Chapter 328: The real motive of the combat examinations (1/2)
Chapter 328: The real motive of the combat examinations
Translator: Sparrow TranslationsEditor: Sparrow Translations
One of the masked men placed the dagger in his hands on his lips as he licked the blood on the blade. His eyes glittered with pride.
This was an arrogance that stemmed from within.
”What are you talking about? The Domain Chief is still waiting. Strip these two humans and you two will dress up as them!” Another masked man ordered icily.
”Yes!” The male immediately kept his blade, his arrogance turning into respect.
The wind blew and carried the scent of blood into the woods. This quickly attracted wild beasts. When the beasts saw the two naked bodies...
”Roar!” They lunged and picked the bones clean within moments.
Sometimes, things were just so ironic. These two men may have been of noble origin and led good lives. However, once they were dead, they were just bodies...
...
Fang Zhengzhi did not know that Wu Yuer would have brought him so far from the capital. In order to get back to the capital would waste too much time.
More importantly, it would be meaningless.
He should just head straight for the Stable Mountain Gates.
However, Wu Yuer’s actions had caused him a huge problem. Right now, he did not have any soldiers.
No soldiers?
How was he going to participate in the combat examinations?
It felt like he was going to ice skate without skates. Ice skate barefoot? It did not seem like a huge problem. However, skating slowly was not the problem, he could not stand the cold!
Was he going to ride into battle alone?
That would be a legendary story.
He had no idea if he was lucky or unlucky.
A week later, a figure appeared at the Stable Mountain Gates. The figure wore a blue long sleeved shirt and rode a poor horse of unknown breed.
Only two people would enter the city at this time. A leather merchant, or Fang Zhengzhi.
The answer was the latter.
Fang Zhengzhi glanced at the limestone buildings around him. He also looked at the solemn soldiers passing through the streets.
He had two choices.
He could find the general in charge of holding this fort. He could introduce himself and request for some soldiers. However, success would depend on the general’s character.
The second option was to enter the Southern Mountain Range alone.
Before making his final decision, Fang Zhengzhi decided to have a good meal. He had been rushing all the way to this place. He couldn’t possibly leave on an empty stomach.
Being this close to the Southern Mountain Range, the city had no lack of delicacies.
Each restaurant served the meats of various beasts.
”Recently slaughtered! Cut off what you want to eat!”
”Would you like to go inside?”
All of the sounds showed how bustling the city was. Even though it was no match for the capital, this city was still doing quite well.
Fang Zhengzhi picked a decent restaurant and chose a place with the most people. He called a waiter and placed his order. Then, he began to drink.
He chose the most populated place so he could listen to recent news.
The restaurants were always the best place to gather information. Having roamed the streets for so many years, Fang Zhengzhi was well aware of this fact.
The better the seat, the better the information that he could gather.
As more and more customers entered, Fang Zhengzhi’s ears perked up. Most of them were talking about the combat examinations.
Fang Zhengzhi combined the information he heard here with those he gathered along the way. He began to have some understanding of the combat examinations.
”The Great Xia Dynasty sent 100,000 soldiers.”
”Each candidate was given 2000 soldiers and the title of General.”
”Crown Prince Lin Tianrong commands over 40,000 troops in support.”
”The results will be based on the number of surviving soldiers and territories controlled!”
Fang Zhengzhi enjoyed the wine and food leisurely as he listened to the news. At the same time, he thought of how he was going to do well in the examinations.
On the surface, his biggest problem was that he did not have any soldiers. He could not take the test alone. However, this was not what was bothering him the most.
The question bothering him the most was...
The motive of the courts!
In order to answer a question, one could not just take the question at face value. One had to guess the intentions of the person setting the question. Why would he set such a question? What was the question asking? What was he thinking? What were the hints and hidden ideas?
The court examination.
It was the most important examination in the Great Xia Dynasty. It was the examination which required the most thinking, intellect, and power. Yet, the rules were this simple? Guard the territories and conserve troops?
If that was the case, why was there a need for 40,000 troops as reinforcements? What were they supporting?
Ensuring the safety of the candidates?