[center][h2]In a war eternal over level sands and wet woods[/h2]

[h3]Guang Ming Zhu[/h3][/center]

The air was hot and dry, and the sand blew over the assembled army. Ming stood with other magistrate sorcerers of the operation to engage the Zhou dynasty over the great desert of Rang. The command tent had sixteen sorcerers. Ming stood in the back as a Magistrate of war. What seemed like an old man wearing green robes soon said. “As we know, the enemy forces contain the supply town of Shamonan, south of the great desert. Our forces have always had difficulty traversing the sands; the heat itself is extreme. Not only that, but the storm seasons have passed, allowing us to attack their town and sack it.” 

Another sorcerer wearing gold robes replied. “Would it not be better to capture it?” 

“It is a base that a Qishi can operate under. We are certain there are none, but another reason is supply reasons…” 

Ming examined the plan to cross the sands into the base; it was located south of the great desert of Rang, but was quite central in some way. It explains why they could raid past north into the lands of her nation; taking it over could prove a great tactical blessing, the obvious issue was supplying it. 

Yet, reading the supply route maps of the tactical map, she could tell that it was possible to supply the city if captured. It was a strange statement given about the supply issues. The only obvious issue was the Qishi in the city; the fortress itself was far from operations on one hand. 

Yet she began to think for a moment until she heard her name. “Guang Ming Zhu, as a brand new Magistrate in this, you will be accompanied by Qián Jingting on the right flank to secure the advance.”

 Ming could see that the woman in question, Jingting, looked shocked and annoyed, opening her mouth about to state a protest before shaking her head as the briefing continued. The order for Ming and Jingting was to maintain defensive positions in the right flank of the advance. As the room was cleaned of officers, Ming followed Jingting once outside. The sun was quite hot, and the air was drier than she was used to; it made sense. This desert was massive, and the heat it generated was so intense you needed a specialised suit for here. 

As she followed Jingting, she turned around, facing Ming, saying. “You little!” She soon took a deep breath, seemingly thinking she was smaller than Ming. Her hair was dark brown, and her eyes were blood red with a physic that indicated she did not exercise much. 

But she could feel she had more anger packed in her tiny form than she expected. “Right, so what are you? A newbie with a bronze-silvered identification?” She sounded sarcastic yet was shocked when Ming lifted her identification. It was a small silver rectangle with gold lines. The words written on it were of her name, family and the sigil of her family was imprinted on it.

Picking it, she was shocked, saying. “Silver with gold…” She said without words, thinking, then asking. “You fought in a battle before?” 

“No…” Ming said, sounding concerned, it was understandable, the identification of silver and gold pertained to someone with wide experience, while Ming was very good at the military board and planning, even impressing many officers, but she was not tested. She wondered why she received this honour. 

Jingting shook her head, giving her identification back, saying. “They give it to everyone these days?”

 She then left, simply heading out. Ming was about to say something until a Magistrate sorcerer near her said. “Don’t bother…” Ming turned to him. 

The man seemed to be in his thirties with gold hair and bronze eyes. His physique seemed to be well built, he continued saying. “She is a bit stubborn. I recommend focusing on your group.” 

“Two commanders need to interact for better cohesion.” Ming said with the man chuckling, saying. “Yes, the issue is she is not the best at that. A bit of a loner in command, not surprising, seeing how she is from an important family and survived more battles than she likes to count and was never promoted.” 

“I'd better see my man then.” She said to him with a light bow, and he gave a nod. “A great choice and my early condolences.” He replied, soon leaving, raising an eyebrow at the statement. She looked at her identification tag once again, a high rank for someone new. Either high expectations of her due to her scores, or something is off, there is a chance they are gambling with her.

She stored the tag back in her hip as she headed off to the central camp of officers. Exiting it felt like leaving a castle while it was tents. There was a tent wall around the inner area where sorcerers took base making it seem like a castle; the area around the central camp had tents of regiments ready for the operation; she wandered and saw many men and women readying for the coming battle some saluting her as she walked past arriving at the tents of the regiments she commanded she looked at the soldiers some of were mostly getting ready others relaxing seeing her they straightened up some in fear, some in respect others seemed in awe. She felt unease at some eyes, but managed to hide it well as she reached the central tent of the regiments. 

Several soldiers rose up in readiness or curiosity of her, a human magistrate, an officer lower than her saluted approaching her, she smiled, saying. “Magistrate, I hope the regiments are ready?” From what she could see, he was of average height for a regular human, seemed not very strong, his black hair seemed to accentuate his green eyes, and his face seemed to show some battle experience, especially with a scar across it. He replied to her, saying. “Magistrate Yichen, my lady, yes, we are, albeit the other regiment commander is…” 

“Here! Xiao Hui reporting!” A woman arrived in a hurry, saluting her, hitting her chest when close and giving a noble bow; she seemed younger than the man; she had red hair and blue eyes and was of shorter stature as well; her face was well polished, and her right hand had a gold chain of engagement. 

She seemed inexperienced when looking at her, albeit something was off with her, as far as Ming could see. “I will keep note of your lateness, magistrate.” Ming said.

 “Forgive me, my lady.” She said with another bow.

Ming gave a nod of confirmation, soon saying. “How is the status of the regiments?” 

“Ready for battle.” Yichen said 

Xiao Hui stated. “Mostly recruits, but we can deal with anything.” 

Ming began to think of some strategies, while soldiers looked at her, she then said. “Ready yourselves, men, we are to protect the right flank of the advance. Expect combat and anything possible, sorcerers, depending on their specialisation, can do things you cannot imagine.” 

“What power can you do, my lady? I mean, besides your formidable stature.” Xiao Hui asked, with Ming saying. “I can see the future and a few other tricks besides my strength…”

 Some of the soldiers seemed at ease, unsurprising for Ming from the powers; the ability to foresee the future was the most beneficial in war and less prone to friendly fire from what she saw in some spells. 

“Right, man, move out.” Yichen replied as the soldiers saluted and began to ready themselves. The camps began to empty themselves, soldiers marching in formation towards their goals in the sands of the desert. 

