After his first victory, Yunchang was promoted to squad leader, earning special privileges from the authorities. He even managed to get his three friends promoted to vice squad leaders to make things easier for them to do their shenanigans. They were also informed that the Commander-in-chief would be visiting the battalion the next day, so discipline had to be top-notch. But that was tomorrow’s worry; tonight, they celebrate.

“Kang, damn it, hurry up with that fish! We need to get this party going.” Yunchang shouted.

“Shut up! It’s because of you guys that I forgot to turn off the stove, shit is burnt to coal now. Now I’ve got to start over. If you’re so good, come do it yourself!”

“Alright, forget it, I’ll just head to town and buy a roast duck. It’ll be faster anyway. Forget the fish, Kang. I’ll be back with something better.”

“Get a few plates of pork offal offal while you’re at it. That with some good liquor? Perfect.” Guotai told Yunchang.

“Alright, noted, anything you want, Hong?”

“Yeah, you better double it on the roast duck or our fatass cook here would just eat everything and leave no crumbs. Get us boiled pork belly and some tofu, and I’ll make shrimp paste to go with it. That’s real food.”

“No way, shrimp paste fucking stinks.”

“And here I thought I was the weak one in the group. Whatever, I'm still making it. If Mr strongest man alive here ain’t cool with it, his loss.”

That night, the four friends drank heavily, partying until nearly midnight.

“Heheh, I’m tapping out. You guys look ready to pass out too. Just look at Kang; he’s red as a tomato! Bottle his fatass up and you got ketchup for the whole town.” Hong giggled.

“Oh, come on, you weaklings. Just twelve rounds, and you’re all wasted?”

“Yeah, yeah…Yunchang, you…you’re the best…happy?” Kang tried to think of a comeback but was so drunk he kept on stuttering.

“You bet I am! The strongest, that’s me. Bring me gods, demons, or anything. I’ll take them all down!” Yunchang shouted, waving his sword in drunken triumph.

“Right on! At this pace, You might even beat General Lethal Tempest!” Guotai added.

“All those so-called officials and commanders here are spineless. If they’re the best we have, this country is doomed into the hands of demons.”

“You clearly don’t know anything,” Hong replied. “The name is there for a reason, just like yours, Yunchang. He’s got unmatched agility, able to mow down hundreds of demon soldiers in seconds. He’s a master of every weapon—close-range and long-range. The guy’s practically a ghost; hardly anyone in the military has ever seen him in action. They said that, the moment his silhouette is caught by the naked eyes, the battle is already over.”

“Oh, please,” Yunchang sneered, “you’re all so drunk you’re starting to believe in kids’ fairy tales.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re probably right, shit does sound exaggerated. Ughh, It’s getting late, and we need to be up early tomorrow, now that’s truly Lethal, get it, hahaha...”

The four men then fell into a deep sleep, snoring loudly until sunrise.

At 5 a.m. the next day, Yunchang was the first to wake up, knowing he had to get ready.

“Guotai, wake up! Get the others up too. We’re supposed to report at six.”

“Let me sleep a bit more…We had a rough day, remember?”

“’Rough’ my ass. You guys partied all night. If the Commander-in-chief shows up and we’re late, we’re screwed.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I hear she’s a stickler for discipline. If we don’t show up, it’s over.”

After Guotai, Hong and Kang also woke up, each going through their morning routine—brushing their teeth, fixing their hair—before heading to the assembly point.

“Oh no! I forgot my sword. You guys go ahead. I’ll catch up.”

Yunchang dashed back to his quarters, but when he arrived, he found Han Yin sitting on the steps, caressing his Steel Blade.

“You’re not reporting yet?”

“Why are you holding my sword like that? I just came back to grab it.”

“I’m just expressing my pity for such a nice blade, that it belongs to such a terrible wielder like you.”

“Pity? Terrible? Listen here you–”

“Hush, won’t you look at the time”. Han Yin cut him off, tossed him the sword, and walked away. Infused, but aware of his current responsibilities, Yunchang tried practicing his light-foot martial arts to get there faster. Top martial artists use this skill as means of traveling, by performing a jump and a dash at the same time continuously after every time they land on a surface, and by doing it fast enough, they give the illusion of themselves soaring freely through the air as if they were birds. But frankly enough, when Yunchang tried to mimic the arts, he clumsily crashed into a tree and had to spend another ten minutes recovering. Eventually, he ended up arriving five minutes late.

“Yunchang, why the hell are you late?!”. The commander asks, angry at him.

“I had a little bit of an accident on the way, sir.”

“An accident that only happened to you and not any of your subordinates?”

“I don’t know. It just happened.”

“I’ll need a written report from you about this later. Now, go meet the Commander-in-chief—she hates waiting.”

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Yunchang entered the office to find a elderly woman facing away from him.

“Do you know what time it is? What time did I say to report yesterday?”

“Ma’am, I sincerely apologize, I forgot something and had to make a run back for it. I was afraid of being late, so I used light-foot technique, but then I had an accident on the way, so…I ended up late anyway”

“A soldier doesn’t make excuses. So what exactly did you forget?”

“My sword. When I got home, I saw some girl holding it, inspecting it. That’s why I was late.”

“So many excuses. And I’m not just ‘some girl’, you know. I hate when people call me that.”

“These aren’t excuses, I—Wait, what do you mean?”

“You’re a real idiot, you know that?”

The woman slowly removed her mask, revealing her white hair and golden eyes.

“It’s you again? The hell are you doing here?”

“This is my office. Why wouldn’t I be here?”

“Where’s the Commander-in-chief?”

“Oh, you sweet summer child, you are looking at her.”

