World Conquest Online

Dom sat there as his large number of Heroes were gathered, there were a lot of people missing and he knew they would all be here on his return in a few days. Part of him wanted to recall all of his Junior Officers as well, but it would cause too much risk on the edges of the growing Kingdom. Dom decided that whilst he introduced the new Heroes, he would check their stats. Some food and drinks has been provided by the servant staff, as Ban Jieyu who managed the staff watched over from the doorway.

"Where is Xiao Qiao?" Meritamen asked before Dom had chance to complete the introductions.

"I was able to bring my family back, as well as Xiao Qiao’s." Sun Ce explained, "She has gathered all of those and is taking them to Tranquillity on one of the transport ships, so they can all visit their grandfather. I believe Da Qiao is there as well?"

"She is there with her father." Meritamen replied with a gentle smile, "She was very worried that you would have put yourself in harms way again and may not return."

"He does that a lot." Sun Shangxiang laughed, as Dom decided it was best to bite the bullet and introduce them to each other, whilst all of the rest of the Heroes watched on in anticipation.

"Sun Shangxiang, this is my wife Meritamen, in my absence she has led our growing Kingdom. Beside her is Shang Yang, our elder stateman whose policies and plans are pushing us forwards to create the perfect home. Beside him is Lucius, the Mayor of our Capital and one of the key hearts of our future nation." Dom stated, introducing his key leaders first. Before turning to Meritamen. "Meritamen, this is Sun Shangxiang, she is the sister of Sun Ce and she is also my erm."

"Wife?" Meritamen asked in a polite way, "Do not worry, I expected it to happen eventually, the fact that she is Sun Ce’s sister gives me warmth that through this union, a family is reunited."

"Lord Lazarus has only spoken good words about you since we met." Sun Shangxiang commented back in a kind tone, "He was honest and uncomfortable about the arrangement at first. You have his heart, whilst I am just trying to take up a small part of it."

"I appreciate the kind words." Meritamen replied gently, "As the second wife, you will be glad to know that you have a whole section already prepared in the palace above. I will show you to them later, but you may have to keep an eye out for Tomoe. She often stays the night in the Palace."

"Is she also a wife?" Sun Shangxiang asked in shock as she looked at Tomoe who was midway through eating some food and had heard her name.

"More of a concubine." Subutai said from the side, which caused an eruption of laughter from the original heroes.

"Please, do not start that again!" Dom interrupted quickly, as Meritamen laughed even harder.

"No, she is just extremely loyal and trustworthy." Meritamen replied as Tomoe gave Subutai evil stares. Tomoe was surprised by the complement from Meritamen, but Tomyris elbowed her before she had chance to speak. Whilst they discussed, Dom asked the system to show him Sun Shangxiang’s stats.

[Sun Shangxiang

Hero Grade - C+

Hero Strength - Warrior Princess, Loyal Wife and Secret Scholar

Daughter of the Warlord Sun Jian and Sister of the Warlord Sun Quan, as well as the Sister of the Emperor of Eastern Wu Sun Quan. She was known for her fierce and brave personality, whilst being highly intelligent and quick of thought. Historically she was married to Liu Bei as part of a challenging Marriage Alliance.]

"Beside Sun Shangxiang, is Xiao Qiao’s husband, the talented General Zhou Yu." Dom continued, as more eyes looked on in interest, hearing high praise for the young talented Strategist that had died before his peak. Zhou Yu smiled in greeting, having already met the key Military Heroes. Zhou Yu nodded his head in greeting towards the gathered Heroes, whilst Sun Ce grinned at him from across the table.

[Zhou Yu

Hero Grade - S

Hero Strength - Strategic Vision and Ultimate Admiral

Zhou Yu was known as the best friend of Sun Ce, who without Zhou Yu, would not have succeeded in creating the foundations for the future Eastern Wu Dynasty. His steadfast personality helped direct Sun Quan after the death of his brother Sun Ce, restructuring the internal parts of their provinces whilst defending them against opportunists from outside. He is most famed for defeating Cao Cao in the Battle of Chibi, more commonly known as the Battle of Red Cliffs, a battle that ultimately launched the Three Kingdoms Period. He ultimately died of illness at the age of thirty six and whilst the Sun family progressed, how much further they could have with him alive is for ever unknown]

Dom was relieved after reading Zhou Yu’s information, not only had he gained another S grade Hero, but he finally had someone to lead his expanding Navy not just through force, but through strategy as well. Gan Ning was excellent, but even he had his own limitations and Zhou Yu would complete that missing piece.

"Next to Zhou Yu, is Cheng Pu, a powerful and experienced General. Whilst further down the table, you will see a younger and much better looking version, that is his son Cheng Zi" Dom introduced trying to bring a smile to the serious meeting, whilst Cheng Pu and Cheng Zi both bowed their heads low to Meritamen and greeted the others politely.

[Cheng Pu

Hero Grade - B+

Hero Strength - Family Retainer and Treason Hunter

Cheng Pu had been with the family since the time of Sun Jian, having battled alongside famous Heroes across the land against the Yellow Turbans and later Dong Zhou. After Sun Jian’s death he was a key figure in Sun Ce’s forces, before eventually becoming the brawn to Zhou Yu’s brains for Sun Quan. Having had a key influence in later battles such as the Battle of Red Cliffs, he was eventually tasked with clearing out traitors within Sun Quan’s ranks. He died shortly after, possibly due to the stress of killing many he had known.]

[Cheng Zi

Hero Grade - D

Hero Strength - Power House

Cheng Zi is the son of Cheng Pu, having been involved in battles since the Battle of Red Cliff. After his father’s death, he took on his place and was a background General amongst the Sun Family. He has high potential if directed properly.]

