Prince of Nothing

Jiangxia: The fateful day

It was night and I put my plan into motion. The detached force attacked the Han Ming army and burned half of their supplies, just as I ordered. I feel bad basically sacrificing these 40,000 peoples lives but that's war.

If I had a choice between sacrificing 100,000 Qin soldiers or 10,000 of my own army, I would pick the Qin soldiers. In this era, You can only count on your own army and strength. The troops I've trained are definitely the best of the best. Now, they are going to show those Chu bastards that even one third of my army can take them on.

I charged at the Chu army with all the troops and Zhao Yun just moved away to go around the forest for his target. I wish I had some more soldiers but it doesn't matter. We rushed at Chu camp and it seems my guess was right, as I saw Sun Ce coming towards me with almost 80,000 soldiers.

I need to make them send further reinforcements here so I did what I should do, ignoring Sun Ce, I started killing the regular soldiers as Sun Ce chased after me. We played a game of cat and mouse for a while until Zhou Yu finally decided to send 10,000 more soldiers.

Seeing this, I smirked and gave the order to full retreat. The soldiers decided to follow immediately, creating as much chaos possible. Seeing this, Sun Ce decided to rush after me, with Zhou Yu following him. We ran until they finally crossed our defense line and my hidden soldiers.

I still waited until they were fully committed. Finally, my chance came. A broken bridge blocked our path, which I knew yesterday after scouting the battlefield and it gave them a false sense of security that we were cornered with nowhere to go.

Sun Ce closed in and spoke smugly, " That's enough running around. Prepare to meet your death, KouRyu ."

I jokingly replied, "It's Still not my day, Sun Ce, but it could be yours."

We both wasted no more words and charged at each other. Both of our spears colliding caused a loud sound and a shockwave passed through. Some unfortunate soldiers who were too close got knocked away.

Sun Ce gritted his teeth as he was pushed back quite a distance as he stopped. I stretched my right arm a bit and said, "Thanks. That took care of the stiffness I was feeling in my arm. "

Sun Ce roared and lunged at me with intense killing intent, forming a red aura around him. In return, I smirked and released my full strength at him. Sun Ce widened his eyes as he was sent flying away. I didn't let up and kept forcing him to defeat me.

The soldiers were in awe as they saw such a one-sided battle. Suddenly I heard tremors and I smirked as I looked towards the forest. Sun Ce had a bad premonition as he followed my vision to see Zhao Yun charging at Zhou Yu HQ like a tiger pouncing on its prey.

Sun Ce closed his eyes for a second, as he probably understood he might lose his best friend. He let out a wounded howl as His strength burst forth and suddenly He could match my blows again. I took deep breath as I disengaged and decided to test his newfound strength with my own. This could be the moment I also manage to breakthrough.

Zhou Yu PoV

Everything was going perfectly. Then again, it wasn't. It all started with the Han Ming army chasing after those 20,000 Qin soldiers. Yet still, we had 100,000 soldiers, along with Sun Ce. KouRyu might be a genius and his strength is incredible, but Sun Ce hold the weight of the Kingdom of Chu.

As the nephew of the current king, who has no heir, Sun Ce will probably be the next king, as the King's brother is a degenerate. Rather, I should say my uncle. I never thought about being the king. I was just an illegitimate child of the king; I could never be a king.

So I decided to help the next king So that our great nation can weather the coming storm. I could see it—the destruction of kingdoms and the man who would be at the centre of it, Qin's Heavenly Dragon General KouRyu.

It is my duty to stop him here. With our troops, it should be possible as Sun Ce distracts him. But I can't shake the feeling that something is off. He should have had more soldiers, and his right-hand man, Zhao Yun, was missing.

Right on Cue, I saw Zhao Yun coming out of the forest behind with 300 cavalry. I predicted this, so I kept 10,000 reserves just here to guard my rear. They should be able to deal with them. To my shock, suddenly, soldiers burst out from the bushes and trees and directly charged at us.

My lieutenant rushed in as he reported, "It's an ambush! The enemy has more than 5,000 soldiers. Zhao Yun is leading them. They have already breached the first line. We must retreat, General!"

I grinned and spoke, "So this is what he was playing at. He purposefully made a grandiose entrusted to lure Sun Ce and the main army. Then he attacked the brain so the body gets paralyzed. Judging by their strength, they will definitely reach me.

The only thing I can do is make sure Bofu escapes. As the prince of Chu, he can't be allowed to fall here. It seems this is where my journey ends. Those 300 are the best of the best and Zhao Yun won't miss this chance.

I calmly spoke "Give the order to total retreat. Tell Sun Ce that no matter what, he must leave. I pray that his journey will be longer than mine. Say farewell to my brother. In the end, all I was was a prince of nothing."

