"Here," Mark's voice echoed from behind Victor as he tossed a water bottle to him. Dressed in his uniform, Mark looked rather dashing even under the boiling sun. His eyes remained cold, but something about them made Victor's heart jump.

"Thanks," Victor replied as he opened the water bottle, taking a big gulp of the water.

Today was the fifth day since they had set out for the battle. Although they traveled in ships and other vehicles, they were close to Y Nation, to the point where a slight move might warn their enemies of their attack. So instead, they were now marching under the boiling, hot sun.

Victor's clothes were drenched, sweat dripping off his face as his eyes looked far into the distance. He was thinking of his next move. Mark had been sticking close to him over the time they spent together, but Raven had also been trying to meet Mark. Victor didn't understand why Raven seemed different compared to what he thought of him, but even though he thought so, his guard were still up.

As he looked at the other soldiers who were spending their break, Nix walked up to him.

"General," Nix called out, his brown eyes were filled with admiration and joy.

Victor turned to look at him, much to Mark's dislike. "Hey, how's it going?" Smiling, he smacked Nix's back with more strength than intended.

Nix stumbled a bit, but he also smiled as he replied, "Great. I did what you asked me to do. After losing to you, I spent a while trying to find another soldier to attack. I won after a while and now, everyone is trying to figure out who has the white cloths. I'm sure that a lot of the other soldiers have gotten pulled into this mess, especially since you can't refuse."

"That's great, have you noticed anything different?" Victor asked as he looked at Mark from the corner of his eyes before focusing on Nix.

Nix nodded his head, "Actually, I have. After you had beaten me on that day, when I fought against my opponent I made sure to study his movements. I realized that you were right about my tendency to get rather too into the battle that I don't think about anything else other than beating my opponent. With your advice, I made sure to plan my movements ahead of time."

Victor nodded his head in return, the smile on his face not changing as he replied, "It seems like everyone is getting closer too. I haven't noticed before but, it feels like the air among you soldiers have changed."

"Well, before you came, there had always been this competitive air in the atmosphere. In our squad, we usually tried to beat one another no matter what. Most of the alphas didn't get along well and it often ended up with fights that had to be broken up, but everything seems to have died down since you moved to our squad. Our squad was a huge mess before you came. At one point, General Mark had to get involved and the fight ended up being broken up rather quickly with him." Nix cheekily said as grinned.

"What did Mark do?" Victor couldn't help his curiosity when Mark's name got brought up. He was rather interested in what Mark had done, knowing his temper in this world wasn't the best.

Nix laughed before he spoke, "Well, on that day, our squad had been punished for another fight earlier on and we had to run ten kilometers. After that, everyone was tired and stressed out. I don't know what exactly happened but two alphas got into an argument. All of us thought that it was just that since another fight had already happened that morning but it suddenly escalated. No one knew what started it but one of the alphas threw out a punch then it turned into a huge fight."

"Then, more alphas got thrown into the fight and at the end, it was a huge pile of people pummeling one another. I still remember General Mark's reaction when he entered. Upon seeing what had happened, he ordered a few of the other soldiers to get nurses to come before he walked towards the huge brawl with a cold expression on. He didn't seem surprised but rather a little amused. Anyway, he grabbed one of the soldiers by the collar and chucked him away from the pile and onto the ground before he got everyone else out of the brawl."

"Well, when all of the soldier had finally gotten back their minds, they turned to look at General Mark in fear. They finally realized who had broken them up and were scared to death about it. Basically, General Mark scared them all to death by his presence. But, the squad was later punished to run another ten kilometers, this time we had to carry weights with us. That day was certainly rememberable." Saying so, Nix couldn't help but laugh as he glanced at Mark, watching his expression.

Victor couldn't help but laugh as he saw a light blush upon Mark's ear. It was so light, but it almost seemed too obvious.

Mark could feel a light blush from himself, because it felt like his embarrassing secrets were being revealed to the person he loved.

But, thinking so, Mark suddenly got confused. The person he loved? Since when had Victor become the person he loved? He turned his gaze towards Victor, how could someone like him be worthy of someone like Victor?

[Male lead's love meter is at 36%.]

Once Victor heard that familiar voice, he immediately also began speaking.

(Fei Shang, I have a question.)

[Please say it, Host.]

(In this world, even though it's taking longer for Mark to fall in love with me, why does it feel like it seems stronger though?)

[Stronger? Host, falling in love quickly doesn't mean that the bonds between one another are strong. You don't fall in love with someone in one day and expect the feelings to last forever. It takes time for feelings to finally gain the strength to last through storms. Love isn't something that can come quickly.]

Quickly? Victor had never thought about it like that.

(Fei Shang, why does it seem like you know so much about love?)

Fei Shang kept silent for a short second before he spoke again.

[Do you remember the story I told you about the one who gave me my name?]

(Of course, it would be hard to forget something like that.)

[Well, I learnt so much from him. He fell in love in just a moment, it was easy to know that he was infatuated too deeply, even though it might not have been true love. He thought it was love, but it wasn't. Love wasn't like that, but he believed it was love. When he took me in as a brother, there was already someone else by his side.]

[That person had been by his side for even longer than he had known, watching over him and silently protecting him. Every time he was with that man, I was able to see the light in his eyes, the happiness that blossomed upon his face. He directed his love towards someone else because he thought that the feelings he had towards that man was just that of a friend. It took losing everything before he realized that he had always loved the man he thought of as a friend. But by then, it was already too late.]

