Kang Shi called out, "My lord, I request permission to fight as well."
It was a little shameless to say this, but there was no denying it—an opportunity for Literary Scholars to fight generals was a once-in-a-century event. In the past, when Literary Scholars joined the fray, it was either when victory was already at hand and they charged along with the army to pick off a few heads for fun, or when the kingdom was on the brink of collapse and they had to make a last stand, their lives hanging by a thread. At times like that, even a precious Literary Scholar had to take up a sword.
Of course, my lord was a special case.
He'd never imagined he'd get to be a Martial Gall Warrior in this lifetime.
If even Kang Shi dared step forward, the others wanted to join the fun too.
They knew that with Chu Yao and the others already having spoken up, their own chances of being given permission were slim. Still, they wanted to experience a Martial Gall Warrior's "pleasures." Seeing how eager all the officials were to fight, Xun Zhen glanced at his colleagues on either side and quietly pulled back the foot he'd moved halfway forward.
Jimò Qiu waited a moment, then quietly added himself to the tally too.
At that moment, Shen Tang's attention was fixed on Chu Yao and the others. "Wuhui, Tunan, I understand your intentions. But the second bout is crucial. I believe Wu Zhaode's men are only this capable, but I don't believe the former officials of Wu were."
Battles between generals usually consisted of three bouts. If the two sides were evenly matched and neither was confident of victory, they might agree to fight five bouts, hoping to use a boost in morale