Meng De POV
*Ding* *Ling* A clear crisp sound accompanied a blinding reflection. It seemed like the world was silent as the top of a silver spear slowly moved through the air.
And just ahead of that spear was Yuan Shao Yuan Ben Chu, who had neither turned her head nor regained her senses after getting drunk from victory.
Who is it!? Is it Ben Chu’s subordinate general?
The situation did not afford me the time to think, and the pain and exhaustion made it difficult for me to think deeply anyway so I could only yell out at Ben Chu, “Ben Chu! Behind you!”
“Eh?” Ben Chu gave a silly response before quickly turning around, but it was all too late.
“Yaa!” The helmet girl bellowed to invigorate herself and stabbed at Ben Chu with her spear.
“My lord!”
I thought it would be over but a large red being suddenly flashed past my eyes and stood in front of the spear.
Was that… Yan Liang!?
*Psh* Before I could react, the sound of flesh being torn filled my ears.
I’ve spent a long time on the battlefield but this piercing sound still gave the me who was lying on the ground a shock.
I looked over and saw that Ben Chu was unharmed while in front of Ben Chu was Yan Liang who wore a set of red plate armour. Even though the spear was already stabbed into her throat, Yan Liang still grasped tightly onto the spear, and halted its movements altogether,
“Let go!”
“…”
The assailant roared out in anger and tried to pull out the spear. Yan Liang’s hands trembled and she suddenly yelled out and used the last of her strength–
*Ka* The spear broke in half.
“Kuh!” The subordinate general was shocked by what Yan Liang did but she released the broken spear in her hands and reached for the sword by her waist.
“Zhang He!”
“Ah!”
By now, Ben Chu had already regained her senses fully, and she used her sword to flick away the subordinate general’s sword.
I see, so that subordinate general is Zhang He. I carefully sized her up. She was slightly thin but she was healthy, and had very well-defined features. The only flaw she had on her was that helmet of hers.
Just by looking, I could tell that this wasn’t any ordinary general.
“Yan Liang…” Ben Chu kept her sword pointed at Zhang He as she approached Yan Liang.
“…”
Yan Liang had already suffered a grievous wound to her back, now her throat was pierced and the bleeding from this wound was even worse. She had already begun convulsing lightly but she still nodded at Ben Chu.
“Yan Liang, Yan Liang you must hold on.” Ben Chu began to grow frantic when she saw Yan Liang’s state and touched Yan Liang’s shoulders with trembling hands before looking at Zhang He with fury.
But Zhang He maintained a cold look as she spoke up, “Yuan Shao, what right do you have to stare at me like that?”
“You killed my subordinate general, and betrayed me, what right do I not have against you?!” Ben Chu’s sword reached Zhang He’s chest as she said so but Zhang He remained motionless at this.
“Hmph! I, Zhang He, have never betrayed anyone. I am only loyal to my lord, Han Fu, Governor of Ji state.” She snorted as she said so, “You, Yuan Shao, used despicable means to force my lord into a corner for which I am here for vengeance!”
“…” I’d thought Ben Chu would just kill her outright but who knew that she actually listened to the end and remained silent before putting down the hand which held the sword.
“I was indeed careless with the matter of Han Fu. I explained this in the letter I had sent before.”
“What’s the use of an explanation when the person was already dead?”
“Kuh!” Ben Chu clicked her tongue very audibly as she rebutted, “In troubled times like these, wars and battles are commonplace and so are death and injury! I do respect your lord as a feudal lord yet why are you blaming me? Why not blame the era?!”
“Even in troubled times, righteousness and honour still exists! And I will live for the path of righteousness that I believe in!” Zhang He lunged at Ben Chu as she said so.
“You bastard!” Ben Chu was taken by surprise and they both landed on the ground and began exchanging blows with each other, “At the end of the day, what did Han Fu give you? Why are you so loyal to her?!”
“Han Fu may not be a wise ruler, but she is not power-hungry and does things well enough, so what’s wrong with her? Even if she was not a good ruler, did she have to meet with that sort of end?!”
“These are troubled times! Heroes are born in troubled times and all that are left are sacrifices!”
The 2 were still fighting as they squabbled.
Troubled times and righteousness huh, the truth is that these are just very useful excuses.
Because it’s troubled times, I can commit unlawful acts; because it’s righteous, I’ll follow through with it till the end.
But what is it really? Merely misguided fixation and excuses to act the way they want.
… Ben Chu, you better thank me for this.
