Kill them all
"Th-this can't be..."
Cao Song's soldiers were being slaughtered without mercy.
A servant of Cao Song's, who had briefly stepped out on an errand, returned to witness the scene, his face overcome with thick despair.
Flames shooting up from every corner of the temple, and horrific screams echoing out.
Though the distance kept the details from view, anyone could guess what was happening inside.
"Zhang Kai... that bastard dared to do such a..."
Though merely a servant,
the death of the kind master whom his family had served for generations and his entire household began to ignite a deep fury within his heart.
Yet,
even amidst this burning emotion, the servant fought to keep his wits about him.
If he rushed in now, it would only be a pointless death.
There was no way to save his master, who might already have been killed.
If so, then rather... he had to report the matter clearly to someone who could avenge his master's unjust death,
to another he had likewise served. That had to come first.
Swallowing his tears, the servant turned his horse's head and began to ride at full speed.
*
Taishan, Yan Province.
In this place bordering Xu Province, General Who Conquers the East, Cao Cao, had been gazing out beyond the city walls since early morning.
She usually had a rather bright disposition, but even considering that, anyone could see that her mood today was exceptionally good.
Watching such a Cao Cao,
a woman with an equally deep smile, her long, tied-up red hair, a monocle over one eye, and an appearance that still held a refined elegance, asked, her lips curved in her characteristic gentle smile.
"Are you that pleased, my lord?"
"Of course I am. It's been almost two years since I last saw my father. How much he must have suffered because of me. Now, I can finally be a proper daughter to him."
Her father Cao Song, who, if it weren't for her, would still be living comfortably in Luoyang.
Though it had been for the sake of her goals and great cause, the troubles her father had endured because of the incidents she had caused had always remained a heavy burden in one corner of her heart.
Now that the weight was finally to be lifted and she could properly fulfill her filial piety toward the father who had only known hardship, how could she not be joyful?
"The banquet preparations are perfect, I trust?"
"Of course. We have prepared the finest Bamboo Leaf Green Wine brought from Qing Province, along with an abundant supply of the pheasant meat the elder is said to enjoy. Moreover, we have thoroughly vetted the musicians and entertainers."
"Heh, truly, there's no one like you for these matters."
"You flatter me, my lord."
The woman accepted Cao Cao's praise with practiced ease.
Though they hadn't known each other long, she saw through Cao Cao's wishes as if they were friends of ten years and carried them out flawlessly, which always made Cao Cao feel solidly supported.
'Indeed, talent is the top priority for getting things done.'
Tasks that once meant agonizing alone—from arranging such banquets to devising battle strategies—were resolved at lightning speed with a single word to a capable subordinate.
Of course, managing people required care in many ways, and selecting useful individuals was no easy task, yet its worth was undeniable.
Thinking that she would have to gather more talented individuals henceforth, Cao Cao's gaze returned toward the direction of Xu Province, where her father would be traveling from.
But then.
"Hm?"
A lone figure came into her sight.
The moment she recognized the face of the man riding toward them in such a hurry from the direction of Xu Province,
an even brighter expression began to form on Cao Cao's face.
He was a servant of her father's whom she knew well.
Seeing the man she had known since childhood, Cao Cao was certain her father must have been nearby and immediately descended the wall to head for the gate.
"Open the gate at once. We must welcome our guest."
"Yes, my lord. Open the gate!"
-Creeeak
The gate opened with a clamorous noise at Cao Cao's command.
After which, as she watched the servant hurry inside the gates, Cao Cao greeted him with a warm smile.
"You've come a long way, old man. How long has it been since we last...?"
But then—
"Ah... nghh..."
"? ... Why... why are you like this, old man? What happened?"
"My young mistress!"
The servant, wailing, collapsed as though crumbling to the ground.
An unexpected sprout of anxiety began to bloom in Cao Cao's heart as she saw his state.
Simultaneously, a single possibility surfaced in her mind.
The very act of imagining it felt like a nightmare,
and it advanced into Cao Cao's thoughts with a chilling force, consuming them entirely.
"N-no... no... there's no way. What am I thinking? O-old man, please, calm down and talk to me. Father? How far along is he? You're not telling me he's been delayed by some kind of accident, are you? If that's the case, then I'll personally go and..."
"Hnghh... y-young mistress... the master... the master..."
The servant tried desperately to answer Cao Cao's urgent stream of words.
The sight of him transformed the anxiety blooming in Cao Cao's heart...
into a certainty clear enough to be a curse.
"... No..."
"The master... is... he is dead! He was murdered!"
"No!!! Th-that can't be! It can't!"
"Sob... sob... I-it's the truth... a subordinate of Tao Qian's, a man named Zhang Kai, betrayed us... There was no time to do anything, and so..."
"Ah... aahh..."
The servant made the unthinkable news real.