The messenger had tears in his eyes as he nodded and rushed away. It looks like Zhao Yun has already made it to the last line but I'll hold them off as long as I can. So that Sun Ce can regroup with Han Ming army and return safely. This will be my parting gift.

I unsheathed my sword and yelled, "All troops, fight till your last bit of strength remains, for we shall let Prince Sun Ce escape by sacrificing ourselves. For Chu!" My soldiers rushed together with me as we charged forward. We fought bravely as men of Chu and we held off the enemy for a while.

We rose through blood and ashes to fight till the bitter end, amidst clashes of thousands of weapons, and then our story ended.

Zhao Yun PoV

I offered a silent prayer for Zhou Yu as I pierced his heart. He died with a smile, knowing his death managed to create a path for his friend to escape. In the end, that is all we fight for. Friends, family, comrades and freedom.

I sighed as I gave the order to clean up the remaining enemies. In the meantime, my lord came to me with a grin as he spoke, "Nice work, Zilong. You've made me proud."

That is what I fight for. The small words of gratitude that come from the bottom of his heart, his sincere appreciation and love for us—that's what makes us all follow him even into certain death.

I smiled and replied, "It's all thanks to your brilliant plan, my lord."

He replied, "Sun Ce got away. I guess it's his fate to survive."

I smiled and said, " You will get him next time."

He just smiled and moved to check in on the soldiers. Every soldier smiled as he greeted them, despite some of them missing limbs. As soon as we separated the wounded, We again rushed out towards Runan, where Han Ming and Sun Ce army were waiting.

But their morale was at an all-time low. With Zhang Liao coming back with almost 7,000 troops, it was quite easy to drive them away. Our armies cheered on top of the walls of Runan, and I admired the man who had pulled off another miracle yet again.

The Qin army led by Ouki, Kyou and ChouTou arrived within 3 days as KouRyu army rested. They solidified their hold on this areas when they received shocking news. Chu has moved their Capital to Danyang and burned down Shouchun so it doesn't fall to Qin.

So even if they go there now, it would take years to build new fortresses there. With this, Qin had successfully pushed back the mighty Chu behind Yangtze river.

The fame of KouRyo reached far into every corner of China as all states prepared to defend themselves against this calamity. Kanyou was in a festive mood, as Qin could be said to be at their peak strength despite losing more than half of the 6 greats.

The very balance between the seven kingdoms now hangs in a very thin rope. Soon, this balance will be broken and nations will fall. Such was the world of the warring states period.

Zhao, Kantan

Dong Zhuo, the father of Great Heaven Lu Bu was walking down the corridor of the palace when he was interrupted by a voice asking him to stop. He turned around to see one of the Newest generals of Zhao, Riboku, walking towards him.

Dong Zhuo gave a fake smile and spoke, " Well, if it isn't great, Riboku sama. What did you want from me?"

Riboku bowed and spoke, "There is dire news from the south. Chu army of 450,000 was beaten by Qin and they have taken over all Chu territories north of Yangtze river except Guangling. I believe Zhao needs to strike Qin as soon as possible. "

Dong Zhuo laughed and replied, "So the mountain monkeys gave a hard slap to those pompous assholes, huh? That's good; we don't need to worry about Chu any more. And pray tell, why should we attack Qin now when we don't have enough soldiers after that tragedy of Choyou?"

Riboku replied calmly, "Qin has now gained control over so much land in key locations they can use. it to strike at any kingdom as they please, except Yan. We need to put a stop to them if we want our nation to be safe."

Dong Zhuo sighed and spoke, "I understand, but only the king can do such a thing. Despite people's belief that the King listens to me, it's not true. I'm just as helpless as you are. My son was forced to face those barbarians due to the selfish desire of the king. You still think he cares about anything else except his twisted desires? "

Riboku spoke for the first time with desperation: "That's why we need you, minister Dong Zhuo. Great General Lu Bu has successfully ensured the safety of Northern Zhao; if we could send him along with Houken, the great calamity, to the Qin front just once, it would greatly reduce their morals, and we could even push them back."

Dong Zhuo combed through his beard and spoke, "I could try, but don't hope too much. As far as Zhao goes, it won't last as long as that sick king is in charge. Maybe if Prince Ka were to take the throne, but that might be too late for Zhao."

He left, saying those words, as Riboku pondered the meaning behind those words.

Qin Capital, Kanyou

It took us a month to return to Kanyou for the award ceremony. We had to settle the new citizen and make sure no attacks were made. To be honest, Chu will probably go into hibernation to lick their wounds.

Qin can now also raise new soldiers and prepare for future invasions. I believe Zhao will be making a move soon. But the more imminent issue was, how do I convince the king to let me rest in North and defend northern borders, making me essentially retired.