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[A/N: Huge chapter, almost twice as long as usual. I shouldn't have done it. It messed with my writing schedule. But the words kept flowing, and it took me a while to reach a point that felt right to end the chapter.

So, enjoy!

Chapters this week: 1/3 

Next chapter: Thursday]

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Luthdel challenged Shen next.

The blond high elf was visibly upset at how the other Guardians had disregarded Shen. The two of them had gotten to know each other well in these few years, though Luthdel unsurprisingly got over his initial excitement and almost worship of Shen after less than a year. His emotions still flowed quickly from one place to another.

He hadn't given up on following Shen despite growing respectfully distant. In comparison, he stood somewhere between how past Alicia and current Sai behaved. Shen considered him a friend, even if not a very close one. Luthdel, on the other hand, saw him as someone above.

"Young master," the high elf said as he stepped on the ring.

The title was respectful and filled with meaning. One would go through all kinds of considerations when hearing it, and even Major Anhril Farÿn widened his eyes in surprise when he heard it. Most would reach the wrong conclusion about Shen's dominion, but even the truth was already impressive: the son of an A-rank had given up on any status he might have on his race to follow an unknown C-rank of a new race. That was how a clan or sect member would regard the son of either the clan head or that member's faction's leader. The obedience and trust expected from Luthdel wasn't the same as the member might give their leader, but it wasn't too far.

Shen was a little bothered by being called young master because he still had founded no organization, be it a sect, a clan, or even an explorer group, as he had learned was common in the Alliance. But he had to admit it was better than being addressed as boss, leader, or master.

Or Heart Sage.

Unlike Alicia, who was struggling with her feelings, Luthdel simply didn't believe himself worthy of Shen's close attention. Although the elf fell for people regardless of gender, he had never felt romantically inclined towards Shen as far as the latter could detect. Instead, Shen seemed to be more of an elder brother or even a fatherly figure to the guy.

Luthdel was one of the few people in La'sing who took out his armor during resting time. His white and blue layers of robe-like clothes looked regal on him. Now, he swapped them to a white, blue, and golden B+ plate armor and took out an oversized silvery and blue B+ sword. The equipment was new, gifts from his mother that he only accepted because Shen told him not to let his pride get in the way of survival.

The high elf was much weaker than Vinamour in stats and Law mastery. He only had a single C+ stat, strength, while the others were at C. He also had only mastered the Law of Strength from the Axioms of Life. The Law of Heat, from Fire, was almost there, but Cutting, from the Sword, was still a ways off.

More important than his weaker overall power was that Shen knew how Luthdel fought. There would be no suspense in this battle. There would, however, be much respect for Shen to win by crushing the high elf head-on. Luthdel was doing it for Shen.

So, Shen nodded back and accepted the gift at once; he moved.

The military standard martial arts was the same for everyone but also unique for every Path. That's why Vinamour's spatial tunnel was still accepted; you could say he had expanded on what he had learned and adapted it to his Path. Liya had taught Shen a lot, but the military had given him the sharpest of edges. He knew how to push the martial arts and his Laws to the very limits of efficiency and lethality.

Gentle Breeze covered Shen and made him look like he was part of the surrounding air. It wouldn't perfectly fool a Guardian, but his foe wouldn't see, hear, or smell him or detect his heat, and the way Gentle Breeze blended with the surroundings also made it harder to locate him even with Law Vision or metaphysical senses.

Luthdel reacted with a horizontal swing. His sword released an inferno of flames that cut as much as they burned. The weapon also impacted all the air around him with a might that crushed every air molecule, which should theoretically render Shen's ability useless.

Unfortunately for the high elf, Shen was already underground.

The raised fighting ring was made of B- stone, and Shen used his Extremity and Conductivity to cut through it with an inaudible stomp, then Streamed into the hole. Gentle Breeze bent light to create a visual illusion and prevented all vibrations, both sound and any ground tremors, from leaving Shen's surroundings. Luthdel only saw the hole when Shen was already below him.

The high elf jumped while slashing his sword down. The whole area was cut and shattered as if made of paper. But Shen had moved fast and jumped with Luthdel.

Luthdel's senses had improved after Shen repeatedly used that technique in their spars. They weren't perfect, but he detected Shen and turned while thrusting his sword.

