Interlude: Under Clear Skies

~~~

Zei waits atop his horse alongside the rest of the army. They number about five thousand in total, every single one of them rested, armed, and ready. Meanwhile, their foe is a ragtag group of around seven hundred holed up in a cave. One could argue they are using far more force than the situation requires, but this was never going to happen any other way.

After all, they face the last remnants of Murong Bang’s great army.

It is sad, really. Once upon a time, Murong Bang’s soldiers inspired terror in the hearts of all, but that fear had been nothing but an illusion. Without General Murong or Bright Sword to lead them, the combined imperial army had swept over their territory, killing one commander after another. The aid of the Brotherhood of Thunder and the betrayal of the Lei Clan only sped up this process.

In a matter of months, the once great army had been reduced to this.

“This is your last chance,” their commander yells. “Leave the cave and surrender. You might be shown mercy if you do. You have until noon to make your choice.”

Zei estimates that gives their foes about an hour to decide. Sadly, it is wasted on them. They will not surrender, and those who try will be killed by their commanding officer. That is how things work in Murong Bang’s army.

“Aren’t you glad we made the right choice back then?” Zei asks his fellow Hundred-Man Commander.

Quan does not answer. He broods in silence for several seconds, glaring at the air in front of his nose.

“He’s a monster,” he says at last.

Zei laughs loudly enough to draw the attention of the soldiers around them. A monster? Yes, perhaps. Appearing out of nowhere, bringing an entire clan under his control, and becoming Emperor. Even the civil war that had ravaged their country for so long ended so easily.

What else can they call someone who accomplished all that?

“I have been thinking of picking a surname,” Zei says. Quan does not reply, but Zei knows he has his attention. “We’re pretty important guys, you know? Hundred-man commanders handpicked by the Emperor and all that. I have been receiving offers from nobles who want to introduce me to their daughters. I can’t go showing up for dinner without a surname. What do you think of Long?”

“Long?” Quan snorts. “You praise yourself too much.”

“That’d be the point,” Zei says. “You should think about what surname you want as well.”

Quan does not answer, but Zei knows he’s thinking about it. The man’s not completely stupid. Even if he doesn’t like it, he understands the situation they are in. Once, they had been no different from those trapped in the cave. Less than that, even. Just rank-and-file soldiers without a shred of potential between them. Good to be cannon fodder and little else.

Emperor Qing had turned them into something else. Something more. Now, Zei could think about things he never thought about before.

Transferring. Marrying. Retiring.

Monster or not, Zei will be grateful to Emperor Qing for as long as he lived.

~~~

Nail stands by the window, staring at the setting sun. In a few hours, he will go to his room and sleep in his bed.

He can do those things now.

Nail was supposed to die in Murong Bang’s coliseum, but he didn’t. He was saved, healed, and given a new life, one where he has clean clothes and a room of his own. His Qi, once a dim flame, has grown by leaps and bounds. It would not be odd if he reaches the Nascent Realm within the year.

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All because of him.

Nail met him as Commander Qing Jin. Nowadays, people call him Emperor Qing Jin. How can one go from Commander to Emperor in a matter of months is not something one like him can understand. All he knows is that everyone says it, so it must be true.

In a way, it makes sense.

A man like that cannot possibly be common.