The First Commander

A month passed since Cao Cao arrived and Yun was watching as an envoy would ride from Xiapi to their camp in the middle of the night the last few nights. Yun was sure that the war would end before the new year going by the actions everyone was taking at the moment.

"Soon we are returning home, well temporary home if Cao Cao holds his word," says Yun since Cao Cao had promised Xiapi to him when they negotiated in the beginning.

"You think he will hold his word?" asks Xu Shu not really convinced with what Yun just said.

"If he doesn't hold his word, he will regret it later on," says Yun seriously when a messenger reaches the group.

"General Zhao, Lord Cao is asking for all the Generals to gather in his tent," says the messenger to Yun.

"I will be right there," says Yun as the messenger bows to him before leaving to inform the next person.

"What do you think he wants to talk about?" asks Dian Wei curious about the gathering.

"The planning of the last battle," says Pang Tong seriously answering Dian Wei's question as Xu Shu and Yun nod in agreement.

"Most likely, the last few days an envoy traveled between the city and our camp at midnight. Lu Bu's men have changed sides and are now loyal to Cao Cao," says Yun sad that Lu Bu's tale would end like this once again.

"It was only a matter of time before they would betray him. At least we can see a good thing in it which is that we will be returning home," says Xu Shu trying to cheer Yun up.

They all know how hard Yun was trying to keep Lu Bu alive this whole time and the flooding of the city bought them time as well as saved men on both sides from killing each other.

"It is time to look it into the eyes and realize that we can't save Lu Bu but we can still save his legacy," says Gan Ning making everyone open their eyes because this sentence came from him.

"What even I have sometimes phrases like that in my aperture," says Gan Ning in a funny tone trying to make them laugh which succeeded.

Soon after Yun looked at Pang Tong and Xu Shu signalizing them to follow him to the gathering before saying, "We should move or Cao Cao will get mad with me again."

They begin to move when something suddenly landed on Yun's forehead. He reaches for it and the thing begins to roll down his forehead making Yun look up to see snowflakes falling from the sky.

"Let's hope that the snow won't become a problem later on," says Yun to himself while continuing to walk towards Cao Cao's tent.

Once near Cao Cao's tent, he sees a familiar face which was Cao Ren who says, "I heard from my cousin that you let Lu Bu flee when you faced him."

"I have since his daughter wouldn't have forgiven me her whole life if I hadn't done so," says Yun making up a believable excuse that Cao Ren could understand.

"Yes, I remember hearing that she is your daughter-in-law," says Cao Ren a bit disappointed with Yun's decision but he could understand it.

"I just hope that this will just pass over her head," says Yun hoping that Huixiu would not hold a grudge against him when the war is over.

They entered the tent together as they see that not everyone was there yet. It took around fifteen minutes until everyone was there as they were standing around a table.

"The war will be over by next week," says Cao Cao with confidence confusing everyone in the room.

"What do you mean, cousin?" asks Cao Ren confused asking the question everyone wanted to ask.

"Lu Bu's Generals don't see a point in continuing fighting against us and will hand him and Xiapi over to us," says Cao Cao relieved that the war would be over soon.

"And how do we know that it isn't a trap that they set we are running in?" asks Xiahou Yuan still not convinced with the enemy surrendering to them.

"They will throw Lu Bu's halberd from the wall and open the West Gate allowing us to enter the city. Once inside the only people that will be dangerous to us will be the Left and Right Hands of Lu Bu," says Cao Cao telling his people that everything was already arranged.

"But what about the snow that is falling?" asks Yun throwing a curveball into the conversation.

"What do you mean?" asks Cao Cao confused when Yun goes to the tent's entrance and opens it when they see that the snow that was falling stayed on the ground and didn't melt.

"It could become a problem if the weather gets worse," says Yun hinting that the cold could kill a lot of men.

"And whose fault is it that the war is still not over," says Cao Cao angry that Yun was complaining because of some snow since it is his fault that the war is still going on.

"I am just saying that it is a risk to fight under those conditions since the water will be even colder than usual and so will be the wind. Even if we win the war we will lose our men to the cold returning home," says Yun raising a good point to not fight at the moment.