The desert was extremely hot, plastic could melt in its heart, and the march was a large, extended line from side to side with soldiers in the millions heading south. Ming was in the front of the soldiers leading the march of her regiments looking around the sands blowened for a moment she could hear someone scream looking back a soldier patted the sand off their face probably burned himself, she shook her head, she still felt something was off looking at a distance she could see Jingting she seemed behind her lines but still accompanying as she looked she heard Yichen say. 

“First time in the sands?” She looked at him, and he seemed to have approached as she looked around. 

His curiosity seemed genuine. “Not really, it's too close to a war zone, even the dry lands that surround it are dangerous due to a raiding army.” She responded to him.

As she looked around, she opened her third eye. The sands vibrated with possibilities, her head aching as she witnessed the sands blowing in many possible directions, while hearing him say. “Raised close to these lands, sometimes you have to shelter from the sandstorms. But in this season it's fine.”

Ming’s eye showed a storm for a moment. She was surprised to see the sudden storm in a possible future as she looked around more. Fixing her gaze over a dune in the distance, she saw soldiers emerging from behind the dune. “Something wrong?” 

“Enemy forces beyond the dune.” Ming said, pointing her finger at the dune as she unsheathed her sword and began to concentrate. She heard Yichen press something in worry, also readying, looking back, the regiment began to stop and ready arms. Almost immediately, a group of soldiers emerged over the dune and were opened fire against by her soldiers as the entire front line began to exchange fire, with the front beginning to explode into a battle. 

Ming concentrated in her hand, she thought of a spear with great power accumulating in it, with a single purpose to expand against the pressure of the atmosphere. Unleashing the power, she launched a lance, hitting the dune and causing it to explode. She could see soldiers being thrown into the air with screams as they fell onto the ground. The gunfire behind her seemed to lower itself as sand and debris covered the view. As she stared on, she soon saw a flashlight pushing Yichen away; she soon concentrated on grabbing the lightning and aiming it at another dune, with the impact exploding it. 

As she looked onwards at the other sorcerer, he seemed to float in the air, a small trick she thought both seemed locked into a stare until broken not by him or her. But the sound of a whistle, looking up, she could see a fireball colliding against the enemy forces, the other sorcerer disappearing in the fire and smoke. 

As she stepped back, she looked to the side, seeing Jingting causing firestorms and launching firebombs everywhere, her clothes glowing bright red, as if it was enchanted or simply she had changed clothes before leaving. “Show off.” She mumbled, seeing her until noticing she barked orders she could not hear, but they were to retreat. 

The gunfire soon resumed as soldiers of the enemy emerged from the smoke. Ming backed off a bit, retreating to her lines as her regiment had lowered themselves or lay down to open fire. 

Xiao Hui was near her with her regiment; Ming could see Yichen to the right, also giving orders, while Xiao ducked and shouted at her. “This does not look like a regular skirmish!” Ming, still standing, said. “Yes, I can tell something is off.” 

“Are you not afraid to be shot?” A regular soldier shouted, looking at Ming while Ming looked at him. Several bullets seemed to hit an invisible shield in front of Ming. She was able to project a barrier in situations like this that were not visible unless stress tested. The soldier soon went quiet after seeing it, staring back at the front. She soon noticed sparks. It seemed that the other sorcerer seemed to be readying to shoot at Jingting in the distance. Ming smiled as she felt the area around her; her senses showed hundreds of soldiers as time slowed for her, and she could feel the sorcerer just behind the chaos. 

As she saw the lightning being launched, breaking through the smoke, she acted immediately, raising her hands so she could feel and control the world around her. The sorcerer was launched into the air as seconds began to count, and when she could see him in the air. 

She refocused her mind to create spears with her Qi, and with a gesture, they flew towards the sorcerer as he was dismembered in the air by their impacts. 

As body parts fell down, she then said to the soldiers. “Initiate advance, I think they don’t have any more surprises for us.” 

Xiao Hui gave a nod, ordering the soldiers to begin advancing. Ming looked to the side; the lightning seemed aimed at Jingting. As she looked, it seemed she was fine from the lightning strike; the line was holding even while fire flew around her. As she was about to give orders to Yichen, she froze, and she felt a quake, and the wind seemed to shift direction, looking forward. 

The quake continued as she began to sweat in realisation, and she then ordered. “Hold the attack!” 

Yichen turned to her, saying. “What?” 

“I said Hold the attack, something is off” She replied when a large quake shook the soldiers, making them stumble. As they refocused the gunfire ended as they looked up in the distance and a quiet silence runned over the soldiers as they saw a Qishi appearing in the distance the metallic giant moved slowly through the sands each step quaking the ground as it raised its arm a single shot caused a huge explosion as the center of the line was pulverised, Ming soon snapped out of the trans she was in and shouted. “WITHDRAW! ALL FORCES WITHDRAW!” Shouting to her men, they soon snapped too and began to retreat, turning to Yichen, she then ordered. “Contact Qián Jingting and ask her to move with us through to the west and say that the western rocky hills may help in our retreat.”

He gave a nod, rushing towards Jingting Ming, and soon turned to Xiao, shouting. “Hui!” She soon relaxed her face, seeing Xiao Hui staring into the titan, almost hypnotised by it. Her eyes fixed on it, not because of fear, but something else, from what Ming could tell, but that was another priority at the moment. 

She shook her off, saying “Xiao!” She turned to Ming, saying. “Sorry, something took over me” “Organise the men, understand?” Ming said in a serious tone, her eyes seemed to glow with Xiao giving a nod in fear, Ming then replied with the words. “Good”

With the forces retreating, Ming still felt unease while a Qishi was behind her, and the retreating army, she felt something in the air, the wind was off, and she soon screeched to a halt as she sensed something off in the air. A sorcerer seemed nearby, yet she could not see it, turning her head left. She could see something, so she squinted until she widened her eyes, and she could see a storm very well. Seemed to have been made by several sorcerers, the storm was gonna roll into the army soon. 

“What are you doing?” She heard Jingting's voice shout, turning to her, Jingting then said. “Why did you freeze? There is a titan nearby!” 

