Finally Meeting the Heroes (3)
Our group watched Lu Zhi's exile procession with our own eyes. If I had to put it in a somewhat cinematic way, it would've been something like 'Liu Bei's Adventure: The Movie – Farewell, Teacher Lu Zhi'.
"Hah. So just offer some bribes and bend a little to get by."
Dong Tak said it with a bored expression.
"......!"
Liu Bei flashed an angry look at those words and reached for his sword hilt.
Whoa, Liu Bei? Can't hold it in?
I tensed up with that thought for a moment, but Liu Bei quickly regained his gentle smile. There was plenty he wanted to say to Dong Tak, but he held back. His patience really was top-notch.
"Hmph."
Dong Tak glanced at Liu Bei like he was boring, then clapped his hands.
"Alright, let's wrap up things here at Guangzong and come up with a plan to crush Guangzong!"
Dong Tak grinned as he spoke. He'd gathered the other generals from the imperial army, but he was acting like the full boss, legs crossed and all. They all looked a bit annoyed, but what could they do? Dong Tak was the Northern Zhonglang General right now—the overall commander of the front lines here at Guangzong.
"It's about summer now, right? The farmers need to start prepping for the autumn harvest. Yeah? So let's sweep away those Yellow Turban pests first."
Dong Tak slammed his fist down on the crudely drawn map of his plump palm.
"I hear General Huangfu Song and General Zhu Jun are pushing from the west of Ji Province toward Guangzong. If we wait for them and hit together, even Zhang Jiao won't stand a chance."
Liu Bei spoke in a clear, deliberate tone.
Classic Liu Bei.
The ultimate battlefield situation reader in the Three Kingdoms world. It hadn't been long since he met Dong Tak, but he'd already seen through that Dong Tak wasn't all that competent when it came to actual fighting.
In real history, Dong Tak shits the bed big time during the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
He'd greased the Ten Attendants with bribes to get his position, but even they couldn't cover for his shitty performance, and he got demoted. Then he slunk back to his Xiliang home with his crew.
Follow Dong Tak, and we'll lose too.
Charging around with Xiliang cavalry had its limits. That's why Liu Bei subtly suggested calling in the reliable Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun.
"Hahaha!! As expected of Lord Liu—you're so pure and incorruptible!! No greed for office!! That's why you don't chase ranks, huh!! Uhahat!"
Dong Tak burst into booming hero laughter. A pretty woman laughing like that felt totally off, but since she was a beauty, it somehow worked—that was the cheat code.
"Lord Liu, you won't get ahead like that. You gotta think about taking Zhang Jiao's head first. If we wait for Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun to link up and attack together, we'll just split the credit for chopping his head."
Dong Tak said. A woman with ambition way outstripping her skills.
"Isn't saving the common folk the goal before claiming merits? Soldiers are common folk too. I believe minimizing soldier losses and securing Zhang Jiao's head safely is the right way."
That's when Guan Yu chimed in.
"Hahaha!!! You guys!! You're serious?"
Dong Tak stared at our volunteer army side in amazement.
There was a gulf between us. A lifetime hedonist versus those—even if a bit hypocritical—who lived by benevolence and righteousness. Realist versus idealist.
To Dong Tak, who believed living by desire was justice, our words must've sounded like naive kids' talk.
"You raised a militia to get a piece of the action here, right? Then just follow my lead. Stick with me, and I'll get you a spot. You'll be the hero who ends this mess. Yeah, sure thing!"
Dong Tak chuckled and slapped Liu Bei's shoulder, trying to butter him up. Then he eyed a general next to him who looked like a biker gang thug.
Ah, that must be Hua Xiong. Dong Tak's ace.
Hua Xiong immediately pulled out a mace covered in iron studs.
"I'm the Zhonglang General here. If you don't follow orders, I'll have to invoke military law."
With persuasion failing, Dong Tak went straight to force.
"Tomorrow!! We'll wipe out this Guangzong area in one go and open the path to Guangzong!! Then smash Zhang Jiao in a single stroke!!"
Dong Tak clenched his fist tight.
"To fight well, you gotta rest well!!! So let's eat and drink up today!!"
Dong Tak laughed as he said it.
Long story short, Dong Tak didn't invite us to the feast.
Knowing we were just rankless volunteers, he left us to wait in our tents. He only called Lu Zhi's old aides and the imperial officials.
Should we just crash shamelessly and pig out?
I felt a bit salty, so the thought crossed my mind.
"Let's just barge in and chow down shamelessly. They won't straight-up kick us out."
I pitched it right away.
"Uhahat!!! Yeah!! Let's do it!!! We gotta snag at least a few jars of booze to satisfy!!"
Zhang Fei jumped on board enthusiastically.
"Uhihit."
"Nuhiit."
