FIMA Ch91: Competition

This day, the sky was clear and the air crisp.

On the open and expansive drill ground, flags fluttered in the wind.

The Royal Drill Ground was located in the eastern suburbs of the capital, surrounded by mountains on three sides. Since the previous dynasty until now, it had been continuously repaired and expanded. Although it wasn’t as boundless as the hunting grounds during the autumn hunt, it was extremely vast.

Normally, it was a place for the princes and nobles of Great Liang to relax and hunt. The Capital Garrison troops stationed not far away would also occasionally use this place for drills.

Sitting high on the platform, Emperor Jianzhao was in high spirits, sweeping away his usual gloomy temperament: “Everyone, show off your true skills today. Those who perform outstandingly, I will reward heavily and promote by one rank.”

The King of the Northern Frontier was not far behind: “My bravest boys, show Great Liang how formidable you are.”

“Yes!”

Sky-shaking cheers immediately erupted around the drill ground.

Although everyone’s emotions had reached a peak, after all, the main purpose of Great Liang and the Northern Frontier this time was to form an alliance, display strength, and exchange amicably, not to fight to the death with swords and spears.

Therefore, the actual exchange events were relatively peaceful.

First was one-on-one arena martial arts, followed by regular horse racing and archery, and finally the flag-planting battle.

The arena martial arts had a total of ten matches. Both sides sent out ten people to duel one-on-one.

To avoid casualties, everyone had to fight bare-handed in the arena martial arts. Under such circumstances, it was first a contest of strength, and second a contest of reaction speed.

The people of the Northern Frontier were all tall and sturdy, covered in muscles, inherently winning in the aspect of strength.

Plus, living mostly in jungles and deserts and relying on hunting for food, their reactions naturally wouldn’t be poor either. It was rumored that even when drinking water outside, they would turn half their bodies sideways to observe behind them.

The soldiers and civilians of Great Liang had lived for many years in a prosperous and flourishing age; how could they compare to the Northern Frontier people from harsh environments?

Thus, after six matches.

“Ah, great, we won again.”

“Now we have won five matches. As long as we win one more, the outcome will be completely decided.” Excited shouts came from the King of the Northern Frontier’s side.

“Great, Aizezi, this King will reward you with ten slaves.” The King of the Northern Frontier wildly drank a big gulp of wine.

Emperor Jianzhao’s face, however, turned somewhat ugly.

In the past six matches.

Except for the third match, where the inner palace Imperial Guard who went up won by desperately dodging and entangling using outstanding lightfoot skills under Gu Siyuan’s casual guidance, they lost all the others.

Especially in the fourth match, the Northern Frontier sent up an expert named Aizezi. This person was both offensive and defensive. Although his body was incredibly massive, the person was unbelievably calm and sharp.

The Great Liang Imperial Guard fighting him originally wanted to imitate his comrade’s tactics from the previous match, using lightfoot skills to constantly lure and exhaust him. Unexpectedly, after just a moment, a gap was caught by him, and with a punch like lightning and thunder, he directly knocked the Great Liang Imperial Guard off the arena.

By the fifth match, Aizezi should have stepped down to swap for someone else.

But this person’s personality was unexpectedly flamboyant. He directly said to Emperor Jianzhao and the King of the Northern Frontier: He was hard-pressed to find an opponent in the Northern Frontier. Having finally come to Great Liang, a place with outstanding people and fine terrain, he very much wanted to experience the formidable power of the Great Liang Imperial Guards. So, could he continue to the next match until he was defeated before stepping down?

Although his words broke the rules, his speech sounded very pleasant, plus the atmosphere on the scene was exceptionally enthusiastic.

The King of the Northern Frontier was the first to agree, and Emperor Jianzhao naturally found it hard to refuse. Otherwise, wouldn’t it mean that their dignified Great Liang couldn’t find a single person to defeat this guy?

So, in the subsequent fifth match, the Northern Frontier still had this Aizezi go up.

Recognizing Aizezi’s formidable power, the Great Liang side also waited in full battle array, specially sending up an Imperial Guard with the best lightfoot skills. This Imperial Guard engaged in a tangled fight with him for a while, but ultimately, a flaw was still discovered by Aizezi, and he was knocked off the stage.

