Qin Ming ultimately managed to avoid the latrine-cleaning job.
Why? Because he burned the latrine down! What was there left to clean?
As the latrine blazed furiously, a soldier's body still stuck inside, the other soldiers scrambled to extinguish the fire.
After a frantic effort, the flames were finally put out. Covered in soot, the soldiers began investigating the cause of the fire.
Finding no clear ignition point, they concluded that one soldier must have suffered a breakdown and set himself on fire in the latrine. After all, there was indeed a charred corpse inside.
With the latrine reduced to ashes, Qin Ming was reassigned from latrine duty to deck cleaner.
Gripping a mop, he diligently scrubbed the deck while quietly observing his surroundings.
Now that he had freedom to move around the ship, the more he looked, the more astonished he became.
There were simply too many soldiers. They were everywhere, of all kinds.
Light-armored archers, leather-clad sword-and-shield troops, spearmen in sturdy hides—and even Baiyue barbarian warriors!
These hulking giants wore almost nothing, sporting bull-horn helmets and wielding heavy iron chains.
Every single one of them was an elite unit, boasting fearsome stats. Fortunately, their numbers weren't overwhelming, as they guarded key passageways alongside wild beasts.
In the ship's central section—where the boss, Sun Ji, was resting—Qin Ming spotted two particularly formidable types of troops.
The first were Ironclad Soldiers, and the second were Personal Guard Female Soldiers.
Both were elite monsters from high-difficulty worlds.
Name: Eastern Wu Ironclad Soldiers (Three Kingdoms Chronicles - First Arc)
Strength: 30
Constitution: 30
Agility: 5
Spirit: 5
Skills: Guard (C-rank), Steel Breaker Slash (C-rank)
Description: One of Eastern Wu's most elite units, adept at both breaking and defending formations. They can even contend with cavalry units.
Name: Personal Guard Female Soldiers (Three Kingdoms Chronicles - First Arc)
Strength: 20
Constitution: 20
Agility: 20
Spirit: 20
Skills: Armor-Piercing Arrow (C-rank), Thrust Strike (C-rank)
Description: Personally trained by Bow-Waist Princess. So intimidating that Liu Bei was said to have hesitated before entering the bridal chamber. These well-equipped warriors are anything but ornamental.
The Ironclad Soldiers were walking tanks, clad in heavy armor that left no gaps, not even at the face—only their eyes peeked through the visor. They wielded long-handled broadswords, exuding an indomitable air.
As for the Personal Guard Female Soldiers, they were women clad in polished armor, armed with bows and swords.
Their versatile capabilities made them both skilled archers and formidable melee fighters. They may not have been the strongest, but they were definitely some of the trickiest enemies to handle.
A frontal assault against their formation, reinforced by the Ironclad Soldiers, would be a nightmare for anyone.
Even Qin Ming couldn't help but twitch at the corners of his mouth after witnessing such a formidable defensive setup. He swiftly abandoned any thoughts of a direct attack.
He had initially assumed this mission would be easier than the last one in Romance of the Three Kingdoms 2, as there were no tens of thousands of soldiers or daunting gate-keeping generals.
However, it now seemed even more difficult—especially since this time, he had no teammates.
Mopping the deck with a lowered head, Qin Ming racked his brain, searching for a way to break through the defenses.
After a long deliberation, unable to come up with a workable plan, he even began considering whether to spend points to summon fifty members of his Hound Unit to create chaos and provide cover for his escape.
As he pondered, footsteps suddenly echoed nearby. Hearing the sound, Qin Ming immediately raised his head.
He quickly stepped aside as ten Ironclad Soldiers marched past in unison, followed by a group of elegant yet fierce-looking female guards clad in scaled armor and iron helmets.
Amid these female guards, Qin Ming's eyes caught sight of a striking figure.
The woman wore crimson armor, topped by a phoenix-crest helmet with wing-like ornaments on either side.
Her long red hair flowed from the opening at the top of the helmet, cascading down in a fiery single ponytail.
