Chapitre 34: Should I Join the Cavalry with My Donkey?

"Have you seen them?"

"It's embarrassing. What are they doing riding donkeys?"

"They seem like people of great wealth; what are they doing at the border with Wei?"

Jun sat proudly atop his donkey, which had become his best friend alongside Trevor and Vera. He had taken it from some thieves who had intended to eat it.

Nowadays, they were inseparable friends.

"Look, Starfish, everyone seems to love you," Jun said, stroking his donkey's neck.

Trevor was a bit embarrassed; this was truly an unbelievable sight to behold in a war zone. "Sir, we should report to the general of this army."

"I don't feel like talking to old men. Let's head straight into the action with the infantry." Jun didn't want to waste time; he knew his presence on the battlefield could improve the infantry's performance.

That's why, as soon as he knew they were in the right place, he led his bold donkey up a small hill. When his eyes made contact with the battlefield, he slowly came to a stop.

"Wait, you should know that I didn't like that good man calling you my son. Although we're like brothers, you know I respect you," Trevor said after seeing Jun stopped in the distance. Noticing Jun was focused on something, he turned his head in the same direction.

"We made it on time; let's report in." Jun advanced down the small slope, heading toward where the cavalry should be stationed with his donkey, Starfish.

Trevor looked at Jun and quickly said, somewhat confused, "You said we wouldn't get involved."

"That doesn't mean we avoid unnecessary deaths," Jun objected to Trevor's words with a subtle smile.

"I know that smile..." Trevor wanted to curse; he knew that Jun smiled like that when some madness was about to happen, and he didn't want to be part of it.

…

The area Jun headed to was where the fourth army of Qin was stationed, or at least a small part of it.

Based on what he had seen, this would be the most interesting battle.

Currently, Wei's army had taken the three hills, positioned high enough that it was impossible for Qin's army to retake the castle that Wei had recovered a few days ago after killing all its inhabitants.

…

General Heki's Tent, Commander of a Thousand Men

"Do you know anything about the state of the war?"

Shin was having a final conversation with Heki, a commander of a thousand men who, together with him, had helped the King of Qin reclaim his throne.

"The strategy is to retake the hills if they want to continue the war. Honestly, if Wei's army holds those hills, there'd be no need to continue the battle since it would be lost before any other measures are considered outside the three hills."

"It's normal; we arrived too late."

"The original plan was for Qin to conquer Keiyou, but before they arrived, everything changed due to the information we had at that time. The commander-in-chief, Duke Hyou, decided to face the Wei troops on these plains."

Shin nodded slightly. He was about to say something when suddenly someone entered the tent as if it were a common occurrence.

"Hey, who are you?" Shin immediately went on alert. He looked at the guards at the entrance and was shocked to see them unconscious.

Jun, who had entered the tent, looked at the guards and smiled slightly. "I'm very sorry; they're just asleep. I showed them my badge, and they didn't believe the King of Qin himself sent me to this dump."

Heki recognized the badge in Jun's hand and quickly said to Shin, "Calm down; he's a guest."

"Bi, do you know this idiot?" Shin thought Jun was an enemy but relaxed when he saw the nervous expression on Bi's face.

"He is an envoy of King Qin; that's all you need to know for now."

Jun greeted the two men and said, "I've already sent my assistant to speak with the general in charge of this army. I will be leading the fourth infantry, so I hope you inform the commanding general."

"Is it just you and one other person?" Heki knew the badge in Jun's hand. It was one that all nobles would recognize, as it signified death.

That's what it meant—ddeath. Qin had issued these badges since ancient times, and it was known that a group of brutal assassins used them.

It wasn't common for an assassin of Jun's caliber to be sent to war, but he had heard that when the King of Qin requested help, the current owner of the death badge responded too late.

Now that Jun was here, there was no doubt that the King himself had just challenged death itself.

"I will notify Commander Fu Hushen of your plans," Heki said, knowing it was good for someone like Jun to take charge of the infantry.

Shin looked at Jun and asked, "Hey, are you a commander?"

Jun pointed at himself, and when Shin nodded, he replied with a broad smile, "I think everyone is going to die. This place is full of death, so to avoid that being too easy, I'll be with the infantry."

"What did you say?"

"Well, this war makes no sense; it's just a fight by the young King trying to assert authority after his brother usurped his throne." Jun walked over to a chair to sit down.

