Chapter 31 - The General's Enemy (End of Book 1)

  Jin Sidao:

  I was in the cil room, the old men making their typical decisions while holding a tray as if I were some kind of furniture. Boredned within me amidst the chaos. Ever sihe Emperor died in battle five years ago, we've been like this, and to make matters worse, our Empress heir was just a few months old at the time. Now, the child is five years old and starting to learure of this world, but it will be a long time before she's ready for what I want to do... everything will go exactly as it should.

  I hope those idiots return with that bird!

  The one making decisions for the Song Dynasty is the cellor. This position is the sed in and, only below the Emperor... in this case, our Empress. Since she is just a child, my old teacher acts in her pce as a provisional Emperor as with a small cil of politis. The cellor is the current leader of the Song Dynasty.

  "We o do something! Our wall is being invaded on one side by the Theocracy, aill have to deal with the chaos geed iies he border with that ti!" said the cellor.

  "We must stop attag the Human gelings of that demonic magical ti and focus on dealing with the Theocracy," shouted one of the old men.

  In the background is my 'adversary' Yu Xin. He was better than me and got the position of Advisor to my teacher. Acc to the old man... my ambition was my downfall.

  I ate street garbage. If not for my ambition, my sister would still be a prostitute, and I would be a thief who would have died in some alley. My ambitiht me here... and it will take me much further...

  "What should we do?" asked the cellor.

  I yawn.

  "We've already withdrawn more troops from there; if we simply pull everything from the geling ti's border, it will look bad for us," said one of the old cil members.

  I sighed deeply, looking out the window. Not believing the view I saw, that same blue sky as always. Many times, that sky was what I saw... after staying up during lonely nights. My sister returned with the little food she could get, injured in various pces... only I know what she went through t me food and pay for my education.

  "Are you bored, Sidao?" the cellor asked me.

  "I was just reminisg a bit about my life, master," I replied with a smile.

  "We're in the middle of an importaing, and that's what you're doing? Thinking about life?"

  I pced the tea tray oable and stretched.

  "There's nothing more to do. If I reend something, you won't follow my advice; if I disagree, you won't listen to my opinion; if I agree, you'll be suspicious of me. What should I do if I'm trapped in a cage?" I asked him.

  "What are you talking about, Sidao?"

  "Wrong answer. You should have responded with 'you get out of the cage.' You are my cage; this pathetic cil is what's holding the Song Dynasty back."

  "HOW DARE YOU!?" the elders shouted.

  Yu Xin:

  I was in the cil room, watg the elders have their usual discussions. It seemed like nothing was leading anywhere. Everyone argued their ideas and pns, and gradually we pulled our military forces back within our walls. We o deal with the Theocracy, which had decided to betray us.

  The Song Dynasty is an Empire that dominates half of our ti, and we have a massive wall that they still try to breach. The problem is that the Theocracy is somehow getting stronger after allying with the gelings' mages from the demoniti, and now they are trying to set their sights on us. Not to mention the beast-humahey've captured from various tribes to use in battle.

  We pure humans ot reproduce with the demonic humans, and even if we could, we wouldn't. I don't hate the people of the other ti; in fact, I even feel a bit sorry for them.

  The Song Dynasty only agreed to act alongside the Theocracy to try to expand our nds and seize the riches of that civilization. We never aimed for species superiority... but now that our Emperor has been assassinated, we are unsure how to proceed.

  I hope this meeting ends soon.

  I never wao be involved in this kind of deaking. When I was reized as a good student at the Uy, I was so happy, but I knew I could only progress if I chose to advao the political arena.

  Oher side of the table is the person who peted with me for the position of Advisor to my teacher... his name is Jin Sidao. That guy scares me, and I 't expin why. He won everyone's hearts with his smile and charming words.

  Jin Sidao gives me a bad feeling. On the day we graduated, and I found out I had won the position of Advisor, which we peted for, he came to thank me personally with a genuine smile.

  A genuine smile, but his eyes were terrifying...

  "What should we do?" asked the y former teacher.

  I am in the background just ; my teacher doesn't like it when I give my opinions.

  I think he believes it undermines his authority.

  "We've already withdrawn more troops from there; if we simply pull everything from the geling ti's border, it will look bad for us," said one of the elders.