Then, what was even more terrifying was that the Imperial Guard in the sixth match was also defeated by Aizezi.

In this way, Aizezi had already won three consecutive matches, and Great Liang had lost a total of five matches.

Even if Great Liang won all the remaining four matches, they could only get a draw.

As the host, such a performance was completely unjustifiable and truly lost immense face.

The brows of the Imperial Guard Grand Commander Guan Zhuoyi furrowed even deeper. These participating inner palace Imperial Guards were all carefully selected by him. Losing so many matches, didn’t it mean he was blind, or simply a piece of trash unable to train them?

He narrowed his eyes and walked over to Gu Siyuan, who was standing guard above the high platform: “Siyuan, you take this next match later. Make sure to win our face back.”

Gu Siyuan was responsible for Emperor Jianzhao’s safety and stood very close to him.

Emperor Jianzhao naturally heard this conversation as well and immediately nodded slightly at him.

Gu Siyuan responded coldly: “Yes.”

Meanwhile, on the arena below, that Aizezi was complacent, repeatedly shouting: “Brave warriors of Great Liang’s Imperial Guards, come up quickly, come up quickly, quickly let Aizezi experience your formidable power! Don’t tell me there’s no one left after only three?”

The Imperial Guards waiting for their turn and the Great Liang people watching the battle were all pale with anger.

“I will come.”

A chilling male voice rang out.

Following that, a figure flew down beautifully and neatly from the high platform like a descending falcon.

Seeing his appearance clearly, the crowd couldn’t help but let out slight exclamations.

“It’s General Gu!”

“General Gu definitely can.”

Aizezi looked at Gu Siyuan, and hearing the reactions of the people around, knew this person probably had some strength.

He asked: “The clothes you’re wearing look higher level than theirs. Are you also an Imperial Guard? Are you their leader?”

Gu Siyuan raised his eyes, saying calmly: “You could say that.”

Aizezi: “You are still so young, I hope you truly are more formidable than them!”

Gu Siyuan’s expression remained unchanged: “Naturally, I will leave you with a deep impression.”

Aizezi laughed loudly: “That’s best, come!”

However, although this person looked big and burly and his mouth spoke frankly and loosely, he was actually very cautious. He didn’t wait in place like the previous three matches, but his body instantly tensed up, and he began to actively attack.

His strength was boundless, his arm like a massive pillar, extremely terrifying. When he threw a punch, it instantly brought up the sound of piercing wind tearing through the air.

In the previous three matches, except for the Imperial Guard in the sixth match who withstood three or four punches from him due to having thick skin and solid flesh, the other two Imperial Guards who excelled in lightfoot skills were both caught by this person’s flaw and hit in a single strike.

Aizezi acting like this now was playing the idea of suppressing others with momentum. He wanted to give Gu Siyuan pressure right from the start to make him retreat. As the saying goes, ‘momentum surges in the first strike, declines in the second, and exhausts in the third.’ Retreating right from the start would definitely affect one’s momentum.

Unexpectedly, Gu Siyuan curled the corners of his mouth, not avoiding or giving way at all. Instead, he slowly raised a fist as well, looking as if he wanted to meet force with force.

Gu Siyuan was already considered very tall among ordinary people, but compared to a special giant like Aizezi, the difference in body size was still like an adult and a child.

Seeing his action, Aizezi laughed out loud in amazement: “This little arm of yours will be broken into pieces by one punch of mine. Obediently dodge!”

The others present also widened their eyes.

“…” Sitting below the stage, Xie Xuan’s fine white fingers twisted into a knot directly.

The next moment, the two distinctly contrasting fists collided directly.

“Crack…” A crisp sound.

A massive figure flew backward directly, flying all the way to the edge of the arena, smashing through the wooden boards, and then falling down.

It was astonishingly Aizezi, who had been full of arrogance just a moment ago.

“Ah ah ah!”

“General Gu won!”

“General Gu, the number one expert in Great Liang!”

