Chapter 940: The Little Guy’s Exhibition Match
“A series of mistakes?”
Ice Storm thought to herself. With the young man’s state of mind that allowed him to sleep soundly in such a noisy environment, it was impossible for him to make mistakes in the selection.
Things were getting more and more interesting.
Ice Storm pondered for a moment and said, “I want fifty recruits to take the Path of Glory. This one, that one, those three over there, and the top five who are the best at carrying stone locks, as well as this little guy.”
She picked forty-nine rat people who seemed to be the strongest in one go…
Together with the skinny little guy.
Those who were selected all rubbed their hands in excitement.
Although Ice Storm had just lost a hundred-man team battle.
The fewer people she commanded, the more important the commander’s personal valor was.
Everyone felt that even if Ice Storm was not good at commanding thousands of troops, it was more than enough to command at least thirty to fifty servants.
It was the best time to follow her now.
Once the war of glory really began, as long as they survived a few battles, they would have a chance to gain more power. They could even charge into the land of eternal Holy Light and slaughter everyone.
Even if they were torn into pieces by the d*mn magic, was it not much more glorious than staying in the arena and being a prop?
Therefore, the rat people who were chosen all puffed out their chests and pulled their muscles taut. They were unyielding, and they looked death in the eye, hoping to leave a deeper impression on Ice Storm.
Of course, the forty-nine burly men also quickly discovered that a “freak” had sneaked in among them.
“How is this kid qualified to partic.i.p.ate in Lady Ice Storm’s selection with us?”
“Does he still dare to walk the Path of Glory? Isn’t he afraid that he will fall down again, fall into a pit, and gain a hundred holes from being pierced by the sharp blades?”
“Has there been a mistake?”
“Kid, following Lady Ice Storm is a very dangerous thing. Only the strongest rat people are qualified to serve the trump card. You may not want your life, but be careful not to implicate us!”
The burly rat people shook their exaggerated muscles as they spoke to the youth who was silently preparing.
The rat people were existences who had been discriminated against in the Turan civilization.
Therefore, they would never miss the chance to discriminate against anyone weaker than them, especially before the meaningful eyes of the clan warriors.
The rat people who were eager to change their fates did not let go of any opportunity to show their “bravery.”
The youth named Leaf turned a deaf ear to them. His eyelashes did not even flutter.
He could not hear their mockery.
That was because his ears had been blocked by the screams of the villagers and the rumbling of houses burning and collapsing when his home had been destroyed.
Compared with the raging flames that burned down half of the mountain village, the mockery of these insignificant strangers was nothing more than a cool breeze on a summer afternoon.
Leaf took a deep breath and repeated the Reaper’s teachings in his mind several times.
He suddenly felt a hundred times more confident and full of fighting spirit.
As the brawny rat men pushed and shoved him with ill intentions, he stood at the Path of Glory’s starting point.
The so-called “Path of Glory” was a training and testing method pa.s.sed down for thousands of years by the Turan civilization’s military n.o.bles.
On the one-thousand-arm-long circular track that surrounded the entire training camp, there were pits, sling ropes, single logs, a mountain of knives filled with sharp blades, burning pools, and so on. There were dozens of obstacles.
Half of the obstacles tested agility.
The other half tested strength.
Meanwhile, all the obstacles tested the courage, wisdom, and will of a Turan warrior.
According to the legends, this was a sacred path that led to the Holy Mountain where one could meet the ancestral spirits.
Only real Turan warriors could pa.s.s the Path of Glory!
The scoundrels’ taunts were not without reason.
Over the past two days, seven gladiators had come to pick new recruits. Due to the high demand, there were many times when they could not be carefully selected. They could only point and draw a circle to test the scoundrels, including Leaf.
In the end, the teenager who had performed well in training, became horrible once he entered the Path of Glory.
Not only did he fall from the iron chain, he almost fell into a pit filled with sharp blades.
There was also another time when he decided to retreat.
No wonder the rat warriors, who were eager to wash away their dirty blood with glory, despised the cowardly and incompetent teenager.
However, with a cold snort in the cold wind, Ice Storm froze the noise that came from the rat people.
“Let’s begin!” she said expressionlessly.
Preet!
A thin and curved bone whistle in the disabled gladiator’s mouth let out a sharp and ear-piercing sound.
The fifty rat people recruits pushed each other and rushed out at the same time.
Although the first obstacle was still fifty arms away…
The compet.i.tion had already begun from the first step they took.
The circular track around the training camp was as wide as twenty to thirty arms.
Even so, it was not enough to accommodate fifty strong men, who were lined up in a row and driving side by side.
There was a great deal of attention paid to who was first and who was second.
Some obstacles, such as the iron chain suspended in the air, were more advantageous to climb up first because at that time the iron chain was in a static state and would not be disturbed by external forces.