“Storm!” Ming shouted, pointing at a distance, with Jingting groaning as she replied. “Oh, old kings be fucking damned…” 

The sands seemed to begin to roll in their direction; the storm, by what the group could see, looked like skulls, part of it glowing as well, with some of the soldiers beginning to waver. Ming fixed her eyes on the group, and after thinking for a moment, she then shouted. “Forward!” Jingting turned to her, including many of the soldiers and even her officers, as Ming continued. “The storm is approaching, we can't escape it, put helmets on and close, then we need to get far from the Qishi to survive, and for that we need to run through the storm.” Many seemed hesitant, looking at each other until hearing Jingting shout. “You heard her! Ready yourself and get ready to run.” With both leaders in agreement with a plan, many soon began to put on armour. Jingting turned to Ming, mumbling so only she could hear. “Hope you are right.” She put on her helmet and closed it so as to not let sand through, same for Ming, as she felt excited.

The movement continued, and the Qishi seemed distracted with what remained of the centre force as the storm engulfed the flank and began to move. For Ming and Jingting, their regiments were engulfed in sand, and the visibility dropped to zero; lightning was the only thing visible during the strong winds, and the sand blocked visibility. Ming could more easily traverse the terrain; the sand heated her body, but the armour made sure she did not suffer burns. Looking back, her group had difficulty travelling compared to her. Unsurprisingly, given her stature and strength, visibility was zero, and it seemed that all of them followed her guidance as she marched. She had an idea. A smile crossed her face as she began to follow a different plan than the one originally proposed to the others. Instead of retreating, she would lead them somewhere else she wanted. Many would not like it, but that would require first knowing if the navigators of Jingting were still around when the storm passed. 

But first she needed to guide those around towards safety and slightly towards her goal, the travel continued for a difficult to measure amount of time Ming occasionally held back to see the regiments still around they seemed to cladder more and more together due to the wind to keep up with the march even Jingting got to her own group instead of attempting to lead as the regiment tried to keep on moving through lightning and the sandstorm Ming felt the wind beginning to drag her looking back the movement of the group seemed to have finally grinded to a halt as she stared she saw a group nearby beginning to lose footing with her improved vision she could see someone was at a risk of being whisked by the wind with a dash she approached quickly of the woman and grabbed managing to pull her back to the ground and the others beginning to fix some anchors into the ground Ming shouted to them. “Anchor yourselves, keep yourself safe until the storm passes.” 

They gave nods to her, some even saying ‘yes ma'am’ with things secured, and Ming thought for a moment to refocus until she heard a scream. Turning her head to the side, she could see Yichen holding on to someone as the sand and wind seemed to drag him, staring, she thought for a moment. ‘A ease replacement of an officer, the thought crossed her mind, there were hundreds of thousands of baseline humans that would kill for the opportunity. It was fine… It was fine…’ 

Yichen held Yan's hand for his life. It counted on him to fight through several battles in the eastern fjords. The trenches were not fun, and then he fought in the skirmishes of the Great Desert near his home. The desert was unforgiving at its heart, at its edges, you could live like he did, but its storms were always deadly in some form. The winds were always dangerous, but this one was conjured by the power of sorcerers; the winds were worse than he had experienced. As his hand began to slip, he soon began to think of ways to survive, holding onto a rock or attempting to latch onto something with a rope. Anything that would cross his mind, he would not let this be the end. He fought for seven years. Since he turned sixteen, he joined the army. He was not ready to go yet, and he would fight for it. 

As his hand slipped, he felt time slow down; the world felt slow as he began to be taken by the wind, the lightning illuminating the world as he breathed slowly. Until he had his hand grabbed, looking down, he could see Ming Zhu dragging him down, anchored again, time moved again as he extended his other hand and held onto her, saying. “Magistrate, what are you…” 

“Just Hold On!” She shouted, holding onto him as she managed to pull him back into the ground. Looking down at the ground, it was rocky compared to the sand as both stood together. He attached an anchor to the ground, a rod of metal that, when slammed, allowed him some stability against the wind. Meanwhile, she seemed to handle the storm well, surprisingly enough. 

She felt the sand accumulating on her; it was rather heavy. The wind was extreme, but her size and strength made it less of an issue for her compared to the others of her forces; instead, the hard part was waiting it out. Looking down, Yichen seemed fine as he anchored to the ground as sand began to pile on ‘Why did she do this?’ she thought to herself as time was the thing she had the most with this storm. 

Duty, probably, was the reason she thought or simply his experience, many sorcerers would merely let him go, mortals were replaceable, especially for sorcerers that managed to achieve hundreds of years of life. For her, on the other hand, she thought it was too cruel to ignore those below her, despite her teachers and other commanders treating this as normal as it could be. Plus, for what she planned, any living soul could be used in her plans, as the sands continued she focused on wards only maintaining meditation as Yichen stood beneath her, her size alone managing to avoid most sand hitting him as she stood kneeled as time went on she waited and sand began to cover the two until both were covered by the red sands. With the storm finally passing, the winds still blew as both emerged from the sand that had accumulated on top of both. As it dissipated, she looked around as people began to emerge from the sand, as well as from as far as she could see. She removed her helmet, and some sand fell on her while it was hot. She could easily resist its burning temperature, surveying the survivors who seemed exhausted, which was understandable. She looked to the surroundings; the storm was going away in the distance, and the Qishi appeared to be gone. 

She soon heard Jingting shouting. “What a fucking disaster!” Turning her head, she could see Jingting approaching while cleaning her face after she removed her helmet. 

She then said. “Great, a Qishi appeared and an arcane sand storm. What else can we expect?”

“Probably a random army if our luck is anything to go by.” Ming replied, Jingting seemed to roll her eyes at the comment, then asked. “Right, do you have a navigator to lead us back to HQ? ours died.” 

Ming began to think, looking to the distance. She then looked at the sun; time was on her side, and she had a plan if things were like she thought. 

She smiled at the thought of attacking Shamonan, she then said. “I know a way, just follow me.” She shrugged, making a gesture for her regiment to follow, same for Ming, albeit her gesture confused Yichen; she knew why he knew this place after all. Still, she pressed on as the day began to move. The army moved behind her. She thought of the possibilities; there were many, they did move after all, for a long time through the storm away from the Qishi and south, albeit she wondered how the others would react towards it. Many would simply follow her, at least her regiment would as for Jingting; that was a different question she would need to be convinced of. The good news was that she didn’t seem good at navigation, seeing how she hadn't noticed the sun setting in the other direction.

