Reborn In The Three Kingdoms

If you want to read 20 Chapters ahead and more, be sure to check out my Patreon!!!

Go to https://www.patreon.com/Tang12

___________________________

Cao Cao didn’t speak immediately. He merely nodded and looked out through the tent flap at the fire lit horizon where the remnants of battle still smoldered. Jianmen Pass had not yet fallen. But the inner walls were now in sight and ready for the taking, by any means necessary.

”Make preparations,” he finally said. ”We strike again at dawn.”

And with that, the strategists bowed and left to ready the next phase of war, while Cao Cao remained behind, alone with his thoughts, the weight of empire on his shoulders, and the future of it walking beside him in the form of two sons.

Outside, the camp buzzed with activity. Soldiers tended to wounds, smiths repaired weapons, and cooks prepared meals for the weary. The outer wall of Jianmen Pass now flew the Wei banner, but the soldiers knew that it was far from over.

Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai stepped out of the tent. The night air was cool, the stars hidden behind a veil of smoke from the day’s battle.

Guo Jia sighed, his gaze lifting toward the sky. There were no stars to be seen, only smoke from burning outposts and scorched wood that lingered above the camp.

Xi Zhicai, hearing the weight in Guo Jia’s sigh, turned his head toward his old friend. Xi Zhicai studied his friend’s face. The usually unshakable strategist looked weary, his sharp eyes dulled by something deeper than fatigue.

”What is it, Guo Fengxiao? That sigh sounds heavier than usual. I have never heard such a thing from you before.”

Guo Jia didn’t answer at once. He kept his eyes on the grey sky, seemingly searching for something among the smog. Finally, he spoke, his voice soft but filled with uncharacteristic uncertainty.

”Truthfully, I don’t know if, even after we take Yi Province, we can truly contend with Lie Fan and the Hengyuan Dynasty.”

Xi Zhicai blinked in surprise. In all their years serving under Cao Cao, Guo Jia had never spoken so doubtfully. His voice had always been filled with strategy, calculation, and confidence, even in the face of impossible odds.

”Why would you say that? Anything could happen. What if Lie Fan faces a rebellion, or his allies betray him? The tides of war are never constant and ever changing, especially at such a chaotic time.”

Guo Jia let out a soft chuckle, one without mirth.

”Heh... If only such a thing would happen. But from the past until now, Lie Fan has always come out on top. Every step he takes is so precise, as if he walks a path already cleared. His campaigns have been almost smooth sailing, and the rewards he reaps far outweigh what our lord has gained through blood and sacrifice.”

Xi Zhicai fell silent. He didn’t want to admit it, but Guo Jia had spoken nothing but the truth. Since Lie Fan’s meteoric rise as the youngest general in the Han Imperial army during the Yellow Turban rebellion, everything had fallen into place for his future path.

First as Inspector of Xu Province, then as a dominant independent warlord rivaling Cao Cao himself. Their own side had once lost Yan and half of Yu Province to him during a surprise campaign that Lie Fan launched, pushed them all the way back to Hulao Pass, a moment of humiliation still burned into Xi Zhicai’s mind.

It had only been after that loss that a peace treaty was finally signed, not out of strength, but necessity.

Xi Zhicai clenched his fists. ”Even so, we cannot falter. Not now. Our lord needs us more than ever. Emperor Wu, no, Cao Cao, Cao Mengde has treated us well, better than anyone could ask. If we lose hope, then we may as well strike the dagger into his back ourselves. We cannot be the cause of another one of his headaches... or another collapse.”

Guo Jia looked at Xi Zhicai, eyes slowly narrowing, and then nodded solemnly.

”You’re right. We must stay firm, for him. Enough of this gloom. Let us return and prepare the men. We attack again at dawn. The inner wall wouldn’t fall by itself.”

As Guo Jia straightened, it was as if the fire had returned to his chest. Determination hardened his features, and with a last glance at the murky sky, he turned and walked toward the barracks, Xi Zhicai beside him.

Hundreds of li to the south, in lands that would one day be known as Cambodia, a different kind of war raged. The dense jungles and swampy terrain challenged even the most seasoned generals.

Here, 200,000 soldiers of the Sun Clan and Ma Chao’s forces battled fiercely against the local tribes who knew every inch of the terrain, as the air was thick with humidity and the stench of blood.

The enemy fought not with discipline, but with ferocity and an uncanny knowledge of their homeland. Traps, ambushes, and shifting terrain made every step dangerous.

At the front lines, Sun Ce, Sun Quan, and Zhou Yu fought together like the brothers in arms they were. Each one watched the other’s back. Arrows flew, blades clashed, and blood soaked the roots of ancient trees.

Sun Ce’s spear flashed as he drove it through the chest of a tribesman, the man’s dying scream cut short as Zhou Yu’s blade took his head. Beside them, Sun Quan directed the footmen to cover their flanks, his voice steady despite the chaos.

”They’re using the terrain against us!” Sun Ce snarled, yanking his spear free.

”Create a defensive formation, a shield wall!”. Zhou Yu suggested. ”We need to hold our ground and let them come to us!”

