[LP CYOA] 傳

[Kipeci]

And because if we knock both their heads and say "settle down" that's very different from knocking just Bai Jiutian's head and declaring victory for the Fire Cult.

Allowing them to escape with their lives isn't quite the same as them gloriously achieving victory, and I think that they're in a bad enough state by now that they clearly recognize this. Even if we beat them for the sake of the Fire Cult, we are not in any way an initiate of it, they can hardly declare a victory based on us siding with them. Quite frankly, the Fire Cult's been knocked enough without us needing to add onto it, especially considering how Jing's refusal of their proposal already indirectly led to a number of them being killed. If the overmighty Orthodox sects are humbled a little by the experience, good, maybe that'll teach them to be less bloodthirsty.

In the latter case, they'll be pissed and we're in for the whole battle and hoping for victory.

If your argument that defeating BJ will demoralize their side and lead to them ending the fight is valid, I don't know why not also attacking Vahista at once would suddenly cause them to fight to the death. Wouldn't they be more demoralized if their champion is gone AND Vahista is up and running AND Xu Jing appears to have taken the other side?

At the same time, we alienate the fuck out of the Orthodox sects if we go with 2 (and we kinda like the frathouse, the Emei, Song Lingshu, etc.; Jing is strangely on good terms with a lot of Eight Sects heads despite his massive unorthodox rep) and if we go with 1 we alienate the shit out of the Fire Temple and quite possibly Yunzi.

The Orthodox sect members that we have a personal relationship aren't the ones likely to be upset with us joining up with the Fire Cult. Song Lingshu would probably be receptive to us talking about how we wanted to prevent some sort of massacre, and the others are kind've occupied by being under a cliffside at the moment. At any rate, the Frathouse & Co. definitely don't care for the overly zealous of their kind, so I don't think they'd really be all that mad about us stopping the bloodshed by joining up with the other side. Our rep will go to shit among the orthodox folks who we don't know personally (most specifically Huashan if we strike down BJ), but then again, that's already in the sewer anyway and those that we already consider bros will understand us. Meanwhile, the Fire Cult isn't going to be too impressed with Jing killing their dudes to stop the fighting when their fighters are attempting to secure the safety of their weaker members.

 

[Baltika9]

The Brazilian Slaughter, can you be persuaded to vote for D2A?

 

[Nevill]

I would vote for something that gets us Yunzi points, but what that might be is quite unclear. She has a lot of pride, so I doubt she would want us interfering in her fight with the Huashan twins. Maybe D2 or D3 would be, but I'm not sure how deep her loyalty to the Fire Cult runs. She seemed less than certain herself during our brief discussion after the ghost manor. In the absence of a good choice on that front, I'll go with doing what Zhang Jue would want us to do.

B3A

In the updates that no longer exist, right before our separation Yunzi mentioned that she considers herself to be one of them (she said specifically "you are not one of us", which implies that she is, and then Jing thought to himself that it must be a very serious commitment). She may not like their leadership and she may not be thrilled by the prospect of her marriage, but she is sympathetic to the plight of these people.

Her loyalty runs pretty deep. I guess she will appreciate it if you didn't fuck up her people more than they already were.

 

[Baltika9]

treave, some questions about the battle:
How big is the battle as a whole? What is the Fire Cult's best bet of getting the fuck out of here ASAP?
Are the orthodox sects holding any chokepoints?

 

[Nevill]

For anyone worried that they do not want to be allies with the Fire Cult, there is this line to consider:

The stance in the first choice only relates to that particular fight, you're not expected to fight the entire field. You aren't the Sword Saint, after all.

Basically, our help to either side will not extend beyond this one battle. If there will be other skirmishes, nothing precludes us from helping the other side should we chose so. It is not a declaration of a permanent alliance, it is just that in certain cases helping one side makes more sense as far as the overall plan is concerned.

 

[Smashing Axe]

A poor reputation puts OUR life at risk.

How so?

I mean, I keep hearing about how B3 will help us with our reputation of a badass, but if it does not help us complete the actual challenge (and it does not), then what is the point? What are you aquiring that reputation for? What threats does it help to ward off that you have to mention the risk to our lives?

ZJ's 'disappointment'

And yes, B3 helps us with the challenge. Although defeating BJ in this melee may or may not "count", we'll glean enough knowledge of his capabilities and weaknesses in battle that it will help when it is finally time to take him down.

And we may grievously wound him in this battle anyway which will make him insignificant to the challenge. Our techniques maim more than his, I daresay.

 

[treave]

treave, some questions about the battle:
How big is the battle as a whole? What is the Fire Cult's best bet of getting the fuck out of here ASAP?
Are the orthodox sects holding any chokepoints?

So, you want a battlefield analysis? I suppose I could justify Jing having one from his training in military precepts and the art of war, but is that what you guys really want to know? It might stop certain lines of speculation.

 

[Nevill]

ZJ's 'disappointment'

We need to do our challenge to prevent that.

And we may grievously wound him in this battle anyway which will make him insignificant to the challenge. Our techniques maim more than his, I daresay.

