No need to waste time
Cao Cao ordering the massacre of the people of Xu Province.
The image of her wise lord—who was usually cheerful, yet showed charisma and decisiveness when necessary—was no longer there.
Only a single beast remained, consumed by vengeance and madness.
It was true that maintaining reason was difficult after the horrifying death of her father,
but even accounting for that, the sight of her ordering a massacre stirred a thread of conflict in her strategist's heart.
'I thought I had met a lord to serve for life... Was I mistaken?'
A momentary feeling of regret.
But soon, she slowly shook her head and corrected those thoughts.
'No... Even so... In a way, doesn't this show just how deep her filial piety is? A hero of this caliber is rare, and since she trusts and treats me well, if I serve her well going forward...'
And so, she told herself that the horrors to come were fertilizer to quell this chaos—
for the sake of stability under heaven.
She steeled her resolve once more to do her utmost to guide her lord along the right path.
But then.
'... Huh?'
Her lord's killing intent suddenly began to subside.
Watching her lord gaze at the sword in her hand,
the strategist could feel the madness that had been so vividly coiled within her slowly fading away.
*
An accident brought on by a rash mistake.
But at the same time, an experience that provided her with another guiding principle in life.
The memory of that day
let a thread of reason flow through Cao Cao's heart, now seized by hatred and rage.
She had ordered slaughter while consumed by madness.
She had thought it was the right thing to do.
The greatest filial act she could perform for her father.
But.
Through the words of that man, recalled through the bloodstains...
Through the worst memory she had to experience as a result of acting while seized by emotion and chaos...
Cao Cao took a step back from the swamp of vengeance and reconsidered the fundamental nature of this matter.
'If Father knew of this... would he... really be pleased?...'
Of course, beheading Tao Qian to avenge him would surely be a joyful thing.
However.
If, in the process, innocent commoners were massacred.
If she herself became a monster who could never turn back.
Just how would her father view such a daughter?
Would her father, seeing this sight, praise her and say she had done well?
'No... he wouldn't... If it were Father, he would surely... have slapped my cheek and scolded me, telling me to come to my senses...'
The image of her father, who had always loved her unchangingly, yet was strict when he needed to be.
The heart of that man who had always wanted his daughter to grow up right.
Recalling that, a troubled smile unconsciously began to spread across Cao Cao's lips.
And then.
"No..."
She had barely grasped that single thread of reason.
Within it, Cao Cao very slightly suppressed her still-boiling rage.
"Wait... a moment..."
"Pardon?..."
"Ah... Yes, my lord."
The officers straightened their postures again at Cao Cao's command.
Then, after catching her breath for a moment, she began,
in a voice noticeably calmer than before,
to issue orders tempered with reason.
"... The commoners... leave them be. There is no time to waste energy on pointless things. What matters is Tao Qian, his family... and his subordinate Zhang Kai. Complete preparations to strike Xu Province as quickly as possible so those bastards cannot escape. I shall cut off their heads and offer them before my father's spirit tablet."
"Yes, my lord!"
"We shall obey your orders, my lord!"
Cao Cao's directive was now free of the massacre order.
Following this, her officers, their hearts considerably lighter, swiftly began preparations.
"Truly... truly, thank you, my lord. For heeding my request..."
"It is not because of you. I simply thought there was no need to waste pointless time."
"Heh..."
Cao Cao spoke flatly, still gazing at the sword in her hand.
Seeing her lord, who had momentarily lost her reason yet ultimately made the right choice, the strategist let out a small laugh.
Then, a thick bundle was placed before the strategist.
It was...
a completely empty
set of stacked picnic boxes.
"If you have nothing to do, go fill these with rice balls or something. It's a long way to Xu Province. You can nibble on them on the way."
"Yes, my lord. I shall do so."
An order from her lord, who usually loved the rice balls she made.
And so, Cao Cao's strategist, the one wearing a single-lensed eyepiece—
the woman called Xun Yu—
gladly bowed her head and, with light steps, ran toward the kitchen to fill the empty picnic boxes.
Right after that, Cao Cao, feeling her mood grow lighter even amidst her vengeful thoughts, rose from her seat.
She had been caught in yearning for her father,
but at this moment, a deep longing for another person also began to flood her heart.
'You're holding me back again, in your own way... Gonglu...'
The face of that person she missed even more today.
Recalling it, Cao Cao wiped the bitter smile still lingering on her face.
Then she headed straight outside, where her officers were waiting.
It would take time to gather her forces, but she needed to hurry without wasting a single moment.
Since she had decided to show mercy to the commoners instead, she had to take Tao Qian's head all the sooner, didn't she?
'Father... please wait just a little longer. This Cao Cao will surely bring that son of a bitch's head before your spirit tablet...'
