Diqin Designer

Chapter 530 Qin Soldiers' Armor is More Powerful
Two days later, the stands at Bactra Stadium were already full of people, because they had heard that the Qin people would be competing against their warriors there that day.

"Qin State" and "Qin People" have been the hottest topics in Bactra City for the past two days. Even the beggars in the city have heard that there is a mysterious country called "Qin" in the far east. That country is very different from them: different language, different script, different appearance, different clothes...

Now that the envoys sent by the Qin state have arrived, they naturally want to see how the mysterious Qin people are different from them, and to see who is stronger and who is weaker.

Of course, they had full confidence in their own people. Qin, a country they had never even heard of before, must be an unknown small country. How could it compare to them?
Victory was practically assured; their main reason for coming was curiosity and to witness how their own people had defeated the Qin people.

Although Bactra Stadium is called a stadium, it has many functions. It is not just a place to hold sports competitions. Sometimes the army trains here, and people gather here, duel, hold competitions or preach doctrines.

Wang Ling, Li Shiqi, and other members of the delegation followed Euthydemus I and his entourage into the stadium. They were not surprised to see a full stadium of spectators.

Even the Qin delegation itself knew that the entire city of Bactria was now spreading rumors that the Qin people had arrived and wanted to compete with them.

These people made the competition public, but they didn't think about what would happen if they lost and lost face in front of their own people.
Upon seeing the Qin delegation enter, many curious gazes fell upon Wang Ling and his companions. However, Wang Ling and his group seemed oblivious to these gazes and calmly followed Euthydemus I to their seats.

After they were seated, a group of people appeared from the west entrance of the stadium and marched into the field.

The appearance of this group caused the entire audience to erupt in cheers, which resounded throughout the stadium.

The group of men appearing were the Bactrian soldiers who would be participating in the competition today.

The Bactrian soldiers smiled and waved in response to the cheers of the audience.

Just then, the entrance on the east side of the stadium opened, and another group of people stepped into the stadium through the entrance.

The moment this group appeared, the cheers in the stadium subsided, not because they were frightened, but because they were captivated.

The group of people wore strange black armor and marched in an orderly fashion. Their swinging arms and steps were almost synchronized, making them appear as one.

The black armor they wore gave the audience a cold and solemn feeling, even from the stands. Without even seeing them on the battlefield, one could naturally feel that this was definitely a powerful army!
There were no unnecessary movements during the march, and no concern for where they were; they had only one goal: to defeat and destroy the enemy!
Beneath those cold, black armors did not appear to be living people, but rather killing machines.

The moment this team stepped onto the field, it felt like the temperature in the entire stadium dropped a few degrees.

It goes without saying that these are the Qin people who will be competing against their warriors today.

The audience, who had initially thought their team was sure to win, began to waver. The Qin people didn't seem like easy opponents at all. Could their team really guarantee victory?

Are these people from Qin? Although the competition hasn't started yet, they already seem incredibly strong and powerful, definitely not ordinary people.

In the audience, some spectators' expressions changed when they saw the Qin soldiers appear. They whispered to their friends and family, "I heard that the Yuezhi people are attacking us because they were defeated in the east..."

Upon hearing this, relatives and friends also changed their expressions and replied, "You mean..."

The first audience member glanced at the Qin soldiers who were ready to begin their competition and said, "I initially thought it was fake news, but now it seems it might be true. The Yuezhi people were defeated by the Qin in the east and were forced to flee here."

The Yuezhi were defeated by the Qin, but the Qin were unable to defeat the Yuezhi and suffered considerable losses at their hands. Given such a simple comparison of strength, they would still make a comparison.

Although the Bactrians only suffered a loss at the hands of the Yuezhi, it doesn't mean they couldn't defeat the Yuezhi in a decisive battle. However, the Qin people who were able to defeat the Yuezhi were certainly not weak.

The Qin people are a formidable enemy!
The competition has begun in the stadium. Today's competition will not be a real battle between the two sides, so the events will be archery, running, long jump, fencing, javelin, wrestling, and a test of whose armor is better.

