"Slash!"
Furious, Wei Guang brought his saber down.
Thud. Tang Jun merely swayed.
His robe split open, but he seemed completely unharmed.
Wei Guang's face immediately reddened. His companions all stared blankly at Tang Jun. Why wasn't there any blood?
It seemed he had only cut the robe, without reaching the flesh.
After all, Wei Guang was a seventh-rank expert.
That slash would have cleaved even a wooden stool in two.
"I told you to use half your strength, but you only used thirty percent. Come on, give me another slash. Hit harder," Tang Jun challenged.
"Kill!"
Wei Guang shouted, took a running start, and slashed down.
Thud!
Tang Jun jolted and staggered back seven or eight steps before regaining his balance, but there wasn't a drop of blood.
That was because Wei Guang's martial strength exceeded Tang Jun's; the force of the blow had driven him backward.
"Tang Jun must practice something like Iron Shirt, right?" Li Liao asked.
"No!" Tang Wen shook his head.
"Then it must be an external martial art like Golden Bell Shield," Wei Guang asked, unwilling to concede.
"Not that either." Tang Wen continued shaking his head.
"How is that possible? Wei Guang is at the seventh-rank middle stage.
"Even though he only used half his strength, that blow still carried four or five hundred jin of force. Even a tiger would be wounded by it.
"Could Tang Jun be in the sixth-rank realm?
"No, that doesn't make sense. Even someone in the sixth-rank realm would be injured if he stood there and let someone slash him like that," Li Liao said, shaking his head.
"You flatter me. I'm far below Brother Wei," Tang Jun said, cupping his hands.
"Then what exactly is the reason?" Li Liao and his companions all looked at Tang Wen.
"It's this vest. The people of the Western Lands call it a Bulletproof Vest. It's made from a special fiber.
"It's breathable and light, so it doesn't burden the body.
"But ordinary blades can't cut through it," Tang Wen said. "Tang Jun, go bring a new one."
Tang Jun ran off and fetched a new Bulletproof Vest.
Li Liao felt and pinched it, unable to believe his senses. "How can something so thin and light resist a blade? Marvelous, truly marvelous."
A moment later, Li Liao put it on and had Wei Fei slash him with ten percent of his strength. He was unharmed.
"Another slash. Use thirty percent."
"For the third slash, use half your strength."
"Use sixty percent... seventy percent..."
"Miraculous, absolutely miraculous. With this, we'll cheat death so many more times," Li Liao exclaimed, his face full of wonder after the test.
Next, Wei Guang, Chen Fei, and the others all tried it, each marveling endlessly.
"Your sabers are too poor," Tang Jun said with a laugh. He took Wei Guang's saber and raised his Xiuchun Saber to strike it.
Crack! A large notch appeared in Wei Guang's saber.
Several more blows followed, forcibly chopping Wei Guang's saber in two.
"My lord, could a Firearm injure someone wearing it?" Li Liao asked.
"No," Tang Wen answered confidently. However, the popularity aura above Li Liao's head swayed again. Clearly, he didn't believe him.
"Bring a short Firearm," Tang Wen said. Once again, Tang Jun served as a living target.
Tang Wen aimed at his chest and fired. With a boom, sparks flew, startling Li Liao and the others.
Tang Jun, on the other hand, merely stumbled several steps backward from the force of the shot and remained entirely unharmed.
Tang Wen glanced at Li Liao and his companions again. The popularity auras above their heads fluttered like leaves tossed in the wind, as though they had all been stunned senseless.
Next, Li Liao and his companions tried extreme training exercises such as crossing Barbed Wire, passing through flaming hoops, and rock climbing.
When they finished, Tang Wen looked at the aura above Li Liao's head again and found that it no longer swayed indecisively from side to side.
Instead, it leaned slightly toward him, though not by much-probably at an angle of around eighty-five degrees.
As for Wei Guang, Chen Fei, and the others, they were already prostrating themselves in admiration, their popularity auras tilting toward him at seventy degrees.
It seemed there was a way to win them over.
"It's a pity this Bulletproof Vest only protects the vital areas of the torso, leaving somewhere as important as the head unprotected.
"The Black Cavalry wear black armor all over. Although it's heavy, it protects even their heads.
"In terms of defense, it's more comprehensive than your Bulletproof Vest.
"Otherwise, if an enemy slashed at our heads, we'd certainly die," Li Liao said with a hint of regret.
"Heh, whatever you can think of, the people of the Western Lands can make it happen." Tang Wen smiled and told Li Quan, "Bring out some of the bulletproof helmets we recently shipped back."
