Clash with Jo In: The Masked Dong Zhuo
After the masked woman roughly divided up Zhang Jiao's treasure, they decided to head back for now.
Zhang Jiao's treasure could come in handy somewhere.
If the affinity with Cao Cao's forces dropped too low, one option was to return Zhang Jiao's treasure to him and boost that affinity.
But it was too late for that now.
Even if affinity went up, Cao Cao wouldn't pull his troops out of Xuzhou or anything.
Jo In was the type where personal affinity and actual actions were worlds apart.
Even if I raised my personal affinity with him, Cao Cao was already dead set on devouring Xuzhou. He'd already mobilized his soldiers and burned through massive amounts of provisions, so there was no turning back. Handing it all over now would mean nothing.
Just divvy it up among the squad for now. That was the best play.
They loaded the loot onto the horses and were about to turn back when a burning village came into view off in the distance.
Urgh...
Clang. Chiiing.
The sound of weapons clashing echoed from afar.
"Is that our guys fighting?" Chun Seol's expression turned serious.
"Yeah, maybe." If friendly forces were struggling, they had to help first.
"Everyone, let's go." Load the treasure on the horses, form up as infantry, rush to the village, and provide support. Simple.
A true grinder who cared about proficiency and stats never skipped a random encounter battle.
I immediately drew my Namun Sword and charged ahead.
-----
The ruins of a small village on the border between Xuzhou and Qingzhou.
The moment we arrived, I realized we'd fucked up big time.
"The enemy's just one! Surround and kill her!!"
"Hah!! Not bad!!!"
A purple-haired heroine was surrounded by Qingzhou soldiers, struggling to hold her own.
She had some skill, managing to defend herself and draw her sword against the Qingzhou troops, but she didn't have the power to turn the numbers around.
Clang!! Chiiing!!
Overall, the purple-haired woman was on the back foot.
A mask? The full-face mask stood out. What was this chuunibyou getup...? Who the hell was she? That thought lasted only a moment before I spotted the name floating above her head through my Status Window.
[Dong Zhuo]
No. Why the hell was Dong Zhuo here looking like a ragged mess? I was stunned. Call it a perk for Status Window users—no matter how well they hid their identity, get close enough and the NPC name tag popped up over their head.
And she wasn't acting like Dong Zhuo at all. She was blocking the escaping villagers' path from the village, buying time. If you looked at her actions, calling her "anti-Dong Zhuo" wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Anyway.
I knew she was Dong Zhuo, but no one else did. To them, she was just some suspicious masked civilian.
"Ooh... what a body."
"Mmm. Nice."
As expected. The men's eyes locked onto Dong Zhuo's signature voluptuous figure. That meaty, curvaceous body drew stares inevitably. If it didn't catch your eye, you weren't a man—you were a different level.
"Everyone!! Let's save her!!" I bellowed at the squad and drew my sword.
"Woooah!!"
The squad was fired up, grabbing their weapons and charging the Qingzhou soldiers.
That part was fine, but my real misfortune was running into the biggest nightmare of the Xuzhou Massacre event.
"Hmph. Different from Tao Qian's greenhorns."
A massive man who'd dismounted stared us down, spear at the ready.
The enemy we absolutely had to avoid in the Xuzhou Massacre—Jo In—had us in his sights.
Fuck. We're screwed.
Of all people, I had to face the strongest general in this timeframe.
The infamous hell-mode Xuzhou Massacre scenario's top rule: avoid fighting Jo In at all costs. At this point, he was a level 25 Elite general, maxed out on commander tech tree perks—including one that skyrocketed his combat power with nearby allies.
Jo In leading the Qingzhou soldiers was a meat grinder for noobs at this stage.
The Yellow Turban Rebellion taught players that "even trash mobs overwhelm you in hordes and send you to hell."
And the Xuzhou Massacre with Jo In taught that "elite troops plus a commander are terrifying."
Put simply, he made you want to quit the game.
"Shit..." It was a crisis for me too. If Jo In took command and the Qingzhou soldiers pressed the attack, Kim Squad would get wiped—and so would Tao Qian's free labor we'd brought.
Fuck! All that training for nothing! I'd turned these scrub-tier recruits into something usable, and I wasn't about to let that go to waste.
"Everyone!! Protect the civilians first!! Then slowly fall back while harassing with crossbows!!" I'd anticipated this and equipped the squad with crossbows as standard gear. As long as they didn't friendly-fire too much, ranged harassment made them useful.
"Yes, got it!!"
Even Chun Seol, who'd been dragging her feet, took point and kicked off the retreat.
"Gu Ryuk-ger!! Guan He!! You're with me!" I called my two best adjutants. Brawling alongside them to block Jo In's advance while retreating was the optimal strat.
Pitting Gwang Yeom, Chun Seol, or the old archer guy against him would get them one-shot, so this was right.
"And Don... no, Mask!! You're fighting with us too!!" I called out to Dong Zhuo.
Calling her out as Dong Zhuo here would complicate things, so Mask it was.
"A... alright." Dong Zhuo shot me a blatantly panicked look through her mask. Yeah, we knew each other.
