Chapter 446

Chapter 446

Everything changed when the Butchers attacked.

Prior to the disastrous Defiled insurrection, Chun Yimu had been a respected, twenty-two year old Sergeant of the Guard in Sanshu, wielding his trusty truncheon in service to his coin purse first, and the Magistrates peace second. Back then, people feared and respected him, for his Spiritual Weapon and familial connections to Western Treasures Union afforded him far more power than a mere Sergeant should have, and he wasnt shy about using it to his advantage. Small advantages to be sure, for his status in the Union was mediocre at best, but it was enough to let him open a tab at every luxurious bar, brothel, and bathhouse in Sanshu, tabs he had no intention of ever paying off. While his meagre Sergeants salary left him destitute after paying his Union dues, he drank and played for free while bribes and kickbacks bought him a cozy little courtyard manor, one he filled with second-rate art and counterfeit antiques, a necessity for anyone of worth in Sanshu. He wouldve much rather filled his modest home with slave girls and courtesans, but appearances must be kept, for he was not the only Chun Yimu in Sanshu.

It was a name he loathed with all his heart. His mothers fault, for she idolized her older brother and hoped her son would be just as heroic, hopes which fell woefully short. As such, no one, his mother included, ever called him by name, only ever referring to him as Junior.

When the traitorous bastard Mao Jianghong let Yo Ling and his Defiled Bandits through the gates, Juniors cozy little life came to an abrupt end. Using his connections, he secured himself a safe posting in the north-eastern gatehouse, as far from the fighting and the Butchers as he could conceivably get, but as the hours stretched into days and news trickled in from the battlefront, even the guardhouse didnt feel safe anymore. Thus, when a slave representing Chao Yong, chairman of the Eastern Prosperity Alliance, approached him seeking passage out of the city, Junior seized the chance for salvation. The Butchers were already inside the city, so what harm could come from opening the gates? Five hundred gold and safe passage away was a small price to pay for someone like Chao Yong, but more than enough for Junior to set up in Jiu Lang or Nan Ping, even when split four ways with his fellow guards.

Itd been a close thing, a matter of mere minutes. The moment Chao Yongs barges arrived, Junior gave the order to open the sluice gates and let them through, but his order had been met with silence. When he turned around, he was greeted by cold steel and a colder smile, both belonging to the infamous half-stag Jariad, second-in-command of the Crossbone Corsairs and a name which stood alongside the likes of Gao Qiu, Bastard Liu, and Yo Ling himself. Juniors nanny had used those names to frighten him as a child, her words painting Jariad as the Forest Lord and a fearsome bandit more terrifying than the Defiled themselves. She warned him that misbehaving children were the Forest Lords favourite treat, but only after theyd been impaled upon his antlers and left there for days, for the suffering made their flesh all the more tender. Junior had been utterly terrified and run straight to his mother, which resulted in the nanny being whipped and cast out of the manor, but the damage had already been done.

It took him years to get over his fear of the forest, so it was easy to understand why, when confronted with the scarred face of his childhood nightmares, he lost control of his bladder.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

Though Jariad spared Juniors life, he almost wished the damned bandit had slit his throat instead, for following Yo Lings miraculous defeat, it seemed like all Sanshu could talk about was how Chun Yimu pissed himself when confronted by the citys bandit saviours, a rumour which reached the ears of his namesake and Uncle, current Lieutenant Colonel and Guard Captain of Sanshu, Chun Yimu Senior. Needless to say, Uncle Yimu was less than pleased to hear about it and called Junior in for a haranguing, after which he was stripped of rank and sent for retraining alongside the new recruits, who just so happened to be the same Corsairs whod spread the rumours in the first place. That had been a brand new sort of hell, for not only did his comrades scorn and look down upon him for his spoon-fed upbringing and inferior Martial skills, with his name being a joke and his rank stripped away, Junior could no longer throw his weight around like he used to. With no income and no power, his debtors soon came calling and repossessed his manor, but not before they tore the walls and floorboards apart searching for his savings, savings which hed already lost because he had them with him in the gatehouse.

It burned him to know that a soldier he called comrade had likely pocketed his nest egg and was laughing about it every time they crossed paths.

So there he was, sharing a bunk in the guard barracks with eleven other men and sitting in a dirty, dimly-lit bar one month after Sanshus victory. Nursing his watered-down drink because he couldnt afford another, he was busy mentally cursing both former and current Guard Captains of Sanshu when hed been approached by a spy, an innocuous young man named MuYang who spoke with a poorly-concealed Central accent. It started off so innocuously, with a friendly face offering to buy a drink for one of Sanshus finest, but Junior saw through his intentions and was happy to partake. Having grown up in Sanshu, he understood how the game was played, and this MuYang (undoubtedly a fake name, since not even the stupidest peasant would name their son Shepherd) wasnt asking for much. Information on the Western Treasures Union and Sanshu in general, nothing specific or treasonous, just simple things such as the citys overall mood, whether citizens or nobles were meeting in secret, whether crime was high or low and such.

So Junior did as hed been taught: he bragged about his lofty family connections, told MuYang enough truth to solicit a bribe, then reported the entire encounter to his Union superior first thing in the morning, where he was rewarded handsomely for turning in a spy. After a short investigation, he was then given a list of facts to pass on to MuYang, and for the next few weeks, Junior milked the stupid shepherd for all he was worth. Though far from enough to return him to his previous heights, it gave him a taste of the glamorous life hed burned alongside his urine-soaked trousers, right up until MuYang disappeared without a word. Bereft of his spy, the easy money dried up and Junior was cast back into the wretchedness of poverty.