He was faster than Shen, but Shen moved so much more effectively that he seemed faster. A spear was heading towards Luthdel's neck.

Then, invisible Strength tried to crush Shen from all directions.

That was the main advantage of a peak C-rank mana-wielder over Shen. They could use their mastered Law without energy, just like Shen, but their Law was more potent.

Shen used Shaft to stabilize himself and True Boundlessness to gain a measure of freedom while using his other Laws to move faster and better. But the air was hard. His every move had to oppose overwhelming Strength being pushed against him on all sides.

He slowed down to half Luthdel's speed. The elf's thrust would reach him before his spearhead struck, and there was no dodging. At least not using only standard martial arts. The flaming blade would Cut through Shen's robe and skin, burning everything on the way.

Shen reacted in a way he had yet to show Luthdel. He kept using his spear with a hand but brought the other to meet the high elf's sword. He grabbed the blade when it was a few inches from his chest and twisted it.

Luthdel had C+ strength to Shen's C-, but despite the elf's improvements in the last years, he was still too basic in his combat tactics. No one had ever tried to take his weapon from him, so he didn't hold his sword correctly. His connection with it due to his Law from the Axioms of the Sword was the only thing that prevented Shen's move from forcing the weapon from his hands.

Still, the initially vertical blade rotated until it was almost horizontal. Luthdel's Laws remained in it, and the heat alone made Shen's cultivator robe, at B-tier, struggle to protect his hand. But Luthdel's technique broke down because mana abilities were about imagination and willpower. The elf had envisioned his thrust one way, with a specific grip on his weapon, and that had shattered. The surprise also weakened his resolve for an instant, mainly because he still couldn't see Shen, only sense his overall location. The attack's technique wasn't completely broken but lost most of its power.

The sword and Laws empowering it were still dangerous, but without mana and a firm will behind the thrust, the blade became slower and only pierced a couple of inches into Shen's gut.

Meanwhile, Shen's spearhead found the gap between Luthdel's armor and helmet, pierced through the defensive enchantment, almost ignored the elf's C resistance because of Killing Weapon, Conductivity, Extremetity and sheer technique, and ended up inside Luthdel's brain. Once there, Shen applied a bit of his aura to force Lightning to appear inside the elf's skull while rotating his spear at ridiculous speed.

Luthdel's body became limp. He wasn't dead, but he would have to struggle a lot to keep fighting.

The Major immediately pushed Shen away as if afraid he would kill the high elf. Unlike with Vinamour, Anhril very gently grabbed Luthdel and placed him outside the ring. He also gave Shen the stinky eye.

"Next," he said without taking his eyes out of Shen.

Shen ignored it. His black cultivator robe was already repairing itself. He stood in position again, awaiting the next challenger.

None came.

Shen could imagine a few reasons why. Maybe they didn't want to risk being humiliated by someone who should be weaker than them—worse still, while giving that someone more spotlight. Perhaps they had been convinced that he knew what he was doing. It was possible that they didn't care about leading the Brigade enough to fight for it. It might be that they were simply as good soldiers as they were supposed to be and saw no point in trying to prove the Acting General's assessment wrong.

Whatever the case, after a minute of silence, only broken by Luthdel's groan as his brain healed, the Major asked, "Are you sure you don't want to give it a try?" and they all replied, "No, Major!"

The Major nodded. Whatever anger he had displayed before was already gone or hidden.

"Very well," he said. "First Lieutenant Shen will lead this Brigade. First Lieutenant, pick your two helpers."

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| Exemplary Promotion: Second Lieutenant → First Lieutenant

| You're now the Commander of the 7th Mixed Exemplary Brigade

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Shen was still considered a Second Lieutenant because he had never been dismissed from his Battalion. This was the 7th Exemplary Brigade, meaning at least six others were on other front lines. It might be more if another Brigade had become the 8th or higher while a 7th one already existed. The previous 7th was gone, however. While an existing Exemplary Brigade didn't change their assigned number when another disbanded, new ones were assigned any missing number.

"Lieutenant Luthdel Elafir, would you like to help me?" Shen asked. "Or would you rather lead a Battalion should you be selected for it?"

The high elf had taken his helmet off and was holding his head. "Follow you, Commander," he replied with a drunk-like voice, still recovering from his injury.