“I’m not messing around with you.”

“That makes both of us.”

“Fine then, what do you want?”

I want to ask you something. Do you realize how lucky you were in that last battle?”

“No.” Yunchang answered blankly, further irritating her.

“Let’s say, hypothetically, the demons had used less men to chase after your little friend and his puny unit. Do you think you would have succeeded?”

“Winning by exploiting the enemy’s mistakes is no different from when I played chess with you. I only lost because I made mistakes, not because you were better than me. It’s the same here. They kept making mistakes, so I won. There’s no ‘what if.’”

“You’ve only been in the army for a week, and you’re already this arrogant. I can only imagine how inflated your fragile ego would be in a month. You certainly lived up to your name, at least on the arrogant part, who gave you that name?”

“My oldman, his surname is Guan and he named me Yunchang, he knew that I was destined for greatness and that I won’t disappoint. So as long as I keep winning, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Well, I’ll admit you have ‘some’ talent, not just mere empty words. I’ll even consider promoting you to General, Guan Yunchang…”

Han Yin’s strict expression softened into a smile.

“But don’t you think you’re overestimating your values to us?”

“I’m nowhere near as arrogant as you are, but I’ll be honest—the officers here are either too dumb or passive. They don’t understand the battlefield and even if they do, they are too scared to make a winning move at the right time. With them in charge, defeat is inevitable.”

“Interesting indeed. Have you ever heard of someone called ‘Lethal Tempest’, one of our generals?”

Yunchang thought to himself, “The guys did mention that name.”

“You’re both alike—stubborn. How about I arrange a meeting for you two?”

“If he’s not as conniving as you, I won’t be worried.”

“You’ll see.”

“Enough talking. May I leave now?”

“One last thing—consider this a token of my gratitude.” Han Yin reached into her drawer and handed him a legendary copy of The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

“It seems you’re interested in strategy books. They serve little purpose for me right now, so take it.”

Yunchang noticed the book was worn, showing it had been well-used. It was a precious item, and he smiled in appreciation.

“Didn’t expect you to have such good manners.”

“Oh, so I wasn’t polite before?”

Yunchang said nothing, taking the book and heading for the door.

“Wait. I’ll go with you.”

As they walked down the hallway together, Yunchang for the first time noticed how her physique seemed to stand out from the norm. She stood tall, even taller than most men here actually, got to be about 180cm or above(6ft). Yunchang’s heart pounded heavily, and he stole glances at Han Yin from behind. Outside, his friends spotted him walking beside the Commander-in-chief and whispered amongst themselves.

“ATTENTION! ALL HAIL THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF!”

Everyone raised their hands in salute.

“Good. I have an announcement for Battalion 1128. From today, Guan Yunchang is appointed the General of the battalion. He will directly oversee all training. Anyone who disobeys his orders…”

Han Yin took Yunchang’s Steel Blade and sliced a wooden table in two.

“…will end up like this table. I expect strict obedience. I will be stationed here throughout the campaign, and in about a month, I will merge our battalion with another elite unit, forming a new division under Yunchang and another General of my choosing. Additionally, that General will be assigned here to help him manage the battalion. That’s all I have to announce. Any questions?”

In unison, the soldiers shouted, “NO, MA’AM!”

Han Yin leaned over to Yunchang, whispering, “Now that you’re in command, remember to favor your friends just a bit less.”

With that, Han Yin returned to her office, leaving Yunchang standing amidst the admiring gazes of the soldiers below.

“Damn, Yunchang, what a lucky guy you are! That’s like reaching the top overnight!”

“I don’t know how it happened, but you know what? I’ll take whatever fate hands me.”

“What did she say to you before she left? Tell us!”

“She said I should smack you in the mouth 100 times, Hong. How’s that?”

“Oh, come on, man. Don’t be so serious! Gotta remember how much your buddies here helped you in becoming the General.”

“Buddies, huh? Go run ten laps around the yard for me, now.”

“Oh, man, I was just kidding!”

“Move, or I’ll write you all up in the violations log.”

“Geez, he finds one pretty girl, and now he’s ditching us. I won’t forget this, Yunchang!”

As Hong trudged off to run, Guotai pulled Yunchang aside.

“Damn, she really promoted you to General?”

“Yeah, she’s tough to figure out, playing hard to get, then just giving it to you as if it wasn’t even important.”

“So, you’ve met her before?”

Yunchang recounted his encounter with Han Yin to Guotai and Yong Kang, who listened intently.

“Hmm... She's hard to read, isn’t she? One minute she’s like this, the next like that.” Yong Kang said..

“If you ask me, I think she’s using you,” Guotai added.

“What’s there to use anyway? I have little value to her.”

“I don’t know for sure. But I think she’s just like the rest of the bureaucrats here, doing everything for their own gains. You should be careful.”

Just then, they heard Juan Hong’s heavy breathing as he staggered over.

“Yunchang, You…son of a…bitch” he gasped, collapsing onto the ground.

“Rest up, then go shower and get ready for training.”

Hong groaned, lying flat. “Damn it, making me run ten laps out of nowhere... Don’t think you can push me around just ’cause you’ve got a pretty girl backing you.”

“That’s what you get for joking around. Keep it up, and I’ll make it twenty laps next time.”

Hong scoffed. “Forget it guys. He’s got himself a girl now; he doesn’t care about us.”

“If he actually gets her to fall for him, I’ll run a hundred laps around this camp everyday and never eat junk food again. He doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Hurry and get up Hong, Yunchang might be the General but we are also vice squad leaders now. And who knows, maybe after this, both of you will finally get in shape thanks to him.”