“Zhang He!!” I yelled out as I thought so, “Does your path of righteousness stop at Han Fu’s death?”
“What!?” Zhang He stopped fighting with Ben Chu when she heard the words I yelled out with all the strength I could muster.
“Han Fu is already dead. Even if you get your vengeance, have you thought about what to do after that?”
“After that, I’ll… But that’s what my righteousness is about, so I’m not changing this decision no matter what!”
“Alright, let me give you a suggestion…” I smiled as I said so. When dealing with this kind of stubborn person, only only 1 method works, “You just need to continue on your path of righteousness.”
That method is to grant them a new objective, and hope.
“Eh?”
“I’m not asking you to forget about Han Fu’s vengeance, but I hope that you can think about letting your path of righteousness continue on after Han Fu,” I smiled as I said so to boost my confidence, “These are troubled times yes, but they will end at some point. And if the times can change, what reason is there that you cannot move on?”
“…” Zhang He sank into silence but she did not get up from Ben Chu below her. None of us spoke as we stood where we were motionlessly. Only after Ben Chu’s other troops made it here after a few minutes did Zhang He leave.
Thereafter, my troops came from the other side. Yuan Rang still wanted to continue, but I saw that it was getting late and I was worried about Hong so I just gathered up my troops and ordered them to retreat.
I don’t know if Ben Chu thought of the same thing as I did, but she didn’t chase after me when I retreated and returned to their own camp as well.
It was a long day and I’m really tired. But I’m still alive and though my companions have sustained heavy injuries, they are still alive and that’s enough for me.
(Author’s note: This chapter is more of a closing piece rather than an actual last chapter to the Battle of Guandu. And so, the Battle of Guandu is now more or less over. Thereafter will be something like an aftermath which does not have any battle scenes. I personally feel that the ending is a bit lacking and I wasn’t able to include everything I wanted to. Some stuff I left out include Cheng Yu, Man Chong, and Cao Ren’s illustrious battle logs. I will see if I can include these other short stories so keep a look out for those. Because we’re going to enter the Liu Biao chapter soon, please do look forward to what will come and continue to read this story.
PS: I haven’t forgotten about Yun Chang’s journey and will be continuing with that until the end of this volume.)
Meng De POV
*Ding* *Ling* A clear crisp sound accompanied a blinding reflection. It seemed like the world was silent as the top of a silver spear slowly moved through the air.
And just ahead of that spear was Yuan Shao Yuan Ben Chu, who had neither turned her head nor regained her senses after getting drunk from victory.
Who is it!? Is it Ben Chu’s subordinate general?
The situation did not afford me the time to think, and the pain and exhaustion made it difficult for me to think deeply anyway so I could only yell out at Ben Chu, “Ben Chu! Behind you!”
“Eh?” Ben Chu gave a silly response before quickly turning around, but it was all too late.
“Yaa!” The helmet girl bellowed to invigorate herself and stabbed at Ben Chu with her spear.
“My lord!”
I thought it would be over but a large red being suddenly flashed past my eyes and stood in front of the spear.
Was that… Yan Liang!?
*Psh* Before I could react, the sound of flesh being torn filled my ears.
I’ve spent a long time on the battlefield but this piercing sound still gave the me who was lying on the ground a shock.
I looked over and saw that Ben Chu was unharmed while in front of Ben Chu was Yan Liang who wore a set of red plate armour. Even though the spear was already stabbed into her throat, Yan Liang still grasped tightly onto the spear, and halted its movements altogether,
“Let go!”
“…”
The assailant roared out in anger and tried to pull out the spear. Yan Liang’s hands trembled and she suddenly yelled out and used the last of her strength–
*Ka* The spear broke in half.
“Kuh!” The subordinate general was shocked by what Yan Liang did but she released the broken spear in her hands and reached for the sword by her waist.
“Zhang He!”
“Ah!”
By now, Ben Chu had already regained her senses fully, and she used her sword to flick away the subordinate general’s sword.
I see, so that subordinate general is Zhang He. I carefully sized her up. She was slightly thin but she was healthy, and had very well-defined features. The only flaw she had on her was that helmet of hers.
Just by looking, I could tell that this wasn’t any ordinary general.
“Yan Liang…” Ben Chu kept her sword pointed at Zhang He as she approached Yan Liang.
“…”
Yan Liang had already suffered a grievous wound to her back, now her throat was pierced and the bleeding from this wound was even worse. She had already begun convulsing lightly but she still nodded at Ben Chu.