"Is anyone else interested in helping me?" Shen asked next and was surprised when the Maiden stepped forward. "I appreciate your willingness," he said. "I'm willing to take you, but I have a condition. Remove your helmet."

She did, and Shen was surprised again when he saw her helmet was padded to make her figure look bigger, just like her armor. Instead of the poloise he expected, he found a beautiful woman with dark skin, pointy ears, and white eyes. She was bald, so she had no white or black hair, but there was no mistaking her race.

She was drow.

Shen immediately did what he was supposed to. "I am drow," he said in Syron, the drow language.

She nodded and replied. "You're drow." She then switched to Stangue. "I am to be known as Rayna from now on."

The name the system showed above her head changed. Changing names required an item that was always of your rank. Changing names to a style publicly known to belong to another race required a system favor. Shen doubted the new Drow Maiden would waste a favor like that, so she had been ordered to temporarily change it and test him. And it was important enough for the drow leadership that they wasted a favor on this.

Shen sighed. He felt more tired about the drow methods than resentful. He would still send Liya an inquiry later.

"I pick Lieutenants Luthdel and Rayna," he stated.

"Very well," the Major said.

Anhril then picked the other Commanders, from C to E-rank. Vinamour was chosen as a Battalion Commander. Soon, everyone was sorted out and standing in position, Shen in front of everyone.

The Major then gave Shen his first assignment. "The Acting General will come to this room in one hour. Brigade Commander Shen, you have that long to teach your Brigade what is expected of all of you and assess them however you want. Your Exemplary Promotion doesn't include a leadership clearance upgrade, so you'll have to make do with what you already know." He waved his hand, and the broken fighting ring disappeared. "You may start."

"Yes, Major!" Shen replied, then turned to his new subordinates. First, he addressed the C-ranks. "I have nothing against you for trying to take my position, but it is mine, and I'll punish anyone who tries to undermine my authority."

One of the most important reasons for power to be linked to rank in the military was that without it, you couldn't ensure order if your troops rebelled. Some received Shen's opening statement as a challenge, and a few became angry, but it was better than him showing weakness. A Commander seen as weak might bring much worse issues during a crisis.

He continued, "I don't know why I was promoted, but I'll do my job, and I expect you to do the same. You were picked because you also know how to do your job. This is an Exemplary Brigade. We will show Samir's weak and morally corrupt Guardians why even their General thinks we are better than them."

A common enemy was essential. Establishing how the Brigade would achieve victory over said enemy—through strength and moral high ground—was also crucial.

That was enough of a prep talk with the C-ranks. They would be convinced in due time. Or not. Shen didn't need them to like him, only to accept his authority.

"Now, D-ranks and lower who weren't introduced to the Justicar Program that you're now a part of: welcome to the best five months of your military career.

"You get to be told at your every waking moment that you're the very best in the Alliance. You get to stand proud and attract envy and desire from your fellow Guardians. Every single little thing you do right will be acclaimed as the heroic feat of the most perfect being to ever grace existence with their holy presence. And you get to spar to your heart's content until you put every single Guardian in Samir in their place.

"Better yet, the spars are only between Brigades. We'll fight half a million people and win. It'll be glorious. It'll also be lucrative. If you were short on SC before coming to Samir, that won't be an issue anymore.

"Of course, with great deployments come great expectations. The Exemplary Brigade is meant to be an example of righteousness and strength. You'll be told you're the best, and you'll act as such. Or else.

"Illegal or unethical acts will be punished with at least ten times the severity written in military law. I expect at least one of you will be executed for treason for what should be a medium offense. This is not a joke or an illusion. No one will save you and secretly send you back to your Node. This is a deployment with stringent conditions, and we have no choice but to obey."

Shen paused to let the news sink in, then smiled sadistically. "I mean it when I say this is a deployment. We can only spar as a Brigade, but even minor offenses against deployed troops are to be met with harshness. Ladies, gentlemen, and whatever else you might be, make no mistake: we're here to be villains on a high horse. We're here to be the most obnoxiously law-abiding, frustratingly perfect assholes we can be. No fault will be found among us, but as far as the locals know, we're not here to help—except when that help will make people in Samir furious.

