Recapturing Nanpi (1)
Liu Yan, who had been locked in an unexpectedly fierce battle against the Yellow Turbans, finally caught a breather thanks to the reinforcements of 450 warriors he hadn't anticipated.
The moment had ripened. At last, Liu Yan issued a proclamation.
"Everyone!!!! We're retaking Nanpi!!!"
Liu Yan spoke decisively and immediately drew his sword.
"Wooooooah!!!!"
"Oooooh!!!"
The imperial troops cheered as they grabbed their weapons.
Leading the vanguard were Liu Bei's 450 men, followed by the 3,000 imperial troops Liu Yan had scraped together.
Fate Point Acquisition Opportunity
'Ah. So this got implemented too.' It was one of the fun mechanics in this game. If the protagonist intervened in famous events from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, you'd earn Fate Points—a special currency that only existed in the Status Window.
The uses were incredibly varied.
You could get them from popping into the Turbans' healing miracle event or intervening when Zhang Kai under Tao Qian kills Cao Cao's father.
'This event too.' It was the impactful opening incident where Liu Bei got his first kill score in the Three Kingdoms storyline. Being there made Fate Points available.
So what do you spend Fate Points on?
In the game, you could use them on absolutely unbreakable choice branches to pick the one you wanted.
Or, in a cruder sense, on seducing women. Heh heh.
'I even posted a Fate Point guide online...' Man, memories. But the game was already a dead game by then, so it got no traction. Yeah. Zero newbies. Sad times....
As those thoughts swirled, Zhang Fei's pottery-shattering voice snapped me back to reality.
"Bro! Ain't this just makin' us arrow fodder?" Zhang Fei bellowed openly, venting his frustration.
Ah. That was the exact doubt I'd been harboring, and Zhang Fei had blurted it out refreshingly. Speaks his mind! Zhang Cola!
"Hmph. Brother, you know one but not two." Liu Bei replied benevolently.
Thanks to the bulk armor Zhang Shiping had bought, Liu Bei was finally clad in a breastplate and shoulder guards. He was starting to look like a proper military leader.
"It means Lord Liu trusts us that much, right?" Liu Bei added.
That made Liu Bei sound like a total saint, but I suspected a different angle.
"Zhang bro, nah. Being vanguard means we get the shot at racking up merits. Lord Liu Bei here plans to skyrocket his fame." I jumped in with the explanation.
Liu Bei had probably accepted the vanguard role for that reason. Liu Yan's generals weren't up to much; Cui Zhen was the only competent commander type, but he wasn't one to step up.
The chance to take heads like Zhang Yuanzi's belonged to Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei... and me, with a little assist.
"O!!! That's it!!!" Zhang Fei lit up with instant understanding.
"Heh. As expected of Brother Liu Bei. He plans to soar to the heavens on this chance." Guan Yu smiled brightly.
"Kim. Let's all give it our all!" Then Guan Yu turned to me and said.
"Hmmm...." Zhang Fei watched, then piped up abruptly.
"Our Guan sis always looks at Kim and says one extra line no matter what." Zhang Fei pointed out.
"Gr... What're you talking about! N-not really..." Guan Yu flushed red.
"Kim. Let's all give it our all." Zhang Fei mimicked Guan Yu's clear voice perfectly.
"Yide!!!! Stop teasing your sis!!" Guan Yu lunged to grab Zhang Fei, who dodged nimbly on horseback with some sway moves. The two were having a blast.
Anyway, riding high on confidence from our first win, we marched on Nanpi without much tension.
A massive yellow banner of unknown origin hung from Nanpi's walls.
"Alright!!! Let's show these filthy Yellow Turbans the might of the imperial house!!!" Liu Yan roared and gave orders.
Clank. Snap.
We formed a basic defensive formation and surrounded the castle.
Clop clop.
Liu Bei had that superstar vibe. As if sensing his moment, he instantly drew his bow and spurred his horse forward.
Snap.
He nocked a composite bow... but the arrow wasn't normal. It was a fire arrow.
Whoosh!!
Liu Bei's shot sent a firebird-like arrow blazing toward the yellow banner on Nanpi's walls, setting it ablaze.
"Come out, you Yellow Turban scum!!! This Liu Bei will cut you all down!!" Liu Bei let out a chilling shout worthy of a Takhyeon straw mat boss. His voice was so loud his huge earlobes quivered.
