chapter 11

chapter 11 Second To None
(“under heaven no double/second”)

[?]: Report any suspicious person!
[?]: Yessir!

[?]: That officer has left.

[?]: Too hot. Stay in till tomorrow.
(“outside wind noise too tight…”; code talk)

[?]: Then you guys be careful too!
Dong Zhuo might have occupied Luoyang, but influential groups in the city that hated him were quick to support the infiltration forces of the Guandong Alliance. There were so many secret shelters in the city that Dong Zhuo couldn’t possibly find them all.
(slightly distorted)

[?]: The Hou brothers.
[?]: Here!
[?]: Cui Guang.
[?]: Here!

[?]: Wang Ping.
[?]: He… died.

[?]: Sorry about this, Bai Yong.
[Bai Yong]: No problem. It’s for the greater good.

[?]: Who knew this boy would play a key role in our rescue mission.
(“…useful/good pawn…”)

[Zhao Huo]: Hey! You two blokes of Guandong! I’m hungry!
[ZH]: Give me some food!

[?]: Cut that ruckus! You can eat shit if you want!

Zhong Da, I have infiltrated Guandong Alliance’s rescue team according to your plan. Their numbers are few, but they are highly disciplined.
Their commander must be a clever schemer, otherwise… how could he pull off such a near-suicide mission? However… despite the slight chance of victory with a strong attack and a fast retreat, casualty is unavoidable. And if they lose, Dong Zhuo will lock down the city and do a more thorough search for the rebels- making Bo Da’s rescue even more difficult…
(simplified, Bo Da is Sima Lang’s courtesy name)

Like you said, Zhong Da, the moving day is also the perfect time to raid the prison. What does their commander think of this? And who is this person? I’m really curious to know…
(“…interested to know”)
[?]: Are you all right, General Huang?
[?]: Hey! Watch it!

[Huang Gai]: Hua Xiong is a skilled fighter. I got away by the skin of my teeth!

[?]: You’re too modest, General.
[?]: You caught that boy before the mission even began. That’s a top-merit.

[HG]: Oh! That was all Shu-zi’s doing. Now she won’t get reprimanded for sneaking out.

[?]: Sneaking out? What do you mean?

[HG]: For your Young Master.

[?]: Hahaha! Our Young Master sure has luck with the ladies!
[?]: So your clan didn’t forget the marriage arrangement between the Sun and Yuan!

Hahaha~

{Liao Lan, of Yuan Shu’s army}
[Wei Tong]: The vase seller killed fifteen highly trained officers of the North Gate Tower?
{Wei Tong, of Wang Kuang’s army}
[Lu Gu]: We just finished the headcount. He’s not one of us!
{Lu Gu, of Ma Teng’s army}

[Shu]: What a shame…

[Shu]: Forget Hua Xiong, not even Lü Bu might be his match!

[WT]: Even hearing his name makes me break out in a cold sweat.
(“remembering that lü bu, cold sweat pours out”)
[LG]: He’s not human, after all!

[Liao Lan]: Shu-zi, was that guy blind in one eye?

[S]: No… He’s not.

[?]: Liao Lan, are you still caught up in the myth of the one-eyed assassin?

Ah~

[S]: Brother Yuan!
(this “big brother” or “da ge” has a flavor of romantic admiration)

[Yuan Fang]: Shu-zi, why are you here?
{Yuan Fang, of Yuan Shao’s army}

[HG]: The girl’s got you on her mind. Even snuck out to come here.
(“her! every day talk about you, this time even secretly followed [us]”)
[S]: Shouldn’t you be downstairs tending to your wound?
(“you have wound on body, come up for what”)

[YF]: With you around, General Huang, she’ll be fine anywhere.

[HG]: Good thing that this burden…

[HG]: will soon be yours, Young Mister Yuan! Hahahaha!
[S]: Tsk!

[?]: Has the date been decided?

[?]: Tomorrow. Remembrance day.

[YF]: All of the rebels will gather here tomorrow night for the final preparation.

