"It's hardly the first time," he says as the smoke clears. "I've played god before when it seemed necessary. It's a hassle to get out of the role, but sometimes, you need a firm hand, a captain for the ship as it were."

The general ordered another volley of missiles. The grunts obeyed, and once more, he was surrounded by explosions, then smoke and dust.

"You can keep this up," he called out in that pleasant voice. "Or we can discuss this without the pointless interruptions. I think it best to save some taxpayer dollars."

The general ordered what was now the sixth volley, and the immortal rolled his eyes. This was it. Right here, this was why he had to take control. Somewhere, they'd fallen into this... Mindless violence.

Once it had been slavery. The monuments were impressive, but soaked in blood. Once it had been gluttony. What was that fool's name? Greek fellow, just massive. Once it had been pure lust. A challenge to beat that one. He could list every sin that humans got lost in, that he'd pulled them back from. And yes, they still struggled with them, but not like the first times. He worked hard to put blocks up. It wasn't easy but it was always worth it.

"General, can you please ask your superiors about this? With any luck—" Volley seven interrupted him.

He was actually prepared for this. He would talk until they ran out of missiles, because that's the one thing that would make this general stop. And that's exactly why he chose this man. It always started by showing the broken strategy fail on him, then he'd get them listening, and he'd show why it didn't really work in any situation. It usually took time to spread the word, to show enough people. He was hoping the internet could help with that this time.

"With any luck, they'll call you an imbecile." Volley eight. It was truly impressive, like the Talmuk monuments. And just like them, he'd tear it down, so no one would even remember what came before except the lessons learned.