Prizes: Written as 'Official Post', Read as 'Opportunity to Become My Subordinate'...

"G-Government troops!"

"What do we do? D-Do we have to fight?"

"Need you ask? Everyone, get a grip! We are the Yellow Turbans!"

"R-Right! The government soldiers who've died at our hands aren't just one or two!"

"Government troops don't mean a thing!"

The Yellow Turbans were seized with consternation as they watched the soldiers pour out of the forest.

Even so, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠amid the chaos, they tried to rally their wits and begin the fight.

On their way here, many of the villages they had plundered had been guarded by government forces.

Since every one of those encounters had ended in their victory, they expected this one to be no different.

Except...

"H-Hold on... l-look at that!"

"! Th-That's..."

The female commander at the front held a Three-Pointed Blade.

When the Yellow Turbans spotted the familiar face impaled upon it, they murmured vacantly, unable to help themselves.

"C-Chief... sir?"

That face, twice the size of any other—impossible not to recognize it.

The head of their chief Do Pae...

"U-Uwaaagh!"

"Th-The chief has been killed!"

The death of their chief, who possessed the greatest martial prowess among them, was more than enough to shatter the fighting spirit of the Yellow Turbans in an instant.

Unlike a moment ago, the rebels began to tremble and fall prey to terror.

Seeing this, the female commander shouted in a resolute voice.

"Sweep them all away! Do not let a single one of them live!"

*

A woman had begged me to save her daughter.

According to the woman's account, her daughter, despite her young age, possessed extraordinary strength and had single-handedly wiped out bandits who raided her village on several past occasions.

Two days had passed, but since there was still no sign of the Yellow Turbans, perhaps the girl was still alive.

To be honest, to me this simply sounded like the hollow hope of a mother who wanted to believe her daughter was still alive.

But the report that arrived from the scouts right afterward changed everything.

The moment I heard that the bandits were engaged in battle with someone, I immediately led my five-thousand elite troops and commenced our advance.

If the girl really was alive, I did want to rescue her, but more than that, I judged that the enemy was in such disarray right now that this was the ideal moment to strike.

And that prediction proved to be exactly right.

The Yellow Turbans were sprawled about without even having set up a proper camp.

At them I ordered an attack without an instant's delay.

"Exterminate every last Yellow Turban!"

"In the name of His Majesty the Emperor!"

The government troops swiftly launched their assault under the direction of Ji Ling and the other commanders.

Already in disarray and with their fighting spirit dashed by the death of the man who appeared to be their chief, the Yellow Turbans began to be slaughtered one-sidedly, unable to mount even a token resistance.

"Gyaaak!"

"S-Spare... spare m... Khurghk!"

Had they been a force with systematic discipline, they might at least have had a chance to stabilize the situation.

At the very least, even in a retreat, some could have stayed behind to buy time while the rest fled, minimizing their losses.

But these Yellow Turbans had never received proper training in the first place. They had simply relied on the weapons in their hands and their numbers to run rampant.

For Yellow Turbans thrown into chaos as they were now, any organized response was effectively impossible.

"Damn it! Everyone run! Get out of here any way you can and regroup..."

"What's the hurry?"

"! H-How did you get so close?"

"If you're going to run, leave your head behind!"

"Khurghk!!"

"V-Vice-Chief!"

Ji Ling rode down anyone who raised a voice especially loud and sent their heads flying.

Every time she swept her Three-Pointed Blade through the air, a cascade of enemy heads thudded to the ground—a sight that drove home, unmistakably, that a "named general" really was built differently.

If Ji Ling was already this formidable, it made me curious—almost eager—to imagine just how terrifying peerless warriors like Guan Yu or Lü Bu would be.

As I watched our forces, with Ji Ling at their core, sweep away the enemy so one-sidedly, a faint smile crept across my lips.

I know how it sounds, but I had been confident of victory right from the start.

Part of it was that our troops were a well-trained elite force, but above all, the quality of the enemy was simply abysmal.

Once the government army got serious, hadn't the Yellow Turbans, who supposedly boasted a million-strong host in the Original Timeline, been stripped down to the very bone in an instant?

Considering that even at that time the Han Dynasty's condition had been that of a critically ill patient, it was obvious without looking what kind of bubble the Yellow Turbans had been, far more inflated in scale and bluster than in substance.

There was, after all, a good reason why the five hundred volunteer soldiers led by the Peach Garden Oath's three sworn siblings had literally ground fifty-thousand Yellow Turbans into the dust.

Having confirmed that the battle had swung completely in our favor, I issued further orders to my subordinate commanders.

"Begin urging the enemy to surrender. By this point, most of them will kneel."

"Understood, General."

Now that victory was fully in hand, the bastards would be unable to resist any further.

And so, our first battle with the Yellow Turbans concluded in a perfect victory for our army.

*

"My lord, we won!"

"Yes, yes. You did well."

"Hehe..."

Ji Ling smiled as she brought me the head of an enemy commander.

Watching her—she reminded me of a golden retriever wagging its tail after fetching a frisbee—I smiled, deeply pleased, and gave her head a light pat.

Once that brief moment of praise, familiar only to the two of us, was over,

I turned toward the gathered commanders and, with a serious expression, resumed my declaration.