As the night began to quickly creep in and the stars began to appear in the darkened sky, Ming noticed Jingting approaching, and she seemed annoyed. “Great long journey; I say we make camp and…” As she talked, Ming walked along, stopping and grabbing her, pushing her down and gesturing for everyone behind to take cover as they followed. Jingting soon began to shout. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU…” When the sound of a machine roaring was heard, she went quiet, looking over the sand dune. The two, including some soldiers, could see that the town of Shamonan at its centre was the Qishi of the previous battle; it seemed to be stationed. 

The town had several long pipelines running through it, refuelling lines, and one of them led outside, going further south, the source of fuel for the settlement's war machines, for food and water. There were probably other pipes not visible, but for the war machines, it worked well. The population of the settlement looked small due to its size, from what Ming and Jingting she soon whispered. “What are we doing… In the belly of the beast!” She emphasised the situation 

Ming replied to her. “I had a plan to conquer Shamonan.” 

“Conquer it? Conquer it!?”Jingting said, shocked. “Have your mutations erased your sense of self-preservation? We don’t have a big enough army.” She said in shock 

“Judging them from here, I think we can, with our numbers, we can take the town, even the Qishi can be dealt with.” Ming said, analysing it

 “Are you crazy? This is not just a settlement, it's a military base. There are only soldiers down there, and our small force cannot take it.” Jingting said back 

Ming shook her head, replying. “We can, like I said… I have a plan.” After whispering the plan to her, she still looked skeptical. 

“I don’t know, it sounds dangerous.” Jingting “If we win, they would have to promote us, and you did say you were tired of staying in this rank.” She looked to the sides, thinking before giving a nod, but then said. “If things go wrong, first to ditch.” Jingting began to walk away, with Ming saying. “They won’t…” As both announced the plans, the morale was a bit in doubt from what Ming could tell.

With her magistrates, she stood on top of the dune overlooking the town and explained the plan to them. After a while explaining, she stated; “This is not gonna be an easy task, we probably will lose a lot of soldiers. This is why I need you two ready for the early infiltration, understood?” 

She turned to Xiao. The girl looked hypnotised by the Qishi in the town. Her stance was quite well postured, Ming noticed, even as she snapped out of her trance, she then said. “Ah, yes… I understand, my lady.” 

She seemed distant when looking at her. The posture she posed was quite good; her appearance also sold something else besides being a soldier. She seemed to hide something Ming gave a nod, saying. “It is fine…” 

Xiao then said. “While I rather recommend retreating, an infiltration can work. The obvious problem is gonna be fighting through hell. But if the plan works, it can neutralise the biggest threat the issue is gonna be securing.”

 “I am sure we can do it.” Ming replied, Xiao seemed hard to convince, but gave a nod, saying. “Right, I will be seeing the man then.” 

As she headed off, Yichen kept on looking on and both stood in silence looking onwards. After a long silence, she broke it, saying. “Awfully silent for you. You knew we were coming here, I noticed when I said where we were heading. But instead, you went silent throughout the whole journey. Why?” 

He did not seem shocked, just looking for words. He took a deep breath and said. “Yes, it's true… I don’t know why I didn't mention, generally, sorcerers don’t like diverging plans from theirs or second opinions at times. So I kept my mouth shut… It's not like sorcerer magistrates last long in this group.” 

Ming raised an eyebrow at the statement, asking. “What do you mean by that?” 

“Well, most sorcerer magistrates we had were young and well decorated when leaving the military academies.” He pointed towards her identification while continuing to talk as she looked at it.

“Many arrive here recently from camp with that identification and end up in coffins quite quickly. Either due to ambition, recklessness or just bad luck, I was sure we were gonna end up dead back there with the Qishi and the storm.”

Ming crossed her arms, saying. “I am different.” 

“Our previous magistrate said the same thing before he was caught by a fire tornado, and he was quite a powerful sorcerer, so...” Yichen commented back with Ming looking at him, his eyes averting her. “I am stronger and more powerful than most. Still, don’t be afraid to voice opinions in private. I don't want my magistrates to be sycophants.” 

He gave a nod soon after thinking for some time, then he said. “So with the plan you suggested, don't you think it's a bit… Ambitious?” 

“Ambition is the material that creates golden ages, isn’t it?” She replied with a smirk. He seemed still in doubt, but gave a nod, soon saying. “Right… Remember to repeat the plan? Better to make sure nothing goes wrong.” 

Ming gave a nod; she had worries about Xiao understanding the plan, but Yichen seemed more understanding. Her eyes lingered on him for a moment before turning back to the town as she refocused.

One hour before sunset, the guards of the town were a bit tired, the rotation seemed about to begin the guard post at the edge of town, the two looked on to the desert bored with a small flash one of them was hit on the head by a red laser shocked the other guard raised quickly searching for an alarm until he was shot too. With both men lying on the ground, a small group emerged from the darkness, led by Ming. ‘Our main strength is surprise. None of the defenders expect us to attempt to take over this town.’ The group began to go into the town, where Ming had her sword in hand. 

The infiltration was quick, calculated. It was better not to initiate a firefight, Ming thought; otherwise, the cover would be blown and the plan would go to hell. She sliced an unnoticed guard, looking to the side, and another guard was killed as the group moved. She took a deep breath and focused again on the march. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the town, a soldier was electrocuted to death by Jingting. Upon teaching him, she gave a nod with a gesture, her regiment began to move as she whispered to herself. “Why am I doing this?” She shook her head, heading towards her objective, one of the silos. The area was luckily clear for her as her men went to begin opening the valves and redirecting fuel to the centre of the town. There were others, but she was soon startled by the sound of gunfire nearby. She cursed under her breath, her heart accelerating with panic.

‘Three groups left, centre and right will divert the fuel towards the centre of the town, where the Qishi is. If a firefight begins, the element of surprise will remain for a short while as people begin to wise up and the shock starts. But when it begins, be ready for everything to accelerate.’

Yichen stared at the dead soldiers, saying. “You were not supposed to shoot him!” “He reached the gun!” The soldier he commanded said in a nervous tone. “Well, get ready to feel more pressure”

Yichen soon began to order the soldiers to keep following. The centre was more dangerous compared to the flanks of the infiltration. With it, firefights started to happen more occasionally in the area, with buildings lighting up and eventually the worst sound to hear at the moment. An alarm whistle was being blown, and with it, the stealth was to be thrown out, something that Yichen did when he shouted. “Right, we still have our objective, be fast men!”

