Tiger Guards

Chapter 5: Competitive Victory
Later, Zhao Ji recovered his strength.

During this period, three young men from the village came together to apply to become Tiger Guards. It was difficult for civilians without connections to be selected.

Unless you are gifted and strong, such people have already made a name for themselves in the martial arts world early on and will naturally be included in the invitation sequence.

Gradually, Zhao Ji also came to his senses.

This time we are recruiting tiger soldiers, and basically all the wealthy and poor families in the county have to send people. Protecting the emperor is a matter of loyalty and righteousness, and they cannot refuse.

It is also a way to clean up the "three evils" in the county, which can be regarded as a detoxification method and also a way to turn harm into treasure.

Naturally, his own family could not escape. Every family had sons who applied for the job. Why didn't the Zhao family send anyone?

The Zhao family could only be considered truly integrated into the local community if they sent people out and died with their fellow villagers in the king's service.

Giving the Zhao family a chance to produce talent is also a kind of recognition in a sense.

The county is detoxifying, and each family is actually also detoxifying, for example, you are the scourge of your family.

Zhao Ji kept this thought in his heart and did not feel terrified. The event of the county recruiting tiger guards would have different effects if interpreted from different angles.

But for the vast majority of poor scholars and wealthy children who have no inheritance rights or do not have huge family wealth to inherit, this is a shortcut to success.

This is Hubenlang, whose original title was Qimenlang.

If the emperor had not been disgraced, how could such an opportunity have fallen upon a second son from a poor family like me?

I'm afraid there are many people in the surrounding counties who bring their own horses and dry food, just to seek a position.

No matter how chaotic the world is, the basic order of the countryside remains the same.

After Hu Ban finished recording the information for the three newcomers, he led them out of the house. Some people who were resting in the open space in the market also gathered together.

Zhao Ji looked around and saw a few more people, including a familiar face who lived nearby. The other person smiled at him when he saw him.

He must have gone out to visit someone just now and just came back.

Hu Ban looked around and said, "Pei Xiu, Han Dong, Zhao Ji, and Shen Tulan, step out. The rest of you, make way."

Zhao Ji and his four companions came before Hu Ban. Hu Ban looked at them with a serious expression and said, "You four are skilled in martial arts and have extraordinary courage. Now that there are twenty-four of you, we will choose two squad leaders and two squad leaders. First, compare the length of your weapons. If anyone disagrees, then we will compare their archery skills."

"Here!"

Pei Xiu bowed first, and Zhao Ji followed suit.

At this time, Guan Shang and another young man handed over weapons, including long and short wooden sticks and small leather shields.

Guan Shang handed Pei Xiu his most symmetrical long stick, and Pei Xiu said, "How about we compare short weapons first?"

"can."

One person answered, turning to look at Zhao Ji: "My name is Shen Tulan, from Baiyangli, Dongxiang."

There are four townships outside the city, including the central township of the city itself, which are five general divisions, each under the jurisdiction of the county commissioner.

The five departments of township supervision in the county are of the same nature as the five departments of inspectors in the county. They all divide the area into several parts and give them to commissioners for inspection and supervision.

Within the Wuxiang, a small county may have only one township, while a large county with a dense population may have several townships.

Zhao Ji was from Xixiang. He had no mount before and his range of activities was not far, so naturally he did not know Shen Tulan from Dongxiang.

After all, the Zhao family migrated from outside. If they wandered too far alone, they might be kidnapped and sold to the Huns, or locked up in a mine and forced to work themselves to death.

Zhao Ji noticed the provocation in Shen Tulan's eyes and knew that this person could not compete with Pei Xiu and wanted to use him as a stepping stone.

He didn't get angry, but smiled and said, "Hello, my name is Zhao Ji, from Xixiang."

The smile did not elicit a smile from Shen Tulan, who just stared at Zhao Ji with a fierce look.

Seeing Zhao Ji's smile gradually fade, Shen Tulan smiled instead: "You and I go first?"

"I can't ask for it."

Zhao Ji reached out and took the short stick from Guan Shang, trying the feel of it. The stick had been simply cut and the weight was similar to that of a sword, unlike a knife, which had a weight slightly forward.

Shen Tulan also took the short stick and small shield from another person and walked straight to the center of the field.