Li Quan nodded, ran back to the warehouse, and brought over several helmets.
These helmets were used exclusively by the Great Eastern Republic's special forces. Although they couldn't compare with the latest IHPS Bulletproof Helmet fielded by the American military, they offered well over half its protective capability.
The American military's IHPS helmet could withstand AK-47 rounds and weighed only two jin, while the helmets Tang Wen had brought back could withstand handgun rounds fired from within five meters.
A fiberglass panel at the front enclosed the entire head.
The ultrathin glass panel could also be lifted open, making it very convenient, and the helmet weighed only around two jin.
Compared with the Black Cavalry's helmets, which weighed seven or eight jin and were made from linked iron scales, these left them so far behind they might as well have flung them all the way to Mars.
To add weight to his standing in Li Liao's eyes, Tang Wen immediately had Tang Jun put one on, raised the Firearm, and fired at his head.
Although Tang Jun was startled, the shot only made his head sway. Realizing he wasn't dead, he promptly recovered his composure.
"If the people of the Western Lands equipped an army with these, it would sweep all before it." Li Liao stroked his beard in admiration, then took a helmet and tested it on the spot.
"With this equipment, both the head and body are protected.
"Only the legs and hands remain exposed. With a little care in combat, we'll have the upper hand from the outset.
"Brother Li, if you wore these, you could easily defeat opponents two minor stages above you," Tang Wen said with a smile.
"Indeed. What miraculous things," Li Liao said, smiling.
"My lord, could you give me a set?" Wei Guang couldn't help asking.
"If my lord lets me join the Personal Guard Army, I'd like a set too," Chen Fei added.
"Don't talk nonsense. A set like this must be expensive, surely?" Li Liao said sternly.
"It certainly isn't cheap. Including blades, bows and crossbows, specially made camouflage uniforms, and military boots, a set costs around two thousand taels of silver," Tang Wen said.
Naturally, Tang Wen inflated the price for all he was worth. In reality, a complete set only cost a little over a hundred thousand.
Only the helmet and Bulletproof Vest were expensive. Even counting everything, converting the cost into silver would bring it to only around four hundred taels.
"Two thousand taels?" Wei Guang's tongue stuck out so far he nearly couldn't pull it back in.
"That's not expensive! An ordinary Black Cavalry soldier's armor, weapons, horse, and so on cost over a thousand taels altogether. Their sheet-iron armor can't compare with this at all," Li Liao said, shaking his head.
"But at over two thousand taels a set, who can afford to wear it?" Chen Fei shook his head with a bitter smile.
"If you're willing to join my Personal Guard Army, every seventh- and eighth-rank martial artist will get a set first.
"As for those of the ninth and tenth ranks, we'll equip them gradually.
"I believe that once the dam is completed and we're making money, I'll be able to buy another batch from the Western Lands.
"Then our entire Personal Guard Army will be equipped," Tang Wen said.
In truth, Tang Wen could already afford to equip not just a company, but an entire division.
The problem was that he currently had nowhere to buy these military helmets. On his previous return across worlds, he had only obtained a dozen or so sets through Chen Guozhang of the War Dragon Special Forces.
To purchase them in bulk, he would have to find another channel.
Otherwise, if he asked Chen Guozhang to sell him several thousand sets,
Chen Guozhang would certainly suspect he had ulterior motives and wanted to establish an underworld organization like the Axe Gang.
That would only bring fire down upon himself, with the losses outweighing the gains.
"I'm at the seventh-rank middle stage. I qualify for a set," Wei Guang said.
"I've just entered the seventh-rank early stage, so I qualify too," Chen Fei hastily added, afraid someone might snatch his set away.
"Shut up! How can you make such excessive demands of our lord? A set costs over two thousand taels. How much was your annual pay before? You'd need five or six years to earn enough," Li Liao reprimanded them with a stern face.
In reality, he was angry that the two were impatiently trying to join the Personal Guard Team without his permission.
"It's not excessive. If they're willing to join, I'll equip each of them with a set right now," Tang Wen said with a smile.
"B-brother-in-law, what do you think..." Wei Guang really had fallen in love with the equipment and couldn't help asking.
"Don't bring it up again! Wei Guang, have you forgotten military discipline?" Li Liao snapped even more fiercely. The two mumbled and no longer dared make a sound.
"Brother Li, another subordinate of mine, Qiao Xiao, used to be in charge here.
"However, for certain special reasons, he isn't here now.
"So, for these ten days, I'd like to hire you at ten taels of silver a day to oversee their training," Tang Wen said.
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