Subaru Natsuki, who returned from the new Three Kingdoms

"Then we'll forge our own path!"

Elsa wants to back out.

But the spot beneath her feet had already been gradually forced to her death by Subaru Natsuki during the previous combo attacks.

She suddenly realized.

From the moment his arm was severed, this man used his own blood, his own wounds, and his own body to drive her into a narrow space.

ugly.

Crazy.

But it works.

Subaru Natsuki raised his right hand high.

"I hate the heavens! I hate the heavens!"

The palm struck.

It doesn't look like a knife.

It doesn't resemble a sword either.

It's more like a dark cloud pressing down from the battlefield.

Elsa raised her remaining knife to parry.

The blade trembled.

Her wrist felt numb.

The next blow landed on her shoulder.

The third shot landed on the side of the neck.

Elsa's vision went black, and she finally lost her balance, falling heavily to the ground.

On the other side, Rem had already rushed towards the children, and a small horn emitting a faint light had grown on her forehead!

This time, she didn't look back.

She no longer doubted Subaru Natsuki.

The meteor hammer swept out, smashing away the monster that was lunging at Petra and the other children.

The iron chain swung back, and the second monster was slammed against the tree trunk with its neck wrapped around it.

Meryl was so frightened by Rem's appearance that she wanted to run away.

But as soon as she took a step, the meteor hammer smashed a hole in the ground beside her feet.

Rem stood in front of her.

The blue-haired maid's face was still stained with Subaru Natsuki's blood.

That usually gentle face was now so cold that it made Mary's whole body stiffen.

"Do not move."

Rem said.

Mary held the puppy, her fingers slowly loosening.

The children cried and hid behind Rem.

The monster's growl gradually subsided.

The black smoke gradually dissipated. Natsuki Subaru stood not far away, Elsa lying unconscious at his feet after being struck repeatedly. Seeing this, he seemed finally relieved.

"it is good."

He nodded.

"With no retreat, Miss Rem truly is the best maid in the world!"

After saying that, he swayed slightly.

Blood was still flowing, and the strenuous exercise made his heart rate even faster, resulting in even more blood loss.

His face was now frighteningly pale.

Rem turned her head abruptly.

"Pleiades--!"

The scream was so shrill that even Rem herself couldn't recognize it.

She practically lunged forward and caught Natsuki Subaru before he fell to the ground.

Subaru, wake up!

"Don't sleep! Look at Rem!"

Rem pressed her hand against his wound, but blood continued to gush out from between her fingers.

Her hands were trembling violently, and her voice had completely lost its usual calmness.

"Pleiades!"

"Pleiades--!"

Natsuki Subaru wanted to raise his hand and wave it.

But he had no strength left.

He could only move his lips and speak in a barely audible voice:

"Do not grieve, for death is like a cool summer night, helpful to people..."

The view gradually darkened.

The last thing he heard was Rem's scream, her voice trembling with tears.

……

Chapter 39: 039. The Last Meeting, the First Meeting

Rem's screams gradually faded into the distance.

Darkness engulfed Subaru Natsuki.

A chaotic mix of memories flooded his mind.

But when he heard the sound again, it was neither the low growl of the monster nor Elsa's laughter.

That was the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the vegetable leaves.

The air was filled with the smell of damp earth and a faint aroma of wine.

The moon was bright and the stars were few; Natsuki Subaru stood beside a courtyard gate.

He still had both arms and no injuries, and was wearing an ill-fitting, standard old armor from the Three Kingdoms period.

This is Xuchang, Cao Cao's base of operations.

Before the Battle of Guandu had even begun, before Yuan Shao's army had marched south, and before the meteor shower had shattered the 700,000-strong army to the point of being dead or missing.

At that time, he was still following Liu Bei.

More accurately, at that time he was just a stranger who could barely speak Chinese and could barely understand military orders.

He hadn't been in this era long, and often uttered words no one could understand. Guan Yu once gave him a disdainful look for a long time, while Zhang Fei simply asked Liu Bei which mountain he had picked up this barbarian from, and taught him how to speak of his master, threatening to whip him if he couldn't learn.

This means that whenever the two of them are around, Subaru Natsuki will stay far away.

On that particular day, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei went off somewhere to drink.

Those two guys who were almost inseparable from Liu Bei on weekdays actually left their older brother, whom they weren't very close to, alone in the courtyard.

So the person guarding the gate became Natsuki Subaru.

He remembered that when Liu Bei returned from Cao Cao's place that evening, his clothes were still wet with rain.

Liu Bei said nothing.

He simply instructed Subaru Natsuki to guard the entrance to the courtyard and not allow anyone to enter. Then, he sat alone by the vegetable patch in the courtyard, poured himself a glass of wine, and sipped it slowly.

Subaru Natsuki didn't know what plum blossom wine was back then.

Little did they know that Cao Cao had just listed all the heroes of the world in front of Liu Bei, leaving only the two of them behind, and had even exposed Liu Bei's unparalleled swordsmanship.

All he could tell was that Liu Bei was in a bad mood.

One glass of wine after another.

Liu Bei usually kept his eyes down and his face was expressionless. But that night, after drinking, his expression became more varied.

There was fear.

There was resentment.

There was another kind of weariness that Subaru Natsuki couldn't understand at the time, but which he became increasingly familiar with as he returned from death more often.

As he finished drinking, Liu Bei suddenly raised his head and looked at the treetops swaying in the wind.

"What a nice breeze."

He seemed to be talking to himself, or repeating something he had said not long ago.

"The wind follows the tiger, the clouds follow the dragon, and the heroes of dragon and tiger soar proudly across the sky."

After saying that, Liu Bei chuckled to himself.

The laughter contained little of a sense of grandeur; instead, it was full of self-deprecation.

He put down his wine cup and drew the double-edged sword from his waist.

The sword's edge reflected the fading light of the sky.

One is on the left, and the other is on the right.

Liu Bei then began to practice his swordplay in the vegetable garden.

Natsuki Subaru stood by the gate, his eyes gradually brightening as he watched.

Liu Bei's swordsmanship was not fierce, nor did it possess the imposing power of Guan Yu's sword that could cut down a horse with a single stroke, much less the destructive force of Zhang Fei's swordsmanship, which seemed to want to overturn the entire courtyard.

But the two swords moved forward and backward, supporting each other, just like two people walking side by side in the wind.

He used his sword to protect himself.

He cleared the way for the person behind him with a single sword.

Flawless, perfectly natural....

However, after watching for a while, Subaru Natsuki suddenly had a strange feeling.

He discerned from the swordsmanship—

Liu Bei was unhappy.

Every time he drew his sword, it seemed he wanted to go in another direction.

But as soon as he raised his sword, it was as if a merciless hand pressed down on him, straightening his wrist, correcting his steps, and forcing him to walk in the correct position.

He wanted to move forward, but the sword was retreating.

He tried to look up, but the wind pulled his sleeve down.

It was as if the world had already drawn a path for Liu Bei.

He can struggle, he can pause, he can even temporarily go astray, but he can never truly leave.

Many years later, Subaru Natsuki learned that what he called fate.

At the time, he simply felt that Liu Bei's silhouette as he danced with his sword looked lonely.

With the final move completed, Liu Bei sheathed his sword and stood still.

He turned around and saw the longing in Natsuki Subaru's eyes.

"You also like swordsmanship?"

Natsuki Subaru was taken aback when Liu Bei suddenly asked him a question. He paused for a moment, then quickly nodded.

"I...I like it."