Original subtitles

Adapted from the manhua of the same name, The Ravages of Time

The spear, who has it not harmed in the numerous battles

The halberd, its rise and fall is impermanent

The blade, incomparable in this garish world

The long lance, the man from Yan rages in these dark times

The imperial army kills people like grass mown

The warrior defeated is like a mountain toppled

Only when the arrow is used do you regret not having enough of it

The phoenix lost its nest, the azure dragon's horn is severed

Gazing at the Divine Land, nothing remains when you look back after a thousand years of rises and falls

While steering a small boat, create poems over wine describing heroes

Eternal worries blind one to the beauty locked deep in the palace

In every possible strategy, things constantly change and fade away

Past and present matters become topics for idle chatter and enter my dreams

Human life is but a fleeting moment as the times fly past

Translator's Note: the last line of the opening poem of Romance of the Three Kingdoms It is better to keep an open mind with respect to right and wrong or success and failure when evaluating historical developments

General Zheng

Have you ever thought about

what life is ?

It is about birth, aging, sickness and death, right?

No

I am asking about a general's life

When my father was alive, he used to say

enlist in the army at 15

and return once you hit 80

Return?

You mean return after dying on the battlefield, right?

As a general

if you win

an endless number of battles still await you

If you lose

the families of the dead will curse you

and you'll be punished according to military law

If you retreat just before a battle

you will surely be disparaged in the history books

Your descendants will also feel ashamed for life

If you are lucky

you will still be alive at 80

But you will watch the younger generation

fight the enemy on the battlefield

while you yourself have the heart but not the strength to fight

By then

I am afraid it will be more unbearable than death

That is how helpless and absurd

the life of a general is

Do you regret having

chosen

this path?

Episode 14 Those Meant to Die, Will Die in the End

Thank you both for your pointers

It is

suddenly clear to me now

Today

the path we've taken as generals will end

Then

let us complete this journey without a shred of regret

They're here

It's Yuan Shao's vanguard

The leader is Zheng Jie

I've heard of this person

Let them pass

Not bad, not bad

There's still someone who remembers my name

Not bad, not bad

I'll be buried in such a magnificent graveyard

Now

all that's lacking is a spectacular death

This is the vanguard of Yuan Shao's army

The Guandong reinforcements have come

Lord Wen Chou

is still alive

Lord Wen Chou

We are under orders from His Excellency to help you

Lu Bu

Have you figured out what I'm thinking?

Lord Wen Chou's hand

is shaking

Could this

person be…

An opponent who can make Lord Wen Chou this nervous

Looks like it really is him

Another three have come to die

Huang Jun

You will lead the attack

Size up the opponent

That's exactly my intention

Lord Wen Chou is shaking

because as a commander

he cannot decide between wanting to survive or die

Unlike us vanguards

who have long held a firm resolve to die

thus we are not conflicted

Enemy general

State your name

Lu Bu

He's indeed Lu Bu

Do you regret having

chosen

this path?

Today

the path we've taken as generals will end

Then

let us complete this journey without a shred of regret

Lu Bu the War God

His reputation is well-deserved

I died by the War God's halberd

thus I have

died beautifully

He was only 20 years old

and died in battle

As a general

he got to fight against the peerless Lu Bu

He had a worthy death

Brother Zheng

There is a strong enemy before us

Do we have the time to mourn him?

Ma Hong

My hand is also starting to shake

Not out of fear

because we knew early on that we'll have to die today

It is shaking only because

I am very excited

This is my fighting spirit

As a general

when faced with an opponent known as a War God

I only desire battle

Life and death is out of the question, I only desire battle

Lu Bu

I am Ma Hong, vanguard of Yuan Shao's army

I am Zheng Jie, vanguard of Yuan Shao's army

After you

I got to fight the fiercest general in the realm

Even if I die today

I will have no regrets!

Yuan Shao's army is truly brave and fierce

Xiao Meng

If these two attack him together, do they stand a chance?

What's Wen Chou waiting for?

Attack together!

Quiet

Satisfying!

How satisfying!

Lu Bu

Take another one of my blows

I understand now

This type of feeling

The way one recklessly loses oneself

with no hesitation

as if one is invincible

Just that the thrill is only momentary

but the calmness needed before a battle is lost

Lord Wen Chou

He has finally made up his mind

Wen Chou

How many moves should I let you have this time?

There are three of us

Please let us have 30 moves

Lord Wen Chou

This...

Properly experience it

Lu Bu's martial ability isn't the only thing that's terrifying about him

Lu Bu

Do you know what I'm thinking?

