Chapter 125: The Longest Day (3)

The Iron Lion’s extraordinary archery skills overwhelmed the entire arena, and every arrow, propelled by formidable force, was aimed at tearing the targets to shreds.

Every arrow was clearly visible as it left the longbow, but the very next instant, it would pierce through the target amidst a sharp whistle.

If Yang Huaiyu’s arrows fluttered like pear blossoms dancing across the sky, then the Iron Lion’s arrows were like iron hammers, striking the targets one after another until they were completely pulverized.

In that very moment, the commoners of Tokyo finally understood what a battle-hardened warrior truly looked like.

The martial arts they pursued needed no flashiness; they only needed to be fatal.

At this moment, Yang Huaiyu displayed the true demeanor befitting a scion of a military noble family.

After the Iron Lion fired his ninth arrow, Yang Huaiyu rode out from the main formation, stepped forward to catch the reins of the Iron Lion's warhorse, and led him around the arena for a full circle to receive even louder cheers.

No one had the patience to listen to what the gong-beating herald was shouting anymore. The people in the military drill ground remembered only two names: one was the Iron Lion, and the other was Yang Huaiyu, as if they were the only two people in the entire Great Song who knew how to shoot an arrow.

Those holding the red betting tokens issued by the gambling dens squeezed desperately toward the center of the military ground, crying out in entreaty to the martial candidates they favored, hoping they would display their true abilities in the subsequent matches.

Even if they could not claim the championship, they at least needed to secure a spot among the top three. These were people who cared more about the martial candidates' battle records than the candidates themselves, and their affections and hatreds were intensely fierce.

Unable to withstand such pressure, one martial candidate gripped his long spear, spurred his horse into the center of the field, flourished his spear into a blooming pattern, and then pounded his chest with one hand while roaring, demanding that his opponent come forth and fight him to the death.

Naturally, this violated the rules. The dignitaries on the high platform furrowed their brows, yet the patrolling guards below dared not provoke that fully armed martial candidate.

A drill ground inspector stepped forward to shout a halt, demanding that the martial candidate return to his military formation immediately, or else he would be driven out of the drill ground and disqualified from participating in the martial examination.

At that moment, the martial candidate was clearly incapable of listening to any words. Having finally seen someone strutting toward him with a haughty air while shouting incomprehensible phrases, he concluded that the inspector before him was the very opponent he was destined to face.

With a roar, he urged his steed forward, brandishing his long spear as he charged straight at the inspector. Realizing the situation was dire, the inspector, armed only with a knife at his waist, turned and fled. Yet how could two legs possibly outrun four? Seeing the martial candidate approaching with bloodshot eyes, poised to thrust his long spear straight into the inspector's back,

two bowstrings twanged in unison. The long spear in the crazed candidate's hand was deflected to the side by a sharp arrow, while another arrow viciously pierced the long neck of his warhorse, bursting out the other side with a spray of blood.

The warhorse’s front hooves buckled, and it crashed heavily to the ground. A group of guards rushed forward heroically, pinning down the martial candidate whose leg was trapped beneath the horse, and before long, they bound him tightly with ropes and carried him away.

The Iron Lion turned his head to glance at Yang Huaiyu and said, "You should have shot the man."

Yang Huaiyu froze for a moment, just about to retort, only to see the Iron Lion turn his head away and close his eyes.

"Brother Lu Zhan, may I ask who it was that injured you?"

The Iron Lion replied coldly, "My martial arts were not refined enough, so I brought this misfortune upon myself; I cannot blame anyone else.

There is no need for you to say anything more. Lu thought that merely by attaching himself to the powerful and wealthy he could escape his plight, never imagining he would plunge into yet another even more agonizing arena of fame and fortune.

Therefore, in this battle, do not expect me to show any mercy. Even if I should fall into the eighteenth level of hell hereafter, Lu will fight a bloody battle for the honor of warriors!"

Yang Huaiyu let out a bitter laugh, urged his horse back, and retreated. Cao Fang stepped forward with a flattering smile and said, "Brother Yang, don't waste your effort. Ever since this fellow was backstabbed, he's turned into an absolute rock—completely impervious to reason. My servant went in to persuade him and was nearly beaten to a pulp by a single punch; he's still bedridden to this day."

Gao Yanzan sighed softly, "He can even tear up conditions agreed upon beforehand. What's so strange about him rejecting you? It looks like this fellow has gone completely mad, disregarding even the lives of his wife and children."

Huyan Shou curled his lip and remarked, "A fine, upstanding man like him—wasn't his mind broken by you lot with all your schemes, poisonings, and attempts at co-optation?

If you had all just left him in peace and stopped driving him mad, he would still listen to Old Gao. In the end, couldn't the one to seize the championship have been one of us few? Now look at this mess—who among us is capable of defeating him?"

Lin Jiaochuan, who could barely manage to speak on equal terms with these military scions, shook his head in despair and said, "We couldn't beat him even if we all swarmed him together. What's the point of even fighting this?"

Cao Fang chuckled, "Whoever still has tricks left outside the arena, hurry up and use them during the first round, lest we get beaten too miserably when our turn comes.

I have a feeling this fellow intends to collect some interest from us today."

Huyan Shou let out a snort of laughter, "The best faces the worst, Old Cao. You go first in the second round. After the rest of us watch your miserable state, we'll consider whether or not to just surrender the moment we step onto the field."

Cao Fang made a gloomy face and said, "You're right about that. My father said His Majesty is right here in the drill ground, which completely cuts off any path for us brothers to surrender.

Huyan, even if I get beaten to a pulp, I don't believe you've got the guts to raise a white flag and surrender. If you did, the Iron Lion wouldn't even need to kill you—Uncle would beat you to death with his bare hands.

