War was a young man’s game, but the thrill of battle made Du Min Gyu feel young at heart again.

A horrible thing to say, considering good men and women were currently dying in defence of the Empire, but having spent more than a third of his life wandering from conflict to conflict, he was far more comfortable here on the battlefield than sitting at home in ‘his’ chair, a gaudy monstrosity with cushions so thin they might as well have gone without. It was an antique crafted with form over function in mind, a gift from his younger brother after their long estrangement, which had been sold off for a pretty penny after his grand-nieces and nephews took financial control of his estate. Good riddance to it. He only kept it to appease his brother, who went into the arms of the Mother over a decade ago, so it was high time he bought himself a chair he could sink into. Not that he cared to return to his family home in Yantai, for there were too many unhappy memories there now. He was much happier marching through trampled grass and clouds of dust out here on the plains of Central, with blaring horns, beating drums, and crashing steel to set the mood while keeping his beloved grandchildren company.

Debate and deliberation of the Dao was fine and all, and teaching and guiding students would always hold a place in his heart, but henceforth, Min Gyu would forever be a grandfather first, a Warrior second, and everything else was a distant third at best, at least until the girl adopted a child for Min Gyu to spoil.

Watching little Yan at work was a pleasure to behold, for she’d come so far since her first foray to the front line. Unbeknownst to her, he’d followed her out to keep her safe on the front lines, and he would cherish those memories for a lifetime. It wasn’t easy sitting back and seeing her falter beneath her burdens, but if her goal was to hold rank and command soldiers, then it was better to let her struggle from the start than to coddle and spoil her. Behind every great general lay a mountain of corpses, and so long as she kept her head about her and did her best, Min Gyu had been determined to stand back and spectate.

Truth be told, his resolve almost broke during Yan’s first excursion, where she made so many obvious gaffes and missteps before bumbling into a Defiled ambush, but she fought well and emerged victorious with reasonably low casualties. The poor girl took her mistakes hard though, and it was difficult to see her so disheartened, but Min Gyu’s first foray as a Warrant Officer had ended even worse, with less than a dozen survivors emerging from a bloody, hard fought battle against rebels. He himself had been fortunate enough to be one of only a handful of remaining officers after that particular fight, and his (newly promoted) commander figured Min Gyu’s survival meant he was competent enough to be given a second chance. It took many years and multiple campaigns before he truly got the knack of commanding soldiers, but thankfully for Yan, she found herself a capable second in Sutah. A former Captain himself, the dour southerner was a gruff, no-nonsense sort who reminded Min Gyu of an old comrade who fell in the Battle of Five Pagodas. Much like unfortunate Zhong Cheng, Sutah came from a common background and worked his way up through effort and competence, so Yan was quick to learn from his example and none too shy about asking for advice. More importantly, she was also smart enough to let the man work with minimal supervision, because as strange as it might sound, one of the most difficult lessons for a commander to learn was regarding proper delegation. It was all good and well to personally inspect your troops when you were a hundred-man commander, but trying to do the same as a thousand-man commander would eat up time which could be better spent on almost anything else.

Now, after more than a year spent on and off the battlefield, Yan was coming into her own as a confident and capable commander, one who earned high praise from Brigadier Hongji for taking command during the withdrawal from Sinuji. Min Gyu could not be any prouder, even though he had long since stopped following Yan out on her excursions and regretted not having seen her in her moment of glory. Not because he lost interest, but because she’d grown wise to his ways and often questioned him on what he’d been up to during her absences. Thus, it was something of a treat to see her in command once more, especially since he could do so openly without skulking in the shadows like a cut-purse. This morning, they set out together to hold the outer walls while the rest of the Imperial Army withdrew from Castle Sinuji, and what an eye opening experience it had been.