Protect His Excellency

Fight out of this encirclement

We shall repay His Excellency today with our deaths

The nosiest one is mine

Dong Zhuo is here

Hua Xiong

Yes

Let's head down

He is finally coming here

Yuan Shao

We have not met in a long time

I did not expect the Xiliang provincial governor from a few years ago

to drastically change into

a villain who has now seized the emperor

This revolution cannot be stopped

Be careful not to stumble if you take it too fast

Life has its ups and downs

Today, it is you who will stumble

If one of the 18 warlords stumbles

there are still 17 left

Unfortunately, warlords without a leader

will only end up slaughtering each other

You think of them as too simple

Correct

Human nature is in no way simple

just like your ambitions

I only care about the emperor

What is the emperor?

The soul of a nation

Without an emperor, there is no nation

Then where does the emperor come from?

From the allegiance of the people,

in accordance with the ways of Heaven

Yuan Shao

Does the emperor still have the allegiance of the people?

Of course!

They just hate the one person who brought

harm to the nation and the people

If he has the allegiance of the people

what started the Yellow Turban rebellion?

There is hunger and suffering in the world,

the people are destitute

How can the warlords live in luxury and turn a blind eye to this?

Dong Zhuo, you are the same

You are in no position to criticize me

What have I done?

And what have you done?

You seized the emperor to control his subjects

But I assembled a righteous army in the realm to fight the rebels

Shut up!

We fought back the Qiang and the Hu people

beyond the Great Wall for decades

Fought over a hundred battles of every scale

to eliminate foreign aggressors for the realm

You people

lived in comfort in the Central Plains

yet you allowed the nation to rot

made the people destitute

and let rebels spring up everywhere

How can you criticize His Excellency?

How absurd

You intend to protect the nation

yet you stationed your soldiers in the imperial capital

to meddle in affairs of state

Aren't you contradicting yourself?

During the Yellow Turban Rebellion

the young emperor ascended the throne

but no one assisted him

The warlords took advantage of the rebellion to expand their power

Every single one of them assembled their own army

that posed a threat to the imperial court

and indulged in military ventures

Civil strife was inevitable

creating a chaotic era not seen in a hundred years

The people of the realm are in a living hell

not knowing when this will end

In order to rescue this desperate situation

I dared to risk universal condemnation

to help the emperor root out disloyalty

Did I commit any wrong?!

Do you think rooting out disloyalty can bring peace to the realm?

Dong Zhuo

Governing the realm is not that simple

The emperor exists in accordance with the ways of Heaven

That is just an excuse you all use to realize your own ambitions

Try asking if anyone has seen Heaven or heard Heaven's orders

Yuan Shao, the Heavens have fallen!

Your theory is actually no different from the Yellow Turban rebels

Rebels? Why are they rebels?

Yuan Shao, I want to eliminate all the rebels like you,

who have high positions and usurp state power

to cleanse

the realm

Eliminate bad blood and incite great disorder

only then will people know what to treasure

You are covering up your misdeeds by blaming others

What a load of nonsense!

Damn the generations of high-ranking officials and nobles

Die, all of you

Your Excellency

Have the Heavens really fallen?

Dong Zhuo

The idea you have of governing the realm

is bound to be fleeting

like my life

There is only one outcome from defying the Heavens

Dong Zhuo

Your final days are approaching

Yuan Shao is dead

Is this what is meant to comply with Heaven's will?

Go down the mountain and retrieve Yuan Shao's head

Send it to the old royal capital

General Lu! General Lu!

What happened here?

Hua Xiong

Looks like Lu Bu is more popular than I am

D-Dong Zhuo is here

Don't tell me Lord Yuan Shao has…

What a great blade technique

Did you see that?

That's the Dragging Blade technique

General Lu! General Lu!

That switch was truly wonderful

Looks like

everyone has forgotten the meaning of “gather outside the city”

U-Uncle

Three against one

Not bad, not bad

Yes

He let them have dozens of moves

He even put someone

as strong as Wen Chou completely under his control

Hua Xiong

What do you think I see?

In my view, he intends to show off

I see that

Lu Bu is building up his reputation

Hereafter, there will be a long, troubled era

I am old

My desire to unify the realm

might not be fulfilled in my lifetime

Will you be able to

fulfill it in my stead?

Uncle

Lu Bu's reputation is rapidly rising to a level

much higher than yours

If I die

are you able to control Lu Bu?

Or will you let Lu Bu control you?