Don't forget, your family's household rule specifies an iron whip."

Gao Yanzan gritted his teeth and cursed, "Damn it all, I wanted to find an ally, but who the hell knew we'd invite a harbinger of doom? Truly bad luck."

Lin Jiaochuan said, "Even if we want revenge, that's a matter for tomorrow and beyond. How are we supposed to get past the hurdle right in front of us?"

Huyan Shou rolled his eyes and retorted, "What else can we do? The experts among us who aren't dead yet go first to exhaust this fellow's stamina, and then the rest of us will follow."

Cao Fang gave a bitter smile, "Whether it's Liang Shimeng or the hidden mercenaries we've hired, I doubt they can hold out against that monster for more than a few moves."

Yang Huaiyu pondered for a moment and said, "I'll go first when the time comes. Though it sounds humiliating to say it aloud,

our military families simply cannot afford to lose any more face. In recent years, facing Li Yuanhao of Western Xia, we have suffered three consecutive defeats, and tens of thousands of fine young men have died on the wasteland. I truly wish to go to the northwestern frontier to serve the country and win back some dignity for the military nobility."

Huyan Shou sighed, "We have no choice left but to go to the northwestern frontier; a single decree from His Majesty has locked off all our paths of retreat.

My father said His Majesty is forcibly driving us to take a trip to the frontier, practically treating us like doomed vanguard soldiers."

Cao Fang waved his hand irritably and said, "Let's get past the immediate crisis first. We'll deal with future matters when they arrive."

Before Cao Fang's voice had even faded, the low, mournful notes of a horn echoed across the military drill ground.

Gao Yanzan froze for a moment and asked, "The General's Departure Horn? Who is coming out?"

The several military scions hurriedly scanned their surroundings for the emerging commander, knowing that military bugles never played around.

The commoners near the main camp gate suddenly parted like a rolling tide, revealing a forty-foot-wide empty path in the center. Amidst the rhythmic clatter of hooves, a hundred-odd warriors clad in golden armor and golden helmets, wielding golden spears, surged rapidly through the gap.

These men possessed exceptionally robust physiques, sitting upright atop massive warhorses. Their facial features were obscured, and only a chilling gleam could be seen flashing from behind their face masks.

"The Golden Spear Unit?" Cao Fang cried out in shock first.

"Aren't they stationed in the Daqing Palace? What are they doing here? Guarding His Majesty?" Gao Yanzan was equally baffled.

"Clang, clang, clang!" The military drill ground resounded with a dense flurry of bronze gongs. A guardsman carrying an official command flag on his back rode past on horseback and roared, "His Majesty has decreed: Only those who defeat the Generals of the Palace Portal shall be deemed true heroes!"

"His Majesty has decreed: Only those who defeat the Generals of the Palace Portal shall be deemed true heroes!"

"His Majesty has decreed: Only those who defeat..."

"I knew it, we've fallen into a trap. I just knew it..." Cao Fang's face turned ashen, his voice already tinged with a cry. "His Majesty is being far too ruthless..."

"Why doesn't His Majesty simply dispatch the Imperial Bodyguards to finish us off directly?"

It wasn't just the martial candidates who were in an uproar; those gamblers clutching their red tokens also felt as though a thunderbolt had struck them squarely on the crown of the head.

The Great Song imperial guards numbered only three thousand, yet these three thousand were peerless warriors selected from among eight hundred thousand garrison troops, representing the most formidable elite in the Great Song military.

The Golden Spear Unit, in turn, was the absolute pinnacle among these imperial guards, specifically stationed in the Daqing Palace and rarely deployed except during the most grandiose state ceremonies.

The Iron Lion suddenly threw his head back and let out a long howl, his disheveled hair streaming loosely over his shoulders like an enraged lion. When the howl ended, he cast aside the heavy bronze cudgel in his hand, drew the twin hammers from his back, and struck them together so that sparks flew in all directions. Rushing out of the military formation first, he pointed a single hammer at the generals of the Golden Spear Unit and roared, "Lu Zhan, the Iron Lion, is here! Who dares come forth and fight me?"

Hearing the Iron Lion's roar, Zhao Zhao stopped Wang Jian from artificially modulating his voice into an eight-fold pitch and smiled, saying, "This is the Dragon Gate that allows the carp to transform.

Bring out whatever skills you have and show them to Me, so that I too may know my Great Song still possesses warriors bold enough to take the battlefield!

Wang Jian, pass down the order: the Golden Spear Unit shall form groups of ten, and the martial candidates shall form groups of ten. In the span of an incense stick, the group with the most men remaining in the saddle shall be the victor!"

Meng Yuanzhi asked in puzzlement, "Why does Your Majesty choose to select generals in this manner? If the Iron Lion and his group..."

Zhao Zhao said coldly, "The martial examination is the grand ceremony by which the state selects scholars, and those who prevail are naturally scholars. What I want are commanders capable of leading troops into battle, not mere brawlers clad in heavy armor.

Since Lu Zhan harbors old grudges with those military scions, let him be grouped with them. I want to see whether personal grievances matter more to them, or victory. If personal animosity outweighs victory,

such men are of no use to Me, even if I have them!"

Wang Jian dispatched messengers with the command the very moment the Emperor issued it. As for whether Meng Yuanzhi could successfully plead for leniency, that was a matter for a second decree.

Watching the Iron Lion's retreating back, Yang Huaiyu let out a long sigh, laughed heartily, and spurred his horse forward to join the battle. Today, he truly wanted to test the limits of his own combat prowess.

Touching the pouch of mushroom powder given to him by Tie Xinyuan, he exercised great restraint to keep himself from swallowing it, for he felt deep down that the most arduous trials had yet to arrive.