Approaching Storm!

Charles laid flat on the ground beaten; he couldn't even muster the strength to get up anymore. Ou Gen wiped the blood off a small cut on his right arm and shouted "Hmph, he's weak! I didn't even need to try!" "But you still got a small cut even though he was weak." Commander Yue replied as she looked coldly at Ou Gen. "I'm was going easy on him that's all, but he has at least shown he has some skill. I'll leave the boy to you Yu Yue, do not disappoint me." Ou Gen replied and left with his glaive. Charles still laying on the ground was still in shock. This was the first time he had been beaten this badly before. The battle was one-sided!

Liu Xuan helped Charles's up and consoled him: "Look on the bright side, at least you didn't die when facing a great general!" Charles looked at Liu Xuan confused "Great General?" Charles asked as he managed to stand up. "Ou Gen is the most influential general in the state of Zhou; he's the general that leads everyone here." Liu Xuan replied. Charles opened his eyes in shock. And looked at Lord Zhou as he thought "This man wanted me to fight a Great General?!' Lord Zhou looked back and smiled. "You have done well child. I think it's time for the three of you to head back and prepare. War is coming very soon, and I hope you will ready." Lord Zhou spoke and gave Charles a Chang Dao sword.

Charles received the sword in confusion. "The sword is just a gift for becoming a 100-man commander; I do hope you will use it often. Try your best to master this weapon; I think it will be beneficial for you. Hopefully, you'll be able to use it to it's fullest potential Lord Zhou explained. Charles bowed and thanked Lord Zhou "Thank you, Lord Zhou, I'll do my best to master this sword." Lord Zhou nodded, and both Liu Xuan and Charles walked away. Commander Yue was about to leave as well before Lord Zhou stopped her. "Yu Yue, can I talk to you for a while? I won't keep you long." Lord Zhou asked as he sat down on a chair that was next to the courtyard pond. Commander Yue nodded and sat opposite Lord Zhou. "Have you heard from your father yet?" Lord Zhou asked. "No, and do not think of asking me to go back to the state of Yu. I will fight for my rights as a person." Commander Yue replied.

Lord Zhou sighed as he looked at her and said:" Your father has been sending me letters asking me to send you back to him. The fact that the State of Yu has joined the war against us is most probably due to this reason." "Are you blaming our terrible situation on me?" Commander Yue asked. "No definitely not, but the other generals and commanders are. Ou Gen has managed to calm them by a bit, but you need to show your worth Yu Yue. Show them that you are not just a burden on the State of Zhou." Lord Zhou replied. "I understand, thank you for caring about me, Lord Zhou. I shall be joining Liu Xuan and Charles back now." Commander Yue spoke as she stood up. "I think you have chosen well, that foreign child has some qualities to him. I hope you have a safe trip back. Oh and tell little Xuan that I would love to have tea with him sometime, we still haven't finished our game of military chess!" Lord Zhou laughed. Commander Yue nodded and left.

"Commander Yue your finally back! We can head off now!" Liu Xuan who was standing outside the carriage shouted as he saw Commander Yue approaching. "Where is Charles?" Commander Yue asked. "His inside the carriage, I don't know what is wrong with him now. Ever since we got back to the carriage, he had been staring at the sword Lord Zhou gave him." Liu Xuan replied. "I see, let us depart then." Commander Yue said as they both got into the carriage. A soldier then whipped the horses at the front of the carriage, and the carriage started moving. Meanwhile, Charles was talking to Janko about the current situation. "You're a what?! And you're now in a what?!" Janko kept shouting as Charles explained what was happening.

"So you're a 100-man commander and the State you are in is now in a war with three of its neighboring states. Would it kill you to try and keep a peaceful life?!" Janko reprimanded Charles. 'But it sounded like a great opportunity!' Charles replied in his mind. "A great opportunity?! Great my spiritual ass! How could being a leader of an army that has to charge into a battlefield be great!? You'll get yourself killed! The greatest thing is to become a minister or at least a merchant! Those jobs can get you tons of money, and you won't be at risk so often!" Janko explained. "But since you're stuck in this position you'll have to adapt. The first thing you should do is run away!" Janko suggested.

'I should run away?! Shouldn't I try to help?' Charles asked. "Help?! You're so weak! How can you help?! Give yourself five years, and maybe you will be ready! Trust me on this; you are not ready to walk into a battlefield!" Janko replied. Charles then thought about it carefully; he only managed to beat Er Hong by outputting all his strength. 'I'll have to beat people as strong if not stronger than Er Hong. I might die if I find these types of people. Especially people like Ou Gen." Charles thought to himself. "And that is exactly why I suggest you flee once you know that you are in danger, your life is more important!" Janko said.

"Charles are you alright? You seem rather out of it." Liu Xuan asked as he shook Charles. "Hmm? Oh yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about stuff." Charles replied. "Don't let this war get to you too much, just do your best!" Liu Xuan replied cheerfully. "We've arrived at your town Charles; we will meet again on the battlefield." Commander Yue spoke as the door opened for Charles to exit. Charles said his farewells to them and got out of the carriage. Charles looked at the carriage before walking into the town; he felt rather hungry. Meanwhile, in the carriage, Liu Xuan's cheerful face had disappeared and was now a solemn face. "Commander Yue, I do believe that Charles will die on the battlefield if he does not learn quickly during this war." Liu Xuan said as he looked out of the window. "And what do you think his chances of survival are?" Commander Yue asked.

"20%, even with his skills as a swordsman he will most probably only survive if his smart and runs away. Though looking at his behavior from the moment we saw him, he does not look like a person that would run from battle." Liu Xuan replied. "I see, that is quite a low percentage you gave him." Commander Yue replied. "Commander Yue, I do not like how you have allowed Charles to enter battle like this with full knowledge that he will die. We should not let good people die needlessly!" Liu Xuan said with anger. "I know you're angry Liu Xuan, but we must face reality, the army needs more men, and we have to supply the necessary man to achieve victory. Even if good people have to die for that victory to come." Commander Yue replied.

"And I assume that victory is showing your father how great you are, right?" Liu Xuan asked as he looked at Commander Yue. Commander Yue kept quiet for a few seconds before replying:" We will not talk about this topic anymore Liu Xuan." Liu Xuan then looked back at the window expecting Commander Yue not to answer the question. "Understood, Commander." He replied as the carriage continues to move. Charles, on the other hand, was sitting down in a restaurant eating food provided by the townsfolk.

"To think the foreign kid I asked to help us would turn out to become the person who will rule over us! HA!" Uncle Xuan laughed as he drunk wine while sitting opposite Charles. "Uncle stop drinking so much! It's hard for me to drag you back to your shop everytime you get drunk!" Xu Ya shouted as she tried to get the bottle of wine away from him. "Don't be so selfish Xu Ya; it's a joyous occasion! We are finally out of bandit rule! We should drink for Charles over here! Everyone let's cheer for Charles!" Uncle Xuan shouted, and everyone yelled in unison as Charles ate his food.

The year 189 a month before winter, the three states surrounding the State of Zhou have declared war on Zhou and have decided to split the lands of Zhou among each other equally. This was also the time when most historical records of this world had started writing about Charles. The destiny of the State of Zhou will significantly affect Charles as he struggles his way to the top!