Here, I Picked It Up on the Way
Here, I Picked It Up on the Way
"Your name is... Xu... Rong, you said?"
"Yes! That's right, General! My name is Xu Rong."
Compared to the impressive feats she'd just shown, the name left almost no impression at all.
Xu Rong.
When it comes to this person, in Romance of the Three Kingdoms-related media you could say it's easier to count the works where he appears than the ones where he doesn't.
Honestly, if you asked someone who's read the Romance three times—whether as a novel or a comic—'Who's Xu Rong?', probably ninety-nine percent would answer 'Huh? There was someone like that?'
Even in the original story, the Romance, his role is exactly 'random general in Dong Zhuo's army number one.'
He ambushed Cao Cao, who was pursuing Dong Zhuo, and pushed him into danger, only to be instantly cut down by Xiahou Dun when he rushed in... literally a textbook extra who gets a single line and that's it.
In that one game, Xu Rong is a general with roughly seventy War stat. Not even close to Ji Ling or Hua Xiong—barely on par with this Yuan Shu.
Not exactly trash, but not exactly good either—a so-so C to B-rank character.
But.
Leaving aside his miserable presence and ambiguous reputation in the source material, I wasn't exactly baffled by the fearsome martial might Xu Rong had just displayed.
As I mentioned, in the Romance and all sorts of media, Xu Rong is the absolute bottom of the barrel.
However, contrary to this shabby treatment, in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Xu Rong was literally the real ace of Dong Zhuo's forces.
A famous commander who, in truth, achieved far greater exploits than Hua Xiong, or even Lü Bu, whose record in the Records looks rather pathetic.
Above all, among the figures he defeated—and not merely defeated, but nearly killed and beaten like dogs—were none other than Cao Cao and Sun Jian.
On top of that, the academic consensus is that at the time, Cao Cao most likely even had Liu Bei and his sworn brothers serving under him.
Forget dead-last name recognition; Xu Rong was the one who single-handedly annihilated essentially the entire first-generation protagonists of the Three Kingdoms—an unprecedented achievement.
Although in the Records, his end—dying while fighting Li Jue and Guo Si after Dong Zhuo's death—is somehow even more miserable than that of his Romance counterpart, even that has room for mitigation, since it resulted from being betrayed by comrades he trusted.
After all, the Li Jue and Guo Si of the Records were trash in every other respect, but their combat ability alone was quite decent.
From that perspective, there was nothing strange about the Xu Rong before me possessing considerable martial skill in this world where the Romance and the Records overlapped.
The problem was why someone who ought to be a subordinate of Dong Zhuo was under my command as anonymous soldier number one... but honestly, when I thought about it, that wasn't so strange either.
Right now, the troops under my command, including the initial five thousand elites, were mostly recruited from Hedong, which had been Dong Zhuo's territory.
So it wouldn't be strange if Xu Rong, who in the original course should have flowed into Dong Zhuo's service right after the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, had happened to end up here instead.
Well, anyway, whether she fell from the sky, rose from the ground, or arrived due to a shipping error, it didn't matter.
The Romance this, the original timeline that—fuck all that.
What mattered right now was that, at last, a rare-grade talent besides Ji Ling had popped up before me.
For me, who was already burning up inside because famous-name figures just wouldn't gather, and regardless of the fact that her name value was pitiful, there was no reason not to recruit her—someone I could see as an A+ rank at the very least.
And as quickly as possible, before she got tangled up with Dong Zhuo for nothing.
"Xu Rong, I would like to bestow a post upon you for your achievements. Is that acceptable?"
"If you grant it, I, Xu Rong, shall devote my loyalty to you, General!"
'That quick?'
Because I'd been shot down so many times trying to recruit people up until now, such an instant yes actually felt unfamiliar.
But well, since refusing would have been the truly strange thing in this situation, I accepted it for what it was.
"As it happens, I needed a new Colonel to lead the troops. I'll entrust the position to you, so show me what you've got."