[?]: That boy’s command token makes passing checkpoints a breeze. I’ve tried it.
(“that boy’s command token I’ve already used, proven can clear checkpoints”)

[?]: Then he’s useless now.

[?]: Bai Yong, send him on his way!

{sfx: ka~}

[Bai Yong]: Hey, you’re free to go.

Hmph~

[S]: Leaving? Take care.
(“…not seeing [you] off”)

{sfx: hoo~}

[Zhao Huo]: Leave through here? Are you kidding me?
[BY]: That’s a secret passage.

{sfx: zing~}

{sfx: pong~}

{sfx: pa~}

UGH~

{sfx: cha~}

{sfx: hoo~}

{sfx: ta~}

{sfx: hoo~}

[?]: Huang Gai, the messenger you brought is quite useful.

[?]: I must admire your scheme, Young Mister Yuan…

[WT]: That boy will certainly notify Dong Zhuo of our “plan”.

[YF]: In order to eliminate us completely, they’ll start the surveillance tomorrow.
[YF]: They’ll raid this place once all the rebels are gathered.

[YF]: But instead of coming here, our people will be setting ambushes around the prison.

[YF]: It takes more than a thousand men to finish us! Dong Zhuo won’t have time to transfer enough troops from outside the city!
[YF]: He’ll only have the occupational force to use, but major redeployment will shave the number of prison guards.

[HG]: We’re pulling out tonight, and our joint rescue operation will be tomorrow night.
(“…joining with volunteer army raid imperial prison”)

[WT]: Anyone who comes here tomorrow
[WT}: will be killed by the imperial guards.

[LL]: But I never received news about our troops coming here tomorrow.
[LG]: Will the plan…

[YF]: Actually, I’ve already sold this estate on the cheap, provided the buyer agree to one condition.

[YF]: He had to move in on the night of the Remembrance day.

[YF]: Consider this,

[YF]: how many people will it take to complete that move?

[LL]: Right! Those hundreds will die in our place!
[LG]: Great! Great idea!

[HG]: Sun Shu, you have remarkable taste, girl.
(“sun shu oh sun shu, you indeed view unique”)

[HG]: They say Xu Lin is the wisest,
[HG]: too bad he never had the chance to meet the best…

Hahaha~

[?]: Bai Yong was injured, but he’ll live.

Having killed the Wisest and predicted every move by these jail-breakers…

you’re beyond the best, Young Master!

{sfx: hoo~}

[?]: Is this the torture device for the day?
{sign reads: Headquarter of the Imperial Guards}

[?]: It’s pointless to torture me!
[?]: Even if you kill me…

[Sima Lang]: General Lü Bu, I know nothing of Xu Lin’s murder!
{Sima Lang}

[Lü Bu]: Xu Lin once recruited all of Yanzhou’s merchant clans to support my foster father.
(reworded)
[LB]: Except for the Sima clan, and because of that they were spared from the Guandong Alliance’s raids.

[LB]: We now have proof of how important the hostages are when their family would pay their ransom.
[LB]: That’s why I use the hostages as human shields on the battlefield…

[LB]: Only the Sima clan has yet to pay up, and for that you remain in your comfy cell.

[SML]: The Sima clan has nothing to do with those warlords.

[LB]: The Sima clan has a prestigious lineage. Your father even had a hand in Cao Cao’s rising fame. How is that nothing?

[LB]: Here’s a coincidence,
[LB]: all fifteen officers who guarded Xu Lin on his ship were killed by flying daggers.

{sfx: pong~}

[SML]: What… does that have to do with my clan?

[LB]: This afternoon, another fifteen officers died at the North Gate Tower…

[LB]: killed by flying daggers again!

{sfx: pong~}

[SML]: Coincidence! So what!

[LB]: Xu Lin died in Yanzhou. The Handicapped Warriors only kill in Yanzhou.

And you are the only hostage from Yanzhou!

[LB]: As we speak, I can feel…
(“[at] same time…”)

{sfx: shoom~}

{sfx: shoom~}
[LB]: that Xu Lin’s murderer is already here!