"Give them a kind smile when they offend you. Talk about unity against our common enemy when they tell you to leave. Thank them for moisturizing your skin when they spit on you. Applaud them when they improve their skills or do a good job. Help them become better in every way, but be so over-the-top with your smiles and compliments that they'll hate you even without knowing why. Be so gentle and condescending when you defeat them in battle that they'll hate you more for it. Be so perfect that it'll make them improve or hate you for showing their inadequacies. Or both. Preferably both.

"We're doing it for them, but they are never to figure it out, and any of you who tips them off will be punished for it. Harshly. Not by me; by the General.

"Welcome," Shen repeated. "Welcome to five months of what promises to be an enjoyable play for any of us who isn't a moron. Just enjoy your status, throw your weight around—within the spirit of the law and being kind about it—and be the best Guardian you can be. I call it the Arrogant Scion Program.

"Now, for the introduction of our nemesis: the Justicars. They'll be the local troops responsible for watching over us, guiding the locals into becoming so good they can replace us, and pointing out our eventual failures. You'll mess up. I will mess up. We're not perfect. And we'll be harshly punished for it. Just be sure to always do your best and make the Justicars' job harder.

"I'll give an extra bonus to whoever pisses the Justicars the most without doing anything illegal. The winner C-rank will get a B+ armor, the winner D-rank a C+ armor, and so on."

The prize was big, but Shen wouldn't pay for it. The Primer on Military Justice mentioned the rewards, and the other C-ranks knew it. But he was meant to do things this way to remind the C-ranks that going against him was a factor that disqualified them from the challenge. It also made the D-ranks approve more of him.

"So, let me tell you about all the boring specifics. The locals will never be as good as us, but we're supposed to be one of the tools to compel them to try."

Things wouldn't be as leisurely as Shen said. The Exemplary Brigade would be sent to hard missions meant for entire Brigades, but they were few. Sparring against a Brigade of half a million people also wasn't easy, which would be the greatest proof of Shen's ability—or his greatest failure. And the limited period of five months would see them doing so many things in so little time that they would eventually grow exhausted.

But he wasn't lying about how fun it could be. You only had to face the assignment with the right mindset and try not to die. That was the most important thing he would try to impart to his troops.

Shen bet Vinamour would die if nothing changed; that one had too much resentment. He would try something stupid, and Shen would have to put him down for treason.

The others didn't look like trouble, but only time would tell.

To Shen, the most important thing to do when he had the time was to find Martino and the drow C-ranks deployed to Samir-33. He needed them to figure out how bad the General had allowed things to get in Samir before he reinstated the Justicar Program. The Queen had said everything had been under control but also that the troops were supposed to have a much worse perception than the actual facts. Shen needed to know precisely what that meant, both to ease his Earth's D-ranks contact with the local humans and to do his job properly.

Speaking of the drow, he didn't know how the Drow Maiden had been selected from another front line. Supposedly, all drow C-ranks were in Samir-33. He would have to figure that out, too.

But that was for later. For now, Shen quickly finished explaining what was expected of everyone, then smiled.

"Lastly, I was also ordered to assess you. Battalion Commanders, you have five minutes to organize your Battalions and strategize. I want each Battalion in one corner of the room. I'll be in the fourth corner. We'll do a free-for-all for half an hour. Spar rules, so no lethal attacks. I kill anyone who tries to kill anyone. I won't stand traitors.

"Every Guardian can only fight those of the same rank. Those of a higher rank are meant to properly direct their troops because the Battalion with the most troops total will score a point. The Battalion with the most C-ranks will also score a point. If any of you get two points, I'll stand down from my position and let the winner Commander have it.

"My helpers and I won't fight any of you unless you attack us first. However, the point for most C-ranks will be ours even if another Battalion ties with us. So, think well of when to come for us."

Despite the assessment's simplicity, the free-for-all was complex enough to reveal multiple things about Shen's new troops. There was enough room for personal achievement and strategy. It would let him see how everyone fought, though, and did things.

It would also let people blow up some steam, hopefully even Vinamour. While Shen didn't personally care for the guy, Vinamour was still under Shen's command. Shen would do his best for everyone except traitors.

He headed for his corner and also hoped the C-ranks grouped together to get rid of him. No matter the possibility of being betrayed by the other Battalions, that was the best shot they had to get rid of him.

The three "fights" in the ring were only an appetizer; Shen wanted more.

He also wanted to fully show these people who was the boss.

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