Hey, final chapter. This was to be a fairly short series, after all.

New Hefei Castle had come into sight. And what a wretched sight it was.

Zhuge Ke had clearly spared no effort to emphasis how complete his victory over the defenders was. The remains of the Wei soldiers who had been defending the castle were collected in a pile, their bodies burnt to ash. What flesh hadn't been burnt had been baking in the sun for far too long, if the putrid sight and rancid odor was any indication.

A soldier of Wu shouted at the sight of Sima Shi's army and quickly ran off. That was fine. Stealth was not what Sima Shi intended to use for this battle. With this battle he intended to make it clear just how superior to Zhuge Ke the Sima clan was, and strike fear into Wu when the man died.

"Master Sima Shi." Deng Ai addressed the young Sima. "We should set up camp and rest our forces here. I presume our enemies have long since prepared their defenses, we must be at our best to challenge them."

Sima Shi nodded. Deng Ai left to give the soldiers leave to rest and refresh themselves for the battle. Shi folded his arms behind his back, wondering how Xiahou Hui was doing right now. The enemy commander in the castle before him was the one behind his wife's poisoning. Miraculously, she had been able to pull through. Yet Shi would be uncertain if she was truly safe as long as Zhuge Ke still lived. Even if she was safe, Shi could offer no forgiveness for the attempt to kill his wife.

"Hey, there enough time to take a nap before we get started?" Sima Zhao wandered up to his brother. Sima Shi turned his head and gave Zhao a stern look.

"Zhao. You know what this battle is over. Do not take this so lightly."

Sima Zhao sighed. "Come on, we can't be so tense right now. You just gave us a chance to rest, right?"

"Zhao." Sima Shi shook his head. "Remember what we must achieve in this battle. We must ensure that Xiahou Hui is never threatened by that man again."

"I know, brother." Sima Zhao said. "We need to make sure that Zhuge Ke can't hurt Hui again." He thought for a moment. "The Zhuges really are thorns in our sides, aren't they?"

Sima Shi nodded. Zhuge Liang had given much trouble to their father, right up to the moment the Shu strategist died at the Wuzhang Plains. Then, even though they were allies, Zhuge Dan was exceptionally antagonistic toward Sima Zhao. Now, another Zhuge had attempted to assassinate Sima Shi's wife.

Taking a moment, Sima Shi looked over at Zhuge Dan. He was apparently in a conversation with Deng Ai.

"To think I would once again be fighting at New Hefei Castle against Zhuge Ke." Zhuge Dan reflected on the fact. "This is where Master Sima Shi saved me from being consumed by my obsession over my family's name. Zhuge Ke has yet to come to the same realization, and as such, he will have no hope of prevailing."

Deng Ai nodded. "It is good to focus on your abilities. The man who continues to shout about his family's prestige and neglect to improve his own abilities will never succeed in fulfilling his duties." Deng Ai knew full well the truth of that. He didn't come from a pampered and prestigious family, it was a slow grind up the ranks for him as people slowly came to notice his abilities.

"How I long to meet my relative face to face." Zhuge Dan declared, making a sweeping movement with his hand. "I can offer no forgiveness to those who would harm Master Sima Shi's lady wife."

"It's our duty to ensure that Zhuge Ke does not escape." Deng Ai said, turning toward the castle. The time of rest was nearing its end. "I have already studied the map of this area. I shall take all necessary precautions to ensure that he has no escape route he can use. He is the one enemy in that castle that we cannot afford to let escape."

"So Sima Shi is here." Zhuge Ke accepted the scouts report. "The battle will begin soon. I will exact my revenge for what happened here last time and strike fear into every officer of Wei when they learn of the Sima's defeat."

Lu Kang was silent. Zhuge Ke had already heard all of the strategist's thoughts on this matter. Now he had nothing else to do but to fulfill his duty as a soldier of Wu.

"Ensure that the fighting does not reach me." Sun Chen ordered. "I will have you executed if they make it this far, Zhuge Ke."