Though his title as Great Teacher came from his ability to guide students along the Martial Path, Min Gyu had raised his fair share of officers as well. At forty five years of age, young Kai held the lofty rank of Brigadier, though after seeing Hongji in action, Min Gyu had to admit Kai hadn’t been entirely deserving. A student could be guided towards the right answers in matters of leadership, but much like with the Martial Path, one still had to discover how to best apply what they’d learned. There were many styles of leadership, such as the charismatic Warrior who attracted loyal subordinates like flies to honey, the instinctive commander whose record of victories proved their worth, or even the quiet intellectual whose grasp of tactics and timing allowed them to carry out complex maneuvers of varying effectiveness. Min Gyu himself preferred the no-nonsense approach, in which rules and regulations were laid out and any infractions were punished accordingly. A daily life steeped in order to balance out the chaotic mess of battle, one which conditioned one’s subordinates to obey orders without question. Kai led his soldiers in this manner, though he favoured the rod far too often when the carrot would prove more effective. Kang Bing was also a proponent of this style, and now he was on the shortlist for promotion to Brigadier himself. Even dutiful Sutah favoured this approach, which was evidence enough of its effectiveness, but little Yan approached leadership in a startlingly different manner.

There they stood on the outer walls, not four hours past, men and women of the Empire gripping their weapons and shuffling in place while faced with the prospect of imminent attack. Min Gyu would have reminded his soldiers to remember their training, while young Rain would have rattled off a rambling, yet ultimately inspiring speech, but little Yan sauntered down the line of soldiers without glancing at the Defiled, her expression one of idle amusement as she asked, “How are the kids looking today, Sutah?”

The kids being her soldiers of course, and the familiar, if demeaning, appellation put a smile on their faces. “They look as they always do, Warrant Officer Yan,” Sutah replied, his tone as grim and foreboding as his expression. “Disappointing.”

“Oh come now Sutah, surely they can’t be all that bad.”

“Tani and Jae are wearing the wrong boots again, but they are too ashamed to swap in plain sight. Chol’s scimitar has a fair-sized chip close to the hilt, one she would have seen if she ever bothered with proper maintenance. Tsuji’s laces are coming undone, Oba missed not one, but two buttons, and half these little bastards didn’t get enough sleep last night.” Loudly spitting off the wall as if to clear the taste of bitter disappointment from his mouth, Sutah concluded, “I suppose things could be worse, Warrant Officer Yan. At least they all remembered to bring their weapons this time.”

“You’ll never let that go will you Sutah? Poor Yugoro is so traumatized he keeps his scimitar in bed every night, so it’s high time you let him off.” Her tone oozing wry amusement, Yan waved aside Sutah’s concerns and said, “No need to nitpick, all those issues are easily solved, and we even have spare scimitars with the rearguard.” It didn’t escape Min Gyu’s notice how everyone none-too-subtly glanced at one embarrassed soldier, who he assumed was Yugoro, nor did he miss how Yan’s soldiers quietly sorted out their issues, both the ones that had been named and others which they believed had gone unnoticed. That was the point of Yan’s idle banter of course, so that she could be the kind, mothering officer who looked after her soldiers while Sutah played the part of stern, demanding father. It was a curious combination of guilt, fear, obligation, and shame to keep her soldiers honest, and Min Gyu was uncertain how effective this style could be.

Right up until he saw little Yan’s soldiers in battle.

Since Min Gyu himself had lacked the backing of a powerful faction during his rise to fame, he wanted Yan to experience the same struggles and understand how to become an effective officer. There was also the fact that Min Gyu was broke and couldn’t afford to hire trained mercenaries to serve in her retinue, but little Rain most certainly could, while Akanai was more than willing to lend Yan the use of her Khishigs. Regardless, Min Gyu believed his granddaughter would learn best by leading common soldiers, and thus, her retinue was comprised of a ragtag group of Warriors without Clan, Family, or affiliation. He hadn’t expected much, but when he saw her retinue in action on the walls of Castle JiangHu, he wondered if the quality of basic infantry had vastly improved in the decades he’d been away. These common soldiers fought with the courage of lions and ferocity of fanatics once battle was joined, easily mistaken for well-trained elites rather than cast-offs with no place of their own. Most were armed with overly large scimitars in the Southern style, so long and curved their tips pointed back when held upright, while others carried long spears or hooked halberds. They even wielded their weapons like Southerners, with every second soldier swinging their scimitar in sync to form a wall of deadly steel, while the Warriors behind them lent aid with spear and polearm. All it would take was a single soldier’s mistake to throw the entire formation into chaos, but to his surprise, this assortment of randomly gathered Central soldiers displayed a level of disciplined coordination comparable to what he’d seen in Death Corps Guards. Add in Yan’s personal contributions while holding the centre with Kyung and Xiao Qi at her sides, and together, they formed a formidable little bulwark along the outer Wall, one which held firm with ease while their allies struggled and faltered.

