History Characters / RavagesOfTime

* [[spoiler: PeacefulInDeath]]:[[spoiler: When Sun Ce finally dies after three months of suffering, Zhou Yu sees his spirit, [[ThisWasHisTrueForm gradually returning to his child form]], run back to his father's arms (courtesy of Yue Ji's hypnosis).]]

* WellDoneSonGuy

* [[spoiler: ChekhovsGunman]]: [[spoiler:He's the boy who calls Shan Wu Ling "big sister" in a blink-and-you-will-miss-it moment in volume 6. Turns out they're not related at all.]]

!!SunCe

* [[spoiler: FakingTheDead]]: [[spoiler:Twice against Yue Ji's assassination attempts.]]
* GeniusBruiser: "A Lu Bu with Sun Tzu's wisdom", indeed.

* [[spoiler: WellDoneSonGuy]]:[[spoiler: Surprisingly, a straight example. He condemns the path of loyalty which killed his father, but it's not until he dies that we know he also has great doubts about his faith, because he fears his father's spirit might condemn him.]]

[[Sun Ce's faction]]

* EvenTheGuysWantHim: As said, [[spoiler: he's Diao Chan]], though to be fair, most of the guys infatuated with him (Dong Zhuo, his sons and nephew, etc.) do not know he's male. However, knowing he's one doesn't stop Liaoyuan Huo and Lu Bu from having the hots for him.

* TenMinuteRetirement

* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Even when the means involve ordering genocide-level massacre, and ''exaggerating'' it to scare off his enemies [[spoiler: which of course works like magic]].

* BadassCrew: Cao Cao's advisors include, among other talents, ''three'' of the Eight Geniuses, [[spoiler: later joined by ''Sima Yi'']]. His generals: [[BadassFamily many from his own family]], [[BadassFamily the Xiahou brothers]], [[TheBigGuy Xu Chu]], [[TheBerserker Dian Wei]], [[TheSmartGuy Yu Jin]], and later [[spoiler: Zhang Liao]] are either strong like monsters, or extremely well-rounded physically and mentally.

* [[spoiler: DespairEventHorizon]]: [[spoiler: Quite a lot, considering the amounts of ass-kicking dealt to them in the tenth volume by Jia Xu and in later volumes by Cao Cao. The crowning despair event occurs during the Xiapi campaign, when they fall for Guo Jia's trap and are besieged on all sides by flood, sicknesses, rapidly declining food rations, being cut off from other troops, and there are no longer any allies they can count. Even those who have followed Lu Bu since the beginning decide against staying with him on this sinking boat and defect to Cao Cao.]]

* LegacyCharacter: [[spoiler: He dons Lu Bu's headband in his image, and takes up Gao Shun's charging style when he fights for Cao Cao in the Guandu campaign.]]

* TeenGenius

* BlackEyesOfEvil: WordOfGod says it's only for scary effects, though. And he's not so much a bad guy as a rather hardcore utilitarian, who respects quite a lot of conservative ethnic codes.

* UndyingLoyalty: [[spoiler: Dian Wei takes this trope UpToEleven. Even when ''he's cut into two'', ''he still bellows for his leg to get up and kill the enemy together''. They has to cut off his head to kill him for real.]]

* BadassCrew: Lu Bu has Chen Gong, Zhang Liao and Gao Shun.

* WorldsStrongestMan: And ''strongest'' he is! As long as he doesn't engage in a fight with Guan Yu or Zhang Fei, Lu Bu is the only fighter who never, ever fails to utterly [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomp his opponents]], whether they are Yuan Shu's thousand-soldiered army, or a team of up to ''five'' of Cao Cao's best generals with his sheer strenght, skills, [[NighInvulnerability]] and badassery.

* [[spoiler: DespairEventHorizon]]: [[spoiler: The sight of his beloved daughter being cut in half by Xu Chu, and trampled to death under horse' feet during a failed siege breakout is a particularly ''gut-wrenching'' one for Lu Bu. Then he goes on full berserk mode and take out all of his opponents (who are the Xiahou brothers, Xu Chu, Xu Huang, Han Hao,.. yeah, kind of the cream of the crops in Cao Cao's entire army.]]

* BlackEyesOfEvil

* AFatherToHisMen: Zhang Liao.

* BadassCrew: Chen Gong, Zhang Liao and Gao Shun.
* CoolOldGuy: Chen Gong.

* WorldsStrongestMan
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder

* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: He's known for betraying and killing his two foster fathers, robbing his ally Liu Bei of Xuzhou, and even abandoning his own troops to save his skin. His biggest defeats (in Changan, Buoyang and finally Xiapi, where he meets his death) are caused by his allies' betrayals, and the last one is caused by his own brother-in-law.]]
* PapaWolf

* [[spoiler: GoOutWithASmile]]: [[spoiler: Because his Xiao Cha [[TogetherInDeath returns to take him with her]].]]