"Hmph. Willing to risk your lives for the common folk. Admirable indeed."
Jo In regarded us impassively.
"Yeah, and your 'righteous' drive to slaughter people just to grab land is so admirable too. I'd love to see your mom's face."
I fired back.
"...Pfft!!" Suddenly, Guan He and the masked woman (Dong Zhuo)'s shoulders shook. They liked the trash talk?
"...Kim Gong, your mouth is filthy."
Gu Ryuk-ger stared at me with a slightly dumbfounded look.
"True enough. A man like me probably won't die easy in my sleep. But I'm a soldier."
Jo In shook off some inner conflict, lightly twirling his spear into position.
"Soldiers follow orders from above. I believe without doubt that my lord will bring order to the realm. So I swing my blade at his command."
Just a rigid, by-the-book soldier spouting dogma.
That's Jo In for you. Fanatically loyal. The soldier incarnate. I didn't hate it personally, but in this situation? It pissed me off.
Persuasion at 45 or whatever? Useless. Jo In wasn't the talking type.
"Fine. Then light the way to the afterlife for your lord first."
I spat the bullshit and charged with my Namun Sword raised.
"Everyone!! Kill them!!"
The small Qingzhou detachment under Jo In rushed us with their weapons.
"I'll take Jo In!!!" I shouted, assigning the squad.
"Mask!! You're with me against Jo In!!"
I yelled at the masked woman.
"...Got it."
Scared of her identity leaking? She lowered her voice as much as possible, drew her sword, and closed on Jo In.
"F-fire!!"
Thanks to their crossbow training, the squad slightly veered the Qingzhou troops and secured firing lines.
Fwoosh!!
Kim Squad protecting the civilians loosed their crossbows. Tao Qian's soldiers followed with a mad volley of arrows.
Thwip! Tick.
Veterans blocked arrows with shields or angled their armor, but dodging every blind shot was impossible. Several Qingzhou soldiers dropped, pierced and bound for the afterlife. Cutting their numbers in one turn was a solid gain.
"Hmph. Kim, was it? My lord takes an interest in you. Let's see if your reputation holds wate—"
The moment Jo In twitched his spear mid-monologue, I swung at his neck.
Chiiiing!!
Jo In, mid-speech, barely parried with his spear shaft.
"Kgh..."
As our weapons locked, Dong Zhuo thrust at Jo In's waist armor.
Ching!
Jo In swept his spear horizontally like a staff to evade, then quickly reset his stance.
Damn, he blocked that.
"Thought you'd look cool dropping some profound line during your monologue?" No time for speeches—keep the pressure on. Boss fight meta.
"...More of a thug than I expected."
Jo In glared at me and Dong Zhuo, steadying himself.
Honestly, fighting here was a gamble all around... but I couldn't keep running forever. This was my squad's peak condition right now. Time to smash Jo In somehow.
Best case: kill him. Worst: force a retreat.
"Kkiyaaaak!!!"
I roared, raising my sword overhead and slamming down with everything I had.
Chiiiing!!!
As Jo In blocked, Dong Zhuo slashed his side, pressing the attack.
Clang!!
Jo In twisted awkwardly to dodge the follow-up, but his breathing was getting ragged.
Game or reality, fights followed the same rules. 1v2 was tough without a massive skill gap.
"Krgh...!! You whelps...!"
Guan He, desperate to prove his worth and secure his spot, swung his crescent blade with wild fury, cutting down Qingzhou soldiers.
"Urgh!!"
Gu Ryuk-ger... just did his usual solid job. Squad ace through and through.
With the grunts handled by the team, the fight got easier.
"Kim Gong...! Duck...!"
Chun Seol's tiny voice called from afar. I yanked Dong Zhuo down with me.
Fwoosh!!
The second volley from reloaded crossbows wove a net toward Jo In.
Ching-! Clang-!!
He deflected what he could and tanked the rest with his body, holding the line.
"Guh..."
Arrows embedded in him, but his spear swings didn't slow.
Damn. Tough bastard.
But those hits halved his stamina.
"Push!!!"
I charged fiercely with sword raised.
"Yeah!!! Let's kill him!!"
Dong Zhuo echoed, syncing up for a combo flurry.
Chiiiing!!!
Finally, Jo In backpedaled, spear up in pure defense.
"Everyone!! Fall back!!!"
Jo In finally ordered his men to retreat.
"Kgh..."
The few surviving Qingzhou soldiers scrambled away with him.
"Chase 'em!!"
Excited Guan He and Gu Ryuk-ger glared with bloodshot eyes.
"No!! Civilians!! Protect the civilians!!"
I reined them in.
"No, if we chase now..." Gu Ryuk-ger objected. Whoa there, Ryuk-ger.
But I knew how to cool their heads.
"Loot. Chase and die, no loot."
They had beans in their mouths.
"..."
Remembering the taste, the squad dropped the pursuit.
After that, we escorted the rescued villagers back to Xuzhou Castle.
I'd notched a win repelling Jo In himself. Savoring the high, I focused the squad on a tactical withdrawal.
[Strength: 72]
Clenching so hard it must've paid off. Strength stat ticked up a bit. Nice grind. Mmm.