Xie Xuan’s twisted fingers finally loosened, secretly complaining in his heart: No wonder he picks me up with one hand for no reason, and spouts muddle-headed words for no reason. This is entirely because he has too much strength with nowhere to use it, feeling stifled, right?

Thinking and thinking, he couldn’t help but mourn for himself again. With such strength, do I truly still have a chance to turn the tables in the future?

Am I truly going to be bullied by him for a lifetime?

However, when he looked up again, looking at Gu Siyuan on the arena with black hair and light armor, one hand behind his back, his face composed, looking exceptionally graceful and peerless, Xie Xuan’s heart couldn’t help but itch again, wanting to stay in his embrace for a lifetime.

So, actually it’s not considered bullying…

He successfully convinced himself.

On the other side, Gu Siyuan cast an indifferent gaze toward the Northern Frontier contingent: “This general also finds it hard to find an opponent in Great Liang. I’ve heard everyone in the Northern Frontier military and civilians are brave and martial. Having this rare opportunity to meet, I am also very eager to experience the formidable power of the Northern Frontier warriors. So, could I also be a champion defending the arena, until I am defeated before stepping down?”

“Hahaha…”

Laughter immediately erupted below the stage.

This was the request Aizezi had made earlier, and Gu Siyuan was now copying it almost entirely.

The King of the Northern Frontier’s face changed slightly.

However, they were the ones who started it first; they couldn’t just allow themselves to set fires while forbidding others to light lamps.

Moreover, they were the ones asking for a favor this time.

He could only laugh heartily a few times: “Sure, of course. It ended too quickly just now. This King also wants to continue watching this young general’s strength!”

As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Emperor Jianzhao: “Emperor, what do you think?”

Emperor Jianzhao naturally wouldn’t refuse either: “Siyuan is young and proud, it’s good to let him gain some experience.”

The King of the Northern Frontier nodded amiably, but when he turned around, he said solemnly: “Batur, you go up this time.”

“Yes.”

Batur immediately answered and stepped out. With one leap, he landed steadily on the stage.

Gu Siyuan had seen this Batur a few times because he was the King of the Northern Frontier’s personal guard, almost inseparable.

He wasn’t as terrifyingly tall and burly as other Northern Frontier warriors, but he was also about over 1.9 meters tall, slightly taller than Gu Siyuan. His entire aura was restrained to the extreme.

In martial arts, what matters is being able to retract and release freely; retracting is several times harder than releasing.

If a person looks like their vital energy and blood are boiling, they are naturally a formidable figure; but if a person is as calm as a pool of water, then one must be even more vigilant.

However, facing such an opponent, Gu Siyuan’s face remained as calm as an unruffled well, as if there was nothing in the world that could be put in his eyes.

Batur’s gaze condensed slightly. Nodding at Gu Siyuan, he said: “Please.”

As his voice fell, his whole person rapidly retreated out of attack range.

He had also fought with Aizezi and knew the terror of his strength. Back then, he also defeated Aizezi by combining lightfoot and martial arts.

But this person could send him flying with one punch.

So, the side engaged in a tangled fight had to change to their Northern Frontier.

Gu Siyuan stood still in place, feeling the howling wind beside him, watching Batur’s figure rapidly flashing front, back, left, and right.

He felt somewhat amazed in his heart. This person, a frontier barbarian, actually had better lightfoot skills than them Central Plains people. Not only moving extremely fast, but it also carried some hallucinatory illusions, making it hard to distinguish true from false.

Even the Imperial Guard with the best lightfoot skills earlier couldn’t compare to him.

He naturally couldn’t either.

This person probably has some sect’s martial arts inheritance?

“Swish…” A fist shadow came head-on.

Gu Siyuan tilted his head slightly, swiftly dodging it, the wind brushing past his ear.

Next, a kick came again.

Gu Siyuan neatly bent backward at the waist, dodging it once again.

Although his lightfoot wasn’t as good as this person’s, his reaction speed was top-notch, able to dodge any attack. This lightfoot is said to be confusing and illusory, but ultimately there is only one person, and there will only be one attack; the rest are all fake.