"Fear not, my lord. Upon my name as a Zhuge, the Sima clan will be routed before they can come anywhere near this sanctum."

"It's time." Sima Shi declared. Every soldier in the camp turned and gave Sima Shi their undivided attention. "We most defeat the Wu forces and expel them from New Hefei Castle. We must ensure that Zhuge Ke does not escape. Give your all for this battle, and let it be known as an overwhelming victory for Wei."

The soldiers filled with pride and zeal. Sima Shi turned to the gatekeeper. No words were needed. The gate was opened, and the Wei army charged to battle.

Wu had left soldiers in the bases in front of the castle. They braced themselves, ready to act as an iron wall to halt Wei's advance. There was a shred of tactics to their movement, but Sima Shi's orders undermined whatever battle plan that Zhuge Ke had left them. Wei quickly took control of the bases in front of the castle. Now there was only the attack on the castle itself.

"We must ensure that he cannot escape." Deng Ai said. "Master Sima Shi, let me lead a detachment of troops to the side. I shall block all escape routes Zhuge Ke might use."

Shi agreed. Deng Ai took a quarter of the soldiers with him and raced to the side of the castle. Sima Shi was left to gaze upon the castle's front gate. There were a number of ways he could proceed. Whatever he did, he had to ensure that he didn't play into Zhuge Ke's hand.

"Bring forth the ram. Leave a token group of soldiers to work to bring down the gates. Zhao, I'll leave you in charge of this group. The rest will follow me."

The ram approached, Sima Zhao began his task to be a distraction to draw Wu's attention. Sima Shi ran to the left of the castle with the rest of the army. Zhao's soldiers were a distraction, Shi's soldiers would aim for Zhuge Ke. Shi had complete confidence that Zhuge Ke's defenses would not be able to adapt to this.

"My lord. The enemy has brought forth a ram, they'll break down the gates in a matter of minutes."

Zhuge Ke nodded at the messenger. "Good. It seems Sima Shi has let his emotions get the better of him after the attempt on his wife's life. Look at him forsake all strategy and use the bluntest approach possible." He turned. "Master Lu Kang, take a regiment of our troops and gave Wei a warm greeting when they enter the castle. Bring me Sima Shi's head."

Lu Kang was off. Zhuge Ke smirked, this battle would be resolved quickly. He had every advantage, his strategy was foolproof, this time his plan could not be derailed even by the most incompetent of soldiers. This battle could only end in an overwhelming Wu victory.

Within the castle, a ballista pilot tensely operated the large machine on the second tier of the castle. He was ready to, at a moment's notice, begin firing upon any invading Wei enemies. The only sound that could be heard right now was the banging of the Wei ram on the gates. The sound was so loud that he didn't hear the sounds of battle as Sima Shi was breaking into the castle from the side.

The Wu army obliviously kept their sights trained on the gate. Only a few guards noticed as Sima Shi and Zhuge Dan entered, dispatching those both wary and close enough to notice them. Then they moved to weaken the defenses that Sima Zhao would have to face.

The ballista pilot continued to focus all of his attention on the front gate. Then suddenly, a baton appeared in the pilot's field of view. It struck him hard in the face and took him out of the ballista he was operating. He turned to see the Wei officer Zhuge Dan. The man of Wu tried to call for help, and signal the ballista to turn their fire on the forces of Wei who had approached from an unexpected direction, but Zhuge Dan attacked again before anything else could happen.

This blow lifted the man off his feet and off the edge. Rather then be able to call for help, what came from the Wu soldier's mouth was an inarticulate yell as he fell from the second tier down to the first tier.

Lu Kang had his eyes trained on the gate. The scream of the Wu soldier didn't even register on his ears, but the sickening crunch of the soldier impacting the ground could easily be heard over the ram. He turned, seeing a man of Wu dead on the ground, his head hideously crushed from the fall.