The Sun Clan soldiers tightened their formation, shields locking as they made step by bloody step, and made a shield wall formation to hold their ground.

Not far away, Ma Chao and his kin, his brothers Ma Xiu and Ma Tie, and cousin Ma Dai, fought on foot, their prized cavalry rendered useless by the harsh jungle paths and swampy earth. Still, the warriors of Xiliang were undaunted, spears and sabers flashing beneath the canopy.

Ma Chao struck down a foe with a thrust of his spear when he suddenly heard a frantic shout from Zhou Tai. ”Lady Sun Shangxiang! Where are you?!”

Ma Chao whipped around toward the voice as he saw Zhou Tai’s sword slash left and right as he continuously roared Sun Shangxiang’s name. Ma Chao felt his heart suddenly lurching in his chest. Why did that name make him feel such dread?

”Ma Xiu! Ma Tie! Ma Dai!” he bellowed to his brothers and cousin. ”With me! Bring ten men!”

He lunged forward, carving a path through the tribal warriors. His brothers followed with steel and fire in their eyes.

When Ma Chao finally reached Zhou Tai, the grizzled warrior was covered in blood, cuts lining his arms, and armor rent in several places. Despite it all, his eyes were wild with worry, not for himself, but for the young lady entrusted to his protection.

”She disappeared while I was fighting five of them,” Zhou Tai said between ragged breaths. ”I thought she was still behind me, loosing arrows, but when I turned... she was gone.”

Ma Chao’s blood ran cold. Panic clawed at his stomach, he didn’t know why he felt so strongly about her safety, but he did. Sun Shangxiang was not just another noble daughter, she was a fierce warrior in her own right, but these jungles and their enemies held no honor.

Zhou Tai dropped to one knee, gripping his sword tight. ”I don’t care if I get demoted. I don’t care if Lord Sun Ce has my head. I just want her back safely.”

Ma Chao gritted his teeth and clapped Zhou Tai’s shoulder. ”You did all you could. Now we’ll find her, together.”

After saying that, together with Zhou Tai, Ma Chao alongside Ma Xiu, Ma Tie, Ma Dai, and the ten soldiers began to search for Sun Shangxiang throughout the battlefield, killing every single barbarian that dared to come near them with terrifying efficiency.

Especially Ma Chao, who unleashed the full extent of his martial prowess, each thrust of his spear cut through the thick jungle and the thick hides of his enemies alike.

Not one of the barbarians could match him, not even in groups of ten. He carved a path of fear and steel, driven by a fierce urgency that none of his kin had seen in him before.

Ma Xiu, ducking under a wild swing of a tribal axe, glanced at his brother’s form ahead. ”Have you ever seen our big brother fight like this before?”

Ma Tie, panting beside him, slashed down a foe and muttered, ”Only once. When Father was gravely wounded back in Xiliang. But even then... it wasn’t like this.”

”You think it’s because of her?” Ma Xiu asked with a hint of mischief.

”Of course it is!” Ma Tie replied. ”He’s fighting like a man possessed. He—”

”Focus, idiots,” Ma Dai barked from behind them, cutting down a barbarian that had nearly blindsided Ma Xiu. ”You’ll be killed not by the enemy, but by our brother if he hears you gossiping in the middle of a rescue.”

Both younger brothers snapped to attention, lips sealed, weapons raised once more.

Zhou Tai, meanwhile, wasn’t idle. As they fought through the chaos of the battlefield, he constantly stopped any Sun Clan soldier or Ma Chao subordinate they encountered, urgently questioning them about Sun Shangxiang’s whereabouts.

Finally, a young Sun Clan soldier, wounded but alert, spoke up.

”I saw someone who looked like her near the western treeline! She was moving quickly, alone!”

Zhou Tai’s eyes blazed. He clapped the soldier on the shoulder with gratitude and immediately turned toward Ma Chao. The words hadn’t even left his mouth before Ma Chao had already begun moving west.

Without a moment of hesitation, the group surged toward the indicated area. The fighting was no less fierce here, and the terrain only worsened. Roots twisted underfoot, vines tangled weapons and legs, and the cries of men and beasts echoed all around. Still, they pressed on.

As they pushed deeper, the sounds of battle narrowed into a strange rhythm. Then Ma Chao paused, his sharp ears catching a faint cry, feminine and defiant. It came from ahead and to the left.

”That way!” he ordered, not waiting for confirmation.

They burst through the tangled foliage into a small clearing, where the humid air felt even heavier with tension.

There she was.

Sun Shangxiang stood with her back to a moss-covered stone, her sword clutched tightly in both hands. Her face was streaked with dirt, her hair tangled, and her once pristine armor torn at the sleeve and shoulder. Yet her eyes blazed with unyielding defiance as she faced three grinning barbarians who surrounded her.

______________________________

Name: Lie Fan

Title: Founding Emperor Of Hengyuan Dynasty

Age: 34 (201 AD)

Level: 16

Next Level: 462,000

Renown: 2325

Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)

SP: 1,121,700

ATTRIBUTE POINTS

STR: 966 (+20)

VIT: 623 (+20)

AGI: 623 (+10)

INT: 667

CHR: 98

WIS: 549

WILL: 432

ATR Points: 0