Warlord of the Three Kingdoms – Chapter 02

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Translated By Arcane Translations

Translator: Silverriver

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After two days of riding, I reached a port where a ship was docked.

I was looking for passage across the Yangtze River to head north. Among them was a large ship already crowded with passengers.

‘They’re even loading ox carts. Horses shouldn’t be a problem.’

Leading my horse from Wu Commandery, I headed toward the ship.

“Where are you from?” asked the boatman.

“Wu Commandery. I need to cross to Guangling. May I board?”

“Hmm… The fare includes the horse. Understood?”

At his words, I took out a few coins from my pocket and offered them.

These coins were wushu coins, minted during the Han Dynasty and circulated throughout the northern regions, Southeast Asia, and even the Korean Peninsula, making them the ancient equivalent of a “reserve currency.”

The boatman clicked his tongue after inspecting them.

“The horse costs extra. Two more coins.”

“Here.”

Since I was only riding once, I didn’t need to worry about the price. And I wasn’t short on travel money, so a few coins didn’t matter.

The boatman grinned and let me board.

“Tie your horse over there with the oxen.”

After securing my horse, I leaned against the railing. As the boat set off, I looked up at the incredibly clear sky.

The blue sky of China, untouched by pollution. Suddenly, the slogan of the Yellow Turbans came to mind.

Of course, if I dared to recite this aloud, everyone on the boat would likely rush me, beat me up, and throw me into the Yangtze.

‘Anyway, what a blue sky.’

I lay back leisurely and waited for our arrival as the boat moved along.

There were many other people on board besides myself: merchants with their carts full of goods, musicians and clowns with various instruments, scholars in shabby clothes reading bamboo slips, and various other individuals.

It truly felt like another world, yet at the same time, the setting of the late Han Dynasty, the backdrop of the Three Kingdoms I had seen in media, felt incredibly real.

Just then, a shabbily dressed man passed in front of me.

“Hmm?”

His medium-length hair, not properly tied in a topknot, was completely disheveled, and his appearance was like that of a vagrant.

Yet his eyes, sharp as blades, gleamed beneath his bangs. At his waist hung a sword.

Not just any sword, but one whose hilt and scabbard showed signs of wear, suggesting it had been wielded for a long time.

A wandering warrior? Intrigued, I watched him closely as he sat near me. He sat on the railing like me, eyes closed, quietly waiting for our destination.

He was an enigmatic man who made me want to talk to him. And in that silence, with his eyes still closed, he spoke first.

“Why do you keep staring?”

He knew I was watching him, even though his eyes were closed. I flinched for a moment, but cleared my throat and spoke softly.

“Uh… I was admiring your sword, sir. I’ve never seen a sword so well-worn.”

When I addressed him respectfully as “sir,” he, still with his eyes closed, untied the cord at his waist and picked up his sword. Then he abruptly tossed it to me.

“Whoa?!”

“Then examine the sword instead.”

What kind of person was this? In these times of such lawlessness, a wandering warrior was casually tossing his sword to a stranger?

It was a bit absurd, but I examined the sword he had thrown me and slowly drew it.

The exterior was worn, but the blade inside was sharply honed, gleaming brightly even when slightly drawn.

This was undoubtedly a weapon wielded by a skilled swordsman for a long period. And I imagined dozens, if not more, had fallen beneath this blade.

“A sword of chaotic times,” I remarked. “It’s seen many battles.”

“So I’m a bloodstained rogue, then?”

“N, no! Of course not, sir!”

I hastily apologized to this brusque individual, but just then, a horn suddenly blared from within the boat.

“Wh, what?”

As the horn sounded, the passengers on deck suddenly started running frantically, hiding in the cabins.

“Oh my god! What’s happening!”

“Excuse me, what’s going on? What’s that horn sound?”

“River Pirates!” someone screamed.

“What?”

“That’s the pirate alarm! If you don’t want to die, get inside and hide!”

A man who looked like a merchant grabbed his belongings and rushed inside. Only the wandering warrior and I remained on deck.

“Hey, give me back my sword.”

I immediately tossed the sword back to him. He caught it effortlessly, drawing the blade. His eyes flashed.

“I’d sworn off killing… but so be it.”

A chilling aura emanated from him, sending shivers down my spine. I instinctively drew my own sword.

