There I saw them, Orochi's minions had snuck into the City to assassinate Cao Cao along with his most trusted generals. There I saw two of them watching the front door leading towards the secret tunnel. They stood there ready to attack anyone that comes their way. The main force should be inside the tunnels chasing after Cao Cao. Whilst these stood guard here to prevent the Guards from sending reinforcements.
Judging by their appearance, they should be at the lowest level minion , the Reanimated Corpse which comprised most of Orochi's army. However they have slain a large amount of guards and even a few officers defending the entrance. They mustn't be underestimated regardless.
I don't the luxury to set up an intricate plan to lure them away slowly. I must get to Cao Cao and the rest of his proxy and leave Xu Chang City as fast as I can. Without delay I charged out of my hiding spot towards them in full speed.
I unsheath my sword , slicing the first minions head of clean of his body. The second minion has prepared himself to parry my attack by making a stance next to a pillar near the entrance. That way he can prevent me from passing through also securing his back and flank at the same time. I'm forced to attack him head on .
We exchanged swords blow after blow , until I took my chance and stabbed him right through his left chest . He went down cold and live less onto the ground next to me. After the fight my stamina dropped to half of my original capacity. Because I rushed my way here I haven't had the time to regain my stamina nor rest.
So my abilities deteriorate further as my fatigue kept increasing with each sword swing. Sadly I don't have the time to recuperate. After looting their corpses, I went down the tunnels after them. The tunnels gave out a dark and eeire feeling to it. Its close and damp walls made of stone and gravel. The path ways covered in moss and vegetation. The stench of blood and steel fills the air within the tunnels with the feeling of dread.
I went deeper and deeper into the tunnels, the further I go the less corpses I encounter as there are less and less followers of Cao Cao willing to stay behind to protect them. From what I saw, so far there is 30 of Orochi's minions slain and even 2 Undead Generals. However the odds weren't in their favor as 150 Swordsmen and 20 Officers belonging to the Cao clan were slain in the process.
They managed to out number the enemy with a considerable amount of reinforcement but still fail to repel them nonetheless. But suffered a huge amount of casualties for minor gains. I increased my speed further to rush forward to catch up to them.
Meanwhile On the other side.....
Xiahou Dun
" My lord we can't escape with these numbers ."
" We need to gather our remaining forces within Xu Chang City at the Eastern Gate for any chance of breaking through ."
" We were outmatched fighting against those monsters."
Xu Huang
" My Lord , I will lead a separate group to make an attempt to break out from the Northern Gate."
" While their busy trying to stop me , Lord Xiahou Dun will escort you out the Eastern Gate."
" That way there should be less enemies guarding the Gate."
Cao Cao
" Although your plans have some merit to them , I wonder."
" How will you escape their encirclement?"
" We do not have the men nor the material to get everyone out of here safely."
Xu Huang
" My Lord , I am willing to sacrifice my life for you ."
" I have no doubts nor fear. "
Cao Cao
" I have already lost several talented officers to those monsters , I can't lose you to ."
" We should just get to the stables beyond the Southern Gate. "
" This way we can escape by horse south. "
" This tunnel should lead to the hill just South East of Xu Chang City ."
" If we're fast enough they won't be able to catch us , once we're on horseback ."
Xiahou Dun
" But my Lord , that means the enemy will know our precise location ."
" They will pursue and hunt us down, there's no guarantee that our horses will even reach the Encampment before the enemy overrun us !"
Cao Cao
" Unfortunately we don't have any other feasible option ."
Defense Captain
" AAAAAAAAARGH."
Before they even finish cooking up a solid plan. Orochi's minions caught up to them. A spear went through The Defense Captain's chest from behind. He bled out fell into his knees and died there on the spot. They kicked his body aside and threw themselves at Cao Cao's forces.
Once more the battle ensued, Cao Cao's elite guards formed a defensive formation ready to counter the enemy's charge. They formed up into three rows of infantry into a shield wall with Officers Xu Huang and Cao Hong taking the front.
They crashed into one and the other their formations break under the weight of the enemy. An all out melee ensued. Casualties mounting on both sides as they both fighting desperately for their lives. 30 of the 39 Elite Guards belonging to Cao Cao are slain within 10 minutes of heavy fighting. 20 of the 30 enemies pursuing them to this point were slain.
Despite still outnumbering their enemies , Cao Cao's lines collapse as both Xu Huang and Cao Hong heavily wounded during the fight. Now they are neck and neck , with 10 people on each side still capable of fighting. They paused for a while before they clashed with one another.
One of Orochi's minions manage to slip by Cao Cao's elite guard and slashed at Cao Cao . He tumbled backwards and slip on the mossy ground and fell backwards. The Enemy lunged at him sword in hand. The others including Xiahou Dun , were occupied with the enemies in front of them. They were to far to assist him .
Xiahou Dun
" Nooo , My Lord !"
Just as the enemy about to struck the finishing blow a dagger pierced through his neck instantly killing him. He went down blood squirting from his neck. The others looked confused as more and more of their comrades are taken down one by one until all of them were slaughtered.
Xiahou Dun
" Who are you ?"
" If your not our enemy show your self !"
Qiu Jin Wei
" Let me guess , Your Xiahou Dun ."
Xiahou Dun
" How do you know my name ? "
" I've never seen you before in my live ."
Qiu Jin Wei
" I heard you call Cao Cao Lord , also Xiahou Dun has a distinct characteristic from the rest of Cao Cao's generals."
" Which is , that he wore an eye patch."
" My guess is you lost your left eye in the battle of Yan Province against Lu Bu's forces."
Xiahou Dun
" How do you know of this !"
" I'm sure the news was only known to the members of the first army's upper echelon."
" How could you know this !"
Cao Cao
" Enough of this !"
Xiahou Dun
" But still ."
Cao Cao
" Calm down Xiahou Dun , there's no need to make a fuss."
" Its obvious that he's here to help us ."
" I apologize for my vassals rude behavior , could you please tell us your name sir ?"
Qiu Jin Wei
" My name is Qiu Jin Wei , But you can call me Jin ."
Cao Cao
" A pleasure to meet you Jin , I thank you for coming to my aid ."
" We need to get out of Xu Chang City quick before anymore of those monsters come chasing us ."
" Can you lend me your help once more ?"
[[ Ding !!! ]]
[[ Urgent Quest : Escort Cao Cao safely out of Xu Chang City ]]
[[ Condition : Cao Cao safely reach the stable outside Xu Chang City ]]
[[ Extra Quest : His followers escaped with him ]]
[[ Number of followers : 12 ]]
[[ Status : 3 Heavily Wounded , 5 Winded and tired , 5 Slightly fatigued ]]
[[ Extra rewards for every follower that reached the stable alive ]]
Qiu Jin Wei
" Alright , I accept ."
Cao Cao
" Thank you ."
[[ Quest Accepted ]]
[[ Distance from the stable : 3 Km ]]
Qiu Jin Wei
" We need to hurry , can you move ?"
Xu Huang
" I'm alright , I can still move on my own ."
Cao Hong
" I still have a little bit of fight in me , lets go ."
We immediately departed from the site of the battle and walked towards the end of the tunnel . So far no enemies were sighted along the tunnels . we made significant progress till we reach the end of the tunnel. Although Xu Huang , and Cao Hong lagged behind a few times , they hold firm and kept moving forwards instead of dragging us behind.
We're almost at the exit of the tunnel just 200 meters away from where we currently stand. We almost made it , after exiting the tunnel we just need to make a 300 meter run towards the stable, then we'll be scot free.
However it would seem that fate decided to hinder our last advance just before we managed to escape.