"Go, go, go!"
The extremely bored soldiers walked towards the nearest competition platform with the three of them smiling happily.
As the saying goes, if you don't have two or three, how dare you go to Liangshan.
Ren Ning's decisiveness made Chen Mazi suddenly feel guilty.
But at this time, he was already unable to get off the tiger, and was dragged to the nearest competition stage by everyone.
There are two soldiers on the stage competing.
They were making a fuss about shooting arrows. At a distance of fifty steps, both sides were hitting or missing, and it was hard to tell who was better.
Ren Ning listened to the surroundings and couldn't help laughing.
The two people on the stage concentrated on every arrow they shot, calibrating and calibrating again, lest they fall behind by even half a point.
At first glance, one might think that the two of them had some life-or-death feud or that they had taken something precious as a bet.
In the end, they didn't have a big feud, and the bet turned out to be a tangerine.
Tangerine……
Ren Ning was speechless.
Rock Frontier Fortress is located in the western border, where the climate is hot and the land is dry. It is difficult to grow all kinds of fruits. It is not easy to eat smooth and tender oranges.
It was probably "expressed" in the past few days along with the letters home from his concubine Ren Xi.
Thinking of Ren Xi's family letter, Ren Ning thought of his promise. He turned to look at the numerous onlookers in the audience.
The competition stage mostly involves real combat. In addition to unleashing the soldiers' fighting spirit, resolving personal grudges, and testing their martial arts skills, it also plays a role in selecting talents.
There were once some soldiers who performed outstandingly on the competition stage and were noticed by some onlookers. They were immediately promoted to his personal guards and rose to the top in one step.
Of course, the personal soldiers of each general not only pay attention to outstanding martial arts, but also pay attention to loyalty. Therefore, there are very few soldiers who are favored by the goddess of luck.
But as long as there is a chance, no matter how low or small the pie is, the soldiers will still have hope.
Therefore, the competition arenas throughout the fortress are usually overcrowded after exercise every day.
It didn't take long for the two soldiers competing above to decide the winner.
Victory happily took the orange and shared it with his comrades in joy. The losing side gritted their teeth silently and finally strode towards the training ground.
Soon it was Ren Ning and Chen Mazi's turn.
In peacetime, the fortress usually encourages the soldiers to compete on the competition stage after doing exercises, so the setting procedure is relatively simple.
As long as both parties go to the warden near the competition platform to draw a bet, indicate each other's identity, pay attention to the points, and finally indicate the rewards, punishments or bets after the victory or defeat.
As for being injured in the ring, if you want to see a military doctor, you have to pay for it yourself or get military honors in exchange for it, instead of being treated for free like you are injured on the battlefield.
In addition, if you delay the training or dispatch of your own troops due to injury, you will be responsible for the consequences.
Nine out of ten soldiers are illiterate, so information such as identity and arms is usually written by the warden of the competition ring.
Ren Ning walked over.
He silently picked up the brush, licked the ink, and casually wrote down his name and military branch.
"Scout? What a good word."
The word "detention officer" is called "so-so" at best, and "horrible" at worst. When he saw Ren Ning's handwriting, his eyes suddenly lit up and he couldn't help but clapped his hands and applauded.
Scout?
Chen Mazi, who followed, was about to give his name and military branch, but at this moment he trembled violently.
Although the whole fortress did not say it directly, most of the soldiers knew one thing.
The number of scouts is the smallest among all arms, but they suffer the most casualties. Any scout who can return to the fortress alive is one of the rarest soldiers. When fighting alone, it is definitely not something that ordinary soldiers can match.
"Name, military type, and rewards and punishments?"
The jailer glanced at Chen Mazi expressionlessly, already drawing a cross in his mind for this guy whose expression was changing and hesitating.
Buzz~
Everyone was talking about it.
"Gee, he's a scout, not a cavalry." A colleague behind him couldn't help but complain on Chen Mazi's behalf, "Why didn't he tell me beforehand?"
"That's right, no wonder he dared to challenge us even though he was wearing a cane. It turns out he was trying to lure us into a trap."
…
Ren Ning glanced at the place where the sound came from.
Although the scouts ride horses, it is certainly true to say that they are a type of cavalry. In fact, this type of soldier tends to be more versatile, being able to fight both mounted and dismounted.
"You haven't reported your name yet?" Ren Ning scolded, "Don't forget who was aggressive in front of everyone just now."
When he said this, the audience behind him couldn't help but look at each other, and finally stopped talking.
With no way to hide in front of everyone, Chen Mazi had no choice but to shrink his neck and state his name and military branch.
"Datou?" Ren Ning asked Gu Datou next to him, "Have you thought about the punishment along the way?"
Gu Datou chuckled and rubbed his polished head, "Last time he caused me to receive ten lashes. I don't ask for more. If he loses, just twenty lashes will be enough."
Chen Mazi was furious, "Twenty lashes, Gu Datou, don't go too far."
"Twenty lashes is just what Datou asked for, I haven't mentioned it yet." Ren Ning seemed oblivious and glanced at Zhui Feng, who was tied up not far away.
"My horse hasn't been brushed for a long time, so I'll ask you for ten days' worth of water. Isn't that excessive?"
Chen Mazi breathed a sigh of relief and shook his head.
There was a heavy rain a few days ago. Although the water here in the Rock Frontier Fortress was not as exaggerated as the water flowing into the sea near the Lanmang tribe, it was still a heavy rain.
Almost everyone in the fortress took out everything they could to catch the rainwater, so there was enough water for a while.
At least it's not like the previous droughts, when the wells in the fortress had to be dug more than ten or twenty feet deep to get a trace of water.
Just after shaking his head, Chen Mazi suddenly felt something was wrong.
Both parties haven't even taken the stage yet, so why does he feel like he's going to lose?
This kind of thing that inflates the morale of others and destroys one's prestige is very bad!
Angrily, he finally resisted the urge to slap himself in the face, and then reported that he wanted rewards and punishments.
Not long after, the two finally reached the competition stage.
Boom!
Ren Ning threw away the crutch.
In a flash of cold light, the short knife that he had snatched from the Xiliang man had appeared in his hand.
The Yunchui Empire's steelmaking technology was far more advanced than Xiliang's, and the standard weapons in the fortress were much sharper than his current short sword.
It's just that Ren Ning has just returned to the fortress and hasn't changed to a weapon that suits him yet, so he uses this short sword first.
Chen Mazi did not use the standard weapons issued to him by the fortress. He picked through the weapon racks and finally selected a strange-shaped hinge.
With a whirring wave, he nodded with satisfaction. Looking back, he happened to see the red-to-black dagger in Ren Ning's hand.
With his head rumbling, Chen Mazi suddenly figured out where the black color on Ren Ning's knife came from, as if by divine help.
His hand suddenly became a little softer.
Since joining the army, Chen Mazi has been on the battlefield twice. The two battles encountered were scouts from Xiliang who came to spy on intelligence.
However, he was only one of the scouts who participated in the siege and had never fought against the other party. However, he still knew the capabilities of the scouts.
"Are you all ready?"
The wardens of the competition ring usually also serve as referees. Seeing both sides holding their weapons in a tense manner, they couldn't help but be very interested, and they also ran over to watch.
"Slow down." Chen Mazi quickly wiped his sweat, "Let's compete in archery. His leg was injured and he has difficulty moving. I don't want to take advantage of him."
After saying that, Zhang Mazi quickly hung the hinge back on the weapon rack and picked up another bow.
