World Conquest Online

Dom watched as the gates began to be pulled open, surprise on his face as he could still see Cheng Pu and Tomoe still fighting on top of the wall. Meaning that someone else had opened it for them. Cheng Pu had made a huge space now and over eight hundred Sun Family Swordsmen and Spearmen were now winning their fight on the part of the wall that they were on, however Tomoe was still caught in a duel against Guan Yu, not allowing the forces to push on in her direction, whilst they still had other enemies blocking them towards the direction Huang Zhong headed to.

"He is as deadly as expected." Subutai grumbled as the bladed edges of Tomoe’s and Guan Yu’s weapons kept clashing atop the wall. Their exchange seemed to almost pause time as Generals watched on impressed. Subutai then also noticed the gates beginning to open and quickly snapped back to reality. "Zhao Yun, it’s your turn!"

Dom tapped the sides of his horse, as he headed forwards at speed to take control of Tomoe’s cavalry and join the attack, he left Subutai to control the overall battle whilst Dom wanted to get control of the city quickly before the Navy progressed to kill all those inside as well as taking the credit for winning the battle. Sun Quan had promised Dom that he would spare the civilians, however once the adrenaline kicked in, there was no guarantees the Warriors would fully follow those orders.

The gates were now swung wide open and Dom could see the young general Ling Tong stood there with an exhausted face as the Marines fought back against enemies that tried to reclaim the gates from their forces. Zhao Yun ran through first on his powerful white horse, whilst the Riverside Lancers followed behind him, cutting a deadly attack through the city. Behind them followed the White Cavalry and the Sun Family Cavalry, the sound of the hooves of the horses reverberating around the city as they cut a deadly path towards the centre of the City.

Dom followed with the second batch of Cavalry, similar in numbers to the first. Zhao Yun himself pulled away and allowed the Lancers to take the lead as he waited for Dom to approach at speed.

"I will go and help General Tomoe on the wall, she is struggling and he doesn’t ever seem to tire! I also need to speak with General Guan Yu and this could be my last opportunity!" Zhao Yun explained honestly, "I will do my bit, please do yours."

"I made a promise, you have made the right choice in joining us." Dom reassured him as he charged towards the centre of the City, leaving Zhao Yun to head back towards the walls, where some infantry had now also arrived to support Ling Tong.

.....

Sun Ce ducked as Huang Zhong attacked him with his now drawn sword, his bow having been placed down whilst the two of them fought. Sun Ce was surprised by the power of the older General and was genuinely struggling to get an upper hand on him. Huang Zhong seemed to relish the fight, slashing and stabbing his sword as Sun Ce had to parry and attempt to counter attack. Huang Zhong swordsmanship was well known and Sun Ce felt like a rookie whilst fighting against him.

In the distance, the sound of hooves could be heard and both Sun Ce and Huang Zhong were aware that the Riverside forces had broken through the city, whilst the Navy were pushing through as well. If the Cavalry were here now then the infantry wouldn’t be far behind and Huang Zhong could sense that the battle would soon be over.

"Let’s stop this meaningless fight Old Man." Sun Ce stated, his breathing ragged after the long day of fighting and now feeling that he had hit a brick wall. "We have broken through, the city is ours now."

"That may be, but I don’t intend to surrender to that young upstart Sun Quan." Huang Zhong grinned as he continued to fight against Sun Ce, pushing the younger General back down the stairs. They were briefly interrupted as the white armoured Zhao Yun appeared on his horse, jumping off it and causing confusion on both sides as to who he was fighting for.

"Let me past, I need to speak with General Guan Yu and General Tomoe." Zhao Yun demanded seriously, causing confusion on both Sun Ce and Huang Zhong’s faces. They both shared a look and agreed to let him past as they continued to fight against each other. Sun Ce wanted to use it as an excuse to disengage but Huang Zhong gave him no chance. He didn’t even get chance to defend his brother and explain that he wasn’t an upstart.

As Zhao Yun ran up the stairs, he could hear the grumbles and shouts of Sun Ce below him as he kept calling Huang Zhong an old man and telling him to stop fighting against him. A smile appeared on his face as he ran as he could tell that the two of them were fighting, but not with the intention to take each others lives.

He soon arrived at the top of the wall, where Huang Zu’s men were being disarmed by Cheng Pu’s who had taken control of the wall. Cheng Pu seemed glad to see Zhao Yun and told everyone to allow him to pass. He pushed through over a thousand warriors who were either disarming or preparing to march in to the city, before arriving atop the gate where forces on both sides watched as Guan Yu and Tomoe fought against each other.

Zhao Yun had fought against Tomoe and knew that she was a terrifying foe, however Guan Yu definitely had the advantage of experience, allowing the younger Tomoe to over extend herself, whilst countering her and keeping the pace of the battle. Whilst Guan Yu was older, he also had more energy as this was his first impact on the battle so far. He watched on in interest as the occasional tap of Guan Yu’s glaive hit the sides of Tomoe’s heavy armour.

"General Guan Yu, please stop fighting, they have entered the city and the battle will soon be lost." Zhao Yun asked, as he threw his spear in to the clash and blocked an attack that was about to catch Tomoe on the arm. Tomoe was frustrated at having to have someone help her, she was an expert dueller and this was the first time she had experienced being on the back foot.

"Why should I do that!" Guan Yu replied, his men behind him also from his own force and cheering him on.

