A Relationship That Was 'Sseoksidingyu' in the Original Timeline
A Relationship That Was 'Sseoksidingyu' in the Original Timeline
"Ah... No, the General of the Left herself will go?"
General of the Left Dong Zhuo, charging in suddenly without so much as a turn signal.
This unexpected turn of events threw me into considerable confusion,
and seeing my reaction, Dong Zhuo offered a light smile.
"To face someone of that caliber, shouldn't I be the one to step forward? You know my skills better than anyone. So I shall go and deal with him."
"Hmm..."
Indeed, with Dong Zhuo's ability, even against Gongsun Zan, defeat seemed unlikely.
Her position as Vice Alliance Leader was a bit of a concern, but since Gongsun Zan over there was of the same rank as Ding Yuan, he was effectively the enemy's second-in-command.
In a way, their standing matched well enough, and despite my inner hesitation, I ultimately had no choice but to nod.
"... Don't overdo it."
"Worry not, for I shall end this shortly. In the meantime, do think of a gift for me."
Dong Zhuo's reply, brimming with joy at my concern.
Seeing her so happy—almost excessive for a simple desire to earn merit—stirred in me a mix of emotion and a hint of suspicion.
'Has she been starving for action lately?... It has been a while since she directly fought in a battle... Still, this seems a bit much for just that...'
*
"Wahahaha! You cowardly lot! Why do you not come out already? I have heard that Liu Bei, my younger sister, is among you. Come out and face me! This elder brother must administer a stern lesson to his younger sister!"
I didn't know the details because Ding Yuan had been tight-lipped, but apparently, Liu Bei had killed one of Ding Yuan's subordinate generals or something.
Gongsun Zan was deeply displeased by the enormous trouble caused by his younger schoolmate, who hailed from the same hometown and had studied under the same teacher.
'No, I am right here on this side, so how could that wretch attach herself to that Yuan Shu or whatever he's called? I humored her because she's been meek until now, but this won't do. I shall have to discipline her thoroughly this time...'
And so Gongsun Zan waited for Liu Bei, determined to discipline his errant younger schoolmate.
But...
"Huh? Who is that woman..."
From afar, he had taken her for Liu Bei because of her characteristically large chest.
Yet as the distance closed, the opponent's appearance became clearly visible.
A beautiful woman with dark hair that held a deep purple hue, radiating a sharp, cutting aura.
With a long sword on one side and a quiver of arrows on the other, she brought her red horse to an abrupt halt right before Gongsun Zan's eyes.
"Who are you, wench? I clearly called for Liu Bei."
"Liu Bei? Hah, so you raised your voice declaring you would face a mere county magistrate like her? I thought you'd be someone a bit more remarkable, being the White Horse General, but now I see you are nothing special."
"You cur... how dare you spout such nonsense? And what exactly are you, you wench?"
"Hoo-hoot..."
Without a word, the woman drew her sword in answer to Gongsun Zan's question.
Immediately after, a distinct, sharp light began to blaze from her eyes.
"My name is Dong Zhuo. I am the General of the Left of the Han Dynasty, and I have come to claim your head today!"
"! Do... Dong Zhuo? No... then you wench are that one from Xiliang who... ugh!"
-Clang!!!!
At that moment, before he could even finish his sentence, an arrow flew towards Gongsun Zan.
He managed to block it by a hair's breadth, but the ominous sound and heavy impact that accompanied it spread bewilderment across his face.
"You... you bastard... a cowardly sneak attack..?"
"To speak of cowardice on a life-or-death battlefield... those are not words one would expect from a man who has faced so many frontier tribes."
"Tch! Very well, come and die by my hand today!"
Gongsun Zan kicked his horse forward, radiating fury.
His sword, carrying the momentum of the horse's speed, swung directly for Dong Zhuo's neck.
Yet...
-Clang!!!
"Grk!"
"Hmm... You're quite good, aren't you?"
