Reinforcements

On General Jinhai's side, his army had finally made it towards the center of dried up area river, until suddenly, the harsh sound of a horses screams was heard.

"Hah? What's wrong?" General Jinhai halted his horse to turn toward the commotion.

"General, there are some strange objects in the ground." The fallen soldier said while digging into the moist ground.

Reaching into the ground, the soldier pulls out a medium-sized iron spike. Upon identifying the spiked object in his soldier's hand, General Jinhai looks down with a scoff.

"An iron spike?" He sneers. "Is that the best defense their captain could come up with? Hmph, it may buy them the time, but in the end, they're doomed."

Subtly shifting his horse around to stare at the thousands of soldiers within the dried up patch of river, he flashes them all an arrogant stare.

"Everyone dismount your horses to collect all of the iron spikes. The horses can't move until they're all removed." General Jinhai ordered the soldiers. "Afterwards, we'll take over Guando and receive our victory!"

And I'll show that damn Commander An Sun who truly deserves to be in charge...

All the soldiers release loud shouts, before mounting off their horses to search through the ground to remove the iron spikes.

Keenly watching from on top of the North Borders railing, the soldiers stare at the army of men dismount their horses to carefully dig up their planted spikes in the ground.

A soldier turns to stare at Rin with eager eyes.

"Captain! The enemy, they've mounted off their horses should we…" Before the soldier could complete his sentence the bone-chilling voice of his captain spoke.

"Light it," Rin said icily, her gaze not once breaking away from General Jinhai and his soldiers.

Listening to his captain's direct orders, the soldier turns toward the two soldiers standing obediently beside a large metal fire pit.

"Light the fire now!" The soldier ordered loudly.

Instantly following his words, both soldiers seize the large torches and level it towards both large fire pits on each side of the fort's fortified walls.

In less than a minute, the visible scene of smoke rising from the North Borders came into view.

...

"General, look!" A soldier digging through the ground said as he suddenly pointed towards the stone fortification miles in front of them.

"What?" General Jinhai grunted irritably as he directed his direct gaze towards where the soldier pointed.

Soon enough, his haughty eyes met with the large pillars of smoke rising from each side of the stone fortification.

"The Guando soldiers started raising pillars of smoke." The previous soldier said nervously with furrowed brows. "General, do you think they're calling reinforcements?"

Maintaining his crinkled eyes on the black smoke rising from the stone structures sides, General Jinhai scoffs.

"Even if they are, it's nothing to worry about. By the time we're done, Guando will already be ours!" General Jinhai turned towards the halted soldiers. "Continue to move onward!"

…

"Why is it taking so long captain?" The soldier beside Rin asked anxiously. "Did they not see the signal?"

A strong gust of the wind blows fiercely towards them; Rin standing calmly in the front with a dull expression, suddenly reveals a murderous smirk. Her bright eyes flashing with anticipation.

"Just watch carefully." Rin's soothing voice replied, her hands rested peacefully behind her back.

After saying those words, the sudden rumbling sound could be heard from a distance.

The direction it was coming from was exactly where General Jinhai and his army stood.

"General, what's that sound?" A soldier standing below the horseback General Jinhai asked.

"Hmm?"

Turning his gaze towards the sudden rumbling, the proud and arrogant expression on the old general's face was replaced with shock. His eyes enlarging widely with shock and horror.

That sound…

Before the old general had a second to issue out an immediate order, a large rushing wave charged forward towards the army of men.

Those closer to the river's starting point were immediately swept away by the rushing water, while those slightly farther from it tried to run as fast as they could or mount their horses to escape.

Yet, no matter how much they tried, the once one thousand armies of men were swept away effortlessly by the rushing river.

All that remained was the previous crystal blue river - pieces of metal armor floating gently to the visible surface.

Silence descended the area, as the soldiers standing on the fortification top watched with wide beaming eyes.

Their enemy was instantly destroyed in less than a second. No men on their side were injured or had to partake in battle.

"Haha, we did it!"

"Hell yeah!"

"It worked!"

The loud cheering sound of the soldiers echoed harmoniously through the cheerful air, some soldiers even hugging.

From the beginning, as Rin watched her enemies demise, she had shown a calm gentle smile - as if from the start she reasonably expected this favorable outcome.

"Well done."

Feeling a light pat on her shoulder, Rin subtly shifts her gaze behind her to see Governor Tao Guozhi standing behind her with a pleasant smile.

"Of course, Sir." Rin grinned knowingly. The calming wind blew gently through the girl's tied up luxuriant hair.

"Starting tomorrow you'll have the rank of captain." Governor Tao said.

"Hmm? Didn't I already have it?" Rin arched her dainty brows.

Chuckling delightedly, Governor Tao pats Rin's shoulder once more as he backs away. "It wasn't official quite yet. Consider this your reward for passing the test."

Releasing a gentle laugh, Rin smiles with a lowered head.

"Then I thank you for your commendation." Rin turns her gaze back towards the peaceful view before her - as if there wasn't an army of one thousand men there.

Grinning, Governor Tao places his hands behind his back as he departs leisurely with a soldier behind him.

After the governor had left, the only sound that remained was the distant sound of the soldiers cheering as they headed towards the hall to celebrate.

Rin, however, continued to stare off in the distance her eyes staring down at flowing river.

All of a sudden Rin's attentive ears tilted to the sound of a birds flapping wings heard in the distance. Shifting her gaze up, Rin's eyes immediately darken.

That bird..it wasn't Ju.

With narrowed eyes, Rin turns her gaze toward the thick forest - her eyes searching through it intently. In the end, all that was seen was an empty hill and thick trees.

After staring for a few silent minutes, Rin calmly turns away to head towards the hall with the rest of the soldiers.

Not once noticing the figures hidden within the forest.