Guan Yu's Crescent Blade Claims Hua Xiong
The defeat report arrived before the warmed wine had even cooled.
"G-General Bao Zhong... was slain in a single exchange!!" a soldier cried out, his face drained of color.
"My brother, a man worth ten thousand...!" Yuan Shao's face hardened instantly. Bao Zhong was a notable talent in the north, and now he was gone just like that.
The atmosphere turned icy in a flash.
'Bao Zhong wasn't weak by any means... but he couldn't beat Hua Xiong's trait.' That was the pity of it.
Hua Xiong had a unique trait all his own.
Effect: Grants bonuses to stats and proficiency against enemies with lower levels. Deals an additional 10% damage to those weaker than you.
It was a trait that gave overwhelming superiority against anyone weaker. Thanks to it, Hua Xiong had a sneaky reputation as a noob-killer. At this point in the game, most players were around level 10, while Hua Xiong sat at 20. His Chicken-Slayer Sword made him dominate users.
Lots of players had charged in blindly, only to get the Bao Zhong ending and quit the game...
That said, Hua Xiong's hard counter was anyone higher level than him. Against them, he surprisingly couldn't fight back and went down easy.
Anyway.
"..." Sun Jian was making it blatantly obvious he wanted to step up, but Yuan Shao's side deliberately ignored him.
"Who will step forward to claim Hua Xiong's head?" Finally, unable to stand it, Cao Cao spoke up.
Tap.
I lightly tapped the back of Guan Yu's hand.
"This Guan Yun-chang will go and sever Hua Xiong's head." Guan Yu glanced at me with a bright smile, then grabbed her Green Dragon Crescent Blade and bellowed.
'Guan Yu... you've hit level 35.' Key NPCs scaled up in certain scenarios. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Liu Bei, and the rest all got that boost, jacking their levels sky-high.
Considering how players had to pull all sorts of bullshit to level up, it was a setup that made you feel utterly pathetic. The game followed the Red Queen's race from start to finish—you had to go all out just to keep up with the insane growth of surrounding NPCs. That was probably why it bombed.
In the end, handing it to Guan Yu was the right call.
"Oh, a face I haven't seen before." Yuan Shao eyed Guan Yu with a smile.
"What's your rank?" True to his obsession with hierarchy, he went straight for her position.
"...Master Archer." Guan Yu stated her lowly non-commissioned officer rank. It was a bit shabby—basically a junior NCO under Liu Bei in the plains army.
"Tch!! You think a mere master archer can mock us?!" Yuan Shao exploded in anger.
"..." Guan Yu's expression stiffened slightly.
"If I fail to behead Hua Xiong, you may take my head by military law." But Guan Yu, a woman who lived and died by her pride, laid down the gauntlet with majestic flair.
"...When someone shows this much courage, how can we not cheer them on?" At that moment, Cao Cao stepped in with a laugh, lightening the mood.
"Come, a cup of hot wine to honor this hero's burning spirit. Have one before you go." Cao Cao filled a horn cup with warmed wine and offered it to Guan Yu.
Guan Yu eyed it with a hint of disdain, then shook her head.
"I'll be back before the wine cools." With her signature line, she mounted up.
Clop clop!!!
And without another word, she kicked open the gates and charged out.
Even in this world where Guan Yu was genderbent, this scene hit all the Three Kingdoms highs just right.
I figured I'd watch the duel up close and headed to the walls.
Clop clop!!
Guan Yu spurred her horse straight at Hua Xiong like a madwoman.
"Ha!! Another small fry!" Hua Xiong laughed, raising his spear.
"What's your name? You're pretty enough!! I'll take you captive and make you my concubine!!" Hua Xiong chuckled, swinging his spear through the air.
"Why ask my name when you're about to die anyway?" Guan Yu replied in an arrogant tone, hefting her Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
Then the horses collided head-on.
"Ooh...!!" As a Three Kingdoms fan, I couldn't miss a live duel!!
In the instant they crossed.
Shwaaaaaack!!!!
Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade traced a clean arc—but only for a moment. Hua Xiong's waist was cleanly bisected, his body split in two.
Spluuuurt!!
His severed upper half tumbled across the ground in a flash. His lower half, slung sideways on the horse, flopped briefly before spilling guts and collapsing.
Clop.
Guan Yu rode leisurely through Sishui Pass's gates.
"Sis!! That was awesome!!" Seeing it live had me hyped as hell.
"Hehe, y-yeah?" Guan Yu stroked her hair, smiling slyly like she loved the praise.
Perfect timing. Right before facing Hua Xiong, that's what Guan Yu had thought.
She'd spent the whole day feeling glum after catching Kim and Bu Yong-hwa tangled up.
Bu Yong-hwa had even flashed a triumphant smile at Guan Yu peeking in. Their eyes met dead-on.
It screamed 'I claimed this man's first.' That female victory glow on Bu Yong-hwa's face was irresistibly alluring, even to another woman like Guan Yu.
Am I just going to be Kim's second? But I met him first... Those thoughts had kept her tossing and turning all night.
In that mood, she wanted to cut loose. Hard.
That's why she'd thrown everything into charging Hua Xiong.
Bu Yong-hwa's smug face had overlaid with his in her mind.
With killing intent like she was beheading Bu Yong-hwa, her Green Dragon Crescent Blade swung mercilessly—overwhelming.
"Guh...!" Even Hua Xiong, who'd danced with death his whole life, froze in instinctive terror.
The shiver of facing a superior predator—that was his final emotion before death.
They say time slows before you die. Hua Xiong overheard Guan Yu's mutter.