Grappling hooks latched onto the ship as bandits swarmed aboard.

“Hehehe! Look at all these horses and oxen! A fat catch!”

Suddenly, the wind whipped past me. A bandit’s head flew into the air, blood arcing across the deck.

“What…?”

he man’s head, cleanly severed, spun in the air before landing on the deck with a thud and rolling.

Blood gushed from the headless pirate’s body, spraying everywhere and splattering my face.

“Ugh!”

“Th, this bastard!?” Bandits charged the warrior.

The pirates, enraged by the loss of their comrade, charged towards the swordsman. But he danced with his sword as if facing multiple opponents was no problem.

“Aaagh! My arm! My arm!!”

A second pirate swung a sickle at the swordsman, only to have his arm, still gripping the sickle, sliced off.

After taking down the second pirate, the swordsman spun around and plunged his sword into the chest of a pirate who had tried to ambush him from behind, driving him back to the edge of the deck.

“Keuk, keuheuheuheukeuk-”

Blood sprayed across the deck as the pirate was impaled. As the swordsman pulled out his sword, another fountain of blood erupted.

“Hmph!”

The swordsman shoved the third pirate into the river. The remaining pirates, their eyes now bloodshot, charged at him.

“Sir, behind you!” I shouted.

I could no longer just stand by and watch. I drew my sword and joined the fray. This was a life-or-death struggle against pirates right before my eyes.

If I hesitated, I would be the one to die. I had fought not only tigers and bears in Wu Commandery but also bandits who tried to set fire to the mountains.

As the swordsman cut down numerous pirates, I also confronted the ones blocking my path.

“You bastards! Do you know who we are?!”

“Are you the Eighteen Bands of the Yangtze River Pirates or something?”

The pirate swung an axe, and I narrowly dodged, turning my head just in time. I would have been split in two if I hadn’t.

“You little rat, dodging…”

As I dodged the pirate’s wild axe swings, I found an opening and swung my sword.

“Gah!”

I felt the satisfying thud of a clean cut. The pirate clutched his abdomen, staggered, and fell into the river.

After taking down one pirate, my hand trembled, and my heart pounded, but I gritted my teeth and swung my sword at another.

Just then, the pirate I had targeted was struck from behind by the swordsman’s blade, coughing up blood and collapsing.

He fell to the blood-soaked deck, the blood pooling around my feet.

“Huu…”

The pirate lay prone before me, trembling before finally going still. He was dead.

“That was the last one.”

“Ah…!”

The swordsman, having single-handedly dealt with over a dozen pirates, looked at me, his face smeared with sticky blood. His white clothes were soaked in blood, and his eyes, peering out from beneath his messy hair, gave him the terrifying appearance of a true wandering warrior.

Just then, the cabin door behind us opened.

“Hi, hiiik!”

“Corpses on the deck!”

The boatmen, emerging belatedly, trembled in fear.

I exhaled deeply and called out to them.

“I suppose you boatmen will have to deal with the pirate corpses?”

At my words, they quickly began collecting the bodies.

By the time we docked in Guangling, my legs nearly gave out.

The warrior wiped his sword and turned to leave.

“Wait a moment! Just a moment!”

“?”

The bloodstained swordsman stopped at my call and turned around.

“What is it? Haven’t I dealt with all the pirates?”

“I wish to know your name, master swordsman.”

“Knowing the name of a butcher who slays people is useless. Just go your own way.”

“Sir, I am Cao Xiu from Wu Commandery, courtesy name Wenlie. I truly wish to know more about you.”

When I pressed him again, he sighed deeply and spoke quietly.

“Just call me ‘Xu.’ Now go.”

“It is an honor to meet Master Xu, the master of the sword… ”

Wait, Xu?

A master swordsman with the surname Xu who demonstrated incredible swordsmanship… One person immediately came to mind.

“Could you be Xu Yuanzhi, sir?”

“You… How do you know that name?”

By heaven, it’s him!

Xu from Yingchuan.

This man’s real name was Xu Fu, courtesy name Yuanzhi. But to those who knew the Three Kingdoms, he was better known as Xu Shu, famed for his swordsmanship in his younger days. It was indeed him.

This was a truly incredible encounter.

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Boatride turns into bloodbath ⚔️🚢🔥