Dragon's Soul Chapter 208.6: The Unlucky Soldier

Dragon’s Soul is now officially available for the kindle on Amazon at https://amzn.com/B01M0KEGUI up to chapter 91. If the link doesn’t work for you then you do not live in the US. Just search Dragon’s Soul: An End’s Beginning and if you see my name, Tony Tran, then you have the right book. J

One of you guys suggested that I make a chapter from the perspective of one of Zhang’s soldiers, and here it is.
 
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“Greetings, sirs, madams and anyone who would find interest in reading a tale about a soldier such as myself.”
 
“As a soldier in the Aurora Army, in a time of constant war and strife, I’m not entirely sure if I will be here for a tomorrow, thus I have decided to leave behind a short chronicle about myself.”
 
“To every story, there needs to be a beginning so I will start my account with a brief mention of my childhood. At an early age in life, my parents often told me that when I grew up I would either become a soldier or street thug due to my bulky size and violent nature. I would often get into fights with the other kids who lived on the outskirts of the city, sometimes I would be the aggressor and other times they would, but more or less compared to the average child I got into too many fights.”
 
“Unlike most I did not develop a crush on any of the girls who happened to be a part of my life, I did not enjoy attending school despite how hard my parents worked to save up enough money for me to attend, I did not find joy in playing with the other children, in summary I was an outcast. I was afraid, afraid of being judged, afraid of causing my parents grief and inconveniences due to my violent tendencies.”
 
“Perhaps if I had opened up a tiny bit more and not bottle up all of my emotions, all of my hopes, my dreams, then perhaps life would have been differently. Perhaps if I was not afraid of becoming a burden, a disgrace.”
 
“My parents would often yell at me saying, Xing Yu, you should learn to control your anger and focus your mind on other things. Learn to turn the other cheek, learn to create and not destroy.  However sadly I simply could not and at the age of sixteen I enlisted and joined the Aurora City garrison.”
 
“Upon joining the garrison, a whole new world opened up to me. No one dared to snicker at my size any longer, no one dared to ridicule my parents for being simple street cleaners. The mockery that often came along with the rubbish they disposed of, ceased shortly after I donned the white armor of Aurora after I became his majesty’s sword.”
 
“After joining the garrison and seeing the change in the looks that I received from those around me, the joy in the eyes of my parents who were no longer treated like garbage, I was for the first time in my life, delighted.”
 
“At that time I was sure to myself that it was the right decision to join the garrison and for the next two years, I would continue to believe this. However, after that fateful day, I would often come to question the path I chose.”
 
“On a day like any other, myself and a sizeable number of the city garrison was gathered and brought to the provincial lord’s mansion and that is where I was introduced to one of the few men who would have the greatest impact on my life, Lord Jian Wei.”
 
“After being given a sizeable sum of wealth, we who were selected from the city garrison departed from Aurora on a covert mission, a mission that led us out of the Warring States Region and to the Heilong Kingdom.”
 
“For the most part, the first part of the mission went on without a cinch, we were able to safely travel to our destination without even so much as a hindrance or delay in our plans. Lord Jian Wei was able to meet with the king of the Heilong Kingdom, a gentle looking man who exuded an air of kindness, just as he had wished and we soon departed and proceeded to return home.”
 
“Unlike the first leg of our journey, it would soon come to our attention that our travel plans had been shared with unwanted parties, and as a result, we were intercepted and encircled by an enemy ambush. Despite being outnumbered by a vast number of enemies, somehow by some stroke of luck we were able to break out of the encirclement, but of course, the price we paid was a steep one.”
 
“Nearly a fourth of the men who I had called brothers for the past two years, lost their lives. Till this very day, I still have their names engraved on my heart, for if not for their sacrifice I would have long lost my tomorrow.”
 
“Quickly changing our travel plans and taking to the sea, we hoped to evade any further unwanted encounters, however, the heavens often has its own plans and we are all but simple p.a.w.ns in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps it was due to a traitor who managed to mix into our ranks or by some stroke of ill-fated luck, our pursuers were soon hot on our trail.”
 
“Day and night seemed to mend together as the number of encounters with the unknown enemies stacked upon each other until our prayers were answered and a mighty storm swept away and made it impossible for anyone to track us.”
 
“And it was thanks to this storm that I would meet the second man who would have an otherworldly impact upon my life. After the storm had subsided and our pursuers out of view, we stumbled upon a small wooden raft.”
 
