Gu Lin's Second Straight Victory

Gu Lin's body swayed, dodging Fang Wen's attack.

The next instant, a flash of blade appeared.

Under Fang Wen's horrified gaze, the blade came down!

"Argh!!!"

A scream suddenly rang out from the dueling platform.

A severed arm flew through the air and landed on the ground beside the platform.

Veins bulged on Fang Wen's forehead. His face twisted as he clutched his severed arm.

Yet crimson blood continued dripping onto the platform, searing the spectators' eyes.

The commoners on the ground near the arm were even paler. None of them had expected such a shocking turn of events.

"Gu Lin... You actually went this far!"

Fang Wen's eyes blazed with fury as he glared viciously at Gu Lin, who had already withdrawn his saber.

The referee in charge of the platform turned pale. He hurriedly leaped onto it and shouted,

"Where's the medic? What are you standing around for? Get up here, now!"

The commoners around the platform hurriedly made way for the military medic to come up and treat Fang Wen.

After stopping the bleeding of the grimacing Fang Wen, the medic had him carried off the platform so they could reattach his arm.

Although Fang Wen was only a Martial Disciple, his constitution was far better than an ordinary person's.

As long as his arm was reattached in time and he was given expensive pills, there was still hope he could recover eight or nine tenths of his strength after a period of recuperation.

Referee Zhang Jian looked at Gu Lin with icy eyes.

"The rules have always forbidden going overboard during sparring. You're ignoring military regulations!"

Gu Lin's gaze remained calm. He showed no fear, despite Zhang Jian being far stronger than him, and replied evenly,

"Fang Wen's blade came at my vitals just now. I could only strike back after dodging in a hurry. How was I supposed to know he was so weak that he couldn't even dodge that blow?"

Gu Lin's words forced Zhang Jian to swallow the rebuke he'd been about to make.

Was he supposed to tell Gu Lin that he had to look down on the other War Soldiers and hold back during a spar?

After all, even on the other platforms, the War Soldiers had shown no restraint when sparring.

It was only because they were evenly matched that no one had suffered serious injuries.

This was the first severed arm in this year's Tenth Battalion Grand Competition.

"Even so, when Fang Wen couldn't react in time, you should have held back a little."

Zhang Jian could only offer a perfunctory admonition.

Gu Lin, however, was unconvinced. He retorted,

"What if Fang Wen was pretending to be weak, waiting for me to let my guard down before going all out?"

Gu Lin didn't regret severing Fang Wen's arm in the slightest.

Fang Wen had already challenged three platforms and injured three War Soldiers from Gu Lin's battalion.

Some had their ribs broken; others had their fingers severed.

Fang Wen had been so ruthless, showing no regard for his comrades. So why couldn't Gu Lin injure him?

It was simply giving him a taste of his own medicine.

"No matter what, severing a comrade's arm was still your fault."

When Zhang Jian saw that Gu Lin had no intention of admitting he'd done anything wrong, his voice turned cold.

Still, he believed Gu Lin hadn't acted deliberately, so he offered him a way out.

"Once Fang Wen's injuries have stabilized, go apologize to him. Then we'll consider the matter settled."

Gu Lin smiled faintly.

He could go apologize, but would Fang Wen dare accept it?

After Zhang Jian returned to his post, Gu Lin didn't step down from the platform. Instead, he looked at the War Soldiers from the other battalions around him.

"I'm right here. Anyone who wants to challenge the Second Battalion, I'll take you all on."

His words immediately stirred the War Soldiers who had been wavering after seeing Gu Lin grievously injure Fang Wen.

"Arrogant!"

"You brat, you really think your Second Battalion is that strong?"

"You only beat Fang Wen, a Fifth-Order Martial Disciple, and now you think you're invincible?"

The War Soldiers below the platform were indignant, looking as if they wanted to drag Gu Lin down and beat him senseless.

Yet not one of them stepped forward to challenge him.

Most War Soldiers were, at best, about as strong as Fang Wen.

Gu Lin ranked among the top ten in the Second Battalion. Put him in another battalion, and he wouldn't be far behind there, either.

The War Soldiers near the top of each battalion's rankings didn't concern themselves with all that trash talk.

After a round of urging one another on, someone finally leaped onto the platform to challenge Gu Lin.

Gu Lin took a closer look and recognized Huang Shaoshan—the very man who had come to cause trouble in their battalion.

Huang Shaoshan gave a savage grin.

"Let me see what you Second Battalion men can do!"

Gu Lin's eyes turned icy.

"Since you're asking to die, I'll grant your wish!"

When referee Zhang Jian blew the whistle, Gu Lin and Huang Shaoshan clashed.

With Gu Lin leading the way, the other War Soldiers of the Second Battalion surged with excitement and charged toward the other platforms.

"Damn it, those bastards have joined forces to target our Second Battalion. They really think we're pushovers?"

"If they want to bite off a piece of our Second Battalion, they'll break a tooth no matter how tough they are!"

"So what if we get hurt? It's not like we haven't been hurt before. If you want to beat me, we can both end up laid up in the infirmary!"

Fueled by the thought of mutual destruction, the War Soldiers erupted with fierce fighting spirit.

They gave the commoners one thrilling battle after another.

"Incredible! Absolutely incredible! Only War Soldiers would fight with such utter disregard for their lives."

"They may not be as strong as me, but if we fought at the same level, I'd never be as ruthless as these War Soldiers."

The commoners lavished praise on the War Soldiers.

Amid their cheers, Gu Lin and Huang Shaoshan's battle reached a fever pitch.

Huang Shaoshan swung his saber at Gu Lin.

Gu Lin didn't retreat. Instead, he surged forward, trapping Huang Shaoshan's saber beneath his arm while thrusting his own sword toward Huang Shaoshan's chest!

Huang Shaoshan's expression changed drastically. He couldn't pull his saber free in time, so he could only kick at Gu Lin's chest.

He meant to use his reach advantage to create distance and dodge the thrust!

But Gu Lin only grunted, taking the kick head-on without giving an inch!

"You dared to swagger into my Second Battalion and throw your weight around. You'll pay for it!"

Gu Lin growled as his sword plunged into Huang Shaoshan's chest.

Blood poured everywhere!

"Gu Lin wins this match."

The referee hurried onto the platform to separate the two, afraid the fight would get out of hand.

Huang Shaoshan spat out a mouthful of blood and glared viciously at Gu Lin.

"This time, you got lucky, brat. Just wait till I catch you!"

Gu Lin grinned, a chill flickering in his eyes.

"You should be grateful your luck saved your life."

After the medical staff hurriedly stitched up Huang Shaoshan's wound, they carried him off the platform.

Soon, someone else leaped onto the dueling platform to take Huang Shaoshan's place.

Gu Lin was, after all, only flesh and blood.

He had just beaten Fang Wen and Huang Shaoshan one after another. He must have used up a good deal of stamina.

They were all Fifth-Order Martial Disciples. The challenger refused to believe he couldn't beat Gu Lin while he was exhausted!

But Gu Lin had no intention of pushing himself. He waved to the referee.

"Referee, I want to rest."

The War Soldier who had just jumped onto the platform turned livid.

"Gu Lin, you—"

Before he could finish, Gu Lin looked at him with an amused smile.

"What? Who says I can't rest after winning? Am I supposed to keep fighting until I lose?"

The man's face darkened. Naturally, there was no such rule in the Military Camp.

But if Gu Lin stepped down, his chance to swoop in and take advantage would vanish!

After getting Zhang Jian's approval, Gu Lin stepped off the platform.

Deng Kai smiled at him and took his place to face the challenger.

"Just get ready to enjoy me beating the hell out of you!"