Hero Simulator in Type-Moon, Chapter 39

Yes—life and death were not such inconvenient things.

Fujimaru Kyoya still had one thing left to do. He could not die just yet.

[You died, yet you still watched—watched your friend launch northern expedition after northern expedition, each one ending in failure.]

[You watched the Sima Clan grow stronger, gradually gaining no small amount of influence in Wei. They colluded with noble houses across the land, and the time for usurpation began to ripen.]

[You watched Zhuge Liang fall gravely ill. He was too hands-on, too meticulous. That carefree youth of before was long gone. Now he rose before dawn and worked late into the night handling state affairs, and illness had already wrapped itself around him.]

[You watched his final northern expedition...]

This final northern expedition—Zhuge Liang understood that, given his physical condition, this would be his last.

Even if he succeeded, his body could no longer sustain it. Jiang Wei had talent but lacked his prestige. This was a game where victory was also defeat, yet he still had to go.

"Three thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven."

Zhuge Liang murmured this number. No one knew what it meant. Those who did know were already dead.

[You understood that number. You knew exactly what number Zhuge Liang was so fixated on.]

You've already saved this many people?

[You recalled how Zhuge Liang would, every so often, discuss the results of his deductions with you—how in the end, only a handful could scrape by, surviving just long enough for someone to die peacefully of old age.]

Back then, you laughed like an idiot.

Fujimaru Kyoya looked at the aged Zhuge Liang. Even at this moment, he still hadn't forgotten this matter.

The number represented how many more people had been saved compared to Zhuge Liang's first calculation—the lives they had worked together to change the situation and rescue.

Two people for three thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven. Fujimaru Kyoya and Zhuge Liang had already come out ahead, but it wasn't enough...

Zhuge Liang's gaze fixed on Sima Yi. If he could kill Sima Yi, the Sima dynasty would rise sooner and fall sooner.

The number of lives that could be saved from that alone would reach tens of thousands.

The funeral Zhuge Liang prepared for Sima Yi was a great fire in Shangfang Valley. Since "fire" always carried special meaning in this era, why not use it to bury you?

[You watched the great fire in Shangfang Valley. You understood this was not where Sima Yi would meet his end.]

Yes.

Fujimaru Kyoya remembered. The final outcome of the Shangfang Valley fire was a sudden downpour from heaven, extinguishing the flames and letting Sima Yi escape alive.

"Boom~"

Thunder cracked across the sky. As the temperature shifted with the flames, the weather began to change, bringing rain to Shangfang Valley, which had been dry moments before.

Sima Yi looked up at Zhuge Liang on the mountaintop. He knew full well that no one could surpass Zhuge Liang in reading the heavens. So he would use this method instead.

"Having lost this chance, you have no hope left to turn things around."

Sima Yi felt the heavy rain. To him, this water was nothing less than sweet dew from heaven. But what would it do to Zhuge Liang, standing there in the downpour?

No one knew what the dark-faced strategist was thinking at that moment. All anyone knew was that this rain had completely shattered Zhuge Liang's ability to hold back his illness.

News that Zhuge Liang had little time left spread through both armies. At the same time, an even more terrifying report arrived: Zhuge Liang intended to use the Seven Star Lantern to extend his life, borrowing years from heaven to continue the northern expedition.

"Ridiculous. How could such a thing exist in this world? Besides, what state is Shu in now? Where would they find the men to keep waging war?"

Sima Yi sneered, yet an inexplicable unease washed over him.

What if... what if it was real?

Even if it only bought a single day of life, Sima Yi didn't want to face Zhuge Liang, that troublesome enemy, any longer. He wished the man before him would die as soon as possible.

Yes—he had already achieved complete victory. Why not kick the dog while it's down?

As long as he used the same trick again, preparing the substitution technique between his real body and a decoy, he could escape even if danger arose. Not to mention, by now he had thoroughly mapped out Zhuge Liang's military formations.

There was absolutely no living thing that could threaten him.

Legend had it that the Seven Star Lantern required the main lamp to remain unextinguished on the final day. If it did, the caster could extend their life by twelve years.

Sima Yi ordered Xiahou Ba to launch a surprise attack on the Wuzhang Plains camp, while he himself mingled among the troops. Even if Zhuge Liang had some trick, he trusted he could still escape.

Until he saw Zhuge Liang breathe his last, Sima Yi could not rest easy.

That night, the Shu camp had an eerie, superstitious air. It looked less like a military barracks and more like the ritual site of some charlatan.

Even so, Sima Yi did not let down his guard.

Wei Yan and Jiang Wei were strong, but against an overwhelming numerical advantage, they were still useless.

After all, not everyone was Guan Yu or Zhang Fei. In this era where even Zhao Yun had died, in this Shu where Liao Hua could serve as a vanguard, who else was there for him to care about?

The night raid began. Under the assault of a massive wave of soldiers, a breach was quickly torn open.

Zhuge Liang's Seven Star Lantern required seven days. During those seven days, the Shu soldiers dared not let their guard down for even a moment. This left them physically and mentally exhausted, unable to fight at full strength against the sudden attack.

"Take me to Zhuge Liang's tent."

With Xiahou Ba as his guard, Sima Yi could withdraw at any moment even if someone attacked. Now, he would come before Zhuge Liang as an absolute victor.

"Whoosh~"

Zhuge Liang's tent was thrown open. A gale rushed inside, snuffing out the oil lamp before his eyes.

Extinguished.

Sima Yi beamed with joy. With the Seven Star Lantern extinguished, Zhuge Liang's life-extending ritual was broken.

"Brother Zhuge, this is our last meeting."

"Yes, our last meeting."

Zhuge Liang echoed him, his expression unreadable—was this utter despair?

Just as Sima Yi thought this, the back of his head... exploded.