"We wouldn't be here in the first place if you hadn't let go of Lu Bu when you had him in your grasp," says Cao Cao angry showing that he didn't want to discuss this any longer with Yun.

Yun gave up since he wouldn't be able to convince Cao Cao anyway at the moment. Cao Cao then explained the plan again so everyone would know what was going to happen next week and to prepare the army to march.

"And this time don't disappoint me, General Zhao," says Cao Cao seriously making Yun sigh before waving his hand, giving up on communicating with Cao Cao.

The gathering ended and Yun returned to his side of the camp preparing the men for what is going to happen in a week. The men could hear the disappointment in Yun's voice as well as the concern he was feeling for them.

The week passed fast and snow was covering the ground. It snowed over the last week every day. This made Yun question his orders as he was the Vanguard.

He was ordered to enter the city first with Xiahou Dun's men to make sure that everything was going the way it should. He sees that some men had thrown a halberd from the wall and Yun knew it was the signal he was waiting on.

"We march to the West Gate!" shouts Yun to the men as they begin to march.

The ground was muddy and at the same time frozen making it hard for them to move forward. It would take them too long to reach Xiapi at this tempo and he was fearing that something might happen to Wei Mei and Huixiu.

"Dian Wei, you follow me. Gan Ning, you are in charge of the vanguard," says Yun to his Generals as he and Dian Wei ride towards the gate faster than before.

Yun and Dian Wei passed the West Gate and they find an army stationed there. Yun and Dian Wei pulled their weapon out when a man stepped forward holding his hands into the air.

"We are on the same side," says the man who seems to lead the army making Yun and Dian Wei point their weapons at the ground.

"I am Hou Cheng," says Hou Cheng removing his helmet before saying, "Wei Xu and Song Xian should already have captured Lu Bu by now."

"What about his daughter and wife?" asks Yun coldly making Hou Cheng look at him confused.

It seemed to Yun that Hou Cheng didn't know who he was except for being one of Cao Cao's Generals. Yun hasn't seen Hou Cheng before either making it perfect for him.

"They have barricaded themselves in the Mansion at the moment while General Zhang Liao is protecting them with his army. It is only a matter of time before we can tas-," says Hou Cheng liking his lips a moment ago before he felt killing intent coming from Yun.

"It seems, you don't know whose daughter-in-law Huixiu is, do you?" asks Yun coldly as his spear was pointing at Hou Cheng again.

"Do you know what I hate more than a traitor," says Yun coldly as Qi begins to gather at the tip of his spear.

"A rapist," says Yun coldly as he pierces his spear through Hou Cheng's chest before he looks at the army before him and he shouts, "You will be following my command or die here. It is your choice."

The army before him was intimidated since Yun killed Hou Cheng easily with just one strike when Yun sees that nobody was going at him he says in a commanding tone, "Good. One half will take me to the mansion where the wife and daughter are being protected. The other half will wait here for my men to enter the city."

The army begins to move as they were showing Yun the way while the city was plunged into chaos. Xiapi's streets were destroyed by the flooding of the city making it difficult to advance.

War was fought on those destroyed streets when Yun hears someone roar loudly making every soldier that was escorting him nervous before Yun says, "It seems that Lu Bu is furious with the traitors."

"Not as furious as you, my Lord," says Dian Wei seriously as he was worried that Yun would be punished by Cao Cao for killing Hou Cheng.

They arrived at the palace and Yun dismounted from Thunder's back and walked toward the mansion. Dian Wei did the same as he couldn't let Yun enter the most dangerous place in the city alone.

The soldiers wanted to follow but Yun says, "Guard the entrance and don't let anyone enter the Mansion without my permission."

The soldiers began to guard the area as Yun and Dian Wei entered the mansion. He looked around seeing civilians hiding in the corners to not drag unwanted attention when an arrow flies toward Yun.

Dian Wei steps before Yun and deflects the arrows using his halberd when Yun looks in the direction the arrow came from seeing Zhang Liao holding a bow in his hands.

"Zhang Liao, it is over surrender and hand over Huixiu and Wei Mei," says Yun seriously to Zhang Liao who was keeping his composure.

"I can't do that, before I surrender to Cao Cao you need to catch me," says Zhang Liao seriously back to Yun who only smiles at him.