Upon hearing it, Cao Cao felt as if the heavens themselves were falling and sank to the ground.
"A... a lie... it must be a lie... Father died so senselessly... my father, Cao Cao's father, in such a... Pre... prepare my horse... at once! Prepare a horse at once! I... I must go there myself! I will go and bring Father back!"
"My... my lord. Please, calm yourself."
"To enter Xu Province now, without an army, is dangerous. Above all else, from what we have heard, the elder has already..."
"Silence! Prepare my horse this instant! Father is waiting for me! Father! Father!!!"
While her subordinates struggled to hold her back, Cao Cao wept with heartbreaking sorrow.
In the cry that burst from her lips, despair and grief, having devoured the joy and anticipation of moments before, surged wildly.
*
Cao Cao sat, her face haggard, looking at the generals before her.
Having spent a full day and night in lamentation, a terrifyingly eerie presence now radiated from her disheveled state.
Clear hatred and fury were woven into the quiet silence.
Within it, the generals could only remain silent and tread carefully.
Just then.
Someone broke the silence and spoke.
It was the strategist currently serving under Cao Cao's army,
the woman with the monocle and long, tied-up red hair.
"As you are all aware, yesterday we received word of the murder of the lord's father, the elder Cao Song. The culprit is a man named Zhang Kai, a former Yellow Turban. He approached under the pretense of offering an escort and then committed this horrific atrocity."
"Hm... This matter cannot be overlooked!"
"My lord! Send me! I will take troops right now and capture this so-called Zhang Kai!"
"..."
At the strategist's words, the generals began to open their mouths as though the floodgates had been opened.
Yet, even at their words, Cao Cao merely maintained her silence and wore a chilling expression.
Just then, the strategist addressed the generals in a calm voice.
"Of course, the perpetrator of this incident is one Zhang Kai. However, behind him, there is without doubt the Inspector of Xu Province, Tao Qian."
"That fellow Tao Qian, you mean?"
"Otherwise, how would a mere former bandit dare commit such an audacious act as murdering the elder? You must remember, the true enemy in this matter is not a handful of thieves but the whole of Xu Province."
"... That is... correct."
"!"
"Gulp..."
Cao Cao spoke in a bone-chilling voice at the strategist's words.
Her remark, freezing the already icy atmosphere of the room even further, made the generals clamp their mouths shut once more.
And then.
-Clank.
Cao Cao rose from her seat and drew her sword.
-Shing.
A singular, clear energy gathered on her face as she slowly unsheathed it.
An energy one could call bloodlust began to surge.
"The root of this evil is Xu Province... that accursed land... all of it."
"... M-my lord?"
Consternation began to creep onto the face of the strategist beside Cao Cao, but...
At this moment, the strategist was beyond Cao Cao's notice.
'Xu Province...'
If only that place did not exist,
if that accursed land were not in this world,
then Father would not have died so senselessly.
Then, as a daughter, what must I do now?
The answer...
was already there.
'I must... fulfill the filial piety that I could not.'
If one could not serve one's parent in life, then one must serve them in death.
As to the means,
Cao Cao resolved as a daughter to avenge her father.
Using all the power and resources she possessed.
A Great Filial Piety.
"Kill them all... Every person in Xu Province, every last head of livestock... all of it, without exception!"
"Wh... what?"
"My... my lord. Calm yourself. Kill them all... The root of this incident is only the Inspector of Xu Province, Tao Qian. To slaughter innocent common folk unrelated to the matter will, in the future, hinder your great cause..."
The generals were seized by consternation, and the strategist tried whatever she could to stop Cao Cao.
But—
-Chang!
"!"
"M-my... my lord?"
A sword pointed at the strategist.
At this cold warning sign, unlike any she had ever seen before,
she felt a moment of instinctive fear and was forced to shut her mouth.
"This is an order. Anyone who disobeys, whoever they are, will be punished under martial law."
Cao Cao spoke in a voice even laced with madness.
And so, the generals and soldiers gathered there could only obey her command.
Amidst that tremendous surge of murderous intent, Cao Cao's gaze fell to the sword in her hand.
Her treasured blade, its edge gleaming sharp.
A gift from her father to commemorate her appointment as Northern District Commandant in Luoyang, it now began to sharpen her vengeful spirit to a finer edge.
'I will leave nothing behind... not a single living, breathing thing in that place. That accursed land that sent Father to his death, I will finish it all with this sword...!'
Just then.
"..."
Abruptly, a small mark caught her eye.
Though the blade had been cleaned carefully, a single faded bloodstain persisted at the tip, not entirely erased.
The moment she saw it,
a memory began to surface in Cao Cao's mind.
—Please, do not give up. Until the very end, remain human... remain a person.
"..."
—Such a state of yours... does not suit you, Sister.
"Ah..."