Chapter 64
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At the Chancellor's residence in Chengdu.
It was deep night, yet the candles in Zhuge Liang's study still burned brightly.
The place his lord had gone to.
Deep wrinkles had carved their way into Zhuge Liang's brow as he anxiously awaited only the news from Yiling.
Then.
With hurried footsteps, Ma Dai burst in, covered in dust.
“Prime Minister! A message urgently brought from the front lines!”
Zhuge Liang took the scroll Ma Dai offered him with trembling hands.
What it contained was.
A deployment map of the Shu army's camp positions at Yiling.
Zhuge Liang's eyes slowly widened as he examined the formation revealed under the candlelight, and soon they were filled with shock.
“Who in the world suggested that His Majesty set up a formation like this!? That bastard is surely a traitor to the realm—behead him at once and reorganize the formation!”
Ma Dai went pale at Zhuge Liang's razor-sharp fury.
After a moment's hesitation, he finally spoke in a trembling voice.
“Prime Minister... that formation was personally inspected and arranged by Your Majesty.”
At Ma Dai's words,
Zhuge Liang stared blankly into space, as if he couldn't believe it.
Then, as if his legs had given out, he sank down onto his seat.
How... how could this happen?
When facing a smaller force with a larger one, you should concentrate your troops and show strength.
But if you ignore the terrain and stretch out a formation seven hundred li long, you'll be picked off one by one.
And since it was set deep in the forest, what if the enemy used fire attacks?
......
......
“If the situation turns dire, persuade His Majesty to retreat to Baidicheng at once. Fortunately, I have hidden one hundred thousand troops near Baidicheng in case of emergency. Even if Lu Xun gives chase, once they reach there, they absolutely won't be able to lay a finger on Your Majesty's imperial body.”
Why had the heavenly signs seemed so chaotic near Baidicheng?
Why, then, had he felt such a strong pull to build the Stone Sentinel Maze there, when it wasn't even the front line?
That vague intuition turning into reality weighed heavily on Zhuge Liang's chest.
Watching Ma Dai's hasty retreat,
Zhuge Liang also prepared to leave Chengdu.
Though it was obvious that if he left now, it would create a huge void in administration,
the place a strategist should be was at his lord's side.
He should have followed him even if it meant disobeying his lord's orders.
He realized that far too late.
(To be continued in the next chapter.)
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Although he was the protagonist of Part 2,
ending from Zhuge Liang's point of view and shifting perspectives left the lingering sense that things might still be reversible,
the powerful impression that things would unfold exactly as Zhuge Liang predicted meant that even those who hadn't properly read between the lines of the novel could intuitively grasp the crisis Liu Bei faced.
The salon was soon filled with unrest.
“He should've just let Zhuge Liang go with Liu Bei in the first place...!”
“The nation's No. 1 and No. 2 can't go on campaign at the same time, can they? He made the rational call. Still... it's disappointing.”
“There wasn't anyone in Liu Bei's army besides Zhuge Liang who had any real say... Ah, there wasn't. There really wasn't...”
Those who couldn't suppress their sighs.
“Still, Zhuge Liang will come up with something...!”
“Zhao Yun! Zhao Yun will save Liu Bei like he did at Changban Slope and at the Seven Star Altar. Zhao Yun has always been Liu Bei's constant!”
Since Liu Bei screwing things up was nothing new, there were also those who placed their hopes on the two loyal retainers who always cleaned up after him.
* * *
And then, the next day.
- I simply can't bear to look...
Kim Yul's manuscript, which even Chloe had refused to read first, once again hung over the world like a nightmare.
The readers' vague suspicions, Zhuge Liang's suspicions,
were vividly embodied as Shu's future blazing fiercely and melting away in Hyojeong.
Even Liu Bei, who had tried to retreat and salvage things, found his ankle firmly seized by Lu Xun at Mount Ma'an.
He ended up retreating all the way to Baidicheng by land after losing nearly all his soldiers, unable even to use the waterways.
The only saving grace was.
- W-what is this!
- Calm down! It's Kongming's trap!
Because the Stone Sentinel Maze Zhuge Liang had prepared in advance successfully blocked Lu Xun's pursuit, Liu Bei was able to survive by a hair's breadth,
- Nghh, my lord...! This servant was far too late...!
Although they couldn't prevent the destruction of the main force, Zhao Yun arrived with reinforcements, so the readers could finally breathe a sigh of relief there.
Thus,
“Ha! To think you'd pull back the troops here because you're worried about Cao Pi.”
“From Liu Bei's point of view, he can't exactly refuse to accept peace talks...”
The flames that had flared up at Yiling fortunately didn't seem fierce enough to snuff out Liu Bei's life.
At least, up to that point.
But unfortunately for the readers, today's installment was once again a heaping serving.
They had no choice but to turn the page, wrapped in tension.
And one paragraph.
Another paragraph.
