Luoyang Farming (3)
She'd destroyed the Imperial Seal and snagged that ridiculous cheat perk too. Sure, she could celebrate by grinning like an idiot, but this was a game made by hardcore Romance of the Three Kingdoms fans.
Thinking about the story's flow, there was one more thing she had to do here.
'The Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition... Yuan Shao's already got his spies scattered among the rank-and-file.'
The ambitious warlords had eyes and ears everywhere to keep each other in check. That was the shady side of the Yuan clan's cunning.
Yuan Shao, indeed. Worthy of being called Cao Cao's greatest mid-game rival in life. A schemer perfectly suited to chaotic times.
Originally, if Sun Jian had picked up the seal, word would reach Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's ears.
And the scene of her smashing it? One of Yuan Shao's spies was watching from nearby, per the setup.
If that got back to him, things would get messy.
So, she'd handle it the chaotic era way. East or west, ancient or modern, dead men tell no tales. What else could she do? Quietly dunk the body.
Shing.
She drew her sword and headed straight for Yuan Shao's spy without hesitation.
'Th-that's... the State Seal...'
The Yuan Shao soldier trembled behind a crumbled building, watching Kim's every move.
It was already huge news that a famed general from the coalition had joined Sun Jian in Luoyang. And now he'd found the seal? Mind-blowing.
Like the damn protagonist of the world, poking his nose into everything major.
But what came next was even more shocking.
Clang!!
He cleaved the seal cleanly in two with his sword.
'That blasphemous bastard...!'
The spy gulped, burning the sight into his memory.
'Barbarian through and through... So irreverent.'
Anyway, this was prime blackmail material.
She could pin it on Sun Jian too, since they'd worked together. He'd been Yuan Shu's thug, but lately he was clawing for his own power base.
'Or... he's with Liu Bei, right? Could dump it on him.'
Yuan Shao lacked one thing compared to Yuan Shu: "mercenaries" to handle his dirty work.
Yuan Shu had long manipulated Sun Jian for the nasty jobs, but Yuan Shao didn't have that yet.
Using Liu Bei—background weak enough to climb via him, but strong in arms—wasn't a bad play. Snag him from Gongsun Zan to weaken the guy too.
Whatever. That was for the coalition head, Yuan Shao, to decide.
'Gotta report this to the lord in detail...'
As the spy slunk away, hiding his presence—
Kkkiyaaaak...!
A scream echoed from afar.
Bird? Elk? Fleeting thoughts, but as it grew closer, the spy gripped his sword hilt.
"KKKIYAAAACK!!!"
Kim charged like a maniac, wild black hair flying, sword raised high.
"W-wait...!"
How'd he spot me? A brief doubt, but the spy was a veteran operative. Countless missions under his belt.
Sword half-drawn, he whipped out a poisoned dart and hurled it.
———
'Found you.'
Normally, you'd need stealth stats to detect him. But this idiot spy always scouted from the exact same spot every playthrough.
Know the position, and bam—easy pickings.
Shiiiing!!
The pattern was identical: feint a draw, chuck the poisoned dart.
Tricky to parry, and if it hit, nerve toxin caused periodic stuns. Annoying as hell.
She just took it, dodging vitals.
Thuk.
Most darts bounced off her armor; the rest stuck in her shoulder and arm.
Needle-thin, so no real pain. Built for debuffs anyway.
Sneer.
The spy smirked, going for his sword.
Nerve toxin? No way she'd fight properly. His logic.
But she already had Immovable Mind.
Originally just cleared mental debuffs, but a dev bug made it wipe physical ones too. The ultimate cheat trait.
Nerve Toxin
The message flashed over her status window, but vanished seconds later. Immovable Mind kicked in.
"Sh-it...!"
Seeing her charge unfazed despite the hits, the spy's face twisted in panic.
Distance closed, she swung her sword in a massive vertical arc.
Spluuurt!!
Before he could draw, her blade split his shoulder open.
"Gaaargh!!!"
He collapsed, half his body gone, bleeding out in a scream.
"Hoo."
No way this tale reached Yuan Shao. He'd suspect his pet spy's death here, but couldn't probe openly—admitting he had spies everywhere.
"Hup."
She dragged the mangled corpse to the burning ruins.
Whoosh.
Tossed it into the flames. Corpses littered the place anyway. One more charred body? Nothing suspicious.
———
Basking in that hitman satisfaction of a job well done, she mentally high-fived herself.
"Kim. We're back."
"...Th-this enough...?"
Guan Yu and Chun Seol joined, arms full of bulging sacks.
