People in Type-Moon have a hero simulator.

Fujimaru Kyoya's hands went numb. Why was even a random nobody in this world so powerful? Was he destined to become a strategist from now on?

"Despicable scoundrel, how dare he..."

Zhang Fei was speechless because he hadn't expected Fujimaru Kyoya to have an even more despicable trick up his sleeve—the Tsuneyama Egg Kick.

But this feeling... did this guy just pull it off?

This startled Fujimaru Kyoya so much that he took several steps back. He had no homosexual tendencies, let alone the gruffness of a bearded man like this. He immediately grabbed the disheartened man and ran away.

"asshole."

Zhang Fei was completely numb. While fighting that kid, he became more and more excited for some reason, so much so that he pulled up. Then, just as his little brother entered battle mode, he was hit with lime powder and then a crushing kick, and he couldn't get up for a while.

Damn, next time I'll call my second brother and we'll go beat this kid up with a stick.

"Third brother, are you alright?"

Seeing his third brother's black face turn white, Liu Bei immediately fetched some vegetable oil to wash away the lime. As for Fujimaru Kyoya who had just left... well, he was in the military camp anyway, and they would find him sooner or later.

"I'm fine. Brother, why are you hanging out with such a ruthless kid?"

Zhang Fei had recovered by this time, but he never expected that his kind-hearted elder brother would associate with such a person.

"I've only discovered a student; if he can serve me..."

Liu Bei thought of that somewhat forlorn scholar who had effortlessly deciphered the scheme in the secret letter. Would such a person really join his ranks?

And another one...

"Third brother, what do you think of the strength of the person you fought?"

"He's a shameless brat, but if we were to clash on the battlefield, I would never lose to him."

Although the exchange was brief, Zhang Fei was able to discern Fujimaru Kyoya's strength. Even if the opponent recovered from his injuries, he was not afraid; at least that kid was definitely no match for his second brother.

……

You've been very careful these past few days, and you haven't been caught by that burly man with the bushy beard. Your injuries have healed considerably in no time.

[You follow the Water Mirror Academy's group to a distant mountain peak, where many students are discussing strategies for breaching the city. You discover that the elegantly dressed young man, who doesn't belong to the Water Mirror Academy, is among them.]

You notice that Brother Huixin, unusually, isn't sleeping, and he's also unusually observing the direction of Luoyang, but he's not looking at the army, but rather...

"When war breaks out, how many more people will suffer?"

Disheartened Brother's expression grew increasingly grim. According to his calculations, Dong Zhuo had no chance of subduing the warlords. As soon as Dong Zhuo died, the world would inevitably fall apart, and countless people would lose their homes.

Such a future is bound to be disheartening.

"The rise and fall of the nation only brings suffering to the common people. Since that's the case, why not help the strongest side seize the world quickly? That might be a way to save the people."

The elegantly dressed young man approached, his gaze also sweeping over the common people. His smugness and the dejected man seemed to share common interests and ideals, but…

Is strength always good?

Fujimaru Kyoya looked at the elegantly dressed young man. Although he admitted that only by becoming strong could one have more choices, "strong" was not the same as "good".

"Brother, do you mean that in order to allow a benevolent ruler to unify the world, you will allow this world to experience many more years of war?"

"The same question: how can you guarantee that a tyrannical ruler will bring a better life to the people after he unifies the world?"

Fujimaru Kyouya asked rhetorically.

The reason why "Shadow" helped Gilgamesh, the tyrant, was because Gilgamesh had a "good" side, and all that was needed was to let this side see the light of day again.

But now the strongest among the warlords is none other than Dong Zhuo, and this fat pig has not shown anything that can be called "good".

Chapter Forty-Nine: The Great Fire of Luoyang

"I have yet to ask your opinion, Sima Yi of Yanzhou."

Sima Yi looked at the two peers before him. If the one who was disheartened was exceptionally intelligent and had to be guarded against, then this one was completely incompatible in terms of ideology, and the two were mortal enemies from birth.

"No rush. The battle has already begun. Let's talk after that."

Disheartened Brother interjected to ease the tension, and at the same time, the Battle of Luoyang finally began.

"Now that it has begun, what are your thoughts on this battle, sir?"

Sima Yi glanced at the wooden stick tucked into Fujimaru Kyoya's waist and realized that if he made a move now, the back of Fujimaru's head would probably explode. He then discussed the current battle situation with the disheartened man.

"Luoyang is easy to defend but difficult to attack. To break through the city, there must be an inside agent. As the leader of the warlords, this is a problem that Yuan Shao needs to solve."

"Yuan Shao...is he capable?"

Fujimaru Kyoya kept muttering this name. He had squandered such a favorable opportunity as Guandu, and now he was being asked to tackle the tough challenge of Luoyang. Was it too much to ask of him?

"Do you understand Yuan Shao, brother?"

Sima Yi glanced at Fujimaru Kyoya. He had been inquiring about the two of them these past few days and naturally understood Zhao Tian's reputation as the "school bully" of Shuijing Mansion.

He even single-handedly covered the rear during the previous attack on Shuijing Mansion, demonstrating remarkable martial prowess; it's just unknown how intelligent he is.

"I've only heard that he's good at planning but indecisive, he's afraid to risk his life for great things, but he'll risk his life for small gains."

Fujimaru Kyoya certainly knew that Romance of the Three Kingdoms could not be regarded as historical material, but it has almost become a stereotype of Yuan Shao for later generations.

