Chapter 59: Drawing Tang Wen, Lucky or Unlucky?
Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Drawing Tang Wen, Lucky or Unlucky?
Zhou Bing was one thing, but Tang Wen had never acted as an examiner before.
His hesitant steps, to the eyes of those below who yearned to become Commanders, were a clear sign of his lack of confidence.
In that moment, everyone hoping to pass the selection and become a Commander wanted to draw Tang Wen’s number.
A newly promoted Commander—was there a better target for a challenge?
Dozens of captains below the stage stared intently at Tang Wen, their eyes burning.
The leadership on the stage noticed this.
General Zhou smiled. "Commander Tang, why don’t you go first?"
"Yes, General."
Tang Wen accepted, and under Zhou Bing’s concerned gaze, he walked down from the stage and headed straight for Arena 1 in the center of the plaza.
Along the way, many people cast eager glances his way.
Tang Wen felt a pang of frustration. ’These guys... they all think I’m a soft target!’
Arena 1 was about the size of a standard basketball court.
He assumed a Posture Stance and entered a state of Meditation, silently waiting for the trials to begin.
In less than five minutes, the dozens of candidates had finished drawing their lots.
Five of them had drawn lot number one.
"I got it!"
Seeing that they had drawn Tang Wen, the other candidates couldn’t help but shoot them envious looks.
"Those guys are so lucky!"
"Yeah, if I were fighting Tang Wen... not to underestimate him or anything, but I think I could win."
"I’ve spent years studying the Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist, and I’m just a hair’s breadth from a breakthrough. And Tang Wen? Has he ever even practiced the Cannon Fist?!"
"He only joined the Hunting Battalion a few months ago and just became an official Guard not long ago. You think he’s had a chance to practice?"
"What do you think would happen if all five of them defeated him?"
"Don’t be ridiculous. Have you forgotten what Tang Wen is like when he trains?"
"Training is training, but real combat is a different story."
"Exactly. Out of all the Commanders, he’s definitely the weakest."
"Right. If you don’t practice the Cannon Fist, you’re not going to make it."
"How do you know he hasn’t?"
"Heh, like I said, he’s only been a Guard for a few months. Do you really think he can comprehend the Visualization Image?"
"The ones who drew Tang Wen... I think they’re all experts from the Forbidden Guard and the Hunting Battalion."
"This is going to be a good show."
"..."
Having decided on his strategy, Tang Wen opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings.
He saw five candidates, their eyes gleaming with excitement.
’These guys... they’re excited?’
’What for? Do they think they can actually last against me for any length of time?’
He glanced to the side.
In Arena 2, the examiner was Zhou Bing.
They were also facing a newly promoted Commander, but the candidates who drew Zhou Bing didn’t look the least bit relaxed.
In fact, they felt downright unlucky.
Their reaction was understandable. Even if they hadn’t known of Zhou Bing before, they had just heard General Zhou announce her battle record: "Slain three enemy commanders!"
She had slain enemy commanders—three of them.
A Commander wasn’t some weed on the side of the road that you could just cut down with a wooden stick.
The two Imperial Guard Captains who had drawn Zhou Bing exchanged a dejected look.
The other three in their group sensed something was off and asked them about it.
One of the Imperial Guard Captains explained, "This Commander Zhou... she’s only been fighting on the front lines for a little over a month."
"What?"
"Before that, she was training in the same place we all were. She only went to join the war at the end of last month."
"And then she killed three enemy commanders?"
"Yeah. And before that, when she was a captain in the Hunting Battalion, she was already the strongest fighter among all the captains."
The crowd’s perception of Tang Wen and Zhou Bing was worlds apart.
"Candidates, to the arena."
At the command of General Zhao, who was acting as referee, a Gun and Shield Soldier stepped up to face Tang Wen.
He carried a Fine Steel Short Spear and a heavy Steel Shield.
CLANG!
The Steel Spear struck the heavy shield, letting out a resonant clang.
The Gun and Shield Soldier’s eyes were filled with anticipation. ’Defeat a Commander, become a Commander... today is the day!’
"Begin!"
The Gun and Shield Soldier immediately charged toward Tang Wen, trying to close the distance.
Part of the reason everyone thought Tang Wen was an easy mark was the well-known story of how he had defeated an Awakened with nothing but pebbles. Everyone in the Guard Battalion had heard it.
They all knew he was a master of throwing stones, an expert at mid-to-long range combat.
So, if you could just get into close combat with him, victory was assured, right?
