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"Cai, your alive. Thank the heavens, I wouldn't have known what to do if you died." Ning squeezed her hand tighter in joy. "As you wish Cai, I will return to battle as long as you will be alright." Gan Ning got up from his bedside seat, and motioned for the doctor to come to him. "She'll be alright Doc, right?" The doctor answered with a smile and a thumbs up sign. With this Ning rushed up to the top of the battlement again, and shouted to the troops. "Men, your commanding officier, Lady Cai, has taken injuries from battle, we shall fight for her now!" yelled Ning, as he heard a thunderous shout from the soldiers who were inspired to work harder to kill these invaders.

Gan Ning gota big rock from a pile in the corner and threw it at a group of gunmen he could see in the distance, he threw it so hard at one's head that he died instantly. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" Ning said, grabbing a bow, fitting an arrow, and letting it fly.

Red Hare galloped up a hill that lay just outside of the territory that Xia Pi controlled. Once at the top Lu Bu could look down on the valley to the battle below. Clouds of smoke arose from random fires and gunpowder explosions. The scene made Bu smirk as he clenched the handle of his legendary weapon. He tightened the pressure on his mighty horse's flanks and ran down toward the battle. He penetrated the Japanese's flank and ripped through their forces like an arrow through a bale of hay. The musketeers were so frightened at the sight of a man who was well over six and a half feet tall riding on a huge red horse with feathers flailing and a devilish look in the eye of both the horse and rider. They randomly fired at it, not bothering to aim. He slashed out at them, cutting several of them in half with one mighty slash after another. Limbs and organs littered the ground behind him along with those strange new weapons. None of them could seem to hit him with their muskets so they decided to attack with sword and spear. This was nothing for someone like Lu Bu. He crushed several of them under the feet of his horse and stabbed several more with the tip of his halberd. Suddenly an explosion went off somewhat near him and sent men flying in his direction along with chards of rock and debris. He looked to the walls and noticed that arrows were being fired in his direction. He observed the situation a little better and noticed Guan Yu fighting... a midget? That was laughable! Oh well. He knew not to interfere. For once Guan Yu was not his enemy and he might as well enjoy it while it lasted. He cut through several more Japanese. These men were nothing special... Of course neither were most of the soldiers that the kingdoms of this land had to offer either.

"Damn... isn't anyone out there strong enough to last more than a few seconds with me? Not even these invaders are worth my time!" He was so frustrated at this that he decided to stop attacking and let them come at him, just to see if they could even come close to hitting him.

Xing Cai looked over when she heard Gan Ning barge in, giving him one of her smiles. It was true she did feel much, much better, all thanks to the doctors that were there. She still felt light headed from the blood loss and her arm would be aching for a while, but Cai knew how to block out pain. But she would have to be careful now, because she hadn't taken care of her wound faster she'd become a problem. Xing Cai wouldn't allow herself to become a problem again, if she did, she would feel so dishonored.

"I'm glad to see that you're alright as well, Ning." Cai responded, turning and setting her feet on the floor. She took in a deep breath before standing up, wavering for a second but making herself steady. Just to be safe, Cai would have to stick to firing arrows. It would be better not to get stuck in up-close combat or else she could make an accident that could end up making her cost dearly. Cai picked up her shield and fork, which had been removed from where she'd had them on her back. She then walked over to Gan Ning, still partly dazed, but being back up on her feet made her feel more refreshed.

"I'm probably going to be slower, but I'm ready." Xing Cai smiled as she took the front of her shield and pushed it against Ning's chest gently.

Cai nodded to Gan Ning, and as he walked over to the doctor she walked out the door, going back up to the top and looking out over the chaos that was happening below. Then she noticed someone riding below, and it didn't take her very long to realize exactly who it was.

"...Lu Bu...." Xing Cai sucked in air through her teeth as she saw him, slashing easily through all of those invaders. What in the world was he doing here? It didn't make sense for the mighty Lu Bu to be here, but as long as he was on their side, it didn't really matter. With Lu Bu there, the battle should definately be won. She brought one of her hands up to signal the archers to stop, the weight of her shield pulling on her sore arm though she didn't let it make her slow. They did as she signaled, lowering their bows and waiting for her next command. Cai's mind worked quickly, trying to figure out what they could do next without causing any harm to the extremely powerful warrior below. Regardless of the fact that Lu Bu was powerful, Cai didn't want to make him think that they could be trying to fire at him. Even if the archers didn't aim at him, when those rocks exploded they didn't really go in any special direction....

