Yellow Turban Raid (3): "This Bastard Thinks He Can Just Stare Me Down..."
"This bastard thinks he can just stare me down..."
Seo Yeong clicked his tongue and picked up his club. Including him, there were five Western Liang soldiers in total.
'Honestly, 1v5 is gonna be rough.'
They'd called them the scraps robbed by the Yellow Turbans, but the Western Liang soldiers weren't pushovers. In fact, their gear was way better than the Yellow Turbans'.
'And Seo Yeong.'
He was a pretty strong general in the game. Especially early on. At this point in the timeline, his level was around 10. Same as me. Fighting him one-on-one would already be a tough matchup. Throw in four grunts, and it was a total nightmare.
But behind me were Bu Yong-hwa and Sun Quan. I didn't know their intentions, but there was this one girl who'd said it was a good day to fight, and a little girl. With kids like that at my back, there was no way I could back down without looking like a punk.
Shing.
I drew my sword and took my stance.
'But... can I even fight them?'
Honestly, it was a bit lame, but the doubt crept in. No matter how much of a mess these guys were, they were still imperial troops. Fighting the imperial army wouldn't get my head chopped off or anything?
But... I wasn't alone.
"......"
The Western Liang soldiers and Seo Yeong seemed to be thinking the same thing. Their faces were full of is this really happening?
Okay. So we all just glare at each other and kill some time like this? A silent agreement formed among the guys. Someone's bound to step in and stop us...!
Maybe our desperate wish reached the heavens. A man in a sharp military uniform burst out from the distance.
"What in the hell are you doing!!"
A stern guy who looked like a grizzled sergeant major bellowed.
'Ah, Huangfu Song.'
He was currently in charge of the operation alongside Zhu Jun.
"It's good to blow off some steam before a big battle, but drawing blades?! You are soldiers!!! Don't act so recklessly!!"
Huangfu Song stated it flat out. With the general saying that, there was nothing we could do. We all sheathed our weapons and shot awkward glares at each other.
"......You're asking for it."
Seo Yeong muttered bitterly.
"Yeah. I'm gunning for you too."
It was the classic tough-guy face-saving exchange between men who never really planned to fight in the first place. Standard WWE stuff. Seo Yeong spat on the ground and led his Western Liang soldiers away.
"Boss. But the lord said we have to bring that guy back..."
"No. What the hell are we supposed to do?"
The Western Liang soldiers whispered worriedly among themselves, but it wasn't my problem.
Once the situation wrapped up, I turned to Bu Yong-hwa and Sun Quan.
"Gaga...!! That was so cool!"
Bu Yong-hwa's eyes sparkled like hearts.
"Um... th-thank you..."
Sun Quan fidgeted before blurting it out.
"Thanks, mister."
She was just shy, but she didn't seem like a bad kid.
"Sure."
I smiled and ruffled Sun Quan's hair, and a weird "Hyah!" squeak escaped her lips. Like a cute little animal.
"Mister. Your name's Kim, right? Weird name."
After a good long pat, Sun Quan finally warmed up.
"Yeah. I'm from a foreign tribe."
I shrugged casually.
"......Let's play again sometime."
Sun Quan said it all tsundere-like. Ah, it was getting late—dinnertime. She probably needed to head back to her father soon.
"Yeah."
If we got the chance to meet again, that is.
------
Meanwhile, Seo Yeong and his empty-handed Western Liang soldiers had no choice but to face Dong Zhuo's physical wrath.
"You worthless shit!!! Can't even bring back one damn guy?! Huh?!"
Taking the one-sided beating, Seo Yeong swallowed his rage inwardly. Normally, he'd be furious at Dong Zhuo for this injustice, but as someone who admired Dong Zhuo, that anger had nowhere to go but toward Kim.
Without Kim even knowing, Seo Yeong marked him as an enemy for life.
--------
Time passed, and the imperial army finished reorganizing before marching on Guangzong. It was the finale of the stubborn rebellion that had dragged from spring into summer.
Honestly, the Yellow Turbans holed up in Guangzong under Governor Ji were in a total no-win spot. Zhang Jiao, the leader and the one holding the city, knew he had to do something.
Standing on the platform, Zhang Jiao gazed at his followers. He could easily imagine the anxiety and fear etched on their faces.
"What is there to fear?"
Zhang Jiao spoke sternly, then approached the roaring brazier.
And without a word, he plunged his hand into the blazing flames.
WHOOSH!!
The brazier's flames surged like they were devouring Zhang Jiao's arm.
"Ooh......!"
All the Yellow Turbans watched with worried expressions. Yet Zhang Jiao's body remained unburnt.
Awestruck by his divine power, they erupted in cheers.
