Chapter 1718: Loophole in the Rules!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Buzz!
The words of the second Vice Marshal had the crowd in an uproar.
w.a.n.g Chong’s uncle-in-law, Li Lin, raised an eyebrow and uneasily said, “Chong-er, something isn’t right. Zhao Fengchen partic.i.p.ated in the Battle of Talas, and everyone in the realm knows the strength of the Xuanwu Army. If these people actually wanted to challenge someone, they would have chosen the weakest of the six, so why did the first two Vice Marshals challenge Zhao Fengchen one after the other?”
w.a.n.g Chong said nothing and continued to carefully inspect the drilling ground.
“It’s a scheme! They’re targeting Zhao Fengchen!” w.a.n.g Chong suddenly said.
“Ah?!”
Li Lin cried out in alarm and stared at w.a.n.g Chong.
Although he sensed that there was something a little inappropriate about the two Vice Marshals challenging Zhao Fengchen, he wasn’t as sure as w.a.n.g Chong.
Boom!
Meanwhile, in the distance, there was a thunderous boom and a sudden clamor, and then everything quieted down. Li Lin turned to look and saw that Zhao Fengchen had already defeated his foe and was withdrawing.
Even though his foe had been strong, he was still greatly lacking compared to Zhao Fengchen and the Xuanwu Army.
“Marshal Zhao! Marshal Zhao!”
Zhao Fengchen’s swift victory had won him the pa.s.sionate cheers of the young clan scions. The discussion stirred by two Vice Marshals in a row challenging Zhao Fengchen quickly settled down, with no one besides w.a.n.g Chong noticing the truth.
“See that Imperial Army Vice Marshal? But if you look carefully, you’ll notice that he’s not the only one of the twelve challengers staring at Zhao Fengchen,” w.a.n.g Chong commented.
Li Lin looked over and saw that as one Vice Marshal withdrew with his troops, he glanced at the challenger waiting at the edge of the drilling ground. Li Lin could clearly see the two exchange a strange glance.
“Not good! They really are colluding!”
Li Lin’s heart thumped as he immediately realized that w.a.n.g Chong was telling the truth.
“They’re planning to use the constant battles to wear Zhao Fengchen out, at which point Lord Zhao won’t be in peak condition and won’t be able to deal with the other Imperial Army Marshals, let alone challenge the Grand Marshals.”
Today’s compet.i.tion was not as simple as a selection for the three Grand Marshals. The fate of the empire was on the line. This was why so many clan patriarchs had appeared, knowing how sensitive this moment was.
w.a.n.g Chong’s brow creased, countless thoughts running through his mind.
On the northern end of the drilling ground, the First Prince’s advisor, Meng Tu, stepped forward and noted, “Your Highness, it seems like the King of Foreign Lands has noticed!”
Though he was speaking to the First Prince, his eyes were on Hou Junji.
With the Setting Sun Villa incident and Big Dipper City incident, the Eastern Palace had taken control of the soldiers of Beiting and Big Dipper, and some things had gradually floated to the surface, such as the ident.i.ty of the mysterious elder serving the First Prince.
Once they learned of the Ghost King’s true ident.i.ty, all the members of the Eastern Palace regarded him with utmost respect. While the First Prince was the one who had ordered this Imperial Army compet.i.tion, everyone knew who the real architect of this scheme was.
Upon hearing Meng Tu’s words, Hou Junji merely smiled.
“If he couldn’t even see this, that man would have never taken him as his disciple,” Hou Junji nonchalantly said.
After a few moments of rest, the third Vice Marshal galloped out.
“I also wish to challenge Marshal Zhao!”
This Vice Marshal didn’t even look at anyone else, his hands still on the reins of his horse as he spoke to Zhao Fengchen.
Whoooah!
The crowd was once more in an uproar at the third Vice Marshal’s words.
“What’s going on? Why did all three of them challenge Zhao Fengchen?”
“What about the other six Marshals? The three have all challenged the same person. This doesn’t seem fair!”
“Why are so many people targeting Marshal Zhao Fengchen? He’s going to get tired out if this continues, and then how can he continue on to the next round?!”
The crowd hadn’t noticed anything on the first and second occasion, but when the third Vice Marshal also challenged Zhao Fengchen, it just became too obvious. Zhao Fengchen also slightly grimaced at these words, clearly noticing something strange.
“Chong-er, what do we do? If we don’t stop them, this contest will clearly become unfair!” Li Lin frantically said. The First Prince was willing to go to any length to take control of the Imperial Army, but this was a little too despicable.
