia Xu poured my drink like a serving courtesan.
"Hey. You're too close."
Lu Bu spoke in a wary tone, slicing meat with her hunting knife.
"Kim. Eat meat. Meat."
She shoved some into my mouth.
"…."
Mok Lan, who had history with Jia Xu, just stared uneasily from behind her mask.
"J-Jia… teacher. Is there some other reason you're joining the banquet?"
I asked her directly.
"Hehe. It's a rather serious and private matter, not suited for a place of revelry."
Jia Xu revealed nothing of her inner thoughts.
Drinking with women around made it look debauched, but the whole banquet had that vibe.
"Uhahat! You're a fine one."
"Become my concubine, and I'll treat you well."
The Cao army generals were all frolicking with women, toying with them.
Apparently, they were Zhang Ji's many concubines. Maybe because Zhang Ji was a lecher. Rumor had it he'd gathered countless beauties like an emperor. Those concubines naturally became the generals' women, now distributed among Cao's officers.
"Yeah. Spill it here. Kim's business is my business."
Lu Bu cut in bluntly, glaring at Jia Xu. They both had silver hair, but Lu Bu had a cute, airheaded vibe, while Jia Xu felt like a snake or a fox.
"Hehe. Kim Gong."
Ignoring me coolly, she tilted her face alluringly toward me.
Plump.
Leaning her breast on my arm, her seductive gaze stirred a man's heart.
"…I know a quiet spot. Shall we talk there?"
Her voice hooked into my ear.
For a moment, I nearly fell for it, but a status window message snapped me back.
[Jia Xu attempts 'Seduction'.]
Immovable Mind activates.
[Resisted Jia Xu's 'Seduction'.]
The message showed Jia Xu trying to seduce me. She'd attempted Seduction, an unconditional persuasion skill even on men. My Immovable Mind, which nullified mental debuffs, kicked in, so I wasn't swayed.
As expected of Jia Xu. She looked ready to devour my liver and all.
"Lu Bu and Mok Lan are like sisters to me. No need to talk separately, right?"
I resisted her immediately. Who knew what she'd do dragging me off alone.
"…."
Jia Xu's eyes widened as she stared at me.
'Wh-what…. This always worked before….'
She looked flustered.
'Did Sister Chu Hui's… method have a flaw?'
I could see her muttering inwardly.
Heh. Whatever trick she'd tried, I'd already countered it. No one could stop Kim, the seal-breaker.
"…Understood. If you trust those around you that much, Kim Gong, I'll speak amid this chaos."
Jia Xu regained her composed smile and continued.
"Do you have ambitions to claim the realm, Kim Gong?"
Her sudden question threw me off.
"…The realm?"
What realm out of nowhere?
"I see the aura of a hero in you. With the right circumstances, heavenly fortune, and sincerity, you could achieve feats like Emperor Gaozu or Emperor Guangwu."
She started flattering me.
"Teacher, that's too much."
I drew the line immediately.
With the Han imperial house still alive and well, such talk was burdensome.
I worried Lu Bu or my adjutant Mok Lan might find it odd, but that was needless.
Lu Bu and Mok Lan (formerly Dong Zhuo) had once dreamed similarly and rebelled. They were inured to such bold words. Ah, right—veterans.
"…The Han house's laws are already decayed. Everyone knows, but no one says it openly to avoid attack."
Jia Xu downed her cup.
"Even Liu Xuande, whom you serve, cries for Han restoration but doesn't truly believe it possible."
She poked a sore spot subtly.
"In the end, the ambitious and strong claim the realm. I see that potential in you."
She smiled at me.
"Let me be your strategist and aid your conquest of the realm."
Her snakelike eyes looked my way.
"…Sorry, but I have no such ambitions."
I spoke my honest heart.
Sure, as a man, I wanted to keep rising, but claiming the realm sounded like a hassle.
"Liu Xuande's force is basically a primitive band of sworn brothers, right? Held by loyalty more than structure. And you're the one with real power there. Lady Mok Lan, is your detachment with Liu Xuande? Or with Kim Gong?"
Jia Xu suddenly turned to Mok Lan.
"…."
Mok Lan looked around in surprise.
"I'm… with Kim. The others probably too."
As expected.
"…."
Yeah, the Kim Squad felt more like my private organization.
"Even Lord Lu Bu maintains the alliance with Xuande more for Kim Gong than anything, no?"
Jia Xu jabbed at the loose alliance between Liu Bei and Lu Bu armies. It was a soft spot.
She'd clearly researched Liu Bei's forces beforehand.
'Lu Bu….'
Getting a weakness exposed to Jia Xu was dangerous. I desperately signaled her with my eyes.
