Chapter 306
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Chapter 306
On the dawn of their fourth day in Nan Ping, Rustram stood tall with his feet touching at the heels and perpendicular to one another. Kissing the hilt of his rapier for good luck, he pointed the tip down and away from his skilled opponent. I am the weapon, he whispered, willing himself to accept his words, and the weapon is Death. The moment he signalled he was ready, his opponent struck first, taciturn as always. Her saber flashed through the air and it took all his strength to parry her casual opening blow, emphasizing the vast discrepancy between them. No matter, he told himself as he fell back before her furious assault, blocking, dodging, and parrying all the while. Killing is easier than surviving. Such is life, but I am Death.
Knowing he couldnt meet her head on, Rustram retreated before her flurry of attacks and picked his moment carefully. Sensing more than seeing an opportunity, he tapped his blade against hers and stepped aside, feigning resistance to make her over-commit. Twirling about as she rushed past, he whipped his rapier in a circle and aimed a strike at the back of her neck. Reacting faster than he expected, she tucked her head and rolled away, causing him to cut through empty air but earning him the upper hand. Landing in a low crouch, she spun about and lashed out, aiming to scythe through his left ankle. Confident his attack would land first, he took a single step back to minimize the damage even as his rapier lanced out, aimed right between her eyes in a killing thrust. Abandoning her attack, her saber turned his attack aside just enough for her to tilt her head and avoid certain death, though his blade still ground against her prominent cheekbones.
This was it, his first victory at hand. Heart pounding and blood burning, he pressed his advantage with a downward smash, the world slowing as he took in every detail for posteritys sake. Still locked in a crouch, she caught the blow with her sabers edge. Extending one long, shapely leg out to the side, her body flowed like water as she shifted her weight and righted herself. Their blades grinding against one another with a shriek of metal, she drew her weapon towards herself as his rapier slid down into the dirt, still propelled by the momentum of his powerful blow. Once free of its weight, she whipped her saber about for a killing slash and in the blink of an eye, its dulled edge rested lightly against his neck, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
That was the closest hed ever come to winning and his dumb brain ruined it all. After tricking his opponent into over-committing, he tricked himself into making the same mistake. Stupid, stupid, stupid...
Showing no pride or pleasure from her victory, Li Song withdrew her saber and stepped back, giving him time to reflect on his actions before starting again. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves and silence his self-recriminations, Rustram closed his eyes and took his stance once more. Feet perpendicular. Heels touching. Hilt against lips. There was no shame in losing to Li Song, not even Dastan could consistently defeat her, but in their last exchange, Rustram didnt lose to her. Hed lost to himself. The rapier is not a heavy weapon for clubbing and bashing, it is a delicate, elegant weapon and his movements must match it. The tip of his sword was resting against her face, he should have left it there and circled to his left and kept her off balance. A simple movement and victory would have been his.
The sword is my arrow, he muttered, and my body the bow, delivering swift Death in a lethal eruption of power. These small catechisms had become something of a habit, a short invocation to set his mind right before battle. Balance came easily as breathing now, his muscles brimming with power and ready to unleash upon his opponent. Lowering his weapon once more, he signalled his readiness and lunged.
A half-hour later, Rustram stood hunched over and drenched in sweat, gasping for air and without a single victory to call his own. His opponent looked none the worse for wear, without a single hair out of place. Her straight-edged bangs sat perfectly above her brow and framed her lovely face, her exotic green eyes dull and lifeless like always. Standing at full height, she gave him a warriors salute and almost-but-not-quite looked him in the eyes before she left, the most encouragement hed ever gotten from the beautiful warrior. Choking out his thanks as she walked away, he turned his attention to his slacking subordinates, working hard to appear like they were hard at work. Silva, he barked, causing the lazy shirker to bolt to attention, abandoning his pretense of Demonstrating the Forms. Front and centre. Ignoring the muffled groan, Rustram sparred with the most lethargic member of the bosss retinue, intent on whipping the man into fighting shape.
It had nothing to do with Rustrams personal frustration, nothing at all.
By the Mother, he needed a woman. Not even for sex, just someone to talk to and laugh with, maybe while taking a stroll down the beach...
