Reborn In The Three Kingdoms

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Liu Bei’s amusement faded. ”You’ll regret this.” Guan Yu turned away. ”No,” he said softly. ”We should have done it years ago.” And with that, they left. Left the study. Left the mansion. Left Liu Bei.

By dawn, the news had spread. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had renounced Liu Bei. The two men who had once been the pillars of his power now stood against him.

The army was in chaos and the city was in turmoil when they heard this news. And on the horizon, the banners of the Qilin and Xuanwu Army grew ever closer.

Liu Bei stood atop Xiangyang’s walls, watching as the first light of morning crept across the land. Alone. Abandoned. Defeated.

His fingers clenched around the hilt of his sword. This wasn’t over. It would never be over. Not while he still drew breath. Three days later, Lie Fan’s armies arrived at Xiangyang’s gates.

Seeing the tight defenses in Xiangyang, Lie Fan wasn’t intimidated for even a moment. To many, the towering walls and well manned parapets might seem impenetrable, but he saw through the illusion.

Like a grand palace built on sinking sand, the city was crumbling from within. The walls might be strong, the soldiers numerous, but morale? Trust? Loyalty? Those had long fled.

He raised his hand, and two of his generals gathered before him.

”Xu Rong, Ji Ling,” Lie Fan said, his voice calm yet firm. ”Take 3,000 cavalry each. Circle Xiangyang. Watch the roads. No one leaves without our knowing, especially not Liu Bei. If he tries to flee, I want his path cut off.”

The two generals saluted, their eyes gleaming with determination. ”Yes, My Lord!”

With that, they rode off, banners fluttering in the wind as their cavalry units thundered across the plains to encircle the doomed city.

Lie Fan turned back to the massive assembly of his Qilin and Xuanwu armies. A sea of armor, banners, and determination stretched behind him. He lifted his hand again, and a herald blew his horn.

”Begin siege preparations!”

The army moved like a living machine. Battering rams were rolled out, frames for trebuchets were erected, and teams began assembling climbing tigers, the siege ladders that could scale walls with frightening speed.

Artisans and engineers worked side by side, while soldiers dug trenches and set up camp in an organized formation. There was no panic, no confusion. Only purpose.

Lie Fan dismounted, handing his reins to a young soldier, then walked to a large pavilion tent at the rear of the camp. Inside, maps were spread out across a wooden table, weighed down by small iron figurines representing armies and terrain.

Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Xu Shu waited for him.

”What have you prepared for me?” Lie Fan asked as he approached.

Zhuge Liang stepped forward, gently adjusting his feathered fan. ”Our strategy focuses on minimizing casualties while accelerating the collapse of the city’s defenses, my lord.”

Pang Tong added, ”We will begin by bombarding the walls day and night using trebuchets to wear them down. Simultaneously, we dig siege tunnels to undermine structural points. Once weakened, we deploy climbing tigers on the eastern and southern walls.”

Xu Shu pointed to several red markers on the map. ”Here, and here, are weak points in their layout my lord. Places where the defenders are likely fewer. The people inside are demoralized. If we breach even one point, the rest may fall like dominoes.”

Zhuge Liang then leaned forward. ”And there is more thing, my lord. I’ve sent word through the Oriole Agents. Agent Cang Xiu is already in place inside the city. He had managed to convince and garner the support of Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, Wang Xiu, Chen Dao, Liao Hua, and Sun Guan, to coordinate an internal rebellion the moment we breach the walls. The timing must be precise.”

Lie Fan listened intently, nodding. ”Very good,” he said. ”Make sure the Oriole Network remains vigilant. I don’t want any surprises.”

He stepped out of the tent soon after, walking among his men as they toiled. His presence brought energy, soldiers stood straighter, worked faster. They looked to him not just as a commander, but as the spearhead of a new age, one that valued justice over false virtue.

Then, a sharp voice echoed across the plains.

”LIE FAN!”

The shout came from atop Xiangyang’s wall. All eyes turned. Lie Fan’s keen gaze immediately found the source.

There, standing tall despite the burden of defeat, was Liu Bei.

He still wore the robes of a ruler, though his face was hollow, his beard disheveled. Around him, his loyal soldiers lined the walls, some uncertain, others resolute. But Liu Bei alone stepped forward, his voice sharp as a sword.

Lie Fan mounted his horse and, with a slight gesture, spurred it forward toward the gate. Behind him followed Zhao Yun, Huang Chao, and his three Yellow Ghost bodyguards, riding with silent vigilance.

As they neared the gate, they halted at a safe distance to react if treachery came, yet close enough for words to carry.

Lie Fan looked up and offered a hearty laugh. ”Brother Xuande!” Lie Fan called out, his voice carrying across the field. ”It has been some time! The last we met, I believed you to be a kind, benevolent man, a paragon of virtue! Who would have thought it was all a facade? A mask hiding a manipulative, greedy, and selfish man.”

The words struck like a dagger. Liu Bei’s face twisted.