"A... a post as Colonel, you say?"
"Not to your liking?"
"No—not at all! I... I, Colonel Xu Rong, shall devote myself forever to General Yuan, who has taken me in!"
'Yessss!'
Thus, unlike Gung Seon and the others in the past, Xu Rong accepted my recruitment offer without putting on the brakes.
As I watched her swear loyalty with eyes sparkling, I kept a calm smile on the surface, while inside I was roaring with a cheer that felt like it would split me open.
And a tiny pang of guilt for unintentionally NTR-ing Lady Dong Zhuo's future ace was just a bonus.
*
"Goddammiiit!!!"
"G-General, please calm yourself."
"Are victory and defeat not the common lot of soldiers? Though we've lost, surely later there will be another chance... Gwargh!"
Zhang Liang kicked his subordinate in the stomach. Having completely lost his composure, he began kicking the fallen man without restraint.
"Chance? You call that a chance? You really think such a thing exists? Two hundred thousand troops shattered in an instant! How the hell am I supposed to rebuild from this? Stop spouting that worthless drivel!"
"You are most correct. But if you know all that so well, it is most curious how you managed to get so thoroughly and Yellow-Turbans-hate-fully crushed, I do wonder."
"!"
"You... you!!!"
That disgustingly familiar tone of voice reached his ears. When Zhang Liang turned his head, there was that damn woman...
A blue-haired female commander from Bing Province... also known as a filthy government spy, was beaming with a bright smile.
"You filthy traitor! How dare you mock me!"
"Hyaah! How rude the things you say! This Hua Xiong is not a traitorly thing at all! This one was from the beginning not a Han-hating Yellow Turban but a subordinate of Governor of Hedong, Lord Dong Zhuo! Even if the mouth is crooked, the words are straight, it is!"
"Shut up! I don't care what you were! I'll tear you limb from limb to vent my anger!"
"Uuu! How regrettable it is! This Hua Xiong would also like to dismember you right now, but there is already a reservation it is! Farewell, it is!"
"Wh... what? What the hell is that supposed to... GURK!!!"
Before he could even finish reacting to her incomprehensible words, an abrupt, violent pain struck him, and Zhang Liang's gaze dropped downward.
What he saw was a sword thrust through his stomach. The crimson blood smeared on it, and the squirming innards visible on its surface—he didn't need to think to know whose they were.
"Ga... ha... graah..."
"What a relief it is. I was so anxious I might miss you..."
"You... you wench...? *cough*"
Unable to continue, Zhang Liang vomited blood and collapsed. Holding the sword she'd pulled from his body, Dong Zhuo gazed at Zhang Liang's neck, which still held a spark of life, and said with a cold smile.
"... If I bring this... that person will be pleased, won't he?"
-Whack!!!
*
"Hah..."
The battle was over, and the cleanup was underway. I had won against an overwhelmingly larger army, and in the process even succeeded in acquiring a rare-grade general in Xu Rong, but...
As they say, human greed is boundless, and I couldn't help but sigh at the lingering regret.
"So I let Zhang Liang get away after all."
"Looks that way, my lord. At least among the dead, I didn't spot anyone like him."
"Forgive me... if only I had pushed just a little harder..."
Ji Ling and Xu Rong reproached themselves with bitterness. I forced a smile at them and said,
"Neither of you needs to be disappointed. Just winning without major damage in that situation is something to be thankful for."
"My lord..."
"General..."
"Come on! Everyone, be a little happier. We won, after all. Put aside the regret and let's just think about enjoying ourselves to the fullest."
While consoling the two with my words, I was also trying to soothe my own bitter heart when—
"General Yuan!"
"Ah... Governor."
She came racing this way in an instant astride Red Hare. Lady Dong Zhuo slid gracefully from the horse and immediately began checking me over in a fluster.
"A-are you all right? I heard you were nearly in danger. Are you wounded anywhere...?"
