The Antlion's Jaws
After the brief respite ended, the soldiers under Ju Tae's command let out a unified roar and charged toward the enemy lines. Their numbers were roughly fifty. Sun Quan's side still had about a hundred left. At first glance the distribution seemed oddly balanced, but Ju Tae had her own calculations. That very ambiguity, she believed, would throw the enemy into confusion.
"The real question is how to deceive a reasonably clever foe."
Completely surrounded, the enemy began their breakout. The force split into two groups, each striking in a different direction. The first group to break through was small but moved with ferocious momentum, while the second, twice as large, pushed forward in their wake. Which group held the enemy commander?
Common sense suggested the rear—using the first group as a distraction to slip away—but that was far too obvious, and therefore suspicious. Moreover, the fact that Ju Tae, the enemy's de facto field commander, was positioned in the front made it even more questionable. Perhaps this was a trap within a trap. What if the first group, which looked like bait, was actually the enemy's elite main force?
"In reality, they're nothing special."
Yet when one examined the actual composition of Ju Tae's troops, the word "scraped together" fit all too well. Many of them had been seriously wounded only the day before. In short, every able-bodied soldier had been assigned to Sun Quan's group, while the remainder—those barely fit to fight—had been placed under Ju Tae. It was an arrangement that screamed "bait," but it carried one fatal flaw: the bait did not look like bait.
"We'll make up for our lack of numbers with our own martial prowess......"
Being praised by someone is usually a pleasant thing. But when lives are on the line, even the most confident soldier feels a flicker of hesitation—especially when the person guarding your back clearly does not trust you. Still, once a decision is made, complaints change nothing. I exhaled and began swinging my blade in the wake of Ju Tae's roaring advance.
"Ambush!!!!"
Ye Gwan's forces had, as expected, already completed their encirclement. The moment they spotted Ju Tae and the bait troops, they raised their makeshift barricades and loosed arrows as though they had been waiting for this exact moment. The barricades were crude—mere branches lashed together—yet they served their purpose, slowing the charge.
"Impressive."
Fighting at the forefront alongside Ju Tae, I could not help but admire the disciplined response of Ye Gwan's soldiers. Even under sudden assault they moved with calm coordination. Some raised the barricades, others thrust spears and halberds to block the advance, while the rest rained arrows and stones to blunt the enemy's momentum. Though these measures inflicted little damage, they were perfectly optimized for defense, buying time for reinforcements from larger units to arrive.
And once those reinforcements appeared, the counterattack began. In moments, fresh troops surged forward, lowering two sections of the barricade and attempting to envelop us from three sides. The sight was striking.
"I'll have to praise Ye Gwan later."
Of course, that would have to wait. Right now her efficiency had made our situation considerably more troublesome. With the breakthrough stalled, enemy soldiers swarmed toward us like cockroaches. Their numbers already exceeded ours threefold. Even on paper the disparity was overwhelming; when one considered the actual quality of our troops, the outlook grew bleaker still.
To reverse this disadvantage, Ju Tae would have to deliver on her promise of personal valor—and she did. After a quick glance around, she pointed at a weak point in the line and hurled herself forward with terrifying force.
"Follow me!!!"
She plunged straight into the spearmen trying to block her path and began swinging her glaive. The audacity of charging into a thicket of spears was astonishing enough; what followed was even more so. In rapid succession she skewered three or four men, carving out space, then drove onward with the same relentless momentum she had shown the previous day.
"S-Stop her!!!"
Officers shouted and threw themselves in her way, only to join the growing list of the dead. One particularly brave officer, seeing his comrade impaled, seized the momentary gap and lunged. He even managed to wound Ju Tae's left arm. In the next instant she discarded her glaive, drove her fist into his face, and shattered every expectation.
"You bastard!!!!"
"Hrrrk......"
With a sound that suggested every tooth had been knocked loose, the courageous officer collapsed, lifeless. That single blow crushed whatever remained of Ye Gwan's will to resist. Covered in wounds and drenched in blood, Ju Tae now looked like a demon from hell, yet no one dared approach her. Seizing the opening, her soldiers followed in her wake and finally broke through the encirclement.
"So this is the kind of monster we have to beat."
Watching her, I felt the same chill I had experienced when facing Lü Bu—the same overwhelming, almost insane display of martial might. The difference was that Lü Bu had walked away unscathed, while Ju Tae paid for every step with her own blood. From the perspective of those on the receiving end, however, the result was the same: they ended up as bloody pulp.
"......We'll just have to hope the traps we've laid elsewhere work."