Turning his head up, all Lu Kang saw was an unfamiliar man, but one look at his clothes was all it took to tell Lu Kang that it wasn't a soldier of Wu. Immediately, Lu Kang called for everyone to change their target.

The breaking of the gates made Lu Kang turn back to the front. Sima Zhao advanced with the small troops he had been given. Lu Kang gritted his teeth at this development, but immediately gave the order to slay Sima Zhao. The conflict this order had with the order he gave only seconds ago resulted in confusion and disunity among the Wu troops as some soldiers, perhaps not hearing Lu Kang, continued to follow his previous order. The lack of coordination in the movement of Wu's army resulted in Wei's army utterly crushing the enemy.

Sima Zhao rushed forward and engaged Lu Kang in combat. They exchanged blows on the ground while Sima Shi's forces on the second tiers methodically took out the ballistas that should have been supporting Lu Kang.

"Whatever plan you had, it's clearly falling apart." Sima Zhao joked as he started to push Lu Kang back. Lu Kang grunted in frustration but didn't rise to what he judged to be an obvious attempt to bait him. Still, he cautiously looked over his shoulder, if worst came to worst, there was something he had to do…

"Push forward!" Sima Shi ordered, the soldiers with him continued onward. A few soldiers of Wei were killed by the ballista that had managed to swivel around in time to fire. Yet a few more moments silenced all of the Wu commandeered ballista on the second tier. Soldiers of Wei entered the machines and offered support to Zhao's army on the ground floor.

Lu Kang was helpless to do anything as Sima Shi charged deeper into New Hefei Castle. Zhuge Ke's prediction of Sima Shi's style of attack had been all wrong. What might have been a complete Wu victory would be one they'd be lucky to get out of alive. Lu Kang could only imagine his father expressing dissatisfaction at this sight from the afterlife.

"My lord, the enemy has entered into the interior of the castle. They will soon enter the inner sanctum."

Zhuge Ke grunted. "You failed to halt their advance? Just how worthless are you!?"

The messenger flinched at the threatening tone. "Our stratagem hinged entirely on the assumption that Wei would pool all its resources into breaking down the front door. Yet they left only a token force with the ram, Wei's primary force broke in from the side." He held back the accusation that Zhuge Ke had failed to prepare for every possibility as a strategist should, such a comment would have been answered with an execution order.

Zhuge Ke growled in the back of his throat, but then felt a twinge of fear at Sun Chen's disappointed gaze. "Alright, commander the pyrocannons in New Hefei Castle. I wanted to see Sima Shi's corpse for myself, but it will be enough just to know that the weaponry in the castle slew him. Lord Sun Chen and I will retreat."

The messenger ran off to deliver the information. Zhuge Ke turned to Sun Chen. "My lord, we must retreat. I did not plan on needing to escape, but there are many ways to flee this castle."

On the first tier, ground level of New Hefei Castle, Lu Kang suddenly had his sword swiped out of his hand by Sima Zhao. Then Zhao's sword came dangerously close to Lu Kang's chest before stopping.

Annoyance and frustration mixed in Lu Kang's mind. Wei was winning one of the most complete victories Lu Kang had ever heard about. If Zhuge Ke had only spent more time planning for all possibilities, and hadn't been so completely convinced of exactly what Sima Shi would do, perhaps they would have won.

He put thoughts of Zhuge Ke out of his mind. There were priorities he had to see to. In front of him, Sima Zhao seemed to be relaxing himself, thinking that his part of the battle was over. Taking his chance, Lu Kang struck Sima Zhao's sword with his hand, knocking it out of the Sima's grasp.

Rather then continue the offense on the momentarily weaponless Sima, Lu Kang ran away. Zhuge Ke's life was negligible, but he had to ensure that Master Sun Chen got away safely.

The flame of the pyrocannons filled the halls of New Hefei Castle. The Wu were using them competently enough, but it was clear that the pilots had not had a great amount of time to grow accustomed to the controls. The pyrocannons expelled flames in random directions, heating the interior to New Hefei Castle to dangerous levels.

