The Second Battalion Camp Was Being Targeted

Guan Zhen's speech was blunt and to the point.

The Tenth Battalion Grand Competition had very few rules.

There were ten smaller arenas in the training grounds, along with one large arena right in the center.

Anyone could leap onto an arena to defend their title, and anyone could step up as a challenger.

Only the ten War Soldiers who remained at the end would qualify to enter the final large arena.

Aside from the ban on killing anyone in the arena, there were no rules to the competition.

"Since you're all so courteous, then let me, Zhang Hai, throw out the first brick and draw the jade!"

As Guan Zhen's words fell, a War Soldier soon leaped onto an arena.

Zhang Hai's entrance was like a lit fuse, setting the Tenth Battalion Grand Competition in motion.

The ten arenas instantly came alive. Twenty War Soldiers of similar strength traded blows, neither giving an inch.

Most of the first fighters to take the stage were Fourth- or Fifth-Order Martial Disciples.

During the month of training, every War Soldier had made great strides.

By now, it was difficult to find even a single Third-Order War Soldier in the Warrior Camp!

Whenever someone was knocked off an arena, a military physician would quickly come over to check their injuries and treat them.

The War Soldiers didn't need to worry that sparring would interfere with their training afterward.

As soon as someone was knocked off one of the ten arenas, another fighter quickly took their place.

Not one of the arenas paused for even a moment.

Deng Li and the instructors from the other camps sat together, commenting on the War Soldiers' performances.

"Old Deng, the recruits in your camp aren't much good."

"After all, this is General Guan's Warrior Camp, yet you've ranked near the bottom of the middle pack in every Tenth Battalion Grand Competition. I think you've been too soft on your recruits."

"As long as training doesn't kill them, train them until they're half-dead. War Soldiers aren't made of glass."

The instructors beside Deng Li sounded as if they were offering advice.

But to Deng Li, their words were nothing but naked mockery!

Guan Shan was, after all, General Guan Zhen's third younger brother.

When new recruits were assigned to their camps, even if Guan Shan wasn't given preferential treatment, he certainly wouldn't be given a batch of weak War Soldiers.

With no disadvantage from the start, if the War Soldiers they trained were still inferior, wouldn't that mean they were the ones who weren't good enough?

Deng Li's face darkened. He was just about to lose his temper when he remembered that Gu Chen and his brothers, along with Yu Qitian, hadn't entered the competition yet. He immediately settled back into his seat, calm and composed.

"Zhang Zhong, the one who laughs last, laughs best."

Deng Li smiled inscrutably.

"Don't celebrate too early."

Zhang Zhong sneered. Deng Li was still as stubbornly proud as ever, suffering just to save face.

"I'd like to see how your Second Camp plans to turn this around!"

The instructors from the other camps also cast scornful glances their way.

The camps were ranked according to their strength.

Given the Second Camp's current strength, it should have been demoted to one of the lower-ranked camps long ago.

If it weren't for Guan Shan's relationship with General Guan Zhen, why would someone like Deng Li and his people be allowed to occupy the Second Camp's position?

More than one camp had already complained about this.

It hadn't been obvious during training.

But once war broke out, different camps would be assigned different missions.

The Second Camp would have an easy time getting missions that could earn them merit and distinction!

They knew Sword-toothed Country might launch an attack at any moment.

When that happened, all the credit would go to the First and Second Camps!

They couldn't compete with the First Camp, but surely they could beat the Second?

If they made the Second Camp lose badly enough this time, then even if General Guan Zhen wanted to protect them, he'd have to make Guan Shan give up the Second Camp's position!

Guan Shan and the other instructors of the Second Camp understood this perfectly well.

They watched with aching hearts as their War Soldiers were knocked from the arena one after another, their brows furrowed tight.

"If this keeps up, our position as the Second Camp will be in danger," Guan Shan said gravely.

Several of the more hot-tempered instructors cursed aloud.

"These bastards must have planned this in advance. They've joined forces against the Second Camp!"

"Whenever one of our men wins a match, they send up a War Soldier at least one minor stage stronger to challenge him!"

"They're dead set on making sure we lose our position as the Second Camp!"

As long as the Second Camp ranked among the top five, Guan Zhen could keep its position. At worst, they'd have to yield one place and settle for third.

That was why Guan Shan had spared no expense over the past half-month.

He had distributed a great deal of resources among the recruits, all to protect the camp's position.

But these people were clearly determined to drive them all the way to the bottom!

They knew that they had occupied the Second Camp's position over the years thanks to their connections.

But with no wars breaking out, the title of Second Camp had been nothing more than an empty name.

Now that war seemed close at hand, they weren't willing to hand the Second Camp's position over to someone else!

"If they'd just sparred normally and the First Camp had stayed out of it, we could've secured a place in the top five this time."

"But with all these camps working together, the recruits simply can't hold them off."

The instructors' faces turned ashen.

The recruits had been trained by their own hands, after all.

It would've been a lie to say they felt no guilt watching the recruits get hurt one after another while being targeted.

The problem was that nobody had forbidden challengers from facing fighters from the same camp in the Tenth Battalion Grand Competition.

The other camps' tactics were within the rules. There was nothing they could criticize.

The townsfolk watching didn't know about the rivalries between the camps.

All they cared about was whether the Tenth Battalion Grand Competition was exciting and full of fiery action!

Mushan City lay on the border, and its people were a hardy bunch.

Many of the townsfolk were formidable fighters themselves.

Plenty were stronger than the War Soldiers, having reached the Martial Artist or even Martial Master realm!

Even so, they watched these Martial Disciple War Soldiers sparring with rapt attention.

"It's about time."

A while later, Guan Shan turned to one of the instructors and gave him an order.

"Send Gu Lin and the others up."

The instructor let out a long breath, cupped his hands in salute, and hurried off to the Second Camp's staging area.

"Gu Lin, are you ready?"

Gu Lin nodded and grinned.

"I've been waiting for this."

With all eyes on him, Gu Lin helped a comrade who had just been knocked off the arena to his feet, then leaped onto the stage.

The burly man on the arena, Fang Wen, grinned savagely.

"Another one who doesn't value his life, coming up here?"

Gu Lin drew his saber and pointed its edge at Fang Wen, his gaze contemptuous.

"You're acting pretty arrogant. Do your parents know?"

"You're asking for death!"

Fang Wen stamped his right foot and charged forward like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, slashing his blade viciously at Gu Lin's throat.

He showed no mercy at all. His very first move was a killing blow!

Gu Lin's eyes turned cold.

"This is only a spar, yet you're striking so viciously. Today, I'll take one of your arms!"