Yan, Kyung, and Xiao Qi fared well as expected, but the contributions from these nameless soldiers took Min Gyu by surprise. He’d kept up with Yan’s accomplishments of course, and noticed her retinue’s numbers had improved rapidly, but he also knew that one fourth to one third of this retinue had been lost during the withdrawal from Sinuji. There were soldiers here who had only served under Yan for a week at most, reinforcements added to bolster her unit strength back to full, but no matter how hard he tried, Min Gyu could not pick out the new soldiers from the old. This meant this discipline and coordination was not a result of close familiarity and hard-earned experience, and that these tactics could be put to use by almost any Warrior with only a modicum of basic training.

If only he’d paid more attention to Yan’s retinue, rather than passing all of her accomplishments off as her own. No wonder Hongji felt comfortable leaving the bulk of his forces in Yan’s capable hands, for she was a clever and effective leader who brought out the best in the soldiers under her. Granted, she only had a hundred warriors under her dedicated command, but there was a good reason command jumped from one hundred to one thousand soldiers in a single rank. These hundred soldiers would form the core of her thousand man force, once that idiot Rain saw fit to promote his talented and deserving wife. Not all of these hundred soldiers would go on to become Captain-level subordinates under Yan, but some would, while others would shape their new comrades from within, and soon enough, she would have ten times this number of soldiers fighting in this same, disciplined style.

Even back when he was a mere Warrant Officer, Min Gyu had lamented how it felt like so many of his fellow Officers were only there to play at war, giving worthless commands while good men and women fought for their lives. Individual strength was important, but when good soldiers worked together, the sum of their efforts was often greater than the whole, which was exactly what the Empire needed now.

While idly making plans to open a school for officers and introducing new standards for basic military training, Min Gyu had almost missed his call to action, delivered by none other than Brigadier Hongji himself. Gathering his Chi in preparation to act, Min Gyu took his attention off of Yan and Kyung’s personal safety for long enough to take in the overall situation, and as he expected, matters were dire. The outer walls had taken a bloody beating from the tenacious Defiled, maddened by the Imperial withdrawal and the ostensible loss of their prey, but the rearguard still held firm in spite of the poor odds against them. More than one soldier likely believed their cause was lost, that this rearguard would be sacrificed for the greater good, yet still they fought on without surrender.

As well they should, for how could they not stand tall with the beloved Brigadier Hongji there to personally lead them? A rare beast of an Officer, he was a commander who led not by discipline, charisma, instinct, or intellect, but rather by example. This wasn’t to say he was lacking in any of those previous metrics, for Hongji adhered to the rules like any other soldier, was beloved now that his reputation preceded him, and was a cunning and calculating strategist who knew how to listen to his gut. What’s more, his soldiers jumped to obey his commands because they knew he would never order them to do anything he wouldn’t personally do as well, marking him as a Great General in the making, if not already one himself.

Quite a character, this Chen Hongji, and having taken stock of his superb control with Domain, Min Gyu suspected the man was also a future Living Legend in the making...

On the Brigadier’s mark, Min Gyu reminded the world why he was the Sanguine Tempest and unleashed two Wind Chakrams to wreak havoc along the Enemy lines. Even Runic Armour proved no defence as those raging storms of Wind Chi scythed through them like butter, and elsewhere along the outer wall, other Peak Experts joined in to similar effect, though no contribution was as wide-ranging or impressive as Min Gyu’s. All told, it was a risky gambit which only bought the Imperials a handful of seconds, but a handful was all Hongji’s soldiers needed to douse the Enemy ladders in oil and set them aflame. The stone walls had long since been stripped of anything the fire might spread to aside from what the defending soldiers were wearing, but seeing as how said soldiers were rapidly evacuating the outer walls, the fire spreading was the least of their worries.

The existence of underground escape tunnels wasn’t entirely unexpected, since Min Gyu had suspected as much since he first heard Nian Zu’s plan, but the manner in which they were revealed had caught him completely off-guard. There, in the open courtyard between the inner and outer walls, the very ground opened up to reveal Eccentric Gam standing at the entrance to the tunnels and bellowing for soldiers to stop gawking and get in. Once the soldiers were all through, Gam closed off most of the entrances to force the Defiled to funnel into a select few tunnels, which had the added benefit of delaying the Enemy from chasing the withdrawing soldiers. Yan’s retinue had the honour of being one of the last units to exit the tunnel, only a few dozen meters ahead of Gam himself who was responsible for collapsing the tunnel behind them in a shower of dust and dirt.