"If we let Jiangxia fall, it will make it easier for Lord Liu Bei to take over Jing province. It will weaken Liu Biao’s family and allow Lord Liu Bei to further his interests as Zhuge Liang has promised. No Huang Zu means that Liu Biao has lost one of his closest allies." Zhao Yun explained, not sure if this was all the truth but testing the theory that Cai Mao and Dom had put forwards. Guan Yu responded by hitting Zhao Yun’s spear with his glaive and attacking Tomoe again.

"What you says is true." Guan Yu grumbled, "I am surprised to hear it from you though, my brothers and Zhuge Liang maybe. But not you, I thought that you were like me who fought for the people and didn’t get involved with that dirty work."

"I am like you, that is why I have decided to not return to Lord Liu Bei’s side." Zhao Yun stated, attacking Guan Yu as he realised that what he had been told was true, the frustration was there, but he knew that Guan Yu didn’t follow the same mindset as the others.

"My brother will save these lands." Guan Yu replied furiously as he attacked Zhao Yun with a deadly swing, with Tomoe having to block it with her own Naginata and save the stunned Generals life. "The methods may not align with my honour, but they will save the people in the end."

"It is not the way I want to fight." Zhao Yun stated seriously, "If he is benevolent, then he wouldn’t need this trickery and subterfuge. His own interests are more important than the people he preaches he wants to save."

"Whilst I agree with you, he is my brother." Guan Yu replied as he attacked again, before taking a step back as Tomoe swung her Naginata at him. "So do we fight to the death?"

"No, I made a deal that you would be safe to leave with the rest of Lord Liu Bei’s men." Zhao Yun replied honestly as he put his hand in front of Tomoe to stop her from attacking Guan Yu again. "Lord Lazarus has also proposed that Lord Sun Quan and Lord Liu Bei should speak about working together in the future once Lord Liu Biao has fallen. I do not agree with or understand his mindset, but I am passing on the message."

"You are a good man Zhao Yun." Guan Yu stated seriously, his earlier ferocity leaving and he stepped back once more and planted the base of his glaive on the floor. "I am also sorry that we didn’t save Lord Gongsun Zan, the times were turbulent and we had to look out for ourselves. I will remember this favour and pass on your message. Shall we leave now or are we expected to wait until the battle is over?"

"Lord Lazarus has said that once we have claimed this wall, you are free to leave from this gate. You may come across a younger General with the name Liao Hua but I have explained your appearance to him. Please let my men who are still in Changban know that they are welcome to re-join me if they so wish." Zhao Yun promised, a raised eyebrow from Guan Yu in response.

Guan Yu then gathered his men to be ready to depart, whilst Cheng Pu and his men watched on silently as the conversation unfolded. Most of those that had died were from Huang Zu’s unit, with some from Huang Zhong’s unit. Those that had come with Guan Yu had been mainly unscathed from the fighting.

"You fight fiercely woman." Guan Yu stated to Tomoe as they began to walk past. "I hope to fight you again when you reach your prime, my brothers and I once fought against Lu Bu in his prime, I sense his battle madness in you, but not yet his skill."

"My Lord told me that if you seemed a good man that he hoped that you was, to warn you, it would be best to leave Changban earlier than planned." Tomoe replied, before turning away. Gan Ning had explained the evolving situation to them and the chaos that happened once Liu Biao had died. Dom decided that if he was stealing one of Liu Bei’s best generals then he should at least give him some advice, especially if he wanted him to align with Sun Quan temporarily. Guan Yu looked at her with a raised eyebrow, before nodding his head and smiling.

"Zhuge Liang said something similar." Guan Yu agreed with a smile, "It seems that your new Lord has big thoughts on the wider stage, who is this Lord Lazarus, I thought you had joined Sun Quan."

"Honestly, I still do not know." Zhao Yun laughed loudly, as if his emotions were all pouring out. "He captured me, but freed me and my men. He allowed me to make my own choice, his forces are deadly and well trained, they have an ambition that aligns with my personal goals."

Guan Yu stopped walking, putting his hand on Zhao Yun’s shoulder and looking him deeply in the eyes. Tomoe gripped her weapon, but Guan Yu pushed his glaive towards her in warning.

"I wish you the best of luck." Guan Yu stated seriously, "You deserve this happiness, however if we are on opposite sides in the future I will have to reluctantly take your life."

With that said, Guan Yu and his men walked past Cheng Pu, nodding his head at Cheng Pu in greeting as the two had met during their earlier years against Dong Zhuo. He then headed down the stairs towards their part of the camp so they could gather their own things. Zhao Yun watched as Guan Yu disappeared, whilst Tomoe came and patted him on the shoulder.

"You have made the right choice." She declared to Zhao Yun in a genuine voice. "Welcome to Riverside."

...

Dom charged through the city with around five hundred Cavalry behind him as he headed towards the Governors Headquarters where he hoped to find Huang Zu, the Navy had now fully taken over the docks and more and more of the Sun forces were entering the city. Dom was glad to see that they were disarming the enemies as promised and not harming the Civilians who cowered in fear. Behind him, more of the infantry followed them and began to work with the Marines.

He noticed the two towering Louchuan that had taken over the docks, but part of him worried as he couldn’t see the two Trireme of Riverside, unaware that Gan Ning had held them back on purpose to allow them to recover and not waste valuable lives.

The charge was difficult as they fiercely fought through defenders who were spread throughout the city. Some were pushing to reinforce the docks, whilst others flooded towards the wall where the Infantry under Subutai and Cheng Zi was now flooding in. Most tried to move away from the dangerous looking Cavalry, however a lot were caught beneath the blades and hooves.

The Governors Headquarters soon came in to sight, and Dom could see that an elderly looking General was mounting his horse with a small unit of Cavalry, preparing to leave through the back of the city gates.