Zhao Ji also took the small shield and folded it over his left forearm. He picked up the wooden sword and short stick in his right hand and swung them a few times to test the feel. He turned to look at Pei Xiu and said, "Seventh Brother, let me show you what I can do."

"Aji, be careful. Alan is as strong as you."

Pei Xiu gave some instructions and retreated with Han Dong to Hu Ban's left and right.

Hu Ban, his left hand on the hilt of his sword, quietly watched the two men striking their stances on the field. Seeing them looking over, he said, "Let's see who's better. Later, there will be a long-handled weapon fight and rifle shooting. We must respect our comrades' camaraderie and refrain from using heavy blows."

Shen Tulan forced a smile and said, "Don't worry, sergeant. I know the seriousness of the matter."

Zhao Ji just nodded and turned back to observe Shen Tu Lan. When their eyes met, Shen Tu Lan suddenly raised his left arm and stepped forward with his shield. Zhao Ji did not dodge, but almost instinctively pushed his shield forward to collide with him.

At the time of the collision, both of them swung their wooden swords horizontally, aiming at the unprotected area on the other's waist.

They dodged almost at the same time, and their wooden swords hit the edge of their opponent's shield.

After the tentative fight, Shen Tulan did not stop, holding the shield in front of him, and stabbed straight forward with the wooden sword that was bounced back.

Zhao Ben could easily block it with his shield, but he also countered with his wooden sword.

The two men's wooden swords collided with each other, and they twisted their wrists almost at the same time, trying to remove or block each other's wooden swords.

But none of them succeeded, so they each took two steps back and their breathing became heavy.

Zhao Ji took a breath, said nothing, held the shield in front of him, and raised the wooden sword to stab.

Shen Tulan raised her shield to block, and when the two passed each other, Shen Tulan swung her sword backhandedly, but as expected, it was blocked by the wooden shield in front of Zhao Ji who turned slightly.

Almost in an instant, Zhao Ji pushed the ground with his right leg, and with a lunge-like attack posture, he pushed the shield with his left arm, hitting Shen Tulan's right arm.

Just when Shen Tulan was unstable, Zhao Jimu thrust out his sword and hit Shen Tulan's chest.

Shen Tu Lan's steps became more disorderly due to the pain. She tried to retreat, but Zhao Ji caught up with her half a step and thrust out another sword, piercing Shen Tu Lan's exposed right shoulder.

Zhao Ji stopped chasing, Shen Tulan took two steps back and stood up, moving her right shoulder slightly.

Although it didn't hurt much and didn't affect his movements, he knew he was defeated. He gave up holding the shield and ignored Zhao Ji, saying to Hu Ban, "Sergeant Hu, I lost the short-weapon contest. Please use the long weapon."

"can."

Hu Ban did not refuse. Several people came forward and handed over long sticks, exchanging them for short sticks and wooden shields.

Zhao Ji held a stick in his hand and said to Shen Tulan, who was rubbing her right shoulder, "I can kill a wild boar with my iron halberd. Can you?"

"Don't mess with my mind!"

Shen Tulan stepped forward with the stick in both hands to stab, but Zhao Ji easily pushed it away. Then he pressed the stick down and stabbed forward, but Shen Tulan dodged it by moving sideways.

As he turned to dodge, he retracted his stick without even looking, and then stabbed it out with a swift and diagonal thrust.

As he stood still, the powerful stick only reached one foot in front of Zhao Ji.

Shen Tulan was horrified. He didn't expect Zhao Ji didn't take advantage of the situation to pursue him. It was too late for him to retract his stick, and the stick had lost its power.

Zhao Ji easily pushed it away and pressed forward with his stick to hit his right forearm holding the stick.

Zhao Ji didn't use much strength and easily took back the stick.

Shen Tulan's face flushed red, but she still returned the greeting with her stick. After Zhao Ji was silent and rude, Shen Tulan turned to Hu Ban and said, "Sergeant Hu, I am defeated."

"Well, come and watch the battle from the side."

Hu Ban looked at Pei Xiu and Han Dong again and said, "It's your turn now."

Han Dong bowed and said: "I am no match for Seventh Brother. I am willing to fight with Zhao Aji."

Hu Ban looked at Zhao Ji: "How is Aji?"

"it is good."

Zhao Ji agreed, and Han Dong raised his hand to catch the long stick thrown by Shen Tulan, and said, "I won't take advantage of you. Let's fight again later."

"I won by being light and effortless."

