Castle Jolyn and Vlad were conquered easily by Yu and Liao. The generals guarding them had been idiotic enough to come out and they were killed by Yu and Liao respectively. After Liao killed Hyun of Castle Jolyn, Yu insisted that he had to kill Yoonmin of Castle Vlad, much to Liao's amusement.

"You've killed one, now it's my turn," Yu argued. 

Liao let him but made fun of him being too eager for rewards and fame. Yu didn't correct him. He figured that Liao knew his real intentions but didn't want to bring it up. He didn't want to think about his departure either. There was an internal struggle within him. One part of him knew that he should be thinking of Beck but one part of him was attached to Liao and didn't want to be apart from him. When they took over the two castles, they visited the castles to check their supply of food and on their citizens to find them famished. 

"How could Besson treat them so," Yu exclaimed. The castles didn't have much land for farming and there was only one drying well in Castle Jolyn. 

Liao sighed sympathetically. They tried to give the citizens some of their food and let them get water from the nearby rivers that had unfroze in the warm weather. Yu felt sad every time he thought of the well. The castle could have gotten water from the river if not for the battle at hand. If only it was peaceful, the citizens would not have suffered so.

After the victory at Castle Vlad, they walked around the perimeter of the place. "You know, we are upstream from Fort Mu," Yu commented.

"Are you thinking of flooding the fort?" Liao asked.

"What do you think? We won't be hurting ordinary citizens at least."

"I think it's the only way."

That night, they set to work. Using sandbags, they blocked the flow of the river down to Fort Mu. Then they let the soldiers rest and awaited for the chancellor who had sent them a message that he would come to them with the rest of the army.

"He is attacking from the north-eastern front then," Yu said. "To take over the food storage at Yolanda."

Liao nodded. "We will be doing him a favour then, as responsible vanguards."

"That's the only responsible thing I am," Yu wanted to comment, but he held back. Maybe he could just enjoy himself a little?

Three days later, they unleashed the river's malicious waves and it flew down to Fort Mu where the soldiers were caught unaware. Yu and Liao had led their troops down to either side of Fort Mu and waited on higher parts of the land. When Fort Mu was flooded and everyone was in a mess, they charged down at the enemy soldiers, capturing another fort.

"This is getting too easy," Liao said after the battle.

"The enemy is too dense," Yu replied. "We should take Castle Gui next."

Liao grimaced. "Should we?"

Yu huffed, impatient. "Why wait? Surely the chancellor would want us to take more land."

Liao nodded slowly. "It's just that we don't have much food left," he told Yu.

"No matter, we will get some when we reach Castle Gui," Yu said, feigning confidence. Liao looked at him, half-convinced.

"We have ten days of food left."

"We will get Castle Gui in less than ten days," Yu promised him.

However, when they reached Castle Gui the next morning, Yu found the castle heavily fortified. The wall seemed to be thicker than the usual city walls and taller by far. He could see men patrolling and arrows and rocks set ready. The whole place screamed "don't even try". 

Yu tried.

He led one thousand troops to the front of the castle and yelled up for someone to come and fight. No one answered him for the whole day he waited outside.

"Fuck" was his first word when he came back to the tent. 

Liao had his hands on his forehead in an attempt to think of some ruse. "Let's lay siege," he suggested. "This place has no water source except the river we passed two days ago."

Yu shook his head. "We don't have nearly enough soldiers to do that."

"I'll go and challenge them to battle tomorrow then," Liao offered.

"I'll lead a squadron to the back of the castle," Yu said, "and attack from there."

Liao nodded appreciatively. "There is a reason that you are the love of my life."

Yu laughed. Feigning embarrassment, he batted Liao's arm and said "you are making me blush."

Happy with their plan, they insulted every single general and advisor that they knew under Besson and drank all night. Their laughter could be heard from outside their tent. Around one in the morning, Yu drunkenly left Liao's tent and went to a side tent as they had decided that he should guard a left flank of the campsite where a forest expanded endlessly.

Liao drank more than he did again and was begging him to stay.

"Oh my dear beauty, stay," Liao sang, off key.

Yu laughed at him. "Go sleep off the wine, Liao Ge."

"Will you sleep with me then?" 

He was tempted but rationality won. "No." 

"Then at least compliment me."

"You are a gander."

"And you are a ga-"

"If you make a pun I will cut off your head and repetitively stab your dead body."

The next morning, Liao came to his tent with a luxurious breakfast including three types of meat. "I thought we were running out of food."

"It's a feast before our victory," Liao told him. "Eat up, gander."

"At least my threat worked," Yu commented. It was a small victory.

"Yes it did," Liao assured him. "I suppose it was too soon."

"I'm surprised you remember everything that happened with that much alcohol in your body."

"I am those photographic memory type of drunks."

They chatted for a while on the types of drunks among Herron's generals before Liao said "hey, listen. I think it would make sense if I go around the city and attack them from the back. That way, they won't be suspicious as to where you are."

Yu supposed it made sense. "Alright. You be careful."

As before, Yu led his soldiers out to the front of castle Gui with its soldiers pointing their arrows down at them, ready to shoot if they came too close. Yu didn't like cursing opposing generals so they could come out as he thought that was below him but he decided that there was a first time for everything. He ordered his soldiers to yell up at the castle. "Make sure you insult their ancestors. That always works."

But it didn't. No one came out. Instead, the soldiers up there yelled back at them. It was almost funny. The good thing was Liao could now sneak over so Yu let it continue. But as time wore on, and an hour has passed, Yu knew that something was wrong. Liao, with his level of knife work, should have captured the castle already, unless something was going terribly wrong.

"Lieutenant Yousef," Yu said, calling over one of Liao's best lieutenants.

"General."

"Stay here and keep everyone in order, I'll be back," Yu told him and led five hundred men off to the path that Liao took to the back of the castle.

He heard it from far away and soon he saw it too. There were yells and neighs, terror and ecstasy, the enemy and Liao in the middle.