Even after witnessing that massacre, Ye Gwan's troops still tried to regroup and block us again—an admirable display of resolve. But once Sun Quan's main force also began its breakout in earnest, the enemy's attention shifted, reinforcements arrived too late, and the line finally collapsed.
When the path ahead was clear, I turned to check our remaining numbers. Only about a dozen soldiers still followed. Breaking through an army with fifty men was no small feat, yet those dozen could no longer be considered a fighting force.
"Are they... pursuing us?"
Leaning against a tree, Ju Tae asked the question. The rearmost soldier glanced back and shook his head. There had been considerable commotion during the breakthrough, but once we were through, no one had given chase. Ju Tae's expression darkened.
"...This is bad."
If the enemy had believed we were the main force, they would have pursued us regardless. The fact that they did not meant they had seen through the ruse and redirected everything toward Sun Quan. Ju Tae's valor had bought us time, but whether that time had been enough for Sun Quan to escape safely...
Ju Tae seemed to share the same fear; for a moment anxiety flickered across her usually stoic face. She quickly mastered it, however, and issued orders to the survivors.
"We move to the rendezvous point as planned. Once we've put enough distance between us and the enemy, we'll rest and set out again at dawn. Can everyone still walk?"
Though exhausted, they all nodded. If anyone had been unable to walk, they would never have made it this far. Then again, that statement was not entirely accurate. Among those who had followed were several who should not have been able to walk at all.
Regrettably, we could not save everyone. Yet anyone who still possessed working legs—regardless of pain or injury—had been able to reach this point. Five of the severely wounded had managed to keep up. After checking everyone's condition, including theirs, I reported to Ju Tae.
"They seem stable for now. I'll treat them as best I can once we reach the campsite."
"Good. Then we move."
With daylight still remaining, we marched until sunset, then slipped into a nearby forest to prepare camp. There was no time to build fires, and since we had abandoned all cooking gear for the sake of speed, we made do with the rice balls and water we had received that morning.
"Did Lady Sun Quan make these herself?"
"Dunno. I saw that bastard Zhang San grinning while kneading them with his big paws."
"That son of a bitch...."
The rice had gone hard and the water lukewarm, yet under the circumstances they tasted better than any feast. Most of the survivors were former pirates with plenty of experience in such situations; even now they traded crude jokes while resting. Their postures were sloppy—leaning against trees or sprawled on the ground—but Ju Tae, recognizing their extreme fatigue, said nothing.
"There. All done."
Meanwhile, I had been busy tending to the wounded and had no chance to rest with the others. I moved from soldier to soldier, applying what medicines I had. By the time I finished with the last man, only Ju Tae remained—the one who had insisted on being treated last.
"Your turn, Lady Ju Tae."
"Before that."
She stopped me as I approached and rose to her feet.
"Walk with me for a moment."
So she had something to say. I put on a natural expression of mild curiosity. Ju Tae maintained her usual composure as she spoke.
"There's something I want to ask you."
*
"Something you want to ask... It must be important. Very well."
I followed her without protest. There was no point in refusing, and having her speak with me away from the others was not necessarily a disadvantage.
"What is it you wish to know?"
We walked a considerable distance before I judged it safe to speak.
"You performed quite well this time."
Ju Tae began without preamble.
"Honestly, it was surprising. I'd never even heard your name before. Someone capable of such achievements should have reached my ears in some form, yet they hadn't. So tell me—where were you before you joined my unit?"
"I am originally from Xuzhou and served under Tao Qian. When Cao Cao launched the massacre in Xuzhou, my unit, stationed in Guangling, was mobilized. We were defeated near Langya and fled south to Yangzhou in search of safety. With no other means of livelihood, I enlisted. During the recent recruitment I was selected and assigned to your command, Lady Ju Tae."
The question had come suddenly, but I had long prepared an answer for just such an occasion. The words flowed smoothly. My story also explained my strong Xuzhou accent, my familiarity with the geography around Xiapi and Guangling, and why a relative newcomer could fight with such ease. Ju Tae seemed to accept it; she nodded.
"I see."
Then she asked the next question.
"What about Lady Sun Quan, then?"
"What do you mean......"
"You know I'm a former pirate."
She cut off my attempt at feigned ignorance.
"I've seen many things. At the very least, I can guess why a young woman returning late at night would walk so uncomfortably."
So we had been seen on the way back. If she had witnessed our parting as well, she had every reason to press me. That was why she had reached the heart of the matter so quickly.
"I don't believe it was done by force, but I also know you're knowledgeable about medicines. I may not understand much about relations between men and women, but I see no natural reason for things to have progressed so rapidly. Therefore, I can only suspect you used some trick."
Slowly, she drew the sword at her waist and leveled it at me.
