Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Constant Shenanigans, Escalating Stakes
"Afraid of dying, are we, kid?" the quartermaster asked with an amused laugh.
Tang Wen smiled. ’Who isn’t afraid of dying?’
"Hmph! The heaviest Scale Armor weighs 120 jin! A regular Guard can barely walk in it, let alone you, who wants to wear it under another 60 jin of Armor."
"How will I know if I don’t try?"
"Captain Zhou, you’re just going to let him carry on like this?"
Zhou Bing’s expression was icy, and she remained silent.
"Fine! Let’s see if you can even move in it!"
With the heavy Scale Armor on, Tang Wen instantly felt a greater sense of security.
’Why didn’t I think of this sooner? If I wore this for daily training, I’d improve even faster.’
As for the 120 jin of weight, he paid it no mind.
Tang Wen tightened the Scale Armor, fitting it snugly against his undergarments to ensure it wouldn’t make noise when he ran.
Watching him spin and leap without stopping for a good while, the quartermaster’s jaw dropped.
After the two left, he turned to check the Scale Armor in the wooden box. ’Did I get the weight wrong just now? Did I give him the light one?’
Back home, the two drank tea and rested while Tangtang busied herself in the kitchen.
At dawn the next day, Tang Wen put on his Inner Armor. As he was putting on the rest of his Armor, he discovered a cloth pouch sewn onto the inside, with a bulging bundle stuffed within.
He pulled it out and saw large chunks of brown sugar and some thick strips of dried meat wrapped in Kraft Paper. Deep inside, there was also a pair of flints.
It was heavy, weighing a good six or seven jin.
Never mind the dried meat—the brown sugar was very valuable.
It wasn’t much cheaper than tea leaves.
Tang Wen silently stuffed the bundle back into his Armor, secretly wondering how much money his money-loving big sister had spent on this sugar.
When the two of them left, the door to Tangtang’s room, who was always an early riser, was tightly shut.
Tang Wen glanced at her room and opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing and left with Zhou Bing.
This trip wasn’t going to be peaceful.
He had a strange premonition.
It was just like the feeling he’d had the first time he was being followed in the forest.
That was why he had insisted on wearing the Inner Armor.
"Giddy-up! Giddy-up!"
"Captain, it’s clear ahead."
"Good. Stay alert."
Thirty li after leaving camp, Tang Wen’s Hunting Team One was sent out as scouts.
Wu Tian, Liu Su, and the others scouted the road up ahead. Tang Wen and Zhou Bing lagged slightly behind, Tang Wen holding a Hand Crossbow loaded with a Whistling Arrow.
If there was trouble, his primary task was to fire the Whistling Arrow immediately to alert the main force behind them.
As for any potential attacks, Zhou Bing would be the one to intercept them for him.
Fortunately, the journey was tense but uneventful.
Eleven Hunting Teams, plus General Zhou and Commander Zhao, made for a total of nearly two hundred people.
They arrived at the open-pit coal mine shortly after four in the afternoon.
WHINNY!
After running for over a hundred li, the tall horse beneath Tang Wen was so tired its tongue was hanging out.
When the stablehand from the mine’s logistics came to take the horse, he had a puzzled look on his face.
’This young man has a muscular chest, but he’s not fat. Why is the horse so exhausted?’
’Didn’t it get enough to eat? Or is this horse just old?’
The mining rights to the coal mine currently belonged to Tang Wen’s Flame Camp. The miners and Guards at the mine were all their own people.
"General! The hot water is ready. We’ve slaughtered three fat pigs and three goats so the brothers from the Hunting Teams can have a good meal, soak their feet, and relieve their fatigue."
"Good. Teams 10 and 11, stand guard. Everyone else, enter the camp and rest."
"Yes, sir!"
Two teams, more than thirty people, stepped forward.
The Hunting Teams in the camp varied in size. Smaller ones, like Tang Wen’s Team One, had only eight members.
Larger teams had nearly twenty.
Tang Wen had asked Zhou Bing about this disparity in numbers on the way.
Zhou Bing had said flatly, "I can take on ten of them by myself. Wu Tian’s group of three can handle the rest."
Tang Wen did the math quickly and quipped, "Then the four of us can just applaud. I’m great at applauding."
Zhou Bing shot him a glare.
Perhaps it was a privilege for the elite, but their team wasn’t assigned to night watch duty.
