Taking Command, Part I [Mission]

The Mission:

Zadi's arrogance has finally gotten the better of him; the blonde warrior has decided to try and take control over the encampment he is stationed within. Not the most special encampment, so taking it over might not do much for Zadi's reputation. In fact, the opposite effect might occur, slandering the warrior ranger's meager reputation. One misstep and Zadi would be labeled a traitor to Gao Yuan Zu's army. However, Zadi's boredom coupled with his cocky attitude were just too great for the style-loving man.

"My first target ought to be gathering the foot soldier's to my side. Preferably all of them, but I'll settle for a majority; therefore I target the four most popular foot soldiers in this camp. Simple men and women who love nothing more than to battle or sharpen their minds, so much so they do not become officers simply for the sake of continuing to do what they love."

Zadi's first target would be the foot soldiers, specifically the four most popular within this camp. The four Kou soldiers were normally the center of attention for both newbies and veterans within the ranks of the foot soldiers. Weird fellows yet admirable, too. Anyway, Zadi made his way to a huddled mass of foot soldiers. Pushing through, Zadi found what he wanted; all four of the most popular foot soldiers doing various, competitive activities while telling their war stories.

"One is arm wrestling, another is playing a board game, and two are wrestling each other. Let's see if I can get in on this action."

Pushing all the way through the crowd of foot soldiers, Zadi eventually presented himself to basically every foot soldier within this camp; he raised his arms up in the air and shouted, "Hello everyone! I'd like you to join my cause, especially you four."

The foot soldiers faces grew noticeably irritated. Silence slowly fell as every foot soldier, including Zadi's targets, looked at Zadi with a mix of disdain and confusion. One of the popular foot soldiers spoke up in order to better understand the situation, "Excuse me!? What the hell do you want, bitch? Gonna try and enslave us with that magic sword of your's, uh!?"

"Not enslave. I came here for your respect. I wish to earn it."

The foot soldiers burst out laughing, every last one of them. Zadi expected this to happen considering the mess he got himself into when testing out his new magic weapon's capabilities against Bao during an honorable spar. The laughing eventually died down and the face turned back into hateful glares.

"Earn our respect? You'll earn my respect if you can prove your actual worth as a fighter. Since we can't trust you and your deceitful ways, take off you kimono and wrestle those two on your own. Ought to be fun seein' you lose what little dignity you have left, BAHAHAH!!!"

"Alright, if that's what it takes."

Zadi took off his kimono, revealing himself to be unarmed and ready to wrestle against the two strongest of the foot soldiers. The two wrestlers stopped grappling and faced Zadi, also topless. Both men though, so Zadi didn't need to worry about blushing subconsciously. Anyway, the two wrestlers faced Zadi while Zadi faced back. The foot soldier audience started to jeer Zadi and cheer the two wrestlers.

Zadi waved his right hand at his opponents, baiting them to come closer. They did just that in a formation that seemed unbreakable. They had their elbows lock in and ready to grapple Zadi after a firm tackle. However, Zadi's strength was exceptional, capable of slamming both heads of the two wrestlers together and knocking them out cold in an instant. If they had their weapons, then the wrestlers may have experienced a different outcome, but the same could be said for Zadi. The cheers and jeers fell silent, as excepted.

"I know winning this wrestling match wasn't actually going to earn everyone's respect, but I hope I've proven that I am more than just a capable fighter, even without magic."

"Your strength is rather impressive, but as you said, we're not satisfied."

~700/1,500

"Alright then, what's next?"

"Cocky bastard...win a game against him, his favorite game. When he's not winning on the battlefield, he's winning at his favorite board game. Defeat him and you might be getting somewhere."

Zadi sat down across from the board game laying Kou soldier. The game looked familiar to Zadi, familiar enough to remember the rules at least. Strategy and the like would have to be thought about on the fly unfortunately. The supposed skill of his opponent would be a great challenge, but with enough confidence, perhaps Zadi win?

A few moments later, Zadi was defeated. Was it a respectful defeat? Sure, but winning is what that one popular foot soldier wanted from Zadi. However, Zadi deeply knew he'd lose the board game, so what he did was lose honorably and play the best he could. Now was the time to use charisma to get the foot soldiers on Zadi's side;

"As you can see, I have lost against a powerful opponent. He felt the need to crush me swiftly with all his might, but I respect that. He didn't show any mercy, just in case I was skilled, which I am obviously not, haha. However, I will not stop trying to earn your respect. One final challenge and I'll be on my way."