"Everyone has worked hard. However, it is not yet entirely over. The 2nd Army will disarm the prisoners and sort them to one side. The 3rd Army will locate and attack the enemy encampments nearby. If you seize prisoners and pursue those who flee, you should be able to locate them quickly."

"Yes, General."

"As you command."

The commanders immediately set into motion according to my orders.

The biggest hurdle had been crossed, and this was really just the wrapping-up phase, so I was not particularly worried about this part.

My attention was, rather, fixed on something else entirely.

After issuing instructions to the soldiers, Ji Ling and I arrived at the temporary encampment I had set up nearby.

There sat a girl draped in the black cloak I had given her, receiving treatment from a physician.

The girl did not so much as bat an eye, even though the treatment must have been quite painful.

At her side was her mother—the same woman who had bowed her head to the ground and begged me to save her daughter—watching over the child with an expression of mingled worry and relief.

Viewed in isolation, it was a heartwarming scene.

But given the full circumstances, it was anything but a picture of untroubled peace.

According to the mother, the girl's surname was Gung, and her given name was Seon-i.

She was just a child with a pretty face, but at this moment, Ji Ling and I were staring at the kid with no small amount of astonishment.

"I still can't quite believe it... That such a small child could accomplish something so extraordinary."

"According to the soldiers, she killed at least a hundred. Haha, I never imagined there could be a brat capable of the sort of feat that, at her age, only someone like me should be able to pull off."

All alone, the girl had fought for two days and nights and pinned down the Yellow Turbans.

To be honest, according to the prisoners, the reason it had been possible ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was that the chief whose head Ji Ling had lopped off had stubbornly camped here for two days, driving his men forward because he was determined to capture this little squirt.

But even allowing for that,

the martial power of a child who had beaten over a hundred armed grown men to death at that age already far exceeded the norm.

'Gung Seon-i... A name I've never heard before. What on earth is her identity?'

I didn't remember every single figure from the Three Kingdoms era, but even taking that into account, no one specific came to mind.

Even allowing for a childhood name, was there ever a character with the surname Gung?

Chen Gong had "Gong" in her given name, but I couldn't recall anyone with the surname Gung.

Maybe she really was just Anonymous Commoner Number One who never appeared in the Original Timeline?

Well, whether she was a named person in the Original Timeline or not, frankly it didn't matter.

What mattered right now was the girl's utterly incredible skill.

I couldn't be certain, but given the absurd feats she'd already displayed, I estimated that she was already at a level where she could hold her own against our Ji Ling.

If she was this formidable at such a young age, how extraordinary a commander would she become as she matured?

For me, perpetually starved for quality generals, she was a talent I absolutely wanted to secure if possible.

With that thought in mind,

I approached the pair, who appeared to have more or less finished their treatment.

"How is she?"

"Ah, General, thankfully there are no critical injuries. Most are light contusions. A few days of good rest and she will recover swiftly."

"That is a relief. You may withdraw."

"Uhm..."

"Is something the matter?"

"No... not at all. I shall take my leave then."

The physician hesitated for a moment, then carefully withdrew.

Though a question about it did linger at the back of my mind, for now I set it aside and turned to face the girl named Seon-i.

"Are your injuries all right?"

"Y-Yes... I am fine. Truly, thank you, General."

Seon-i dipped her head and expressed her thanks in a slightly trembling voice.

Beside her, her mother also bowed her head.

"How can we ever repay this kindness... Cough!... I am utterly at a loss, General."

The woman coughed lightly as she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expressed her gratitude.

She did not look as though she was in good condition either, and I made a mental note to order the physician to treat her soon.

"I merely did my duty. More to the point, I believe the one who owes thanks is me."

"Pardon?"

"What do you mean..."

"You are called Seon-i, yes? It is because you risked your life to tie down the Yellow Turbans that we were able to rescue the refugees and to secure this victory so easily. Today's victory is entirely your doing."

"N-No, sir. How could someone like me possibly..."

Seon-i was visibly flustered.

Finding the sight rather endearing, I took firm hold of her hand.

"I truly am grateful. As a general of the Han Dynasty, I express my thanks to you."

"Uuu..."

Her hands trembled, yet even so, her own grip on my hand held tight.

She was clearly embarrassed, but her reaction showed she did not entirely dislike this situation. Smiling, I gradually moved on to the main point.

"And in that regard... I wish to give you a reward. I shall bestow a monetary prize, grain, and an official rank."

"A-A monetary prize... and even official rank?"

Seon-i's expression filled with surprise at my words.

Needless to say, the official rank I was talking about meant a position working under me as a general or a deputy officer.

Saying "I will promote you as a reward" obviously sounds much more pleasant to the ear than bluntly saying "come work for me."

"Thank you. Truly, thank you, General."

The young girl expressed her gratitude, her face bright with joy.

As I watched the matter pass without any major hitch, moving smoothly just as I had anticipated, I smiled an inward smile of deep satisfaction.

Pleased that I might have just gained a future S-rank warrior who could perhaps one day surpass even Ji Ling.

But then.

"Cough. Seon-i..."

"!... Ah..."

Behind her, the mother called urgently to her daughter.

At this, the expression of exhilaration on Seon-i's face a moment before faded, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and she stepped back, as if wilting.

Standing before her daughter, the mother looked at me and spoke in a cautious tone.

"I am beyond grateful for the General's generous intentions. However..."