Voss woke up before dawn. It was another day at the Shard Fortress, and like all the other squad leaders, he had to wake up his squad and manage their daily activities.
Unlike regular soldiers, squad leaders had private rooms where they lived and kept their personal belongings. Many of them enjoyed furnishing and decorating their private rooms, but Voss wasn't one of them. He hadn't bothered spending contribution points on furniture, since he was out for most of the day. The only non-standard piece of furniture that he had was a small oval mirror that he had received from a friend a long time ago. Everything else, from the chest at the foot of the bed to the nightstand beside it, had already been there when he first moved in.
After tying back his hair and making sure it was in order, he took his armor out of the bedside chest. He knew he could keep it inside his space ring and fill the chest with the few belongings he had, but he didn't want to. The ring had limited space, and he didn't like the idea that the fortress lord and his inner circle could see them using the All-Seeing Array. Even if this was unlikely, he preferred to keep his notes and diary private.
He briefly looked at his armor then started polishing it. His moves were short and precise, as he moved his hand back and forth he regulated his breathing while trying to focus only on the armor. Even if it seemed like a tedious routine, these ten minutes were important to him. It was something that helped him calm down and expel the troubling and superfluous thoughts from his mind.
After he finished cleaning, the armor was mirror clear and no dirt or dust remained on its surface. He looked at his reflection in the armor. Even in the distorted reflection his face looked orderly and symmetrical. For a second he seemed to see another face in the reflection, a face a little younger than his, with short red hair and a wide smile.
He caressed the chest piece in his hand, his voice like a whisper.
"I miss you..."
For a second he felt weak. But it was just a moment, time waited for no one and he couldn't stay in his bedroom forever. He got up, took his spear, and marched out of his room towards the assignment building where he would get his orders for the day.
While he walked, he cherished the fresh air of the fortress. Thanks to the weather control array the air of the fortress was never stale and always had a refreshing feeling to it. Obviously the purpose of the array wasn't to refresh the soldiers of the Shard and this was just a small side effect, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.
His rhythm was steady and in less than two minutes he reached the unassuming stone building that was the assignment center. As he entered he was greeted by the constant sound of people walking, running, and talking to each other. This building was the heart of the fortress military operation and it was never silent, only less chaotic than usual.
As he walked toward the room where squad leaders received their assignments, he nodded to the messengers who ran in the large stone corridors. Voss respected them. During peacetime, their work kept them far away from the battles and constant skirmishes at the border, but in wartime it dragged them into the bloodiest, most chaotic battlefields. They had both the best and worst job in the border guard. Besides this, a good messenger could change the tide of battle, so it was always wise to show them respect, even if only because you never knew when one might hold a grudge against you and delay a message just long enough to get you killed.
When he entered the room he found it mostly empty and only a few squad leaders were retrieving their orders. An old man called out to him from one of the tables that were laid out at the end of the room.
"Voss, you arrived early today."
Voss walked towards him and slightly bowed.
"Elder Wiang, it's always a pleasure to meet you here. Got my orders for the day?"
Elder Wiang lightly huffed and responded with an annoyed voice.
"You didn't even ask how my day is. Here, these are your orders." He threw a small stack of papers at him. "This is today's patrol route, read it well."
Voss was about to read the papers when the elder waved at him to come forward. He shook his head; the old man was always like this. Seeing that Voss didn't come close, he put his hand close to his mouth like he was going to tell a secret, then spoke. His voice was high enough that everyone in the room could hear him.
"By the way, let me tell you about this weekend's orders."
Voss interrupted him right away. He didn't want to hear the old man's gossip.
"I'm not interested in gossip. I should go and wake up my recruits."
Elder Wiang snorted.
"Always like this, all work and no fun." Wiang's voice still sounded playful. "Your orders for this weekend have arrived. And let me tell you, a long and boring weekend awaits you, Voss."
However, Voss didn't stop to listen to him and walked out of the room. Whatever his orders for the weekend were, he would discover them the day before. It was useless to know them now.
As he walked towards the barracks where his team was, he read today's patrol route. It was a long path that circled around the fortress multiple times without going far from it. Nothing unusual. When he arrived, he took the chains that were hanging from the wall and started shaking them.
"Everyone dress up and form a line outside!" his loud voice overpowered the clanking sound of chains. "Up! Up! You have five minutes!"
He smiled as he watched the recruits put on their armor and walk out in a hurried manner. Unlike before, their faces weren't sleepy; some of them even looked energetic while they formed a double line like he ordered.
He put the chains back on the wall. He didn't know who had started to wake up recruits using chains, but it had become a tradition of the fortress. Even he was woken up by the sound of chains when he was a recruit.