Uncle

You mean that Lu Bu will take my place

No one knows what Lu Bu is thinking

Although His Excellency and Lu Bu are ruler and subject in name

they're actually no different from a father and son

But this person previously killed

his adoptive father Ding Yuan for fame and profit

I think you are inviting future trouble, Your Excellency

Governing a nation is like riding a tiger

Using people is the same

If one can control a fierce tiger

nothing in this world cannot be resolved

I don't have your riding skill, Uncle

Then

once Lu Bu kills these three people

the ending can no longer be changed

After I die, Lu Bu will definitely take your place

Your 30 moves are almost done

You might get hurt from the blade and spear

Why did you come here, Young Master?

Wen Chou!

Your lord, Yuan Shao, is dead

Why don't you surrender at once?

Yuan Shao is dead! Surrender now!

Yuan Shao is dead! Surrender!

Young Master, I am afraid they...

They will not do as I wish, will they?

I'll say this one more time, surrender at once!

We generals would rather die

than surrender to the enemy!

I've caught his halberd, hurry!

Good!

A life for a life

Unfortunately

your lives

are not worthy

Wen Chou

I have let you have your 30 moves

What are you thinking?

Can he see through my thoughts?

You do not fight

yet you do not surrender

Huang'er

Are you finally taking action?

Now that Yuan Shao is dead

the Guandong Coalition is leaderless

It will inevitably collapse

They say that a talented individual is free to choose his superior

Wen Chou, which path will you take?

I am not like Lu Bu

I am still loyal

Foolishly loyal

The realm is in great chaos

because there are too many mediocre individuals like Yuan Shao

Lu Bu is different from you

He can tell right from wrong

that's why he chose our righteous army

Because he knows that

only our Dong family can resolve

the predicament that the realm is in

That's why he's willing to be reviled by the people of the realm

to remain utterly dedicated to us until death

Well said, Young Master

General Lu is loyal to the Dong family

He abandoned his wrong ways and chose the right side

Completely different from your foolish loyalty

Wen Chou, surrender!

Look at Young Master's heroism

It's so similar to His Excellency back then

Clever kid, you were able to remind the soldiers

that Lu Bu was a disloyal person

from persuading the enemy to surrender

then praise Lu Bu for being loyal

giving Lu Bu a way out of this embarrassment

He basically killed two birds with one stone

In this way, even if Lu Bu rebels, he will not get support

However, Young Master's position is now unshakable

Huang'er, you have grown up

I swear to fight to the death!

Dong Zhuo, you will pay for His Excellency's death!

Stop him!

You are attempting the impossible

This person is really powerful

They can't hold him

You incompetent bunch

What are you afraid of?

Capture him!

The entire Xiliang Army is trash apart from Lu Bu!

Those who stand in my way will die!

Wen Chou, I will fight you

I was waiting for you

W-What do you mean?

You idiot

You actually left His Excellency's side

What do you mean?

D-Don't tell me…

Is this

Yuan Shao's head?

He did not die beautifully

Lu Bu previously killed his adoptive father Ding Yuan for fame and profit

I think

you are

inviting future trouble, Your Excellency

Father, this person is…

Someone who should be dead

He first disguised himself as my soldier to kill Yuan Shao

then brought Yuan Shao's fake head here

If I had been a little careless

this person would have taken the opportunity

to start a revolt and capture me

This would then turn the tide for Yuan Shao

This person who can devise such a strategy during a losing battle

must be the famous Yuan Fang

Leave home, your father is safe

The stylus carves out the landscape, depicting the thousand mile journey home in every inch of the drawing

Part ways with your father, your wife is safe

The bride stays home alone, how many lines have been written in the letters over these ten years

Part ways with your wife, the children are safe

The sword leans propped up against the fence, facing a line of geese returning home

Men who have left home miss their families

If this parting cannot be overcome, you remain closed off to the vastness of the world

Men who have left home miss their families

One night of a reed pipe playing brings pain to the faces of the soldiers in the entire camp

Separation in life is painful for the soldiers on the ground

Separation in death is painful for the dead under the banners

Having no family is painful, no clothes can't be mended

Having no wife is painful, who will I be buried with?

Being childless is painful, there is no place to return to

Having no roots is even more painful

Leave home, your father is safe

The stylus carves out the landscape, depicting the thousand mile journey home in every inch of the drawing

Part ways with your father, your wife is safe

The bride stays home alone, how many lines have been written in the letters over these ten years

Part ways with your wife, the children are safe

The sword leans propped up against the fence, facing a line of geese returning home

Men who have left home miss their families

If this parting cannot be overcome, you remain closed off to the vastness of the world

Men who have left home miss their families

One night of a reed pipe playing brings pain to the faces of the soldiers in the entire camp

Separation in life is painful for the soldiers on the ground

Separation in death is painful for the dead under the banners

Having no family is painful, no clothes can't be mended

Having no wife is painful, who will I be buried with?

Being childless is painful, there is no place to return to

Having no roots is even more painful