The numbing shock that spread through his hand and past his wrist was worse than when he had blocked the arrow.
Despite the added acceleration of his horse, it felt less like deflecting a blade and more like forcibly stopping a flying boulder. A chill began to run down Gongsun Zan's spine.
Dong Zhuo's sword swung back at Gongsun Zan.
In an instant, terrifying power was exerted, and Gongsun Zan was pushed straight back.
Dong Zhuo's momentum was like a wild beast charging in, fangs bared.
At this, Gongsun Zan knew it instinctively.
This wench Dong Zhuo was on an entirely different dimension from those he had faced before.
And.
That at this rate, he might truly die here.
'Damn it... I'd heard Dong Zhuo's martial skill was uncommon, but I never imagined it would be this much...'
A figure who was an object of terror to the frontier peoples of Liang Province, and a hero who, alongside Yuan Shu, suppressed the Yellow Turbans.
He had heard that Yuan Shu was famed only for his command, and his personal martial prowess was merely average. Dong Zhuo, however, was known for unerring archery skills and a monstrous, fearsome strength.
And that the rumors were by no means false,
Gongsun Zan was now experiencing it all too vividly in this moment.
"Haht!"
"!!!"
-Clang!! Clang!!!
Dong Zhuo's attacks resounded not like clashing swords, but like the pounding of a hammer.
With every exchange, Gongsun Zan felt a sensation as though his heart was being crushed, forcing him to retreat little by little.
Riding this momentum, Dong Zhuo maintained her relentless, sharp offensive.
An even heavier layer of power was added to her sword-swinging arm.
And then.
-Crash!!!
Gongsun Zan and his horse staggered with a thunderous sound.
In a single moment, Gongsun Zan's stance crumbled.
Although he managed to just barely twist his entire body to evade Dong Zhuo's follow-up attack,
from that instant onward, the already wobbling scales began to tip rapidly in Dong Zhuo's favor.
'Damn it all! Just what the hell makes this wench so strong?'
Gongsun Zan's defense slowly crumbled before Dong Zhuo's overwhelming power.
In the end, unable to withstand the situation any longer, Gongsun Zan was forced to make a decision.
'If this keeps up, I'll really die! It can't be helped... I'll just have to flee for now...'
With that thought, Gongsun Zan swung his sword with all his might.
Dong Zhuo twisted her body slightly and evaded it without much difficulty, but...
That fleeting opening was exactly what Gongsun Zan had wanted.
"Hyah!"
"Why, that bastard..."
Gongsun Zan frantically spurred his white horse and attempted a retreat.
Since the horse he rode was a thousand-li horse, carefully chosen from the finest of its kind, he thought he could make a safe escape.
He thought.
"Hey. Where do you think you're going?"
"!? Wh... what the... huk!"
In the blink of an eye, Dong Zhuo caught up to Gongsun Zan.
Only then did he realize that the horse she was riding was the famous Red Hare, and Gongsun Zan's face began to stiffen into a rigid mask.
Possessing a distinctive red coat,
capable of running 1,000 li by day, and 800 li by night.
A total of 1,800 li; a supreme steed with specs three times... no, 1.8 times faster than the average thousand-li horse.
Though Gongsun Zan's horse was a thousand-li horse, shaking off Dong Zhuo's Red Hare was an impossible feat.
"Th... this is bullshiiiit!!!"
"Then, farewell!"
A gleaming smile spread across Dong Zhuo's face as she swung her sword toward the despair-stricken Gongsun Zan.
At that moment.
-Whoosh!
"!"
-Craaash!
The next instant, an arrow flew in from somewhere.
Dong Zhuo's sword, which had been about to take Gongsun Zan's head, immediately changed direction and deflected the arrow.
The shock vibrating through her hand was so chilling it made Dong Zhuo furrow her brow.
And then...
"Ugh..."
"Go quickly, General."
"Th... thank you."
"..."
A figure had appeared, blocking the path of Dong Zhuo, who had intended to continue her pursuit even in this situation.