In reality, running and selection are just side events; the real highlight is the armor competition, where both sides are eager to show off the superiority of their armor.

Soldiers from both sides used their own weapons to attack targets that had been prepared in the stadium, somewhat like a modern sword-forging competition, where the competition was about whose weapon was superior, but it wasn't just about swords.

To provide a direct comparison of the superiority of the two sides' armor and weapons, one exercise involved soldiers from both sides using their own weapons to attack the enemy's armor.

If our weapons can penetrate your armor, but your weapons cannot penetrate ours, it is obvious who is better and who is worse.

The results of the contest came out quickly, but they did not make Euthydemus I and his men happy. During the contest, their armor was damaged more severely by the Qin people's weapons, while their weapons were unable to penetrate the Qin people's armor.

Moreover, in the clash of swords, their swords were more damaged than those of the Qin people. Several of their swords were broken by the Qin swords, while the Qin swords, though chipped, were not broken.

What this meant was clear to Euthydemus I and others: it meant that the Qin people's armor and weapons were far superior to theirs, and that their smelting and casting techniques were far superior to theirs.

They remembered that when the Qin delegation arrived, they were determined not to let the Qin people see their smelting and casting techniques. Now... would the Qin people be interested in stealing their backward techniques?

The people of Qin should be the ones guarding against them stealing their knowledge!
Euthydemus I felt as if he had been slapped in the face, utterly humiliated. He had been worried that the Qin people would steal their advanced technology, but now he realized he had been overthinking it. Even if they gave the technology to the Qin people for free, they might not even care about it.

Furthermore, the superior weaponry of the Qin people presents them with a significant headache: it seems they will have to purchase Qin weapons and armor.

The Qin people would also send envoys to the western states, which means that the Qin people would also sell weapons and armor to those western states. If they didn't buy them, what would happen if other states attacked with weapons and armor they bought from the Qin people?

Either everyone has Qin weapons and armor, or no one does. If others have them and they don't, then they will be in a dangerous situation.

This was definitely part of the Qin people's plan. The Qin people were forcing them to buy. They were polite on the surface, but in reality, they were extremely evil and cunning!

Even though they knew it was a trap set by the Qin people, they still had to jump in. They didn't even dare to offend the Qin people, at least not before they had just as good weapons and armor as the Qin people.

Moreover, the Qin people also possessed mysterious cannons, which they deliberately did not bring, in order not to let them see that they also possessed cannons.

However, we cannot let the Qin people underestimate us. We must make them realize that we are also very strong, not to be trifled with, and a nation that can engage in equal dialogue.

Otherwise, if the Qin people perceived the disparity in strength between the two sides as too great, it would create even greater problems in future relations. Euthydemus I summoned a minister, whispered a few words in his ear, and the minister left the stadium after hearing them.

Wang Ling and the others naturally noticed the minister's departure and knew that Euthydemus I had sent him away to try to save face, but they didn't care. The Qin Dynasty was not only superior to the Bactrians in terms of military equipment.

What they see now is merely a glimpse of the might of the Great Qin, like a frog at the bottom of a well seeing the moon in the sky. When they truly understand the Great Qin, they will be like a mayfly seeing the clear sky.

This sentence seems to have been said to them by the young master; it sounds quite interesting.

The competition continued, but after the soldiers' competition, the running, long jump, and high jump events became entertainment for both sides. Even when their own people won, the audience in the stands rarely cheered.

They weren't stupid; they could all see that they had lost to the Qin in the weapons competition, and that their armor and weapons were inferior to the Qin's. What if they encountered the Qin army on the battlefield in the future...?

It's one thing that the Qin people had powerful weapons, but judging from their performance when they first appeared, the Qin army was by no means weak on the battlefield.

As all the competitions concluded and the audience prepared to leave, a man suddenly walked into the arena and announced loudly, "Citizens, please do not rush to leave! To welcome the envoys of the Great Qin Dynasty, the great Basel has prepared a special performance and invites all citizens to watch it together!"

