Dom urged his Cavalry on, with the older Enemy General noticing Dom's arrival and pushing for his own unit to flee quickly in the other direction. Another Younger General was beside him, his face pale in fright as they urged their horses to run from Dom and his men. Dom felt his blood boil in the anticipation to hunt, with an overwhelming want to give chase, an emotion that was new to him but had started to become part of him since he started fighting on World Conquest Online. However, a rear guard of infantry separated Dom from the enemy General, as they ran towards the Cavalry with spears and fear on their faces. Dom knew his chances of catching him would be low and hoped that Liao Hua would be in wait to capture them instead.
"Ignore him, kill those in front of us and capture the Governors Hall!" Dom yelled at his warriors as the Lancers got in to a tight wedge formation and charged directly at the spearmen, whilst the Tiger Cavalry which was running down a street beside them quickly appeared and flanked the enemy rear guard, causing them to not know where to look as the Lancers hit them. Screams and shouts could be heard as they were caught between the ferocious Tigers and the heavy Red Hare Horses.
Dom stabbed an enemy with his Zhan Lu Jian, his sword piercing the enemies throat and blood spraying across those around them. Dom was soon pushed past by the momentum as a Sun Cavalry Swordsmen behind him attacked those beside the one that Dom had felled. They constantly pushed until they were through the enemy formation and at the place of the Governors Headquarters, whilst from the south of them, a large number of Naval Marines under Dong Xi arrived, having also fought their way here through the town. Dong Xi immediately had his men spread out and support Dom's Cavalry before the enemy had chance to regroup and attack back.
"I think this is your win." Dong Xi smiled as the two met. "You wouldn't believe how much I have ran to get here once I heard the sounds of battles on the walls."
"The City is ours." Dom replied with a grin, grabbing Dong Xi's forearm from the top of his horse in greeting. He hadn't had much interaction with the experienced officer, but he had only heard positive things about him from both Sun Ce and Gan Ning.
"It is yours anyway." Dong Xi laughed, "Cheng Pu is currently shouting from the top of the wall for everyone to surrender whilst your infantry pours in, you seem to have more men with you than when you started."
"Where are my ships?" Dom asked as he counted the men Dong Xi had brought with him, easily a thousand armoured swordsmen. However part of him had expected a wild eyed Gan Ning or a bloodied Tomyris to appear.
"Resting at the moment, they should follow us in." Dong Xi replied, "They won the battle for us today, two ships that controlled the River. Without them, the battle would have taken a lot longer. It was an impressive sight, I really want some for myself."
"I am sure Sun Ce has made you some offers, but you can have as many as you want if you agree to what he has proposed." Dom grinned, realising what Dong Xi was doing in trying to negotiate a good deal for himself.
"Let's capture Huang Zu first and then we can talk." Dong Xi replied in a teasing tone. "I have some ideas on how we could incorporate different variations of them. The Rams were great, but if you had crossbows on them, or even boarding ramps, then we are talking about some era defying ships."
"Our Shipbuilder Himilco has mentioned similar things, I think the two of you would get along quite well." Dom replied with a smile, seemingly happy with Dong Xi's reply.
"How do you want to do this?" Dong Xi asked Dom as he looked back towards the Headquarters, their warriors now surrounding it as more seemed to floor in from either the docks or the walls.
"We head in to the Headquarters and take it floor by floor. Capture who we can, kill those that we can't." Dom replied openly with a shrug of his shoulders whilst Dong Xi laughed loudly, a method that he would also have followed.
....
Sun Ce continued to fight against Huang Zhong whilst those around them continued to pour in to the city. Huang Zhong's men had now surrendered, but Huang Zhong refused to give up the fight. Ling Tong had also returned with some additional reinforcements and he stood with Cheng Zi as they watched the fight unfold. Cheng Pu had headed in to the city with his best men to follow Dom and the Cavalry.
"Come on Old Man, let's stop this now!" Sun Ce grumbled as he blocked another sword strike. As they thought the Warriors from both sides seemed relaxed as they watched, even Huang Zhong's men were relaxed as Cheng Zi had his men treat them well, only disarming them. Dom had told them to try and recruit any good warriors for their own units and these Archers and Swordsmen under Huang Zhong were the only ones who they had struggled against on the wall, with only Huang Zu's men falling easily.
"If I am an Old Man, then you should have been able to at least disarm me by now." Huang Zhong laughed in response, also noting that his men had been treated well and that no one had the intention to step in to the fight. He slashed his sword towards Sun Ce again, an attack that if it had landed wouldn't have overly injured him anyway. Sun Ce parried the attack and swung back at Huang Zhong who stepped back to avoid it with a light smile and a small laugh.
There was then a clamour as the warriors of Ling Tong parted ways as a horse riding General appeared, with two large Barbarian Warriors behind him, taller and more muscular than anything Huang Zhong had seen before, between them was the captured Cai Mao. Huang Zhong recognised the General from earlier in the day, having exchanged arrows with him and understanding that this person was as skilled as him with the bow, even when on horseback.
"You should treat your elders with some respect Bofu." Subutai laughed at Sun Ce, before turning to Huang Zhong who now stepped back and stopped playfully slashing his sword towards the tired Sun Ce, who had been fighting on the front lines since the beginning of the day. "I have heard good things about you General Huang Zhong, it's a pleasure to meet you in person."