Zhang Fei and I exchanged hot glances and bonded instantly.
But Liu Bei shook his head and shot it down.
"No need to stir up trouble, and it's best not to hang with that petty type too long."
Liu Bei spoke freely since it was private.
"He's bold and fierce, sure, but that's it. He can't see the big picture and will fuck things up showing off reckless bravery. Better for us to split off and do what we can."
Liu Bei's way of cutting ties.
"Mm. We're volunteers anyway. Let's bide our time, and when Generals Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun join up, that's when we rack up some merits."
Guan Yu seemed to agree.
Night fell, and we camped for the day.
"Gaga. You must be tired from swinging that sword and riding all day. Let me give your shoulders a proper rub."
Bu Yong-hwa smiled brightly and trotted over to me.
"No. Men and women shouldn't sit together after seven."
Bu Yong-hwa chased me one-sidedly, thinking I was great, but getting too close felt like it'd lead to something irreversible. Honestly, with a pretty, curvy beauty pushing like this, I wasn't sure I could keep my cool. Hang out too much, catch feelings, share a bed, and boom—kid on the way. It felt like it'd just flow that way naturally.
"Nu-na."
I called Guan Yu right away.
"Little Bu. Girls bunk with girls. There's girl talk we can't have around boys."
Guan Yu grabbed Bu Yong-hwa's collar and dragged her off.
"Ack!! Gaga...!!"
Bu Yong-hwa twisted to escape Guan Yu's arms, but Guan Yu just hauled her away. Guan Yu's strength was no joke.
In the end, the tent was me, Liu Bei, and Zhang Fei.
"Hm. They gone?"
Zhang Fei checked that Guan Yu and Bu Yong-hwa were out of earshot, then whispered.
"Yeah, seems so. Pull out the dice."
I nodded at Zhang Fei.
"Uhuhut. Let's do it. What about you, brother?"
Zhang Fei rolled out bone-carved dice and looked at Liu Bei.
"You guys really love gambling..."
Liu Bei sighed like he was scolding us but plopped down in the corner and joined the dice game. It was simple—roll and guess even or odd—but drinking with the guys made it fun. We'd gotten hooked, so every camp night was me, Liu Bei, and Zhang Fei dicing till we crashed. Kinda like playing cards on a school trip.
That's how we guys enjoyed our game and dozed off.
The next day, Dong Tak led the troops into a purge of the Yellow Turbans around Guangzong.
Under Liu Bei's orders, we hung back a bit, scouting spots Dong Tak missed and mopping up stragglers. Dishwashing duty, basically, but low-tension work like this was nice sometimes.
Puuk!!
"Khek."
I cleanly sliced the back of a Yellow Turban frantically hauling rice sacks.
"That's ten for me."
The other Yellow Turbans nearby were getting picked off by Liu Bei's men. Dealing with looters in their final frenzy once the battle was lost was easy—they were too busy plundering to watch their backs.
"Thank you!! Thank you!!"
The civilians who'd nearly been kidnapped bowed gratefully to Liu Bei.
"The outpost base over there is safe. Head there first, patch up, and go from there."
Liu Bei then assigned a few volunteers to escort the civilians to the outpost.
Liu Bei focused on civilian aid. Not just saving them and done—he was helping them escape this hell safely.
"Thank you!! Lord Xuande!!"
"When the kid in my belly's born, we'll name him after you for sure!!"
The grubby civilians nodded and joined the escort line.
Liu Bei Army's Reputation +6 (Bonus +3)
Since I was temporarily with them, I could see Liu Bei's faction rep skyrocketing.
Must be Liu Bei's passive.
His trait reflected his nature, boosting favor gains insanely.
Mat of the World's People: Beneficial actions toward commoners increase reputation gains. Charisma bonus against heroes with good alignments.
A trait perfect for rep and favor grinding. Compared to Cao Cao's intrigue success boost or Sun's defensive buffs, it seemed humble. But in a way, it was broken. If Liu Bei set his mind to ruling an area, the locals became die-hard Liu Bei cultists. Factions against him had to go for total annihilation—coaxing or surrender offers wouldn't work. In Liu Bei lands, he was the absolute lord.
Even outside game mechanics, no wonder his rep soars.
I found myself smiling warmly as I watched Liu Bei. He grinned sincerely while adding refugees one by one to the line. Even a jaded modern guy like me felt heartwarmed—what about people back then? They'd be blown away.
I was soaking in the wholesome scene when the status window alarm shattered my mood.
Allied Xiliang Army Reputation has reached -60.
Allied Xiliang Army Reputation has reached total -100. Negative effects impacting allied Liu Bei Army.
Liu Bei Army Reputation -4 due to allied Xiliang Army's misdeeds.
A dizzying barrage of messages. Fuck. What the hell's that bitch Dong Tak doing?