Half a cup of tea’s time passed. Batur attempted attacks several times but always returned without success.

Gu Siyuan also only dodged throughout the whole process.

“Why is General Gu always dodging?” A palace servant watching the battle felt it wasn’t exciting enough and complained out loud.

Immediately, an icy cold gaze shot over.

That person realized he had misspoken and immediately shut his mouth tightly.

After a long while, he slowly turned his eyes and looked in the direction of that gaze, only to find that the figure lazily leaning there was actually…

The Sixth Prince.

The palace servant secretly thought: It must have been an illusion just now. The Sixth Prince and General Gu are the most at odds.

On the arena.

“About time,” Gu Siyuan said softly.

Right at this moment, a sharp fist shadow attacked straight toward him from the right side again, with even greater force than the previous several attacks. It seemed that continuously using such brilliant lightfoot skills, Batur was also tired and wanted a quick victory.

This time, Gu Siyuan didn’t tilt his head or bend his waist to dodge again.

Instead, just like the previous match, he raised his right hand.

The next moment, just as that fist shadow was about to hit his side face, his broad palm directly and tightly gripped the wrist of that fist, making it unable to advance even a fraction of an inch further.

At the same time, his left hand had also been raised, striking out a punch.

“Buzz…” A sound.

As the fist hit Batur’s chest, the fist wind carrying the fluttering sleeve slapped directly onto the lower half of Batur’s face. Only Batur’s widened eyes could be seen, along with countless shock and disbelief within them.

Afterward, Gu Siyuan loosened his right hand, and Batur flew out directly, not landing at the edge of the arena, but directly on the dirt ground.

Gu Siyuan stood up straight, looking in the direction of the Northern Frontier people indifferently: “Next, come!”

“Ah ah ah ah! General Gu!”

“General Gu!”

“Number one expert, Great Liang’s number one expert!”

The atmosphere of the entire drill ground reached a peak in an instant.

People love to watch victories, especially this kind of god-like victory after tension and anxiety.

“Gu Xun! General Gu!”

In the venue, quite a few young men and women from high-ranking official families also looked over shyly and timidly.

Because the Northern Frontier Princess also came, Emperor Jianzhao waved his hand grandly this time, allowing quite a few princesses and commandery princesses of their Great Liang to come to the drill ground to watch, and officials of the third rank and above could also bring their sons and daughters.

Looking at the exciting shouts of the whole venue, the initial excitement in Xie Xuan’s heart turned into sourness. He secretly curled his lip and said: “Hmph, already a taken person, yet still quite good at attracting eyes.”

Xie Huan’s seat was right next to him. Although he didn’t hear clearly what he just said, seeing his demeanor at a glance, he knew it probably wasn’t a good thing.

Immediately, he purposely raised his voice: “Sixth Brother, General Gu clearly won, why does Sixth Brother still look unhappy?”

This voice attracted the attention of everyone seated.

Xie Xuan raised his head, his eyes dark and heavy, saying carelessly: “Fourth Royal Brother probably saw wrong.”

With this commotion, even Gu Siyuan’s cold gaze from the arena swept over.

Xie Huan became even more complacent, continuing to hypocritically reprimand: “Although Sixth Brother and General Gu have always been at odds, General Gu is winning glory for Great Liang. Sixth Brother still shouldn’t put on this attitude.”

Although due to the series of events Xie Xuan stirred up earlier, Xie Huan lost the good reputation of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness he had painstakingly tried to manage.

But these words made sense.

Emperor Jianzhao on the high platform also rarely didn’t continue to pretend and cover for Xie Xuan in front of outsiders, but severely reprimanded: “Xuan’er, how could you be so oblivious to the big picture.”

“Your son knows his mistake.” Xie Xuan naturally knew this father and son duo were digging a hole for him. He dryly added a sentence, and then became too lazy to pay attention to them anymore.

There were still three arena matches left.

The subsequent people sent up by the Northern Frontier were not to mention compared to Batur, even compared to Aizezi they were far inferior. With one punch from Gu Siyuan, the opponent directly retreated off the arena.

All opponents couldn’t last a single move in his hands.

