Xu Wu.
Just as its name implied anything but peace, the mountain fortress on Mount Xu Wu was filled with the raucous laughter and clamor of bandits.
“Commander. Those fellows have been drinking all day?”
Yue Jin wriggled as though he would leap out at any moment.
“Calm down, Wenqian. Stay still.”
There had appeared to be at least forty people eating meat and drinking just moments ago.
But seeing that the liquor and meat did not diminish and kept being replenished, it seemed forty was not the full count.
Unless one could fight a hundred alone, caution was necessary.
“What do you plan to do now?”
“We can’t attack recklessly. Let’s wait until they’re drunk and collapse first.”
“Understood.”
***
A short while later.
When the atmosphere had ripened enough for everyone to be thoroughly drunk.
The lowly minions at the mountain fortress entrance were only sighing repeatedly as the strong stench of liquor wafted to the entrance on the night wind.
“Damn it, inside they’re tearing into meat and making a ruckus, so when are they going to relieve us? By now the drinking party is almost over, isn’t it?”
As a man leaning against a stripped wooden fence with one leg crossed grumbled, a pockmarked man beside him clicked his tongue and snorted.
“Hmph, what relief? With the Vice Leader’s temperament, by now he’s drunk with excitement and obviously rolling around with the women he dragged up from below.”
“Hey, would he really do that? Weren’t they women to be presented to the Chieftain? More importantly, did you see her face?”
“I don’t know about her face, but her scent was absolutely killer.”
“If I were the Vice Leader, by now... Hehehe...”
“Stop it, stop it. I saw her from behind, and her build is massive, a true giant. They say she walked here and got captured on her own two feet, but if not for that, she’s definitely not a woman who would be in a place like this. She looked about ten cheok tall, I tell you.”
“Tsk, you sure you weren’t seeing things because you were hungry?”
“That could be it. More importantly, how much time do we have left?”
“The sun hasn’t even set yet. Who would crawl up such a rugged mountain that we have to stand guard...”
“I want to drink already. I’m sick of dried meat.”
“Hm? Wait, didn’t those bushes move just now?”
A Black Mountain bandit underling pointed at the bushes moving abnormally.
“Could it be a wild beast?”
“I was bored, so this is perfect. If we offer it to the Chieftain, he might give us some liquor, right?”
“But what if it’s a bear or a tiger?”
“Hey, where would there be bears or tigers here? I’ll go take a look first.”
He grabbed a wooden stick and slowly approached the bushes, prodding them with it.
“Huh? I don’t think there’s anything; did I see wrong?”
When there was no reaction, the man approached directly and parted the bushes with his hand, discovering people of unknown identity.
They were none other than me, Yue Jin, and the trio of farmer-soldiers.
“Gasp! Who are you?!”
The man, startled at discovering us, fell flat on his rear.
“If you’ve enjoyed your thievery, isn’t it time to pay the price?”
“Wh-what?”
The Black Mountain bandit minion backed away as I approached, then stood up and swung the stick wildly.
In that moment, feeling the world seem to slow to 0.25x speed again, I caught the swung stick with my bare hand.
“Wh-wha?!”
The minion pulled on the stick with every ounce of his strength, but the stick gripped in my hand did not budge an inch.
“Kh... Kuhk! Let go!”
Smirking, I yanked the stick hard, and the minion lost his balance, floundering and being pulled toward me.
—Thud!
[1. Eliminate the enemies. 1/5]
I plunged my fist straight into his jaw, and a dull sound rang out simultaneously with a notification tone in my ears.
“This crazy... En-enemies!! Intrud—!”
As the pockmarked minion tried to shout, I immediately rushed in and struck his philtrum.
—Whack!!
“Gghk...”
The bandit collapsed backward, his face a bloody mess.
Before he could hit the ground and make noise, I quickly ran over, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and laid him silently on the ground.
It took less than ten seconds to neutralize the two sentries.
“Gasp...”
“Co-Commander...!”
The trio of farmer-soldiers who had been frozen stiff behind the bushes stood with their mouths agape, and even Yue Jin, who had been inwardly determined to take the lead and clear a path, stared at me with wide eyes in a gaze filled with shock.
“I knew the Commander’s martial prowess was outstanding, but I had no idea you could be this fast and ferocious!”
Yue Jin whispered with an excited expression.
I brushed off the grime on my hand and smiled leisurely.
“No need to make a fuss. The real thing starts now.”
I picked up the torch at the entrance.
“Wait, I just got a good idea.”
“Yes?”
I suddenly recalled the Black Mountain bandits’ conversation.
‘A strong, tall woman was captured, right? Something smells fishy...’
“First, let’s strip these guys of their clothes.”
“...Yes?”
***
Yue Jin and I donned the clothes the Black Mountain bandit minions had been wearing and boldly entered the mountain fortress.
“Will this really be alright...?”
“What?”
“I mean us coming in like this alone...”
There were only two sets of bandit clothes, so I had the farmer-soldier trio hide the bodies.
“Moreover, if they catch on, it’ll be hard to escape from here.”
Though we had changed clothes, there had been no time to alter our appearances, so Yue Jin was restless.
“Commander, we succeeded in entering, but there’s no telling when they’ll notice the sentries are gone. Wouldn’t it have been better to wait until sunset and attack?”
“You heard those Black Mountain bandits talking earlier, right?”