  I look at my teacher, who is staring at Sidao.

  "Are you bored, Sidao?" asks the cellor.

  "I was just reminisg a bit about my life, master," Sidao replies with that twisted smile.

  "We're in the middle of an importaing, and that's what you're doing? Thinking about life?"

  Sidao pces the tray oable. His lips smile, but his eyes don't.

  "There's nothing more to do. If I reend something, you won't follow my advice; if I disagree, you won't listen to my opinion; if I agree, you'll be suspicious of me. What should I do if I'm trapped in a cage?" he asks, opening his hands.

  "What are you talking about, Sidao?" my teacher inquires.

  "Wrong answer. You should have responded with 'you get out of the cage.' You are my cage; this pathetic cil is what's holding the Song Dynasty back."

  "HOW DARE YOU!?" the elders shout.

  "I'm rephrasing things. Ever sinade that pathetic mistake, it has cost the Song Dynasty dearly. Yht about the downfall of our Emperor," Sidao said firmly.

  "WE DID!?" my teacher shouted. "YOU, SIDAO! YOU PUT CRAZY IDEAS IN HIS HEAD! Your damn tongue vinced him to go into that battle."

  Sidao yawned.

  "If he hadn't died... he would have been like the hero I heard about in my childhood, the former Song Emperors. But his mistake was growing up in a cage with you."

  "HOW DARE YOU INSULT US?"

  "I just mentiohe death of the Emperor. Shouldn't you be questioning me about the disrespect I showed him?" Sidao tinued, unfazed.

  The elders fell silent, their faces showing a mix of fusion and anger.

  Sidao, are you out of your mind? Yoing to lose your position!

  "See ride has doo you," Sidao said, his voice dripping with disdain.

  "You are just a simple servant whs us tea! You 't uand the plexity of what we have to do," one elder retorted.

  Sidao ughed. "The tea I serve, which you so disdain, is worth a month's food for a poor family," he said, taking a sip from a cup.

  "What are you doing, Sidao? You have nht to touch that tea! It's reserved fh-ranking officials," another elder snapped.

  Sidao threw the tea on the floor. "It really is crap..." he muttered.

  Sidao, you e from a humble background too. What are you doing, throwing everything you've achieved away like this?

  "I've been in wars and seen battles, many battles and terrible nights. And I'm not talking about the Red Frontier War. What do you think happens to street kids livihe wall? The girls are forced to eain soldiers, and the boys, if they're not used as pung bags, are 'volunteered' to help defend. I grew up among the poor and made my way to where the rich live. And when I got here... I saw that you are just a bunch of old fools filling yuts with tea... idiots," he said, ughing.

  "YOU'RE THE TEA BOY!" an elder shouted.

  "GUARDS! ARREST HIM FOR DEFYING THE SONG DYNASTY!" another anded.

  "You are making a grave mistake... I am the Song Dynasty," Sidao said, still ughing.

  Soldiers entered, armed, and surrounded him.

  "I thought the top of our Song Dynasty would have the best warriors... I was wrong. The higher you go, the more useless people are. They sit arou, and argue... living off the glory of the true Emperors."

  A guard approached him.

  "This ends here. Today you fall."

  "DEATH PENALTY! FOR DARING TO DEFY THE EMPRESS!" another elder screamed.

  Sidao ughed again. "Defy the Empress? Never! I will guide her to the true path that will elevate the Song Dynasty to another level."

  As the guard reached him, Sidao moved his hands. Grabbing the soldier's arm, Sidao broke it with a swift motion.

  "AAAAAHHH!" the soldier screamed, colpsing to the ground.

  Another soldier thrust a spear at him, but Sidao stopped the spear's tip with his finger.

  "Pathetic!" he sneered.

  Sidao spun, his clothes swirling around him, and puhe soldier's skull, sending him crashing lifeless to the floor.

  A soldier behind him sshed at his shoulder with a sword, but the bde didn't cut him.

  "Is that the best you do with Aura? Even when I give you an opening, you 't harm the 'tea boy'?"

  Sidao struck the soldier with two fingers, pierg his armor. The soldier screamed and fell back. Sidao's fingers emerged bloodied.

  He pierced his heart through the armor!

  I looked at the elders, who were now in a panic.

  "Guards! Guards! Call the anders," my teacher yelled.

