Little Conqueror (小覇王) (2)
Jiangdong is especially rich in brave, fierce heroes.
A maxim my father often repeated like a mantra.
Yet Sun Ce felt only disappointment and dismay as she crushed Liu Yao's army defending Qu'a Port. Tens of thousands of soldiers born and bred in Jiangdong had fled like sheep startled by a wolf.
The Inspector of Yang Province, Chen Wen, was nothing but a straw man.
The de facto commander leading the Jiangdong warlords was the Governor of Danyang, Liu Yao.
Liu Yao.
Kill the commander-in-chief and end this war as quickly as possible.
With that thought, she breached Liu Yao's main camp,
"Sun Ce! So you're the bitch they call Sun Ce. General Fan Neng and now General Yu Mi...! I'll cut you down myself."
"Just try it!"
Taishi Ci's weapons were a pair of short halberds. Crossing them to catch a heavy greatsword, Taishi Ci immediately lunged at Sun Ce.
She won't be able to swing that greatsword properly this close.
Close the distance and take her head.
Sun Ce bared her teeth as she watched Taishi Ci charge into a direct contest. It was because she admired an opponent who rushed in without the slightest hesitation.
Crrrrk—!!
Greatsword met short halberds.
After that, they traded brutal blows again and again.
The heavy greatsword smashed Taishi Ci's light armor, and the sharp halberds grazed Sun Ce's shoulders. As if proving this was a taut, single-combat duel, the more the exchange dragged on, the more scars accumulated on Sun Ce's and Taishi Ci's armor.
'I had my doubts for a moment... but Father was right after all. He always said Jiangdong was full of brave, fierce heroes. To think there'd be an enemy commander who could match me blow for blow!'
She had been acknowledged by her father.
And she had beaten all her uncles, each a veteran champion, in live sparring.
She had never tasted defeat.
She had never once struggled.
She had always wielded overwhelming martial power and forced her opponents to surrender.
To a Sun Ce like that, Taishi Ci's existence—an equal who could match her—was a fresh shock. A worthy rival had appeared, the kind who could sear the fear of losing into someone who had known nothing but victory.
"For a rebel, you're not half bad."
"Same to you, lioness! You've got some skill yourself...! No surprise, since you're from Jiangdong?"
"You dumbass. I'm from Donglai Prefecture in Qing Province. And I told you my name is Ci!"
"Calling me a dumbass over and over...! I'll start by cutting off those tits of yours!"
Fifty bouts.
A hundred bouts.
The contest remained deadlocked again and again.
Sun Ce and Taishi Ci glared at each other, breathing raggedly. Though blood dripped steadily from countless wounds—the traces of their fierce struggle—neither one halted their fighting spirit.
Thudang—!!
The two short halberds flew from their owner's grip.
The heavy greatsword followed suit.
The weapons must have been unable to withstand the relentless battering.
Clenching the hands that had lost their weapons into hard fists, they swung at each other.
It happened almost simultaneously.
No weapon, then use your fists.
Can't make a fist, then kick with your feet.
They would not subdue their surging fighting spirit and hot blood in any situation. Proving they were born brawlers, Sun Ce and Taishi Ci threw their fists with practiced skill.
"Tch— Your punch really stings. Feels like getting hit by an iron mace."
"You hit like a wet noodle. I could keep this up all day."
Blood streamed from split lips.
Sun Ce spat out blood-tinged saliva and sneered.
And though she was deeply exhausted, Taishi Ci calmly assumed a stance toward Sun Ce.
"Young lady! Young lady—!"
"Strike Liu Yao's main camp! They're in complete disarray!!"
Just as they were about to end the fight one way or another,
Thick dust clouds billowed.
Sun Jian's army, having half-captured Qu'a Port, launched a surprise attack on Liu Yao's main camp.
The Governor of Wu Prefecture Xu Gong and the Governor of Kuaiji, Wang Lang, had fled in rout, completely sapping morale. Taishi Ci, who had been directing surging fighting spirit at a fierce rival, regained her composure and picked up the short halberds that had fallen on the dirt.
"Old sir, you must retreat at once. Qu'a Port is lost! We are surrounded by rebels on all sides!"
"Then we shall withdraw...!"
Liu Yao mounted a warhorse under the escort of Taishi Ci and his personal guards. Sun Ce calmly let the commander-in-chief flee practically in front of her eyes.
A white-faced scholar like that doesn't matter anyway.
Even if I let him go, he'll just be captured in the next battle.
Taishi Ci.
She had met a rival who had fought her to a standstill.
Though she felt a fierce competitive spirit toward this champion from Qing Province, a sense of regret crept in: "It's a pity to let you just leave like this."
"All forces, withdraw!"
"Abandon Qu'a Port! We fall back to Kuaiji Prefecture for now!!"