After all, they lost such a favorable situation in the Battle of Guandu. I could have done it too.

"Alas, Brother Zhao, you really haven't read Teacher's 'On Morale'."

Disheartened Brother pressed his head down, looking somewhat ashamed to be seen.

"Mr. Shui Jing's 'On Morale' states: 'The so-called 'morale' is nothing more than belittling the enemy and praising oneself. If the enemy has just won, one should criticize one's own generals for being reckless. If the enemy has won many battles, one should criticize one's own strategists for being incompetent. If the enemy is always winning...'"

Looking at Luoyang, Brother Huixin realized that Luoyang was now a place where hidden talents and hidden dangers resided.

"He then criticized the enemy generals as brave but lacking in strategy, while Yuan Shao had many strategists under his command. If he were a person without decisiveness, how could he have so many strategists serving him?"

Sima Yi exposed Yuan Shao's smokescreen of "being good at planning but indecisive," and then took the opportunity to ask a question.

"If we extrapolate from this argument, then wouldn't Lü Bu be..."

"If you use this argument to make inferences, then you've fallen into my trap."

As the gates of Luoyang gradually opened, Brother Huixin realized that Yuan Shao's inside man had finally appeared while he was exchanging words with Sima Yi.

"What do you mean by this, brother?"

"It doesn't mean anything, it just points out your plan: use Luoyang as bait to lure the warlords into a trap, burn them down to help Dong Zhuo unify the world, that's your goal, right?"

Disheartened Brother looked at Sima Yi.

“You are Dong Zhuo’s strategist. If you had just used the theory of morale to deduce that Lü Bu was Dong Zhuo’s brain trust, you would have been sorely mistaken.”

Sima Yi was indeed full of wicked schemes.

Fujimaru Kyoya drew the wooden stick from his waist, waiting for an opportunity to make Sima Yi's head explode on the spot.

"Brothers, calm down. Why would I help that villain Dong Zhuo? Besides, he even captured my elder brother Sima Lang. I hate him too much to even think about it."

Upon seeing the wooden stick in Fujimaru Kyoya's hand, Sima Yi immediately took a few steps back.

What was supposed to be a debate between scholars was interrupted when someone walked in carrying a wooden stick. How the hell is this supposed to continue?

"The Shui Jing Mansion's caravan was intercepted by Dong Zhuo's men while it was still on the road. How could he have such accurate intelligence if there was no inside help?"

"This only shows that there is an inside agent within the coalition forces, and it may not necessarily be me."

"But there aren't many people who aren't interested in that secret letter."

Sima Yi was not a student of the Shuijing Academy, so how did he enter the military tent? Moreover, he clearly possessed considerable wisdom, yet he showed no interest in that secret letter, which was obviously abnormal.

Although Fujimaru Kyoya and the disheartened brother were not interested, they were far away in Shuijing Mansion and could not possibly be plotting for Dong Zhuo. Therefore, the suspicion ultimately fell on Sima Yi.

“When Luoyang falls, the feudal lords will rush to enter the city. If they can find either Emperor Liu Bian or Emperor Liu Xie, they can use the emperor to command the feudal lords. You have set such a bait, and they have no choice but to fall for it.”

"But what good will this do me?"

Sima Yi still refused to admit that he was an inside agent and Dong Zhuo's strategist.

"It's very simple: Dong Zhuo is stupid. It's much better to support a fool to seize power and then take his place than to support a smart person."

How could they have seen this far?

Fujimaru Kyoya looked at the disheartened man with some surprise. The Sima family's usurpation of the Wei dynasty was many years in the future.

He was surprised that Brother Huixin could see through things at this moment, and even more surprised that Sima Yi already had the idea of ​​usurping the world.

"The Han Dynasty is in decline and the world is in chaos. You want to sweep across the world with your overwhelming power, and then seize the opportunity to launch a coup, shifting all the past mistakes onto Dong Zhuo. Then you can become the hero who ends the chaos and establish your own country. Am I right?"

"Isn't this good?"

Sima Yi didn't care that his thoughts had been exposed. Although the Sima family was doing well among the aristocratic families, they didn't have the ability to seize the world.

No one would believe such "crazy talk".

"It is not impossible to end the chaos as quickly as possible, then act as a benevolent ruler to appease the people, and usher in another three hundred years of prosperity for the dynasty."

"Impossible. How can you sit securely when you've acted illegitimately? A world seized through intrigue will not be cherished. Neither you nor your descendants will. Your dynasty will crumble in less than fifty years, let alone any vision of a three-hundred-year golden age."

Three hundred years of prosperity?

Disheartened Brother scoffed. The Zhou Dynasty lasted for eight hundred years, and the Han Dynasty for four hundred years. Even if Sima Yi had succeeded, it would have been a miracle if it had lasted for two hundred years.

"But do you have a better way?"

Sima Yi disdained it, quickly pacified the world, and then usurped the throne. At that time, the history books would be written by his Sima family, and he would be the one to judge right and wrong.

"..."

silence.

Disheartened Brother remained silent, for he had no better solution. In his calculations, the world would not see great order after the great chaos.

He had no better way.

"But while you are talking about the world, aren't the people suffering?"

Fujimaru Kyouya looked at the chaotic city of Luoyang, where the people were on the verge of death due to the attacks of the feudal lords.

Fire, a spark ignited from within the city of Luoyang.

The raging fire quickly engulfed the entire city, and the hellish scene within came into Fujimaru Kyoya's view.