The moment she spotted the wretch she had seen a few times in Luoyang in the past,
Dong Zhuo's brow naturally furrowed itself.
"Lü Bu, you wench... do you dare interfere with me?"
"General Gongsun Zan is this Lü Bu's uncle. I shall not let him die at the hands of filth like you, Dong Zhuo."
Lü Bu stood with her Fangtian Halberd, wearing a frigid expression.
As if solely focused on aiding Gongsun Zan's escape, she remained motionless for a moment, merely staring at Dong Zhuo with cold eyes.
Right then...
-Whik!
In an instant, Dong Zhuo nocked an arrow and loosed it straight at Gongsun Zan.
At that moment.
"Where do you think you're aiming!"
-Boom!!
Lü Bu strung her bow at a not-inconsiderable speed and fired in one motion.
The arrow she loosed precisely struck the shaft of Dong Zhuo's arrow as it flew towards Gongsun Zan, knocking it from the sky.
The sound it made defied any notion that an arrow had just hit another arrow...
"Tch..."
In the end, having let her sure kill on Gongsun Zan slip away before her eyes, Dong Zhuo glared at Lü Bu with a gaze brimming with fury.
"You dare much for one so young... to so brazenly block my path. I once thought highly of you and even extended a hand to you, but if you choose to act this way, I have no choice."
"Did you think I would betray my father over a single horse? To see a person as less than a beast of burden, you miserable son of a bitch. I will make you pay dearly for that today!"
With those words, Lü Bu immediately spurred her horse and charged toward Dong Zhuo,
and Dong Zhuo also drove her horse onward, charging straight at Lü Bu.
And then..
-Craaash!!
The Fangtian Halberd swung in a sharp arc, and Dong Zhuo blocked it.
Yet, right after, Dong Zhuo's already hardened face twisted into an even deeper grimace.
'This girl... is strong.'
The numbing sensation was felt despite blocking only a single strike.
With that as the opening, Lü Bu relentlessly swung her Fangtian Halberd and continued her rapid assault.
Lü Bu wielded a halberd that could never be called light as easily as one might handle a pair of chopsticks.
In sheer physical strength, Dong Zhuo could match anyone, yet even that could not compare to Lü Bu's.
"Urk!"
With every clashing exchange, Dong Zhuo was being overpowered in strength.
On top of that, when it came to weapon handling, Lü Bu's skill was such that it even surpassed Dong Zhuo, who was a battle-hardened veteran of many campaigns.
There was no telling how this mere youth could pull off such a thing, but it was a fact that Dong Zhuo herself could not deny.
And so, in a situation that was clearly disadvantaged for anyone to see, Dong Zhuo was wholly occupied with defense.
But even so,
Dong Zhuo had no intention in this moment of spurring Red Hare and fleeing.
It was not simply a matter of a warrior's pride.
Had it been for such a reason, she would likely have turned her horse's head the moment she spotted Lü Bu.
However...
Right now, Dong Zhuo had a reason she could not run away.
A reason it was impossible to run away.
'I can't... I can't be pushed back like this. If I don't secure some merit now, to that woman...'
That wench who still flickered in her mind's eye.
The thieving cat who had captured everyone's attention by building a massive achievement on her very first campaign,
and had recently been growing her power after receiving prize money and soldiers from Yuan Shu.
Liu Bei.
To avoid falling behind that wench,
to solidify her hard-won place at Yuan Shu's side,
she, too, had to establish a merit that was comparable here and now.
Her original intent had been to claim Gongsun Zan's head,
but the sudden intrusion of Lü Bu had changed her objective.
Even if she could not defeat this girl, if she could at least wound her and then escape, that alone would be enough to compensate for the blunder of letting Gongsun Zan get away.
With such thoughts, Dong Zhuo struggled to find an opening in Lü Bu's guard, but...
-Chaeeng!!
"Gah!!"
Regardless of her efforts, the reality was far too harsh.