To make matters worse, when his retraining finally finished, he found out his instructor had failed him. There it was, written on the board for all to see: Chun Yimu, Failed. It was a small comfort knowing most guards couldnt read, right until one of the former Corsairs loudly asked, Whys the Guard Captains name up there? And whos got the balls to fail im? What followed was the most humiliating two minutes of Juniors life as another Corsair patiently explained for everyone in earshot that the Chun Yimu on the board wasnt the Guard Captain, but rather the Guard Captains nephew, the same Chun Yimu who pissed his pants when the Corsairs entered the city to fight Yo Ling. Its not as if people ever forgot, theyd just grown bored of talking about it, but after washing out of retraining, Sanshu buzzed anew with talk of the Guard Captains worthless nephew. Were it not for his mothers begging, Uncle Yimu mightve taken drastic action, but since he doted on his younger sister, Junior got one last chance to prove himself.

They needed Junior for this, that much was apparent. A man like Falling Rain would undoubtedly have an incredible hidden protector watching for Concealed assassins, which meant that even though the oath-bound assassins were masters of stealth, a covert attack meant dealing with said hidden protector. Thus the need for Bekkie armour and weapons, so they could hide in the open and blend in with every other soldier in the retinue. This would be enough to trick the hidden protector guarding Falling Rain, which meant the assassins only needed to slip past the mundane guards and get close to their target. This was where Junior came in, for the guards kept track of the comings and goings of soldiers leaving camp, but no one questioned the guards coming off duty. Even if the guards were questioned after the assassination, Junior would pretend hed been on duty with his yurt mates and was confident theyd keep their mouths shut, because speaking up meant admitting theyd slept through guard duty and gotten their boss killed, an infraction punishable by death. The plan was foolproof.

...

At least it had been last night. What if his comrades chose to speak up? What if the guards hed relieved remembered and mentioned how he'd arrived alone? What if the slave assassins werent actually slaves and merely devoted killers willing to give their lives to kill an Imperial Hero? A shame Junior hadnt thought of any of this before MuYang left, because it was too late to call it off now. For hours, he covertly tested the three assassins and their supposed Oaths, ordering them to do things true slaves would be unable to follow through with, like acknowledge his lies as truth or go against their Oaths of silence. While their inability and distress could have been faked, he couldnt afford to push them too hard lest someone wonder why there was a guard rolling around in pain.

Looking up at the Heavens, Junior mopped his brow with a sweat-soaked handkerchief and prayed hed made the right decision. He shouldnt have agreed so easily, shouldve taken a few more days to consider everything, but he had panicked. The giant, water-manipulating Demon had unnerved him, because even strong as Falling Rain and his protectors were, they still couldnt do anything to that Demon, a newborn one which was supposed to be at its weakest. Those rifles had injured it yes, but it would take so much more to kill a Demon, and rumours spoke of dozens, if not hundreds, of Demons being born all across the front lines.

Junior just wanted to go back to Sanshu and live in peace, and MuYang was his only chance to get there with his neck intact.

After an eternity spent in anxious worry, their uneventful guard shift ended when the relief team arrived right before lunchtime. Instructing the oath-bound assassins to keep their heads down and mouths shut (not that the latter mattered since they were mutes), Junior did the same as he pretended to yawn and hid his face, hoping they wouldnt look too closely at him or the visitors log with the forged names of his yurt mates. Making a quick escape, he pulled his helm low as he brought the oath-bound assassins into the camp, speaking quietly so they wouldnt be overheard. You know what to do, he muttered, clutching the wooden token in his pocket and praying it truly gave him power over them. Hes probably outside his yurt, so go and get it done before someone sees us together. Make sure you die when its finished.

The three assassins marched off without a word, but Juniors stomach continued to churn. Mother in Heaven, how was it possible no one had noticed them yet? They stuck out like a sore thumb, marching about with backs straight and knees high like Death Corps on parade instead of walking like the normal soldiers of Rains retinue, but somehow, no one seemed to care. Wringing his handkerchief out, he mopped his brow again and watched the assassins slowly make their way to the centre of camp to kill Falling Rain. Realizing it would be best if he were seen by others, he scurried off to find Viyan and Birca for a game of dice, stopping when he saw Silva eating his lunch. You seen those two blackguards about? Junior asked, faking a smile and shaking one hand like he was throwing dice. Im fixing to throw some bones and win some coin.

Shaking his head, Silva replied, Theyre over by the training field, but I doubt youll get a game. Theyre standing guard over the boss while he has himself another Insight or something. Never met a man more blessed by the Heavens, but he works damned hard for it.

...Mother above, if Falling Rain was distracted by Insight, then the assassins might actually succeed. Stomach flopping about in panic, Junior hurried to the training fields and froze in place as he spotted the assassins marching towards their target. Viyan and Birca were there standing guard alongside the half-monkey Expert Argat, stationed around Falling Rain who stood in place, head bent as he studied the flat of his sword, which he held horizontally with both hands. Undeterred by the guards or Rains drawn weapon, the assassins split up to surround their targets position, and though their intentions seemed obvious to Junior, not a single soldier glanced at them twice.

Torn between shouting a warning and making himself scarce, Junior stood and watched in abject terror as the events unfolded before him. Save Falling Rain and doom himself, or stand back and let a Hero of the Empire die? Then, in a moment of ingenuity, he realized what needed to be done and reached for his truncheon. Let the assassins strike, and regardless of failure or success, Junior would then strike them down in turn. It was the perfect solution, for not only would other see him fighting to save Falling Rain, he could also ensure no one would take the assassins alive.

Hell, if he was lucky, then he might even emerge a hero from all this...

Chapter Meme