novelraw Chapter 389 - 304: The Battle Begins, Ma Lie Feng! (Double Length)
Chapter 389 - 304: The Battle Begins, Ma Lie Feng! (Double Length)
The officials beside the high platform immediately waved the flags and beat the drums, and the horns sounded.
All the soldiers straightened up, knowing the martial contest had begun.
Some were anxious inside, while others were confident, trusting in their own strength, ready to show their prowess today!
Another official then began calling names, and contestants started to enter the stage for duels.
The centurions called walked out of the phalanx one by one.
Song Changming noticed that two centurions from their formation were also called and stepped onto the stage to fight against the centurions under other commanders.
This also drew the attention of Xing Tiexin, Fu Yuan, and others.
"Younger Brother Xing, stop looking. Those are my soldiers, I know them well. You’re bound to lose this round," a nearby commander said gleefully.
"Older Brother, you’re being happy too soon." Xing Tiexin responded a bit displeased.
A moment later.
"Hahaha, Younger Brother Xing, how was that?" That commander, seeing his centurion had won, asked with a smile.
Xing Tiexin’s face fell a bit, and he said nothing more.
Fu Yuan scratched his face and exchanged a glance with Song Changming, also feeling embarrassed, especially as they were dominated by the opposing commander.
Soon, the first round ended.
The losers, with heads hanging low, left the stage and gloomily returned to the phalanx.
And the victor stood proudly on the stage, enjoying the moment of being in the limelight in the entire army, while waiting for the next opponent to come up.
The one who won could stay on the stage as long as he wanted until someone defeated him.
Therefore, to stand out and get more noticed among the plethora of soldiers, one needed to last as many rounds as possible on stage; naturally, over time, more people would take notice.
Until the Flag leader on the high platform took interest, this martial contest would be considered a success.
Moreover, after the first round, names didn’t need to be called again.
Soldiers could freely get on stage to try and replace the person on the stage.
Thus, after the first round, the atmosphere became even more intense.
The remaining centurions under Xing Tiexin, following their defeat in the first round, also couldn’t sit still, each picking an opponent to fight on stage, determined to secure a position for the general and plant their team’s flag.
In the end, under Xing Tiexin, four centurions succeeded in holding the stage, which was quite decent.
But before Xing Tiexin could feel relieved, two of them were soon knocked off by other centurions.
After several more rounds, of the ten centurions, only one remained on stage.
That man was Zhao Li.
Among the centurions, Zhao Li’s strength was notable; otherwise, he wouldn’t have thought of challenging Song Changming for that Deputy General position back then.
In terms of strength, among Xing Tiexin’s ten centurions, Zhao Li was the strongest.
If Song Changming hadn’t intervened, Zhao Li, given a few more years of honing, would have had a high chance of securing the Deputy General position.
Possessing near Vice General Level martial skills, Zhao Li also gained some fame in the centurion contest today.
But unfortunately, he couldn’t maintain sole dominance in the end.
Among other centurions, there were also those close to Vice General Level in strength, and even stronger ones.
Ultimately, no matter how hard he grit his teeth, he couldn’t hold out until the end on the stage.
"Younger Brother Xing, that guy’s not bad, a potential Deputy General," a commander noticed Zhao Li and remarked.
"Hmm, him? He’s a branch member of the Zhao Family, indeed not bad," Xing Tiexin nodded slightly.
However, in his heart, he didn’t quite value Zhao Li.
After all, he knew that guy always regarded Zhao Linxin as his leader, and compared to him, Zhao Li would be more loyal to the Zhao Family and Zhao Linxin!
Such a soldier was destined not to become his trusted subordinate or be heavily utilized by him.
Of course, these true thoughts of his heart weren’t something he would casually tell others, so he said.
"Originally, I intended to support him as my Deputy General, but later I found more suitable candidates, and his character is still too impulsive; his strength is also a bit lacking, needing more refining..."
Meanwhile, another commander’s gaze fell on Song Changming, smiling, he said: "It’s the young man behind you, right? He became your Deputy General right out of Recruit Training Camp, thinking he’s quite the talent.
When guarding the Spirit Crystal Vein, I saw it for myself, indeed impressive in strength, more suitable than that Zhao family’s kid, even Flag Master Wang praised him..."
This commander’s attitude was more amicable, and the glimpse in his eyes at Song Changming carried appreciation, obviously acknowledging him a lot.
"Thank you, General, for your praise," Song Changming cupped his hands politely.
"Naturally so, this young man has been by my side for more than a year and is sure to achieve great things in the future." Talking about Song Changming, Xing Tiexin finally showed some traces of a smile.
If asked which talents dug up over the years made him most satisfied, it would be Fu Yuan and Song Changming.
The ones truly capable of amounting to something were only these two.
"Blowing the trumpet so much, let’s see how this young brother of yours performs next; I also have a tough one here." Another commander, Hu Xiangnan joked happily.
"Sure, you’re talking about that Ma Lie Feng by your side, right? Let’s have some stakes then, Old Hu," Xing Tiexin replied without any fear, grinning.
Their relationship was evidently good, though verbal exchanges were fierce, neither had any intention of real conflict.
"Alright, fifty pieces of middle grade Spirit Crystal, how about it?" Hu Xiangnan touched his scratchy stubble-covered chin and said.
"No problem."
Xing Tiexin readily agreed and then turned to Song Changming, saying, "Did you hear that? Don’t let me lose these Spirit Crystals."