Wh... what happened?

"I'm going to strike."

Accompanied by a familiar voice, the pain grew equally familiar. Sima Yi tried to call for Xiahou Ba, only to see Xiahou Ba's head land before his eyes.

A familiar figure appeared in front of him.

"Impossible."

Sima Yi refused to believe it.

Why... was a dead man suddenly attacking him?

Chapter 69: Proof That We Were Here 6/28

Was Fujimaru Kyoya dead?

From an ordinary person's perspective, yes, he was dead. But the promise he made back then had not dissipated. He had agreed to look after A Dou for Liu Bei.

"Look after" wasn't really the word—Fujimaru Kyoya was no babysitter. Besides, with Zhuge Liang around, why would he need to? What Fujimaru Kyoya knew was killing enemies, like the man before him—Sima Yi.

"Impossible. Weren't you already... the Seven Star Lantern?"

Sima Yi looked at the extinguished lantern. Then Zhuge Liang lit a small flame and relit it. Sima Yi finally understood the problem.

"The timing is off."

Sima Yi tried to rise, but Fujimaru Kyoya struck him from behind with a staff, sending him face-first back to the ground. His once-invincible Substitute technique had lost its effect.

"We've been at odds for so many years. Though I've been gravely ill these past days, I haven't yet reached the point where I can't read the celestial signs."

"The great fire at Shangfang Valley? You did that on purpose?"

Sima Yi finally confirmed it. In the celestial calculations for Shangfang Valley, Zhuge Liang had deliberately lost to him—a calculated failure to make him let his guard down.

"Of course it was deliberate. My illness, the miscalculation at Shangfang Valley, the life-extension of the Seven Star Lantern—all of these were traps to lure you here."

Zhuge Liang admitted it openly. In this scheme, the only variable was Sima Yi not coming, but in truth, that variable didn't exist.

"You fear me. You fear that I might still survive. You don't understand the principle of the Seven Star Lantern, so you had to witness it yourself. You had to see me die with your own eyes to be at ease."

This was Zhuge Liang's confidence. This was a scheme that only worked on Sima Yi—only this man, his long-time rival who understood his capabilities, would fall for it.

"The timing of the Seven Star Lantern was false. The ritual was already complete before you blew out the lamp. The lamp you extinguished just now was one I manually lit, just like this."

"The Seven Star Lantern... what is it, really?"

Sima Yi staggered, trying to get up, but Fujimaru Kyoya stepped on him, pinning him to the ground. The wooden staff in his hand still dripped blood. Even without Zhuge Liang's barrier over the camp, he could no longer activate his Substitute.

"A barrier that allows entry but no exit. A soul that keeps its promise. A spell that summons a soul and briefly grants it a body. Everything was waiting for this moment."

Zhuge Liang stood up, then said...

"A friend has come from afar... Zilong, what's the next line?"

"Though far away, they will be punished."

"Yes. Though far away, they will be punished."

As Zhuge Liang's words landed, his previously frail demeanor vanished. His muscles bulged as if he had returned to his prime.

This was a low-level spell Zhuge Liang had once mentioned—merely strengthening the body. For bookish scholars with no combat experience, facing trained soldiers with this spell was basically suicide. But for Sima Yi at this moment, it was a disaster.

"Can you handle it alone?"

Fujimaru Kyoya handed over the wooden staff. In his view, he should be the one to act—that was the safest approach.

"Help Jiang Wei suppress the invasion. As for me..."

Zhuge Liang gripped the staff tightly, looking at Sima Yi without a trace of mercy.

"I'll settle my accounts with him personally."

"Then it's yours."

Fujimaru Kyoya, as a dead man, could see that Zhuge Liang was at his last breath. The Seven Star Lantern could have extended his own life, but he used it to grant a brief return to the living for a man already dead.

A white figure returned to the battlefield. In this era, names like Lu Bu and Guan Yu had long faded from memory. No one remembered a man called "Zhao Yun."

Yes. A single man routing five thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry—how could such a person exist?

But tonight, that man appeared again.

Before the sun rose, red had flooded the camp. In this place where entry was allowed but exit forbidden, both friend and foe were awed by this overwhelming presence.

"The last one."

When Fujimaru Kyoya killed the last man, he also felt Sima Yi breathe his last.

Returning to Zhuge Liang's military tent, Zhuge Liang had lost his feather fan somewhere, sitting on the ground gasping for breath, while Sima Yi had no breath left at all.

"I... really... am no good at fighting."

At this moment, Zhuge Liang had to admit that Sima Yi was at least better than him at fighting. If Fujimaru Kyoya hadn't landed those two blows on him, it would be Zhuge Liang lying dead on the ground right now.

"Thanks for coming to help me even after you died."

"It was just a promise."

Fujimaru Kyoya said with a smile. How long had it been since he'd laughed so freely?

"One hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred people."

"Hm?"

"I killed him. The Sima Clan's dynasty will be delayed by five years and fall ten years early. That era of chaos will end sooner too. Altogether, we saved... one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred people."

Zhuge Liang seemed to have used every last ounce of his strength just to say those words.

"You're incredible. The Crouching Dragon lives up to his name."

Having been on the battlefield himself, Fujimaru Kyoya naturally understood just how vast a crowd of one hundred twenty thousand people was. Even if they stood still and let him kill them one by one, his hands would go numb from the effort. And yet Zhuge Liang had saved that many people.

Without drastically altering the general course of history, he had shortened the era of war and allowed more people to survive.

This was the compromise Zhuge Liang had conceived—preventing the world from heading toward destruction while giving more people hope for life.

"No, this is your achievement."

When Zhuge Liang was young, his mind was filled with thoughts of "eternal glory" and the like. It wasn't until he opened his heart to Fujimaru Kyoya that he understood—he himself was nothing so remarkable.