“There’s no need!”
w.a.n.g Chong shook his head and rejected Li Lin’s suggestion.
“Given that he dared to do this, the First Prince has naturally planned everything out. The twelve Vice Marshals will take turns stepping onto the field, and they’re allowed to pick any one of the six Marshals to challenge, so they can naturally challenge Zhao Fengchen. Nothing they do goes against the rules!”
There was no problem with the selection rules of the Imperial Army. The soldiers of the Imperial Army worked their way up from the bottom, and when they reached the rank of Vice Marshal, they could challenge the six Marshals. If one of the Marshals wasn’t strong enough, they would naturally be removed while the stronger one moved upward. This ensured that new blood was always flowing through the Imperial Army and that only the best reached the rank of Grand Marshal.
But the maker of those rules had never imagined that someone would use the rules to challenge the same person, because normally, a situation where this became relevant was impossible.
Li Lin paled at w.a.n.g Chong’s words. “Then what do we do? This isn’t a fair contest. If this continues, Zhao Fengchen won’t even have a chance to advance to challenge the Grand Marshals.”
“There’s no need to worry. It’s not the end yet.”
w.a.n.g Chong calmly looked across the drilling ground at Hou Junji.
This should all be his plan! But what is he really thinking? He can’t believe that this is really enough to defeat Zhao Fengchen and seize the Imperial Army, can he?
As these thoughts ran through his mind, w.a.n.g Chong’s face remained indifferent.
“Zhao Fengchen is not so easily defeated, and while the compet.i.tion doesn’t forbid someone from challenging one person again and again, I remember that, more than one hundred years ago, when these rules were first set up, there was a rule that a single person could not be challenged more than six times. Zhao Fengchen only needs to endure six rounds, so he can’t be completely tired out,” w.a.n.g Chong indifferently said.
The match quickly began. As the one being challenged, Zhao Fengchen did not have the right to refuse.
Bang!
There was a thundering of hooves as the two armies clashed. Unlike the first two, this Vice Marshal did not engage in a direct confrontation with Zhao Fengchen’s men.
He placed a hand on his saddle, soared into the air, and instantly unleashed dazzling saber energy as he slashed at Zhao Fengchen, completely ignoring the five hundred cavalry around him.
Clang!
There was an explosion of sparks in the air as sword clashed with saber, shockwaves ripping through the area. The third Vice Marshal was clearly lacking compared to the doughty Zhao Fengchen, and he was instantly blown back ten-some meters.
But this man was still extremely strong. While Zhao Fengchen was not unseated from his horse, his energy circulation became somewhat unsteady. He had clearly consumed significant amounts of energy.
Before Zhao Fengchen could attack, the Vice Marshal raised his left arm and loudly called out, “I concede!”
“Despicable! Too shameless!”
Bai Siling, who was standing behind w.a.n.g Chong, cried out in anger. Even she could see that the opponent hadn’t even been trying to defeat Zhao Fengchen. His goal had been to use his powerful cultivation to attack Zhao Fengchen and grind away at his strength.
Such blatant attempts were simply too shameless!
“There’s no need to worry. Zhao Fengchen won’t lose!” w.a.n.g Chong calmly said, startling Bai Siling.
“w.a.n.g Chong, you mean…” Bai Siling stammered.
w.a.n.g Chong chuckled. He would never underestimate just how low his opponents would go. Although he couldn’t predict every move they could make, nothing had yet happened outside of his expectations.
Bai Siling seemed to realize something and followed w.a.n.g Chong’s gaze.
Zhao Fengchen, after withdrawing from the battlefield, quickly removed a slender box from his bosom. Opening it, he took something out and swallowed it before anyone could get a clear look.
“b.a.s.t.a.r.d! He brought medicine!”
The members of the Eastern Palace all trembled in shock.
Zhao Fengchen was w.a.n.g Chong’s important ally in the Imperial Army and was one of the six Marshals, so he was the primary target of this operation.
While Zhao Fengchen had moved very quickly, they had still managed to catch a glimpse of what was inside the box.
Pft!
Bai Siling couldn’t help but laugh after she understood what was going on.
“You already sent him medicine! The Eastern Palace must be furious!”
In truth, Bai Siling had already looked over and seen the scowls on the faces of the First Prince and his advisors.
Steam rose out of Zhao Fengchen’s body as he rapidly recovered his energy, and the advisors paled even more. All of them began to turn to Hou Junji.