And thereby killing far more Defiled in one swoop than Min Gyu ever could with two measly Wind Chakrams, as Gam would phrase it. Then again, it was hardly a fair comparison. The credit for his kills should be shared with the countless sappers who spent days, weeks, or even months preparing all those escape tunnels in advance. In fact, his contribution was akin to kicking a single stone out of place, one which set off an avalanche that had been painstakingly prepared by others. If he had any sense of propriety at all, the half-fox wouldn’t claim any credit at all, but knowing Gam, the braggart would likely puff his chest and strut about claiming he killed more Defiled than any single Warrior in the Empire.

Thanks to their significant contributions on the outer wall, Yan’s exhausted retinue was spared further combat during the march East towards the Citadel, leaving Min Gyu free to replenish his Chi reserves and watch the battle unfold. Little Yan was a spectacularly talented young Warrior, but from what he saw, her competition was not lacking in the slightest. The most obvious threat was Ishin Ken-Shibu, a brilliant commander despite his youth and well-deserving of his fabled arrogance, but he had a cadre of meticulously trained Experts to rely on while Yan could almost match his efforts using random Imperial Warriors, so the winner was clear. Lu Jia Zian, Tam Taewoong, Tong Da Fung, and Ryo Seoyoon were no match for Yan when it came to command or charisma, and while it would be a stretch to say she stood at the forefront of the pack in regards to personal strength, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch either.

That being said, there was one surprising contender who caught Min Gyu’s eye, one he and so many others overlooked because of the shadows cast by those surrounding this officer. However, today’s withdrawal definitively proved that the talented Major ‘Mister’ Rustram was more than deserving of his newly bestowed rank as he revealed himself as yet another hidden dragon of the Bekhai. Such was to be expected of Sarnai’s one and only Disciple, as not only did he engage and eventually slay his Demonic foe in single combat, the Demon Slayers who answered his call for assistance claimed they felt him Develop his Domain in the heat of battle. While not entirely unheard of, such a feat was rare even in the most tumultuous times, as a Domain required careful focus, resolve, and effort to Develop. Though similar to Aura, a Domain was based more on Intent than Emotion, a concentrated effort of will as Rain would say, so to Develop one on the fly was impressive, especially considering the young man had no Natal Palace. More than that, his newfangled Domain was massive in size, capable of reaching at least two metres away as far as Min Gyu could tell, judging by how Rustram utilized his Domain to Heal the wounded soldier laid out behind him. If not for this proof happening before his eyes, then those claims would have been laughed out of existence, but now, another monstrous young talent had appeared, one who might well overtake his peers within a matter of years.

As it turned out, the injured soldier was Rustram’s lover and Protectorate comrade, one Sai Chou. This meant his success was likely a fluke, or perhaps better termed as a miracle bestowed upon him by the Mother, but even then, it was an impressive feat. At the very least it would make for a tale worthy of the operas, a young hero igniting his potential to save his lady love, slaying a Demon and Healing her injuries in one fell swoop. The girl was lucky to still be alive, and would likely lay idle in bed for months yet unless the Healers saw fit to return her to duty, but that was a matter for another time.

The most baffling issue was, while Min Gyu’s Domain was capable of reaching that far, it took decades of effort and patience for him to reach his current level, and he wasn’t sure if he could have treated Sai Chou’s grievous injuries and kept her alive while wholly concentrated on the task, to say nothing of doing so while locked in deadly combat with a Demon. Young Rustram was an impressive Warrior, for most newly Developed Domains were hardly worthy of the name, barely able to extend past the Martial Warrior’s skin. Rustram was either talented beyond compare in both Domain and Healing, or he’d been thoroughly blessed by the Mother above. Oh how Min Gyu wished he had time to sit down and pick the man’s brain, but the Bekhai Major was busy covering the Northern flank of the retreat. Despite taking grievous wounds in his battle against the Demon, the man was up and about within minutes without needing to visit a Healer, though he did go with Sai Chou to ensure she received proper treatment.

