Chapter 143: What a Big Commotion

  Normally, Xia Ya only needed to glare at the magician, and he would be so scared that his legs would go soft and he would offer flattering courtesy. But now, Xia Ya glared at Doro with round eyes, but this guy was firm in expression, without any sign of wavering.

  After a long time, Xia Ya finally sighed: "Okay!"

  Taro was overjoyed and bowed deeply to Xia Ya: "Master, if I can return successfully this time, I will be granted the title of magician. I will definitely come to you!" Xia Ya burst out laughing and looked at Taro: "You're useless, you can't even lift a hand or carry a load on your shoulder, you eat more than others but do less work. What use would I have for you?" However, afterwards Xia Ya went up and hugged Taro tightly, whispering in his ear: "Hey, although I don't think much of you and often tease you, we've been through thick and thin together on the battlefield."

  Although the words were light, the sincerity in his tone was rare. The magician's hands relaxed, and the bag he was holding also fell to the ground. His face showed a hint of stupidity, and then his eyes gradually flashed with emotion: "Me, that, Xia Ya, you," Fool, call me old master! Xia Ya let go of Duoduo and knocked him heavily on the forehead. Then took two steps back, narrowed his eyes and said, "You don't have to leave now. After all, the trial period is 100 days, how long has it been? There's still time! Your current skills, that life-curse magic, every time you use it, you consume your life force, so you've never tried to use it, and you don't know what its power is like. With your current skills, even if you go to the Wildfire Plains, you'll be eaten by monsters in less than two days. And that Chaos Territory, the forest sea where the elves live, I heard it's even more dangerous than the Wildfire Plains. If you go there, I'm afraid you'll become a monster's feces before you know it. Hmm, there are still many days left, don't rush to leave, these days, let me teach you well, and teach you some self-defense martial arts."

  It's also more reassuring when you're outside."

  Todor was moved to tears, but Xia Ya tilted her head and shouted loudly: "Sharuba! Katō!!!"

  Before long, I heard Xia Ya's roar and saw Salba and Kato running out of the backyard, both holding rice bowls in their hands. Salba had a mouthful of greasy food and muttered unclearly: "Damn it, you're still yelling during meals, do you want to live or not!"

  Xia Ya smiled and pushed Duo Duo: "This guy is going out to do a desperate business, these days, you have time, help me teach him some skills."

  The magician was thrown at two cavalrymen from the ranks, and Shaya walked back into his room by himself.

  He had stored up many things in his heart today. At this moment, sitting in the room, many thoughts surged up in his mind, but suddenly he couldn't help but think of a question.

  Previously, whether it was General Adrik or that old witch Cavishil, both of them seemed to mention a word - faith!

  This was probably the first time in his life that Tudi had been alone and introspective, and these serious and profound questions were also the first to be thought of in his heart. The young Tudi probably still didn't understand what "faith" really meant at this moment.

  But even Duoduo Luo, someone he looked down on in his daily life, had conviction.

  If I don't have faith, it seems like something is missing.

  The appointment of General Adrick was rejected by the Senate, and this news quickly spread throughout the imperial capital under the dissemination of those who were concerned. The result of this matter is threefold: some people think that the Senate slapped the emperor in the face. Some people think that the Senate slapped itself in the face, while others think that the Senate may be standing together with the warlord party.

  However, these rumors spread in the imperial capital, but a small message came from the palace: it is said that the Emperor himself heard that the Senate had rejected Adelric's appointment on that day, not only did he not get angry, but instead laughed heartily, and drank two more cups of wine at dinner that night. That night, he also summoned a newly selected beautiful maid to his side. This appointment was then resubmitted by His Majesty to the House of Lords, passed on the same day, and took effect immediately after being handed over to the Ministry of War.

  However, General Adrick himself did not attend the noble council to participate in the audit process. Instead, he was invited to the Imperial Military Academy that day and gave a passionate speech to hundreds of students. This famous imperial general had a great reputation among the students, and his speech made the young students enthusiastic. The academy was stirred up, and many graduates revised their enlistment applications, with half of them filling out their volunteer forms for the "13th Cavalry Regiment", which General Adrick had served in for the longest time.

  Some people even intercepted General Adrick after the speech and asked him to be his guard or deputy.

  It is said that Adric was choked with hot tears, but could only refuse these students' requests.

  These messages reached the ears of General Rourou, who was then at home having his luggage packed and preparing to set off for the 13th Army. Upon hearing this news, it is said that General Rourou let out a long sigh and suddenly became depressed and disinterested, dismissing his attendants and sitting alone for a long time. In the evening, he got drunk. After getting drunk, General Rourou drew his sword and carved a line of words on the wall.

  "Hot blood boils! No way to serve the country!!"