The boss was too kind and generous to his people, gifting Spiritual Weapons to every one of the original cripples. Of the eight remaining survivors, only Ravil had enough talent to merit the investment and just barely at that, but Rustrams pleas had fallen on deaf ears. The mark of an expert chef, the boss asserted, is not if they can use the best ingredients to cook a delicious meal. No, what sets them apart is their ability to create a delicious meal using even the most common ingredients. You are my chef, and if you say your ingredients are lacking, then youll just have to work harder to compensate.
If asked for his opinion, Rustram wouldve called it all hogwash and armed only the best with Spiritual Weapons, but the boss never asked. Itd be a miracle if Silva, Viyan, and Birca all reached Captain-level strength even with their wondrous combination weapons. Bulat showed promise but hed never be an expert duellist or celebrated warrior, too fond of dirty tricks and low-brow schemes to ever fight fair. Pran and Saluk were powerful but lacking in guile or cunning. Even Rustram could run circles around them, though admittedly itd be much more difficult to avoid their massive two-handed hammers on a crowded and chaotic battlefield.
Luckily, Lady Sumilas miracle weapons made up for most of these shortcomings. Capable of launching metal pellets over three-hundred meters away with enough force to pierce through five centimetres of solid iron, the boss called them the great equalizers. Ravil could reach ranges of four-hundred meters, but his accuracy suffered greatly at such extreme distances. Rustram would be lying if he said he wasnt jealous of these new wonder weapons, but his skin wasnt thick enough to ask for a second Spiritual Weapon. Even though theyd discovered a treasure trove of Spiritual Hearts on Yo Lings island, the bosss retinue held an abundance of warriors more deserving than Rustram. Former bandits though they might be, they were a formidable band of thugs and brutes, not to mention the elite members of Dastans former retinue or the seemingly endless numbers of accomplished and talented Khishigs of the Bekhai still lacking a Spiritual Weapon.
Then there were the newest members of the bosss retinue, the former miners from Yo Lings island. Giving Silva a reprieve after a half hour of intense sparring, Rustram caught his breath before finding Lang Yi to practise with. With the monkey-brothers Argat and Jochi offering advice from the side, the lean former slave presented quite the challenge, a straightforward assailant who compensated for his inexperience with untempered aggression. Favouring the spear like his two instructors, Lang Yi kept Rustram at bay using only three basic attacks: stab, sweep, or strike. Even knowing his limited patterns of attack wasnt of much help as Rustram struggled to slip past the longer range of his opponent. Still, it was good practice for footwork and while Lang Yi and his companions lacked a single Spiritual Weapon to call their own, their base strength would soon match, if not surpass, the average member of the bosss retinue.
Truly, the Mother did not treat her children equally, but such was life.
Head bobbing like a chicken pecking grains, the gentleman stammered his assurances while unfurling the contract. Cheeks going red with rage, he ran back inside bellowing orders and returned shortly thereafter, dragging the representative Rustram had met with, a gaunt, hollow-cheeked young man. I apologize for the delay Divine Attendant, but my man here overcharged you for the shipment by double and marked the order as twice as large in my own ledgers. He intended to sell the excess food and pocket the extra coin for himself, hence why we were unable to fill the order before today. He is yours to do with as you please.
A fine story, but Rustram would eat his boots if the owner wasnt in on it, and the boss was equally perceptive. Why should I dirty my hands dealing with your mess? Handle it yourself, away from the eyes of children. More importantly, you say youre prepared to deliver twice the amount? Ill take whatever you have on hand now, deliver the rest as soon as possible. Rustram, Ravil, Bulat, take some soldiers and help this kind sir load our wagons.
Stifling a chuckle, Rustram committed the gentlemans look of consternation to memory as the boss led his family and the Divine Turtle down the street. This was the bosss style, domineering and refusing to give face as he handled business in the streets for all to see. Unfortunately, Rustrams amusement was short-lived as he considered his actions. Hed used this first deal to gauge the local market, which means if he paid double the market price here, then he did the same at the other merchant houses. Burning with shame, he set his people to task checking each sack of rice for weevils before personally weighing them, glaring at the merchant and his doomed representative all the while.
