Xuzhou (1): The Blood-Soaked Gates
Heading to Xuzhou like this, swept up by the mood, seemed like a really bad idea at first.
But surprisingly! From a high-risk, high-return perspective, the Xuzhou route wasn't a bad choice.
'Actually, it's better to make a quick stop in Xuzhou.' The reason was simple. You could tackle the collection quest with an annoying grind but massive rewards—finding Zhang Kai's treasure.
There was the hassle of running around the map like a madman collecting clues and doing the chained sub-quests, but the payoff was guaranteed. You got to snag the gold and jewels that Zhang Kai had swallowed up from Cao Cao, no questions asked. And the amount was insane—enough to live without money worries through the mid-to-late game.
'The Qingzhou Soldiers are a nightmare, though... Can't be helped.' Running into one of the game's strongest unit types was brutal in every way, but I'd already resolved to make my living by the sword in this world. I had to suck it up.
Clop. Clop.
It was a quiet, peaceful march, but the expressions of the entire Liu Bei army grew tense by the minute.
Xuzhou was supposed to be a bustling place, yet not a single human voice could be heard.
Swooooosh.
With early winter upon us, a chill wind blew up from below, making everyone's bodies tense instinctively.
'Blood smell.' The stench was several times stronger than any battlefield blood I'd smelled before, echoing from all directions.
As we emerged from the woods, an indescribably horrific sight unfolded across the open field ahead.
Along the riverbank near Xuzhou, corpses were piled up like mountains. Blood gushing from the bodies in spurts was staining the entire river.
"What in the world..." Liu Bei's face hardened in real time upon seeing it. He and his comrades had done their share of gangster work in Dacheng and lived as warlords, seeing all sorts of things, but this scene was beyond horrific.
'So this is the Xuzhou Massacre...' It was like a single frame from a foreign news report on war crimes back in the modern world.
'Horrible.' It was so shocking I nearly let out a kkieek! without thinking. No wonder it went down in history—this level of slaughter. For a moment, I even understood why people like Zhuge Liang or Mi Zhu thought the way they did.
Zhuge Liang, from Xuzhou, got love calls from countless warlords but chose to live as a shut-in. Maybe it was trauma from witnessing this as a kid. Mi Zhu, who got a recruitment offer from Cao Cao, followed Liu Bei instead—probably because of the shock from this scene.
In the game, any unaffiliated warlord from Cao Cao's army who saw the Xuzhou Massacre site would have their affinity for Cao Cao plummet. It was a pretty convincing setup.
'Guan Yu too... maybe.' Sure, Cao Cao had snatched away the woman Diaochan whom she'd promised to protect, souring their relationship, but from Guan Yu's perspective, she probably didn't want to serve under a psychopath who massacred so cleanly.
"What in the world..."
"No way!! To avenge his father's death, he does this?!"
Zhang Fei trembled with a shocked expression.
"That's not the only goal," I whispered to him. Thanks to Tao Qian's poor personnel choices, Cao Cao now had a perfect excuse to devour the prosperous Xuzhou. Sure, he was sad about his father's death. But business was business.
Still, did he really need to go for such overwhelming slaughter? One might question it, but the fault lay with Xuzhou's stubbornly loyal populace.
Tao Qian had some leadership issues, but he'd governed Xuzhou peacefully and well. From the locals' view, things were good as they were. Cao Cao tried winning them over, but it failed, so he showed them the overwhelming gap in power instead.
"Can't have the rice cake, so he yells from the rooftops how bad he wants it, huh." Zhang Fei got it surprisingly well.
'Zhang Fei, smarter than he looks.' Scary truth. Actually, the most educated here were Zhang Fei and Liu Bei. Both had received top-tier education thanks to their family backgrounds.
But I'm better at foot volleyball. That's important. For real.
"...Hm?" Guan Yu wore a serious expression but seemed to struggle following the conversation. Yeah. Surprisingly, the one with the clearest head here was Guan Yu. She just didn't show it because she looked like a cool beauty type.
"Anyway, the suffering people need us. Let's hurry and join Tao Qian. Brothers and sisters!" Liu Bei spoke solemnly to his volunteer army members, then took the shortest route straight to Xuzhou.
The firmly shut gates of Xuzhou Castle. Our volunteer army headed straight for the entrance.
"Wh-who goes there!!" a soldier shouted from atop the walls.
[Mi Fang]
Thanks to the Status Window, his name tag appeared above his head in my vision. Mi Zhu's younger brother, Mi Fang. Honestly, not that competent, but in Xuzhou, he was one of the few who could handle command.
"It's Liu Bei, Xuande, answering Tao Qian's call for aid!!" Liu Bei shouted loudly.
"Ah... Lord Xuande." Mi Fang's eyes widened briefly, then a hint of disappointment crept in. We'd brought just over a thousand men—not much for reinforcements. Rude to show it, though.
"Come in, quickly!!" At Mi Fang's order, the heavy gate began to creak open slowly. They were wary of a sudden Qingzhou Soldier charge.
Greeeeek.
Maybe the noisy gate opening gave it away. Shouts echoed from afar, and dust clouds rose.
"Yaaah!!!" Soldiers in red uniforms charged toward Xuzhou Castle with mad momentum.
They were aiming for our Liu Bei army. Spotting what looked like reinforcements, they wanted to crush us and break morale further.
"Those bastards are the culprits behind this massacre." That's when Zhao Yun stepped forward, lightly swinging his spear.
