Part 24

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***

A drop of sweat ran down Guan Yu's temple. The hot summer sun was breaking through the sparse foliage, covering their squad with its warmth. Thousands of sounds resounded all around. The serene insects went about their business, oblivious to the strange bipeds. A light wind swayed the tops of the trees, shaking the green foliage.

Wiping sweat with the sleeve of his cloak, the boy exhaled quickly as he continued to remain silent. Standing on one knee, he carefully watched the movement of his opponents. Three dozen brigands were resting in their camp to continue their journey at night. To the cadet's surprise, they had competently placed sentries and distributed themselves symmetrically around the camp, and the most unpleasant thing was that among the bandits there were two earth mages who had erected small fortifications, hiding the camp behind a wall of sharp stakes.

-Are you ready, Yu?

-Yes, Master Tse.

-Good.

With a shake of his head, Sun Ce crawled aside, checking on the other students. Not much had happened in the five months of training. Not counting the departure of the seven disciples that failed the test, nothing extraordinary had happened. The Lipin heir's authority was growing, and the group was united under the pressure of the Pathfinder commander, who aimed to piss off every child. The angered children were gathering into a pack of Teen Wolf, hoping that together they would be able to resist Zhang Yang. But judging from Yuyang's satisfied reaction, that was exactly what he was trying to do, making the cadets even angrier.

While training in the Hai Ho Forest, Yu discovered many new things. Of course, he had been told from the start that he wouldn't be a tracker, but he would be able to build a base. Everyday training was supplemented by hunting various game. Yuyang archers required a body part of some beast as an exam and it was not necessary to get it in battle. Finding a dead body was preferable, the most important thing was to get it before other animals got their hands on it.

The rigid training schedule and harsh living conditions made the pampered children of aristocrats look like real warriors. Their hands had hardened and their bodies had new scars. The arrogance and parental pride had disappeared from the eyes of those who remained. Working hard together and fighting to the death against predators had turned the loners into a team.

Every night, when Zhang Yan reviewed the day's successes with them, he would not forget to mention this and his contribution to this incredible event.

-Prepare.

Ce's quiet whisper sounded a metre away from the boy, bringing his mind out of its memories. Mentally cursing the idiots who still couldn't memorise the simplest of command gestures, Yu gripped the halberd's shaft tighter. Preparing for the leap that would change his life, he fumed, thinking it would be easier to fight this way. Today would be the first time they would be fighting a real opponent, not a beast, but a man. The most dangerous creature in all elemental lands.

-Let's go.

One word of command, and silent shadows swoop down on the camp from all sides. Even at the very beginning of their training, Yuyang's archers had forcibly beaten the foolish habit of shouting before an ambush. By the time Yu ran to the bandit camp, the battle was already in full swing. The bandits who had reacted quickly were fighting to the death, sparing neither themselves nor their attackers.

The man who had jumped out to meet the boy was much larger. Clutching a small axe in his hands, he moved forward, grinning his yellow teeth like a shield. The enemy was still saying something, but Yuu had already stopped reacting to other stimuli. Dashing forward, he restrained his strength and swung a glancing blow at the shield. The blade of the guan dao slid across the sturdy wood and into the man's belly. An arrogant smile flickered from the brigand's face. He swung the blade back with the axe blade, then gripped the shield tighter and hid the axe behind the edge of the shield.

Two quick lunges into his open legs failed, but when the cadet scooped up a piece of earth with his blade and tossed it in his face, the brigand reacted and covered his head. Another lunge, and a bloody streak spread across his right thigh. Lowering his right hand with the axe, the man tried to clamp down on the wide wound, but received another lunge to the shoulder. Tumbling to the ground, his opponent released the weapon from his hands. Holding the wounds with his hands, he begged for mercy and bowed his head, letting out fake tears. Throwing the axe away, Yu decided he had had enough and followed onward in search of a new opponent.

The entire camp had split into small groups, where the disciples, taking advantage of the advantage in numbers, eliminated the enemies one by one, piling on the next one in a crowd. Like a snowball, the horde of armed children ran from one bandit to another, sending them hurtling towards the spirits.

Without staring for long, Yu rushed to the aid of two classmates who were manoeuvring in front of a large old man with a spear. The grey-haired man with a bulky potbelly moved deftly and kept the children at a distance, preventing them from surrounding themselves. Sneaking up behind him, the orphan tried to clip his ankle with a swift kick to immobilise his opponent, leaving the two aristocrats with the victorious laurels. Even in battle, one had to be mindful of the vindictiveness of their allies, who liked to take offence at anything. Things were better now, of course, but it wasn't a big deal.

A quick lunge with the blade at a crooked angle was deflected by the shaft of the spear. The old man, holding on to the shaft, jumped over Guan Dao and kicked the boy in the chest area. Covering himself with his left arm, the child felt a hellish pain and a nasty crunch in his limb.

Ironic thoughts flooded his head, 'I've broken others so many times, now it's time for me to feel it.'

Hitting the hard ground, Yuu clutched his broken arm to his chest and watched the fight, where the children who rushed to the enemy's back fell to the ground with their throats slit. With a swift blow, the old man sliced open their necks from ear to ear. Turning on his axis, he swung his spear so fast that only a blurred blur remained in his eyes. Scarlet liquid poured over the faded form of the pathfinders, staining them in bright colours. While the first classmate died instantly, the second classmate was twitching convulsively while holding his hands around his throat.