If you do it in a way that does not let people see clearly who is the better fighter (which is, BTW, is 1-on-1 duel - or n-on-1, provided that you are the one fighting alone), then you've just failed the challenge. I mean, if people don't agree that the fight was fair, what do you do to fix it if he is maimed? It is like poisoning him - yes, it weakens him, but it does not help you in any way, and it leads to the very same Zhang's disappointment that you are trying to avoid.

So, you want a battlefield analysis? I suppose I could justify Jing having one from his training in military precepts, but is that what you guys really want to know? It might stop certain lines of speculation.

Everyone has certain goals in mind and it would be good to know what helps achieve them best, yes.

 

[Baltika9]

For my part, I'd love to know the following:
Numbers. What are the Cult's weakest points right now?
What's the best way to evacuate the Fire Cult ASAP? Related to this, are there any choke points held by the Orthodox sects that we can clear up? Or is the battle in a clear enough area that the cultists can scatter in whichever direction they wish?

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

The Brazilian Slaughter, can you be persuaded to vote for D2A?

Punch these Huashan and Kunlun faggots to allow the Fire Recruits to flee?

We never interacted enough with the Kunlun to even hate them anyway, and Huashan are dicks. Bunch of dicks picking on the fleeing.
Makes sense to go Fire Cult here, nobody we like cares for these faggot sects.

One thing I got in mind: I always had in mind to have Jing be a unorthodox dude with bros amongst the orthodox sects, mainly Emei, Wudang, Shaolin and Beggars, which seem to be the most bro sects, while not giving a shit to dickish sects like Huashan.

The people who know us here are Guo Fu, Yunzi, Bai Jiutian, the Twin Flowers, Vahista and possibly Song Lingshu; We're kind of bros with the frathouse but they're a bit busy under a cliff for the moment, and possibly dead (we will never get the Eighteen Xialong Palms! NOOOOOOO!). Seems like pretty much all the heads of the Eight Sects just got whacked, except Sing Lingshu. Not good.

As I said before, I think the Sword Saint going Fire Cult if we ask him is more probable than him going Orthodox, because he doesn't think the Orthodox should have went in and slaughtered the Fire Cult like that. I think that whatever we choose, the Sword Saint will not trouble Jing because he knows Jing is not the problem here.

There's also Zhang, who is a total wildcard, who may jump the Sword Saint, brofist or fight him, sit down and watch the fight, kill Vahista, go away to frolick in the fields, go to a cave and secretly cry because of all the lost fighters he could've killed instead (DAMN YOU, CLIFF! FIGHT ME!)

Still, I think it is a good option.

Done.
D2A

 

[Baltika9]

There's also Zhang, who is a total wildcard, who may jump the Sword Saint, brofist or fight him,

Zhang and Shagguan are obviously BROS and will be going for a beer after this is all over. Fuck, why wait, they'll go for two brewskis during the battle.

We never interacted enough with the Kunlun to even hate them anyway, and Huashan are dicks. Bunch of dicks picking on the fleeing.
Makes sense to go Fire Cult here, nobody we like cares for these faggot sects.

Never change.

 

[Smashing Axe]

ZJ's 'disappointment'

We need to do our challenge to prevent that.

The challenge IS to have a reputation as the greatest pugilist of our generation.

And we may grievously wound him in this battle anyway which will make him insignificant to the challenge. Our techniques maim more than his, I daresay.

If you do it in a way that does not let people see clearly who is the better fighter (which is, BTW, is 1-on-1 duel - or n-on-1, provided that you are the one fighting alone), then you've just failed the challenge. I mean, if people don't agree that the fight was fair, what do you do to fix it if he is maimed? It is like poisoning him - yes, it weakens him, but it does not help you in any way, and it leads to the very same Zhang's disappointment that you are trying to avoid.

Irrelevant, if he's maimed he's out of the running. Besides, Zhang doesn't disapprove of mauling an opponent terribly in the heat of battle.

Altering my vote to 2x. I don't care whether the sword saint participates.

Edit: Significant part bolded

“Very astute of you. Good. The competition is just a sideshow. The prelude to the real test I have for you. Xu Jing, I order you to go to each of the eight major orthodox sects, and challenge the best of their young disciples. I have heard stories of how this generation – your generation – has the potential to be the best pugilists ever seen. I expect my disciple to be the greatest amongst them. Do anything you have to win, to show that you are the strongest. Maim them if you have to. Kill them if you need to.”

 

[Absinthe]

You D2A voters do realize that unless you are planning on winning the entire battle for the Fire Temple or having the Sword Saint sort you all out, you will need to confront Guo Fu?

 

[Baltika9]

Why? It's not like he's holding any important choke points. We just need to get the Cult moving, and the fifty men that are keeping him pinned can move with the rest.

 

[Absinthe]

It seems Guo Fu is blocking the Cultists' escape route, so unless we are planning on fighting our way through the orthodox group, we have to escape through Guo Fu if we go with 2.