Once he returned, he threw himself into the withdrawal with renewed vigour, as if still thirsting for vengeance despite having already slain the Demonic perpetrator. Between Rustram, Ken-Shibu, and Kuang Biao, the rearguard held valiantly against the Defiled, but it was clear Rustram’s retinue was doing the lion’s share of the work. The Enemy was intent on eradicating the Imperial Forces before they escaped to safety, but every time they surged forward to engage, the Bekhai forces responded with a storm of arrows and stones. The longbows and catapults alone accounted for more kills than the other two sections combined, and there were still a whole host of shorter ranged crossbows which were only rarely utilized, as even Martial Warriors found it difficult to march and reload at the same time.

However, the ranged weapons were not the only reason Min Gyu rated Rustram so highly. Seeing the threat they presented, the Enemy concentrated most of their efforts on engaging the northern flank, and it was here the moustached Major showed his true mettle. At first glance, the net-like formation along the northern flank appeared weak and full of holes, but both Min Gyu and the Enemy were quick to realize this was not so. It was almost like playing chess using thousand-man units as pieces instead of carved figurines, with each formation spaced so they could easily support, retreat, or reinforce one another with laughable ease. The wedge line was still best for breaking through the foe, while a concave line was the best defensive position, but in a scattered, chaotic withdrawal like this one, this net formation was indisputably the most effective.

Time and time again, the Enemy stumbled forward into Mister Rustram’s readied traps, with soldiers falling back to lure the Defiled in only to be ground to pieces as the supporting units closed in on either side. Then, when the Enemy commander finally got through to his field commanders and cautioned them against this tactic, Mister Rustram revealed another trick he had hidden up his sleeves, as the centre four units came together to form a flying wedge that charged left and right as one, crushing any and all Defiled in their path through sheer weight of numbers. The Enemy Commander formed his own wedge formation and sent them hurtling into Mister Rustram’s soldiers, only for the Imperial soldiers to break and scatter like the wind as the entire front rank fell back as one, dragging the Enemy wedge into the waiting spears of the second line.

And all the while, stones, arrows, and even the odd volley of crossbow bolts peppered the Defiled from above, steadily whittling away at the Enemy numbers until they dwindled so far they no longer dared continue the chase. For the last two hours, Min Gyu and every single Officer present had been treated to a master class in battlefield tactics, one delivered by a Warrior barely through his first quarter century of life.

Since he didn’t want any of his students wasting Chi on Scrying, Min Gyu narrated this course of events out loud, and it was only now that Yan saw fit to interject. “Rain calls it a checker-board formation,” she said, offering a small shrug in answer to the unasked question. “He says checkers is a game similar to chess, but simplified, and no, I don’t know why he doesn’t call it a chess-board formation either.”

Seeing as Hongji ordered the army to slow pace and allowed them the luxury of discussion whilst they marched, Min Gyu stroked his beard and asked, “How would you all defeat this formation, if faced with it on the field of battle?”

“A rear charge with cavalry,” KageTaka supplied, always too quick to speak without thinking.

“A tactic which would defeat most infantry formations, and is thus carefully guarded against.” KageTaka’s answer was akin to saying, ‘Defeat them with overwhelming numbers’, which wasn’t wrong, but far from an acceptable answer when discussing tactics.

Xiao Qi was next to try his luck. “This... checker-board formation is strong from the front, but how will it fare from the sides? I would send skirmishers to encircle both flanks, and then reinforce with a second wave of infantry.”

Min Gyu was shaking his head before Xiao Qi even finished speaking. “The flexibility offered by this formation works in all directions, albeit on a narrower front. To remedy this Mister Rustram has stationed his strongest units on the edges, with Tam Taewoong holding the left and Lu Jia Zian on the right. Though possible to win in the manner you described, it would only be marginally better than fighting from the front, and don’t forget that he has skirmishers of his own. What will you do when your flanking forces are flanked themselves, and by crossbow-wielding Warriors no less?”

Min Gyu’s students offered a few more guesses, but that’s all they were, guesses. After poking holes in their suggestions and leaving them at a loss, he finally turned to Yan and said, “I suspect you know the answer. Come girl, speak up. It’s not like you to be shy.”