‘This mission, being an infiltration, is not all; it is the beginning. I hardly believe we will be able to contain this battle into a stealth mission, but when it happens, we have a timer. Sorcerers will wake up, and the Qishi pilot will too.’

Ming and Xiao stood watch as the soldiers turned the valves and someone redirected the liquid fuel, Xiao said with worry. “Great, who opened fire?” 

“I don’t care. It was inevitable; we at least managed to divert the outer fuel depots; we still need the inner ones.” Ming kept focused on the mission 

Xiao sounded worried. “Right, so we are now in a rush until the Qishi pilot wakes up.”

“Indeed, if I am correct, the Qishi may still need refuelling from this place.” Ming replied with certainty 

Until Xiao interrupted her, saying. “Not really… This fuel is to power normal vehicles. A Qishi is powered by a Plasma reactor.” 

Ming looked at Xiao. Time was slower for her than for her she raised an eyebrow, saying. “It is?” 

“Yes, it seems this fuel is made for vehicular utilities, like a land dreadnought or multiple combat vehicles. Quite a lot of them…” Xiao said, inspecting the fuel tanks nearby, there were at least a dozen. Even Ming raised a brow at the amount. While her mind had many questions, things still had to move. Hearing the soldiers reply that they were done, she gave a gesture for them to follow; there were still other depots to divert. Meanwhile, the sound of gunfire only grew louder.

On the right flank, Jingting and her forces more easily manoeuvred due to the district being more industrial, as for the centre, where Yìchén stood, things were more complicated. Yìchén opened fire into groups of soldiers with the support of other men as he heard the valve was turned, and the man began to regroup with him. Observing it, he gave a nod and threw an impact explosive against the alley, killing a few soldiers through comms. Other groups reported steady progress. A soldier turned to Yichen and said to him with a smile. “I think we might actually do it, sir” 

Yìchén shook his head, saying. “Don’t put too much yet, we are still halfway done.” The group soon began to move with the sun rise in the distance, illuminating the desert with an orange glow. 

That was until an explosion rocketed down an alleyway as Yìchén halted his movement, with others seeing some of his companions burn; he soon saw a sorcerer merge flames burning around his fists, taking a look, Yìchén shouted. “GET TO COVER!” With the group spreading out, he hid behind a wall in an alleyway as fire went through the street. As he looked to the side, he felt shocked seeing a child in the alley. As he stared at the boy, he soon went on a run as he whispered. “Not just soldiers…” 

With another fireball, he soon began to refocus the soldiers he commanded, went to other alleys for protection, and screams could be heard from a man burned as he thought. “Well, great…”

Ming and Xiao ran through the streets with sporadic firefights happening as Ming crushed a man. She soon noticed civilians inside houses, as she said. “They said this was a military settlement…” 

Xiao stopped near her, looking, and she then said. “Well… secure settlement may as well bring the wife and kids of the men.” 

“This can go very bad…” Ming replied with Xiao shrugging. “Well, too late to do much.” 

“True…” The sound of fuel flowing through the pipes was heard as they took fuel to the depot at the centre of town, Ming said with a bit of relief. “Well… things are going to plan.” 

The sound of comms interrupted the discussion as both turned to a comms officer, saying. “A sorcerer attacked Yìchén’s company. Jingting is engaged against one too.”

“Not surprised, I was counting the minutes until we met one.” As she commented, the sands beneath them seemed to be pulled in the direction of the city as the soldiers turned. Ming and Xiao could see a man wearing green armour staring at Ming. He seemed to await a duel. 

As she stared, she whispered. “Go around… I will catch up.” Xiao gave a nod as the men began to follow her. 

When the others left, she faced the man and took a battle stance as she waited for the first action, and it was taken. As the sorcerer put a hand on a wall and with little effort managed to remove it and throw the wall towards her like sliding a letter through a table. Her reflexes were quick enough to dodge out of the way of the wall flying in a vertical direction, crashing and collapsing behind her. Turning to him, he seemed to smile as sand formed around him, lifting him up, he grabbed part of another building and readied to throw it at her.

She quickly jumped forward as a section of the building flew at her. As she rose up, he seemed to land on the rocky floor, punching the ground. She could see spikes sprout from the ground towards her. The quickly advancing spikes made her look to the side, seeing a fragile wall, she bit her lip and crashed through it. The structure was not very resilient, and she could easily cross the stone wall. As she took her bearings, she noticed a family standing in a kitchen. The sound of stone changing pulled her back, though. As she saw the spikes following her. 

“Run now!” she pointed to the civilians before quickly moving out of the way as a spike impaled the men and then the women. As she stared, she swiftly lifted the child and threw her to a corner of the room as the spikes instead followed her. Breaking one of the spikes with telekinesis, holding it in the air, time slowed as she calculated where the sorcerer would be. With quick reflexes, she threw it through the wall. The sorcerer seemed to be hit as she broke through the front door with her blade in hand. She saw the sorcerer seemed to have raised a stone to form an improvised wall in time to defend himself. As she readied her sword, she charged him, opening her third eye. From the actions he would take, she quickly rushed towards him and, with a quick dodge, left as from the ground a spike passed her right and with a swing of her blade, the sorcerer's head flew off. 

As he fell to the ground, she cleaned her blade, saying. “Elemental school… quite skilled in the arts of earth.” She gave a light nod of respect before continuing on.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the settlement, Jingting panted heavily as lightning formed in her hand, and with a flash of anger, she unleashed a bolt of lightning against a group of soldiers as they all dropped dead. She returned to cover, taking deep breaths. She felt the Qi overbearing her, taking deep breaths, she maintained calm in light meditation as bullets riddled behind her cover, she jumped from cover again with a lightning bolt in hand, throwing it. A group of soldiers behind a barricade were electrocuted as her company moved forward. 

She continuously sweated nervously, turning back to the fuel depot, the soldiers seemed to finish opening the pipes as the fuel flowed, she groaned, saying. “Hope this is the last one we need” Hearing shouts, she readied for another round of combat as reinforcements seemed to be arriving. She let the Qi flow again as lightning launched from her hands.