"I never said that you should surrender to Cao Cao," says Yun confusing Zhang Liao.

"I merely asked you to surrender to me. I am a mercenary don't you remember? I might be standing under Cao Cao on paper but we both know that we are equal or I wouldn't be leading an army at the moment," says Yun explaining that he wanted Zhang Liao to surrender to him.

"You know as well as I that I did my best to convince Lu Bu to surrender many times but I think lately that you all misunderstood me when I asked you to surrender," says Yun seriously thinking that they thought that he wanted them to surrender to Cao Cao.

"I am also the only person that can shield you all from Cao Cao and Liu Bei at the moment," says Yun trying to convince Zhang Liao to surrender to him.

"I need your word that nothing will happen to the madam and the young lady," says Zhang Liao seriously as Yun drops his weapon.

"Nothing will happen to them you have my word," says Yun with confidence as Zhang Liao dropped his bow.

"Then I leave the safety of my life and the lives of my men in your hands," says Zhang Liao as Yun walked closer to the mansion.

"How are Huixiu and Wei Mei dealing with the situation?" asks Yun worried since Wei Mei must be around the sixth or seventh month of pregnancy at the moment.

"I didn't want to alert the young lady but her mother knows what is going on," says Zhang Liao leading Yun and Dian Wei inside.

They walked for a while and Yun could see that Zhang Liao wasn't only protecting Wei Mei and Huixiu but also most of the civilians of the city that found refuge in the mansion.

They arrived at Wei Mei's room and find Huixiu resting her head on her mother's growing belly trying to hear her sibling when she sees Dian Wei and Yun. Huixiu stands up rapidly before rushing at them.

"Uncle Zhao and Uncle Dian," says Huixiu before hugging them individually feeling happy that they were there.

"Is the war over?" asks Wei Mei worried about her husband and her daughter when Yun covers Huixiu's ears.

"It is still carnage out there and I need to find your husband to make sure that he is alright. Cao Cao send me in first because I am the only one that can fight against him if he were able to muster a defense," says Yun seriously as Wei Mei worries even more now.

"Dian Wei, I want you to protect Wei Mei and Huixiu like you would do with my own wife and children," says Yun seriously as Dian Wei bows towards Yun.

"I will do as commanded," says Dian Wei knowing that Yun saw Wei Mei and Huixiu as part of his family.

"I will leave Dian Wei here with you, Zhang Liao. It will show that you surrendered to me and he will make sure that nothing happens to Wei Mei and Huixiu. I will go and try to get your stubborn husband to surrender," says Yun to the group before removing his hands from Huixiu's ears.

"I will be right back, Huixiu. How about you tell Dian Wei some stories of your adventure following your father," says Yun warmly while Huixiu could see through Yun since she wasn't a little kid any longer.

She hugged Yun before pleading sadly, "Please bring my father back to me."

Yun saw that tears run down the girl's cheek as she must be thinking that her father would never return when Yun placed his hands on her shoulders and says with confidence, "Well, now I don't have a choice but to bring him back to you."

Huixiu smiled seeing Yun's confidence as she let go of him before trying to wipe her tears away while Yun left the room to get Lu Bu.

He walked out of the mansion and picked up his spear when he hears an eagle cry over his head. He looks up and sees Shadow which means that Tang Shi and the others arrived at Xiapi.

Yun walks out of the courtyard when he mounts on Thunder's back and he asks, "Who is defending the North Gate?"

"No-Nobody," says one of the soldiers nervous.

Yun points at the soldier that answered him and says, "Take half of the men and open the North Gate. The other half stays here and continues to protect the mansion."

"Yes, sir," say the soldiers as they begin to follow Yun's orders while Yun began to ride on Thunder towards the White Gate Tower which was near the South Gate.

He was halfway there when he could see it and he says to himself, "We are almost there just hold on for a bit longer."

Yun had to open a path for himself by killing everything that was on his way since he didn't know who was friend or foe at the moment. His spear and armor were sullied in blood as were the hoofs of Thunder who stomped over humans killing them.

He soon found Gan Ning with Pang Tong and Xu Shu. Gan Ning was fighting against Gao Shun while Xu Shu took his position as General for the moment and Pang Tong was commanding the troops from the back of the formation.

