Friends First, Enemies Later

I tiredly open my eyes, as sunlight seeps through the cracks of the window

~Yawn~

I got up from the bed, and stretched by body for a bit, to get rid of my aching muscles

after that, I went on and wore my clothes, consisting of a white linen shirt, a dark green linen pants, followed by my sword and sandals, to which i strapped nicely on my waist and feet, and finally wearing my mask to finish

I then went to the dining area, to get my self something to eat, preferably meat

after I got my meal, I ate silently as more people came, livening up the place

"hey.. did you hear, that a war may break out up north"

intrigued by that info, I focused on listening to their conversation

"are you serious?! How'd you know?"

"I heard it from my friends in the army, he also said that there'll be a recruitment order, issued by Grand General Lu"

I stood up after they mentioned about a recruitment taking place, paying for my meal, I left to find brother wei

After looking around a bit, I found him chatting with 4 other people

Walking over to them, they finally noticed me

"Hi, do you need something?"

One of the men, that was chatting with brother wei asked politely

Looking at him, i noticed he has a strong biuld, his strong muscles exudes power whenever he moves his body

Strapped to his back, is an enormous tower shield, made completely out of metal

You wandered just how strong this man is, to carry that hunk of metal without any effort

Shacking that thought out of my head, I looked at brother wei

"It's me Gui"

After saying my name, wei's eyes lit up as finally knew who I was

"Oh Brother gui, haha.. so it's you, i was wondering why a scary looking person was coming towards us, ..anyways why are you wearing that mask??, you almost scared us to death"

I didn't answer his question, I just tapped the part of the mask where my scar was located

"Oh.. right, well let me introduce you to my friends"

He pointed towards the polite man I just talked to

"Firstly let me introduce the oldest and also the strongest of us 5, his name is Gang Wu, he comes from a clan of warriors situated in Datong"

He then pointed to 2 other people, a cheerful individual holding a Jian as his weapon, and the other who looks like a bandits was holding on to a dao

"this cheerful idiot is Yun Yujin, and the one brooding next to him is Ku Yinmi, they're brothers"

Pointing towards the last one, he tried to introduce him, but was interrupted

"No need brother wei, I'll introduce my handsome self"

💢

Hearing that arrogant attitude of his, I already didn't like him

"well then behold your eyes, as the person standing in front of you, is the one and only Hao Zihan"

He announced with so much arrogance, poise, and without an ounce of shame, If I didn't have my mask on right now embarrassment would've be seen on my face

And I wasn't the only one, the others were also expressing embarrassment, as they try to look as if they didn't know this idiot

~Cough~

"Well then, let me introduce you guys to Gui, I met him a month ago when we were in a expedition down east"

I greeted them

"Now that we're done introducing ourselves, where are you currently headed brother Gui?"

Brother wei asked, as I joined them in strolling around the city

"I was supposed to be going towards the recruitment venue to apply for the army, but I realise I don't have any other gear on me, other than what i currently have on"

I let them look at my current attire, as they note my rugged looks

"So I went looking for you, to ask in helping me get some things to use for the expedition"

Hearing my request, Wei beamed with excitement

"OH!!, you came just in time then, Brother Gang, Yang and Ku are also gonna apply for the army"

Nodding i looked at the arrogant idiot

"Okay.. what about him?"

"Oh!, he won't be joining, he's just here to pay for our stuff"

"Hahahaha, yes I'm just here to be your handsome sugar daddy, HA..HAHA.HA"

~Smack~

"Shut up!, damn ass"

Ku, disgusted by what he said, smacked Hao atop his head, causing him to whine in pain

"Ahhh!!, why did you hit me"

Yun laughs at them, as Gang tried to dissuade the situation

"Come on now, don't fight we're in public"

"Don't interfere brother gang, and you!, even though I don't know how to fight, I'm certain could still beat your ass, bitch!"

