Xu Rong

I made it to the battlefield in time. Just as Sima Yi had said, Wang Guang's army had spotted only the handful of enemies along the riverbank and was charging straight in without so much as a backward glance.

But Xu Rong's main force was almost certainly lying in wait behind the hill. Sure enough, the moment most of Wang Guang's troops crested the rise, a roar went up and the ambush came pouring out.

E-enemy! There was an ambush!

Wang Guang's men were already in a full-blown panic before the enemy even reached them. Wang Guang himself was too stunned to issue a single order; only Han Hao was frantically trying to rally the soldiers.

Thud-thud-thud!

But the enemy was never going to let that opening go to waste. The detachment Xu Rong had left as bait on the riverbank seized the moment and charged straight at Wang Guang's army.

Once the encirclement closed, Wang Guang's forces would be crushed between both sides. Unless, of course, a certain someone showed up.

"Now!"

I immediately waved the banner and ordered the advance. With a thunderous boom, Guan Yu spurred her horse forward as if a cannon had gone off, and a thousand of our troops surged after her in a frenzy. For fresh recruits gathered only days ago, their movement was impossibly sharp.

While they charged, I rolled my eyes across the field, searching for the enemy's main force. Amid the sudden appearance of our army, Xu Rong's troops had faltered — and there, standing ramrod straight and staring me down, was a certain woman.

Just as expected — a combat monster. The developers must have been generous with the historical accuracy, because not a single one of her core combat stats dipped below eighty.

On top of that, both her skill and her ability were optimized for ambushes. No wonder Cao Cao and Sun Jian got wrecked despite their ridiculous stats.

There was just one problem with that epithet. Defeat in battle meant certain death? So if I won today, Xu Rong was guaranteed to die?

Absolutely perfect. Without Xu Rong, neither Cao Cao nor Sun Jian would lose — which meant the grand strategy of hitting Dong Zhuo from three sides and catching him before he bolted to Chang'an suddenly had a much better shot.

CRASH!!!

Meanwhile, Guan Yu was already attempting a solo breakthrough into the enemy's rear. In that instant, Beheading Generals Across Five Passes activated, and one of Xu Rong's subordinate officers stepped out to face her.

"You bastard! Who the hell are yo— AARGH!"

SHUNK!

But Guan Yu, faithfully following my request not to reveal her identity, didn't even give the woman a chance to exchange names. The officer's head came off in a single exchange, and the troops following her froze as one.

"HAAAH!"

Guan Yu pressed the advantage, swinging her Green Dragon Crescent Blade without mercy. Every time the blade swept past, enemy heads tumbled like falling leaves.

It was a merciless slaughter — like throwing a tiger into a pack of wolves. But the enemy, having lost the officer who commanded them, could do nothing but take it. They couldn't so much as scratch her.

"WAAAAAH!"

Our forces poured in right behind her through the gap Guan Yu had carved open. The enemy's rear was torn clean in two.

CLANG! CLANG!

Our side was already maxed out on training and morale thanks to Elite Troop Discipline. Then Guan Yu's ability Valor of Guan and Zhang kicked in, stacking additional offense and defense on top of that.

Throw in my own Tiger's Bow Night Raid, and we were moving through the dark as if it were broad daylight — the power gap shrank to almost nothing.

"GRAAAAGH!!"

The enemy, by contrast, had lost an officer and watched their morale plummet. Debuff on them, buff on us — the absolute best-case scenario.

The rear! Hit the rear first!

And because the ambush had failed, Xu Rong's skill never even triggered. That was huge. Han Hao, on the brink of total collapse, managed to pull the still-panicking Wang Guang troops together and launch a counterattack.

The result was a complete inversion: Xu Rong's main force found itself surrounded by ours. The face that had glared at me like she wanted me dead the day before was now openly rattled.

Heh... this was going even better than I'd hoped. The riverbank detachment was delayed turning around, and our distance to her main force was actually shorter.