"It seems, you made it into the city," says Yun to Pang Tong.

"My Lord, I have seen the corpse of a person at the entrance. Who was he?" asks Pang Tong curiously since Yun wouldn't have killed him without a good reason.

"He was Hou Cheng, one of the traitors. He was boasting about how he wanted to defile my future daughter-in-law when I killed him," says Yun sarcastically about what happened.

"Well, it can't be helped then. At least you killed him with a good reason. Cao Cao won't be able to hold that against you," says Pang Tong sarcastically back.

Gan Ning seemed to play with his prey when Yun remembered that they would need Gao Shun alive and he says, "Zhang Liao has surrendered and Wei Mei and Huixiu are safe in Dian Wei's hands."

"You rely on Dian Wei way more than on anyone else except for your brother, Tang Shi, or me. Aren't you scared that one day he could stab you in the back?" says Pang Tong which made Yun laugh out loud.

The laughter even stopped the fight between Gan Ning and Gao Shun to see what was going on when Yun answers, "Dian Wei is a man that would sacrifice himself for his Lord and he would go even further for a friend. So no, I am not afraid that Dian Wei would ever pierce a dagger into my back even if I command him to do so."

The duel continues and Yun says, "The others have arrived. They must be entering through the North Gate at this exact moment."

"They took their time and where are you going?" asks Pang Tong curious as Xu Shu was commanding the army at the moment when an arrow flies in their direction.

Yun deflects the arrow using his spear before throwing the spear at the person that attacked them when he says, " The White Gate Tower is my destination. It is there where they are holding Lu Bu at the moment."

Yun's spear killed two Archers and he grabs the handle of his sword before unsheathing

Yun then slowly rode forward towards Gan Ning before he whispers to him, "Capture him. Don't kill him and don't play with your food or the others might take him from you"

Yun then leaves since he has an appointment with Lu Bu at the White Gate Tower while Gan Ning began to be coated with soft blue Qi.

"It seems that our duel ends here. I can't have someone else take my glory away from me," says Gan Ning as his chains began to be covered in the same Qi as his body.

Gan Ning was swinging his flail in circles over his head before letting the chain go. The flail impacted with Gao Shun's chest throwing him to the ground before Gan Ning rushed at him.

Gan Ning then used his chain and captured Gao Shun in it. Gao Shun was trying his best to free himself of the chain around his body when Gan Ning pushed him to the ground and sat on top of him.

"You won't escape the chain since I reinforced it with Water Qi," says Gan Ning seeing Gao Shun struggle to free himself of the chain.

The soldiers stopped fighting since Gao Shun had lost and was captured by Gan Ning. Gao Shun's men surrendered to Gan Ning and were captured as well.

Yun, on the other hand, arrived at the White Gate Tower finding two men guarding the chained Lu Bu who looked calm as if he already made peace with himself and the world.

Yun dismounted Thunder's back and walked over to Lu Bu when he was stopped by the two people guarding him.

"If you know what is good for you, you will open a path before the same fate that came over Hou Cheng befalls you as well," says Yun coldly at the two knowing that they must be Song Xian and Wei Xu.

"And who might you be?" asks Song Xian angry making a chained Lu Bu break out in mad laughter.

"Let me tell you who he is," says Lu Bu as he was looking at the sky before he says, "He is General Zhao, the General that Pacified the North, and the only enemy I could never win against. So if you stand in his way you need to count on ending up buried in the ground."

Wei Xu and Song Xian soon realized that they made a mistake and Yun only glared at them before saying, "You can leave and join your men to wait for Cao Cao to enter the city."

They leave in fear thinking that Yun would kill them because they were disrespectful to him while Yun only took some steps forward toward Lu Bu.

Yun was left alone with Lu Bu who was sitting on the ground when Yun sits beside him and says, "You should have surrendered to me as I have told you."

"You think that Cao Cao will let me live after all of this?" asks Lu Bu calmly since he knew the fate that was approaching him.

"He will, I will make sure that he will not kill you but I need something from you," says Yun as Lu Bu looked at the sky.

"And what would that be?" asks Lu Bu curious as he thought that even Yun had no possibility of saving him.