Zhao Ji pointed his stick at Han Dong and said, "You come and attack."

Han Dong slowly stepped forward with his stick, made a tentative thrust, and quickly retreated without waiting for Zhao Ji's response.

After testing Zhao Ji's reaction speed, Han Dong glared and shouted, "Take my stick!"

When he saw him about to chop with his stick, Zhao Ji took a sideways step to avoid it and swung the stick diagonally with both hands.

Han Dong's stick fell to the ground, and Zhao Ji's stick also hit his left shoulder, but fortunately it was not the head of the stick.

Even so, Han Dong was almost knocked over.

Seeing this, Hu Ban frowned and looked at Pei Xiu: "Han Dong's skills are not very good, and you still say he is brave and good at fighting?"

"Sergeant, it was Aji who reacted quickly. He caught Han Dong's flaw when he made his move."

Pei Xiu was not surprised and explained, "Han Dong's martial arts skills are indeed weak, relying entirely on bravery. And Aji lives alone in Jishan, surrounded by ferocious wild beasts, so he is least afraid of Han Dong's aura."

It’s not that people like Han Dong are useless. When fighting with armor and swords, martial arts are really not important. What is important is courage!
Obviously Han Dong is not lacking in courage, and neither is Zhao Ji.

Hu Ban thought there was some truth in what he said, so he warned him, "You must urge Han Dong to practice martial arts diligently and protect the emperor. You can't just rely on courage."

"Here."

Hu Ban looked at Shen Tulan again and asked, "Would you like to compete with Aji in riding and archery?"

Shen Tulan said, "Zhao Ji is stronger than me. I want to challenge him to a duel."

Hu Ban went to see Zhao Ji: "Aji, are you willing?"

Zhao Ji looked at the unconvinced Shen Tulan, threw the long stick in his hand towards Guan Shang on the sidelines, and smiled: "I am willing."

Shen Tulan took a deep breath, took off her green-dyed coarse silk robe, tied her cuffs again, and then walked onto the field.

He examined Zhao Ji, who was wearing a deerskin coat, and looked for a suitable rope or something to grab onto.

Zhao Ji took a stance, he preferred fists and kicks to weapons.

If you can't control the equipment, you will get hurt, and blocking with the equipment is also very annoying...especially during competitions.

But fists and feet can only be used against each other head-on, without so many obstacles.

Shen Tulan used the sumo wrestling method, stepped forward and stretched out her right hand to grab Zhao Ji's deerskin coat.

Zhao Ji was unwilling to wrestle with him, so he twisted his waist to the right and thrust out his left elbow to hit the opponent's palm. He stopped and twisted his body to the left suddenly, while swinging his right elbow to hit Shen Tulan's chest, knocking him back three or four steps and causing him to fall backwards.

Shen Tulan felt such severe pain in her chest that she almost suffocated. Only after she fell down did she feel waves of pain in the palm of her right hand.

The people watching the battle looked at each other in bewilderment, finding it hard to accept such a quick defeat.

Zhao Ji stood in place, looking down at the shrinking totem on the palm of his right hand: Cutting through the thorns, level three, 24% increased damage.

Theoretically, Shen Tulan is definitely better than him.

He was almost fighting back according to his predecessor's fighting consciousness, and he had seen countless action scenes in movies and TV shows.

These movements and force techniques also seem to be included in the skill totem.

Even in the fight just now, Zhao Ji felt that it was more like an instinctive counterattack, as if... his body was idle.

His physical fitness, the reaction instincts of his predecessor, the correction and damage increase of the skill totem, and his own accumulation of body movements all led to this swift and fierce counterattack.

Noticing the fear and joy of the people around him, Zhao Ji took a few steps forward and reached out to pull Shen Tulan.

Shen Tulan grimaced in pain. Seeing his outstretched hand hanging in front of her, the ferocity in her eyes subsided a little, and she reached out to grab it, but was pulled up by Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji asked, "I hit you a little too hard. Is Lord Shentu okay?"

I feel that it will be difficult to improve the level of overcoming obstacles by defeating this person again. Perhaps the improvement effect will be limited after defeating someone of a similar level to Shen Tulan.

Do I have to kill enemies of this level before I can improve?
Shen Tulan rubbed her chest with her left hand, noticing Zhao Ji's strange look, and immediately replied, "It's fine. Thank you, Mr. Zhao, for holding back."

(End of this chapter)