Just then.
"My lord!!!"
The next moment, Xiahou Dun came running toward her in a frantic rush.
Seeing Yuanrang so uncharacteristically flustered after ordering preparations for war left Cao Cao puzzled.
"Yuanrang? What matter makes you so urgent..."
"Th... that is... ou... outside right now... outside..."
"!"
*
Dozens of Zhang Kai's soldiers were standing guard at the temple entrance.
Though a clamorous slaughter was still unfolding inside, the situation here was utterly quiet.
After all, the people inside were being killed before they could even reach this point.
Yet even so, the several dozen soldiers kept their guard razor-sharp, ready for any contingency.
Having been told they could each earn a hefty share if this job was handled well, they approached their duty with fire in their eyes, intent on securing their due reward.
"Everyone stay sharp."
"Not a single ant gets to slip through. Hold this position firmly until the situation is finished!"
But then.
"As expected... just as General Yuan Shu said."
"!"
"Wh... who goes there!"
A quiet woman's voice reached their ears.
They immediately leveled their spears and swords toward the darkness where the voice had come from.
At that moment.
-Clang!
Two swords began to gleam in the darkness alongside the moonlight.
At the same time, the soldiers' eyes began to make out
a pair of red eyes flashing in the dark,
and a pair of long ears faintly visible in the moonlight.
"Huh?"
"Wh... what is that...?"
"Red eyes and... big ears!?..."
"! N... no way?"
Those striking physical features.
Even though they had never met her in person, the features instantly brought a single name to their minds.
The name of the woman who had driven out the Unmatched Under Heaven Lü Bu during the Zhang Rang subjugation campaign was surely...
"Th... that person is..."
"No way, Liu... Guwaaaaaagh!!!!"
"Wh... what?"
In the blink of an eye, a comrade collapsed to the ground, letting out a terrible scream.
At the same time, the woman who had been standing over there just moments ago was now visible right before their eyes.
And then.
"D... danger...!"
-Whoosh!
-Craaaash!!!
An immense force struck with a sound like an explosion.
Spears shattered, shields crumpled under the impact, and one flank of the soldiers was crushed to pulp in an instant.
It was clearly a slender woman, if you ignored her chest, merely swinging two swords one-handed,
yet the monstrous strength packed within displayed destructive power as if she were clubbing people with an iron mace.
"Ugh..."
"Keuk..."
Soldiers sprawled across the ground.
As they watched the woman instantly slash their throats, the faces of the remaining soldiers froze rigid.
"Th... this is...!"
"Ev... everyone pull yourselves together! If spears and shields don't work, then arrows... urghk!!!"
A sword pierced the abdomen of the deputy commander, who had been trying somehow to salvage the situation.
After pulling her sword from the deputy commander, dead without even finishing his last words,
she flashed her cold red eyes once more and surveyed the terror-stricken soldiers.
"Guh... guh..."
"D... don't be scared! Sh... she's just one person, anyway!"
A soldier spoke, his voice trembling as he aimed his spear.
Not knowing that saying such a thing was itself a death flag in later times, he felt his legs go numb at the sight of that monstrous bitch turning her gaze toward him...
"... Huh?"
But in the instant before that feeling could register,
his consciousness was ejected straight to the underworld the very moment he perceived that his neck and head had been separated.
Comrades dying in the blink of an eye, unable even to grasp what had happened.
Seeing this, the surviving soldiers were seized by uncontrollable horror and terror,
but those emotions did not last long.
For the dead are not capable of feeling emotion.
"Kheuheo... heo-eok..."
"Th... this can't... be..."
The woman had turned dozens of soldiers into corpses in moments.
Then, after she lightly shook the blood from her Twin Ancient Swords, a woman with golden hair holding a massive Three-Pointed Blade approached from behind her, a deep smile on her face.
"Good work. I've seen it before, but your skill is still amazing. Our lord didn't attach you girls to this mission for nothing."
"You flatter me, General Ji Ling."
The woman who answered with a calm smile—
Liu Bei.
At the same time, to her left and right, women bearing a Crescent Blade and an Eight-Zhang Serpent Spear appeared, leading troops.
"All enemies on the left flank have been beheaded."
"Right flank is cleaned up too! Only the inside is left now!"
The Three Sisters had finished clearing the surroundings in an instant.
Seeing them, Ji Ling stepped forward, wielding her blood-dripping Three-Pointed Blade.
"Good. Then we breach immediately."
Ji Ling entered with her usual confident, spirited smile.
However, apart from her outward appearance, at this moment, a solemn resolve quite different from usual filled her mind.
'I absolutely must succeed in this mission. Only then can I keep that promise...'