At this rate, her main body would shatter first and the detachment would get picked off piece by piece — the absolute dream scenario. Am I just ridiculously lucky?

All I'd wanted was to help Wang Guang preserve as much of his strength ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as possible. At this rate, we might actually win outright.

Then Xu Rong dies on her own. Dong Zhuo, stripped of the one card that could beat the coalition, gets hammered from three sides and starves to death in Luoyang.

Then I get to see Yu Hyeop again. And Chosun won't have to throw her whole body into the fight.

At this rate, she might even kiss me as a reward for doing too well — like last time. No, wait. A kiss wouldn't even cover it.

Maybe the body Chosun throws herself at next will be mine— pant pant...

"WAAAAAH!! Zhang Yide, your lover, has arrived!"

"...!?"

Hold on. Why was I hearing Zhang Fei's voice?

But she was really there. A healthy beauty standing seven chi five cun — about a hundred and seventy-two centimeters — came thundering in from the east, whirling her eighteen-span serpent spear with a whoosh-whoosh!

"Now is the time! Rescue Lord Do Yeop at once!"

And Zhang Fei hadn't come alone. The most beautiful woman under heaven, radiant even from a distance, issued the order with quiet grace.

Whoosh!

Zhao Yun waved the banner, and the troops we'd carefully raised in Yawang began to move as one.

But. Why. Are. You. People. Here?

Guan Yu had followed me without telling Yawang a single thing. There was no way she'd have opened her mouth — not when it meant putting her sister in harm's way.

Sima Zhongda, then? That didn't make sense either. She'd finally managed to peel me away from her sister — why would she pull a stunt like this?

Which left only one conclusion: this was all Liu Bei's unilateral decision. But how the hell had she even known to come?

"...?"

That was when I felt it — a gaze boring into me while I was distracted by Liu Bei's sudden appearance.

I whipped my head around. Xu Rong. With her main force about to collapse under a pincer attack, she hadn't wasted even a fraction of a second — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she'd been watching me the whole time.

And then she smiled. A general of Xu Rong's caliber couldn't possibly miss how badly the situation had turned against her. There was only one reason she could still smile.

That woman had spotted my weakness in a single glance.

Go!

To my astonishment, Xu Rong abandoned any attempt to break the encirclement. Instead, she ordered the half of her forces not locked into the two-front fight to move in a completely unexpected direction.

Straight toward Liu Bei's army.

"GRAAAAGH..."

The moment the troops covering her rear peeled off, Xu Rong's formation crumbled at terrifying speed. Oh, this was completely fucked!

This fight had been mine. Even if it meant grinding Wang Guang's entire force into dust, as long as I took Xu Rong, we'd win the war itself.

But then Liu Bei had shown up out of nowhere. Xu Rong hadn't missed my attention being stolen — and she was willing to abandon her own men just to hit Liu Bei.

The troops Xu ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Rong could peel off amounted to half her force — three thousand. Liu Bei's army, thrown together in a rush, wouldn't even be half that.

Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun are there, so it'll work out somehow? Sure, those two could hold their own — but Xu Rong was the monster who took down Cao Cao and Sun Jian.

Liu Bei would survive, of course — she had Zhao Yun attached, and Run Away on top of that. She might even get lucky and win.

But the cost would be most of her troops. So I had to calculate fast.

Between finishing Xu Rong here and preserving ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Liu Bei's fighting strength — which came first?

"Lady Guan Yu! We have to fall back! Right now!"

I chose the latter. No matter how I ran the numbers, Wang Guang losing was better than chewing through the hard-won assets we'd built in Yawang. That was suicide.

What good was winning the war? The next wave of usurpers would rise one after another to threaten Yu Hyeop. If Liu Bei had no strength left when that happened, who was going to protect the Emperor?

"What are you talking about? We've already won — why would we—"

"Don't you see that!? I don't know how, but Lord Liu Bei is on the field! Xu Rong is going straight for her!"