Of course we could also have the Sword Saint beat the shit out of us along with everyone else when he decides to put an end to this mess.

 

[Kipeci]

You D2A voters do realize that unless you are planning on winning the entire battle for the Fire Temple or having the Sword Saint sort you all out, you will need to confront Guo Fu?

I'm not sure how facing Guo Fu is supposed to be something more intimidating than facing Vahista and BJ at once, even were we to be forced into fighting him (which seems unlikely).

 

[Baltika9]

Where does it say that?

 

[Absinthe]

Facing Guo Fu isn't more intimidating, but considering we're trying to be bros, it's not a good way to go. Also, if we don't go 3, Murong Yandi might be forced to fight us (he's already announced he's voting 3 -> attack both sides).

 

[Baltika9]

What about this:

C. Guo Fu is cut off from his Wudang brothers, surrounded by more than fifty Fire Cult fighters and holding them off single-handedly. You do not know how long he can last.

Makes you think Bro Fu is holding an escape point? Yeah, fifty culists are trying to keep him in check and contained, otherwise he will fuck them up (the man is a total meat tank), but it doesn't say anything about escape routes.

 

[Absinthe]

Baltika9, it's not that but this:

They won't pull back. Yunzi is stubborn and Guo Fu is tasked with the important duty of blocking the cult's path of retreat. If you want to have them stand down without fighting you, best way is to clear their foes for them then talk.

As for the Sword Saint, you can't predict what he'll do. You can only ask, but he makes his own decision... it is possible that you might end up facing him on the field, for example.

 

[Anabanana]

I'm pretty much hoping that we can hold off the orthodox sects in D to prevent deaths while the sword saint actually does the heavy lifting of stopping the battle.

 

[treave]

Okay.

First off, this isn’t a military battle with well-defined lines and formations. It is occurring in a particularly deep area of the valley, almost a pass, and the orthodox pugilists have circled around the cultists and cut them off. Guo Fu is holding down the fort single-handedly at one end, if the bulk of the Fire Cult is to flee successfully, they must get past him.

In terms of numbers, the orthodox are estimated to number around a hundred and fifty in total while the cultists have a little over a hundred men left. Half of that is busy trying to clear out Guo Fu from one end of the battlefield, while the other are occupied with fighting against the orthodox side.

The objective of the Fire Cult is most probably to retreat, but that is very difficult at the moment thanks to Bai Jiutian and the Huashan Twins tying up Vahista and Yunzi. Without Vahista they will be unable to get past Guo Fu, and Yunzi is the number one priority for the evacuation. The more experienced fighters will stay and fight to break her out; most of them are the ones attempting to put Guo Fu down in order to secure an escape route quickly. Other routes are either not obvious enough or too risky to attempt as long as they still have enemies on their tail. They are also being separated from each other by the more numerous orthodox pugilists, though does not seem to be an intentional strategy of the orthodox side. Thanks to their numerical superiority and Guo Fu appearing to have enough endurance to tie down fifty men at a go, the orthodox side has the advantage in leveraging their numbers: as the battle wears on, it becomes more likely that they suppress the fighting cultists and become able to gang up on either Vahista or Yunzi, or both.

It is also a possibility that should you enter the fight between Vahista and Bai Jiutian, Vahista will take the chance to make a break for it as per what you think his objectives are, attempting to join up with Yunzi and then charge past Guo Fu.

 

[Baltika9]

Wow, Guo Fu is a monster. As things are, I don't see Vahista and Yunzi abandoning the little guys to a slaughter and their loss will be regrettable, especially since we are in a position to pull their asses out of the fire. As a matter of fact, that dozen or so that are tied up with the Kunlun/Huashan may be enough to finally move Guo Fu out of the way. Also, those guys aren't exactly pushovers either and after they have sliced the junior cultists up, they will be free to isolate either Vahista or Yunzi and capture/kill them, which will be horrible for the Cult. With another dozen men, Guo Fu can be moved out of the way and, really, he has to be moved out of the way, unless we want the Cult to get exterminated here or winning the whole battle for them.

Sticking to D2, and I think that that is the best course of action here, unless someone else has a better way to help the Fire Cult escape out of here ASAP.

 

[treave]

I don't see Vahista and Yunzi abandoning the little guys to a slaughter.

Vahista will grab the Holy Maiden and run and the rest of the cult will sacrifice their lives to make that happen if necessary. Bai Jiutian is the only thing preventing him from doing just that at this very moment: he's dangerous enough that Vahista cannot simply ignore him.

Assuming that Jing's reading of the situation is correct, that is.

 

[Nevill]

I think you'd have to have The Sword Saint to interfere with either Guo Fu or BJ fights to allow the Cult to flee.

If 50 men can not move Guo Fu, a dozen or so of youngsters will not make a difference. They'll need heavy hitters to go past him.

Vahista will grab the Holy Maiden and run and the rest of the cult will sacrifice their lives to make that happen if necessary.

Is there an option to sacrifice Vahista while the rest of the cult flees with Yunzi?
Eh, thought so.