A Chat with the General

"You must be the Black Moon sent by the King, am I right?" A massive man stood before Jun, who had to look up to see who it was.

All the soldiers, resting from their wounds, kneeled before General Hyou, who had been the first to answer the King's call despite all the obstacles.

Duke Hyou was just as the rumors described—a large man with the build of a warrior, gray and white hair, and large gray eyes that many called fierce and beastly. He also had sharp teeth and fangs. He wore a long mustache and styled his beard into three long braids.

Duke Hyou was known as a battle-hungry and ruthless man who freely sacrificed the lives of his soldiers for victory. He showed his intuitive instincts when he realized Go Kei, the main general of the Wei army, had forced the fight to the Dakan plains and dared to claim that the battlefield was where Wei's war chariots were most effective.

From his perspective, war was a great blazing fire, and he struck when that fire reached the height of its strength. He respected opponents who were strong enough to give him a good fight.

"I like your eyes; they burn like calm flames, and you don't even realize it yet." Duke Hyou looked at Jun, who stared back with neither fear nor respect in his eyes.

He liked that look; it meant that this boy might become a God of War if he continued to involve himself in the battlefield as he had today.

Trevor stood behind Jun, revealing only his eyes. As Jun's personal guard, he would ensure his safety regardless of who was in front of him.

"So you're the general who let thousands of good warriors die." Jun brushed his hand across his chest, cleaning off the blood, and extended his hand to greet the great general.

Yes, a handshake.

Jun wanted to learn more about this elder, wanting to test him more than anything.

"Ha, ha, ha, you're truly something incredible." Instead of getting upset, Duke Hyou smiled and told everyone to leave.

"What do you want from me?" Jun asked as he sat on a smooth stone.

"Do you know everything that's happening on the battlefield?"

"I only know that you led an army of 150,000 to invade the neighboring state of Wei with the aim of capturing the city of Keiyou. You divided the army into 6 separate divisions before they reached the Wei border."

Duke Hyou's eyes showed surprise, and he nodded slightly. "What else?"

Jun remained calm and said, "Upon hearing the word of the Wei army advancing from Keiyou to Asui, you informed your officers of Go Kei's objective and changed your plan to meet Wei's forces on the Dakan plains to fight."

"The Whispering Master..."

Jun had many men in every corner of this place; he knew many things before others did, and this was one of the things he had been working on for all these months.

To many, he seemed like a boy who did nothing but lie around, but the reality was that he was creating his own information network, which would soon become the largest in the country.

He knew that Duke Hyou had started the battle on the Dakan plains by setting up his headquarters near the plains after leaving the Asui castle. When he learned that Wei's chariots had completely overrun the 4th army's infantry, he told the cavalry units to continue holding their positions.

Seizing the opportunity he and the rest of the 4th Army infantry had created, he directed the 4th Army cavalry to join the battle so that the opportunity wouldn't be lost.

While the 4th cavalry was enduring Wei's infantry, according to Trevor, Duke Hyou sent the 1st and 2nd army cavalry to the Kyuu Gen hill camp, where the 4th Qin army was currently engaged. With Go Kei's army retreating from the plains, Duke Hyou took the field, leading a devastating charge with 5,000 Qin cavalry against Wei's army.

"I cut off the general's head, but don't expect anything more from me." Jun said these words without any fear.

"Don't worry, you'll receive great promotions that will make you the youngest general, but I'm sure the King won't press you further." Duke Hyou had won the battle when Jun cut through the enemy's army.

The battle was won, but it was time to return, as there was nothing more to do in this place.

"A great war is approaching; everyone will seek to take these lands."

"So, what will you do about it?"

Jun looked at the general and then answered, "Maybe I'll do something."

"Ha, ha, ha, come drink with me."

"I'm only fourteen."

"It doesn't matter; you look like a 70-year-old. Come on, just one drink."

"I don't want to."

"Ha, ha, ha."

Jun then drank with the general. Despite his refusals, he drank as much as he could until he vomited.