"I'm fine. I was a little startled, but we won without major problems."
"I-I see? Then I'm glad..."
Dong Zhuo blushed slightly, as if embarrassed by her own excessive fuss. But aside from her reaction, her subordinates standing behind her all looked so pleased it was as if light was shining from their faces.
Having returned after burning the enemy's main base to ashes according to plan, they seemed far more refreshed than we were.
"It looks like things went well on your end according to the strategy."
"Indeed. The plan we devised together bore fruit quite nicely."
Lady Dong Zhuo said this with a smile that felt just a little sticky. It seemed she was quite pleased because, unlike before when she'd been horribly beaten and barely saved face with our help, this time, as she said, we'd planned a strategy together and achieved a complete victory.
"Ah, and..."
Dong Zhuo suddenly looked as if she'd remembered something. Then she carefully brought over a pouch that had been hanging from one side of Red Hare.
"Erm... H-here. I found it on the way."
"Ah, th-thank you, Governor. But what is it?"
"You'll know once you open it. Please... accept it."
Lady Dong Zhuo spoke while slightly averting her gaze, as if she were handing over Valentine's Day chocolate or something. What on earth was it, that this lady who looked like she could chew through steel would be so embarrassed about?
Feeling puzzled by that, I carefully checked the contents.
And.
"!"
"M-my lord... this is?"
As soon as I untied the bundle, a human head was revealed. To be precise, the severed head of the enemy general Zhang Liang.
Receiving fresh delivery of a human head that had been alive just moments ago—had I been the me from the previous world, I might have been quite flustered, but... Now, I actually began to feel an unconcealable joy at the definitive elimination of the enemy general.
"Ah..."
"Thank you, Governor."
Full of sincere gratitude, I reflexively grabbed Dong Zhuo's hand and held it tight.
In this battle, nearly half of the two hundred thousand Yellow Turbans had been killed or captured. But because of the overwhelming disparity in numbers, those who had fled still numbered a hundred thousand. Though unlikely, if they ever regrouped, we might have faced another troublesome situation.
But now that Zhang Liang was dead, I no longer needed to worry about that.
"D-do... you like it?"
"Of course. What better gift could there be in this situation?"
"Hm... hm... W-well, then I'm glad."
At my words of thanks, Dong Zhuo's ears turned bright red. Confirming once more that this woman was unexpectedly weak to praise, I let a smile straight from the heart show on my lips.
With the enemy commander dead, there was nothing left to fear. All that remained was for everyone here to enjoy the situation at ease.
"Everyone, rejoice! This battle has ended in our complete victory!"
"Waaaah!!!"
"Now! From this moment, all the wine and meat we've stored will be brought out! Let's all eat, drink, and enjoy ourselves to the fullest!"
"Long live!"
"Long live General Yuan! Long live Governor Dong!"
Cheers of joy echoed from all directions. Amidst those thunderous cheers, I raised the hand I still held—Dong Zhuo's hand—hoisting it high.
For some reason, the expressions of Ji Ling and Xu Rong as they watched seemed to turn slightly complicated, but... well, must be my imagination.
*
A letter held in one hand.
As she read its contents, her expression was as dry and impassive as ever. As if nothing had happened at all. A response so quiet it was extreme.
Seeing this, those gathered around her asked cautiously:
"Wh... what does it say?"
People were fretting that it might contain the worst possible news.
Lifting her gaze toward them, the silver-haired, blue-eyed woman answered in a voice as calm as ever.
"Gonglu won."
"Ah!"
"I-is that so? General Yuan achieved victory?"
At her words, people immediately began to buzz.
In the midst of that suddenly noisy situation, she—Yuan Shao, the eldest daughter of the Yuan Clan and the lord to whom they had pledged loyalty—clenched the fist hidden in her sleeve, and with a blank face, thought fiercely:
'Thank goodness... truly... truly thank goodness... my little brother... my Gonglu...'