By: Ray Zhao

Bruce had been waiting a long time for this moment. But when it came, he wasn’t as surprised or as moved as he thought he would be. He had long awaited the promotion to top general of his kingdom’s army.

But the king didn’t promote generals randomly. During the brutal invasion by the neighboring country of Kapernia, the enemy had already murdered four supreme army leaders. The king was sick of generals who could barely fight. But the king put all his trust in Bruce. He was a different story.

Bruce wasn’t that confident in his own skills, though. He was tense and almost trembling when he reached the eastern front a few days later. In the camp, run-down tents housed grim-faced and weary men. Small rations and defeat after defeat had led to mass defections and surrenders. The remaining soldiers weren’t in good fighting condition, either.

With the enemy coming closer to the army camp, Bruce had to act quickly. His main objective, of course, was to raise morale and increase the fighting spirit of the troops. And for as much power as Bruce had, he really couldn’t do anything except give speeches and appear charismatic.

But during the army’s next test of strength, instead of becoming disorganized, slaughtered, and imprisoned, Bruce’s soldiers drew the enemy without significant bloodshed. His generals congratulated him and advised him to go to the king to show off, but Bruce knew the war was far from over.

The next day, muddy rain made most roads impassable. The enemy commander was snug in his command tent, and thousands upon thousands of other tents emitted cooking smoke. The rain made even starting a fire difficult and the temperature dropped to nearly 40 degrees.

Suddenly, an arrow zipped through the central tent and landed on the map the enemy commander was studying. Furious at his subordinates for missing their shots at target practice, he stormed outside. There were no soldiers practicing shooting. Instead, carnage and death were waiting.

Bruce stepped down from his horse and let out a deep sigh. The gamble had been successful after all. He had routed the enemy and killed the commander. Only now could he return to the king with great honor and glory.