Sima Shi saw more then a few of his soldiers fall unconscious due to the intense heat. In order to safely reach Zhuge Ke, he had to make a safe path through the captured Wei weapons.

"Draw the Pyrocannons toward us." Shi ordered. "Exploit their slow movements and slay the pilots."

Sima Shi led his strategy. The Wu pilots took notice of their primary target foolishly appearing before them. The pyrocannons slowly moved forward, only to be flanked by the Wei soldiers. They were systematically destroyed, and their pilots mercilessly slain.

The heat started to die down, but it was still inhumanely hot. So hot that even Sima Shi found himself hesitant to continue on down the path. Yet he forced himself, not caring about his own discomfort.

"Keep moving! Our enemy is at the end of this path."

It did not take long for them to break into the inner sanctum. Yet it was completely deserted. Sima Shi frowned.

"Did Zhuge Ke lack the courage to face Master Sima Shi?" Zhuge Dan wondered aloud. He scowled, his dislike for his relative deepening at this act of cowardice.

"Someone was in this room very recently." Sima Shi observed, noticing the clear signs of inhabitance. "Zhuge Ke must have fled once the battle started turning against him. We follow their trail. They had to have left quickly, it's unlikely they took the time to cover their tracks."

"We're almost safe, my lord." Zhuge Ke told Sun Chen. They had already fled the castle from the side, and were approaching one of the exits away from New Hefei Castle. Once they passed, they would have gotten enough of a lead that Wei would have no chance of catching them. While Zhuge Ke was well aware of Sun Chen's… usual punishment for failure, he hoped that his masterful retreat that spared Sun Chen from receiving as much as a nick anywhere on him would mitigate Sun Chen's wrath.

Suddenly, as they were about to leave, a regiment of Wei soldiers appeared to block them.

Deng Ai frowned at the sight of Zhuge Ke. "There will be no escape for you. My duty is to ensure that Master Sima Shi has his vengeance for the attempt on his wife's life."

Zhuge Ke grunted. "Before that, I will have the blemishes on my honor avenged by taking Sima Shi's head as a trophy. You will not take me today."

Deng Ai took out his drill lance and readied himself. Zhuge Ke brandished his sword, ready to fight his way out, when suddenly the sound of the brunt of Wei's military breaking out of the castle was heard.

"Look." Sun Chen said as Sima Shi and Zhuge Dan came up to trap the Wu forces between themselves and Deng Ai. "You and your men are equally worthless. I've never witnessed a more sound defeat in all my life."

Zhuge Ke bit back the retort he wanted to give. As he stared hatefully at Sima Shi, Deng Ai struck the man from behind with his drill lance. Two Wei soldiers moved forward and grabbed Zhuge Ke before he could even begin to pick himself back up.

In time, Zhuge Ke and Sun Chen were both before Sima Shi. Both of the Wu men were burning with rage, but had their rage reserved for different people. Sun Chen's rage was for Zhuge Ke, while Zhuge Ke's rage was for Sima Shi.

"Look at this sight." Zhuge Dan said, looking only at his relative and ignoring the regnant, Sun Chen. "How miserably you lost. But what should I have expected from a man still obsessed with the title of his clan?"

Zhuge Ke let out a hiss. If looks could kill, Zhuge Dan would have fallen dead right there. Zhuge Dan continued to speak. "We are warriors in the service of our masters. We aid them with our own skill and nothing more. Had you realized that, and not been focused only on your clan's name, perhaps you'd have grown into an adversary who wouldn't have so miserably lost to us."

"I… I'm a Zhuge. I vow on my clan's title that someday I will avenge this defeat and restore my clan's name by bathing in Sima blood."

It was as though Zhuge Ke completely forgot the position he was in. Surrounded, disarmed, and clearly living only by the grace of Sima Shi. Zhuge Ke dared to rise, but Deng Ai firmly grabbed the man's shoulder and forced him onto the ground.