"Bu Yong-hwa, you bitch."
He didn't get it.
'Who's Bu Yong-hwa?' That unanswered question was his de facto last words.
Hua Xiong died without ever knowing who Bu Yong-hwa was.
'Damn... he's too damn handsome for no reason.' Heading back after beheading him, Guan Yu stared openly at Kim's face. She resented him for marrying without a word to his "big sis," but seeing him melted her anger. Self-aware of her own simplicity, she felt a twinge of self-loathing.
Gulp. Gulp.
Guan Yu downed the kept-warm wine in a huff.
"Hic." With a light hiccup, she returned to Kim's side. He watched her hiccupping self with an adoring gaze.
'That's why you shouldn't look at me with that handsome face...!' Already head over heels for Kim, Guan Yu only amplified her tangled feelings staring back.
Hua Xiong's death as vanguard threw the Xiliang troops into instant chaos. Even elite Xiliang riders couldn't shrug off losing their leader—morale plummeted.
"Now's the time!!!! Charge with the soldiers!!" Sun Jian, who'd been eyeing Yuan Shao, finally snapped and drew his sword.
"Yes!! Everyone, lead your armies and drive out those Xiliang bastards!!" The other lords stumbled to their feet, rallying their troops.
"Let's gooooo!!!!"
The whole coalition surged forward at once.
Yeah. Enough drinking. We came armored up—time to work.
"Kim Gong!! Yide!! Yun-chang!! Let's lead the soldiers too!" Liu Bei hurried to mount up. Prime time for merits; had to hustle.
Everyone smashed into Sishui Pass like a blitz.
"Hyun-deok-gong. Mind if I take a detachment for independent action?" I asked Liu Bei amid the rush.
To max rewards from this Anti-Dong Zhuo coalition...
I needed to boost affinity with one key person.
'First, raise Sun Jian's favor.' Later, when Sun Jian's army hits burning Luoyang first, I'd need ties to snag the imperial seal and loot amid the flames.
Starting from zero favor raw would suck, but after the last battle with the Guangzong Yellow Turbans, I'd already impressed him. Base favor wasn't bad. A bit more, and it'd hit friendly.
Plus, Sun Jian was easy to grind favor with. Fight beside him, kill enemies—favor ticks up. Suited his warrior-worshipping personality.
'And tagging with Sun Jian nets more EXP. He fights nonstop.' Multiple gains from one move. Gamer mindset.
"I trust your judgment, Kim Gong. Go." Liu Bei approved readily—our detachments had paid off before.
Perfect. Leave main force to Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei. I'd stick with Sun Jian.
"Gwang Yeom!! Chun Seol!! Bukno-in!! Gu Ryeok-go!! Follow me!!" I called my Kim Squad.
Maybe Gu Ryeok-go's training worked—they formed ranks and trailed us sharper than last time.
"Wooooaaargh!!!!" The volunteer army's mad charge on Sishui Pass was straight-up epic.
Sun Jian's men led the pack—the gap between rearguard and vanguard was a full day's march.
"Tiger of Jiangdong!!! Taste the blade of Sun Wen-tai!!" Sun Jian rampaged wildly, blazing the trail.
"Guh... strong...!" "Fuck..." Even the berserk Xiliang troops buckled under his ferocious momentum, retreating one-sidedly.
"Father!!!! We'll take Sishui Pass's gates first like this!!!!" Beside him, young Sun Ce matched pace despite his age, slashing foes like a maniac.
No weaklings under a great general. Sun Jian's Jiangdong troops were insanely tough too.
'Truth is, Sun Jian carried the whole Anti-Dong Zhuo coalition.' Early Three Kingdoms? Sun Jian was top dog, annals and novel alike. Insane feats here.
To horn in, I raced the battlefield like mad. Matching Sun Jian's pace was brutal.
He was first in, killing the most.
Xiliang grunts pissed themselves at his red helm alone.
Sun Jian's one-sided rampage hit a wall in seconds.
Clop clop!!!!
Two massive warhorses—each the size of two grown men—thundered across the center.
The horses were scary, but the real threat: a battle chariot bristling with blades everywhere.
Splaaaatttt!!!
Lead Jiangdong soldiers got shredded by the weapon-studded ride. Hit or trampled? Dead.
Halt.
The freak chariot halted the vanguard cold.
There he was, as expected.
"Uahaha!! Rookies!!! Sorry for crashing the fun!!!" A hulking brute on the chariot bellowed laughter, grabbing a hand axe.
Dong Zhuo's fierce general, Hu Zhen. They'd rushed reinforcements already.
"Hmph. Got boring—perfect." Sun Jian grinned, drawing his blood-and-flesh-caked sword.
"Father!!! I'll fight with you!!" Sun Jian, true Jiangdong tiger, showed no fear and took stance.
'Thanks, Hu Zhen.' Him blocking let me finally catch Sun Jian.
Sun Jian vs. Hu Zhen turns into a brutal slugfest. Jump in, rack merits—Sun Jian's favor skyrockets. That was my window.
Waiting at an angle for their clash—timing the insert was key. Philosophy there.
But.
"Hey!! You, curly-head!!! You!! Your name's Kim, right!!!" Suddenly Hu Zhen locked eyes on me from afar, veins bulging.
What? Spotting me mid-melee? Battlefield's packed!
Hu Zhen pinpointed me instantly.
"I'll kill you with these hands myself!!!!" Then he whipped the chariot straight at me!! Ignoring Sun Jian completely. Brainless straight-line charge.
Fuck! What the hell?!
Stick to the game script in this game world!! Why throw curveballs?! This twist wasn't in the game!!