Squad Training Gamble

Three days of time passed in the blink of an eye.

On the afternoon drill ground, people crowded together densely. Almost all the new recruits and veteran soldiers who were not on duty gathered here, preparing to watch this duel concerning honor and meat rations.

In the center of the drill ground, a circle with a diameter of ten zhang was drawn with white lime, and this was the site for the competition.

Qian Hu led four of his most elite veteran soldiers and had already stood inside the circle, each with an arrogant expression, looking at the opposite side with mocking gazes.

"Brat, the three days are up, are you ready to hand over the meat?" Qian Hu shouted aggressively.

"Cut the crap, let's see the real deal with our hands."

Wei Zhe responded calmly. Behind him, Hu Lei and four other team members held long halberds, standing nervously in a row.

"Eh? Their halberds look a bit different?" A sharp-eyed veteran soldier noticed something wrong.

The heads of the long halberds in Wei Zhe and his companions' hands reflected a peculiar luster under the sunlight, with dark patterns faintly flowing. The overall appearance looked much more refined than standard-issue weapons.

"Hmph, playing ghosts and gods! No matter how good the weapon is, in the hands of waste, it is still waste!" Qian Hu let out a disdainful cold snort.

On the high platform, Shi Meng watched the scene expressionlessly. When his gaze swept past the long halberds in Wei Zhe and the others' hands, his pupils contracted imperceptibly.

With his vision, he could naturally see the extraordinariness of those long halberds.

This brat actually has some tricks up his sleeve, he thought to himself.

"The rules of the competition: five versus five, long halberd duel. Anyone who steps out of the circle or whose weapon is knocked out of their hand is considered eliminated. Once one side has three people eliminated, they lose!"

A veteran soldier acting as the referee announced the rules loudly.

"Begin!"

Following the command, Qian Hu let out a fierce roar: "Brothers, charge! Quick and clean, finish them off!"

The five veteran soldiers rushed down like fierce tigers, forming a standard attacking formation and pincers-closing on Wei Zhe's team from five directions. Their steps were coordinated and consistent, and as their long halberds danced, a chilling murderous aura emanated—clearly, they were elites who had experienced bloody battles.

The new recruits let out a wave of exclamations. In their view, Wei Zhe's team fell into a desperate situation instantly.

However, Wei Zhe's team did not show the slightest bit of panic.

"Form formation!"

Wei Zhe gave a single command!

Hu Lei roared angrily, holding a small round shield that Wei Zhe had specially reinforced for him right in front of his chest. Like a piece of bedrock, he steadily withstood Qian Hu's most ferocious frontal impact.

The remaining four, including Wei Zhe, quickly shrank into a compact, back-to-back small circular formation centered around Hu Lei. Five modified long halberds protruded uniformly from the gaps in the formation like a hedgehog's spikes!

They abandoned all defense, retaining only the single movement that Wei Zhe had made them practice tens of thousands of times over the past three days—the thrust!

"Clang! Clang! Clank! Clank!"

For a time, the sounds of weapon collisions were endless.

Although Qian Hu's team attacked fiercely with seasoned experience, they discovered to their shock that they simply could not break through this seemingly crude circular formation!

The five opponents seemed welded into one whole. No matter which angle they attacked from, they would simultaneously face the ruthless, concentrated thrusts of two to three long halberds. The angles of those halberd tips were tricky and vicious, and their speed was fast, tying their hands and feet and leaving their exquisite martial arts completely unable to be displayed.

What shocked them even more was that during the weapon collisions, the standard-issue long halberds in their own hands emitted waves of unbearable tremors, leaving the webs of their thumbs numb. Yet the opponents' weapons were exceptionally sturdy!

"Dammit! What kind of ghost formation is this?" Qian Hu cursed inwardly. He cleaved Hu Lei's shield away with a halberd, only to be forced into a wretched retreat by two long halberds thrusting from the sides by Wei Zhe and another team member.

"Hold steady! Listen to my command, position three, left-front thrust!" Wei Zhe's calm voice resounded in the formation like the Pillar of the Sea.

A team member moved at the sound, thrusting a halberd out without the slightest hesitation, precisely piercing toward a veteran soldier's opening.

That veteran soldier hastily held his halberd horizontally to parry.

"Now is the chance! Hu Lei, bash!"

