Volume 70 recap

There are some things I’d like to note before I begin.

First, congratulations to The Ravages of Time for reaching 20 years of publication (at this point, the series has 550 chapters not counting the 2 side stories in 70 volumes, with 20 confirmed story arcs covering 67 volumes since it’s not yet been announced how volumes 68-70 will be clustered) and for becoming the longest – and arguably the most ambitious and meticulous – comic adaptation of the Three Kingdoms saga to date (on a side note, Ryuurouden started earlier and still isn’t done, but in terms of the number of chapters and volumes Ravages currently sits on top). This also makes the series one of the oldest and most enduring, at least among the ‘junior’ HK comics that began in the post-handover period (since many longstanding maanwaa classics began before 1997), although despite being of the same generation (and demographic category) as the iconic shounen series of the late 90s and the early 00s the difference in origin (and style) deprived it of similar levels of recognition (to the point that Ravages is sometimes seen as an upstart that must catch up to the expectations set by Kingdom, a trending younger manga about the Qin wars of unification).

Now over the past 5 years since I began openly campaigning on behalf of Ravages (and close to 10 years since I first stumbled upon this masterpiece), there has been a bunch of ups and downs. On the bright side, a discord server and a subreddit now exist where fellow students (including the patient unofficial translator who has been going at it for over 15 years now) can help one another to discuss and promote the series, though there remains much work to be done (and unfortunately my activity would eventually fade as I am not immune to the ravages of time and the pressures of life under capitalism) to consolidate and solidify the mostly-disengaged aggregate of international anglophone readers into becoming a vibrant niche community scene. In addition, the digital turn of the series ensures that raw scans for the latest chapters – and by extension, the scanlations – will always be in good condition, with the only problem being that there still are not enough reliable people on hand ready to help or replace the scanlation (and translation) effort should those currently involved would be unable to continue. In terms of marketing and visibility, perhaps the new online mobile game (despite dismal reviews of it) could help expose Ravages to more viewers, and there is even a live-action adaptation in the works (too bad though that the animated adaptation has effectively been scrapped after intense backlash over the botched concept trailer). For all these promising prospects, my gloomy assessment remains in that unless the chronic predicament in the anglophone scene for who knows how much things have declined in the home markets of high dropout and low participation among those who encounter Ravages is resolved, all this progress can easily be swept aside within a decade or so. I can personally maintain a few pet projects (even though some of those are meant to be collaborative efforts, and thus the absence of collaborators renders them stillborn), but without more loyal and capable cadres (who in turn would win over and train many recruits into the fold) many of the grander plans (such as the overhaul of the fandom wiki, the cleanup of the TV Tropes entries, the establishment of a nifty and fancy fan site, or a critical re-scanlated edition of the chapters complete with research notes) will remain unfulfilled.

With that said I now proceed to condense volume 70 of The Ravages of Time.

• Chapter 544: Huang Kui plans to mess with the Cao army rations as Ma Chao sneaks past three camps.
• Chapter 545: Cao Cao confers with Zhong Yao while Zhang Liao keeps Ma Chao occupied.
• Chapter 546: Ma Chao and Zhang Liao engage in a horseback duel.
• Chapter 547: Pang De leads the surprise attack on the supply depot while Ma Chao keeps Zhang Liao occupied.
• Chapter 548: Ma Chao provokes and baits the Cao army officers, allowing Pang De to keep charging.
• Chapter 549: The Xiliang army prepares to mobilize as Ma Chao tricks Xu Chu into exposing Cao Cao’s proximity.
• Chapter 550: Ma Chao launches a daring raid in a fortress near Tong Pass with the help of Pang De and Yan Xing.

This essentially serves as a prelude to the campaign in Tong Pass between Cao Cao’s forces and the warlords of Xiliang, and perhaps stands out as one of the most action-intensive and hyper-focused volumes that the series has to offer (moreover immediately following the dramatic confrontations of the previous volume). Ma Chao is the undisputed star of the show here, with Pang De (as well as Yan Xing in a surprise debut) as auxiliary figures for his side, while Zhang Liao and Zhang He (supported by Xu Huang and Xu Chu along with Xiahou Dun) represent the starting lineup for the opposing team. Other figures (such as Cao Cao and Zhong Yao, plus Cao Zhang who makes his long-awaited appearance, not to mention some of the Xiliang warlords) get their share of the spotlight as well. While there are some schemes at play in the background, the volume is mostly focused on the action, deliberately harking back (and milking the nostalgia for) the days of the god of war.