Yichen stood overlooking the street, taking cover behind a wall as a burst of flames from the sorcerer took a deep breath, as he knew this plan was gonna probably kill him or save his men and himself. Turning around the corner away from his cover, he opened fire against the sorcerer, the bullets failing to wound him by the looks they were blocked by either body armour or stopped mid air, he could not tell by the heat and the flames surrounding the sorcerer, but he could very well tell the sorcerer was staring at him. Raising his hand, Yichen began to bolt back to cover as a fireball was launched towards him. As the start of the street was engulfed in flames, he could hear the screams of people being burned. Looking behind him, he could see the sorcerer following behind him. 

Getting up, he soon began to run towards the end of the alley, taking a turn into another street. The alley soon was engulfed in flames as he stumbled back. The sorcerer emerged from the fire, turning towards Yichen, the sorceress from what he could tell was readying another attack. Until she was shot in the back, the impact seemed mitigated by the armour she was wearing. She seemed shocked, turning around to stare at the shooter, and she soon seemed to take three other shots. Yichen could see the snipers behind her as she looked ready for another attack; he aimed his own weapon at her and opened fire. As the bullets hit her, she seemed to stumble forward with other shots from the sniper group, and she soon collapsed. Yichen took heavy breaths, coughing a bit due to the smoke of the fires. As he calmed down, the group of snipers soon approached, walking around the burning wreck, saying. “Well, the plan worked, boss.” 

“Ye… I knew it would work since she seemed willing to beeline to anyone who called her attention. But not far from her post, probably a company nearby.” Yichen said, cleaning some sweat, gunfire was heard nearby as he cursed under his breath.

“Attempt to reorganise the company. Things may be getting ugly.” He said to the group. As they departed, Yichen soon saw Ming appear together with Xiao and elements of the company. 

“Magistrate Ming!” He shouted as she turned to him. He felt relief as she began to approach.

Ming approached the area and seemed just as battle hardened as her quadrant she then said. “Status report.”

“A sorcerer and her company blocked our advance with no luck in our quadrant to push. I hope yours was better, my lady.” He replied, and she gave a nod. 

“Things are not easy on our flank, too. I came here with a small company hoping to find an easily accessible depo.” She said. 

“Things have not been easy in the centre. We do know there is one nearby if you can reach it through the battlefield. I take it, we can finish the plan with it.” He said, with Ming looking forward towards the depo. It was far, the battlefield meanwhile was still hot in the area after analysing the situation, especially the battle.

She then said. “Hold the line, I will see if we can reach it” He gave a hard salute as Ming’s group went ahead.

Running through the streets, Ming and Xiao continued fighting through a few garrisons, arriving at the last depot. Ming pointed to the valves, saying. “Begin turning the valves!” 

As the soldiers went on, others began to take positions as she looked. She stepped aside as she saw the reflection of a scope as the shot missed, she mumbled. “Snipers…” 

The place they were taking shelter seemed to be a three-story building in the distance, she squinted, saying to Xiao. “Follow me.” 

“Is it not better to hold?” Xiao asked 

“High ground can prove useful, especially to see the city and it.” Ming replied, pointing towards the Qishi that seemed to be turning on. Xiao gave a nod, following Ming towards the building.

In the tower, a man with a rifle overlooked the field. His partner soon said after he fired again. “Missed… I still can’t find the giant.” 

“Who is suicidal enough to attack this place?” The sniper replied with his partner, letting out a light chuckle, saying. “Well… They are this far and this close to the Qishi, so I think they aren’t that crazy.” 

The sound of gunfire was heard down below, including the shots of lasers as they looked at each other, his partner replied. “Should I hit the alarm?” 

“Could be stragglers of this attack, I don’t think it is nee-” The man replied until the door of the roof was busted open with Ming throwing her sword towards the sniper as he was impaled. His partner quickly pressed a button as he was punched by the strength of Ming, killing him. 

With Xiao arriving behind with a missile launcher, saying. “I guess they planned to use this as a last ditch.” Ming grabbed and took a look at the missile launcher. It seemed that the rockets were in good condition, and they were also of high yield. 

“Pretty good to still use at least.” She replied soon, giving it back to Xiao as she looked around the town, which seemed chaotic, yet she could see where action was, at least where combat was happening and where some movements were going. 

This was going quite well, she thought, until she heard shouting. Heading to the door again, she heard soldiers coming up stairs running to her sword, she said, picking it up. “Company coming…” She turned to Xiao, who stared at the Qishi as Ming looked. She soon noticed the problem the Qishi was activating and soon began to move away from the fuel; she cursed under her breath. 

Towards the door, she soon used telekinesis to close it and partially crash the roof to block it as the sound of stone crushed around and partially collapsed the ceiling. Stepping back, she then said. “Right, plan B, we need to start reorganising and be ready to retreat. Understood, Xiao?” She turned to her but then froze as she saw both Xiao and the Qishi staring at each other. The Qishi seemed to stare into Xiao.

Xiao stared at the Qishi, saying. “Hello… Diao Feng…” The Qishi seemed to close its fists as she smiled at them, quickly pointing at her, and she chuckled, saying. “Too late.” Pointing her missile launcher, she fired at a nearby pipe leading to the central depot. Hearing it explode, Xiao then heard Ming scream. “No!” Being grabbed, she was pulled into the other floor, falling through the hole Ming had caused. The explosions continued following the fuel line. The Qishi was confused until seeing the fuel depot near him. Until the final fuel line explosion hit it, luckily for the Qishi, it stepped far from it, but not far enough. The fire consumed the depot, and the explosion was massive, the shockwave destroying multiple buildings and the sound of the explosion echoing through the desert. The Qishi was launched and fell on its back, its head hitting the sand outside town, half of it inside of it. The smoke of the explosion rose over the settlement, and the sound of gunfire died down completely.

Xiao coughed at the smoke. Rubble seemed to obstruct her until she saw Ming lift the rubble and throw it to the side; the building seemed to partially collapse. 

Ming took deep breaths, bleeding from her forehead, and she turned to Xiao, saying. “That was suicidal in all definitions of the word.” 