“Yan Liang, Yan Liang you must hold on.” Ben Chu began to grow frantic when she saw Yan Liang’s state and touched Yan Liang’s shoulders with trembling hands before looking at Zhang He with fury.
But Zhang He maintained a cold look as she spoke up, “Yuan Shao, what right do you have to stare at me like that?”
“You killed my subordinate general, and betrayed me, what right do I not have against you?!” Ben Chu’s sword reached Zhang He’s chest as she said so but Zhang He remained motionless at this.
“Hmph! I, Zhang He, have never betrayed anyone. I am only loyal to my lord, Han Fu, Governor of Ji state.” She snorted as she said so, “You, Yuan Shao, used despicable means to force my lord into a corner for which I am here for vengeance!”
“…” I’d thought Ben Chu would just kill her outright but who knew that she actually listened to the end and remained silent before putting down the hand which held the sword.
“I was indeed careless with the matter of Han Fu. I explained this in the letter I had sent before.”
“What’s the use of an explanation when the person was already dead?”
“Kuh!” Ben Chu clicked her tongue very audibly as she rebutted, “In troubled times like these, wars and battles are commonplace and so are death and injury! I do respect your lord as a feudal lord yet why are you blaming me? Why not blame the era?!”
“Even in troubled times, righteousness and honour still exists! And I will live for the path of righteousness that I believe in!” Zhang He lunged at Ben Chu as she said so.
“You bastard!” Ben Chu was taken by surprise and they both landed on the ground and began exchanging blows with each other, “At the end of the day, what did Han Fu give you? Why are you so loyal to her?!”
“Han Fu may not be a wise ruler, but she is not power-hungry and does things well enough, so what’s wrong with her? Even if she was not a good ruler, did she have to meet with that sort of end?!”
“These are troubled times! Heroes are born in troubled times and all that are left are sacrifices!”
The 2 were still fighting as they squabbled.
Troubled times and righteousness huh, the truth is that these are just very useful excuses.
Because it’s troubled times, I can commit unlawful acts; because it’s righteous, I’ll follow through with it till the end.
But what is it really? Merely misguided fixation and excuses to act the way they want.
… Ben Chu, you better thank me for this.
“Zhang He!!” I yelled out as I thought so, “Does your path of righteousness stop at Han Fu’s death?”
“What!?” Zhang He stopped fighting with Ben Chu when she heard the words I yelled out with all the strength I could muster.
“Han Fu is already dead. Even if you get your vengeance, have you thought about what to do after that?”
“After that, I’ll… But that’s what my righteousness is about, so I’m not changing this decision no matter what!”
“Alright, let me give you a suggestion…” I smiled as I said so. When dealing with this kind of stubborn person, only only 1 method works, “You just need to continue on your path of righteousness.”
That method is to grant them a new objective, and hope.
“Eh?”
“I’m not asking you to forget about Han Fu’s vengeance, but I hope that you can think about letting your path of righteousness continue on after Han Fu,” I smiled as I said so to boost my confidence, “These are troubled times yes, but they will end at some point. And if the times can change, what reason is there that you cannot move on?”
“…” Zhang He sank into silence but she did not get up from Ben Chu below her. None of us spoke as we stood where we were motionlessly. Only after Ben Chu’s other troops made it here after a few minutes did Zhang He leave.
Thereafter, my troops came from the other side. Yuan Rang still wanted to continue, but I saw that it was getting late and I was worried about Hong so I just gathered up my troops and ordered them to retreat.
I don’t know if Ben Chu thought of the same thing as I did, but she didn’t chase after me when I retreated and returned to their own camp as well.
It was a long day and I’m really tired. But I’m still alive and though my companions have sustained heavy injuries, they are still alive and that’s enough for me.
(Author’s note: This chapter is more of a closing piece rather than an actual last chapter to the Battle of Guandu. And so, the Battle of Guandu is now more or less over. Thereafter will be something like an aftermath which does not have any battle scenes. I personally feel that the ending is a bit lacking and I wasn’t able to include everything I wanted to. Some stuff I left out include Cheng Yu, Man Chong, and Cao Ren’s illustrious battle logs. I will see if I can include these other short stories so keep a look out for those. Because we’re going to enter the Liu Biao chapter soon, please do look forward to what will come and continue to read this story.
PS: I haven’t forgotten about Yun Chang’s journey and will be continuing with that until the end of this volume.)
