A Small Lesson

Brett was a young man who looked close to thirty.

His face was covered in scruffy stubble, and his naturally curly hair made him look like a weathered middle-aged man.

After stopping Li Qi, Brett quickly stepped forward to inspect his team members. Only after confirming they were unharmed did he rise and angrily demand of Li Qi:

"Sergeant Li Qi! What were you doing just now?! What were you trying to do?! Were you going to kill one of the duchy's outstanding soldiers here?!"

"Outstanding?"

Li Qi sheathed his blade, his expression blank.

"I don't think someone who beats up comrades over a woman can be called 'outstanding.'

"Besides, Sergeant Brett, you seem to have misunderstood. I had no intention of killing him."

That was the truth. If Li Qi had truly wanted to kill the soldier, his blade would never have stopped.

Brett said angrily:

"Even so, you can't lay a hand on my men!"

"Hm? Sergeant Brett, it seems you have something confused. Your men were the ones who attacked first, weren't they?"

Li Qi raised his head and looked at Brett.

"Or are you saying your men can beat my men, but I can't fight back against yours... Sergeant Brett, surely you don't actually think that, do you?"

Li Qi's tone was as calm as ever.

Though this world resembled the nineteenth century in some ways and the Middle Ages in others, military discipline was lax, and most rules had yet to take shape.

Still, the military did prohibit soldiers from fighting one another.

Brett's men had attacked Li Qi's men first, and Li Qi, as their superior, was perfectly justified in disciplining them.

So even if Brett was genuinely furious, there was nothing he could do.

Seeing Li Qi's righteous expression, Brett trembled with rage. He stared fixedly at the youth before him, yet could not utter a word for a long while.

"Keep your men under control." Li Qi's calm gaze swept over Brett's face before he turned toward the tents.

But just as Li Qi turned around, the unlucky man he had knocked to the ground climbed back to his feet.

His face was twisted with fury, his eyes bloodshot, and his gaze toward Li Qi brimmed with hatred.

"You little brat!!!"

Perhaps he was a recruit. Perhaps he had just been transferred from another battalion.

In any case, he clearly did not know Li Qi or his reputation.

He only knew that he had been taken down by a brat who did not even reach his chest, stomped into the ground beneath the other's foot, stripped of every shred of dignity.

So he wanted revenge. He wanted to make this brat pay!

The Strong Man, over six feet tall, charged at Li Qi like a mountain bear.

But when he saw the man rise to attack Li Qi, Brett, his Squad Leader, was the most anxious of all.

"Stop!!!"

Brett shouted at the soldier.

Unfortunately, this soldier was not like Li Qi, able to stop the instant he was told to.

He continued closing in on Li Qi, his hand about to reach Li Qi's back.

Closer and closer!

The soldier's savage grin nearly stretched to his ears, but in the next instant, it froze completely on his face.

At some point, the short blade had left its sheath. Li Qi also dodged the soldier's lunge by the narrowest of margins.

Then Li Qi kicked hard at the soldier's shin.

The sharp crack of breaking bone made the soldier howl in agony:

"AAAAAHHHH!!!!"

But it was not over. After slipping past him, Li Qi swung his sharp blade across the soldier's hands, then moved behind him and kicked him hard.

Bang!

The soldier's body toppled forward.

He instinctively tried to brace himself with both hands, but the moment they touched the ground, they separated from his wrists. Blood gushed wildly from the severed stumps.

"AAAAAHHH!!! My hands!! My hands!!!"

The anguished screams sent chills down everyone's spine.

Brett's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. He rushed to the soldier, picked up his severed hands, and at the same time controlled the blood still spraying from the soldier's wrists.

"Li Qi!! You've gone too far!!!"

Only then did Brett roar at Li Qi.

Li Qi unhurriedly took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from his blade. Then he said softly to Brett:

"Beating comrades and attacking a superior—by the rules, I could have killed him. I merely cut off his hands. That was already merciful.