Hu Lei received the order, stepping forward fiercely and slamming his shoulder ruthlessly against the opponent's halberd shaft.

That veteran soldier was already unsteady on his feet. Struck by this immense force, he instantly lost his footing and stumbled backward out of the white circle!

"One person eliminated!" The referee shouted loudly.

"Whoa—!"

The whole crowd of new recruits erupted with thunderous cheers! They saw the hope of victory!

"Well done!" Wei Zhe praised without a trace of stinginess.

Qian Hu's complexion turned ashen. He did not expect his side to lose a man first.

"Don't panic, everyone! Concentrate firepower and break the one with the shield first!" Qian Hu changed his strategy.

The remaining four veteran soldiers understood immediately, abandoning other targets and focusing all attacks on Hu Lei.

In an instant, Hu Lei's pressure increased dramatically. His shield was hacked and chopped with loud bangs, sending sparks flying everywhere.

"Hold the line!" Wei Zhe shouted loudly. The long halberds of himself and the other two team members danced wildly, forming an airtight halberd wall in front of Hu Lei and sharing the majority of the pressure for him.

The scene fell into a stalemate for a time.

Qian Hu grew increasingly impatient inside. He knew that dragging this out would be extremely disadvantageous for his veteran team, whose stamina consumption was massive.

A fierce light flashed in his eyes, and he decided to take a dangerous risk!

"Wei Zhe! Do you dare to duel me to the death!"

He let out a fierce roar and unexpectedly ignored the formation, leaving the battle group all by himself. Pointing his long halberd directly at Wei Zhe, he issued an invitation for a single combat!

He wanted to use his strongest personal martial prowess to behead the enemy's commanding officer!

"As you wish!"

Wei Zhe's eyes brimmed with fighting spirit, and he gave the order to his team members: "Hold the formation!"

With that, he likewise left the circular formation and met Qian Hu head-on.

The two clashed into a brawl instantly!

Qian Hu's halberd technique was vicious and seasoned, wide open and close locked, determined to kill with a single strike.

Meanwhile, Wei Zhe's figure flickered elusively with agile footwork, and the long halberd in his hand moved like a poisonous snake slithering out of its hole, always managing to launch attacks from the most unimaginable angles. Although his physical strength was inferior to Qian Hu's, his agility and reaction far surpassed the opponent's.

The two exchanged blows back and forth with halberd shadows fluttering, dazzling the onlookers.

Another dozen or so moves passed, and sweat already appeared on Qian Hu's forehead. He discovered that the opponent's endurance was actually even longer-lasting than his own, a veteran's!

Just as one of his chopping strikes missed, his old strength spent and his new strength yet to be born—

Wei Zhe seized this fleeting flaw!

The long halberd in his hand emitted a hum, and its tip twitched, actually bypassing Qian Hu's halberd shaft in a bizarre arc. Like a spiritual snake spitting its tongue, it precisely tapped onto the wrist where Qian Hu gripped his halberd!

"Ah!"

Qian Hu only felt numbness in his wrist accompanied by a piercing pain, and the long halberd in his hand could no longer be held, flying out of his grip!

Victory and defeat were decided!

Wei Zhe did not stop; his long halberd advanced smoothly with a forward thrust, and the cold halberd tip stopped steadily right in front of Qian Hu's throat.

The entire drill ground fell into dead silence.

Immediately afterward, inside the new recruit camp, cheers erupted ten times stronger than before!

"We won! We won!"

Hu Lei and the others were moved to tears of excitement.

Shi Meng stood on the high platform, slowly exhaling a breath of air. He watched the figure standing in the field holding a halberd like a young god of war, his eyes filled with unprecedented radiance.

Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the hidden quest: Victory of the Team.

Reward: 300 tempering points, forging blueprint Fish Scale Armor.

Ding, detected that the host's prestige has reached the peak of the New Recruit Camp, triggering a new quest.

Quest: Promote to Squad Leader! Reward: 500 tempering points, Mysterious-grade martial skill Wind Piercing Spear Technique.

The system's prompt tone resounded in Wei Zhe's mind like the most wonderful celestial music.

He retracted his long halberd, his gaze sweeping past the boiling crowd and looking toward that towering city wall in the north.

This slight victory was merely a negligible beginning.

His true stage lay beyond that city wall, amidst the blood and fire against the Xiongnu cavalry!

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