"Have you come to take my head?" Huang Zhong asked in a relaxed tone, knowing that he was defeated the moment the walls were taken, but he had no chance to escape like some of the others, without risking the lives of his remaining men.
"Definitely not, why waste such talent." Subutai grinned in response, as Huang Zhong smiled back at him in understanding. "There are few that can shoot a bow as well as I."
"I feel the same." Huang Zhong agreed as he rested his sword at his side, an instant liking to the Barbarian horse archer. Sun Ce noticing this also relaxed his own sword and took a step back as Subutai dismounted and headed towards Huang Zhong.
"Congratulations on your victory everyone! You have fought bravely and exceptionally." Subutai shouted loudly to those Warriors around him, who all cheered in response. They had all grown to follow his lead and the others were part of Sun Ce and Ling Tong's unit who had been told to follow his orders. "Please head in to the city and maintain the peace. No civilians are to be harmed are the orders from Lord Sun Quan and my Lord, Lord Lazarus."
"We'll leave as well." Sun Ce smiled, before bowing his head in respect to Huang Zhong. "You are an Old Man, but I am happy that you are."
"I agree, I would have beaten you much easier in my prime." Huang Zhong teased as Ling Tong pulled Sun Ce away before he could respond, frustration on his face at Huang Zhong's teasing. Huang Zhong then turned to Subutai. "I assume I am your prisoner now?"
"You would assume correctly, for now at least" Subutai smiled as he directed Huang Zhong to follow him, "Let's walk and discuss the bow, I also have a student called Hua Rong who I think you would like, he's young and wild, but...."
.....
Liao Hua tensed as a General riding a similar Red Hare Horse to him approached with around a thousand men. He noticed the long beard and remembered the description and order from Dom to let them past. Liao Hua had heard about Guan Yu, and the life he could have lived if he hadn't joined Riverside, this was an ally of his in another life and some strange emotions flickered across his face.
"I thought my Red Hare was one of a kind, but I have seen a lot of them today." Guan Yu stated in welcoming as he looked at the young Liao Hua who was on the horse, a small group of Cavalry behind him, including some of the Horse Archers.
"They may not be one of a kind, but you will still not find a better horse in the world." Liao Hua replied in a friendly tone, instantly relaxing the small group of Cavalry behind him.
"I believe you are supposed to let us through? Not that you could have stopped me if I had wanted to pass." Guan Yu laughed, stroking his beard with one hand, whilst the other gripped his glaive.
"That is the orders I have received." Liao Hua agreed as he ordered his unit to separate and let Guan Yu and his unit through.
"I think we will stay here with you for a while first." Guan Yu stated as he stroked his chin, asking his men to form a semi circle position blocking the road leaving Jiangxia. Liao Hua was unsure on how to respond, his unit could fight, but they were massively out numbered and their role was to capture Huang Zu and nothing else. "Don't worry young General, we are temporarily allies, come and stand with me whilst we wait."
Liao Hua didn't understand his words, but nodded his head at his second in command who split the cavalry to both flanks of the current formation, whilst he himself rode beside Guan Yu, who continued to stroke his beard in thought as he looked towards the distant Jiangxia.
...
"So you want me to join you, in this new Kingdom you are building, in this place called Riverside?" Su Fei asked Gan Ning as he sat relaxed on the Enyo with Tomyris. The crews from both ships were also having a relax whilst the oarsmen slowly pulled them in to Jiangxia that was now mostly under control. The crossbows had stopped when the Louchuan had docked, and the flags of the Sun Clan were now on most of the walls that could be seen. Those that had been killed onboard had been taken to the back of the ship and covered in material, whilst the injured were having initial first aid applied to them by the trained members of the crew.
"I do, we are surrounded by Rivers, Lakes and the Sea." Gan Ning explained to him, "We have a growing force of ships, but we currently lack crews and experienced Naval Officers for all of the directions we want to expand in."
"That is why I am on this ship and not on the land where I should be!" Tomyris moaned with a light smile, her arm currently being strapped by a Marine due to a slight wound she had received unknowingly.
"And your Lord wants me?" Su Fei asked, excited to be reunited with his friend and the opportunity for a new beginning.
"He does, there are a few people we want to bring back, but if I could have any it would be you." Gan Ning replied honestly, as his friend smiled in response.
"There will definitely be better candidates than me, but how can I say no after such honesty." Su Fei laughed, "I am sure I can persuade a few men to come with me."
"That I do not doubt, you are one of the only decent commanders that Huang Zu has left." Gan Ning stated, a big grin appearing as he knew he had succeeded in his mission to recruit some crews for the new Trireme's that were being built. Su Fei was one of Huang Zu's best commanders, but he also wasn't corruptible like many of the others, this led to him being well liked by most of the more moderate sailors.
"The lake to our north is much larger than this area, where as the Rivers are unexplored terrain and the Sea we have barely touched." Tomyris added, "There is a lot to explore and a lot of unknown enemies to fight, it won't be a peaceful time for you."
"Exploring a new world and building a new home away from the corruption of Huang Zu, Liu Biao and the rest of the Han Court?" Su Fei laughed, before showing a mischievous smiles towards Tomyris, "How could I say no, however, are there any more pretty ladies there?"
"Plenty." Gan Ning laughed as Tomyris punched him hard in the shoulder with her uninjured arm, causing Su Fei to break out in laughter, whilst Gan Ning then grimaced in pain.