At the report of a messenger who burst through the silence of the Xuchang Palace, the jade cup in Cao Cao's hand shattered, unable to withstand the pressure of his contorted grip.
"...Toward the Kingdom of Wu, you say?"
Cao Cao's voice was low, yet it held a chilling, indescribable fury. The report was unmistakable: Guan Yu, the War God, had commandeered the Red Hare, leaped over the city walls, and headed not west toward Liu Bei's hiding place, but southeast—the border of Wu.
Cao Cao gazed down at the wine flowing between the shards of the shattered jade. The cold liquid touching his fingertips felt like the warmth of Guan Yu, a man who had now slipped through his fingers.
"Not Liu Bei, but Sun Quan. Guan Yunchang, have you truly abandoned me to join hands with those rat-like Suns?"
To Cao Cao, Guan Yu was no mere general. He was a warrior who maintained a noble sense of righteousness amidst the chaos of the Demon Realm—a treasure Cao Cao had truly coveted. The news that this treasure had allied not with his brother in the west, but with an enemy in the east, fueled Cao Cao's twisted possessiveness.
"Proclaim it to the heavens! Guan Yunchang is no longer a general of Wei. Declare him a vile traitor seeking to sell Wei's secrets to the Kingdom of Wu!"
With Cao Cao's declaration, the skies over Xuchang turned pitch black. This was no ordinary cloud; it was a sign of the necromantic mana of all Wei reacting to its lord's wrath. Every crow in the city screamed in unison and took flight toward the south.
*
At the same time, before the stables of the detached palace in Xuchang.
THOOM—!
Along with a shockwave that shook the earth, the massive stone pillars of the palace crumbled into dust. Emerging from the cloud of debris was a man, Lu Bu, his entire body radiating a murderous intent that resembled black flames. With every step he took, the granite floor cracked like a spiderweb, and nearby warhorses collapsed, frothing at the mouth in terror.
"Guan Yu...!"
Lu Bu's roar caused the very foundations of Xuchang to tremble. He searched for traces of the Red Hare, his alter ego. Yet, all that remained in the stable was the lingering, chilling aura of Guan Yu's fighting spirit.
To Lu Bu, the Red Hare was not just a horse. It was the final piece that completed his majesty as the 'Demon God' and the only living being capable of enduring his madness.
In a fit of rage, Lu Bu swung his Sky Piercer, cleaving the air. A formless, vacuum-like blade of wind swept through, slicing nearby pavilions clean in half in a single strike.
Then, Cao Cao's shadow appeared from the darkness. Cao Cao did not flinch even before Lu Bu's bloodlust, speaking coldly.
"Fengxian, calm your rage. Guan Yu has headed for Wu. There, both your steed and Guan Yu's head will be waiting for you. I shall personally raise an army of a million to turn Wu into ashes. I want you to lead the vanguard."
Instead of answering, Lu Bu slammed his Sky Piercer into the ground. A massive fissure tore through the earth, reaching Cao Cao's feet.
"I care not if it is Wu or anywhere else! As long as I can tear that bearded wretch limb from limb and seize the Red Hare's mane once more! I will cut down anyone who stands in my way, even a lord!"
Cao Cao raised his hand with a faint, satisfied smirk. It was the 'Signal of Annihilation' for all of Wei.
Immediately following Cao Cao's command, an eerie vibration echoed from deep beneath Xuchang. Hundreds of thousands of undead infantry, awakened by Sima Yi's requiem, clawed their way out of their graves, and the sky was blanketed by a massive legion of gargoyles. The southward march of Wei's million-strong undead army was not merely a hunt for one man, Guan Yu, but a march of doom intended to erase the Kingdom of Wu from the map of the Demon Realm.
As the gates of Xuchang opened and the vast army poured out, the massive necromantic barrier that had suppressed the city began to fade.
High atop the city wall, hidden in the shadows, Sun Wukong stretched lazily. Beside him stood Lucifella, who had barely managed to stabilize her body, which was tainted by miasma.
"Ugh, finally I can breathe. It was so suffocating in there I thought I'd lose it. The stench of those necromancers is revolting."
Wukong pulled the needle-sized Ruyi Jingu Bang from his ear and spun it lightly. As the barrier vanished, his Fiery Golden Eyes clearly captured the traces of the army stretching hundreds of miles away. The mad bloodlust emitted by Lu Bu and the geothermal heat of the million-strong army trampling the Demon Realm served as a massive signpost pointing south.
"Hey, you awake? I need you to play the compass properly now. See that dust cloud? That's where the party is."
Lucifella nodded with a pale face, and Wukong casually tucked her under his arm before leaping down from the wall.
"That bearded guy really set the stage, didn't he? An army of a million... it's going to be quite a noisy feast. It'd be a shame if the main star missed out on a place like that, wouldn't it?"