“You mean the talk about the giant-like woman?”
I nodded.
Among the generals of Cao Cao’s army in *Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII*, there was definitely a tall, cool beauty.
And if my gacha radar was correct, the woman captured as a prisoner in this mountain fortress was most likely her.
“Commander, someone is approaching from over there.”
Yue Jin whispered quietly from beside me.
Looking ahead, sure enough, a Black Mountain bandit with a yellow headcloth approached and spoke to us.
“Hey, what are you doing there?”
He approached us with unsteady steps, meat and a water bottle in both hands.
Yue Jin cupped his hands and opened his mouth.
“We were standing guard outside the mountain fortress until just now and have returned.”
“Guard duty? Tsk... Anyway, the Vice Leader is so strict. Everyone’s gathered and drinking, you know.”
The man glanced at our appearances and spoke with a smile.
“It looks like you haven’t even had a taste; come along. There’s still plenty of meat left! If you don’t hurry, it’ll spoil, so come on!”
“We appreciate the offer, but the Vice Leader ordered us to watch the prison...”
“Tsk, poor bastards... Get going.”
“Yes, understood. Please eat your fill for our share too.”
“...Wait!”
The Black Mountain bandit who had been walking in the opposite direction suddenly turned around.
“Yes?”
“Hey, you. Pretty boy.”
“Me?”
Yue Jin answered.
“You’re ugly. Him, next to you!”
“.......”
“There’s blood on your clothes.”
‘Shit... I didn’t think about the blood!’
I erased my flustered expression and put on as much of a lecherous, sly smile characteristic of bandits as I could.
“Ah, this? On the way back from sentry duty, I caught a plump mountain rabbit. I twisted its neck and got some blood on me.”
“Mountain rabbit? That won’t even be a mouthful, you bastard!”
The Black Mountain bandit tapped my shoulder. A pungent aroma of liquor wafted from him.
“Make sure to save me a hind leg for later. Got it?”
When I nodded, he laughed and staggered off in the opposite direction.
“Phew... You took ten years off my life, Commander.”
Yue Jin wiped away cold sweat and let out a sigh of relief.
“For now, let’s find the prison.”
“Yes!”
We quickened our steps toward a secluded spot deep inside the mountain fortress.
And by chance, we found a massive structure made by layering and weaving thick logs together; only a few torches were burning, and the guards seemed to have all gone off to drink, with not even an ant visible nearby.
“For some reason, I think this is it...”
As I examined the structure, golden text suddenly appeared before my eyes.
“Bingo!”
“Yes...?”
“Yue Jin, this is the prison. Let’s hurry in.”
I opened the building’s door and strode into the darkness.
A bewildered Yue Jin followed behind with torches in both hands.
When the sound of my footsteps rang out, women began to scream.
They must have mistaken us for Black Mountain bandits.
“Good heavens... How can a woman’s physique be so gigantic?”
In the deepest corner of the prison. Yue Jin couldn’t hide his shock as he shone the torch on a massive silhouette bound tightly with thick ropes atop a pile of straw.
I smiled as I looked at the golden name displayed above her head.
——
[General Information]
Name: Dian Wei (典韋) Courtesy Name: Grade: SSR
Leadership: 57 War: 95 Intelligence: 35 Politics: 29 Charisma: 80
Affinity: 0/100
——
A physique that easily overwhelmed most men even while sitting.
It seemed she could break the ropes binding her and escape at any moment.
But in contrast to that fearsome physique, her face revealed by the torchlight was an incomparable, peerless beauty.
Silver-white short hair like the mane of a silver wolf. A prominent nose bridge and sharp eyes that looked at me with apparent indifference bore a momentum that seemed ready to cut off my head at any moment.
As I approached right up to the prison bars, she slowly opened her mouth.
“You... you’re not a bandit.”
A charming, husky low voice struck my ears with force.
“I am Commander Ian, subordinate of the Governor of Dongjun. Who are you?”
“...Dian Wei of Chenliu.”
‘As expected, it really is Dian Wei!’
She was Cao Cao’s reliable head of security and possessor of superhuman strength, always ranking in the top tier of Cao Cao’s army in martial prowess.
“We came to clean out the mountain fortress established here by our Lord’s orders. If it’s alright with you, why not join us?”
“Clean out?”
“The Lord ordered us to empty Mount Xu Wu clean.”
Dian Wei looked at me and snorted.
“Just you two? Where are the others?”
“There are three more outside, so five. Well... they won’t be much practical help. More importantly, you clearly look incredibly strong; why are you docilely tied up with such crude ropes? If you wanted to, you could break them and leave at any time.”
Dian Wei’s face contorted at my question.
She opened her mouth, furrowing her eyes.
“If I break these flimsy ropes and escape, those bandit bastards will kill everyone here.”
—Gnash, gnash.
Dian Wei ground her teeth and growled like a beast.
“Then, if I kill every last bandit in this mountain fortress, can you help me?”
“...Didn’t you say there were only five?”
“It’s six now. Though it would be different if everyone imprisoned here joined in.”
“...I’ve been stripped of my weapon and armor. I’m empty-handed.”
“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that.”
No equipment?
Without hesitation, I used currency to activate a ten-draw equipment gacha.
—Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud.
Countless armors and weapons fell before me.
Dian Wei’s pupils grew as large as full moons at the sight.