Liu Bei’s hands trembled at his sides. The sting of the words hit him deep. He had been many things in life, orphan, refugee, hero, ruler.

For years, he had crafted his image, he weeping lord, the humble hero, the man who put the people first. And now, in front of his own men, in front of the city he had ruled, Lie Fan was tearing that mask away.

”You dare!” Liu Bei roared. ”You ungrateful whelp! Everything I built, everything I suffered for! You twist it, poison it, turn my own people against me! You call yourself righteous? You’re a snake hiding behind smiles and scholars!”

His tirade grew louder, filled with venom and rage.

”Traitor! Liar! All of this is your doing! If not for you, my brothers would still be at my side. Guan Yu! Zhang Fei! You stole them from me!”

His soldiers on the walls shifted uncomfortably. This was not the calm, wise leader they had followed. This was a man consumed by spite.

Lie Fan sat still as a stone, listening without flinching. Only when Liu Bei paused for breath did he speak again.

”No, Brother Xuande. You lost them long before I arrived. They simply chose to open their eyes. You reaped what you sowed. You used the bond of brotherhood as a shield for ambition, not loyalty.”

Liu Bei’s face twisted, torn between fury and sorrow. For a moment, he looked like a broken man.

But it passed quickly, and he drew his sword.

”I swear this! So long as I breathe, so long as my blade remains sharp, I will never bow to you!”

Lie Fan smiled, cold and calm.

”Then prepare yourself, Liu Bei. For soon, that breath will be your last.”

Liu Bei’s hands clenched the battlement so hard his knuckles turned white. ”I should have killed you when I had the chance!”

Lie Fan tilted his head. ”Ah, but you didn’t. And now, here we are.”

With that, he turned his horse and rode back, his generals following. Behind him, the sounds of the siege resumed, the thud of wood, the clash of iron, the distant war drums echoing across the fields.

By nightfall, the trebuchets began to fire. Flaming boulders soared across the sky like comets, crashing against the walls of Xiangyang. The city shook. Fires erupted. Panic spread like wildfire among Liu Bei’s remaining loyalists.

Inside the city, Liao Hua and Sun Guan moved swiftly through shadowed alleys, coordinating with Cang Xiu and Chen Dao. They passed messages in the dark, rallied soldiers who had lost faith, and gathered civilians to prepare for the uprising.

Three days into the siege, one of the tunnels collapsed part of the southern wall. Lie Fan’s climbing tigers rolled forward.

From the inside, Chen Dao led a contingent to open the southern gate at the precise moment the defenders rushed to plug the breach. And as the gates opened, Lie Fan’s vanguard surged in like a wave crashing through a crumbling dam.

”The city falls!” Chen Dao bellowed. ”Lay down your arms, and you will be spared!”

One by one, the defenders hesitated. Then, as the they saw Lie Fan’s vanguard poured through the gates, they dropped their weapons.

Liu Bei, watching from the central tower, saw it all unfold. His city. His men. His power crumbling before his eyes. His lips moved in a silent curse. Then he turned and vanished into the chaos.

Lie Fan stood amid the ruins of Xiangyang’s outer defenses alongside Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Xu Shu, his gaze sweeping the smoke choked streets.

”Find him.”

The order was simple. Xu Rong and Ji Ling’s cavalry had already sealed every exit. Liu Bei would not escape. Not this time. Not alive.

Under Lie Fan’s order, the entirety of his army began to search for Liu Bei while a small section stayed behind to guard the prisoners of war. Amidst the controlled chaos of securing the city, Lie Fan stood amidst the smoldering remnants of Xiangyang’s outer district.

The scent of charred wood and blood still lingered in the air as soldiers fanned out through the streets like hounds hunting their prey.

It was then that a group of men approached him, stepping carefully over the debris. Among them were familiar faces—Cang Xiu, Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, Wang Xiu, Liao Hua, Chen Dao, and Sun Guan. They came with a respectful air, cupping their hands in salute and lowering their heads as they neared.

Lie Fan, his armor stained with smoke and dust, turned toward them with a practiced smile. Despite knowing Cang Xiu personally, he gave no indication of their prior relationship. Their eyes met briefly, an unspoken understanding passing between them.

Cang Xiu, as the master of deception, played his role perfectly. He bowed deeply, his face the picture of a man who had risked everything for this moment.

”Lord Lie Fan,” he said, voice steady. ”Xiangyang is yours.”

”There is no need for such formality,” Lie Fan said, his tone warm yet commanding. ”We are all soldiers standing on the same battlefield. And besides”, he let his gaze sweep over the gathered men, ”it is I who should thank all of you. Without your timely intervention, taking Xiangyang would have been a far more brutal endeavor.”

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Name: Lie Fan

Title: Overlord Of The Central Plains

Age: 33 (200 AD)

Level: 16

Next Level: 462,000

Renown: 1325

Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)

SP: 1,121,700

ATTRIBUTE POINTS

STR: 951 (+20)

VIT: 613 (+20)

AGI: 598 (+10)

INT: 617

CHR: 96

WIS: 519

WILL: 407

ATR Points: 0