"Speak."
She must have been exhausted after fighting all day, yet her expression was sharp. She had never looked particularly friendly, but now her face was utterly devoid of warmth, radiating cold menace as she demanded a confession at swordpoint.
"What did you do to Lady Sun Quan?"
"To Lady Sun Quan......"
I played the part of a flustered new recruit struggling to clear up a misunderstanding, buying time. At the same time, I waited for the moment to arrive—for the drug to take effect, for my agents to reach their positions, and above all, for my power to return.
I endured until her blade hovered just before my throat. When she finally lowered her arm slightly and a thin line of blood welled at my neck, I spoke as though I had no choice.
"You're right. I did do a few things. For example, I put something in your water......"
"What......?"
Shock flashed across Ju Tae's face. I stepped back and explained, almost considerately.
"No, no—Lady Sun Quan only believes it's a mild sleeping draught. There's no need for that expression. And technically, she's not wrong. The medicine does induce drowsiness. It also has the minor side effect of relaxing the muscles, but since it's taken before bed, it shouldn't cause any real problems... unless, of course, one has something else to do beforehand."
"You little—!"
"And one more thing: the drug works faster when the body is excited. I only heard that secondhand, but it seems to be true."
I smiled as I watched her movements grow sluggish. There had been no need to drug her water today; our separate escape routes meant we would not meet at night. I had assumed Sun Quan would not bother, yet she had apparently followed my original instructions anyway. She had done it out of kindness, believing the medicine would cause no harm and might even ease fatigue. The result was that Ju Tae now staggered, strength draining from her limbs.
"I... I'll kill... you...!"
Still, she was Ju Tae. Even as the drug made movement increasingly difficult, she swung her sword at my neck without hesitation. The medicine had not yet fully taken hold, so she could still force her body to move if she pushed herself. That she could maintain such a fierce attack despite the poison was truly remarkable.
"As expected, you're magnificent."
"S-Shut... up...!"
Her tongue was beginning to slur. Her movements grew clumsy. Though I could not see inside her head, her thoughts were surely slowing as well. Knowing this, Ju Tae grew more desperate, determined to end the fight quickly. I had no intention of playing along.
The moment I heard rustling from the undergrowth, I leapt backward and shouted.
"Kill her!!!"
Five severely wounded soldiers burst from the shadows. Ju Tae's pupils widened in horror. Perhaps she was shocked by their vacant faces, the stench of rotting flesh hidden beneath bandages, or the fact that they attacked her without the slightest hesitation. Whatever the reason, the sight of them cost her precious seconds.
These men were already gravely weakened from the day's fighting; in a fair fight Ju Tae could have cut them down. The problem was that doing so would consume both time and stamina she could not afford to lose. Even so, she did not waste time hesitating. She bit her lip and fought.
In that interval I discarded my sword and took up the short spear I was more accustomed to wielding. I finished my preparations just as Ju Tae's movements grew even more labored.
"Y-You...!!!!"
She could barely speak now. Whether it was from rage or the paralysis spreading through her tongue was unclear, but her feelings were plain enough. A pity, really. Yet from her ruin I would reap power—the gift of malice earned by destroying a life and shattering a soul.
As she charged at me on unsteady legs, I recalled a power I had almost forgotten.
Strength Enhancement
My right arm swelled with sudden power. Using that surge as a springboard, I hurled the short spear like an arrow.
The sound of tearing wind followed.
"......"
The impact halted her charge and tore her body apart. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, she collapsed limply to the ground. I approached her slowly.
"You were a truly excellent guardian."
I spoke with genuine feeling. In many ways, Ju Tae had been a good protector for Sun Quan. Whether that protection had ultimately served Sun Quan well was another matter. I gently stroked her bloodied face.
"Therefore, you deserve to witness what comes next."
".....What......?"
"How unfortunate......"
The next afternoon, as the sun touched the horizon, I arrived alone at the designated rendezvous point. The soldiers who saw my battered state asked about the others. I answered with a shake of my head. Sun Quan, rushing out late, looked relieved at first—until she heard of Ju Tae's death. She collapsed on the spot.
"N-No... That can't be... It can't......!"
She clung to me, sobbing incoherently. The faces of the other survivors who had barely escaped with her were likewise filled with despair. Ju Tae had meant that much to them. And the closer I came to my goal, the heavier that despair became.
I smiled silently, savoring my success. That smile only deepened that evening when a half-broken Sun Quan begged me for Five Stone Powder with frantic desperation.
"If this can make me forget......"
Under the influence of the drug, Sun Quan's expression grew hazy. I reached for her without hesitation, extending a hand of tyranny.