By the time he finished and they arrived at the next merchant house a half-hour later, their supplies were ready and waiting, already loaded into wagons sitting in the streets. After a cursory inspection, they moved on to the next house, with each merchant company either providing double what Rustram had contracted them for, or accepting half the payment promised. Meanwhile, the boss was inundated with messengers bearing invitations from the larger merchant houses, places Rustram had been too afraid to approach. Economic giants like the Ru and Yo families had heard of the bosss plight and were offering to procure whatever the boss needed for his retinue. This was the power of fame and reputation, and proud as he was to be a part of it, Rustram spirits were low and with good reason.
As Falling Rains second in command, hed failed completely.
Dont worry so much, the boss said, clapping Rustram on the back. I expected to suffer setbacks here in Nan Ping, and things are only going so well because of the Divine Turtle. You did good, I figured wed need to ask Akanai or Yuzhen for help. Blind to his own accomplishments as always, the boss failed to mention his twenty eight duels fought in the first two days. Now with Situ Jia Zian, Han BoShui, and Tong Da Fung attracting all of Centrals hatred, few still had the courage to continue challenging the boss. Anyways, lets visit one more merchant house, then we can break for lunch. Whos our next target?
Appreciating the bosss attempt to cheer him up, Rustram unfurled the next contract. Next up is the Canston Trading Group, just two streets-
Grabbing him by the collar, the bosss eyes went wide with anger as he hissed, You signed a deal with the Canston Trading Group?
Taken aback by the bosss palpable fury, Rustram recoiled in fear. What happened to the cheerful, good-natured young hero whod just been offering encouragement? Hed never laid hands on his people, not in anger and not like this. Worried he'd be beaten to a pulp, Rustram babbled out an explanation. Yes boss, for several shipments of grains, cause everyone else I visited said they were out of stock and itd be weeks before more arrived, but itd be too late by then so I had no choice but to buy it from them, and they said theyd need a day before shipping us the grains because their wagons were being used, but I guess it was a mistake to trust them because when I went back, they gave me a run around and -
Thankfully, Major Alsantset came to his rescue, approaching the boss from the other side and holding him back. Little Rain, let go. He didnt know.
Visibly trembling in anger, the boss let go of Rustrams collar and closed his eyes, struggling for calm and Balance. After a long minute spent in silence, the boss opened his eyes and said, Sorry about that. Its... nothing. Forget about it. Come, lets go pay a visit to the Canston. Trading. Group.
Releasing a breath he didnt know hed been holding, Rustram nodded and led the way. This time, hed made a huge mistake, even though he could argue it wasnt his fault, since hed never heard of the Canston Trading Group before arriving in Nan Ping. Whatever, on the bright side, maybe this time the boss would finally find someone else to take Rustram's place. Being second in command to Falling Rain was both physically and mentally exhausting.
It was high time Rustram took a break. Maybe hed finally have time to find a wife.
Chapter Meme
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Chapter 306
On the dawn of their fourth day in Nan Ping, Rustram stood tall with his feet touching at the heels and perpendicular to one another. Kissing the hilt of his rapier for good luck, he pointed the tip down and away from his skilled opponent. I am the weapon, he whispered, willing himself to accept his words, and the weapon is Death. The moment he signalled he was ready, his opponent struck first, taciturn as always. Her saber flashed through the air and it took all his strength to parry her casual opening blow, emphasizing the vast discrepancy between them. No matter, he told himself as he fell back before her furious assault, blocking, dodging, and parrying all the while. Killing is easier than surviving. Such is life, but I am Death.
Knowing he couldnt meet her head on, Rustram retreated before her flurry of attacks and picked his moment carefully. Sensing more than seeing an opportunity, he tapped his blade against hers and stepped aside, feigning resistance to make her over-commit. Twirling about as she rushed past, he whipped his rapier in a circle and aimed a strike at the back of her neck. Reacting faster than he expected, she tucked her head and rolled away, causing him to cut through empty air but earning him the upper hand. Landing in a low crouch, she spun about and lashed out, aiming to scythe through his left ankle. Confident his attack would land first, he took a single step back to minimize the damage even as his rapier lanced out, aimed right between her eyes in a killing thrust. Abandoning her attack, her saber turned his attack aside just enough for her to tilt her head and avoid certain death, though his blade still ground against her prominent cheekbones.