"Besides, for his sake, so he can regain his combat ability as soon as possible, I struck quickly and left clean cuts. With Healing Magic, they should recover in two days."

As Li Qi spoke, he returned the blade to its sheath and walked to Brett's side.

"Sergeant Brett, if you don't want your soldiers getting hurt, then please keep them under control from now on."

After saying that to Brett, Li Qi turned and left.

Brett's expression shifted uncertainly as he watched Li Qi's retreating back.

"I'll report this to the Battalion Commander!"

"Go ahead."

Li Qi waved dismissively. He ignored Brett after that and walked over to his own men.

Generro and Rick stood side by side. When they saw Li Qi approach, both swallowed hard.

After hesitating for a moment, Rick finally gritted his teeth and stepped forward.

"Squad Leader, about this..."

Bang!!

Before Rick could finish, Li Qi viciously struck him with his sheathed sword.

The blow was heavy enough to send him flying. Judging by the sound from where he had been hit, at least two of his ribs had broken.

Rick rolled twice across the ground before coming to a stop.

Only after he struggled back to his feet did Li Qi speak.

"Stand as punishment for three hours. Then go to the infirmary and treat your injuries yourself."

"Understood!"

Rick forced himself upright and answered through the pain.

Li Qi then turned his gaze to Generro.

"You too."

"...Yes."

Generro lowered his head and stood beside Rick.

Li Qi did not explain why he had hit Rick, and neither of them asked.

Because there was no need to ask.

It was one thing to flirt with girls at the infirmary. But they had even gotten into a fight, and after fighting for so long, they had still failed to win.

For Li Qi to see such an embarrassing display, getting struck with a sheath and suffering a few broken ribs was already a good outcome.

If they truly angered their Squad Leader, they would probably have to drag their injured bodies onto the battlefield tomorrow.

That would be truly fatal!

Thus, the farce came to an end. Li Qi did not look at his two subordinates again and returned to the tent to lie down once more.

The Duchy of Uno's military discipline was not as strict as one might imagine.

And here, too, strength ruled above all else.

As long as you were strong enough, you had the right to do whatever you wanted.

That was why Li Qi had disciplined Brett's men without hesitation, and why he had decisively cut off the hands of the soldier who tried to attack him.

Perhaps Rick had indeed been in the wrong.

But whether he was right or wrong did not matter to Li Qi at all.

What mattered was that Rick was Li Qi's team member, and standing up for his own men was only natural.

That said, Rick still needed a lesson.

With all that spare energy, instead of properly improving his strength and increasing his chances of survival on the battlefield, he had gone off to flirt with girls?

If it were not wartime, Li Qi would definitely train them properly.

Train them to death!

After all, this world had Healing Magic. So long as someone was not grievously injured, even ordinary training injuries—even severed hands or feet—could be healed with Healing Magic.

That was also why Li Qi had dared to cut off the hands of the recruit from Brett's squad.

The cuts were neat, the severed surfaces smooth. There was no need for one of their Tactical Rank medics to intervene; any level-one or level-two medic could reattach his hands.

At most, he simply would not be able to use both hands too forcefully for a few days.

Li Qi felt that his punishment had not been severe.

Of course, he had not intended to be too harsh either.

After all, establishing an image of being "cruel" in others' eyes would not help with his future promotion.

And honestly, judging by this recruit's temperament, if the war continued, he probably would not survive for long.

The first to die on the battlefield were hotheaded fools like this.

No skill, yet always eager to charge headfirst.

"Sigh... When will this war finally end..."

Lying on the straw bedding, Li Qi stared at the tent ceiling and muttered inwardly.

Though he appeared so strict and vicious in the eyes of others,

in truth, Li Qi only wanted the war to end as soon as possible—or to be transferred to the rear as soon as possible—so he could properly study magic.

Compared to fighting wars, this world's Magic System was far more interesting.