“Engaging with light cavalry is the best option,” she replied, offering a small shrug as was her habit. “Pick off one unit, scatter them beneath the charge, and retreat before the reinforcing units arrive. Another option is to damn the losses and push forward, but in a mobile battle like this one, that is no longer an option. The Chosen –”

“The Defiled.” Interrupting to correct her, Min Gyu cast his stern gaze across everyone present and raised his voice so even more could hear. “They are no Chosen, and it offends me to hear them called such. Though they dress themselves like civilized Warriors, they are still Defiled, nothing more.”

A lesson young Rain hammered home during his short time in Castle JiangHu, one the Imperial Army would do well not to forget.

Accepting the criticism with a cursory bow and a smile, Yan continued, “The Defiled can’t push forward harder else they risk overextending. This means the Enemy commander is probably pulling back to gather his forces once more, and biding his time before his cavalry arrive to do exactly what I just said.” Shrugging a third time, she smiled and left it at that, since she knew Akanai was loose in the field and idolized the woman above all else.

It was almost enough to make Min Gyu jealous, but he had to admit, the formidable woman deserved it, especially in light of the news which arrived soon after. While Hongji’s forces were marching east, Akanai’s cavalry patrols managed to track and ambush five Enemy cavalry contingents, accounting for somewhere between forty and sixty thousand Defiled deaths while incurring minimal losses. Again, the Bekhai longbows proved their worth, and Min Gyu tacked on another tactic that would be somewhat effective against the checker-board formation: have more crossbows, catapults, and longbows than the enemy formation. Even then, it seemed like having all the units spread out was custom tailored to counter massed ranged fire, meaning if Falling Rain truly came up with this on his own and didn’t just ‘read’ it in an unnamed book, then the boy was far wiser and more talented than anyone gave him credit.

Which was terrifying, because Min Gyu himself rated the boy as a Living Legend. Not one in the making, but one in the flesh, for the Empire would be affected by his accomplishments for centuries to come.

Despite his overwhelming curiosity and desire to ruminate on everything he’d witnessed today, Min Gyu never once let his guard down as they continued to march, and for good reason. Spotting a diverse group of figures massing in the distance, he grimaced and flicked his sleeves before shedding his outer jacket, which Kyung caught before it dropped past his shoulders. “It seems the Enemy commander means to press his luck once again.” Smiling as he patted Kyung’s cheek, he added, “You stay here, filial grandson of mine. Guard your sister and watch closely. I taught you to use the sabre, but now, I will show you how I earned my fame, all those years before I Awakened to the Blessing of Air.”

Clearly saddened he couldn’t join Min Gyu, Kyung’s handsome green eyes nonetheless lit up in anticipation, his cat ears fluttering like leaves in a gale. The truth was, while it would be better for Kyung to come see Min Gyu’s prowess from up close, he worried he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the fighting for fear of his beloved grandson. Kyung was a talented Warrior, but one who had yet to reach the Peak, and to participate in this coming conflict, being a Peak Expert was merely the minimum requirement.

There was a time and place for tactics, but in the same vein, a time and place where only strength reigned supreme.

After hugging both his grandchildren farewell, Min Gyu Cloud-Stepped away to the rear of the column, where he was joined by heroes of the Empire such as Brigadier Hongji, Eccentric Gam, Exarch Bralton, Exarch Erien, Immovable Binesi, Singing Spear Shi Yukun, and Howling Dragon Situ Jia Yang. Also with them were less familiar faces with less resounding names, but heroes nonetheless, heroes like valiant Won Gwang, the Lawgiver, distinguished Dong Ping of the Twin Spears, savage Mu Hong the Unrestrained, and quiet, unassuming Yi Cheok, the Nine Tattooed Dragon. Song Qing of the Fiery Star was there, as was her younger brother, Song Jiang, the Dark Giant, and the Jade Armed Craftsman was here as well, having emerged from secluded training just to lend aid. Most surprising of all was the appearance of not one, not two, but three Disciples of the famed Healer Taiyi ZhuShen, who had personally joined the relief force to help tend to everyone’s wounds.