Once the line was fully formed, he set out with the recruits following close behind him. As usual, they didn't speak during patrol, and nobody questioned the direction he was taking them. He felt proud of this group. Usually, new recruits had a tendency to disobey orders or voice complaints, but this group in particular had never disobeyed his orders.
Well, except for the first day....
He briefly thought about the recruit he had left to die in the barracks, but he didn't feel any pity for him. A rotten apple could spoil the bunch; likewise, a bad recruit could easily ruin an entire group of them. During his long career, he had seen too many recruits die when one individual refused orders or held others back at the worst possible moment. He truly cared about them, but caring didn't always mean being lenient.
-Half a day later-
Voss breathed a silent sigh of relief. It was mid-afternoon, and they had just returned to the Shard. Their patrol had been calm and safe; no enemies had attacked, nor did he see any sign of scouts. He didn't know why, but since this group of recruits had arrived, he had started having a bad feeling. In the past, similar feelings had saved him from countless dangers, so he didn't dare to underestimate them. But he couldn't pinpoint the source of trouble.
As he watched his subordinates eat, he couldn't help but wonder.
Is one of them the source of trouble?
He watched as the group joked and shared some tidbits of their past or some funny stories they had heard from other people. After a month of forced coexistence and training, they had started to open up to each other, looking more and more like a true team as more days passed.
He shook his head; it wasn't the time to think about things like this now. If something really happened, he would decide what to do in the moment.
After they had eaten their food, Voss led them to the training grounds and instructed them to train their Qi mastery. Today's exercise was focused on making a thin Qi blade that could be used for surprise attacks or as a last resource in case their weapon broke.
He quickly glanced at the training recruits. After ten minutes of trying, most of them had already created their blades and were now slowly moving them back and forth while trying to maintain them. Sometimes one or two blades would dissipate, but the group was making steady progress in their control.
Well, all of them except one...
His gaze stopped on Yun Qiang. Even after a month, Yun Qiang couldn't solidify his Qi but could only expel it from his body. He stared at him as Yun Qiang poured out another wave of Qi from his hands. Only an hour had passed, but Yun Qiang was already pale from Qi depletion, and his hands trembled when he expelled more Qi.
Voss sighed as he moved closer to him.
He is too hasty. He will never make it if he doesn't calm down.
"Yun Qiang, you should calm down and don't rush this," he said, looking him in the eyes as he spoke. "You have already depleted your Qi. In the battlefield, this would be fatal." He made sure to put emphasis on the last word.
Voss pointed at the circular weights that lay close to the wall.
"Now get some weights and do some pushups. You will do physical training today."
"But—" Yun Qiang looked back at him and tried to protest, but Voss shut him down by raising his voice.
"This is a direct order!"
The room fell silent, and everyone stopped exercising and stared at them. Even after a month, the memory of Voss killing a recruit with a punch was still burned into their minds, and they were curious to see if it would happen again.
Voss let the silence hang around them; he wanted them to understand the gravity of the situation.
This is also a way to care for them. Other officers would give you a beating just for talking back.
Only when a few seconds later Yun Qiang gave up and went toward the weights, did he speak again.
"Come on. There is nothing to see. Back to training!"
Everyone went back to creating Qi blades, and in the blink of an eye, everything seemed back to normal. Except that now Yun Qiang was doing pushups with four weights on his back.
Voss looked at him. He was fond of Yun Qiang, even if Yun Qiang looked a little on edge at times; he liked his attitude. He reminded him of himself when he was still a recruit, full of hope, determined, proud. Even the lack of talent for Qi control was the same. Back then, it had taken him a month and a half to reach the first level, but he hadn't given up. And now he was one of the few people who had reached the second level.
After watching Yun Qiang train and making sure that he could handle the pushups while being weakened by the Qi depletion, Voss started to walk around the recruits while giving useful advice and silently judging their skills. He nodded slightly to Sun and Lee. These two recruits were already capable of moving their blades smoothly, and he wagered that it wouldn't be long before they could use them effectively in a real fight. As he passed the rest of the recruits he made a few more mental notes.
Hai Ming and Guang have make good progress but they lack precision.
Jie and Hao have good control but they lack speed they won't be able to use it in battle...
He smiled, this group was slowly coming together. He glanced at a nearby meridian; it was time to dismiss them and let them rest.
Afterward, Voss started walking toward his room. Technically, he still had a few hours of free time, but he didn't feel like drinking with the other captains. Instead, he walked straight to his room, where he planned to meditate before getting some sleep.
However, before he could reach it, a paper posted on a billboard caught his eye. The borders were red, and it had the signature of Fortress Lord Lu Bu on it. Even though he knew that Elder Wiang would give him the same notice with tomorrow's orders, he stopped to read it.
After he was done reading, he remembered Elder Wiang's words and couldn't help but murmur.
"Yeah… a long and boring weekend…"