A mischievous grin played on Wukong's lips. Following the thick trail of demonic energy left by the army, he began to sprint south like the wind.
The arrow of deception fired by Guan Yu pointed toward Wu, with the Demon God Lu Bu and the Great Sage Sun Wukong in pursuit. Now, the eyes of the Demon Realm were gathering at the burning battlefield beyond the River of Purgatory.
* * *
At the southern edge of the Demon Realm, a red mist rising from the River of Purgatory was swallowing the land. At the border of Wu, touched by that scorching breath, Liu Bei watched the far side of the river anxiously. Every time a sulfur-scented wind blew, the Twin Swords in his hands trembled slightly. Then, at the edge of the horizon, a figure resembling red lightning appeared, kicking up a black dust storm.
"...Yunchang!"
At Liu Bei's cry, the Red Hare skidded to a halt, huffing heavily. Dismounting, Guan Yu knelt on one knee before Liu Bei, still wearing his helmet. His armor, caked in dust and miasma, bore witness to the arduous journey he had endured.
"Brother, are you safe? I, your younger brother Guan Yunchang, finally stand before my Lord."
Liu Bei hurried to take his brother's hands and lift him up. However, Guan Yu's expression was filled with a heavy sense of responsibility rather than the joy of reunion. Holding Liu Bei's hands firmly, he relayed the horrific sights he had witnessed in Xuchang.
"Brother, there is no time for celebration. Cao Cao has used my escape as an excuse to raise a million-strong undead army. They are now marching south toward this River of Purgatory with the Demon God Lu Bu as their vanguard. Their goal is not merely to hunt me, but to use this chaos to uproot Wu and Shu entirely."
Liu Bei's eyes wavered at Guan Yu's report. An army of a million. It was a tide of corpses flowing through the cracks of the Demon Realm. Liu Bei remained silent for a moment before lifting his head with a resolute expression. He already knew: gathering people with benevolence alone would not be enough to stop that massive wave of death.
"Cao Cao's ambition truly knows no bounds. Yunchang, our forces in Shu alone cannot stop that massive legion of death. We must join hands with Wu, the masters of the River of Purgatory. We cannot allow the dead to overwhelm the world of the living."
Liu Bei immediately dispatched a messenger to Sun Ce of Wu, requesting an audience. His proposal—'All living beings in the Demon Realm are in peril before Wei's threat; let us set aside our grudges for a moment and build a common line of defense'—was both desperate and dignified.
*
When Liu Bei and Guan Yu entered the River of Purgatory defense line, Wu's main camp, they were met with the chilling gaze of Wu soldiers whose skin was as hard as obsidian. A murderous heat emanated from Wu's naval base situated along the river where lava flowed. But through that wall of hostility, a thunderous shout erupted.
"Look who it is! Is that you, Big Brother?!"
From one side of the defense line, a massive man who had been commanding drills with his Serpent Spear came charging, shaking the very earth. It was Zhang Fei. Having served as a mercenary in Wu while waiting for an opportunity, he spotted Liu Bei and Guan Yu and rushed toward them, tears in his eyes, embracing them both at once.
"Yide! You're alive!"
"I've missed you brothers to death! I heard that treacherous dog Cao Cao was invading and was about to pick a fight here, but now that we're all together, I'm not afraid of anything! My spear is already itching for some dead men's bones!"
It was the moment the three brothers of the Peach Garden were reunited in the fiery hell of the Demon Realm. Sun Ce, the Lord of Wu, approached, his red cape fluttering. His eyes were already fixed on the massive darkness approaching from the north, beyond the river.
"Liu Xuande, I accept your proposal. The stench of Wei's corpses reaches even here."
Sun Ce's gaze turned toward the far side of the river.
*
As Sima Yi's requiem tore through the atmosphere, an eerie sound echoed over the boiling magma of the River of Purgatory. The bones of a massive skeletal dragon began to lock together one by one, forming a 'Bone Bridge' across the river. Across that bridge, an endless line of Wei's undead soldiers approached, led by Lu Bu, who held his Sky Piercer high, his bloodlust seemingly enough to freeze even the heat of the river.
"The moment that bone bridge is complete, the flames of our Wu will also be in peril. For today, I shall trust in Shu's sense of righteousness. But mark my words: this river is not a place that can be crossed easily."
With Sun Ce's acceptance, the provisional Shu-Wu Allied Forces were formed. Liu Bei's benevolence and Sun Ce's hegemony established a massive defensive line along the red banks of the River of Purgatory. However, the battlefield before them was a hell of elemental proportions that could not be overcome by courage alone.
The red waves of the River of Purgatory surged violently, signaling the great battle to come.