Iron Crutch Li TieGuai stood in front of his junior brothers, his hands clutched tightly around his namesake as he hobbled into position, while the veiled and grotesque Devilish Duo, Tao Zi and Ping Guo, stood at his flanks. Until departing for Castle JiangHu, Min Gyu thought Li TieGuai was still bound to his wheelchair and the Devilish Duo too ashamed to show their malformed faces, but here they were bold as could be, ready to lend aid to the cause. While they had all once been considered leading talents, none of them had been Peak Experts before going into hiding, but their presence here indicated they had not been idle in the time since. All three held themselves like dragons among men, and despite his wizened features and crutches holding him up, Min Gyu even felt threatened by Li TieGuai himself, his gaze and focus sharp enough to cut straight to the bone.

Offering the sickly, but powerful Warrior a clasped fist salute, Min Gyu offered the same to the other Warriors around him and said, “It is this one’s honour to fight alongside such illustrious Heroes of the Empire.”

“Likewise.”

“The honour is ours.”

“Too kind, too kind.”

With that, there was no more time for pleasantries as the Enemy launched their attack. Dozens of Demons and Peak Experts came sprinting towards the Imperial lines, fangs bared and weapons brandished. Interestingly enough, Mister Rustram ordered his archers to fire, and while it had little effect on these Peak existences, every little bit counted in a match between equals. Alas, Min Gyu’s first foe was far too lacking to be considered such, as his sabre cleaved clean through the Demon’s neck. Strike first, strike hard, and move on, leaving naught but destruction in his wake, that had once been Min Gyu’s battlefield mantra, right up until he Awakened to the Blessing of Wind and put his sabre aside, but now, he was back to reclaim his former glory.

The sabre had been a reward for almost single-handedly putting down the Black Scarf Rebellion, gifted to him by the Magistrate of Hwando. Back then, Min Gyu had accepted the weapon with a heavy heart, for he was too poor to afford a custom weapon of his own design. Worse, in his eyes, this sabre seemed crafted for a woman’s use, a long, slender, elegant weapon rather than the broad, heavy sabres favoured by masculine Warriors the Empire round. However, as the secrets of the sabre revealed themselves to him, he discovered his fighting style was most suitable for this sort of weapon, though it was difficult to say if he acclimated to the sabre, or the sabre moulded him to its use. Either way, with a Spiritual Sabre in hand, he was like a tiger given wings upon the battlefield, and his legend grew quickly from there.

Though it’d been some time since he used his sabre in battle, he’d forgotten none of his hard earned skills, wielding his weapon in the same manner as one would use a heavier weapon, only with much greater speed and flexibility since he could fight with one hand or two. A two-handed upwards slash combined offence and defence in one motion, smashing clean through a second Demon’s guard and bisecting the bipedal monster in half. Flourishing his weapon with a flick of his wrist, he cleared the Ichor from his blade while simultaneously blocking attacks from three Defiled Peak Experts. There was barely a need to think as his Domain Guided his actions, so he took a moment to study his foes and noted how the markings on their armour denoted that their helmets, pauldrons, greaves, and chest-pieces were all of the Runic variety. Rather than trade blows with these well armoured enemies and wait for an opening or assistance, Min Gyu snorted in contempt and wove three workings of Wind Chi instead. Driving a Wind Blade through their necks would kill them immediately, but it would also take more Chi, especially without his Battle-Fan to shape the wind. Instead, he simply drove unshaped air deep into their ears, and the sudden burst of pressure ruptured their ear drums with laughable ease. Thrown off balance by the unexpected injury, the three Peak Experts were like fish upon the chopping board as Min Gyu decapitated each one in turn, only to move onto his next foe with keen impatience.

Silly to mark their Runic armour so and make it clear to anyone with eyes what they were dealing with, but the markings were used to denote ranking as well, so there was really no helping it. If the Enemy commander was clever, he’d paint regular armour to look like the Runic variety and force the Imperials to pay more attention, but for now, Min Gyu would treat the markings as genuine and do what he could to avoid striking them. Alas, the Enemy commander was keeping a close watch on the battle and dispensing sound advice, for Min Gyu’s next attempt to pop his foe’s eardrum was met with a condensed layer of Domain set there to guard them. Such a shame his foe forgot all about the Sanguine Tempest’s seemingly unremarkable Talent. Where others would find an opponent’s Domain impervious to Chi, Min Gyu’s Chi was as intangible as the wind itself, slipping past those carefully laid defences and incapacitating his foe regardless.