Nobody said anything; the words Jun had spoken were enough to get him beheaded, but he didn't seem to care.

"I've seen the soldiers on the way here. Only the cavalry is spared from being pathetic, but even so, their performance in combat would be disappointing."

"Hey, you!" Shin, with his aggressive and direct temperament, wanted to punch Jun in the face, who seemed to be mocking all of them for fighting for their homeland.

Heki wiped the sweat from his brow and asked, "What do you have in mind?"

"I will fulfill my mission by killing the general tonight, but first, for my conscience's sake, I will help the infantry avoid being mostly massacred." Jun grabbed an apple from the table and walked back the way he came.

Heki said nothing more; he couldn't afford to. If he made a mistake, Jun wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

Of course, Jun wasn't as bloodthirsty toward people who hadn't committed unforgivable sins. If he had such a bad reputation, it was because of other Black Moons who had committed atrocities in the past.

Before leaving, Jun murmured, "I've heard that the general of this army relies heavily on his instincts. Perhaps those instincts have served him well, but the data from his battles is very unfavorable for the army."

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Chapitre 35: The Fate of Obsession

"Are you sure it's her?" Jun was very skeptical about the girl dressed in white.

Trevor thought for a moment; he couldn't really remember what the women of the Shiyuu Clan looked like, which is why he couldn't provide a confident answer to this important question.

"You have no idea, do you?" Jun understood the long, uncomfortable silence.

"What I think will happen is that both of you will fight to the death if you expose her in front of all the soldiers, and that's not convenient right now, am I right?" For the first time in his life, Trevor seemed intelligent.

Jun was right that the twins became idiots when they were together, but now that they were separated as much as possible, each revealed certain strengths that weren't apparent when they acted foolishly together.

"Then I'll join the infantry. I don't want to put Starfish in danger."

"Should I change?"

"I don't want to scare her off. The last thing I want is for her to escape and not speak with me again."

Trevor nodded slightly and then asked, "Why do you want to talk to her if not to kill her for the crimes she committed against her clan, which is, in fact, our ally?"

"I don't know. Maybe I don't want to spend the next twenty years of my life in the Qin Kingdom, so if she's looking for something that could give me another purpose, maybe we could travel together." Jun was bored. Perhaps part of him thought the rebellious girl from the most feared clan of female assassins in the world was just like him.

He hadn't found anyone who recalled fragments of information about another life; the only person who came to mind was the creator of Asura Village, with all those strange names.

He was the only man who didn't use oriental characters for all his members' names.

Jun was also afraid of not being able to adapt; he always felt somewhat alone, misunderstood, and yearning for something he couldn't yet define.

That's why he would experiment.

"Tell the commander of this army that I'll be in charge of the infantry. I don't care about leading the cavalry; I'll just be emotional support for those who are about to die." Jun was realistic about what would happen next.

So, after the meeting with that general close to the King of Qin, Jun went to the soldiers' quarters and saw that there was movement.

"Is everything about to start?"

Trevor nodded with little enthusiasm and said, "I'm going with the general; you must understand I don't need to be here."

"You're protecting me."

"You're not making it easy."

Once again, Jun conceded that Trevor was right. After this brief discussion, he left his donkey in a safe place and headed toward the infantry, where he would meet the assassin girl.

He couldn't lie; he felt excited.

Would she kill him, or would they talk?

He didn't know her yet, but Jun was already her fan. She had done what he had never dared to do for the sake of survival.

"I must be cautious." Jun's eyes became serious.

War was a place where joy was a fleeting emotion, only found when they achieved victory. But here, nothing was the same because the current general of Qin's army was a lunatic who cared nothing about the deaths of his infantry.

He would use whatever methods he deemed necessary to win this battle; after all, his instinct was his greatest weapon.

Jun might appear indifferent, but he cared more than he seemed to. That's why he volunteered to lead the garrison, a task that even his general wouldn't consider at the moment.

…

Shin was watching the battlefield, seeing everyone getting killed, and knowing that his group was next to enter the fray; he couldn't help but feel nervous.

There were no orders; no one spoke.

All of them, new to this battlefield, were tormented.

But at that moment, a rather striking figure entered the line of sight of the nervous soldiers.

"Attention, everyone!"