Is there another performance? Or did Basel specially prepare it? I'll have to see.

Some astute individuals had already guessed that Baseles was restless and wanted to get revenge because he had lost the armor and weapon competition to the Qin people.

That makes it even more worth watching to see how Basel tries to get back at them.

The audience members who had stood up returned to their seats, and a group of soldiers entered the stadium to clear away debris, clearly to make room for the performance.

Is the intention to clear the area for a beast fight, a duel, or a group battle?

The stadium also hosts some rather bloody competitions, such as human-versus-beast fights and human-versus-human combat, which attract a large audience each time.

Outside the stadium, in Bactria Prison, the minister who left the stadium appeared. This was the deepest part of the prison, where serious criminals were held, almost all of whom had someone's life on their hands.

The dim light in the prison suddenly brightened, but this was actually a sensory illusion. The prison lights had not changed; it was just that the prisoners here turned their attention to the noble minister who had arrived.

The minister did not go to the deepest part. He looked at the end of the prison corridor and said, "You are all serious criminals. The crimes you have committed deserve only death, not life."

Only the minister's voice echoed in the prison; it seemed that there was no one else there but him and the soldiers guarding him.

But the minister knew that many prisoners were watching him at that moment, and if these serious criminals managed to break free of their chains and escape from the prison, they might take the opportunity to attack him.

Some of the serious criminals detained here killed simply because they wanted to kill, because killing felt good, and for no other reason.

Normally, these people would never be allowed to leave alive; they wouldn't even have the chance to be sent to the arena to fight wild beasts.

The minister then changed the subject: "However, the merciful Baselus has decided to give you a chance to live."

As soon as the minister finished speaking, an arrogant voice rang out: "A chance to live? Do we still have a chance to live? Are we supposed to beg for mercy from that shameless usurper like you, his lackey?"

The minister remained unperturbed by the arrogant mockery and calmly said, "There's no need to beg for mercy. You will earn your own chance to live."

This piqued the interest of the arrogant voice's owner, "We have to fight for it ourselves? Do you think we're going to be the ones fighting for our lives when the enemy attacks? Aren't you afraid that if you release us, we'll fight you to the death?"

Generally, there is no other reason to release death row inmates of this caliber unless the enemy has reached the city walls and the situation is extremely critical.

The minister said, "As for letting them out, if any of you want to fight us, you are welcome to do so at any time. However, I advise you not to do so, as that will cost you your last chance to live."

"Your chance to survive is simple: win the duel in the stadium, and I will provide you with weapons and armor."

It sounds like they only need to win a duel in the stadium to survive, but things are never that simple.

Moreover, the fact that they were given weapons and armor indicates that this duel was far from simple.

Could it be that they've caught some terrifying beast and need to send them to deal with it?

It's also possible that they captured a group of formidable prisoners and wanted them to fight the enemy. Those people loved watching humans fight beasts and humans fight each other, and they enjoyed it before they were imprisoned here.

Although they had guessed they would be sent to the stadium to fight a terrifying enemy, they had no other choice. As the minister had said, they were destined to die, but this was their only chance.

Although many of the prisoners imprisoned here are no longer afraid of death, they still want to live if they have the chance to live.

Even the most wicked can only continue to kill and commit evil if they are alive.

The arrogant voice said, "Fine, we can agree to your request, but we need to rest for a while. You don't want to see us, in our weakened state, fighting and killing each other, do you?"

They are serious criminals, and the food they are given each day is only enough to keep them from starving to death before their execution. Even though they were very strong before they went to prison, they are now all emaciated.

Only by making the prisoners hungry and weak can they be more easily managed and prevented from causing trouble.

The owner of the arrogant voice thought his demands would be met, but was surprised to be rejected.

"There is no time for you to rest. You have to leave immediately. I can only guarantee that you will have a full meal before you go to the stadium."

(End of this chapter)