"Ooh."
She couldn't help but gawk. Once they started looting, they went hard.
"Plundering the Han imperial house doesn't sit right with me..."
Guan Yu still seemed uneasy.
"Sis, we're using it to drive out the Han traitors. The owners would approve."
She'd prepped that rationalization line.
Affinity with Guan Yu adjusted
Persuasion: 45
Persuasion: 46 (UP!)
Guan Yu bought the persuasive pitch.
"Fine. It's not for personal gain."
Guan Yu had scraped up jewelry—gold, rubies, agates, jade. Sell it later? Big bucks.
"I-I got some too..."
Chun Seol shyly opened her bundle like a kid showing homework.
Similar high-value loot, but curated differently.
"Chun Seol, you've got talent."
This girl was a looting prodigy. Light weight, max value—peak cost-performance picks, packed tight.
"Ehehehe..."
Chun Seol beamed. Thief material, through and through.
And... she'd nabbed the artifact they wanted.
A double-edged longsword with a gleaming blue edge.
Nam Un Geom, a god-tier weapon for mid-to-late game.
Not era-accurate for curved Han swords. More Western longsword vibes.
'Parody of a certain game's legendary blade... Wielded by that green-clad hero.'
Grabbing it pulled up the specs.
Longsword
Damage: 50~68
Weapon Skill: Coiling Dragon Stance
When sheathed (non-combat), blade durability slowly recovers.
Base damage alone crushed her current Eastern sword.
The cheat? Sheathe it, do other stuff—durability ticks up. No maintenance needed. Insane.
Anyway.
"Chun Seol, where'd you snag this?"
Hidden in a grave, tough to find.
"Oh... Just rummaging around."
She giggled.
From that spot? What eyesight. Perfect for a rogue.
'More capable than I thought.'
Post-independence, treasure hunter gig for her? Worry-free.
"Sis, mind if I take this?"
She eyed Guan Yu. Shared the grind—no solo hogging.
"Heh. Take it, Kim."
Guan Yu smiled warmly, ruffling her hair vigorously.
"That cute face like you got your favorite toy? Can't steal it now."
She pinched and stretched Kim's cheeks like a doting mom with a kid.
Ah. Too obvious she wanted it.
Whatever. Nam Un Geom was that broken. Early-game grab during the coalition too.
Spec-wise, behind Cao Cao's Sword of Heaven, hard-to-get Seven Star Blade, Qinggang Sword. But acquisition ease? Nam Un Geom wins.
With this, the game got way easier. Tough foes? Beat 'em down.
Mission accomplished here.
"Hm. Kim Gong."
Sun Jian's crew gathered post-search: Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, Zhu Tong, Sun Jian himself—exhausted.
Looked like they'd buried what bodies they could.
And... their sacks bulged too. Looting spree, just like hers.
'Feels good, like kindred spirits.'
Sun Jian built his force slaughtering anti-Yuan Shu clans, looting their wealth.
The noble Jiangdong Tiger's dirty backstory.
"Ha. You guys were busy too."
Sun Jian grinned at their hauls, like spotting family.
"For the Han cause, right? Military funds. Can't go wrong."
Reused the fresh rationalization.
"UHAHAHA!!! I like you!!"
Sun Jian roared, slapping her shoulder. Looting ruins together forged instant bro vibes.
"...Bootlicking our lord already... Sly fox."
Huang Gai eyed her warily. Why the hate?
Anyway, jobs done. Just wait for the warlords to roll into smoldering Luoyang.
'They all mourn the ruins together, bam—Fate Point drop.'
Fate Point #1 incoming.
Sun Jian laughed carefree, but it left her oddly melancholic.
'Sun Jian without the seal...'
Considering his canon doom from grabbing it here, she'd basically saved him.
———
Meanwhile, at the distant Liu Bei camp.
'Mmm...'
Left in the tent, Sun Quan dreamed something inexplicable.
Her father Sun Jian held a pretty rainbow-glowing stone.
His usual bold self, but staring at it with a scary face—even to her.
Behind him, sad-faced big bro Sun Ce and herself.
Monsters lunged from all sides for the stone. Sun Jian fought sword-out, but wounds piled up, blood everywhere.
'Dad...'
As Sun Quan desperately called in the dream—
"Kkkiyaaaak!!"
That general from playtime, Kim, burst in and shattered the stone with his sword.
The monsters vanished without trace.
Sun Quan jolted awake, drenched in sweat.
'Kim...'
Whatever it meant, Kim had saved her in the dream. Recalling his pretty but dopey smile, her cheeks flushed a bit.