"..."

Only then did Guan Yu turn her head and confirm Liu Bei's arrival. But she still wasn't reading the bigger picture.

"Yide is there — they can hold. As long as we don't break the encirclement, Xu Rong has nowhere to run. She'll have to come back to save her own men."

"They can hold, sure — but the attrition will be catastrophic. Do you still not get it? Xu Rong is gambling. She's forcing an either-or choice at the cost of her own life: Liu Bei's army or Wang Guang's. Pick one!"

"..."

Needless to say, Guan Yu was never going to choose Wang Guang. She ground her teeth in frustration, then spurred her horse and tore off toward Liu Bei's forces.

"Waaah! Big sis, why are you coming back!?"

"You turn around too! They're going after her!"

Zhang Fei, who'd been charging in with pure glee, finally spotted Xu Rong's forces quietly peeling off to the east. Unlike Guan Yu, she seemed to grasp the situation fast — she bolted toward Liu Bei without another word.

"We're moving too!"

I decided to shift our forces as well. We'd been thrashing the half-surrounded enemy like so many wooden dummies, so the order to pull back left everyone blinking in confusion.

But I was a peerless commander with Command at 100. One full-throated bellow, and they abandoned Xu Rong's troops and swung east toward Liu Bei's army.

"Th-they're leaving!"

The silver lining: Xu Rong's forces, teetering on the edge of a morale collapse, had no strength left to chase a retreating enemy. Right on cue, her riverbank detachment arrived, and the enemy focused entirely on pincering Wang Guang's army from front and rear.

God fucking damn it... why is this happening? Why did Liu Bei have to show up here and ruin a perfect opportunityyyyy!!!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

"...!?"

And then, in that instant, I realized I'd sent the troops ahead and was alone on the field. Xu Rong, as if she'd been waiting for exactly that, sent two cavalrymen after me.

Not after anyone else. After me — to assassinate me.

"Uh... uh!?"

I'm screwed! What good is being a peerless commander when you've dumped everything into Command? Get surrounded by two cavalrymen and you go down without landing a single hit.

What a terrifying woman. How did she even think of assassinating me in the middle of all that? The distance between us kept shrinking.

Thirty zhang. Twenty. Ten. I wrenched my horse's head around, but catching up to a thoroughbred pulled from Yangzhou was only a matter of time.

"DIE!!"

The cavalryman swung his spear in a full lance charge. I had no idea where this guy had come from or what he'd done, but a Martial of 2 was never going to handle him.

No — no way! I die here? Not only does my strategy fall apart the second I let my guard down, I lose my head on top of it?

THUNK!

The spear punched straight through a throat. The reason I could still flap my mouth about it?

Because it wasn't my throat.

"GRAAAAGH!!"

The enemy screamed and toppled from his horse. The one who'd driven the spear home was the second cavalryman riding right behind him. She pulled off her helmet for my benefit, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"What do you think you're doing!? Why are you gawking around instead of defending yourself?"

"Huh? Lady Chosun!?"

It was Chosun. Why the hell was she popping out of nowhere too?

"You fool! Why did you pull the troops back?"

"Liu Bei showed up. So Xu Rong peeled off half her main force and sent them that way!"

"Then fight together. What's the problem?"

"We can't. Liu Bei doesn't have the numbers to handle Xu Rong's main body. It's not like I wanted to pull my troops, okay?"

"Then why split the forces in the first place? If you'd come as one body from the start—"

"Obviously I didn't call them. That woman dragged her troops here on her own — I'm more baffled than anyone."

"..."

Chosun bit down on her lip, eyes full of regret. A little longer and they could have shattered the enemy's main force alongside Wang Guang. One person's impulsive decision had ruined everything.

"If you leave Wang Guang like this, he'll break and run. What do you intend to do?"