Though clad in armor, her thighs were fully exposed, with no protective plating. The battle skirt was deliberately divided into three sections to provide ample leg movement, ensuring her agility remained unhindered.
In her hands, she wielded a pair of Xuan iron crutches—unorthodox weapons shaped like traditional Bozi Gua. Her expression remained cold as she strode forward with long, confident strides, completely indifferent to whether her vigorous movements risked any wardrobe mishaps.
This striking beauty, clad in partial iron armor, radiated a stunning blend of femininity and warrior spirit. However, the most eye-catching feature was neither her graceful face nor her warrior's poise—but her waist!
To maintain flexibility, she tightly wrapped her waist with yellow fabric and red cords, resulting in an astonishingly slender silhouette.
Her wasp-like waist sharply contrasted with her voluptuous chest and toned thighs, giving her an hourglass figure.
From the side, she resembled a taut jade bow—concave in the middle, with perfectly arched contours above and below.
The boss of the Three Kingdoms Chronicles First Arc: Bow-Waist Princess, Sun Shangxiang!
Staring dazedly at this captivating figure in the crowd, Qin Ming finally understood why she was nicknamed Bow-Waist Princess!
It wasn't some poetic metaphor—it was a literal description!
And it also became abundantly clear why Liu Bei, a man who had endured countless hardships for the sake of restoring the Han Dynasty, would completely lose himself after marrying this Wu princess and utter the infamous phrase, "I have no desire to return to Shu."
If anyone else had married her, not only would they forget about returning home—they probably wouldn't even remember their own name!
Surviving more than two years by her side would already be a testament to one's resilience!
Leading her iron-armored soldiers and personal guard of female warriors, Sun Shangxiang marched toward the heavily guarded ship cabin, her expression stern.
She stopped on the broad deck and began stretching, doing various exercises to warm up.
After finishing her stretches, she suddenly bounced twice on the spot, tapped her iron crutches against the ground, and pointed decisively forward.
"You, you, you—and you! Form up and come at me!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Hearing her command, several ironclad soldiers wielding long-handled broadswords stepped forward, forming a loose circle around her.
After exchanging glances, the five soldiers roared in unison and charged at Sun Shangxiang.
The ironclad soldiers' strength and constitution were terrifying—easily on par with minor bosses from other worlds.
Although their movements were slow, they compensated with overwhelming force. When they attacked as a unit, the momentum was truly intimidating.
However, facing their combined assault, Sun Shangxiang remained calm and composed.
With a deft motion, she crossed her iron crutches, perfectly parrying the five incoming broadswords.
In the next second, she leaped gracefully into the air, dodging two sweeping strikes.
With her legs stretched in a perfect split, she delivered powerful kicks to two of the soldiers, sending them flying backward.
Landing lightly on the deck, she smoothly blocked multiple incoming attacks, her crutches striking back in rapid succession.
Her swift counterattacks struck the remaining three soldiers, knocking them to the ground.
As the five ironclad soldiers staggered to their feet and assumed defensive stances once more, Sun Shangxiang waved her hand dismissively, looking bored.
"Forget it. You guys are hopeless—just the same old moves over and over. A bunch of brain-dead fools trained for formation battles. Boring."
Hearing her disdain, the five soldiers quickly lowered their weapons and returned to formation.
Standing with her iron crutches planted firmly on the deck, Sun Shangxiang surveyed the surrounding crowd, visibly bored.
Restless as ever, her gaze locked onto a towering ironclad soldier nearby.
"Hey, Zhou Dun! How about sparring with me?"
The hulking soldier looked up at her briefly before quickly bowing his head and shaking it vigorously.
"Your humble servant dares not!"
"It's just a sparring match! I'm not asking you to go all out!"
"You are the sister of King Wu—my noble lady. I would never raise my weapon against you!"
"You're just as dull as your soldiers!"
Frustrated by Zhou Dun's refusal, Sun Shangxiang's face twisted into an expression of pure exasperation.