This was it, his first victory at hand. Heart pounding and blood burning, he pressed his advantage with a downward smash, the world slowing as he took in every detail for posteritys sake. Still locked in a crouch, she caught the blow with her sabers edge. Extending one long, shapely leg out to the side, her body flowed like water as she shifted her weight and righted herself. Their blades grinding against one another with a shriek of metal, she drew her weapon towards herself as his rapier slid down into the dirt, still propelled by the momentum of his powerful blow. Once free of its weight, she whipped her saber about for a killing slash and in the blink of an eye, its dulled edge rested lightly against his neck, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
That was the closest hed ever come to winning and his dumb brain ruined it all. After tricking his opponent into over-committing, he tricked himself into making the same mistake. Stupid, stupid, stupid...
Showing no pride or pleasure from her victory, Li Song withdrew her saber and stepped back, giving him time to reflect on his actions before starting again. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves and silence his self-recriminations, Rustram closed his eyes and took his stance once more. Feet perpendicular. Heels touching. Hilt against lips. There was no shame in losing to Li Song, not even Dastan could consistently defeat her, but in their last exchange, Rustram didnt lose to her. Hed lost to himself. The rapier is not a heavy weapon for clubbing and bashing, it is a delicate, elegant weapon and his movements must match it. The tip of his sword was resting against her face, he should have left it there and circled to his left and kept her off balance. A simple movement and victory would have been his.
The sword is my arrow, he muttered, and my body the bow, delivering swift Death in a lethal eruption of power. These small catechisms had become something of a habit, a short invocation to set his mind right before battle. Balance came easily as breathing now, his muscles brimming with power and ready to unleash upon his opponent. Lowering his weapon once more, he signalled his readiness and lunged.
A half-hour later, Rustram stood hunched over and drenched in sweat, gasping for air and without a single victory to call his own. His opponent looked none the worse for wear, without a single hair out of place. Her straight-edged bangs sat perfectly above her brow and framed her lovely face, her exotic green eyes dull and lifeless like always. Standing at full height, she gave him a warriors salute and almost-but-not-quite looked him in the eyes before she left, the most encouragement hed ever gotten from the beautiful warrior. Choking out his thanks as she walked away, he turned his attention to his slacking subordinates, working hard to appear like they were hard at work. Silva, he barked, causing the lazy shirker to bolt to attention, abandoning his pretense of Demonstrating the Forms. Front and centre. Ignoring the muffled groan, Rustram sparred with the most lethargic member of the bosss retinue, intent on whipping the man into fighting shape.
It had nothing to do with Rustrams personal frustration, nothing at all.
By the Mother, he needed a woman. Not even for sex, just someone to talk to and laugh with, maybe while taking a stroll down the beach...
The boss was too kind and generous to his people, gifting Spiritual Weapons to every one of the original cripples. Of the eight remaining survivors, only Ravil had enough talent to merit the investment and just barely at that, but Rustrams pleas had fallen on deaf ears. The mark of an expert chef, the boss asserted, is not if they can use the best ingredients to cook a delicious meal. No, what sets them apart is their ability to create a delicious meal using even the most common ingredients. You are my chef, and if you say your ingredients are lacking, then youll just have to work harder to compensate.
If asked for his opinion, Rustram wouldve called it all hogwash and armed only the best with Spiritual Weapons, but the boss never asked. Itd be a miracle if Silva, Viyan, and Birca all reached Captain-level strength even with their wondrous combination weapons. Bulat showed promise but hed never be an expert duellist or celebrated warrior, too fond of dirty tricks and low-brow schemes to ever fight fair. Pran and Saluk were powerful but lacking in guile or cunning. Even Rustram could run circles around them, though admittedly itd be much more difficult to avoid their massive two-handed hammers on a crowded and chaotic battlefield.