"Yeah. True. Without Kim, I'd have bailed ages ago."
But Lu Bu was too honest. She just chomped meat and said it plainly.
'Just grow up healthy….'
Expecting intellect from Lu Bu was my mistake.
"In the end, you're the core of Liu Bei's army. Why not absorb them instead?"
Jia Xu asked.
She seemed to expect me to pull a Sima Yi. It subtly stoked my ambitions.
But… my answer was set.
"Sorry, no."
"Why? Lack confidence? Let this Jia Xu devise plans to help you."
Her burning gaze urged me on.
"…There's loyalty, you know. Liu Xuande's my comrade. Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun… I want to keep good relations with my precious comrades."
That was my true heart. I didn't want to backstab them for glory.
"…You can be honest with me, Kim Gong."
She looked flustered, then smiled leisurely.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
I cut off her next words.
'Feels like accepting would get her on board… but no.'
Maybe from that big-eared guy yapping about benevolence nonstop. I'd soaked it up too.
I was about to mentally give up on recruiting Jia Xu smoothly.
"The lord I'll serve this time… is quite the unique one."
Jia Xu suddenly chuckled.
"Lord?"
Did I hear wrong?
"Yes. My lord."
She clasped her fists in a bao quan and bowed to me.
"I've decided to follow you, Kim Gong. As your strategist, I'll serve as your brain."
She stated it flatly.
"…."
What? Suddenly? Jia Xu was smart, so her thought process eluded me.
"Pretend you didn't hear that just now."
Just in case, I said firmly.
"Understood. A capable strategist adapts to their lord's nature. If you uphold benevolence and righteousness, so will I. If the realm isn't your goal, I'll reflect that."
She spoke breezily. Could I trust her?
"…Hehe. Let's say you've piqued my interest, Kim Gong. I'll be useful. Isn't that enough?"
She flashed a seductive smile.
"Fine."
I needed a brain anyway, so Jia Xu was honestly welcome.
And so, Jia Xu joined my command. Picking her up like this would thrill the crew.
During her conversation with this man named Kim, Jia Xu felt an immense freshness.
'What a peculiar man.'
Those with ability and power usually harbored ambitions. Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and now Zhang Xiu—she'd served them all.
Even if not the realm, instinct drove them to conquer at least a city.
'A mere city? No.'
His intellect pierced her feints and prepared counters; his personal prowess cleaved through fire and enemy lines; his charm won heroes' favor. He had the vessel for the realm. Jia Xu judged inwardly.
Yet this Kim was different. Less greedy than expected.
'I thought benevolence was just hypocrisy, but some truly believe it.'
He sincerely followed the dead sages' words on benevolence and righteousness.
To Jia Xu, who'd lived in a world of desire, such honest dullness was mysterious.
Curiosity bloomed: following him, what ripples would he make in this chaos?
Calling Kim "lord" stemmed from this complex mix—an impulsive act unlike her usual calculated moves.
And one more irrational reason.
Kim's looks matched her tastes. That factored into her mad decision.
Afterward, the banquet continued, turning a bit risqué.
Cao's generals, itching to bed Zhang Ji's concubine beauties, slipped away one by one. With sucking and groping around, even I felt aroused.
"Mok Lan. Later in the barracks. Ahem."
I subtly propositioned my office wife.
"…Got it."
Mok Lan blushed faintly, handling a drunken Lu Bu rubbing against me.
I had Zhang Liao and Go Sun handle Lu Bu, then headed to the barracks for a steamy night with Mok Lan….
I woke at dawn. Simple reason: a forgotten farming route popped into my sleeping mind. 'Right, something to farm in Wancheng.'
Low priority, but worth grabbing: [Ma Yong's Saddle]. A saddle for horses that reduced projectile damage taken. Minor but nice. 'And lowers hit chance from arrows too.'
Slap it on Red Hare, and it'd be a true siege engine. Originally Zhang Ji's item… I killed Zhang Xiu but missed it. Lady Zou probably knew where it was. As his wife.
'Time to check on Lady Zou.'
I knew her rough location, so I plotted my path. Sleep was gone.
'Honestly, wanna see her face too.'
A beauty's face was always a man's desire. I quietly covered sleeping Mok Lan with a blanket and stepped out.
I headed to a low pavilion on the second floor of a building outside Wancheng proper. Zhang Ji's pre-death hideout, now Lady Zou's residence.
There stood a half-nude beauty, her graceful figure poignantly lit by moonlight. I lost myself staring unwittingly.
She turned at the sound of footsteps.
'Lady Zou….'
Just like in the game.
To meet her like this. I swallowed hard without thinking.