"How... how many arrows, powder and rocks do we have?" Cai asked a nearby soldier, and when he answered she found the number to be too low for her liking. "Tell the soldiers to keep the shields up and only fire when it looks like the enemy is either getting stronger or a weak point becomes obvious." The soldier nodded and yelled out her command, the archers following and knotching their arrows, waiting for the moment to strike again while Xing Cai kept her shield up for protection, half leaning against her fork; but not enough to let it be noticeable. Cai didn't want Gan Ning to see her weak....

((Looks like you guys need a little more action in Xia Pi, it is so slow...and no Date...))

Zhao Yun galloped from a far port in Xia Pi, a ways away from the current battle. He had encountered a single foreigner and enjoyed a duel, but too much time has passed and news of an new army near Yuan Shao's territory set the warrior back in a rush home. Not even an hour into his ride home, Zhao Yun saw something he couldn't stop and stare at. Several warriors that Zilong could recite by name were fighting together...at least not against each other. The beared warrior, nicknamed the God of War, Guan Yu stood in a duel. The Dragon of War, Lu Bu, rode on the Red Hare, obliterating enemies as they approached. Two rivals of strength weren't out each others throats.

"I can't waste time gawking over true heroes of this time. Yuan Shao only has Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Zhang He! He needs his left arm to carry his shield!" Zhao Yun pressed on, riding in between the two warriors as he headed further north to his awaiting lord.

((Okay, from now on I will be playing as Date until Anvion can come back. I hope that no one cares what I do with him but I think that this is how it would have happened. BTW, Date is green when he's in the same post as Guan Yu))

Rocks and dirt pelted Date in the face and caused him to close his eyes long enough for Guan Yu to get in close. As a reflex Date jumped back, but it wasn't enough. The giant's weapon cut into his left arm and even reached the bone, but didn't sever the limb. He cried out in pain as his blood spurt out from the wound.

Guan Yu felt blood spray across his face, knowing that he hit his target. He couldn't see much through the cloud of dust but as soon as the dust settled he could see Date kneeling on the ground, clutching his arm with both of his wooden swords on the ground. He smiled and held his weapon forward in a menacing mannor, "You have been defeated... Retreat now or else you will die here. Know that Shu is not to be messed with! If you return again I will kill you." He said loudly.

Date didn't understand completely what Guan Yu had said, but he got the impression that he was claiming victory. Though he hated the thought of defeat he knew that there was no way he could win with such a bad injury and this man was willing to let him go. "Stupid man... you'll regret letting me go!" He said as he stood up. He turned around to see that his army was in a state of chaos. Not only were there random explosions of rock and fire scattered about in his soldiers ranks but there was a single man atop a red horse cutting hundreds of his samurai to pieces without a single scratch on him. This man seemed to be even more frightening than the man he had just fought and his soldiers were in a state of panic. Even the musketeers were running away! Date turned his back on Guan Yu and mounted his horse. He rode to the nearest officer and said, "You there! Tell everyone that we are going to retreat! We are going back to Lord Nobunaga and make sure that we leave as quickly as possible!" Damn... I have underestimated these people. I think that Nobunaga will be enraged to know that I have failed in my mission to take this city. He quickly rode through the ranks, making sure to avoid Lu Bu and helped tell the troops that they were leaving. Most of the soldiers were glad to leave since they really couldn't do anything to the castle and Lu Bu was killing the others left and right. The army began to move north in hopes that they could get away with less casualties.

Guan Yu smiled as he watched the army retreat. He, along with the help from Lu Bu and whoever decided to send fire arrows at gunpowder, had saved Xia Pi from enemy attack and he knew that this would be the first of many battles, but he also knew to rejoice while he still could! He turned around and entered the gates of Xia Pi. He climed the stair case to find the officer that had been leading the support team firing the arrows into the enemy. Once he had reached the top of the wall he spotted not only his niece Xing Cai, but also Gan Ning! "Xing Cai! Gan Ning! Was it you that lead the attack against the enemy? When did you get here?" So many questions ran through Guan Yu's head that he completely forgot about his shot ear and the blood that caked his hair on the left side of his head.