Min Gyu was stronger than he’d ever been, and he believed he had the boy to thank for this. Initially, he feared discussing the Dao with Rain would shake his faith, but if anything, their many debates had strengthened Min Gyu’s conviction. Most of what Rain discussed or theorized was already known to Min Gyu, but only on an intuitive level, so by answering the boy’s questions, he found it helped stabilize his own Dao as new concepts explained or reinforced his old perspectives. Nothing had changed except Min Gyu’s understanding of his own skills, so now, he put them to good use teaching the Enemy the true meaning of regret.

A half-dozen more Peak Experts fell to his sabre before the Enemy saw fit to rearrange their battle-lines, and Min Gyu barked with laughter as he found himself surrounded by Demons instead. Five Demons, in fact, and while he relished the prospect of a worthy challenge, there was little room for ego on the battlefield, so he complied with his ally’s Sent suggestion and fell back from his foes. Such was the way of the Wind, going wherever it pleased, and caught off guard by the sudden reversal, the inhuman creatures pounced after him without thinking things through, where they were met with the Iron Crutches of Li TieGuai, and the Iron bodies of the Devilish Duo.

It was a curious sight, seeing a veritable cripple hop about the battlefield on wasted legs that had yet to recover, but Li TieGuai moved with the speed and agility of a monkey hopping about the trees using a curious blend of Lightening and Reverberation to vault about. This meant the Iron Crutches were in fact Spiritual Weapons, which he used to great effect, bouncing to and fro to distract the Demons and avoid their attacks while using his speed and weight to lend power to his attacks. Combined with the Devilish Duo outright blocking attacks which would have delivered Min Gyu into the care of a Healer or the afterlife, and Taiyi ZhuShen’s ‘ruined’ Disciples finally proved that their Mentor’s Dao of bodily refinement was a viable Path.

That said, the three were lacking in offensive capabilities, but that was where Min Gyu came in.

Tiger’s Fanged Clutch, Mantis Spear Hand, Snake’s Darting Fang, he moved through the Demons killing with every blow. With the occult trio to defend him, Min Gyu only needed to concentrate on the kill, and he would dare say there were few Warriors who could match him in this regard. When Li TieGuai grew tired and the Devilish Duo could take no more, Min Gyu continued on without their aid and found new helpers in the Song siblings. When the Fiery Star dimmed and the Dark Giant faltered, Min Gyu joined hands with the spearmen of the Famed Fifty and continued his slaughter unabated. One with the Sabre and One with the World, he rediscovered the burning ambition of the Warrior he once was, that hungry, nameless Warrant Officer who’d been shipped off to war against his will and desperately wanted to survive. Kill before being killed, that was the law of the battlefield, and here on the plains of Central, Min Gyu unleashed his inner fury against the Enemy most foul.

If one attack was not enough to kill, then he attacked a second time. Then a third, a fourth, and fifth. When this was no longer efficient enough, he used the edge of his sabre to Hone Wind Blades and deliver death from afar. When there were no allies left to support him, he waded into battle alone, one against three, four, and even five at one point, not for ego or pride, but desperate need, for they were sorely outnumbered by the Father’s foul minions. Such was life, and thankfully, the Mother gave her Children strength enough to stand against them, so he fought and killed until he could fight no more. And when he finally stopped to take a breath, he discovered he had no foes left to face, the Enemy survivors withdrawing to fight another day. A hearty roar burst from his chest, one of anger, relief, defiance, and more, but one which was answered by thousands of Imperial throats.

Victory was theirs, for now. Alas, Min Gyu had nothing left to give as the tension drained from his weary frame. Leaning back, he found Kyung there ready to catch him, eyes brimming with pride and concern. “Well fought grandfather,” he said, and for the first time, the designation came naturally to the half-cat. “Well fought.”

“You will surpass me in time,” Min Gyu said. “This I know, for you are my precious grandson and most promising Disciple, Du Min Kyung.” And with that, he collapsed into his grandson’s embrace with a delighted smile, because just before his eyelids grew too heavy to hold up, he saw Kyung beaming with pride, not at the first part of Min Gyu’s statement, but rather the second half, which was the far more important of the two.

Perhaps there was time yet to meet the man Du Min Kyung, rather than just the slave, and if so, then Min Gyu could go into the Mother’s Embrace with no regrets.

Not anytime soon of course, for the Empire, and more importantly, his loved ones, had need of the Sanguine Tempest yet.

Chapter Meme