"Link up with Liu Bei first and put pressure on the enemy. Xu Rong isn't moving properly either — her whole point is just to pull my forces away."

Indeed, Xu Rong wasn't racing toward Liu Bei's army at top speed. She was advancing slowly, playing a game of chicken.

If you don't move, we'll hit Liu Bei ready to die to the last man.

"It's already lost. I'm going back."

"Thank you for saving my life, Lady Chosun."

If it hadn't been for her, my head would have hit the ground just now. When I thanked her with genuine sincerity, Chosun turned her face away, looking faintly embarrassed.

"Ahem... spare me the nonsense. You clearly left an opening on purpose, knowing I was following you."

"I really didn't..."

This girl still thought my Martial was 96. And she assumed I'd recognize her from a faint silhouette at that distance? A little full of herself, no?

"Dong Zhuo deliberately gave Xu Rong limited troops. Why do you think that is?"

"Uh... hard to say from that alone? Maybe he doesn't trust her that much."

"That's all I'll tell you. Win next time. Without fail."

With those words, Chosun spurred her horse and left the battlefield alone. She really wouldn't even grant a single moment to savor the reunion.

But this wasn't the time to stand around watching her receding back. I kicked my horse hard and caught up with our forces.

Turn the troops around.

The instant Xu Rong confirmed I was definitely moving toward Liu Bei, she wheeled her forces back. Then she rejoined her main body and went right back to thrashing Wang Guang's army.

"Lord Liu Bei!"

I left the troops arrayed at a suitable distance and rode alone to Liu Bei's command. The moment she saw me, she broke into a bright smile and called out—

"Lord Do Yeop! Thank goodness you're sa—"

"Are you kidding me right now!? Why are you even here? We already had the fight won — why did you have to stick your nose in and force me to pull my troops!?"

"..."

Apparently not the reaction she'd been hoping for. The second I started yelling like a madman, her eyes welled up.

"*sniff*... I only came because I was worried about you, Lord Do Yeop. You vanished with Lady Sima Lang, so I was certain you'd gone to help Wang Guang on your own... but it was far too dangerous alone, so I even defied Lord Yuan Shao's orders and returned to Yawang, and yet *sniff*..."

"..."

What was I supposed to do with that? Yes, Liu Bei had ruined everything — but she'd done it because I'd slipped out without a word, trying to dodge that cursed "bad luck" of hers, and she'd been worried.

"What should we do?"

Zhao Yun asked in her place, gently patting the weeping Liu Bei's back. I turned to check the battlefield.

"AAAGH! URGHH!"

Xu Rong's main force had wheeled around and was massacring Wang Guang's army. Left like this, Wang Guang's troops would take near-total losses.

"We move too. But remember — the intent is only to threaten the enemy. Advance slowly. Lady Guan Yu and Lady Zhang Fei, split the troops in two and press forward. Lord Liu Bei, stay here. Zilong, you come with me."

Everyone moved to their positions. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei divided Liu Bei's army in half and advanced at a measured pace, applying pressure to Xu Rong's forces.

I closed the encirclement alongside Zhao Yun and Sima Menzhong's thousand troops. Before long, Xu Rong responded.

That's enough. Open a path for their retreat.

Xu Rong had truly gone all-in on that gamble. Because while I knew Liu Bei's exact numbers, she didn't.

Once we started advancing again, she couldn't keep taking the risk. She abandoned the total destruction of Wang Guang's army and began gradually pulling her forces back.

"We are the coalition army! Routed soldiers, fall back this way!"

I had our men signal Wang Guang's troops. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun moved independently, cutting down pursuers while scooping up fleeing allies.

Slowly, the darkness lifted in the east and the sun rose. All that remained was a riverbank choked with the corpses of Wang Guang's army.

Xu Rong's forces had taken considerable losses of their own, but they crossed the river safely and withdrew. At the same time, another mission dropped into my lap.

Right. Now how the hell do I explain this to Yuan Shao?