The foot soldiers were less against hating Zadi now that he'd shown some honor. The board game player seemed to respect Zadi a tad bit more, but not enough for Zadi's plan. The wrestlers woke up and seemed to feel the same way. If Zadi could just earn the full respect of the arm wrestler, then Zadi will likely have earned the leadership of the rest of the foot soldiers of this camp, or at least a majority.

"Hm, fine. A single person is unable to know and do everything. Leaders are no exception. You at least have a silver tongue, I'll give you that much."

Her respect was slowly starting to seep from the cracks of her mind. If Zadi did what he needed to for the next challenge, then he'll probably have earned her full respect, "What is the final challenge?"

"Something simple enough. Spar me, honorably. However, without weapons."

"What about my kimono?"

"As long as you don't use weapons or magic, I'll admit you are fighting honorably."

"Agreed."

Zadi put his kimono back on. Being topless didn't feel all too comfortable considering the large scar across his chest; a reminder of a failure, an error in judgement, a slip up, to say the least. Zadi's arrogance started to give way to reason and logic, something Zadi needed more of in the coming future. Anyway, every foot soldier made a circle around Zadi and the female popular foot soldier. She wielded a spear in her left hand, a round shield in her right, and a Kou-style sword sheathed at his right side. Fully armored and everything, this Kou soldier meant business while also knowing full well this would be the only way for her to defeat Zadi considering he's without armor and weapons.

"Ready?"

"Read-!"

Without letting Zadi finish speaking, she forward and quickly thrust her spear for Zadi's heart. Her intentions were clear; aim to kill Zadi or be defeated. The spear was pretty long, meant for turtle formations and the like. Therefore, the obvious use would be for thrusting rather than slashing. Zadi's opponent's options with the spear were limited, so why use it from the start? Zadi had an idea of what might transpire if he attempted to break the spear, so he simple caught the spear using his left hand and his exceptional strength.

As predicted, the spear was a means for the female soldier to dash closer to Zadi. However, what Zadi didn't expect was the assistance of two other foot soldiers from the audience attempting to restrain Zadi. The female soldier's spear thrust must have been a diversion in more ways than one.

"She doesn't want to lose, so she's let her honor go in favor of strength. She has my respect at least."

Two swords attempted to restrain Zadi's back while the female soldier attempted to stab Zadi's from the front with her own sword. Using his nimble fingers and exceptional speed, Zadi slipped out of his kimono, leaving it hanging in the air. The two foot soldier's behind Zadi didn't see where he went, stabbing the kimono in place of Zadi. The female foot soldier saw where Zadi went, attempting to warn her comrades, "Behin-! Quick bastard."

Zadi jumped over his kimono and slipped behind the aiding foot soldiers, eventually bashing their heads together in similar fashion to the wrestlers. Quick, simple, and efficient. However, Zadi's kimono would need fixing later; the fashionable clothing was not sacrificed in vain.

Feeling as though blatantly calling for more aid from the audience would tarnish her reputation even more, the female foot soldier kept silent and decided to fight with her own last breath! She charged in against Zadi, slashing at him with all her speed and might! The seemingly wild slashes were actually quite precise, aiming to tear Zadi apart as efficiently as possible. However, Zadi ducked between the slashes and punched the female foot soldier in the gut using his speed and strength, as usual. The daily physical training as certainly paying off.

The female foot soldier fell to the ground, gasping for breath. However, just as she wanted, she fought until she could breath no more. Granted, the injury wasn't fatal. She'd recover in a day and probably be sore later. For now, Zadi stuck his hand out for a shake, getting said handshake in return, and metaphorically walking away with the respect of the most popular of the four popular foot soldiers in the camp.

"Follow me and I promise we will win this war, but not for Gao Yuan Zu. Instead, let's win this war for us!"

Cheering ensued, indicating that Zadi was able to earn a majority of the foot soldiers' respect. The popular foot soldiers respect trickled into the masses, hitting Zadi's first target.

1,500+/1,500

[exit]