But if the second person climbed up, the iron chain might sway and be extremely difficult to grasp.
As for the other obstacles, if someone was willing to be the vanguard, others would have a chance to hide behind and take advantage of it.
Everyone raised their arms and stood up like crabs, trying to seize the advantageous position, but pushing others into the most dangerous situation.
At once, a total of forty-nine mountains of meat and a leaf were squeezed together.
Even Ice Storm could not catch the thin youth’s figure in the blink of an eye.
The first obstacle was right in front of them.
Dozens of extremely sharp rocks were blocking the runway.
Every tester had to pick up a rock and run at least fifty arms’ distance before swinging the rock precisely to the designated area outside the runway.
There were big and small rocks, light and heavy rocks. Some of the rocks were relatively regular in shape, so it was easier for them to exert force. Some of the rocks were like petrified hedgehogs, so it was impossible for them to pick up the rocks.
Naturally, the rat people at the front of the group who had just won the “push-and-shove battle” had the chance to pick up the smallest, lightest, and most regular rocks.
The dozen or so strongest rat people quickly picked up the good stuff.
However, Ice Storm’s eyes were searching inside the mountain of meat that was rampaging.
To everyone’s surprise, Leaf was not the last one.
He somehow managed to squeeze out of the gap between the mountains of flesh like a loach. He was ranked in the top twenty and jumped into the pile of rocks.
Moreover, he did not choose the lightest, smallest, and easiest rock among the remaining rocks.
Instead, he chose a strangely shaped rock with sharp edges that could easily tear through flesh and blood.
“Look, what on Earth is this silly boy doing?”
“Has he lost his mind? He actually picked such a stone!”
“Be careful that the stone will fall and cut his neck!”
The rat people who had not been chosen by Ice Storm and could only watch from the sidelines booed loudly.
They had nothing to say to the other forty-nine burly men. They admitted that they were not as strong as these burly fellows.
However, they were extremely unconvinced that Leaf had been chosen to brave the Path of Glory.
The complaints that they did not dare to vent to Lady Ice Storm directly poured onto Leaf.
The disabled gladiators who were in charge of the training camp did not stop them.
Mocking the weak was the same as praising the strong. It was a right that the ancestors had given to the Turan people.
Even the lowly rat people had such rights.
However, Ice Storm’s eyes lit up.
“What a smart kid!
“Right now, the fifty test subjects are still close to each other. They can attack each other at any time.
“He is so skinny. No matter what his real combat ability is, he will definitely be a target that everyone will be happy to bully.
“If he chooses the lightest, smallest, and most labor-saving rock among the rest of the rocks, there will definitely be people who will be jealous and go forward to interfere with or even s.n.a.t.c.h it.
“Although he will most likely be able to kill the s.n.a.t.c.hers, he will certainly waste a lot of time and energy, which will affect the upcoming test.
“Choosing the weird-shaped rock seems to be a random and even wrong choice because of the dizziness. However, it will save a lot of trouble and save a lot of time and energy!”
As expected, the two burly men who were following Leaf were already attacking the youth from both sides with tacit understanding.
However, after they discovered Leaf’s “stupid” behavior, they hesitated for a moment.
Defeating Leaf was not their goal.
Deep down, they did not treat Leaf as a true compet.i.tor
They just wanted to pick up a suitable rock.
The two burly rat people looked at each other.
They changed directions at the same time and pounced toward a square rock that seemed to be easy to carry.
Leaf, on the other hand, steadily carried his own rock that no one wanted.
He carried a rock with extremely sharp edges that was like a meteor hammer.
Leaf walked very slowly and even seemed to be in no hurry. He did not mind at all. One burly rat person after another staggered past him.
Soon, he fell to the thirtieth place.
Behind him, there were only the idiots who were fighting for the rocks that were suitable for them.
But he still did not intend to speed up.
Instead, he took one step after another at his own pace.
It seemed that he had no intention of fighting for the first few places at all.
The surrounding rat people, including the two disabled gladiators who were in charge of the training camp, also thought that it was a miracle if the skinny boy could barely crawl over the Path of Glory. It was enough to wash away the shame of his cowardice and incompetence.
But Ice Storm’s eyes were getting sharper and sharper.
She stared at the boy’s nostrils and chest.
She found that Leaf’s nostrils were not expanding, his cheeks were not blushing, and his chest was as calm as a frozen lake.
“Stable. Shockingly stable!
“While everyone else was roaring and roaring, he was still allocating his stamina precisely and controlling the rhythm.
“He didn’t even use the energy of a single finger after he pa.s.sed the first obstacle. The real show is yet to come!”
Ice Storm was getting increasingly curious.
Who was the adult behind this childish-looking kid?
Who was it that taught a technique that even the warriors of the clan might not have mastered to a young rat boy?