Luckily, Lady Sumilas miracle weapons made up for most of these shortcomings. Capable of launching metal pellets over three-hundred meters away with enough force to pierce through five centimetres of solid iron, the boss called them the great equalizers. Ravil could reach ranges of four-hundred meters, but his accuracy suffered greatly at such extreme distances. Rustram would be lying if he said he wasnt jealous of these new wonder weapons, but his skin wasnt thick enough to ask for a second Spiritual Weapon. Even though theyd discovered a treasure trove of Spiritual Hearts on Yo Lings island, the bosss retinue held an abundance of warriors more deserving than Rustram. Former bandits though they might be, they were a formidable band of thugs and brutes, not to mention the elite members of Dastans former retinue or the seemingly endless numbers of accomplished and talented Khishigs of the Bekhai still lacking a Spiritual Weapon.
Then there were the newest members of the bosss retinue, the former miners from Yo Lings island. Giving Silva a reprieve after a half hour of intense sparring, Rustram caught his breath before finding Lang Yi to practise with. With the monkey-brothers Argat and Jochi offering advice from the side, the lean former slave presented quite the challenge, a straightforward assailant who compensated for his inexperience with untempered aggression. Favouring the spear like his two instructors, Lang Yi kept Rustram at bay using only three basic attacks: stab, sweep, or strike. Even knowing his limited patterns of attack wasnt of much help as Rustram struggled to slip past the longer range of his opponent. Still, it was good practice for footwork and while Lang Yi and his companions lacked a single Spiritual Weapon to call their own, their base strength would soon match, if not surpass, the average member of the bosss retinue.
Truly, the Mother did not treat her children equally, but such was life.
Head bobbing like a chicken pecking grains, the gentleman stammered his assurances while unfurling the contract. Cheeks going red with rage, he ran back inside bellowing orders and returned shortly thereafter, dragging the representative Rustram had met with, a gaunt, hollow-cheeked young man. I apologize for the delay Divine Attendant, but my man here overcharged you for the shipment by double and marked the order as twice as large in my own ledgers. He intended to sell the excess food and pocket the extra coin for himself, hence why we were unable to fill the order before today. He is yours to do with as you please.
A fine story, but Rustram would eat his boots if the owner wasnt in on it, and the boss was equally perceptive. Why should I dirty my hands dealing with your mess? Handle it yourself, away from the eyes of children. More importantly, you say youre prepared to deliver twice the amount? Ill take whatever you have on hand now, deliver the rest as soon as possible. Rustram, Ravil, Bulat, take some soldiers and help this kind sir load our wagons.
Stifling a chuckle, Rustram committed the gentlemans look of consternation to memory as the boss led his family and the Divine Turtle down the street. This was the bosss style, domineering and refusing to give face as he handled business in the streets for all to see. Unfortunately, Rustrams amusement was short-lived as he considered his actions. Hed used this first deal to gauge the local market, which means if he paid double the market price here, then he did the same at the other merchant houses. Burning with shame, he set his people to task checking each sack of rice for weevils before personally weighing them, glaring at the merchant and his doomed representative all the while.
By the time he finished and they arrived at the next merchant house a half-hour later, their supplies were ready and waiting, already loaded into wagons sitting in the streets. After a cursory inspection, they moved on to the next house, with each merchant company either providing double what Rustram had contracted them for, or accepting half the payment promised. Meanwhile, the boss was inundated with messengers bearing invitations from the larger merchant houses, places Rustram had been too afraid to approach. Economic giants like the Ru and Yo families had heard of the bosss plight and were offering to procure whatever the boss needed for his retinue. This was the power of fame and reputation, and proud as he was to be a part of it, Rustram spirits were low and with good reason.
As Falling Rains second in command, hed failed completely.
Dont worry so much, the boss said, clapping Rustram on the back. I expected to suffer setbacks here in Nan Ping, and things are only going so well because of the Divine Turtle. You did good, I figured wed need to ask Akanai or Yuzhen for help. Blind to his own accomplishments as always, the boss failed to mention his twenty eight duels fought in the first two days. Now with Situ Jia Zian, Han BoShui, and Tong Da Fung attracting all of Centrals hatred, few still had the courage to continue challenging the boss. Anyways, lets visit one more merchant house, then we can break for lunch. Whos our next target?
Appreciating the bosss attempt to cheer him up, Rustram unfurled the next contract. Next up is the Canston Trading Group, just two streets-
Grabbing him by the collar, the bosss eyes went wide with anger as he hissed, You signed a deal with the Canston Trading Group?