"I need to be able to fully trust you and you need to be able to fully trust me or I won't be able to save you," says Yun seriously as Lu Bu looked at him a bit offended by what Yun just said.

"Do I look like someone that never trusted you? I wouldn't have given you my wife and daughter back then if I didn't trust you, don't you think so?" says Lu Bu mocking Yun for questioning his trust in each other.

Yun looked at air or at least it looked like it to Lu Bu while Yun was looking at a blue window that was before him. He saw that Lu Bu's bar was almost full as if it was at ninety-nine percent.

"I think, you don't know what I mean. You need to trust me with all your life like Dian Wei and Tang Shi. You need to be able to put your life in my hands and follow my orders without questioning them. Can you do that?" asks Yun trying to make Lu Bu understand that there was no other way for Yun to save him except he could do that.

"*sighs* So you want me to be completely loyal to you?" asks Lu Bu simply defeated by Yun's will to save his life.

"I will never make you do something I wouldn't do myself," says Yun to Lu Bu seeing that he was getting through Lu Bu's defense.

"But I still will have to follow your orders," says Lu Bu calmly as he looked back at the sky.

"You won't have to follow my orders at least not in this life," says Yun making Lu Bu look at him confused.

"Not in this life?" asks Lu Bu as Yun begins to smile at him genuinely surprising Lu Bu.

"You might not believe me, but I am someone who had a different life before this one. I was a poor young man that died in an accident. My Godfather picked me up and gave me another chance giving me a new life, this life," says Yun surprising Lu Bu who began to laugh out loud after his brain processed this information.

"So I won't have to follow your orders until my next life?" asks Lu Bu smiling at the sky.

"Well, some of them you will have to follow but like I said before. I wouldn't order you something that I wouldn't do myself," says Yun with confidence as Lu Bu looked at him.

"It seems the Heavens want me to follow you. Our lives have been intertwined since we met in the Imperial Courtyard and had our first battle," says Lu Bu as Yun was looking at the window seeing the red almost full bar turn green.

"We have a quote for times like this when the person says 'Where do I sign?'. It is said when a person agrees to form a contract with another person," says Yun looking at Lu Bu who smiles at him.

"I like that, so where do I sign?" says Lu Bu using the quote when Yun looked at him and began to laugh after hearing him say that.

"Right here," says Yun joking about it as it looked like Yun was pointing at air while he in reality touched Lu Bu's name on the window and a second window opened asking which three commanders would be under Lu Bu.

"Who are the three people you trust the most in your army?" asks Yun as Lu Bu didn't need to think about who were his most loyal men.

"Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, and Chen Gong, why are you asking?" asks Yun who filled out the three empty fields before light begins to form before Yun and Lu Bu and four rays of light jumped out of the window before Yun.

One went right at Lu Bu and hit him on the right side of his neck a bit behind and under the ear. It burned a mark in the form of a Valknut which turned black before it disappeared from plain sight.

The other rays of light hit Chen Gong, Gao Shun, and Zhang Liao making them feel pain for a moment as the same mark appeared in the same location on their body.

"What was that?" asks Lu Bu wanting to touch the spot but couldn't because of the chains.

Yun removed his chest piece and revealed his Valknut that was on his torso before it disappeared from plain sight again Yun says, "It is the same symbol that I wear on my chest. But it disappeared like my mark."

"A Heavenly Mark?" asks Lu Bu curious as Yun could not 'not' nod at that since he didn't know the real origin of the Valknut.

"I can only say 'Welcome to the Club.'," says Yun happy that he got his first General in the system.

"I hope that you never change Yun," says Lu Bu hoping that Yun would stay the same person even in his next life.

"I can't promise you that. But I can promise you that I will be always by your side as a friend and comrade," says Yun putting a hand on Lu Bu's shoulder before he put his chest piece back on.

They see Cao Cao's main army enter the city and Yun stands up before helping Lu Bu stand when Yun says, "Once before Cao Cao you have to follow my lead. I might not get out of this without some bruises but you will survive and see your daughter again. This way I can hold my word to her."

"Then let us face the Prime Minister," says Lu Bu mockingly as he ridiculed Cao Cao's position while walking down the stairs.