"Cheng Pu has been a loyal retainer of my family since before any of us were born." Sun Shangxiang commented to the Riverside Heroes. "He is like an uncle to us, and I hope both he, Zhou Yu and Ling Tong can help your Kingdom, and now our new home, grow."

[Ling Tong

Hero Grade - B

Hero Strength - Rash and Naval Commander

Ling Tong, the son of Sun Ce’s retainer Ling Cao, was a renowned General under Sun Quan. He was known for his rashness, including accidently killing an ally when drunk and then charging ahead of his lines in penance, or his ongoing feud with Gan Ning. He was highly praised and a key part of Sun Quan’s forces, until his young death at twenty eight due to illness.]

Dom realised as he read these stats Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu and Ling Tong, the three Military Heroes he had taken from Sun Quan, all died relatively young due to illness. Zhou Yu had died at thirty six, Cheng Pu at forty and Ling Tong at twenty eight. He hoped that the medical advances under Hua Tou, Phoebe and Agnodice would prolong their lives so they could see their own families grow.

"The only other member of our forces to have joined is the young Lu Ji." Zhou Yu commented, allowing those from the Sun Family to be introduced first. They did outnumber the rest of the Heroes, but Dom was confident that they would be loyal to his side soon enough, once he had worked out a plan with his senior Heroes. Lu Ji nodded from bottom of the table beside Cheng Zi. Dom hadn’t seen much from him, but Xun You had taken a liking to the young scholar.

[Lu Ji

Hero Grade - C

Hero Strength - Filial and Young Genius

Lu Ji was part of ancient China’s twenty four Filial Exemplars, his part of the list being a tale of orange theft for his mother. He was highly regarded for his genius, being complimented from a young age by scholars such as Zhang Zhao and Pang Tong. Lu Ji was not physically strong, but still had a military mind alongside his scholarly one. He was able to see his own death approaching at the age of thirty two and died with regrets and not being able to live peacefully and watch the world move on by.]

Another one who died young! Dom exclaimed to himself as he read, whilst Lu Ji explained a story upon his introduction about how he had hidden an orange that had been given to him by an Lord who became an Emperor called Yuan Shu. Dom turned to his last three new Generals, all who had not come from the Sun Family, and he became excited again.

"As well as recruiting from the Sun Family, we have also been joined by three others who were on our enemies side during this Mission, however they are all talents that will help us grow." Dom continued, as Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong and Su Fei waited for introduction. "Firstly, is Gan Ning’s close friend Su Fei."

[Su Fei

Hero Grade - C

Hero Strength - Kind Baring and Naval Commander

Su Fei was a close friend of Gan Ning’s and an excellent Commander in his own rite, having lead Huang Zu’s forces against the Sun Family on multiple occasions. Su Fei had often warned Gan Ning that he was too talented and wasted under Huang Zu and had often persuaded him to join the Sun Family. When Gan Ning did join the Sun Family, he begged for Su Fei to be spared once he was captured at the Battle of Jiangxia. Unlike many of Huang Zu’s officers, he wasn’t corrupt and had the qualities of a governor.]

Su Fei bowed his head in greeting, whilst Gan Ning began to tell a tale of when him and Su Fei once got drunk before a battle. Dom realised that Su Fei could not only be a Naval Commander as planned, but had the potential as a Mayor. He had multiple towns that were being found on bodies of water and felt that Su Fei could easily perform a dual role similar to Artemisia.

"Finally, we have the two exceptional Warriors of Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong." Dom concluded, surprise on his face at their grades.

[Zhao Yun

Hero Grade - A

Hero Strength - Valliant General and Cavalry Commander

Zhao Yun was a key pillar in the Shu Han Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms, having led his Cavalry to fight corruption and enemies of the Han, and then the Shu Han, serving both emperors Liu Bei and Liu Shan. He fought in a huge number of battles from his youth to death and was respected by all for his kindness and virtuous personality. He was known for his courage, rescuing the baby Liu Shan when retreating from attacks by Cao Cao, rescuing his deputy commanders and fellow commanders, whilst also launching daring ambushes. He was recorded as one of the five Tiger Generals of Shu Han]

[Huang Zhong

Hero Grade - A

Hero Strength - Excellent Archer and Excellent Swordsman

Huang Zhong was a terrifying General, having served the Jing Province under Liu Biao, Hua Xuan, Cao Cao and then Liu Bei. He was known for his excellent martial skills, specifically in both Sword and Bow, having bested everyone else in Liu Bei’s forces. He is also famous for killing the enemy General Xiahou Yuan and defeating the forces of Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He. He was also recorded as one of the five Tiger Generals of Shu Han]

Dom had many B Grade Military Heroes, but these were his first two A grade Military Heroes. His A Grade Domestic Heroes were Crassus and Hatshepsut, both who were amongst his most important, Crassus managed the finance and trade, whilst Hatshepsut managed the development of all of the towns. If these two Heroes could have a similar impact on the Military, then he wondered how far they could grow.

"Do you know if your Son arrived in time?" Subutai asked Huang Zhong from across the room, as those inside went quiet. Those that had come from the Mission had all been made aware of Huang Zhong’s unwell son.

"I do not know." He replied with sadness, "I will have many regrets if he doesn’t come, but his mother will do the best for him."

"I saw a portal with additional White Cavalry arriving, just behind the lines of our forces after the initial ones closed." Gan Ning interrupted. "I assumed they were some of Zhao Yun’s Cavalry that had agreed to come, so there is chance he also arrived."

"It seems Guan Yu was true to his word." Dom stated, whilst Liao Hua and Zhao Yun nodded in agreement, both having dealings with the famed General. "Tomorrow we will have registered the majority of the people and will be directing them to their new homes. If he is here, we will find him. Tonight however, we will celebrate your arrival."