"Oh!.. really come on then, you arrogant prick, let's see if your all bark but no bite"

And so they fought on the streets, garnering the peoples attention

Looking at this group of idiots, I sighed

"Idiots"

...

After that embarrassing moment, we went on to buy armor for the three of us, since Wei already has one of his own

I bought my self a leather helmet, with a decent amount of iron plating, for extra protection

Then on the chest area, I bought a lamellar chest piece, goes down my thighs

and finally, some studded leather boots

satisfied with my choice, I then looked at what the others bought as well

Gang bought some full plated heavy armor, covering him from head to toe, you wondered how he can still move with all that weight on him

the brothers though, were relatively normal

With Yun he bought a full set of leather armour, although it has relatively weak protection, but it does give its user a wide arrangement of movement, without hindering their speed

Ku on the other hand, went the complete opposite of Yun and bought half plate armors, but it only covered his vital points such as the head, torso, and limbs, then he left his joints unhindered, to give himself a good amount of movement on his body

"Hehe, now you guys look more like soldiers"

Wei complimented, as he checked our outfits

~Cough~

"Um.., so who gonna pay?"

Gang asked, uncertain if any of us can afford these armor

"Brother Gang, I told you already that I'll pay for it, so don't worry about it"

Hao arrogantly said, as he went and paid for our stuff

Still feeling guilty for having him pay, Gang tried to ask again, but was stopped by Yun

"Come on Gang, just let him do it, you know he love to show off Infront of us, just let him do his thing, and besides if your worried about him spending too much money, remember his family is probably the richest family here in Bingzhou"

Gang finally relented, as he sighed, still feeling guilty

Hearing that piece of info, I raised my eyebrow in question, as I look towards Huo

"I know what your thinking, why would someone of his status befriend people like us, right"

I look at Ku right beside me, as I nod wanting to know the reason

~Sigh~

"Well.. I can't tell you everything since even the others don't know yet, but I'll just say he was really lonely before he met us"

He answered, trying to hide the anger showing on his face

After that, he turned around and left the shop, as Hao finally finished paying for our stuff

"Well.. now that you guys have your armor sorted, let's go straight to the recruitment venue"

...

Lu Bu's POV

Walking around the training camp, I looked on, as potential soldiers trained vigorously to attain their own individual agendas

breathing in the fresh air, I smiled as I looked at the sky, a distant dream flashed through my mind, as to remind myself of what I'm fighting for

"General Lu!, I bring news from the other Generals"

A young voice, full of vigor called out

I looked toward the person who called, seeing that it was the new general my father appointed, I nod acknowledging his arrival

"Hmm, good tell me as we walk"

He nods, as he began talking

"General Wei, Song, and Hou request to join in defending Datong from the invaders"

Thinking for a bit, i agreed in having them join

"Umm.., sir might i add, it'd be best to have them defend the eastern borders, since our rear may get ambushed, while were busy defending against the Mongols"

Amused by his worried tone, I laughed to ease his worry

"Hahaha, no need to worry were currently inside Han territory, no ones gonna attack us from behind"

Still not relenting, he tried to ask again, but I cut him off before he can form a single word

"This decision is final, but since your relatively new, I'll station you at Yuncheng to ease your worry"

Shocked by my decision, he asked

"Sir by my self?, how about my troops, I can't defend the eastern borders, with just 5k troops"

💢

Getting annoyed by his constant worrying, I gave him one more order to shut him up

"Fine! I give you permission in taking control of Yuncheng and Jinchengs barracks, both in total should amount to 10k troops, which means you'll be in command of 15k troops to defend the east"

As he tried to speak again, I glared at him

"Enough! you've already overstepped your authority in disregarding my orders, so just shut it and take what is given to you, Got It!!"

Seeing my outburst, he sighed

"Yes General"

"Good, now go and tell them to prepare their troops, and head towards Datong immediately"

"As you command"

And so he left

Sighing, I continued on observing the soldiers training, putting that conversation at the back of my mind.

...

Chapter End