Zhao Yun's signature weapon, adorned with lion-mane tassels. One of the game's most viciously powerful arms.
"I, Zhao Yun, Zilong! I fight for righteousness!!" Zhao Yun shouted, kicking his horse's flank. He glanced at me briefly, as if expecting something.
Ah. Right—the pre-battle hype he was waiting for.
"KKKIYAAAAAK!!!" For fan service, I let out a roar and charged with my sword raised.
Clop!
I managed to steady the now-decently controllable jiral horse.
"Yide!! Yun Chang!! Crush their morale from the front!!" Liu Bei immediately ordered, positioning the rear soldiers to face away from the castle.
Even as obviously badass generals charged like maniacs, the Qingzhou Soldiers' momentum didn't waver.
[Qingzhou Soldiers]
Fear Immunity: Desensitized to slaughter, they fear not death.
It was due to the Qingzhou Soldiers' trait.
But immunity to fear didn't mean immunity to death.
Clop!!! Guan Yu leaped high, unleashing a full swing with her Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
Spluuurt!!
Before the Qingzhou Soldiers could react, her spear strike sliced them into chunks.
"Hmph." Slipping through the gap was Zhao Yun.
Clang!! Stab!! Clang!! Splurt!!!
Zhao Yun wove through swords and spears like reeds in the wind, piercing Qingzhou Soldiers with his spear to clear a path.
"Uhahat!! Not bad!" Zhang Fei laughed at Zhao Yun, then crushed a man's torso with his Zhangba Snake Spear and hurled it away.
With guys like these, I could just chill on the bus.
Shing.
Riding and swinging my Namun Sword, I cut down foes in my path one by one, scanning the surroundings.
It felt like mob cleanup, but I couldn't let my guard down completely.
Claaaang.
Even a mere mob blocked my mounted slash. Most could trade blows beyond noobs.
'Elite unit for sure.' Even sinful bandits—Cao Cao had good reason to deploy them as proper troops.
"Hah!! You're Kim, right?!" Then, a mounted Qingzhou Soldier charged at me with a curved, saw-like blade.
Claaaang-!!
Our blades clashed, shoving my body back hard.
"I've wanted a piece of you for a while!" He grinned, readying his sword.
Single combat challenge against me. Named? I hoped briefly... but no, just an elite mob.
[Qingzhou Soldier Squad Leader]
Leads ten pieces-of-shit Qingzhou Soldiers. Need more explanation?
A strong one among them. Rush in carelessly just 'cause he's not named, and you'd struggle.
"Here I come!!!" The squad leader swung his saw, closing in.
Kikikikik!!
As our mounts crossed, his saw blade and my sword sparked fiercely.
He'd anticipated it, sawing at my blade's ridge like a real saw, then pressing the teeth toward my arm.
Spluuurt!!!
The savage saw strike tore flesh from my arm.
"Kgh...!" The tooth-like edge ground deep, blood pouring out massively.
'Annoying weapon.' Saws or natars inflicted bleeding like this. Screaming DoT damage ticking away.
"Heh." He smirked, knowing his weapon's power, sensing victory. He'd drag it out, letting me bleed more.
Bleeds for a period: 5% HP lost every 3 seconds. Stamina recovery slowed.
Sliced by filthy blade. All stats -10. Max HP permanently -20%.
Wound severs nerves. Pain drastically slows stamina recovery.
Unlucky as hell—the debuff triple combo hit right away. Every bullshit RNG in the game dumped on me.
But. He picked the wrong opponent.
Immovable Mind
'Fuck. This real?' Game mechanic or not, seeing it in reality changed things. My body felt like steel fibers—bleeding stopped instantly. Flesh peeled back exposing raw meat, but zero pain. Pure horror. I was a murder machine.
Debuffs zeroed. Back to full condition, I yanked my sword free and swung wide.
"W-wait..." The Qingzhou Soldier who'd tasted victory froze. Couldn't believe the bleeding stopped right before his eyes.
But battlefields were full of the unexpected. Freezing in shock meant death.
Spluuurt!!
My diagonal downslash cleanly severed the squad leader's neck.
"Hoo." He got one hit in. With that satisfaction, I glanced at the others... and our comrades were overpowered.
Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun were already shredding Qingzhou Soldiers solo, carving paths. All top-tier Central Plains fierce generals—only they could pull this exchange rate.
"Now!! Chase them!!" Liu Bei seized the moment their momentum broke, grabbing his sword and leading the charge.
Bwoooooh!!
Then, an ominous horn blared from the distant plains.
"Retreat!! Retreat!!"
"Run!!!" The Qingzhou Soldiers scattered in perfect order at the horn.
Driving off the Qingzhou Soldiers right at Xuzhou's gates with just a thousand Liu Bei troops? Worth recording.
Thud!!
Tao Qian, watching from outside the walls, flipped the bird triumphantly from the ramparts.
"Welcome!!! Liu Xuande!!!" The crotchety old man barreled out barefoot to greet us. This was Tao Qian, the long-time governor of Xuzhou.
"At last, I meet the renowned Governor of Xuzhou." Liu Bei smiled warmly, dismounting to bow.
The moment Liu Bei entered Xuzhou. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, this was the prologue where he got dragged into the power struggle for the world... but for me, it was secondary.
'Zhang Kai's treasure... gotta carve out time to hunt it.' Right now, I was treasure hunter Kim. Plotting the optimal route for the Zhang Kai treasure quest.