As their eyes read on, Liu Bei's life burned ever hotter, then gradually began to flicker like a candle whose wick had almost burned away.
Then.
Zhuge Liang arrived at Baidicheng.
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“Your Majesty, I, Zhuge Liang, have arrived.”
Liu Bei, with dim eyes, looked at his most loyal subject, his other half with whom he had lived like fish and water.
Tears welled at the corners of Liu Bei's eyes.
“Prime Minister, my illness has already seeped into my marrow and is beyond recovery. We hoped to set the realm right together and revive the Han house, yet we have failed to accomplish our great work and must part ways midway. How bitter and regretful this is.”
“Your Majesty, you must preserve your dragon body. There is still much left for you to do...”
Liu Bei shook his head and reached out a trembling hand.
Zhuge Liang took that hand in both of his.
It was a hand so cold that no life could be felt in it anymore.
Liu Bei took a moment to catch his breath.
“Prime Minister, your talents are ten times greater than Cao Pi's in Wei. You will surely be able to stabilize the realm and accomplish great deeds. ...So, if there is someone fit to assist my son Liu Shan, then help him. However, if that child is not a worthy talent...”
“Your Majesty...?”
“Prime Minister, please become the ruler of Shu.”
At those words,
Zhuge Liang immediately slammed his head into the floor with a loud bang and wailed.
“How could I, how could I ever harbor such thoughts...! Even if my bones were ground to dust and my body shattered, I would bow, devote all my strength, and offer my unwavering loyalty, stopping only when I finally die...!”
Even with blood streaming down from his forehead, Zhuge Liang did not stop, but Liu Bei's weakly outstretched hand gripped Zhuge Liang's shoulder.
......
......
Liu Bei's gaze gradually drifted toward the void.
Before his eyes,
the scene from the moment they swore the Oath of the Peach Garden shimmered.
Back when they were still young.
Loyalty to save the nation.
Youth and passion, benevolence and righteousness.
And.
Guan Yu.
Zhang Fei.
My beloved younger brothers.
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At the end of the story,
an illustration that hadn't been included for a long time was inserted.
They called it ring composition, didn't they?
Those who saw the illustration—especially those who had been deeply moved by the two heroes—could not tear their eyes away from it.
The Oath of the Peach Garden.
Beneath the peach tree, the three brothers drank from the same cups and vowed that, though their lives might differ, they would die on the same day—the exact same early scene, the exact same composition.
Beneath the peach tree in full bloom, with petals falling in a flurry.
The Twin Swords.
The Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
And the Zhangba Serpent Spear stood planted there.
“Ulysses, you damn bastard...!”
“Sob, sniff.”
“This is... too...”
Thanks to the scene being set perfectly, as if to say, 'Now, you should cry here,' the more sensitive readers and those deeply immersed were already crying silently.
Truly.
It was a sad day.
.
.
.
That day.
Rain happened to be falling over the Empire.
It wasn't enough to warrant opening an umbrella, but enough to make being caught in it feel somewhat unpleasant.
People didn't mind getting their clothes a little wet and came out into the streets aimlessly, as if something heavy had settled over their hearts.
And they walked without direction.
Where those footsteps led was.
The place Chloe had created in the early days of serialization to elevate the high elves' status and promote the work.
The plaza's Peach World Tree.
It should have been bustling with people out for a stroll, but it was raining, the sky was overcast, and the atmosphere was gloomy.
Exactly.
It was the perfect day for mourning.
Towering there,
yet before the peach tree, where the petals scattered as if washed by rain,
wildflowers, chrysanthemums, roses, and every kind of flower.
were laid down one by one.
and gradually began to pile up.
Though he was merely a character in a novel, it was a small tribute that could be offered to his tumultuous life.
It may also have been a tribute to the author who had shaped such a gripping character.
If one were to define the emotion they felt.
Pity after witnessing tragedy, and emotional purification.
Catharsis.
One could call it that.
* * *
The day Liu Bei was officially killed off.
Kim Yul had an eventful day.
“Waaaaah!”
He endured Estea's outrage from dawn, when she read the latest chapter and rushed over to once again press her face against the research lab door,
starting with Historie hugging Estea and patting her until she was barely calmed down.
He also took in the memorial in front of the Peach World Tree, which they had no choice but to pass on the way to Novelpia headquarters.
Also,
[We condemn the Battle of Yiling for promoting environmental destruction]
[Elves never lose in the forest]
[Ulysses, the wicked author, repent! Awaken!]
Because the Jeongkkanyeon protesters, armed with all sorts of placards, had surrounded Novelpia's headquarters, he had to infiltrate the building using a secret entrance.
Having overcome those hardships and ordeals,
“Kim... Yul...”
at the sight of the 'desuwa' young lady, who had been going 'ohoho' until yesterday and was now slouching around as an infested elf.
Kim Yul let out a deep sigh.
His original sin was truly deep.