“It had to be done…” Xiao said, rose up, feeling her body in pain. 

Ming shook her head, saying. “Hopefully not many soldiers died.” Stepping outside, the sky was obfuscated by the smoke, and the streets were silent with the occasional cry of a child, making Ming look unnerved. She then bottled her emotions and continued on, saying. “Let us go, we need to regroup.” 

Marching through the quiet streets back to their group, Ming looked to Xiao. She looked calm, despite everything. Ming needed to talk with her later, they arrived at Ming’s personal company, which she brought they stood in the depot of fuel and luckly the area did not seem to explode together with the fuel line looking around it was mostly empty but then she saw a few soldiers near a building raising her hand the soldiers also raised with the approach an officer said. “Magistrate… The explosion was sudden. Wasn't it ordered to withdraw when all depots were turned?”

“It was, unfortunately, the Qishi turned on early when we finished with this one, so we had to improvise.” Ming said, side-eyeing Xiao, who seemed to sit to recover energy. 

“Any sign of combatants?” Ming asked. 

“Not yet… probably confused or recovering after the explosion.” The man replied, taking a small look behind the men, she could see fewer soldiers than when she arrived here. At a quick glance, she noticed a dead man she commanded lying on the floor near a building, probably others in the area. The explosion definitely hit her well without taking cover; the other forces probably took a lot of casualties too. Her enemy, on the other hand, was hard to tell.

The sound of a horn was heard as they turned. Ming could see the Qishi rising up behind the smoke. 

“SHIT!” A soldier cursed. An apt reaction, she thought as the Qishi stood up Her heart raced with any plans coming up, especially as a retreat at this rate may cause everyone to die except a few survivors. Instead, she looked on, feeling more relieved as the Qishi began to walk away, seemingly damaged or not interested; it was hard to tell through the burning smoke, yet everyone could tell its rider chose to retreat. 

“We did it?” a soldier replied, with others also repeating the words and soon celebrating. Ming, meanwhile, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The air was filled with smoke, but it did not bother her. She felt relieved that the plan worked out in the end, even if it was more damaging than she had hoped it would be.

In the central plaza, Ming and Xiao arrived. The plaza was mostly empty, analysing the area, Ming soon said. “Seems like the combatants also went on the retreat with the Qishi.” Xiao seemed a bit surprised, emerging from one of the streets. Ming could see Yichen, who hailed with a raised hand to her, approaching, he then said. “So we won?” 

“Yes… The town is ours.” Ming replied with Xiao saying. “Well, where is our other sorcerer magistrate?”

 “There…” Ming replied, pointing to the approaching company led by Jingting. Once close, Ming approached Jingting, staring at each other for a moment. Ming then broke the silence, saying. “Qián.” 

“Guāng.” Jingting replied with a small smile, then said with a pompous air of pride. “Well… Contacted back home to say we conquered the place?” 

“Not yet wanting to know if everyone survived.” Ming replied to her, crossing her arms, with Jingting saying. “But we are all here. I dispatched some of my men to clean up the other side of the town we weren't in after the explosion, just to make sure there are no surprises.” 

The sound of gunfire was soon heard by all as she continued. “Speaking off… I guess we may need some patrols.”

“Contact, command, tell them that we captured the town of Shamonan, reinforcements are required,” Ming replied to a comms officer who gave a nod and began to work. 

“Not much of an inexperienced person as I thought, albeit truth be told, this plan was suicide in all definitions.” Jingting said in a whisper for Ming to hear, and she then replied in a similar whisper. “Sometimes you have to do something bold to change things.” 

Jingting rolled her eyes. From what Ming could tell, she seemed unconvinced with few watching and hearing, she then said. “Ambitious commanders generally die first. I guess you are lucky or one in a hundred.”

“I am sure I am.” Ming replied with a smirk. Jingting seemed less convinced. “If you say. Anyway, I hope we don’t work together soon after this, definitely a match to end up with me dead.” Jingting said 

Ming replied. “Prefer to keep the same position?”

“No!” She said more angrily and in a loud voice, some noticed as the soldiers began to take some rest, she then fixed her voice, whispering again. “I prefer doing this on my own.” 

“If you prefer, albeit that is a decision made by our higher rankings. Still a pleasure working together.” Ming said Jingting gave a light smile with a shrug.

Yichen, meanwhile, talked with the comms soldier and soon returned, saluting. Then he said to the two. “The high command said they would be sending a major reinforcement wave after I had to confirm three times that yes, we conquered the town. They said they would arrive tomorrow morning. With… a guest, according to them.” 

“A guest?” Both asked, with him replying. “No further explanation, but yes.” 

“I guess we will reorganise and garrison until they arrive. Anyway, I'm gonna go away from the burning wreck. The smoke is killing.” Jingting said, coughing as she left. 

Ming gestured for her company also to follow as they went to another area. Xiao and Yichen followed her, she then said. “Begin a head count. I wanna know how many we lost in this operation, and try to save as many civilians as you can during the patrols. Understood?” 

The two gave nods to her. “Good.” She finished walking away from the central square. The smoke was beginning to get dense in the area from the burning depot that exploded.

Many hours later, taking refuge in a former barracks that was taken over during the initial incursion, the soldiers celebrated below as Ming meanwhile stood on a tower overseeing the town. She heard reports of the patrols finding many wounded, and with the night beginning to rise, gods only knew how many were lost. 

Xiao walked up the stairs, saying. “Magistrate Ming, I believe that…”

“Which house do you come from?” Ming asked, with Xiao freezing, Ming then continued after a moment of silence. “You know what I am talking about. Your behaviour is a bit more aristocratic. Initially, I thought you had some experience, then you began to stare into the Qishi like you shared a connection with it and of course, the roof where you called for it.”

Ming turned to Xiao as she continued. “... and… it answered the call, stared at you for a good moment and then pointed its main weapon at you like it knew who you were. By process of elimination of the obvious, you are from a Qishi house.”

Xiao looked calm, letting out a light sigh, giving a nod to Ming, saying. “Correct, my lady, I joined the army for experience gain.” 

“Feels like you don’t need too, especially as by inheritance you end up piloting something that turns armies into insects.” Ming said with an eyebrow raised, Xiao closed her eyes, replying. “Each Qishi family has its own succession rules. Unfortunately for me, my family is a bit more unorthodox.” 

