Chapter 142: Battle!

Under the rhythmic urging of the timekeeping drum, the patrolling bailiffs assisted in moving the cloth-covered wooden frames and the spiked maces to the defensive zone. Wang Ge and Jiang Xiaosi took their positions. After a brief exchange of glances, Wang Ge straightened her expression, pointed at Sima Chong, and shouted, "I dare to represent the carpentry examinees and declare war on you!"

Jiang Xiaosi was trembling uncontrollably, not entirely from fear, but because he had never been the center of so many gazes before. "I... I also represent the blacksmith examinees, and I declare war on you."

Sima Chong hated being pointed at more than anything in life. His rage surged: "Fine! Then I represent all the warriors and declare war on you! Since you are from the same... hometown as someone I know, I’ll take it easy on you in the first round, how about that? Hahahaha... hiccup!" He swung his arms, spun in place, and flashed a grimacing grin toward Huan Zhen and Wang Tian. When he turned back, he was struck speechless.

Wang Ge and Jiang Xiaosi had pulled off the oilcloth, revealing a massive, broom-shaped spiked mace.

"What is that?!" Sima Chong shrieked. The fluffy, claw-like branches were nearly as wide as a reclining Wang Tian, and they were still covered in bits of bamboo leaves! Each branch was lined with sharp barbs and hooks, denser than the lice on Huan Zhen’s head!

Jiang Xiaosi crouched down, gripping the bamboo pole firmly.

"This is... the Spiked Mace!" Wang Ge held up a stink-ball (not daring to squeeze it too hard), and shouted with a strained voice: "The skill of a craftsman lies in wisdom, not brute force! Today, we, the carpentry and blacksmith examinees, shall show you warriors what it means to hold a pass with wit—a barrier that even a thousand men dare not cross! Sima Chong, are you scared yet? I’m throwing a mud ball at you now... I bet you don't even dare to catch it!"

"Just this trick?" Sima Chong roared. "Throw it!"

"Four!" Wang Ge gripped the ball and quickly dived into the inverted "V" gap left beneath the wooden frame.

The one playing a trick alongside her was Sima Chong. He wasn't stupid—why would he catch a ball? Instead, he lunged to the side as a feint, then rolled along the ground, intending to attack Jiang Xiaosi, who was holding the pole.

"Four" was the combat code for Wang Ge's team. After nearly a whole night of grueling, brainwashing training, Jiang Xiaosi didn't need to think. Hearing "Four," he raised the bamboo pole high, and the end with the spiked mace immediately swept across the ground, chasing and spinning toward Sima Chong.

*Pop! Pop! Pop!* Wang Ge was lean and short, which allowed her to fit into the triangular space under the wooden frame. She threw three stink-balls in quick succession, aiming for the spot directly in front of where Sima Chong was rolling.

Mud shattered, filth splashed!

Filth splashed, liquid flew!

In reality, from the moment Wang Ge and her opponent began their ruse until now, only two breaths of time had passed. After Sima Chong fell, he was like a human roller, driven by the spiked mace to roll through the filth twice before he realized what was happening.

"Shit?!" He couldn't believe it! He had suspected the mud balls were traps, but he thought they contained caltrops or iron nails at worst—he never imagined they were packed with excrement!

*Thwack!*

Wang Ge seized the moment he was momentarily stunned. She threw two stink-balls at once; the one in her left hand landed square on Sima Chong’s chest. Too nervous and excited, she crushed the one in her right hand, splattering herself.

Jiang Xiaosi pressed down and then lifted the pole, the spiked mace descending upon Sima Chong like a giant, tree-like canopy.

"I concede! Ugh... I concede... cough, cough, cough... ugh, gagh..."

*Boom!* The drum signaling the ceasefire sounded.

Upon hearing the word "concede," Jiang Xiaosi steadied the bamboo pole. Beneath the giant broom-head, Sima Chong was vomiting as if he were better off dead. He wretchedly yanked his hair free from the hooks and scrambled away from the striking zone.

It was too foul. It certainly couldn't have been human waste; it was so pungent that his eyes were bloodshot.

The surrounding crowd was deathly silent. Even Wang Tian, who usually couldn't stand Sima Chong, was stunned. Firstly, the opponent had been defeated too quickly; the entire fight had taken less time than Wang Ge’s speech. Secondly, everyone imagined themselves in Sima Chong’s shoes and realized they would have been just as helpless.

Thank goodness they weren't the ones fighting.

Sima Chong stood up and held his head high (not out of defiance, but to breathe a bit of fresh air).

Wang Ge crawled out from under the wooden frame, also holding her head high (for the same reason).

The eyes of the two filth-covered people could have killed each other.

Poor Jiang Xiaosi’s mouth twitched uncontrollably from the stench.

Out of ninety-nine matches, this was the only one that entered a second round through actual combat.