* [[spoiler: Patricide]]: [[spoiler: He fails.]]
* RefusalOfTheCall: [[spoiler: He's never really that interested in taking over the Yuan clan or China, for that matter, but his uncle insists. When he makes it clear that he would much rather spend the rest of his life with his beloved woman, his uncle kills that girl and reveals that ''he'' is his father. This coming out has the desired effect of prompting Yuan Fang to scheme relentlessly to take over the clan for revenge.]]

* {{Badass}}: All of his generals have at least one shining moment.

* BadassCrew: Cao Cao's advisors include, among other talents, ''three'' of the Eight Geniuses, [[spoiler: later joined by ''Sima Yi'']]. His generals: [[BadassFamily many from his own family]], [[BadassFamily the Xiahou brothers]], [[TheBigGuy Xu Chu]], [[TheBerserker Dian Wei]], [[TheSmartGuy Yu Jin]], and later [[spoiler: [[Badass Zhang Liao]]]] are either strong like monsters, or extremely well-rounded physically and mentally.

* UndyingLoyalty: [[spoiler: Dian Wei takes this trope UpToEleven. Even when he's cut into two, he still bellows for his leg to get up and kill the enemy together. They has to cut off his head to kill him for real.]]

* TheBerserker: Xu Chu and Dian Wei, but ''especially'' [[ImplacableMan Dian]] [[LikeABadassOutOfHell Wei]], [[spoiler: who tries to kill his enemy despite [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe being cut into two]]. Xiahou Dun can be this when he's too caught up in the bloodlust of the fight.

* BadassCrew

* GeniusBruiser: Yu Jin.

* TheBerserker: Xu Chu and Xiahou Dun are normally level-headed, but if things get out of hand they're the ones most prone to this.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: He tends to get too deeply involved in warlord conflicts for the sake of family business. He's aware of the risks but keeps at it because of the big profits. Before long, his clan has drawn Cao Cao's attention, and the secret of his underhanded businesses with the Crippled Legion become a major weakness to exploit. [[spoiler: That's how Xun Yu forces his clan to surrender for Cao Cao to extort money from, until its near financial collapse. Pang Tong also makes use of it to persuade him into raising a mutiny against Cao Cao, and causes its demise.]]

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: With Sima Yi. You don't see the teeth-clenching that often since they both prioritizes Cao Cao's victory and are not unwilling to put aside their differences, [spoiler: but these two guys are likely to scheme to get rid of each other the moment victory is served.]]

* HistoricalBeautyUpgrade: Historically he's an ugly guy, but in Ravages of Time he is the coolest looking of the Eight Geniuses.

* [[spoiler: BestServedCold]]: [[spoiler: After the fall of his family, he feigns surrender and allies himself with Cao Cao's faction. His true goal ? Make Cao Cao the most powerful warlords in China, so that one day he can usurp his place and let Cao Cao know the taste of losing everything.]]

* KingIncognito: He likes to wear servant's clothes and goes around acting like one. It frequently leads to [[RightInFrontOfMe Right In Front Of You]] moments, when people realize (usually too late) that he's the de facto leader of Sima clan and the guy in command of the Crippled Legion.

* RefusalOfTheCall: The beginning narration states that he's repeatedly had a dream which prophesies his and his son's ruling of the Wei empire and lording over Cao Cao's descendants, which is, in true prophetic dream style, as obvious about his destiny as obviousness can get, but he refuses to think much about it. Liaoyuan Huo is convinced his strategic brilliance can be used for good, but he isn't interested. [[spoiler: He no longer refuses the call [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive after his clan is exterminated]].]]

* TheMole: Plays this often. [[spoiler: The leader succeeding Liaoyuan Huo, Xu Ding, is one for Cao Cao.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: He accepts Pang Tong's request to assassinate Cao Cao to save the Sima clan from being further extorted, but Pang Tong's true intention is to make Cao Cao believe he's acting under Sima Yi's orders, which will force Sima Yi to raise a mutiny against Cao Cao to save his family. The mutiny fails ([[GambitPileup just like Pang Tong had predicted]]), and the entire Sima clan (save for Sima Yi and his brothers) are killed.]]

* YoungAndInCharge: People finds it hard to believe that young as he is, he can be the leader of the Crippled Legion. They're convinced the moments he shows off his skills.

* [[spoiler: CruelAndUnusualDeath]]: [[spoiler: His final assassination attempt on Cao Cao fails. He's stabbed in the stomach by a thrown lance from Xiahou Dun, falls from a tower, gets stripped half-naked by Cao Cao's army, is killed by Cao Cao, then his body is [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impaled with ''lots'' of lances]].]]

* TheArcher: A deadly one. He outmatches Gan Ning, a famous general and archer.