“Despite the urging and attempts to dissuade him to ignore the raft and continue onward with our journey by the manager of the provincial lord’s mansion, Sir Yan Li, Lord Jian Wei decided to lend a helping hand to the poor souls that were adrift on the wooden raft. At first, I was also against helping them, however after catching sight of the heavenly, G.o.ddess-like pair of beauties who were on the raft, it was simple to say my views instantly changed.”
 
“Sometimes I imagine how things would have turned out if we had simply minded our own business and left the wooden raft to drift on the endless sea if Lord Jian Wei had not lent a helping hand to those three, if fate had never gifted us with that encounter. It is easy to say that it was thanks to that encounter that I myself am still alive today.”
 
“After Lord Jian Wei allowed those three onboard, many of the sailors were instantly smitten by the two otherworldly young women, but like myself, they simply admired from afar and were quick to find that their decision was the right one. For the one man who dared to come up and attempt to make those two, his own, was quickly made to gravel on the ground by the young man who accompanied them.”
 
“The young man named Zhou Zhang, the two otherworldly G.o.ddesses named Ai and Yuying, were able to quickly repay Lord Jian Wei’s graces the very day they were rescued. Soon after their arrival, our pursuers appeared once again and a deadly battle was soon waged aboard our s.h.i.+p.”
 
“Unlike our previous encounters with the enemy, this time, they came prepared and bolstered ma.s.sive numbers, allowing them to quickly overtake our men. Thus many more of my brothers in arms were slaughtered senselessly. Had it not been for the young man named, Zhang then Lord Jian Wei would have lost his life and would have been left in a water grave, I too would have perished on that fateful day. However, a miracle occurred and not only were we able to survive our ordeal but we also managed to turn the tables on our attackers and claim the lives of every last one of them.”
 
“Sadly, with myself included only a handful of us managed to survive. With saddened hearts, we looked toward the future with hope-filled gazes as we arrived before the ma.s.sive sea gates of Red Mist City.”
 
“Upon entering Red Mist City, the beauty of the two maidens were soon elevated to the next level as they traded in their ragged fur outfits for silk dresses, simply said at the time I felt blessed to be alive. There was also the fact that we had stayed at the Red Mist Province’s largest brothel, that also made me very happy to be alive also.”
 
“Sadly our stay was short lived and we were forced to hit the road once more, luckily the enemies, this time, did not pursue us too far. However, I would have gladly gone toe to toe with them instead of having to live through what was awaiting us in the not too distant future.”
 
“After meeting a man named Xi Ning, we were directed to a hidden pa.s.sage that was supposed to be a shortcut that would allow us to pa.s.s through a twisting mountain range called the Dragon’s Maw. But with my cursed luck, we actually ended up in the middle of a hive of monsters.”
 
“At first we did not know we were dealing with as one by one the people part of our party began to disappear. Much to our horror we actually stumbled upon a ma.s.sive swarm of t.i.tanic Golden Silk Spiders, two of the things I hate the most in life… Something bigger than me and spiders…”
 
“Shortly after discovering what we were up against and chased into their nest, we located the ruins of the Sai Empire, the legendary empire that had once united the Warring States Region only to perish under mysterious circ.u.mstances. Along with the ruins, we stumbled upon a vast treasure, the likes of which most people have never laid eyes upon before.”
 
“We also happened upon the ruler of the spider swarm, the Queen t.i.tanic Golden Silk Spider. With a ma.s.sive body and extremely piousness fangs, the queen spider attacked us with all of its might. Luckily for us, Zhang, who had now become Lord Jian Wei’s adoptive son, was able to fight the beast to a bitter standstill. However, like in most cases, it appeared as if fate was against us and the swarm of giant spiders moved in to protect their queen.”
 
“Before long, I found myself frantically attempting to fend off the spiders while crammed into a small room within the ruins. The swarm of spiders continued to try to force their way into the crumbling room, knocking down doors and las.h.i.+ng out with their limbs, however, thanks to the efforts of the young beauty named Yuying and her strange magic, we were somehow able to hold out until Zhang had arrived after slaying the queen spider. With the newly hatched queen spider in our grasp, the swarm receded back and as a result, we were able to flee to safety.”
 
“After escaping from the swarm of spiders and entering the Dragon’s Maw, the rest of our journey back to Aurora was rather uneventful and I relished every minute of it, sadly the story does not end there.”
 
“Once we returned to Aurora, Lord Jian Wei was gracious enough to gift every single one of us who had accompanied him to the Heilong Kingdom and returned alive, a huge sum of wealth. We each received a portion of the vast riches found in the ruins of the Sai Empire, even those who had to perish were given a small fortune, their families, of course, were the ones to actually receive this wealth.”
 