The patrol officer signaled: "After ten drum beats, begin combat."

*Boom, boom, boom, boom...*

As soon as the drums stopped, Sima Chong stopped dodging and swung his blade at the bamboo.

"Four!" Wang Ge dived back under the frame to throw the stink-balls, one after another.

From her angle, she could only hit his lower body. Sima Chong clearly didn't care about the filth anymore. His strategy was sound, but Jiang Xiaosi maneuvered the spiked mace to sweep high, low, left, and right. The hardness of the bamboo was no myth, and the elasticity of the branches made it impossible to sever them quickly.

*Swish...*

The small bamboo sticks came into play.

They were stuck in the mud and filth. Every time Sima Chong stepped on them, he slipped. He focused on stabilizing his stance, which reduced the power in his swings.

"Ah! That scoundrel Huan Zhen set me up!" Only now did he realize that last night, when Huan Zhen had intentionally shouted to Wang Tian and led him to eavesdrop and switch the match-ups, it was all a trap!

Enraged, he hacked at the bamboo branches even more frantically. He didn't care anymore—he didn't care about anything! Didn't this wench only know how to throw stink-balls? Was she trying to trip him with those small sticks? He ignored them and focused on hacking the bamboo... wait?

One branch didn't have as many hooks; it only had a sharp blade at the tip.

A flaw!

"Ah..." Sima Chong let out a long cry, feigning even more hysteria. He suddenly switched his blade to his left hand, and at the split second when that branch swung near him, he grabbed it with his right hand and yanked hard.

Huan Zhen: "Oh no!"

Wang Tian had already projected himself into Sima Chong’s position, acting as excited as if he himself had caught the flaw in the spiked mace.

*Bang!*

The force with which Sima Chong pulled was the force with which he fell.

*He fell for it!*

*Thwack!*

The final stink-ball hit Sima Chong right on the chin.

*Clang!* In his fury, he threw his bronze blade, but it was blocked by the leg of the wooden frame. *Damn it, I shouldn't have thrown the sword!*

Wang Ge and he scrambled for the blade at the same time. She yelled, "Smash him, smash him!" Jiang Xiaosi raised and lowered the pole, and Sima Chong was once again trapped in the same predicament as the first round, chased and rolled about by the overwhelming spiked mace.

Wang Ge dragged the blade to her feet and shouted, "Throwing your blade is like cutting off your own arm! How much longer can you struggle, Sima Chong?"

She reached into another bamboo tube for some caltrops.

The "human roller" saw this in his panic and was overjoyed! As long as the wench dared to throw them, he could turn defeat into victory!

She had grabbed the wrong thing. Wang Ge shoved the caltrops back and poured out the small bamboo sticks from the other tube.

*That wench!*

"I concede! I concede, I concede!" Sima Chong was on the verge of tears. Being eliminated in this battle meant he would enter the Protectorate Army a year later than Huan Zhen and Wang Tian. A whole year! By then, they would be veterans, and he would be a recruit.

*Boom.* The cease-fire drum sounded.

Wang Ge crawled out from under the frame. Jiang Xiaosi’s eyes welled up with tears: "Examinee Wang, we won."

"Yes. We won."

Sima Chong angrily kicked away the dozens of small bamboo sticks, stood up, and found many still stuck to him. He couldn't shake them off now—that would be even more humiliating! He glared bitterly at Wang Ge: "How many tactics do you have in total?"

"Only one."

"Then why did you shout 'Four'?"

"If I shouted anything else, my teammate wouldn't remember!"

Jiang Xiaosi nodded sheepishly.

*That wench!* Oh... it was so infuriating, absolutely infuriating! Sima Chong trembled with rage, and the small bamboo sticks fell off as he shook.

The patrol officer announced: "The ninety-ninth match... the examinee team wins!"

The warrior team fell silent. They remained silent. Kicking up a fuss after being clearly outskilled would only make them look like sore losers. What left them feeling utterly helpless was that, even now, no one could think of a way to break the spiked mace.

Before the match, Sima Chong had declared he represented all the warriors. With his second-place standing, he had the right to do so. Therefore, the entire group of warriors had now lost to the group of examinees.

He returned to his team, dejected, and stood between Huan Zhen and Wang Tian. Huan Zhen was so reeking that he looked miserable, while Wang Tian had taken off his hair tie, rolled it into two small balls, and stuffed them into his nostrils, with the ends still dangling.

*Bang!* The official used his staff to strike the ground, signaling for silence, before the military clerk stepped forward to announce the end of the tournament. "Examinees, you must have wondered for a long time why we forced you, who have no martial training, to fight against the best of the local militia, causing dozens of examinees to be injured or even crippled."

The eyes of the examinees and the watching crowd turned back to the medical area. Every injured person had been treated, some suppressing their moans, others still unconscious.

Yes, why?