* CrazyPrepared

* RefusalOfTheCall: [[spoiler: He's never really that interested in taking over the Yuan clan, but his uncle insists. When he makes it clear that he would much rather spend the rest of his life with his beloved woman, his uncle kills that girl and reveals that ''he'' is his father. This coming out has the desired effect of prompting Yuan Fang to scheme relentlessly to take over the clan for revenge.]]

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: With Sima Yi. You don't see the teeth-clenching that often since they both prioritizes Cao Cao's victory and are not unwilling to put aside their differences, but these two guys are likely to scheme to get rid of each other the moment victory is served.]]
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Historically he's an ugly guy, but in Ravages of Time he is the coolest looking of the Eight Geniuses.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: He tends to get too deeply involved in warlord conflicts for the sake of family business. He's aware of the risks but keeps at it because of the big profits. Before long, his clan has drawn Cao Cao's attention, and the secret of his underhanded businesses with the Crippled Legion become a major weakness to exploit. [[spoiler: That's how Xun Yu forces his clan to surrender for Cao Cao to extort money from, until its near financial collapse. Pang Tong also makes use of it to persuade him into raising a mutiny against Cao Cao, and causes its eventual demise.]]
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: His reason for [[spoiler: betraying Xiao Meng, which causes his death.]] Liaoyuan Huo is, naturally, not placated.

* {{Badass}}: And how!

* Determinator

* FeelNoPain: His handicap.

* BadassBureaucrat

* CoolTeacher

* InsufferableGenius: Builds up an image of this to his students, mostly due to the way he teaches them.
* GambitPileup: [[UpToEleven And how]].
* ManipulativeBastard: A glaring example, even among the Eight Geniuses.

* [[spoiler: HeartbrokenBadass]]: [[spoiler: After Xiao Meng's death.]]

* [[CoatHatMask Outfit, Hat, Mask]]: Their uniform. Its purpose is to make it impossible for people to tell them apart.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: They all aspire to bring an end to this bloody chaotic era. They all know they will have to wage more wars to achieve it.

* TenMinutesRetirement

* TheManBehindTheMan: Yes, unsuspecting enemies of Sima clan, this good-looking boy is the one in command of the infamous Crippled Legions.

* UnholyMatrimony: With the beautiful and equally unscrupulous Shan Wu Ling. Zhang Lei even {{Lampshades}} it at one point.

* HoYay: He knows Xiao Meng is an eunuch, and seems to be pretty clearly in love with him.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: He accepts Pang Tong's request to assassinate Cao Cao to save the Sima clan from being further extorted, but Pang Tong's true intention is to make Cao Cao believe he's acting under Sima Yi's orders, which will force Sima Yi to raise a mutiny against Cao Cao to save his family. The mutiny fails ([[Gambit Pileup just like Pang Tong had predicted]]), and the entire Sima clan (save for Sima Yi and his brothers) are killed.]]

* [[spoiler: CruelAndUnusualDeath]]: [[spoiler: His final assassination attempt on Cao Cao fails. He's stabbed in the stomach by a thrown lance from Xiahou Dun, falls from a tower, gets stripped half-naked by Cao Cao's army, is killed by Cao Cao, then his body is [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impaled with ''a lot'' of lances]].]]

* StarCrossedLovers: [[spoiler: With Xiao Cha.]]
* StartOfDarkness: [[spoiler: The death of his sweetheart, Xiao Cha, is one for him.]]

* AnimalMotif: He's often compared to a wolf. [[spoiler: Has a neck like one, too. It saves his life from a NeckSnap.]]

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: He tends to get too deeply involved in warlord conflicts. All is well and good, and he makes big profits too, until Cao Cao and several strategists have their eyes on him. [[spoiler: It ultimately causes the near financial collapse of his clan and its eventual demise, courtesy of Cao Cao and Pang Tong.]]

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Gets an ''epic'' one in volume 10. People knows he's tough stuff when he outgambits [[GeniusBruiser Lu Bu]], who has been brilliantly outgambitting others (including one of the Eight Genius, Yuan Fang), ''twice''.

* TheChessmastert

* XanatosGambit: They are the undisputed professionals of this trope.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: He accepts Pang Tong's request to assassinate Cao Cao to save the Sima clan from being further extorted, but Pang Tong's true intention is to make Cao Cao believe he's acting under Sima Yi's orders, which will force Sima Yi to raise a mutiny against Cao Cao to save his family. It doesn't work, and the entire Sima clan (save for Sima Yi and his brothers) are killed.]]
* [[spoiler: StarCrossedLovers]]: [[spoiler: With Xiao Meng.]]
* [[spoiler: StreetUrchin]]: [[spoiler: Was one, before he was taken in by the 1st generation leader of the Crippled Legion.]]

