Warlords: Three Kingdoms

Unwilling to give up his quest tasked to him by the Prime Minister, Wen Xu immediately thundered across the plain towards Fi Ran, who spurred his perfectly plain horse towards the general of Chu in turn. With his superior reach, Wen Xu easily landed the first blow (Fi -5 HP). The two soldiers exchanged a series of blows before disengaging from each other (Fi -8 HP, Wen -7 HP, Fi -8 HP). Reigning their horses in, Fi Ran and Wen Xu charged at each other once again. Once again, Wen Xu's spear ensured that he made the first strike (Fi -6 HP). As Fi Ran swung his sword, Wen Xu ignored the blow and stabbed at Fi Ran's saddle, severing the ties (Wen -6 HP, Wen Xu unseats Fi Ran! Fi -10 HP). Fi Ran tumbled to the ground, struggling to his feet to avoid the spear of the Chu general.

Both horses then rode away from each other, leaving Fi Ran without a horse. Correcting his stance, Fi Ran boldly waited as Wen Xu turned his horse to attack him once again. Surprisingly, the mercenary managed to land some blows upon the mounted Wen Xu, though he was hit several times in return (Wen -5 HP, Fi -9 HP, Wen -5 HP, Fi -9 HP). Wen Xu pulled away once again, allowing Fi Ran some reprieve. As Wen Xu came charging back at Fi Ran, the younger warrior felt it prudent to move out of the way rather than stand and fight, allowing both to escape the bout with little more than a few nicks (Wen -6 HP, Fi -7 HP, Wen -5 HP).

As Wen Xu and Fi Ran continued their fight, exchanging blows, blocking attacks, occasionally pulling away for a brief breather, it became apparent that the general of Chu held the advantage (Bunch of plain attacks listed below). Deciding that enough was enough, the elder warrior raised his spear as he wheeled around for yet another bout. He scrutinized the younger man, considering the weaknesses in his stance. Seeing an opening, Wen Xu lowered his spear and charged. With a swift pass by Fi Ran, Wen Xu jabbed the point of his spear into Fi Ran's leg, hindering his movement. Dismounting with haste as Fi Ran struggled to remove the spear, Wen Xu drew a knife and tackled Fi Ran to the ground, ensuring the end of the duel, with Fi Ran as his captive.

OOC: Ran the duel with a +0 Speed horse for Fi Ran, with Wen Xu's permission. Take note for future duels, no such thing as statless horses for duels! No horse means no horse!

Bout 1:

Round 1:
Fi Ran HP: 86 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 84 Might: 84

Fi Ran fails to hit with the attack!
Wen Xu lands the attack.(5)

Round 2:
Fi Ran HP: 81 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 84 Might: 84

Fi Ran fails to hit with the attack!
Wen Xu lands the attack.(8)

Round 3:
Fi Ran HP: 73 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 84 Might: 84

Fi Ran lands the attack.(7)
Wen Xu lands the attack.(7)

End of Bout 1:
Fi Ran HP: 66 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 77 Might: 84

Bout 2:

Round 1:
Fi Ran HP: 66 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 77 Might: 84

Fi Ran fails to hit with the attack!
Wen Xu lands the attack.(6)

Round 2:
Fi Ran HP: 60 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 77 Might: 84

Fi Ran lands the attack.(6)
Wen Xu attempts to unseat Fi Ran.
Wen Xu unseats Fi Ran!
Wen Xu lands the attack.(10)

Round 3:
Fi Ran HP: 50 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 71 Might: 84

Fi Ran fails to hit with the attack!
Wen Xu thinks about unseating, but realizes Fi Ran's horse is gone!
Wen Xu fails to hit with the attack!

End of Bout 2:
Fi Ran HP: 50 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 71 Might: 84

Bout 3:

Round 1:
Fi Ran HP: 50 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 71 Might: 84

Fi Ran lands the attack.(5)
Wen Xu fails to hit with the attack!

Round 2:
Fi Ran HP: 50 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 66 Might: 84

Fi Ran fails to hit with the attack!
Wen Xu lands the attack.(9)

Round 3:
Fi Ran HP: 41 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 66 Might: 84

Fi Ran lands the attack.(5)
Wen Xu lands the attack.(9)

End of Bout 3:
Fi Ran HP: 32 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 61 Might: 84

Bout 4:

Round 1:
Fi Ran HP: 32 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 61 Might: 84

Fi Ran fails to hit with the attack!
Wen Xu fails to hit with the attack!

Round 2:
Fi Ran HP: 32 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 61 Might: 84

Fi Ran lands the attack.(6)
Wen Xu lands the attack.(7)

Round 3:
Fi Ran HP: 25 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 55 Might: 84

Fi Ran lands the attack.(5)
Wen Xu attempts a swift pass attack on Fi Ran.
Wen Xu's swift pass attack on Fi Ran fails.
Wen Xu fails to hit with the attack!