Sima Shi stepped forward, lightly amused by the confrontation between Zhuges. Zhuge Dan had found the right path. Zhuge Ke, defeated and yet still unwilling to see his flaws, would now die because of those flaws. Shi was about to cast judgment when a Wei soldier shouted of a man of Wu approaching.

"Lord Sun Chen!" Lu Kang ran forward, killing a handful of Wei soldiers to clear a path. He hoisted the regnant of Wu to his feet and bade the man run to safety with him. The two managed to escape the ring of Wei soldiers, Lu Kang cutting down another four enemy soldiers who tried to stop him.

Sima Shi's soldiers surged after him, but a single command from Shi stopped them.

"Let those two go." The pursuers all stopped, returning to their vigilant watch of Zhuge Ke. Sima Shi turned back to the Zhuge he had just defeated in combat. "We've apprehended the man we came for. We have all the victories we need. We'll face those men of Wu at another time."

As they were retreating, Lu Kang briefly slowed to look back and derive a petty sense of satisfaction at the sight of Zhuge Ke's face. The Wu strategist looked on in horror as Lu Kang and Sun Chen were leaving the battlefield, while he was being left at Wei's mercy. Zhuge Ke turned back to Sima Shi, and he knew that there would be no escape.

The return to Luoyang marked a grand military victory. Zhuge Ke was paraded through the streets with a legion of Wei soldiers ready to gut him if he made any attempt to escape. It was known that Zhuge Ke was the biggest proponent of invasion of Wei, and with his capture Wu would likely be dormant for a time.

Stories were being spread throughout the city. Rumors, perhaps by design, were making Zhuge Ke out to be more skillful a tactician then he actually was. It resulted in further praise and approval for the Sima clan, for it was Sima Shi who had bested Zhuge Ke twice over, taking the Wu strategist captive the second time. Yet, Sima Shi apparently decided to not be present for the execution, he would be elsewhere at this time.

Xiahou Hui was sitting up in her bed. The crisis of her health was over, though she had been recommended to take it easy for some time. Sima Shi was with her. He had already heard that there had been another attempt on his wife's life while he was away. He found himself indebted to those who defended her, and thanked them all individually. Zhang Chunhua's gaze prevented Zhong Hui from trying to start calling in favors for his involvement in preventing the assassination.

After returning, Deng Ai had simply returned to other duties. He had continued to study maps to help him determine how any future attacks by Wu and Shu could be conducted, and form counters to them. Zhuge Dan simply continued to further his skills so that he might better aid Sima Shi. Sima Zhao, on the other hand, had started looking for a place to nap and avoid his duties.

"My lord, is this incident over?" Xiahou Hui asked. Almost in response, a cheer came from outside, piercing through the capital, drowning out all noise. It could have only been the people's response to Zhuge Ke's execution being carried out. Shi was looking out a window but then turned to his wife and nodded.

Xiahou Hui smiled, then slowly got up from the bed. She went to her husband's side. There was a silence between them, Xiahou Hui was used to this. Shi dealt with her aloofly, but she imagined there had been no mercy to those involved in the assassination attempt. Zhuge Ke had been assassinated after all. While Sima Yi had seen to the deaths of many of the Wu assassins who had entered Luoyang. Undoubtedly there were some conspirators in Wu that were still alive, but their confidence had likely been rattled. Her husband was surely the man who would conquer the chaos.

Jiang Wei's latest Northern Campaign had been crushed, and a plot by Wu to assassinate a lady of Wei had been foiled. Both enemy nations would probably be quiet for a time. It would be precious time to work on building up Wei's military, and eliminate the imbeciles in its ranks.

Sima Shi believed that the mandate of the heavens was with him. That destiny itself was supporting his ambition to conquer the land and put an end to the wars perpetuated by the imbeciles of the land. After this incident, he was certain that destiny had decided that Xiahou Hui would be alongside him as he conquered the land.

Shi looked at his wife, the last few days had been spent picking a fight with Wu over her health. There were no further threats to Xiahou Hui's life for the moment. Tomorrow, he would have a long talk with her, and ensure that she informed him of any unexpected gifts she was given before she did anything else.