* ParentalFavoritism: Yuan Shao favors him the most out of all his sons, as he considers Yuan Fang the most capable of them all.

* CrazyPrepared

* BrilliantButLazy: At first. And then he finds his [[GoalInLife]]...

[[folder: The Eight Enigma]]

* ArmorPiercingSlap: To Sima Yi, with a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech]].

* RefusalOfTheCall: At first, because he believes his illness will kill him before he can accomplish anything. He gets over it after Jia Xu gives him a [[HannibalLecture]] about how he should try to live his life to the fullest, instead of waiting it out.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: With Sima Yi. You don't see the teeth-clenching that often since they both prioritizes Cao Cao's victory and are not unwilling to put aside their differences, but [[spoiler: these two guys will scheme to get rid of each other the moment victory is served.]]

The famous assassin squad under the control of Sima clan and Sima Yi. They consist of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin handicapped fighters]], who ''weaponize'' their handicaps and [[GenreSavvy take advantage of the fact that people tend to underestimate the disabled]] to carry out their missions, with a success rate close to 100%. Their leader is the notorious "one-eyed leader", [[spoiler: currently]], Liaoyuan Huo. Other members are Guo Ang (whose handicap is an amputated arm), Zhang Lei (whose handicap is an amputated leg), and Xiao Meng [[spoiler: who is an eunuch]]. Another is San Chuan, a muted assassin who rarely appears.

* ArmorPiercingSlap: To Sima Yi, with a [[TheReasonYouSuck]] speech.

* RefusalOfTheCall: At first, because he believes his illness will kill him before he can accomplish anything. He gets over it after Jia Xu gives him a [[HannibalLecture]] about how he should try to live his life to the fullest, instead of waiting his life out.

* NeverLiveItDown: His shady methods [[spoiler: prior to joining Cao Cao]] and opportunistic nature makes it hard for people like Guo Jia to trust him. Given [[DragonWithAnAgenda who he is]], those who do are completely right.

* TrueNeutral -> [[spoiler: NeutralNoLonger]]

* BadassDecay: [[spoiler: They're considerably less badass as a team after Liaoyuan Huo left, and are reduced to a legion of mere {{Mook}} after the Sima clan extermination.]]

* MagnificentBastard: A literal one. [[spoiler: He's Yuan Shao's.]]

* MagnificentBastard

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney

* TeenGenius
* TheChessmaster

* YoungAndInCharge

* ArtificialLimbs
* BadassCrew: Howdy.

* GeniusBruiser

* HonorBeforeReason

* MyMasterRightOrWrong

* OneManArmy

* TookALevelInBadass

* {{Badass}}

* {{Transsexual}}

* TheAce

* {{Bishounen}}
* CainAndAbel

* HeartbrokenBadass

* TeenGenius
* TheChessmaster

* BeautyMark

* GentlemanAndAScholar
* LawfulGood
* NiceGuy
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure

* TheChessmaster

* TheChessmaster
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans
* WellIntentionedExtremist

* CrazyPrepared

* IncurableCoughOfDeath
* MagnificentBastard

* TheChessmaster
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans
* WellIntentionedExtremist

* TheChessmaster

* WellIntentionedExtremist

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Sima Yi to ''every other strategist''. Only the Eight Enigma are spared TheWorfEffect in a duel of wits with him, themselves being universally acknowledged as the best strategists of China.

* RefusalOfTheCall: Liaoyuan Huo is convinced his strategic brilliance can be used for good, but he isn't interested. [[spoiler: He no longer refuses it after his clan is exterminated.]]

* ArmCannon: Guo Ang.

!!Liaoyuan Huo/[[spoiler: Zhao Yun]]

* RefusalOfTheCall: At first.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Smart as he is,

!!Xiao Meng

* XanatosGambit: No one can best him at pulling this. His crowning ones are the Guandong faction vs. Dong Zhuo arc [[spoiler: in which he continuously )ultimately turns every defeats of the Guandong faction, his own side, into critical strategic advantages for his clan (which might be just how he plans it all along)]] and the epic battle of Guandu [[spoiler: which he masterminds just ''for the sake of killing his brothers and father'' to end internal conflicts in the Yuan clan and make himself the rightful leader.]]

* NecessarilyEvil: UpToEleven.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: He knows it.

* BadassBoast: This guy likes to claim to be able to accomplish impossible feats with minimal forces, and he can back them up.
* ButtMonkey: Because he's SurroundedByIdiots, who simply wouldn't take his good advices. He always gets the last laugh.

* CrazyPrepared

* BatmanGambit: Has one to top all others. [[spoiler: Like, the epic battle of Guandu, which he masterminds just ''for the sake of killing his brothers and father'' to end internal conflicts in the Yuan clan and make himself the rightful leader.]]

* CainAndAbel: