World Conquest Online

"Grade B!" Dom exclaimed to himself, this random bandit warrior he had fought against and recruited was a Grade B Military Commander, he wondered what the one killed by Xun Yan would have been. He had assumed that he would be a talented warrior at the least of if he was a commander at the level below that of Uriah and Abubakar. Dom needed more low level commanders to work as secondaries for his main commanders, but he wouldn’t turn away another Grade B commander. The special Orange Cube had been worth it from this hire alone.

"I will give you back your weapon." Dom said to Liao Hua who was now stood in front of him. "I expect great things from you."

Liao Hua bowed his head low in acceptance and stepped beside Subutai in the line up as the Xun Family Leaders continued to discuss the outcomes of the small battle with the Riverside group.

"Well, it seems you have hired one of the bandits, but what do we do with the rest?" Xun Yu asked Dom.

"That is a good question." Dom replied, "What would you advice Shang Yang?"

"Well, there are a few options, freedom, recruitment or execution." Shang Yang replied. "You could give them freedom, telling them to put down their weapons and return home. The next option is to hire them within our force, an extra thirty warriors would always be helpful in this situation. The third option is to punish them for their crimes and execute them."

"Xun Yu, they have fought against your guards, injuring some and a few others being killed." Dom said, "I believe that this is your decision and not mine."

"They have, but we would not have won without your experienced Warriors and tactics." Xun Yu replied, looking over at Xun You who nodded at him in agreement, "I believe the decision should be yours."

"Very well, execution is the easiest and simplest option." Dom said, seeing that Liao Hua had a sad look on his face as he said it, "But, they did what they did as it was what they believed was their only option. I think that freedom is the best option for them. However we can’t just release thirty men in to the wild"

Liao Hua looked happier at this comment, realising that even though he wasn’t fully committed to his old bandits, he still had friends amongst them, he didn’t know who survived or not, but those on his side were a good bunch.

"We still have several miles to cover, so for now Liao Hua you will gather them together and tell them they will be rearmed and will help guard us until the next Town. Upon arrival they can be free to return to their families." Dom started, before continuing, "I need to know of those bandits who has committed any crimes beyond banditry and what they are."

This extra comment received a nod of agreement from Shang Yang and the Xun Family, whilst Liao Hua took his order and headed off towards where the Leonidas had the surrendered Yellow Turbans guarded.

"I think that is the correct course of action." Xun Yu agreed, "I am sure there will be grumbles, but as long as it is only until the next town then I can keep my men in line."

"Do we want to continue, or return to the lake to regroup and let your men heal?" Subutai asked. "Mine are all ready to go, but we are happy to do what ever works best for you."

"We will continue." Xun You stated from the side, "The men are all fine and ready to go aren’t they Xun Yan?"

"They are!" Xun Yan agreed determinedly.

"Then let’s continue then!" Dom agreed. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The group soon continued their march, the dead bodies having all been buried collectively, those of the Xun Family in one grave, whilst those of the Yellow Turbans in another. The short skirmish and the burying had taken two hours from their journey, meaning they had a lot of work to put in to make it to the town before nightfall.

The Yellow Turbans had been split between the Xun Family Guards on the flanks, whilst the Riverside group had continued in their previous positions. Subutai was in discussion with Xun You at the rear about more tactics that they could use, and how he would have attacked the caravan himself. Shang Yang was in discussion with Xun Yu about the political landscape of Riverside and what their long term growth plans were, and finding out the state of the Eastern Han Empire from Xun Yu. Liao Hua was tasked with protecting the centre, switching between both the left and right flanks as they marched.

Dom was at the front of the column with Tomoe and Xun Yan. They were slightly back in the second row, whilst Chen Lu and Chen Ping led from their tigers. Chen Ping’s tiger now had a new leg in it’s mouth, which no one dared to remove.

"How many Warriors like the Chen brothers do you have?" Xun Yan asked.

"It’s hard to explain, but we have over one hundred with more ready daily. We are a growing Kingdom with people arriving daily from different parts of the world." Dom replied, "Our armed forces grow by around forty Warriors a day, whilst our civilian population is even higher."

"Forty more Forbidden Guards a day?" Xun Yan replied in an impressed voice.

"No, we have other Warrior types as well." Dom replied with a laugh, "Lots of Infantry and some Cavalry."

"Who commands your Forbidden Guards unit then?" Xun Yan continued, his interest piqued again after the previous battle.

"Currently they are our newest force." Dom replied, "Chen Lu is the current captain of the unit, but I haven’t assigned a Commander to them. Our other forces are split in to forward facing forces, whilst one of our Commanders oversees the defences."

"If I come, could I command them?" Xun Yan asked quietly.

"If you are serious, I don’t see why you couldn’t." Dom replied, "However, our Kingdom is in an interesting place, so you may decide that being with the guards isn’t the most exiting thing. We currently have some battles on the horizon and expansion plans, where someone of your skills may be better placed."

"I’m tempted." Xun Yan stated, "I am joining my brother to help the family, but the Han is crumbling, the land is in chaos and I think that if I stay my wife and son will be in danger."

"If you did join, I’m sure that the Forbidden Guard would let you have a Tiger." Tomoe laughed by the side.

"Only if he joins the Forbidden Guard." Chen Lu replied with a grin from the front, before realising he was supposed to not be involved in the conversation and quickly turned to face the front again.

"I can’t promise you safety, but I can promise you an exciting new world if you decide to come." Dom replied.

"Fine, Lord Lazarus, I am coming to Riverside." Xun Yan decided. "I hope to have a nice place to help grow my family and defend it."

[Congratulations Warrior Hero Xun Yan recruited]

"Show stats." Dom said in anticipation.

[Xun Yan

Hero Grade - D

Hero Strength - Stalwart Defender

Xun Yan, brother of Xun Yu, was a minor commander under the Warlord of the Eastern Han Cao Cao. Little is known about Xun Yan other than that he defeated the surprise attack of the General Gao Gan, a general under the Warlord Yuan Shao before he surrendered and then rebelled against Warlord Cao Cao.]

Dom was impressed that Xun Yan was a Grade D Hero, a similar level to Abubakar and Uriah, but much more enjoyable to speak with than Abubakar who had been dispatched to guard on the eastern front.

"Welcome to Riverside." Dom said kindly, shaking Xun Yan’s hand.

"Thanks for having me, hopefully my wife won’t shout when I tell her I’m taking her to a distant land away from her family." Xun Yan replied, "personally though, being able to get away from her parents is worth it alone."

"They are more than welcome to come as well." Tomoe shrugged in response, causing Dom to laugh loudly and catch the attention of some of the nearby guards.

"I’d rather they didn’t." Xun Yan laughed.

Time soon passed and a small town appeared on the horizon, a wooden palisade surrounding it. The sun was starting to set and Dom was grateful that they hadn’t been attacked again during their journey. He suspected that the additional surrendered Yellow Turbans would have been a good deterrent against any bandits, as they wouldn’t have wanted to attack their own. Dom was excited to return to Riverside with his two new commanders and wondered when the quest would end. First however he had a few things to do.

As they pulled up outside the Town Gates, Xun Yan announced the Xun Family arrival, causing the gates to open immediately and a couple of the Town Guards to step out and allow them entry. Xun Yan started to direct the carriages with the civilians inside, whilst Dom and the armed forces stayed outside until all of the carriages had entered. Xun Yu, Xun You, Shang Yang and Subutai all stood beside Dom, whilst Tomoe stood beside the gate’s to make sure they were unceremoniously closed on them.

"Liao Hua, have you had chance to do what I asked?" Dom said to his new Commander.

"Yes." Liao Hua replied with a bow. "Of the thirty, most of them are my men and I can vouch for them. I recognise six of Du Yuan’s men who I can not vouch for, but I am unaware of how far their crimes have gone."

"Do their crimes include murder or assault against Women?" Dom asked.

"No, both myself and Du Yuan were against those acts." Liao Hua replied sternly. "Those types of people have been removed long ago. No, they are crimes such as armed theft against civilians or beatings of people without reason."

"Thank you." Dom replied, grateful as if any of the above crimes were committed he would have to execute them before he could leave. He turned to the thirty men that were surrounded by the Xun Family Guards. "Get them ready."

"Men, to attention!" Liao Hua shouted at them.

"All of you have completed the task given and are free to return to your families. You are not too raise arms against the government again and if you wish to fight you must do so for the government to protect the people, not to harm them." Dom ordered them, "Those that wish to have a fresh start may bring your families with you to Riverside, the others may stay at this Town for the night and then must return home in the morning. If you wish to join my kingdom, please be aware that crime is not tolerated in any way. Please step forwards if you wish to join."

There was silence for a few seconds, and then the Yellow Turbans began to talk amongst themselves. Soon the twenty four that Liao Hua had vouched for stepped forwards, whilst the six he hadn’t stayed stationary, knowing that they could not guarantee they wouldn’t commit a crime and not wanting to risk taking their families to a far away land.

"You will even give them a fresh start?" Xun Yu asked Dom from beside him.

"Of course, the chaos of your lands caused them to become bandits, I hope the chaos of my land will allow them to find peace and success." Dom replied, looking back at Xun Yu who seemed to be in deep thought.