But today should not be a day he bothered her with things like that.

"Hui, are you hungry?"

Xiahou Hui turned to her husband, her smile never fading. "Only if I can eat with you, my lord."

At Jianye, Sun Chen found himself in the difficult position of answering to the Wu emperor, Sun Liang, youngest son of Sun Quan. The Emperor was only a boy, manhood still far from him, but still his word was sacred law, and Sun Chen could not defy him. On his knees with his head bowed, he could almost kiss the floor. In this position, he heard the emperor speak to him.

"Sun Chen." The young emperor spoke. Despite his youth, he was surprisingly perceptive, and his accusatory tone almost made Sun Chen's heart stop. "Did you forget that it was under my orders, under the advice of your departed cousin, Sun Jun, that Zhuge Ke be assassinated? For what purpose did you attempt to undermine my orders?"

For a moment, Sun Chen was at a loss for words. Yes, yes, it was true that the emperor had desired the assassination. Sun Chen had hoped that by keeping alive one of the few people who advocated aggression against Wei, they could score victories upon Wei and Sun Chen could attain great accolades. With those accolades, Sun Chen planned to back Sun Liang's brother, Sun Xiu, when he inevitably attempted to take the throne for himself.

The emperor had known full well that Sun Chen had saved Zhuge Ke. Sun Chen had been forced to spend a considerable amount of time convincing Sun Liang of Zhuge Ke's worth. Now Zhuge Ke had been killed, and Wu had incurred pointless losses in manpower and supplies because of Zhuge Ke's ineptitude. Sun Chen was the one who would not have to answer for this mistake.

Within the throne room were many officers of Wu, and, without exception, all of them enjoyed this sight. So many of them lived in constant fear of Sun Chen's tyranny. The smallest mistake, the most trivial error, and this man would have them executed. They all enjoyed to see Sun Chen for once know what it was like to be the one cowering in fear of a superior's wrath.

"A… a moment's madness, my lord." Sun Chen said, his voice trembling, knowing that Sun Liang could order his execution at any moment. "I merely thought that despite his failings, he could serve some use. Rest assured, my lord, I will never do such a thing behind your back ever again. May Zhuge Ke rot in the ditch Wei tosses him in."

Sun Liang took a moment to think. Sun Chen was already sweating profusely. "Zhuge Ke still died, even if it was at Wei's hands rather then at the hands of Wu assassins. I intend to put this entire incident behind me. This of course means that Ding Feng and his men are to receive no punishment, everyone will act as though this incident never happened."

Sun Chen nodded frantically, to the point of almost slamming his face onto the floor. After this, the emperor dismissed his regnant with a stern warning. Thankful that he would receive no further punishment, Sun Chen hurriedly left the throne room, still trembling in fear.

In Luoyang, Sima Shi and Xiahou Hui were enjoying a meal. And, of course, there was no poison in anyone's cup this time. The memory of the poisoning must have lingered, as Xiahou Hui drank very cautiously.

Outside of the drink, a servant had just brought in a large plate of meat buns. Sima Shi was keeping his happiness of the sight in check, but the way he stared longingly at the plate betrayed his excitement.

After being placed on the table, Shi's arm almost immediately shot forward to grab a meat bun, but then his eyes caught the sight of his wife on the other end of the table. He paused for a moment, then slowly pushed the plate to his wife as the ultimate sign of love that Shi could give.

"The first meat bun is yours, Hui."

You know, Xiahou Hui would actually be one of my choices for a new Jin character in the games, and I'd say she'd be a better choice then Yang Huiyu or Lady Wu (the other wives Shi had). There's just the little timeline issue of Xiahou Hui historically dying in 234, the same year of The Battle of the Wuzhang Plains, which might offer some complications.

But since Chunhua lived past her historical death to take part in the coup against Cao Shuang, maybe that's a dismissible concern.

Anyway, please review.