"...Wait...." Xing Cai's brows went together as she saw the enemy army beginning to retreat. Her eyes lit up and she turned her head a little too fast to look over at Gan Ning, swaying in her place once but regaining herself. "The enemy army is retreating!" Cai used the strength that she had in her arm to lift her fork up, pointing it to the sky. The other soldiers all let out a cry of victory, lifting up their own weapons just as she had done. Cai brought her fork down and looked around happily as the soldiers all began to celebrate in their own little way. It was then that Cai became aware that her uncle was climbing up the stairs towards her. Cai walked up to her uncle as quickly as she could without getting too dizzy or falling over, still excited over the fact that Shu had been victorious. When she spotted his ear she went over and lifted up a hand and gingerly touched it with her hand to see how quickly it was bleeding. Most of the blood was dried, but his ear... parts of it were missing!

"...We came soon after you and the enemy commander...." Cai lowered her hand from her uncle's head and had to take a moment to save her breath before resuming, taking in a deep breath or air before she started again. "...Began to fight. We wanted to help, so we launched the arrows together... we had bags of gun powder mixed with rocks shot over and then hit with other fire arrows. Gan Ning came to Xiao Pei just half an hour before Uncle Bei sent me to go help you.... My father insisted that Ning came with me for protection." She turned back and looked over at Gan Ning, giving him an extra-warm smile. "...Uncle Yu, Gan Ning deserves to be with Shu. He's definately earned it." She looked back over at her uncle's ear and gently pushed on her uncle's broad chest. "...You're heading strait over to the infirmary with me, sir." Cai wanted to see if she could find something that would give her her strength back, as well. The infirmary would have something like that for her.

"You can thank me later! For now I will see what Little Brother is up to!" Xing Cai heard Lu Bu's voice bellow up towards them, making her look back. What did he mean by that? Was it something to worry about? She couldn't be too sure. Lu Bu had just helped them win the battle. Cai couldn't completely understand how Lu Bu's mind worked, but she felt that for now that Lu Bu wasn't too much of a threat.... For now.

Xing Cai smiled at her uncle, briefly thinking about what reaction her father would have had instead if he'd been there instead of her uncle. She shook her head and followed after him, her face getting more serious as she nodded in agreement to what her uncle had said. "...Yes. Father and uncle would be strong enough...." She moved a little faster until she was closely behind with Guan Yu before she slowed down. She looked back at Ning and smiled again before facing forward, many of the soldiers cheering at the God of War for his victory in battle against the enemy commander. They certainly had pulled off quite a win. A perfect balance had been key as well. While her uncle had been providing the strength of the army she and Ning had been using their minds with the perfect timing to fire the arrows. Cai hoped that she would be beside Gan Ning again in the next battle. There was definately something about him that she liked.

"Welcome back Lord Guan Yu and Lady Xing Cai." One of the doctors greeted as he did a small bow for both her and her uncle. He turned his head and looked up at Guan Yu's ear and frowned.

"I think that the doctors are going to have fun with you." Cai told her uncle before she walked off to go find something that would help give her strength back. As she went the doctor that had treated her before went up and told her that he wanted to change the bandages on her arm. She followed him and he did just as he had said he would do, peeling off the bloody bandages and putting on new ones. After he'd finished Cai asked where she could get something to make her feel more alive and he went off and returned with a strange food, some medicine, and wine. Cai took the food and medicine but didn't take the wine, instead she just took what she wanted and thanked the doctor. Wine was good, but she didn't want her head to get too foggy at the moment. Both the food and medicine tasted terrible, but she ate it with a strait face and then returned outside to where Gan Ning was after she'd strapped her fork and shield onto her back. As she walked she briefly thought to herself that the doctor had most likely brought the wine so she would have paid less attention to the taste of the food.

"...I think that I'll be a lot better soon." That was what Xing Cai said when she'd walked up the stairs and stopped behind Ning. She was already feeling better. Whatever she had eaten that had tasted horrible seemed to be working. Cai now moved up beside Ning and looked out down at the battle field, where there were some soldiers gathering the dead. "Fighting is a terrible thing. Watching so many countless people die everyday is not something that a person should have to endure through out their entire lives." The smooth, calm, and thoughtful expression that she usually had on her face had returned as she spoke. She looked over at Ning, her face still remaining the same. "This is what the dream of Shu is. My dream. To bring peace to all of the innocence and for China to be one united land instead of broken apart like puzzle pieces. Gan Ning, are you going to stay with us and help us all acheive this dream of glory?"