“I see…” Ming replied after a moment of silence, she then said. “Which dynasty do you come from?” 

“The Zhāng dynasty, we are as ancient as the colonisation of this world and proud of it.” Xiao replied; her tone of voice seemed like she repeated those words quite often, sounding monotone. 

“Ancient rival of the Féng dynasty, if my memory is correct.” Ming replied, scratching her chin.

“Indeed, it's a rivalry dating back to eras. Generally, we fight with our Qishi. I think this is the first time our families fought with a Qishi and one without.” Zhāng Xiǎo huì saying. 

“Not happy with the omission of this important information, but I am thankful for your honesty now.” Xiao looked over the town, and she then said. “Anything else, my lady?” 

“No, is there anything to report?.” Ming asked. 

“No, Yichen is still counting the dead. He probably will report later.” Xiao replied 

Ming gave a nod with Xiao leaving, Ming was left with the flow of time and her thoughts, she thought of numbers, tactics, and what would happen. Promotion was the most likely outcome to come from this operation, and with higher responsibilities, she thought of what commanding multiple magistrates would be like. Her ambitions would align, and her vision for the future was correct; this was most likely the first step. At the present time scale, if she was right, the march towards the capital of the Zhou dynasty would be within a year. Her mind was filled with plans and tactics, including political speeches. Her third eye would become useful in some rituals that she planned.

As she was in deep thought, she heard a knock, turning her head around, and she could see Yichen entering, she soon said. “Commander, good to see you… What is your family name? I don't remember you saying it.” 

“Don’t have in these sands, you have your normal name, and that is it. In the republic, the assimilation made this tradition nearly disappear, but it is still in some families. Down south, they say they care, but I doubt it.” He replied, looking reminiscent of the past. 

“I heard that some of the cultures assimilated survived. Wasn’t expecting to find one.” Ming said with curiosity, with him shrugging, saying. “Well… while unity is promoted, some diversity will always exist. Even then, it's just a minor thing from the desert to the northern seas and the brand lunar fronts that opened up recently.” 

As Ming pondered, he then said. “Well, what have you been doing, my lady?”

“What do you mean?” She asked, with him searching for words until finally saying. “Well, the men are celebrating, some are resting, and you are on top of this observation post, so I was wondering what you were doing.”

Ming kept on looking at the town, which was damaged; some lights were on in some buildings from families still around, she then said. “Just planning for the future. Next steps and next moves.” 

“You do that every night?” He asked, approaching Ming as she thought she, then said. “Yes, almost every night.” 

“No hobbies or anything to distract?” He asked.

“I mostly read strategy, or books of war.” she replied with a chuckle. Yichen looked a bit interested, thinking for a while.

He then said. “I wouldn’t call that quality free time. I generally spend my time trying to learn music.” Ming frowned at the comment, looking at Yichen. Was he hired by her father? she thought for a moment. 

As she stared, she then said. “I know you are trying to lighten the mood… What you wanted to say.” Yichen did not seem to change much of his face; he still seemed to be in a neutral mood.

He seemed to search for words for some time until he said. “Don’t know what you have but… You managed to convince the men to follow you to hell. Unfortunately, only one fourth of them got out of it alive.” 

Ming froze at that statement as he continued. “One hell of a loss lives for the regiments, but we still managed to pull this off. I guess your leadership pulled it in the end.” 

“Thank you.” She said in a direct tone, and Yichen gave a light bow, replying. “I will let you be my lady.” As he left and Ming was alone again, she let out a large sigh. It was more dead on her side than she had hoped to be. A miscalculation she would attempt to correct tomorrow, on the other hand, something important would come. She wondered if the visit was a general of the army or the Taiwe himself. Albeit he would need to come from afar.

The next day

The scout could see the approach of a land dreadnought, a vehicle built to transport supplies and soldiers through the desert. It was accompanied by multiple armoured vehicles and even air support. Ming could see the convoy had enough soldiers to hold the town if not do more offensives. The defences on one hand for the carrier were interestingly high from what she could see, until she widened her eyes, seeing the banner. Jingting broke the silence, asking Ming. “So who is our guest?” 

“Someone from the Shang Dynasty.” Ming replied, with Jingting becoming more tense, and those who heard it becoming more strict. 

Jingting whispered. “The sorcerer king? He never leaves the orbital ship.” 

“Probably someone close to him.” Ming said as both attempted to look cool, Ming maintained it well while Jingting looked a bit more nervous.

With the land dreadnought stopping, the soldiers soon began to disembark and formed a defence cordon for someone leaving as it came to view who it was, Shang Qiang, some of the soldiers whispered when he approached. The crown prince of the Shand Dynasty, a modified clone of the sorcerer king. Ming and Jingting kept themselves quiet as he approached. He was pale with short hair and green eyes. His clothes were expensive. As he stopped in front of them, he took a good look at both. He was smaller than thought and from paintings a bit different from the sorcerer king, less muscular and a bit thinner, same for the colour of his eyes, light green instead of black. 

“Guang Ming Zhu and Qián Jingjing.” He said with both still maintaining their composure, he then continued. “You two did something that only great individuals could achieve. You should be proud of yourselves. I hereby grant you the high honour of your achievement.” 

Both bowed in respect; a promotion was now all but inevitable, Ming thought, but still, the heir was not something she expected to be coming here when she arrived here. As the honours were given, the Shang Qiang was escorted towards the town, and as the two saluted as other officers walked past, Jingjing looked more excited whispering. “New position here we come!”

She seemed to smile quite widely in excitement; others also smiled in the army, unsurprisingly, a great change in the usual state of the war. 

“A clone?” She heard, looking back for a moment, Yichen looked at the crown prince, curious.

“Does the sorcerer king want to be overthrown? Why make a thinking machine?” 

“He is organic…” Ming whispered back in a condescending tone, but he continued. 

“Still… made in a lab wasn’t the ancient war about the machines that could think and men? Why make one that thinks even if it is made of flesh.” 

“Some say the sorcerer king trusts only himself.” Ming answered him as he went quiet, she kept on watching the army arriving, things would begin to move and get turbulent. She wondered what her family was up to as well and what else was happening in the stars.