Squad Training Gamble

The three-day deadline arrived in the blink of an eye.

The training grounds were crowded that afternoon. Almost all the new recruits and off-duty veteran soldiers had gathered, ready to witness a duel that would decide their honor and their meals.

In the center of the training grounds, a circle with a diameter of ten zhang had been drawn with white lime. This was the arena for the match.

Qian Hu, along with his four most elite veteran soldiers, had already taken their positions inside the circle. Each of them wore an arrogant expression, looking at their opponents across the way with mocking eyes.

"Kid, the three days are up. Ready to hand over the meat?" Qian Hu shouted arrogantly.

"Enough with the nonsense. Let's settle this with our hands."

Wei Zhe responded calmly. Behind him, Hu Lei and the other three team members stood in a line, holding their glaives, looking tense.

"Huh? Their glaives seem a little different?" A sharp-eyed veteran soldier noticed something was amiss.

The glaives in Wei Zhe's team's hands had glaive heads that reflected a peculiar sheen under the sun, with faint dark patterns flowing within. The overall appearance was significantly more refined than the standard-issue weapons.

"Hmph, playing mind games! Even a better weapon is still useless in the hands of trash!" Qian Hu snorted dismissively.

On the high platform, Shi Meng watched the scene in the arena with a blank expression. As his gaze swept over the glaives in Wei Zhe's team's hands, his pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

With his eyesight, he could naturally discern the extraordinary nature of those glaives.

This kid really has something up his sleeve, he thought to himself.

"The rules of the match are five versus five, glaive duel. Anyone who steps out of the circle or drops their weapon is considered eliminated. If one side eliminates three opponents, they lose!"

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

"Begin!"

With the command, Qian Hu roared, "Brothers, charge! We'll finish them in a flash!"

The five veteran soldiers descended like fierce tigers from a mountain, forming a standard attack formation and encircling Wei Zhe's team from five directions. Their footwork was synchronized, and as they wielded their glaives, a chilling killing intent emanated from them, clearly indicating they were elites who had experienced bloody battles.

The new recruits let out a collective gasp. In their eyes, Wei Zhe's team was instantly in a desperate situation.

However, Wei Zhe's team showed no signs of panic.

"Form up!"

Wei Zhe commanded!

Hu Lei roared and held up a small, round shield that Wei Zhe had specially reinforced for him. It stood like a rock, firmly blocking the fiercest frontal assault from Qian Hu.

The other four, including Wei Zhe, quickly condensed around Hu Lei into a tight, back-to-back small circular formation. Five modified glaives, like the quills of a porcupine, thrust out uniformly from the gaps in the formation!

They had abandoned all defense, retaining only the actions Wei Zhe had drilled into them tens of thousands of times over the past three days – the thrust!

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

For a time, the sound of clashing weapons was incessant.

Although Qian Hu's team attacked ferociously and possessed seasoned experience, they were horrified to find that they couldn't break through this seemingly simple circular formation!

The five opponents seemed to have become one. No matter from which angle they attacked, they would simultaneously face the relentless thrusts of two to three glaives. The tips of the glaives were sharp and vicious, and their speed was so fast that it restricted their movements, rendering their exquisite martial arts skills completely unusable.

What shocked them even more was that during the clashes of weapons, their standard-issue glaives transmitted waves of unbearable tremors, numbing their palms. Meanwhile, the opponents' weapons were exceptionally sturdy!

"Damn it! What kind of ghost formation is this!" Qian Hu cursed inwardly. He parried Hu Lei's shield with a slash, but Wei Zhe and another teammate, thrusting their glaives from the side, forced him to retreat in disarray.

"Hold steady! Listen to my command, position three, forward thrust left!" Wei Zhe's calm voice rang out within the formation, like a stabilizing force.

A teammate reacted to the command and thrust his glaive out without hesitation, precisely striking an opening of a veteran soldier.

That veteran soldier hurriedly blocked with his glaive.

"Now! Hu Lei, charge!"

Upon receiving the order, Hu Lei took a heavy step forward and slammed his shoulder forcefully against the opponent's glaive shaft.

The veteran soldier, already off-balance, was hit by this immense force and immediately lost his footing, stumbling backward out of the white circle!

"One eliminated!" the referee shouted loudly.

"Whoosh--!"

The new recruits in the audience erupted in thunderous cheers! They saw hope for victory!

"Well done!" Wei Zhe praised without reservation.

Qian Hu's face turned ashen. He hadn't expected his side to lose a man first.

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

The remaining four veteran soldiers immediately understood. They abandoned their other targets, and all their attacks were focused on Hu Lei.

For a time, Hu Lei's pressure increased dramatically. His shield rang with the impact of the blows, sending sparks flying.

"Defend!" Wei Zhe roared. He and the other two teammates wielded their glaives frantically, forming an impenetrable wall of glaives in front of Hu Lei, sharing most of the pressure.

The situation entered a stalemate.

Qian Hu grew increasingly anxious. He knew that dragging this out would be extremely disadvantageous for his veteran soldiers, who consumed a lot of stamina.

A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he decided to take a risky gamble!

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

With a roar, he disregarded the formation and broke away from the skirmish alone, pointing his glaive directly at Wei Zhe and issuing a challenge for a duel!

He intended to use his strongest personal martial power to decapitate the enemy commander!

"As you wish!"

Wei Zhe's eyes blazed with fighting spirit. He ordered his teammates, "Hold the formation!"

With that, he too broke away from the circular formation and met Qian Hu.

The two instantly clashed!

Qian Hu's glaive techniques were fierce and seasoned, wide and powerful, aiming for a swift kill.

Wei Zhe, on the other hand, moved with elusive grace, his footwork nimble. His glaive was like a viper striking from its den, always attacking from the most unbelievable angles. Although his strength was inferior to Qian Hu's, his agility and reaction speed far surpassed the latter's.

The two exchanged blows, glaive shadows flying, dazzling everyone watching.

After another dozen exchanges, sweat beaded on Qian Hu's forehead. He discovered that the opponent's stamina was even greater than his own, an old soldier!

Just as he missed a downward chop, his old strength spent and new strength not yet gathered.

Wei Zhe seized the fleeting opening!

His glaive let out a humming sound. With a flick of the tip, it dodged Qian Hu's glaive shaft in a bizarre arc. Like a snake flicking its tongue, it precisely struck Qian Hu's wrist where he held the glaive!

"Ah!"

Qian Hu felt his wrist go numb, a searing pain spreading through it. He could no longer hold his glaive, and it flew out of his hand!

Victory and defeat were decided!

Wei Zhe didn't stop. He thrust his glaive forward, the cold tip stopping steadily before Qian Hu's throat.

The entire field fell into dead silence.

Immediately after, the recruit camp erupted in cheers ten times louder than before!

"We won! We won!"

Hu Lei and the others were so excited they were in tears.

Shi Meng stood on the high platform and slowly exhaled. He looked at the figure standing in the arena, holding his glaive like a young god of war, his eyes filled with an unprecedented brilliance.

"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, Mystic Rank Martial Skill Wind Piercing Spear Technique."

The System's notification chime sounded like the most beautiful celestial music in Wei Zhe's mind.

He retracted his glaive, his gaze sweeping over the seething crowd and landing on the majestic city wall to the north.

This victory was merely an insignificant beginning.

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

If you find this book to your liking, be sure to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.