Liu Yao's army, which had defended Qu'a Port to the last, decided to withdraw. Thanks to Zhang Ying and Xue Li, who had been resisting Sun Jian's army, joining up with them, Liu Yao's forces managed at least to avoid a total collapse of their battle lines.
Tens of thousands of his great army were killed or captured.
Fewer than five thousand troops followed Liu Yao.
Combined with the losses Xu Gong's and Wang Lang's armies had suffered, it was a catastrophic scale. They had narrowly avoided the destruction of their whole force in the worst-case scenario, but by losing Qu'a Port, they had lost control over Wu Prefecture.
* * *
When Sun Jian's army captured Qu'a Port,
Liu Seong-hwi and Zhou Yu entered Moling County at the head of a thirty-thousand-strong army.
Moling County.
It was the heart of Jiangdong, which Sun Quan would later rename Jianye and declare the capital of the state of Wu.
Through a diversionary operation, they had easily occupied the center of Jiangdong while it was practically undefended. There had briefly been resistance from the Governor of Yuzhang, Hua Xin, and the local gentry, but when Liu Seong-hwi, from a ship's deck swaying in a strong wind, spectacularly shot dead more than six enemy commanders with his bow, Hua Xin surrendered immediately.
"You're badly hurt. What in the world happened?"
"I-it's just a few scratches...! A little spit and I'll be fine!"
Sun Jian's army, having captured Qu'a Port, entered Moling County.
Seeing Sun Ce covered in wounds, Liu Seong-hwi showed his concern.
She must have wrestled a wild beast with her bare hands. Besides cuts and stab wounds, angry red bruises stood out in blotches against her porcelain-white face.
She had suffered serious injuries.
An ugly wound spreading across the beautiful face of a maiden in full bloom. If it left a scar, it would profoundly harm a marriage alliance that could determine the fortune of the entire clan.
"We've already given first aid... but even so, just in case, I'd better apply some Golden Wound Ointment. Can't have even the smallest scar left on your face."
"...Yes."
Golden Wound Ointment.
It was a salve applied to treat cuts from sharp blades.
Liu Seong-hwi cradled Sun Ce's face in both hands, gently stroking it as he examined the wounds. Sun Ce, fussed over like a rabbit tucked into its owner's arms, found herself thinking that she could die right then without regret.
"Even if it hurts, bear it."
"Y-yes! Of course I can bear it!"
The cool sensation of the Golden Wound Ointment spread across her wound.
It stung briefly, but it was nothing she couldn't endure.
His hand...
His fingers are touching me.
Feeling the rough grip slowly stroke her cheek, she swallowed hard.
"Nnnh...! Hnn, nnnh...!"
The longer the skin-to-skin contact lasted, the more faint moans leaked out. Though she bit her full lips, trying to kill the sound as much as possible, she couldn't stop the sweetly wet noises from escaping.
A stinging pain.
And the sensation of fingers tracing over skin and wound.
Simultaneously feeling these opposing sensations, she savored a pleasure that seemed to stimulate her erogenous zones.
Shiver—
A tremble ran through her shoulders.
At the same time, the thighs she was kneeling formally on twitched and fidgeted.
"Liu Yao's army has fled toward Kuaiji Prefecture. Either he intends to raise an army again with Governor of Kuaiji Wang Lang... or he plans to draw in the Shanyue people, who hold out in the borderlands. If the Shanyue join him, the battle situation, which we expected to be a quick decisive victory, will change."
"I will definitely capture Liu Yao! There is an outstanding commander under him named Taishi Ci, and I'll sweep up every last one of them, including Liu Yao, and make them submit!"
"But treating your injuries is the more urgent matter first."
"..."
Shoulders. Arms. Waist.
She had sustained gashes not only on her face but across multiple parts of her body.
Perhaps because they were alone.
In the cramped space provided for treatment.
The lady with her crimson hair flowing down acted boldly, even as her expression brimmed with shame.
Slip—
She untied the knot and shed her upper garment.
And exposed the wounds carved into her pure white skin.
Surprised by Sun Ce's suddenly bold action, Liu Seong-hwi continued the treatment all the same. Every time his fingers, coated in cool ointment, traced a wound, moans drenched in plaintive longing spilled out.
"You did well. I heard you fought hard. But don't push yourself too much."
More,
praise me more.
Because I'll fight hard next time too.
Like a puppy seeking its owner's attention, she stretched her neck out forward.
"Heh-heh..."
Liu Seong-hwi tickled Sun Ce under the chin.
Sun Ce reacted bashfully.
"My stomach... please touch my stomach too..."
The beautiful lady boldly lay down across the man's lap, presenting her slender stomach.
At that, a thick hand slowly stroked and teased her belly.
