~~~

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.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

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.

Some people are superior to others. Nail thought growing up in Murong Bang’s territory had taught him that lesson, but he hadn’t understood it. Not really. He had mistaken mere brutish strength for power. Only when he stood in Emperor Qing’s presence and beheld its vastness did he understand the smallness of those he once thought powerful.

What else was there for him to do but to submit to such a person?

“You two will stay here,” the Emperor told them a few days before his departure. “It could be dangerous for you where I am going. I have already made arrangements for you to work in the palace.”

Nail appreciates that the Emperor took the choice out of his hands. Had he been asked, he would not have been able to stop himself from following him. Even knowing that Emperor Qing spared a thought for them is too much. He arranged for them to be apprenticed under the palace’s blacksmith, a harsh taskmaster but fair in all his dealings. They have already learned much from him and will continue to do so.

All thanks to Him.

Nail takes a deep breath and enjoys the cool air that enters through the window. The image of one of the servants who works in the kitchens flashes through his mind. He has not yet talked to her, but their eyes have crossed paths. Every time that happens, they smile at each other.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow, he will talk to her.

Thinking about the future is also something he can do now.

~~~

It is late at night, and the park is silent, save for a few owls.

That suits Lei Cheng just fine. These days, he’s somewhat of a famous person: A Hundred-Man Commander led by the Emperor himself in the battle that felled the monster Murong Bang and the treacherous He Bin. At least, that’s how the story is being told around these parts. His cousins keep hounding him for details nonstop, wanting to hear his heroic deeds.

Before, he’d have loved the opportunity to boast. Now, he tries to avoid the subject altogether. Lei Cheng doesn’t want to remember the horrors of the Death Fashioning Scripture or how it felt like when Murong Bang died. He doesn’t even want to think of the horror that is to stand within the vicinity of the Divine.

Still, his cousins always ask, so he makes up stuff, tales that are heavily embellished, not for his sake, but theirs. His little cousins do not need to know of the horrors he saw. Not yet. Hopefully, not ever. They want to hear a heroic story, so he gives them one.

Lei Cheng sighs and sits down on a bench. It is strategically placed so the one sitting can look down at endless rows of houses that stretch all the way to the foot of the mountain, each one a different light glimmering in the night. Rumbling Thunder City’s vertical nature makes such a view possible.

After the war ended, Lei Cheng was brought to this city to be with his cousins. He had expected the worst, but City Lord Chu is a gracious host. He is a jovial man, proud of the city he rules over, and for good reason. Every day that passes enhances Lei Cheng’s appreciation for Rumbling Thunder City. He thought he understood what luxury was. However, the Lei Clan’s empty fortress cannot compare to the grandeur of a bustling city.

Why did they never try making something like this?

It is not beyond them. He knows that. He has seen the riches of the Lei Clan. If they bothered to try, making something like this city should not have been impossible.

Instead…

Lei Cheng shakes his head. He does not want to think about his clan right now. They keep sending him letters, but he has only opened a few. There is no need to do more. Each one is more of the same. They keep telling him to use his position and connections to the Emperor. As if he had such a thing!

It’s all so absolutely shameless. Emperor Qing Jin had killed their brethren and crippled them. When he left Thunder Blade Fortress, they all told him he should never forget this crime. Now, they fill their mouths with praise for the Emperor and boast of their closeness to him. Only his traitorous uncle, the devoted servant of the Emperor, has bothered asking if he’s alright!

Not for the first time, Lei Cheng is glad his cousins are in Rumbling Thunder City. City Lord Chu is a good man who creates all sorts of activities to keep them entertained. Lei Cheng will never be able to understand how the daughter of a man like that can be such an unreasonable shrew.

Of course, there is much he does not understand. Those he should be fighting for grow more distasteful to him every day. Those he should be fighting against only become more sympathetic.

“None of it makes sense,” he whispers.

It’s all that man’s fault. He came and turned his entire world upside down.

He wants to see him again.

~~~