Beyond the Zenith

At least for today, you don’t have the standing to force me into training, or even an assessment bout. I chose to take part in the first half. You fumbled your chance, and now you want a second half to make up for it? Sorry. There will be no second half.

Their clashing gazes carried layers of meaning. Han Qingyu stood there, wearing his Silver Azure Guardian Medal and a polite smile that was impossible to argue with.

He could have used the medal to refuse from the start, but he hadn’t. That made the whole thing even harder to dispute.

Liang Ge finally snapped out of his daze. Almost immediately, he felt himself approaching a boiling point.

However, this was a tradition spanning decades of the Coalition’s history, and the stands held hundreds of veterans wearing their medals with pride. If he did anything rash, embarrassment would be the least of the White Erasers’ problems. It would be far worse than that.

Frustrated fury flooded Liang Ge’s reddening face, but he had no choice. Deactivating his device, he stood at attention and snapped a salute. “In that case, very well.”

“Thank you for understanding.” Han Qingyu returned the salute, his conduct flawless from start to finish.

The tension in the stands finally eased.

Some veterans who had been at the front and were out of the loop asked around, “How does a recruit already have a Silver Azure Guardian Medal?”

Recruits and instructors in the know immediately filled them in. They explained that Han Qingyu had killed two Pure Purgatory operatives the night before enlistment, saving an entire supply depot along with nearly a hundred Coalition soldiers and support personnel.

As front-line soldiers, the veterans most respected and acknowledged combat merit earned on the front lines, as well as the sacrifice of one’s life to save Coalition comrades.

Cheers and applause that had previously been held back out of deference to the White Erasers erupted as this news made its rounds. “Well done!”

Regiment Commander Li and Lao Jian exchanged looks. “If that kid walked over right now, we’d actually have to stand up and salute him first, wouldn’t we?”

Despite being a regiment commander and a platoon leader, the former only had one Bronze Medal and three Irons, while the latter wore two Irons. On a medal-pinning day, they would indeed have to salute first.

“Should we leave?”

“Leave? We can’t. The White Erasers have Silver Medal holders of their own. If they throw all shame aside and send one out, I... Even if I can’t help, I still need to be here to watch,” Regiment Commander Li said, unease in his tone.

The situation up in the second-floor viewing room was exactly as he had guessed. The White Erasers member beside Qi Shantong was beyond agitated.

“How about I go down?” the White Erasers member asked. “I’ve got a Silver too. Let me handle it”

Qi Shantong glanced at him. “Is your brain broken? Or do you think the White Erasers need more humiliation today?”

“I...” The man’s face fell, and he said anxiously, “Then what do we do? Our reputation, our dignity, we have to salvage something. Didn’t you use to say that, Platoon Leader Qi? Even a fearsome reputation is still a reputation.”

None of them had imagined that a single recruit could bring the mighty White Erasers to this humiliating impasse.

Qi Shantong shook his head. “Someone in the viewing room across from us just stood up and headed down to the floor. If I’m not mistaken, from the build, it’s probably Shao Xuan, the platoon leader of the Gold Erasers. He’s come in person.”

Shao Xuan, senior colonel and platoon leader of the Gold Erasers, was unanimously recognized as the top fighter in the Ninth Army. He was also the last recipient of a Gold Azure Guardian Medal in the Ninth Army. That had been about six or seven years ago.

Azure Guardian Medals above Iron were notoriously difficult to earn. Strength alone wasn’t enough. The right circumstances were necessary.

The Silver Medal was the highest decoration the Oriental Republic Army Group could approve independently. Anything above that had to go through the International Coalition Council, with the corresponding rewards funded by headquarters. The difficulty of earning a Gold Azure Guardian Medal spoke for itself.

As for the Starlight Azure Guardian Medal, only five had ever been awarded in nearly a century of the Coalition’s history. Only one went to the Oriental Republic Army Group, and it belonged to Chen Bu’e, the legion commander of the Only Witness Legion.

Earning the Starlight Medal required exactly what the name implied. One had to shine like a star across the Azure.

The White Eraser inside the viewing room had yet to catch on, or perhaps his thinking had simply gone down a different track. “Commander Qi, are you saying Shao Xuan will stand up for Han Qingyu? In that case... you’re right, we really can’t match that.”