  Sidao walked toward the elders, who huddled together in fear. Oried to draw a knife, but Sidao grabbed his wrist and broke it, the boting out.

  "Ahhhhh!" the elder screamed.

  I stood paralyzed, in shock, watg the se unfold.

  Sidao struck the elder's neck with his hand, and the man fell dead. One by one, I watched as Sidao killed the elders, their screams eg through the room. I stood frozen in pce, witnessing the blood sptter against the walls.

  "You're the st one, Professor. Any final words?" Sidao asked.

  "You snake! You damn snake!"

  "Wise words for a foolish old man. Do you know how snakes kill their prey?" Sidao threw the master to the ground, f him to his knees. He whispered in his ear, "Snakes coil around their prey slowly, tightening their grip until the victim is pletely suffocated, their bones crushed. You've givehe greatest pliment I've ever received. I was the shat coiled around you... but don't think I've always been a bad person to you. The Emperor fell just as I intended. With his fall, you, my professor, became the cellor. Remember, it was I who put you there."

  Sidao tightened his grip on the professor's head.

  "Goodbye, Professor! Feel the squeeze of the snake!" Sidao crushed his skull, causing his head to explode in a shower of blood.

  I stood in shock, blood c Sidao as he smiled at me. He sat down in the chair and picked up another cup of tea.

  "What have you done, Sidao!?" I asked, panic rising in my voice.

  "I served tea for the st time."

  As I tried to run, the curtain moved and ed around my neck.

  "Ah!" I colpsed to the floor, choking, and then realized the curtain was transf into a geisha.

  "You took your time, Sidao! And what do you think you're doing, letting him escape?"

  Sidao just ughed at the woman strangling me. "I didn't take long; I just wao enjoy the view of the sky. It was really beautiful... and as for this person, he won the position of cellor's Assistant fairly. I value that. He will tinue being the Assistant cellor he always wao be."

  Still being strangled, I g my professor's body. The grip around my neck loosened.

  "Sidao! What cellor!? You killed the cellor!" I said, struggling to catch my breath.

  "I am the cellor now! I am sed in and, just below our little Empress... and you will be my Assistant," he decred to me.

  "Be happy with that. Wele to our team," Sidao said, ughing with those terrifying eyes staring at me.

  The geisha began walking out, opening a door. Meishas entered.

  "And my sister?" Sidao asked.

  "She is pletiraining to bee a Witch," one of the geishas replied.

  "Still?" Sidao asked.

  "The path to awakening forbidden magic takes time. Soon, she will be one of us."

  Sidao stood as several soldiers entered.

  "What happened here?" they asked.

  "Unfortunately, they all succumbed to a severe illness at once. Hic..." Sidao said, looking at the bodies. "Do you disagree with my judgment?" he asked the soldier, and the geishas stared at the men.

  "No!" one of the soldiers said, kneeling.

  "Good... he reizes our old anization," said the geisha.

  "It seems there are no pathetic people left in this pce," Sidao remarked, walking out.

  "There's a problem, Sidao..." aneisha said.

  Sidao sighed deeply.

  "Did someone escape?" he asked.

  "No... it's reted to that phoenix hatg."

  Phoenix!? That this? I thought it was just a story for children.

  Sidao became furious.

  "WHAT HAPPEO THE PHOENIX?" he demanded.

  The woman looked down.

  "We don't know... it disappeared. They were supposed to arrive after that two-year jouro the isnd... the ship went off course four months ago. One of them returned retly aed that something happened, and the ship carrying the phoenix took a different route... we don't know its destination."

  Sidao sighed heavily and rubbed his temples.

  "Failure! t on the damned failure! We've lost the phoenix, and it probably died in that sea! I o longer tih that pn," he said.

  "So it's over? The pn to give it to the Empress and trol the power of that bird... everything we fought for was in vain?" the geisha asked.

  Sidao let out a ugh.

  "Who said I rely solely on my success? Unfortunately, this defeat was bitter, but now I am the cellor... I'll have to execute my Pn B since we've lost the phoenix..." he said, leaving the room.

  I just listened, unsure of what to do, fearing for my life.

  "And what is your Pn B, Sidao?" the geisha asked.

  He ughed.

  "I will create a gigantic army of skilled Aura users!"