The members of Team One slept in the same room, still wearing their Armor.
Zhou Bing and Tang Wen slept on the beds, while the others slept on straw.
Although they shared a room, everyone was silent, with no desire for small talk.
WHOO!
In the early morning, the low sound of a horn echoed.
The miners were about to start their shift.
The Hunting Teams were already up and about.
While eating breakfast in the mine’s mess hall, someone looked outside. Then more and more people started looking out.
Tang Wen peered through the thin mist and saw a group of cavalry on a distant ridge.
"The people from Black Mountain Camp are here. The eleven Hunting Team captains, step forward."
Zhou Bing and the other captains stood in a line, weapons in hand.
Tang Wen noticed they weren’t wearing Armor.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.
The sound of horse hooves rang out. There were more people on the opposing side than expected.
There were over four hundred of them. Apart from the three leaders who wore Silver Armor, the rest were in black Armor.
"Something’s not right." Commander Zhao’s solemn voice reached everyone’s ears. "I don’t recognize the auras of half these people."
General Zhou snorted coldly. "The Black Mountain Ghosts are probably up to no good again."
"Whoa!"
A cavalryman wearing a black faceplate rode closer and shouted, "By order of the Black Mountain King, the rules of the martial competition are changed! Only those under the age of 24 may compete. The other rules remain unchanged."
"Haha! What a coincidence! I’m 23 this year," Commander Zhao’s voice boomed.
Tang Wen and the others burst out laughing.
"Zhao, you shameless bastard! You old fart are at least 53!" one of the men in Silver Armor across from them cursed, his voice full of power.
Commander Zhao snorted. "Hei the Third! Who’s the real shameless bastard here? Can’t you Black Mountain Ghosts afford to lose? You keep changing the rules, and now only those under 24 can fight? Why don’t you just have your four-year-olds compete?"
"You lot from Fire Camp have won three times. Did we men of Black Mountain say anything? This is the first year we’ve changed the rules. What’s wrong with changing them twice? Who’s the one who can’t afford to lose?"
"Why didn’t you give us prior notice about changing the rules?"
"It’s not too late to say it now. We want fighters under 24, men or women. The competition can be postponed for three days. You’re free to go back and get your people!"
Huh?
Tang Wen and his teammates exchanged glances.
You could say the other side was playing dirty, but they also seemed quite open about it.
They were even allowing them to go back for reinforcements.
But if they were only allowing people under 24 to compete, why not say so earlier?
’Could it be they really just decided to change the rules on the spot?’
Commander Zhao didn’t speak. This turn of events was beyond his expectations as well.
He originally thought the Black Mountain Ghosts were going to play dirty, but he hadn’t expected them to offer a postponement of several days.
"Calling for people is too much trouble! I really am 23. Look at me, don’t I look it?"
Commander Zhao took off his helmet and winked at his men behind him.
"You do!"
"Commander, you’re so young!"
"Haha, Commander, you just celebrated your 22nd birthday yesterday! I can prove it."
The crowd from Flame Camp roared with laughter.
The opposing side cursed and grumbled.
After a while of this commotion, the Silver Armor General from the middle of the Black Mountain Camp ranks rode forward. "Zhou Datou, you’ve been doing Martial Arts Training for half your life. Don’t tell me you can’t even determine bone age by touch? You can personally inspect the people I’m sending up."
General Zhou finally spoke. "My people have no desire to be inspected by you."
"No need!"
Just then, a middle-aged man walked out from the Black Mountain Camp’s ranks. He looked at General Zhou and Commander Zhao and said, "One of you is a little over 51, and the other is 47 and a half."
Commander Zhao’s face darkened. ’They came prepared.’
General Zhou’s expression was calm. "You’ve got plenty of tricks from the Evil Path. What other ploys do you have? Lay them all out."
"Fine! I won’t hide it from you, Zhou Datou! This time, we’ll fight to the death on the stage. Our Black Mountain King is prepared to raise the stakes! If our person can win six matches in a row, we want the mining rights for six years! Conversely, if one of your people sweeps six matches, then for the next six years, you can dig all the coal you want! Dig this place empty for all we care. How about it? Do you understand?"
The members of the Hunting Teams looked at each other, their eyes filled with suspicion and uncertainty.
’Are the Black Mountain Ghosts that confident?’
’Could it be they’ve found some incredible young master?’