Victor didn't know what to say. He was able to feel the pumping of his heart as he listened to Fei Shang's words.

(Fei Shang, there seems to be so much that I still need to learn about you.)

[Don't worry, Host, one day you will find out about everything.]

"Hey, Mark, can I ask you a question?" Victor turned to look at Mark.

Nix couldn't help but awkwardly stare at the two, feeling that the atmosphere between them seemed questionable. But, being who he was, he kept quiet as he silently watched. He wasn't going to say a word until they remembered his presence.

"Yes," Mark replied as he looked into Victor's eyes.

Victor brushed his hair back as he asked, "Can I spar with you?"

That question caused both Mark and Nix to furrow their brows.

"Wait, wait, General, you want to fight against General Mark?" Nix's voice was filled with amazement and surprise.

"Well, I'm already here, might as well have a battle against one of the most revered generals, shouldn't I?" Victor joked.

Mark didn't know what to say at first but upon seeing the look Victor had, he couldn't help but reply, "Alright then."

Nix looked at the two with wide and surprised eyes. He rubbed his eyes once then twice before it finally occurred to him that it was real. No jokes, he could see hearts popping out of the atmosphere from these two. But they were alphas, weren't alphas supposed to be at each other's throat, ready to knock each other out?

"Please, you first then, Mark." Victor couldn't help it as he smiled even brighter. Ah, he loved joking around with Mark. Obviously, what he wanted wasn't to fight against Mark, but it was something more. He wanted to mess with his head and heart and throw him into a spiral.

Mark couldn't help but lightly shake his head from Victor's playfulness. Even now, he still wasn't used to Victor's untamed spirit. In his life, he had never met an unrestrained person like Victor, it was almost admirable. But, these feelings he had, they were much more.

.

.

.

I first met you when you were but a child. With your tiny body covered in blood, your eyes were devoid of any emotions. I could feel the pain coming from you and it reminded me so much of myself. Because like you, I once suffered the exact pain of losing two of the people I loved most, and I could tell your devastation from losing someone you loved.

I was definitely shocked though when I saw your battered body. I shouldn't have bothered myself with you, I wasn't supposed to, but I couldn't stop the strong feelings within my heart to reach out towards the broken you. A child like you shouldn't have gone through what you did. You didn't respond to any of my questions, so I could only make you fall asleep for a while as I arrived at an abandoned house.

I healed your body before leaving you once I knew you were safe. I didn't want you to be around someone like me. Actually, the truth was, I also didn't want you to meet any harm so I silently looked over you. I watched as you grew up and decided to walk the road to becoming a cultivator. I had to say, you were good at picking out the Sect you wanted to enter because it was the same one I was in. Although, while I had my own residence, you were an inner disciple. While I was the Lord of Suzhou's only brother, you were a mere nobody who became an inner disciple.

I couldn't meet you yet, our positions were too different for you to open up to me. But, I was always looking over you, keeping you safe from any malicious people. It stayed like that for the next three hundred years as I slowly realized that my feelings for you were growing too out-of-control. They weren't the same as they once were, becoming a love that I couldn't erase.

In that three hundred years, you reached the Tribulation Transcendence, one step away from becoming an immortal. At that time, I had already been an immortal for two hundred years. I finally decided that it was the right time to meet you.

When we met for the first time, you somehow opened up to me. I was happy. As years passed, you grew closer to me, but there was still a barrier that existed between us. Whenever I looked into your eyes, I was able to see the conflicted feelings within them before they disappeared.

The feelings that I had towards you, I wasn't willing to let out. I could tell that you were struggling, but there was one thing that I was afraid of losing. I was afraid that you would push me away once you knew about my heart, about the feelings I had towards you, the person who you thought of as a mere friend. So I kept quiet.

It did hurt because I wanted to be so much more for you, but I couldn't be. I was content with my position, to be able to be by your side and hear your laughter. Even if I couldn't be your lover, I was happy with just that much.

I think we spent two hundred years as mere friends, not stepping over that boundary. And, I wished that we had stayed like that even if it meant not being the one you loved.

You found someone. I was supposed to be happy for you but I couldn't stop the sensation of losing everything in my life. You were truly in love with him, basically blinded by love. I had wondered if that was how I had acted.

I could only swallow back my feelings and smile for you, I only persuaded you to follow your heart. What a coward I was...unable to speak of my feelings because I was so afraid.

You had asked me if there was someone I loved.

I had replied saying, who do I love? Someone who is far out of reach yet so close by. That person can make me smile even in the darkest moments of my life. That person, I will swear to love for the rest of my life.

You laughed while saying how that person could not be in love with me.

I could only put on a fake smile as I listened to you. If I was stronger, if I hadn't been such a coward, maybe you would've been mine.

I had known you for over five hundred years, saving you when you were just a child. I had been protecting you for three hundred years before I finally befriended you. For two hundred years, I stood by your side as a friend.

But, I told myself that being this close to you was enough. Even if your smile wouldn't be directed towards me, your heart never mine, your hand I will never be able to hold, that's alright. Even if I have to watch you fall in love with someone else, marry someone else, I would smile while congratulating you.

Your happiness is my goal, your smile I will remember, your life I will protect.

You may never be mine, but I will always protect you.

To be by your side is enough for me, even if I will never be the one to walk a road with you.

The only wish I have in this life is your happiness.