(Author: Hello all. I am trying to write a story about war and strife so I hope you all enjoy it.)

Prologue and Chapter 1: City of Blood

Zhuang finally had his prayers answered as he put on his costume. He had finally received the call for a stunt double. All his years of learning martial arts and twin swords finally paid off.

He wore a white silk robe with gold flowers embroidered on the hem of his robe, a steel chain shirt beneath the robes, and had twin swords in his hands. The swords he wielded could only be found in a fantasy or cartoon show. He didn't know what metal they were made of save that it was indestructible and never dulled or lost its shine. He had been allowed to practice with the swords and was about to film his scene.

One the blade of the sword in his right hand, the outer edges of the blade were the color of steel but the middle surface of the blade was a dark purple and had intricate designs crafted form the guard to half of the length of the blade. The sword on his right was the same except the color was a bright crimson.

"Finally," Zhuang, surnamed Ji, thought. "I'm finally going to be a stunt man. It's only a matter of time until I star in my own movie."

He walked into the set and closed his eyes as the bright lights focused on him. He was about to put his satchel down and begin his first filming. This was it. His moment to shine. That's what should have happened.

He held his head as he felt dizzy. He shook his head as he tried to stay conscious, but felt something akin to an earthquake shake beneath him. The people at the set's eyes grew wide as they saw a flash of jade and Zhuang Ji was gone.

"Ugh," Zhuang said as he rubbed his head and slowly stood up. "Did I suffer a migraine?"

Zhuang stepped back in surprise and awe as he witnessed the scene in front of him. It looked so real but the concept was wrong. Japanese samurai were not supposed to be in the Chinese fantasy movie. He also knew that there was not rape and assault scene as he saw a woman dragged into a wooden house while another house was full of crying and moaning.

He instantly knew it wasn't a fake porn movie when he saw a child get slashed with a sword and fell still in front of him, the boy's body twitching as his eyes stayed open and never closed.

"What the heck is going on? I didn't sign up for this!" Zhuang cried and slashed at the nearest samurai he saw. His heart grew cold as he had killed a man, but was too busy to care as he tried to stop the rapist and murderers.

"Thank you," some of the people sobbed after Zhuang had killed some of the samurai before the others bolted. He trained in martial arts since he was five. Only his act of killing made him feel grief. What happened? Where was he? He didn't see any cameras and people were dead and stayed dead.

Zhuang decided that survival was his priority and ran into an abandoned house. He grabbed some discarded meat buns and stuffed them in his satchel that contained two bottles of water and a granola bar. He also went into other abandoned homes and put in copper and silver coins in his satchel. He didn't know what country the coin was from and was in too much of a hurry to care.

Now that he got supplies and what seemed to be money, he needed to run. The Chinese looking soldiers looked like they were losing against the samurai. He saw a large manor in the center of the city and ran in that direction. He was sure there would be soldiers there guarding the mansion from the samurai.

Zhuang sneaked his way toward the manor as the number of samurai increased. He was confident against a small group but not if they were organized and led by an officer. He picked up a discarded longbow and a quiver. He put the quiver on his back and adjusted the strap before collecting arrows.

He silently thanked his parents for letting him take archery and martial arts lessons as he picked off stray samurai with his arrows as he shot their backs. Blood and corpses littered the floor as Zhuang reached the manor. He saw three samurai fighting a massive soldier guarding the door and decided that his next few moves would determine his fate.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He nocked an arrow, adjusted his aim, and let the arrow loose. He kept his arm in position for a few seconds before throwing the bow aside as he drew his swords. His shot hit a samurai in the lower back region and caused the samurai to fall to his knees in pain. The soldier took advantage and beheaded him. The other two samurai were outraged and turned to face Zhuang.

"Who is that fellow?" the soldier asked as he saw Zhuang fight the samurai. Zhuang put his sword at an angle and the samurai's sword was reflected and hit the floor. Zhuang yelled as he stabbed the samurai in the neck with his other sword and push kicked him forward. The other samurai yelled a few words, but Zhuang didn't hear him as he leapt forward and fully extended his right arm forward, piercing the neck of the samurai. After all, samurai did not have armor around their neck and was the safest target to strike for a kill.

"What happened Cao Chu?" a large man with dark black armor and a sword as large as he was tall asked as he and a few soldiers left the manor. The man's four wives and two daughter saw Zhuang rip off a piece of cloth from a fallen samurai and clean his swords before he slid them in their sheaths.

"I don't know Lord Liao Chu," the soldier answered. "That young man appeared from nowhere and saved my life. I believe that young man is a wandering scholar based on the silk robes he wears. As for the swords, I have never seen anything like them."

"I thank you for saving my soldier from the invaders," Liao shouted as Zhuang approached the manor. "May I ask his savior's name?"

"I am Zhuang from the Ji clan," Zhuang replied, thinking that this was similar to ancient China but wasn't as samurai didn't exist in China during the Three Kingdoms. If he hadn't been in danger, he would have fainted from shock as he learned that he was not on Earth.

"Lord Liao Chu!" a general cried as a force of four hundred men arrived. "We need to evacuate the city. Cao Ma has turned traitor and approaches from the southern gate. Our army of ten thousand strong waits for you at the eastern gate. I don't know how long they can hold their position."

"Then we leave immediately! Cao Chu, you and your soldiers will guard the harem and my daughters," Liao ordered and looked at Zhuang. "Young scholar, I ask for your aid. Join me in escaping from the city."

Zhuang grinned as his plan worked and said, "I will humbly accept Lord Liao's offer. I will join you in your escape."

Zhuang and the others forced their way through many samurai. Zhuang sighed as he looked at his white robes as the battle dragged on. There was no way to salvage his robes. He took his anger out on the samurai and cut them down, leaving the officers to the more experienced soldiers.

"That kid can fight," Liao murmured as Zhuang looked like he was dancing with his twin swords. One sword would follow the other like water as Zhuang moved in a fluid motion that seemed endless.

"We ride to the Wu Province!" Liao Chu roared and got on a horse. Zhuang paused as he heard a meow from a rich looking house. He ran into the house and saw many slain guards and nobles. He gasped as he saw corpses of giant tigers and a small tiger cub the size of a kitten staring at him. Zhuang decided to take the tiger, seeing all the corpses. He figured that the tiger was tamed and the tiger merely purred as it ran alongside its new master.

"This is definitely not Earth," Zhuang muttered as he got on a horse, the tiger cub on his lap. "Tiger cubs are not the size of a kitten and tigers aren't raised as house pets. All I can do is follow that Liao Chu and learn more about this planet."

Main Page Chapter 2: Escape to Wu