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One of the defenders heard the wooden ladder as it came to rest against
the wall and peered over the battlements to see what had caused the sound.
“ENEMY!” the defender cried
as Sun Jian began a speedy climb.
Zu Mao, meanwhile, watched helplessly and wondered what terrible things
might await his master. The commotion indicated that there were few men ready
to resist the lone infiltrator; eventually, two men came to the wall with some
rocks.
“MOVE!” Zu Mao shouted, and
Sun Jian knew what that meant. He halted, and as the defenders prepared to
throw the rocks, he flipped the ladder 180 degrees to the right so that he was
underneath it, and continued to climb. The rocks passed him completely, and
once he was near the top of the ladder, Sun Jian flipped it again and completed
his ascension. There were only five defenders, and one died immediately when
the exhausted Sun Jian grabbed the man, pulled the turban from his head, and
threw him over the wall. He then drew his sword and ran a second man through;
as a group of around 20 men started to make their way toward him from the stone
steps inside the wall, Sun Jian parried the attacks of the three men that were
near him and made a dash for the nearest set of steps. Once he was at a height
that allowed him to land safely, he dropped down to the ground, avoiding the
small group of Yellow Turbans that were ascending them to face him, and dashed
into a dark space between two buildings. His pursuers passed him; after tying
his requisitioned yellow scarf around the plume of his helmet, he left his
hiding place, and was ignored by any man that caught sight of him in the poor light.
He then made a dash for the main gates, which were only manned by two guards
that he killed before they realised who he was. Sun Jian lowered the
drawbridge, and Zu Mao joined him to repel any men that attacked them.
“I really didn’t think you’d do
it!” Zu Mao chuckled as they prepared to face a group of six men. “Bloody mad, you are, but amazing too!”
“THE CITY IS
OPEN!” Han Dang announced to a small army that had quietly gathered on the
far side of the moat.
“CHARGE!”
A series of beacons announced to the main Han army that the infiltration
had been a success.
“Amazing,” Zhu Jun said as he saw the signal fires. “ALL MEN, ADVANCE!”
The Han forces charged into the undefended city and defeated the
confused and demoralised Yellow Turban forces within an hour. Many were
captured and killed, but some were able to flee in the confusion to join forces
dotted around Nan County.
“You are a man among men, Sun
Wentai!” Zhu Jun proclaimed as he met with Sun Jian and Zu Mao. “How are you not Heaven’s will, put here to
bring an end to the chaos?”
The soldiers cheered, and Sun Jian smiled humbly, wheezing, “I… I simply
do what I must, Commander. Who has my scarf…?”
“The injuries are minor,” a doctor said as he finished examining Sun
Jian in the camp infirmary. “A miracle is all it can be.”
“Luck,” Sun Jian chuckled as he looked around him at the reverent and
grateful faces of injured and healthy men alike. “And I didn’t even have my
scarf on! I must be lucky with or without it, I suppose.”
“You are truly a tiger,” Cheng Pu said with awe. “I am the lucky man,
Lord Sun, to be able to serve a hero such as you.”
“I promise that I shall tell my sister nothing,” Wu Jing said with a
mischievous smile. As Sun Jian frowned and moved to speak, Wu Jing added,
“Nothing but the truth, as you asked. Of course I despair at your recklessness,
Brother-in-law… but how can I not respect your bravery and skill at the same
time…?”