End of Bout 4:
Fi Ran HP: 25 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 50 Might: 84

Bout 5:

Round 1:
Fi Ran HP: 25 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 50 Might: 84

Fi Ran lands the attack.(4)
Wen Xu fails to hit with the attack!

Round 2:
Fi Ran HP: 25 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 46 Might: 84

Fi Ran lands the attack.(5)
Wen Xu lands the attack.(9)

Round 3:
Fi Ran HP: 16 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 41 Might: 84

Fi Ran lands the attack.(4)
Wen Xu attempts a swift pass attack on Fi Ran.
Wen Xu's swift pass attack on Fi Ran fails.
Wen Xu lands the attack.(9)

End of Bout 5:
Fi Ran HP: 7 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 37 Might: 84

Bout 6:

Round 1:
Fi Ran HP: 7 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 37 Might: 84

Fi Ran fails to hit with the attack!
Wen Xu fails to hit with the attack!

Round 2:
Fi Ran HP: 7 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 37 Might: 84

Fi Ran fails to hit with the attack!
Wen Xu attempts a swift pass attack on Fi Ran.
Wen Xu strikes swiftly!
Wen Xu lands the attack.(11)
Wen Xu wins!
Fi Ran attempts to retreat, but is captured!

End of Bout 6:
Fi Ran HP: -4 Might: 86
Wen Xu HP: 37 Might: 84

Letting his blade rest against the youths throat Wen Xu contemplated cutting. After a moment he finally stood up and retrieved his spear which was lying next to the two. With the man bested Xu ignored him as he made his way over to his horse. Patting the mare a few moments he couldn't help but smile. The old horse got him through another bout.

Finally he looked over to the man and asked, "Will you leave now?"

Fi Ran stood up and luckily escaped with minor cuts and bruises. He bowed in a somewhat respectful manner. "Indeed....I know when I am beat". There was slight hindrance in his tone as he picked his sword up of the ground.

Stareing at the man for a moment Xu said, "You know when you are beat? What gave that away? The cuts along your body, the spear which was embedded in your leg or the knife at your throat? Now I ask you again, will you leave now? And where will you go?"

Ran didn't even look at the man, knowing that he had a touch of sarcasm in his voice. "Yes, yes, yes. I will move my men away from the village. As for where we go from here.....". Ran sat back down and crossed his legs on the ground.

"I have no idea. My skills are far weaker then I had expected but one thing still boggles my mind". He then turned his head to Wen. "Why did you not take my life?".

"You are young and foolish, but that is no reason to kill somebody. And my goal was not to kill you but rather get you off my land. I assumed you would rather leave then die so I let you go." Cleaning his spear where blood was beginning to slowly dry Wen Xu waited to see what this man would decide on. He suspected he knew what he was going to say next but he waited for the young man to say it.

Ran then smiled to Wen Xu. "Well how about I send my men to Jiujiang with yours and help you with your task there? I am a keen learner and if I go with you then perhaps I will learn how I lost to you so easily".

Just as he expected. The young man wished to accompany him to Jiujiang and gain fame through his own works. This was something he had to think about. He already had an army of nearly nine thousand men and with these other men his force would rise to a full ten thousand. The only problem that he was facing though with this was that he would not be able to properly arm and equip all of these men.

"I believe that you may be of some use to me in my campaign to take Jiujiang province. As for the reason you lost this duel it is three reasons, first you fight to recklessly, you need to have better judgement in a fight. Secondly, you have no real skill with that blade of yours. You swing it around and you hit from time to time but you don't really have any real training. Try honing your skills with a blade and not the strength of your arm and you will do much better.

"Lastly, you lost your horse and this put you at a great disadvantage. Without a horse you lose speed and height." As he told him of the man's disadvantages the other man's horse walked over and was rubbing up against the side of his own horse. This brought a small chuckle to him but as the horses parted he noticed blood along the side of his horse. Worried he inspected the side of his horse but there was no cut. It seemed when he had cut the saddle from the man's horse he had also gashed the horses side quite badly.

"Your horse is greatly wounded. If you don't mind I think it should stay here and recover in my village. In time we can have somebody come fetch it but for now it needs rest. I can give you a replacement horse for the time being."

He inspected the horse and saw that it was injured. "That would surely help her. I would be thankful for a replacement and as for the chance to learn alongside you in battle, well that would be a welcome chance that I will not pass up".

He then stood and gave Wen a short bow.

Seeing that the child had some sense Wen Xu made a quick motion with his spear and one of his men came riding up and gave his Chief a quick salute. "Congragulations on your victory Chief Wen. Are these ruffians now leaving?"

Nodding his head Wen Xu said, "Yes, Commander Yi. These men will be leaving with us to Jiujiang. However, commander Fi's horse here has been injured and so it will remain here. Will you take it back and bring my spare horse out for him?" As Yi marched off with the injured horse Xu was finally pleased with the cleaning he gave to his spear and returned it to his saddle.

"So Fi Ran, since you are still young and one of the newer commanders to my army you will start as a minor subcommander. Should you prove capable over the occupation of Jiujiang we will see about getting you a higher positon."