Shao Xuan’s Gold Azure Guardian Medal was not something they could challenge.

“Match, my foot,” Qi Shantong said, exasperated. “Do you really think a recruit is enough to bring Shao Xuan here in person?”

“Then he—”

“He’s here to present a medal.”

The other guy froze.

“That kid is about to receive a Gold Azure Guardian Medal.”

A hint of regret welled up within Qi Shantong. His eye for talent was too sharp. Given Han Qingyu’s luck, ability, and connections, he was almost certainly going to become a pillar among the Coalition’s young officers in the near future, possibly even more.

Qi Shantong couldn’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if he had gone with a different approach.

It probably still wouldn’t have worked. Han Qingyu simply wasn’t one of them and couldn’t be shaped into one. This farmer’s son only knew to keep his head down and calculate how to make a living. He would never concern himself with grand ideas like “completely transforming the Coalition” or “unifying the world.”

“A Gold Medal? What did he do to deserve Gold?” The White Erasers member’s tone was laced with disbelief and indignation.

Qi Shantong smiled slightly and said in a matter-of-fact tone, free of resentment, “The battle at District 1123 was the Oriental Republic Army Group’s most brutal engagement in five or six years. In that battle, he nearly single-handedly killed a Sharpie. Then, with the help of Zhang Dao’an, the other instructors, and the surviving members of Platoon 1123, he personally destroyed the Sharpie’s transmission device. He even led away the Glowing Blue Sharpie alone at the end, effectively saving countless recruits.”

As the mention of Zhang Dao’an, the other instructors, and Platoon 1123, he raised a hand in salute.

The man beside him went quiet. Good thing I didn’t go down there. I almost embarrassed myself.

***

Down in the stands below, a voice drifted past from behind Regiment Commander Li, tone light. “Regiment Commander Li, looks like you were worrying too much.”

At that moment, a figure, not particularly large, passed along the aisle behind them.

The ever-fretting Li Wangqiang turned toward the voice and paused. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties. He wore a senior colonel’s insignia on his shoulders, a Gold Erasers badge, and a Gold Azure Guardian Medal on his chest.

Shao Xuan had just come down from the second-floor viewing room and entered through a side door, which took him right past their section.

An entire row of people immediately stood and saluted. “Platoon Leader Shao.”

Before Shao Xuan could stop to exchange a few words, more and more people turned and stood.

“Platoon Leader Shao.”

“What brings Platoon Leader Shao here?”

This was the influence of the Gold Erasers’ platoon leader. Rank or title alone couldn’t measure his authority. It came from a place deeper than that, from the genuine admiration and respect from the soldiers’ hearts.

“Yeah.” Shao Xuan’s voice was unexpectedly warm and personable. “The legion gave me a last-minute assignment, so I came running.”

Then, returning salutes, he greeted people left and right as he walked down.

“Platoon Leader Liu, you came all this way? Got a promising recruit you’ve got your eye on? Come on, you don’t have to get so worked up. I’m not going to steal them from you.

“Hey, Platoon Leader Guan, are you going to pay back that energy core you owe me or not? If not, that’s fine. Haha. But you’d better drink three cups at tonight’s gathering.”

Li Wangqiang shook his head with a laugh. “The guy’s way too sociable, and his memory is ridiculous. He remembers everyone.”

There was no ill will in his words, just a vague, inexplicable irritation.

“Yeah. Our Captain Wang, on the other hand, was famously introverted. He’d probably rather go fight a Sharpie alone than be in a situation like this,” the regiment lead advisor added.

Everyone around them, from the 425th and other regiments alike, burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, Shao Xuan stepped down to the arena floor and walked up to Han Qingyu.

Han Qingyu had been listening for a while and thus knew the identity of the person standing in front of him. He saluted promptly. “Platoon Leader Shao.”

“At ease. The Ninth Army’s finest recruit in a decade, Han Qingyu.” Shao Xuan returned the salute with gravity, then leaned in with a smile and whispered, “Quite a scene you’ve caused. Feeling guilty about it?”

Han Qingyu gave a rueful smile. “A little, actually.”

“Hah. You’re an honest one.”

As they spoke, a soldier behind Shao Xuan stepped forward with an ornate wooden box. He stood at attention, shifted the box to one hand, and saluted Han Qingyu.