The situation of this martial arts competition instantly showed a one-sided trend.

After all ten matches ended.

The King of the Northern Frontier looked at Emperor Jianzhao: “The Emperor actually hid such an expert?”

Emperor Jianzhao laughed loudly: “Great Liang has abundant resources and people, the outstanding talents are countless.”

The King of the Northern Frontier looked big and burly, but his mind was very delicate. He also hurriedly smiled and said: “Hahahaha! Emperor! Great Liang’s experts are truly extraordinary, our Northern Frontier’s warriors temporarily concede defeat!”

Seeing him be so straightforward, Emperor Jianzhao instead felt embarrassed: “It can only be considered a tie, everyone won five matches each.”

The arena martial arts passed.

Next came the horse racing level. This match was basically a personal show for the Northern Frontier people.

In this match, the Northern Frontier people didn’t arrogantly propose for someone to defend the arena against a continuous wave of challengers, and Great Liang naturally wouldn’t bring it up either.

Thus, after the results of the ten matches came out.

Except for Gu Siyuan, who went last, and two certain Imperial Guards who were extremely familiar with horses, everyone else lost. Seven to three, Great Liang lost.

However, everyone had long anticipated this result. The Northern Frontier people grew up on horseback anyway. Two of those victories were even snatched by female warriors.

Everyone was immersed in the exciting competition. Even Gu Siyuan watched with relish. These Northern Frontier people were truly not bad; the folk customs were fierce, and the whole population were soldiers.

The horse racing ended, and the archery competition began.

The Northern Frontier people ate raw meat and drank blood (lived a primitive life), so their archery skills were naturally outstanding as well.

However, Great Liang had abundant supplies, and a technical skill like archery was a daily mandatory training item in the army. Great Liang people actually had some advantages in this aspect, and the two sides unexpectedly found themselves in a stalemate for a time.

There was only one Gu Siyuan, although he won the final match.

But ultimately, archery was another tie.

As such, the first three events resulted in two ties and one loss.

The outcome of the final event, the flag-planting battle, became extremely crucial.

The flag-planting battle involved the most people, a total of one hundred, with Great Liang and the Northern Frontier each having fifty people.

Winning one match could offset the previous two matches.

That is to say, as long as Great Liang could win, they would immediately become the victor. If they lost, needless to say, they would lose face back to their grandmother’s house.

The rules were also very simple, much like a tower defense game. There were five separate battle platforms. After the game ended, whichever side could plant their flag on the top of at least three of the platforms would be the winner.

The key to the flag-planting battle wasn’t who planted the flag first, but how to safely and steadily protect the flag throughout the entire process after planting it.

Gu Siyuan looked at each battle platform; they were about ten meters tall.

Normally speaking, dividing fifty people into five teams, ten people protecting one side was just right.

However, based on the results of the previous arena martial arts, it could also be known that apart from Gu Siyuan, in terms of individual combat, the other Great Liang people were inferior to the Northern Frontier people.

When matched against the same number of people, Great Liang’s probability of losing was very high.

The Northern Frontier warriors also cast a complacent glance at Gu Siyuan.

This isn’t one-on-one; we have to scatter. Let’s see how you support the entire process alone.

A moment later.

There were five referees, three of whom were Great Liang people.

After reading the submitted groupings written in black and white, that Great Liang head referee was stunned for a long while and looked at Gu Siyuan several times: “General Gu, are you sure you want to group like this?”

Gu Siyuan nodded.

After everyone stood in front of the starting platform, following an order from the referee.

Sure enough, as expected, the Northern Frontier people distributed evenly. Groups of ten ran wildly toward a battle platform, responding to all changes by remaining unchanged.

Everyone wasn’t surprised.

After all, in terms of individual combat ability, the Northern Frontier was indeed slightly stronger.

This was the most secure allocation method.

However, the arrangement on Gu Siyuan’s side dropped everyone’s jaws.

“What is General Gu doing?”

“Could it be he wants to defend one alone?”

“Truly arrogant!” Xie Xuan complained, his nature unchanged.

And then, added in a very low voice, “But, I like it…”

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