Not just a win, but a landslide victory!
However, to the crowd’s confusion, Tang Wen didn’t pull out any stones.
In the blink of an eye, the Gun and Shield Soldier was upon him.
Tang Wen drew the long saber from his back, took a quick step forward, and slashed horizontally.
CLANG!
Blade met spear.
"Aargh!"
The Gun and Shield Soldier cried out in pain.
His Steel Spear was sent flying from his grasp.
The violent impact sent a numbing shock through the web of his hand, a pain that quickly spread through the entire right side of his body.
Before he could react, Tang Wen delivered a powerful front kick, slamming his foot into the raised Steel Shield.
To the horrified gasps of the onlookers, the disarmed Gun and Shield Soldier was lifted off his feet and sent flying clean out of the selection arena!
"Damn! That’s insane!"
The onlookers reeled back in shock.
General Zhao’s lips twitched. "Selection... failed."
Watching the unlucky fellow who’d been sent flying out of the arena, he had no idea what the man’s true skill level even was.
There was no way to tell. The man hadn’t been able to show off anything; he was defeated in a single exchange.
The Gun and Shield Soldier was completely dazed from the fall, his head ringing. He lay on the ground, a look of utter disbelief on his face, as if asking, ’Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?’
"This... this?"
’Tang Wen’s saber is that fast? He’s that strong?’
The gawking crowd was left speechless.
They looked at one another, mouths agape, utterly unable to speak.
"Take a fifteen-minute rest."
As General Zhao spoke, Tang Wen shook his head. "General, there’s no need to rest. I still have four more. Let’s just get this over with."
"Are you sure?"
Tang Wen nodded. "I’m in a hurry. I had to skip a lot of my training today for this selection."
General Zhao was amused. ’Good kid,’ he thought. ’So this major selection event isn’t even as important as your daily training?’
A fifteen-minute rest after each bout.
With five opponents, there would be four breaks, totaling an hour.
Tang Wen felt that was unnecessary.
General Zhao was left speechless, feeling as if the kid was showing off right in his face.
"Second challenger, prepare."
"To the arena!"
The second challenger, from the Forbidden Guard, was tall and lean, holding a pair of blades.
One look was enough to tell he was an agile fighter.
But agility was useless before Tang Wen. For over a month, he had been training daily while wearing weights of several hundred pounds. His Traceless Step had long since been upgraded.
[Traceless Step, Mastery (927/3000)]
Right now, he was only wearing two pieces of Inner Armor totaling 264 pounds. A weight so trivial it didn’t affect his explosive speed in the slightest.
SWISH!
The Double-Bladed Imperial Guard was circling, looking for an opening, when Tang Wen’s figure blurred. Suddenly, Tang Wen was right in front of him, his saber raised for a downward chop!
The man’s face fell. He desperately raised his twin blades to block.
Having just witnessed Tang Wen’s power in the last match, he didn’t dare hold anything back.
But in the next instant, Tang Wen suddenly withdrew his saber.
’A feint?’
The Double-Bladed Imperial Guard’s heart sank. He tried to pull back his move, but it was too late.
Tang Wen kicked him square in the waist, sending him flying out of the ring.
He landed outside the circle with a thud.
The surrounding area fell deathly silent.
In the span of just a few breaths, another challenger had been defeated.
The faces of those who had been gossiping about Tang Wen earlier flushed red, then drained of color.
Someone shot them a questioning look:
’Didn’t you say Tang Wen was a weakling?’
’Didn’t you say all the challengers were experts?’
’Weren’t you just analyzing the situation so logically a moment ago? Weren’t these challengers supposed to be experts?’
’And in the end, two of them in a row couldn’t even last a combined two minutes?’
’This is it?’
Those people were so mortified they hung their heads, wishing they could find a hole to crawl into and disappear.
General Zhao covered his forehead and helplessly announced, "Selection... failed."
In truth, with his discerning eye, it wasn’t hard for him to see what was happening.
The two men who had fought Tang Wen were both quite capable elites.
Unfortunately for them, they had run into a monster like Tang Wen.
"Hold on a moment."
General Zhao said to Tang Wen, "Commander Tang, you need to give the candidates a chance to actually demonstrate their abilities."
’So I have to go easy on them.’
Tang Wen nodded. "Alright. Bring it on. No problem."
Hearing General Zhao’s words, the remaining three challengers, who had already lost all hope, immediately perked up.
Because they saw Tang Wen toss his saber aside.
’An opening!’
’This is it!’