"Heaven's mandate is with us!!!! Do not doubt the will of the heavens!!!"
Zhang Jiao declared firmly, sweeping away all doubts.
"Woooaaarrrghhh!!!!!"
The sight ignited cheers from the crowd. The Yellow Turbans can do anything!!! We can do anything!!! They all shifted into that mode, clinging to extreme optimism.
"......"
Zhang Jiao struggled to maintain a stern face as he watched them. Of course, there was no real magic or sorcery in this era. What he'd shown was just a magician's trick.
The Taiping Yaoshu was a book packed with sleight-of-hand and gimmicks like that. Mixed in with practical medicine, herbal remedies, and natural strengthening techniques. Just dressed up with some Taoist flair.
He claimed heaven's mandate was his, but it was just an agenda he'd set himself. There was no heavenly mandate anywhere. The heavens, as always, were indifferent to mankind.
'What should I do?'
He knew he was a fraud, but Zhang Jiao looked to the sky, searching for a mandate that didn't exist.
---------
March. March.
Maybe it was because Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun's elite forces had arrived. The imperial army advanced on Guangzong in perfect formation.
No encirclement strategy or anything. They had the overwhelming advantage in numbers and quality, so the plan was to smash straight through and take Zhang Jiao's head.
Let's all beat the crap out of the enemy together like good buddies. That was the justification, but really, it was a competition. Everyone wanted to rack up merits here. Especially with the enemy leader Zhang Jiao in play. Whoever took him down was guaranteed a huge reward.
"Kim. Let's do this!! This is our chance to become heroes!"
Guan Yu grinned, sticking close to my side.
"Man. Never thought we'd be thrown into the battle for Zhang Jiao. We're moving up in the world."
Zhang Fei chuckled "ehehehe," not hiding his excitement.
Yeah. The classic underdog villagers banding together to become heroes. Delicious plotline. The other volunteer soldiers in Liu Bei's army were buzzing with anticipation, hooked on that trope.
'Even if we rack up merits here, it's just county magistrate at best.'
Knowing real history, I couldn't help but feel a pang. But whatever, Liu Bei's crew was just a stepping stone anyway. What I really needed to focus on was something else.
'The Battle of Guangzong. Worth joining no matter what.'
Whether you were born on the Yellow Turban side or not, heading to Guangzong for this fight was key.
It was all for this item.
Common book. Slightly boosts medical knowledge and stamina upon reading.
Its true value lay elsewhere. In this game, taking it to a special NPC that only spawns in certain places got you a reward. Especially huge for sword-main players.
You learned the Taiji Unity Sword.
Reason enough to grab those busted passives. Mastering this made the game way easier. The parry and i-frame buffs were huge in practice. Tight fights suddenly felt breezy.
But the active skills you got on mastery were killer too. Practical moves with real combat utility. Plus, they were flashy wuxia-style techniques that were just fun to watch.
Ways to get it were all over the place, true to this shit game's design. You could infiltrate the Yellow Turbans and steal it from under Zhang Jiao. But joining them was hard mode itself, so the recommended route was crashing the imperial Guangzong subjugation as an outsider.
'Perfect chance.'
Snag the Taiping Yaoshu on the sly, then roam around Beiping and Dongwu near Ugil's first spawn to hand it over and learn the technique.
Having sunk my life into this game, I knew exactly where it was: in a small chest behind the chair in the fortress where Zhang Jiao was holed up.
'Sneak in, grab it quick via the shortest path.'
Everyone around would be busy fighting Yellow Turbans. Slip away for solo action in the meantime.
But I'd overlooked something. Maybe I'd been going solo too much lately. Guan Yu's overprotective side had awakened.
"Kim. Stick by my side. You always go off alone at the drop of a hat."
Guan Yu's hawk-like gaze refused to leave me. Her usual gentle eyes were locked on, unblinking.
Dodging that stare to act would look way too sus.
No choice. Time to recruit her instead.
"Sis. Let's form a detachment together and take Zhang Jiao in one shot."
Can't shake Guan Yu? Then team up with her.
"Really... You can't just do that."
Guan Yu scolded me gently.
"This is our shot at merits. If we volunteer soldiers just fight safely here, we'll get buried under everyone else. We need to snag Zhang Jiao's head for sure to give our volunteers some prestige."
I immediately stroked her competitive fire. Guan Yu was a hidden battle maniac, after all.
"Hm... You're right."
Guan Yu nodded, convinced.
"We can leave this to Zhang Fei and Brother. Yeah. Let's go."
Guan Yu glanced at Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, then drew her Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
"Let's move."
Guan Yu gave the signal with her eyes. And so, once the battle kicked off, Kim and Guan Yu would carve a path straight to Zhang Jiao.