The General's Wager

Facing Shi Meng's murderous glare, the air inside the entire tent seemed to freeze.

All the new recruits trembled with fear, not even daring to breathe loudly. They all thought that Wei Zhe had brought a monstrous disaster upon himself and was bound to suffer thunderous punishment.

However, there was not a trace of fear on Wei Zhe's face.

He met Shi Meng's gaze, standing up calmly, and his voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Reporting to the instructor, I did it."

He admitted it openly, without a single word of defense.

Immediately afterward, he changed the subject and spoke in a ringing voice, "My subordinates and I were resting inside the tent when suddenly several unidentified individuals broke in with malicious intent. As prospective elite soldiers of the Great Qin, my subordinates always remember the duty of protecting our home and country. When encountering invading enemies, naturally we must rise up and fiercely counterattack! It's just that in the rush of the moment, I didn't measure my strength, so I ask the instructor to punish us."

This speech was both reasonable and well-founded, neither humble nor arrogant.

He cleverly redefined the veterans' "lesson" as an "enemy raid" and elevated his own counterattack to the height of "protecting the home and country."

With this, not only the new recruits inside the tent, but even the other veterans who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion outside were left utterly dumbfounded.

What a sharp-tongued little bastard!

Shi Meng was also laughed to anger by Wei Zhe's words.

Having traversed the northern frontier battlefields for over a decade, this was his first time seeing a new recruit so audacious yet so eloquent.

"An enemy raid? A counterattack?" Shi Meng laughed out of fury, pressing forward a step. The oppressive force brought by his towering figure made the other new recruits instinctively retreat.

"Why don't you tell this general just how you saw them as enemies?"

Wei Zhe's expression didn't change. "Reporting to the instructor, breaking into the camp in the dead of night, wearing black cloths over their faces, attacking with ruthless viciousness, and every strike aimed at vital points. How is such behavior any different from Xiongnu scouts? We new recruits dare not slack off in the slightest and can only treat them as true enemies. Otherwise, if it were truly an enemy night raid, wouldn't we have just surrendered tamely and disgraced the military might of Great Qin?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire scene fell silent.

Those beaten and downed veterans felt a burning sensation on their faces, wishing they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. They had originally come to teach people a lesson, but instead they ended up being slapped with the label of "acting like the Xiongnu" by a new recruit. This was simply ultimate humiliation.

Shi Meng stared fixedly at Wei Zhe, his chest heaving violently.

He knew that this punk was switching concepts and arguing sophistry.

Yet dammit, he couldn't find a single word to refute him!

Because every single sentence Wei Zhe said stood on the high ground of "military law" and "righteousness." In the military camp, maintaining vigilance and fighting back against all potential threats was in itself the most correct course of action!

This punk not only possessed formidable strength, but his mind was also terrifyingly meticulous!

"Good, what a sharp tongue!" Shi Meng squeezed out a few words from between his teeth. "Even if what you said makes sense. But beating your comrades and committing insubordination are also grave offenses! Do you know your crime?"

"This subordinate knows his crime." Wei Zhe cleanly and decisively admitted it. "This subordinate struck too heavily and injured my brothers, and am willing to accept punishment. But this subordinate does not believe that maintaining vigilance and fighting back fiercely is wrong!"

He first admitted to half the fault, lowering his posture, but on matters of principle, he refused to yield an inch.

With this, Shi Meng completely lost his temper.

He looked at the youth before him, whose physique had not yet fully matured, but whose spine was straight as a ramrod and whose gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, as a complex emotion suddenly surged in his heart.

There was anger, appreciation, and even a trace of... excitement at meeting a match.

He realized that simple floggings with military sticks would have no effect whatsoever on someone like this; instead, it would cause him and all the new recruits to look down upon him.

There was only one way to truly break this untamed and unruly young wolf cub into submission.

And that was to completely crush him with the strength he was most proud of!

"Very well." A savage grin suddenly appeared on Shi Meng's face. "Since you can fight so well and have so many reasons. Then this general will give you a chance."

He stepped back a few paces, walked out into the open space, pointed at his own nose, and said to Wei Zhe, "I, Shi Meng, a centurion of the Northern Frontier Army, have personally severed thirty-seven Xiongnu heads on the battlefield. Now, I give you a chance to challenge me."

"As long as you can last ten moves in my hands, tonight's matter will be written off. If you can defeat me, not only will I let bygones be bygones, but I will personally recommend you to the superiors to be a Squad Leader!"

"However!" His voice suddenly rose like a thunderclap, "If you lose, you will carry these 'Xiongnu scouts' on your back and run laps around the New Recruit Camp until dawn! Do you dare to take this wager?"

As soon as these words were spoken, an uproar broke out among the crowd.

No one expected that Shi Meng would propose such a wager!

Personally stepping into the ring to duel a new recruit!

"Instructor, you can't! What is your status!"

"Chief, why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken? Let the brothers handle it, we'll surely dismantle this brat's bones!"

Several veterans hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

As for the new recruits, they looked at Wei Zhe as if he were a lunatic, feeling that Wei Zhe was doomed. Shi Meng's tower-like muscles and the baleful intent emanating from a sea of corpses were simply beyond anything they could imagine.

Hu Lei's face was even paler. He had just been subdued by an ordinary veteran in a single move, and Shi Meng's strength was definitely ten times greater than those veterans!

"Brother Wei..." A frail youth inside the tent called out worriedly. Unawares, they had already changed their form of address to call Wei Zhe "Brother."

Everyone's gaze focused on Wei Zhe, awaiting his reply.

In their view, Wei Zhe's only choice was to immediately admit fault, apologize, and beg the instructor for forgiveness.

Yet Wei Zhe's reaction once again exceeded everyone's expectations.

Far from shrinking back, a blazing Fighting Spirit ignited in his eyes instead.

This was precisely the opportunity he was waiting for!

Wager against Shi Meng: win, and he would soar into the heavens in a single bound, instantly completing the system quest. Lose, and it would merely be physical punishment, no real harm done. No matter how he calculated it, this deal was profitable!

More importantly, he needed an opponent of sufficient weight to test the extent of his strength after the system's enlightenment!

"Fine!"

Wei Zhe stepped forward, standing far apart and opposite Shi Meng, and said with resounding impact, "This subordinate accepts!"

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