“Despite having enough gold to live out the rest of my life without a single care, despite having enough gold to marry a beautiful wife, and enough gold to care for my parents for the rest of their lives, instead of living out my days in the mundane, I volunteered to serve under Zhang, or shall I say, Lord Zhang.”
 
“Donning armor as black as a starless night, I became a member of Lord Zhang’s personal guard as he was sent to the Heilong Kingdom to represent Aurora in the Grand Tournament. However, turns took a turn for the unexpected and rather than directly heading toward the Heilong Kingdom, was took a slight detour.”
 
“Riding day and night, through the secret shortcut that cut through the Dragon’s Maw, we soon returned to the Red Mist Province, this time with a small army in tow. Awaiting our return was Lord Xi Ning who had gathered a small army of his own. In the dead of night, our forces used a hidden pa.s.sageway dug directly underneath the walls of Red Mist City and in a stroke of brilliance, succeeded in doing what thousands upon thousands of others had attempted to do. In a single night, a night lit by countless blazing buildings, a night where the ashes of conquest danced about so beautifully, we claimed Red Mist City and along with it the Red Mist Province.”
 
“From there we headed directly to the Heilong Kingdom, with little rest I might add, however despite feeling fatigued, every single one of us felt empowered and br.i.m.m.i.n.g with confidence. At that time, I felt that as long as I followed that young man, maybe perhaps one day I might see a world that was united under a single banner.”
 
“Unknowingly, at the time I slowly began to wors.h.i.+p, Lord Zhang. To me, he slowly became a symbol, a symbol that served to remind me that there was nothing that was impossible. My wors.h.i.+p of our young lord was only strengthened when we arrived at the Heilong Kingdom where he was able to lead us in achieving a splendid victory against the various kingdoms that had attended the tournament.”
 
“Once the tournament concluded, Lord Zhang was able to woo yet another beauty, a young maiden named Ling who happened to be the daughter of a very power minister within the Heilong Kingdom. Not lacking in beauty when compared to Lord Zhang’s other women, Madam Ling quickly blended.”
 
“With other things aside, after competing in the Grand Tournament, we even managed to make a few additions to the army after we wiped out a small sect that dwelled within the borders of the Heilong Kingdom, the Yu Sect. Their leader had acted haughtily toward our young lord and soon found himself sent on a one-way trip to the underworld.”
 
“With new blood added to our ranks, we were quickly sent to the Black Wind Province to investigate the loss of communication with our longtime allies. At first, we had all figured it would be like any other trip, but much to our dismay, we found ourselves in a truly horrid situation. Surrounded by the living dead who were all infected by Heart Burrower Worms, the Black Wind Province had become a true h.e.l.l on earth by the time we arrived.”
 
“I’ll never forget the sight of our lord and his madam's fighting against that giant abomination made of the flesh of its countless victims. Of the many things that I’ve witnessed while following Lord Zhang, the giant abomination was one of the scariest, but the next beastly encounter would be in no way lacking compared to it.”
 
“Like true conquerors, after our visit to the Black Wind Province, we quickly set our sights on the Green Clover Province. With Lord Jian Wei personally leading an army, we quickly swept through the lands of the Green Clover Province, only to find out that it had already been secretly taken by the Heavenly Sword Province.”
 
“Despite having to divert troops back to defend Aurora, under Lord Zhang’s supervision, we were able to breach the walls of Green Clover City without the need to siege its walls to rubble. On that day my sword was once again dyed red in the blood of our enemies, and yet another province was added to the lands of Aurora. But of course, much like what had occurred in the Black Wind Province, a terrifying demonic beast appeared. With two vicious heads armed with four poisonous fangs, a Twin headed Mirage Viper appeared only to be slain by Lord Zhang.”
 
“It was also during this time that a fourth beauty fell into Lord Zhang’s embrace. Though I am quite envious of the man, I can’t say that there is anyone more fitting of holding such women in their hands than him. After offering up the Green Clover Province in exchange for marriage, Madam Lingqi, along with Madams Ai, Yuying, and Ling were thus quickly wedded to Lord Zhang shortly after.”
 
“A wondrous wedding was held, in their honor as guests from all across the Warring States Region and even a few kingdoms gathered. Their wedding day was also the day that Aurora spread its wings and became a kingdom.”
 
“Although there is more to my tale, I bid you all farewell and until next time stay well.”