65 Twelve Months of Roughing It

Yun had finally established her military camp and was satisfied that it was properly run. After another four days all the details had been ironed out and some small earthworks had been completed to assist in area control and defense. The shifts had been determined, the area around the base had been surveyed, and all units were falling into line, except Gao Mao.

It seemed like reprimanding him had no effect whatsoever on his corps behavior, as each time she instructed him to get it under control nothing changed. After two more days in camp she finally issued the first call to battle late at night to two of his squads, dragging them from deep sleep and guiding them to the quarry sides to enter.

After three hours of guerrilla combat one squad was declared the winner and both squads were taken to the other side of the quarry to camp in a more relaxed environment. Yun left Long Wuying in charge of the new camp and returned to the main camp to rest for the night before calling a meeting of the remaining soldiers.

"Everyone must have noticed that two squads from Fourth Lieutenant's corps have gone missing. This is because they have done their first round battle against each other and are now resting near the battleground. For this first round none of you will know when you will be taken from the group, and none of you will know the battleground.

"Some of you may know this region and have an idea of where you're fighting, that's fine. Keep in mind though that this is your advantage. Do not spread this knowledge, as it may benefit your future opponent. Additionally, this is a military order. The moment someone is discovered revealing information, true or not, about the battleground they will be punished severely.

"Finally, as an additional component to this test, you will be required to continue defending this position as your fellow squads disappear two by two. When it is determined that this camp has been reduced enough, likely around half, we will cease military operation and simply finish the competition with the randomly picked combat times. Be prepared! At any moment this Yun could decide it's your turn to fight."

Following this speech Yun dismissed them back to their posts, not telling them anything about life on the other side of the quarry. Little did they know that the same time they stopped military life in this camp they would begin it in the other, making it fair for those who were there to the last moment covering twice the work as the squads that left first.

They kept this going day by day, and as time continued there were times where Elder Lei informed her that her defenses had utterly failed to maintain security. Some squads were punished, and as it turned out most of the lax squads were yet again Gao Mao's. She was frequently vindicated in her decision to suppress him.

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Four months later they had begun to close in on the half-way point of the event. Tensions were high across the camp at this time and continuing to secure their borders was wearing the remaining soldiers thin. Yun gave the order to shrink the camp down and defend a smaller area, thus reducing the number of guards per shift.

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"Hey, you think our squad will get to fight any time soon? I'm sick of this guard duty every day."

"What? Yeah, probably. There's only a little over half the squads left, after all. That crazy kid-commander has been randomly grabbing people for months now and taking them who knows where to fight. Wonder where they're going."

"No idea, but honestly me and the boys really can't wait to knock some heads at last after all this sitting around."

Right at that moment the guard that spoke first had his head smashed against the earthworks that they were standing behind while a staff swung at the head of the other guard. With shock on his face he reacted just in time to duck low enough for the staff to hit the earthworks instead of his head.

"Attack! Enemy attack!" He called out. Just as he finished he was knocked out by a clean chop on his neck. The group that was invading the camp stood on the edge of the earthworks while the one who had chopped the second guard unconscious dashed leisurely into camp, making it all the way to the central tent and through the flap before he sat down in a chair there confidently, looking at Yun across the table.

Finally, after another two minutes, the other fighters in the camp who were not on guard duty elsewhere managed to surround and 'repel' the invaders. Ten minutes later the entire camp was gathered at the main tent under orders from Yun for a meeting.

"All of you here have grown tired of this life, and this Yun understands. While you pull guard duty, this Yun is up at any and all hours to ensure this exercise is going properly. This Yun sleeps just as little as all of you, if not less.

"Grow up!

"You're here as a military force, act like it! Next time this Yun finds someone being derelict in their duty there will be a price to pay. This time the entire camp took five whole minutes to properly respond to this attack. If this was a Volvaka attack and not a test you would all likely be dead."

At this moment, behind Yun, the youth who had run up to the main tent walked out and took off his cloak. It was Long Wuying!

"Commander Wuying was a member of that force that assaulted this morning. Who among you knew that someone ran through our tents and entered the command tent?"

Yun looked out at the gathered group in front of her to see that everyone had their eyes downcast. Not one of them had seen a hint of someone entering camp.

"As I thought. Double shifts for an entire week for all of you. Dismissed."

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Finally, after twelve full months in the woods, the last squads were entering the quarry to do battle against each other.