Chapter 4: A Thousand Man Commander
"Do you believe you´ll be promoted?" Kaen asked me, as we stood in a formation. Alongside the Hi Shin Force, the Gyoku Hou Force, and the Le Hua Force.
A month and a half had passed since the siege, and we won great victories there. I killed the Eastern Wall Commander, meaning the top 5 officers within the castle, additionally. Roku served his role perfectly, and he charged the gate at the same time as the La Hua Force did, earning achievements there.
Additionally, Ishiro had killed the Lieutenant, and then gone on to climb down the wall, and hold off the enemy forces till reinforcements arrived. I sniped another 2 officers during that siege, and Kaen took out a 500 man commander.
Simply put, amongst the 4 300 Man Squads, our achievements surpassed the others. And the glory we gained during that battle, put us above them. Though we sadly were put in the reserves during the next siege, but none of the other 3 forces gained any notable honour, except Shin, who killed a 2000 man commander.
That same night, one of Ren Pas' Great 4, had slaughtered 8 1000-Man Commanders, and later on. As we travelled towards the rendezvous of the 3 armies sieging castles, the general's left hand had been killed, one of his lieutenants.
However, that was not of importance, as I focused back towards the situation at hand.
"They'll promote 3 Commanders, most likely me, Ou Hon and Mou Ten. Shin is simply too unknown, without any backing. Though I suspect he'll pull through somehow." I told Kaen, but before he could respond. We were interrupted.
"As you know, the recent attacks have left us short of some commanders. Those units will either be led by their Lieutenants, or they'll be dissolved and incorporated into other units immediately. However, 3 thousand man commander positions remain open as it stands, therefore. We will now be promoted 3 three hundred man commanders to the rank of 1000-man commanders." He said, shocking a lot of the ground infantry and the other commanders. But I was aware of this shift, namely from a contact.
I wasn't afraid of utilising the great favours owed to my father, for he rarely cashed them in. And he had saved a lot of people throughout his career, making them indebted to him, and in relation. Me.
"Now, those selected are; Hyou Ren, of the Ginryu Tai, Mou Ten of the Le Hua Force and Ou Hon of the Gyoku Force!" He shouted, earning the shouts and roars of the men under his command.
I couldn´t help but let a smile appear on my face, for as much as I knew it coming. It was still a fine moment, getting promoted. And the men behind me were worked up, so I wouldn't complain.
After that, we were dismissed.
Although the general himself came down to promote Shin, on the requirement that he take either 3 commanders' heads, or a general's head, or he´d be demoted to corporal.
Of course, Shin accepted. And he got the remnants of Gou Bei´s unit, one of the most elite 1000-man units.
However, we weren't given slackers either, we were given the remnants of General Ra Gen, his 10,000 man unit was split up amongst Mou Ten and I, and filling the reinforcements of the other commanders who lost their men in the sieges.
I turned to face the 700 men standing before me. 300 on horse and 400 Heavy Infantry. In front of them, a man stood. His hands on his back.
Tetsuji was his name, and he was one of the 10 Lieutenants who served Ra Gen.
The man wasn't the tallest, standing at a comfortable 187cm in height, but what made him unique was his armament. He was also issued with the standard Qin Armour, but he had refrained from using his helmet.
And additionally, on his waist were 2 swords. Meaning he either liked to have a reserve sword, or he dual wielded them, which wasn't exactly Impossible. Many had and still do it.
"Sir! I am Lieutenant Tetsuji, I once served General Ra Gen as one of his infantry commanders." He said, as he bowed down. Quickly followed by all his troops, while the cavalry bowed their heads.
"Stand up." I said, as I approached the man.
"I am Hyou Ren, the Commander of the Ginryu Tai, as you may know. And rest assured, we will avenge General Ra Gen. But I cannot promise you the chance to kill him, but he will die. And we must fight to ensure he dies, by sacrificing our right to kill him. Are you willing to accept it? To let go of your desire for personal revenge, for the greater good and victory?" I asked, referring to both the men and the lieutenant, as my voice grew in strength.
I knew what they wanted, they were not the Ginryu Tai as it stood, they were Ra Gen remnant, and it would be futile for me to believe they'd fully merge and form the ideology of being apart of the "Ginryu Tai", it would take time, and I´d need to prove myself.
Their true loyalty didn´t stand with me, as it stood. But rather revenge.
However, the Lieutenant began bumping his fist against his chest, the armour ringing as he punched. Which was quickly followed by the 700 men, as they all bumped their fist against their armour in unison.
"We couldn´t ask for anything better." The Lieutenant said, and I smiled. This meant they´d at the very least follow me, though if their loyalty ever reached the point of ride or die, was unknown.
But this suited me just fine, for now. This unit was gained, a gain which I had made. Not my father, nor was it a gift from him. It was my achievement and luck, which in itself was something to celebrate.
And I´d make sure my entire 1000 men celebrated together tonight.
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