Taken aback by the bosss palpable fury, Rustram recoiled in fear. What happened to the cheerful, good-natured young hero whod just been offering encouragement? Hed never laid hands on his people, not in anger and not like this. Worried he'd be beaten to a pulp, Rustram babbled out an explanation. Yes boss, for several shipments of grains, cause everyone else I visited said they were out of stock and itd be weeks before more arrived, but itd be too late by then so I had no choice but to buy it from them, and they said theyd need a day before shipping us the grains because their wagons were being used, but I guess it was a mistake to trust them because when I went back, they gave me a run around and -
Thankfully, Major Alsantset came to his rescue, approaching the boss from the other side and holding him back. Little Rain, let go. He didnt know.
Visibly trembling in anger, the boss let go of Rustrams collar and closed his eyes, struggling for calm and Balance. After a long minute spent in silence, the boss opened his eyes and said, Sorry about that. Its... nothing. Forget about it. Come, lets go pay a visit to the Canston. Trading. Group.
Releasing a breath he didnt know hed been holding, Rustram nodded and led the way. This time, hed made a huge mistake, even though he could argue it wasnt his fault, since hed never heard of the Canston Trading Group before arriving in Nan Ping. Whatever, on the bright side, maybe this time the boss would finally find someone else to take Rustram's place. Being second in command to Falling Rain was both physically and mentally exhausting.
It was high time Rustram took a break. Maybe hed finally have time to find a wife.
Chapter Meme
Chapter 306On the dawn of their fourth day in Nan Ping, Rustram stood tall with his feet touching at the heels and perpendicular to one another. Kissing the hilt of his rapier for good luck, he pointed the tip down and away from his skilled opponent. I am the weapon, he whispered, willing himself to accept his words, and the weapon is Death. The moment he signalled he was ready, his opponent struck first, taciturn as always. Her saber flashed through the air and it took all his strength to parry her casual opening blow, emphasizing the vast discrepancy between them. No matter, he told himself as he fell back before her furious assault, blocking, dodging, and parrying all the while. Killing is easier than surviving. Such is life, but I am Death.Knowing he couldnt meet her head on, Rustram retreated before her flurry of attacks and picked his moment carefully. Sensing more than seeing an opportunity, he tapped his blade against hers and stepped aside, feigning resistance to make her over-commit. Twirling about as she rushed past, he whipped his rapier in a circle and aimed a strike at the back of her neck. Reacting faster than he expected, she tucked her head and rolled away, causing him to cut through empty air but earning him the upper hand. Landing in a low crouch, she spun about and lashed out, aiming to scythe through his left ankle. Confident his attack would land first, he took a single step back to minimize the damage even as his rapier lanced out, aimed right between her eyes in a killing thrust. Abandoning her attack, her saber turned his attack aside just enough for her to tilt her head and avoid certain death, though his blade still ground against her prominent cheekbones.This was it, his first victory at hand. Heart pounding and blood burning, he pressed his advantage with a downward smash, the world slowing as he took in every detail for posteritys sake. Still locked in a crouch, she caught the blow with her sabers edge. Extending one long, shapely leg out to the side, her body flowed like water as she shifted her weight and righted herself. Their blades grinding against one another with a shriek of metal, she drew her weapon towards herself as his rapier slid down into the dirt, still propelled by the momentum of his powerful blow. Once free of its weight, she whipped her saber about for a killing slash and in the blink of an eye, its dulled edge rested lightly against his neck, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.That was the closest hed ever come to winning and his dumb brain ruined it all. After tricking his opponent into over-committing, he tricked himself into making the same mistake. Stupid, stupid, stupid...Showing no pride or pleasure from her victory, Li Song withdrew her saber and stepped back, giving him time to reflect on his actions before starting again. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves and silence his self-recriminations, Rustram closed his eyes and took his stance once more. Feet perpendicular. Heels touching. Hilt against lips. There was no shame in losing to Li Song, not even Dastan could consistently defeat her, but in their last exchange, Rustram didnt lose to her. Hed lost to himself. The rapier is not a heavy weapon for clubbing and bashing, it is a delicate, elegant weapon and his movements must match it. The tip of his sword was resting against her face, he should have left it there and circled to his left and kept her off balance. A simple movement and victory would have been his.The sword is my arrow, he muttered, and my body the bow, delivering swift Death in a lethal eruption of power. These small catechisms had become something of a habit, a short invocation to set his mind right before battle. Balance came easily as breathing now, his muscles brimming with power and ready to unleash upon his opponent. Lowering his weapon once more, he signalled his readiness and lunged.A half-hour later, Rustram stood hunched over and drenched in sweat, gasping for air and without a single victory to call his own. His opponent looked none the worse for wear, without a single hair out of place. Her straight-edged bangs sat perfectly above her brow and framed her lovely face, her exotic green eyes dull and lifeless like always. Standing at full height, she gave him a warriors salute and almost-but-not-quite looked him in the eyes before she left, the most encouragement hed ever gotten from the beautiful warrior. Choking out his thanks as she walked away, he turned his attention to his slacking subordinates, working hard to appear like they were hard at work. Silva, he barked, causing the lazy shirker to bolt to attention, abandoning his pretense of Demonstrating the Forms. Front and centre. Ignoring the muffled groan, Rustram sparred with the most lethargic member of the bosss retinue, intent on whipping the man into fighting shape.It had nothing to do with Rustrams personal frustration, nothing at all.By the Mother, he needed a woman. Not even for sex, just someone to talk to and laugh with, maybe while taking a stroll down the beach...The boss was too kind and generous to his people, gifting Spiritual Weapons to every one of the original cripples. Of the eight remaining survivors, only Ravil had enough talent to merit the investment and just barely at that, but Rustrams pleas had fallen on deaf ears. The mark of an expert chef, the boss asserted, is not if they can use the best ingredients to cook a delicious meal. No, what sets them apart is their ability to create a delicious meal using even the most common ingredients. You are my chef, and if you say your ingredients are lacking, then youll just have to work harder to compensate.If asked for his opinion, Rustram wouldve called it all hogwash and armed only the best with Spiritual Weapons, but the boss never asked. Itd be a miracle if Silva, Viyan, and Birca all reached Captain-level strength even with their wondrous combination weapons. Bulat showed promise but hed never be an expert duellist or celebrated warrior, too fond of dirty tricks and low-brow schemes to ever fight fair. Pran and Saluk were powerful but lacking in guile or cunning. Even Rustram could run circles around them, though admittedly itd be much more difficult to avoid their massive two-handed hammers on a crowded and chaotic battlefield.Luckily, Lady Sumilas miracle weapons made up for most of these shortcomings. Capable of launching metal pellets over three-hundred meters away with enough force to pierce through five centimetres of solid iron, the boss called them the great equalizers. Ravil could reach ranges of four-hundred meters, but his accuracy suffered greatly at such extreme distances. Rustram would be lying if he said he wasnt jealous of these new wonder weapons, but his skin wasnt thick enough to ask for a second Spiritual Weapon. Even though theyd discovered a treasure trove of Spiritual Hearts on Yo Lings island, the bosss retinue held an abundance of warriors more deserving than Rustram. Former bandits though they might be, they were a formidable band of thugs and brutes, not to mention the elite members of Dastans former retinue or the seemingly endless numbers of accomplished and talented Khishigs of the Bekhai still lacking a Spiritual Weapon.Then there were the newest members of the bosss retinue, the former miners from Yo Lings island. Giving Silva a reprieve after a half hour of intense sparring, Rustram caught his breath before finding Lang Yi to practise with. With the monkey-brothers Argat and Jochi offering advice from the side, the lean former slave presented quite the challenge, a straightforward assailant who compensated for his inexperience with untempered aggression. Favouring the spear like his two instructors, Lang Yi kept Rustram at bay using only three basic attacks: stab, sweep, or strike. Even knowing his limited patterns of attack wasnt of much help as Rustram struggled to slip past the longer range of his opponent. Still, it was good practice for footwork and while Lang Yi and his companions lacked a single Spiritual Weapon to call their own, their base strength would soon match, if not surpass, the average member of the bosss retinue.Truly, the Mother did not treat her children equally, but such was life.Head bobbing like a chicken pecking grains, the gentleman stammered his assurances while unfurling the contract. Cheeks going