Liu Bei's earlobe peak.... Rare sight. I wanna touch those earlobes.
"Ram it with the battering ram!!!" Liu Yan bellowed, ordering his men to clear a path.
Rumble!!!
The battering ram charged powerfully at the walls.
Liu Yan had come prepared for siege warfare, even bringing a siege tower on wheels. It followed slowly behind the ram.
In movies, dozens of siege towers blanket the walls at once.... Yeah, that's for massive battles. In a skirmish like this, even one was a blessing.
"Waaaaah!!!" Our vanguard charged straight for the gates on horseback.
Luckily, Nanpi's entrance was half-smashed. They'd just propped up a few logs against the wrecked gate.
I figured out why quick enough.
'The Yellow Turbans smashed the gate taking Nanpi and never bothered fixing it.' That negligence would cost them.
The gate defenders shuffled nervously. One death, and they'd bolt.
"Argh!! Charge!!! If we don't, Zhang Yuanzi'll beat us dead!!!"
"You know the boss's temper!!"
"Hold!!"
Shouts from behind made the Yellow Turbans grit their teeth and form a spear wall.
Spears at 45 degrees to halt cavalry—a basic anti-cavalry tactic. Damn effective.
Japan proved it over 200 years of melee. In the Sengoku era, even ashigaru repelled hordes of horse. Infantry sometimes got favorable exchanges.
'Horses are cowards.' Super sensitive; they balk at shallow water or big obstacles, veering sharp. Only blindfolded or elite-trained mounts charge spear walls bravely.
Normal horses, anyway.
"Go!! This is your stage!! Rampage!!!" I kicked my horse's belly hard and rolled off.
"Hiiihihihing!!!"
My mount neighed in fury, bucked me off, and barreled into the spear wall's center. Spear tips? Zero fear.
Disqualified as warhorse. But A+ as fighter.
Hold spears steady against a charging horse? No sane human stays calm. Car barreling at you? Dodge. Wouldn't you?
"Gaaah?!"
In the chicken game, Yellow Turbans flinched first. That dodge was their last act.
Splat!!
The horse racked up roadkill kills.
"C-crazy horse...!"
"Puhek!!"
Chaos erupted.
My job was elsewhere.
"Kkkiyaaaak!!!!"
I bellowed to psych myself up and sprinted madly for the gate.
"Hup...." One lucky bastard dodged the horse and fumbled his spear—too late.
Splurt!!
My trusty Eastern Sword slashed deep across his neck.
Grooooan!!
Then I shoved inward, flinging the half-intact gate wide. Securing the cavalry entry.
"Everyone, come on!!" I yelled, waving them in.
"Charge!!!!!!"
100 volunteer cavalry led by the volunteers, plus 300 infantry, poured through like mad.
"Inside!!!"
The 3,000 imperial troops followed.
We entered Nanpi way too easily. Yellow Turbans' poor supplies meant no arrow barrages. That helped.
Nanpi's streets were a nightmare of carnage. Civilian corpses littered everywhere. The Turbans had killed anyone they didn't like on sight. Looted and slaughtered. They'd turned Nanpi into hell.
'Just bandits....' Later views romanticized them as revolutionaries against Han corruption, but isekai'd into this Three Kingdoms world? Total bullshit.
Opportunistic killers, nothing more. Straight-up apocalypse raiders.
Twaaaang! Clang!! Stab!!
Skirmishes broke out between our advancing forces and scattered Yellow Turbans.
Leave that to them....
"Lord Liu Bei!! Lady Guan!! Lord Yide!! Let's take Zhang Yuanzi!!" I called my Peach Boyz 'n' Girlz.
Killing grunts here would just drag it out. Needed the boss's head.
"Mm!!! Just as you say!!" Horses were inefficient in Nanpi's tight streets. Guan Yu dismounted swiftly.
Splitting a Turban in half with her Green Dragon Crescent Blade on landing? Bonus.
"Hah!!! Nice!!!" Zhang Fei hopped off, skewering a Turban clean with his Zhangba Snake Spear.
"As he says!! Everyone, cover Kim Gong!!" Liu Bei nodded, blocking a leaping grunt's attack with his dual swords, then gutting another.
Solid party. We headed straight for where Zhang Yuanzi likely was.