Passing the Trial

"What the hell do you mean, retreat? Gone means gone!"

Another soldier, his uniform hanging loose and sloppy, chimed in. "Of course it was our Great General Yun. His divine might descended from the heavens, a Heavenly Man possessed him, and he slaughtered that million-strong army until they threw away their armor and fled in panic... No, wait, what was that idiom again?"

"Mountains of corpses, seas of blood; blood flowing into rivers."

"Right!" the slovenly soldier said. "Mountains of corpses, seas of blood; blood flowing into rivers!"

"What kind of bullshit are you people spouting?!" The messenger officer was furious.

If these soldiers had spent a month stubbornly holding the line and fighting bitter battles, leaving them exhausted in body and mind—

Then even if they were sleeping on the ground and only lifted their eyelids to look at him, he would not have considered it disrespectful. He might even have wanted these brave soldiers to lie there a little longer and get some more rest.

But these sons of bitches were all bursting with energy, yet reeked of dejection from head to toe. They did not look like soldiers at all!

"Do you still have even the slightest bearing of Great Li soldiers!?"

"We did before. Now it's gone."

"A month ago, we were still all tense and taut. Ever since General Yun displayed his divine might that day, we've all become this loose and sloppy."

"With General Yun here, mighty enough to fuck the heavens and the earth, why should we keep trying?"

The messenger officer found these people... utterly unreasonable!

Until your voice drifted over from afar.

"Let him up."

Then, the soldiers who had been slouching around just moments ago instantly stood straight, every inch of them tightening inside and out!

"With that wording... Fuck,