red with rage, he ran back inside bellowing orders and returned shortly thereafter, dragging the representative Rustram had met with, a gaunt, hollow-cheeked young man. I apologize for the delay Divine Attendant, but my man here overcharged you for the shipment by double and marked the order as twice as large in my own ledgers. He intended to sell the excess food and pocket the extra coin for himself, hence why we were unable to fill the order before today. He is yours to do with as you please.A fine story, but Rustram would eat his boots if the owner wasnt in on it, and the boss was equally perceptive. Why should I dirty my hands dealing with your mess? Handle it yourself, away from the eyes of children. More importantly, you say youre prepared to deliver twice the amount? Ill take whatever you have on hand now, deliver the rest as soon as possible. Rustram, Ravil, Bulat, take some soldiers and help this kind sir load our wagons.Stifling a chuckle, Rustram committed the gentlemans look of consternation to memory as the boss led his family and the Divine Turtle down the street. This was the bosss style, domineering and refusing to give face as he handled business in the streets for all to see. Unfortunately, Rustrams amusement was short-lived as he considered his actions. Hed used this first deal to gauge the local market, which means if he paid double the market price here, then he did the same at the other merchant houses. Burning with shame, he set his people to task checking each sack of rice for weevils before personally weighing them, glaring at the merchant and his doomed representative all the while.By the time he finished and they arrived at the next merchant house a half-hour later, their supplies were ready and waiting, already loaded into wagons sitting in the streets. After a cursory inspection, they moved on to the next house, with each merchant company either providing double what Rustram had contracted them for, or accepting half the payment promised. Meanwhile, the boss was inundated with messengers bearing invitations from the larger merchant houses, places Rustram had been too afraid to approach. Economic giants like the Ru and Yo families had heard of the bosss plight and were offering to procure whatever the boss needed for his retinue. This was the power of fame and reputation, and proud as he was to be a part of it, Rustram spirits were low and with good reason.As Falling Rains second in command, hed failed completely.Dont worry so much, the boss said, clapping Rustram on the back. I expected to suffer setbacks here in Nan Ping, and things are only going so well because of the Divine Turtle. You did good, I figured wed need to ask Akanai or Yuzhen for help. Blind to his own accomplishments as always, the boss failed to mention his twenty eight duels fought in the first two days. Now with Situ Jia Zian, Han BoShui, and Tong Da Fung attracting all of Centrals hatred, few still had the courage to continue challenging the boss. Anyways, lets visit one more merchant house, then we can break for lunch. Whos our next target?Appreciating the bosss attempt to cheer him up, Rustram unfurled the next contract. Next up is the Canston Trading Group, just two streets-Grabbing him by the collar, the bosss eyes went wide with anger as he hissed, You signed a deal with the Canston Trading Group?Taken aback by the bosss palpable fury, Rustram recoiled in fear. What happened to the cheerful, good-natured young hero whod just been offering encouragement? Hed never laid hands on his people, not in anger and not like this. Worried he'd be beaten to a pulp, Rustram babbled out an explanation. Yes boss, for several shipments of grains, cause everyone else I visited said they were out of stock and itd be weeks before more arrived, but itd be too late by then so I had no choice but to buy it from them, and they said theyd need a day before shipping us the grains because their wagons were being used, but I guess it was a mistake to trust them because when I went back, they gave me a run around and -Thankfully, Major Alsantset came to his rescue, approaching the boss from the other side and holding him back. Little Rain, let go. He didnt know.Visibly trembling in anger, the boss let go of Rustrams collar and closed his eyes, struggling for calm and Balance. After a long minute spent in silence, the boss opened his eyes and said, Sorry about that. Its... nothing. Forget about it. Come, lets go pay a visit to the Canston. Trading. Group.Releasing a breath he didnt know hed been holding, Rustram nodded and led the way. This time, hed made a huge mistake, even though he could argue it wasnt his fault, since hed never heard of the Canston Trading Group before arriving in Nan Ping. Whatever, on the bright side, maybe this time the boss would finally find someone else to take Rustram's place. Being second in command to Falling Rain was both physically and mentally exhausting. It was high time Rustram took a break. Maybe hed finally have time to find a wife.Chapter Meme