Taking a step towards Yui, the grey-haired spearman froze for a moment, only to reflect a hail of arrows in the next second. The incredible sight didn't last long, a couple of moments later, the old man fell down, pierced by arrows. Falling to his knees, his body weighed down, remaining in a sitting posture.

Looking at the dead bodies, Yu's mind flashed through long-forgotten events that he tried to keep in the back of his mind.

'Almost four years have passed and nothing has changed. I'm still the same burden.'

Struggling to get to his feet, the orphan looked around. His classmates were killing the survivors, hounding them like animals. Pouncing one by one, the students quickly finished what they had started. The last surviving bandit threw his weapon to the ground. Kneeling down, he begged for mercy, but the children who had felt the blood were not going to let him go. An arrow flew from the forest and stuck a few steps away from the furious cadets. Following it, the Yuyang archers that had accompanied them in this raid came out from behind the trees. Zhang Yan wrinkled his nose in disappointment and spat out some leaves that he was vigorously chewing.

Standing beside the captive, he waited for the realisation to appear in his wards' eyes and for them to begin to understand what had happened. While the tracker looked reproachfully at the cadets, his subordinates brought in a couple more surviving brigands. Among them was the one that Guan Yu had slain in the beginning. Another couple of them looked no better: covered in wounds, they could hardly stand on their feet.

-This one is wasted, we need three.

A quiet shriek, and the body of the fourth fell to the ground with a hole in his temple. In a swift blow, one of the archers blasted his head with a strange weapon that looked more like a spear point.

-This is just some kind of... Horrible.

Picking his words, Yan reprimanded each of those present. The quick speech, filled with veiled insults, was over and it was time to finish what he had started. Calling out three names, the man demanded that the cadets stand before him. Along with Yui, the youngest boys emerged from the crowd. The children were shaking from the withdrawal, and their bulging eyes threatened to burst out of their orbits.

-You two weren't even fighting anyone. Just standing around, and you let the enemy live. What were your orders?

Mumbling in response, the students lowered their eyes to the ground. It was not customary for the Pathfinder Squad to be immaculately disciplined, but answering in front of Zhang Yang had to be quick and clear .

-I asked a question, cadets! What was the order?

-Kill everyone...

-Exactly... - Nodding to one of his subordinates, the tracker waited for three pig slaughterers to be brought to him, -No one will leave here until we complete our task.

Disgruntled grumbling was heard from all sides. Listening to the whispers of his classmates, Yu realised that they were right. He wouldn't have the guts to slaughter a human like livestock. Deciding that procrastination would only make things worse and sharpen his will, the boy boldly picked up his knife and headed forward. Having chosen his opponent, whom he had defeated in battle, Yu was about to put him out of his misery when Zhang Yang's strong hand grasped his wrists.

-No, you little sly little man. I know what you're thinking, so I have another purpose for you .

Continuing to squeeze his hand, Yuyan dragged him over to the young boy who was smearing snot all over his face. Covered in tears and other fluids, his face evoked pity and disgust, and there was so much fear and despair in his words that Yuu's hand involuntarily trembled.

-Thought I wouldn't understand what you wanted to do? Thought I wouldn't know what you think?

Zhang Yang's vile voice resounded above his ear. Like an evil spirit, it circled behind his back and whispered things. The silent words echoed in the child's head. They echoed in his skull, crushing his consciousness and breaking the child.

-I want you to kill him, Yu. Look at him,' grabbing the boy's chin with his other hand, the man forcibly turned the child's face, 'Look into his eyes before you kill him.

Nudging the orphan in the back, Yan slowly led him towards the pleading brigand. The young lad realised what was about to happen, but still begged for leniency.

Pointing his hand with the dagger at the bandit's body, Yan began to gently guide it forward. The wobbling hand dangled in all directions. Tears flowed from Yu's eyes, but he couldn't utter a single word. Two Yuyang archers grabbed the thrashing prisoner, locking him in one position. Tilting the brigand's head back, they put his neck on display.

As they got close to their victim, Yu began to lose touch with reality, his eyes were empty and his mouth was filled with incomprehensible wheezes and whistles. Unable to move his tongue, the boy breathed deeply and frequently. His heartbeat resounded in his head, filling his ears, leaving only a dozen centimetres between the captive and the pigskin.

-Do it, he's a murderer and an outlaw. It's either you're his or he's yours, Yuu.

Shaking his head negatively, Yuu tried to pull the limb out when the grip on his wrist grew stronger. Leaving bruises on the child's arm, Zhang Yan slowly stuck the blade into the brigand's neck. Piercing through the soft flesh, the dagger went deep inside, pushing red droplets outwards. Bursting out and screaming something incoherent, Guan Yu cried to his heart's content, feeling something inside him break. Feeling no pain, his left hand was pounding on Zhang Yan in an attempt to free himself, but it was all pointless. The resulting crushing silence descended on the clearing, leaving only the orphan and the wheezing of the dying bandit, who was staring disbelievingly into the eyes of a small child.