  The next day, Fatty woke up and saw the words he had carved on the wall with his sword. He burst out laughing and waved his hand to erase the marks on the wall.

  Chubby didn't even go to say goodbye to Xia Ya, and instead sent a letter to Tu Bao through someone else. He then left the imperial capital with his entourage and guards, heading to take up his post at the 13th Cavalry Regiment.

  On the same day, a senior instructor at the Imperial Academy, a former imperial general officer known as "Mad Dog" Giren, formally submitted his resignation to the academy and applied for transfer to the Imperial Department.

  The letter was strongly worded and stated that if he could not be transferred this time, he would rather retire and go home, giving up his identity as a soldier.

  The application was delivered to the War Department that day, and by nightfall a copy of it had appeared on the desk in the study of a quiet mansion on the outskirts of Osgiliath.

  An elderly man with white hair held a magnifying glass, his cloudy old eyes carefully read through the application, and then let out a long sigh. The back of the elder's hand was thin, with bulging veins, finally letting out a long sigh.

  He lifted his gaze to the wall, where a broken sword hung, its blade only one-third remaining, with serrations at the break, and a faint green tint on the edge. The old man hesitated for a moment before picking up a pen and writing his name on the application form: Minas.

  Gren's application, in the military department, some people laughed coldly after reading it. Originally, the fate of this application was destined to be thrown into a certain trash can. However, at the last moment, the copy file signed with the name "Minas" arrived at the military department, and some people read it, making a change in the final result.

  On the same day, General Greene's application was approved.

  "Colonel Grien, instructor at the Imperial Military Academy, has been found to be incompetent in his teaching and has misled students. He is hereby stripped of his position as an instructor at the Imperial Military Academy and demoted to his original rank. He will be reassigned to a local defense unit in Moll County. It is hoped that Colonel Grien will take this as a warning, reform his ways, and make amends by serving the Empire with distinction, so as not to bring shame upon the Imperial Eagle Flag."

  After Green received the transfer order issued by the military department, he didn't even look at those words such as "teaching is not a square", but only saw the sentence "appointed as the camp officer of the local defense flag team in Mole County" and laughed wildly three times.

  After laughing, this crazy dog general tore the order from the headquarters into pieces and threw it into the trash can, and also raised a middle finger.

  "Cut the crap!"

  Adrick was promoted to Vice Minister of Military Affairs and immediately dispatched to inspect the southern military district. Rul also left the imperial capital, and Green had already set off for Mor County. Only Tuer remained in the imperial capital, still waiting anxiously for the official appointment documents from the Ministry of War. The process of reviewing his title in the noble assembly was not yet complete, making Tuer quite anxious. However, fortunately, news of his promotion and transfer to become the military equipment officer of Mor County had already spread, and it was said that he had been summoned by His Majesty. News of his title from the noble assembly had also come out, and as a result, there were no more petty people coming to disturb him.

  After all, a lone and helpless turtle is easy to bully. But with the title of Baron and the position of Military Commander who holds the power of tens of thousands of troops in a county, the turtle has its own capital, and those petty people dare not provoke him.

  He took advantage of these few days of freedom and joy to finally remember the companions he met on the way to the Imperial Capital, and sent someone to contact Afreeca of the Wolf's Fang Fifty Squad. Of course, Lantis' Kuro was also drawn in. After gathering twice and getting drunk twice, Shaya slightly revealed his intentions, and Afreeca readily agreed.

  Setting aside Xia Ya's kindness to Afreca, Tu Jue will soon hold the military and political power of a county, becoming a powerful force. Following such a leader, he can also mix with an official position in the future, which is much stronger than being a nameless Jianghu warrior.

  A Jie Le Ka Te quickly expressed that he would bring all the brothers of Wolf Tooth 50th Regiment to follow Xia Ya Du to take office, and from now on, even if they were under the command of Tu Tui.

  As for Gu Luo, the spy leader of Lantis naturally felt even more relieved. He had already determined that Xi Ya was not an ordinary person when he was on his way, and sure enough, after arriving in the imperial capital for only a few days, he received news that he had been promoted to become the military equipment chief of a county and was also conferred with a hereditary baron title!!

  It seems that the Byzantine Emperor highly appreciates this person, and Gu Tuo is not yet twenty years old, with such imperial favor, looking to the future, his prospects are boundless! Such a star of hope is naturally worth making great efforts to befriend. After Gu Luo returned, he reported to his superiors and decided to increase the budget, sparing no expense to get close to this rising star in the Byzantine Empire's political arena.

  He catered to his tastes, Gu Lao thought for a long time and decided that this guy was a martial arts expert who had risen to fame through military achievements. He must be a man of martial valor, so sending him gold, silver, or wealth would be too mundane and might not win his true friendship. After much deliberation, he finally prepared a special gift and personally delivered it to Xia Ya's residence.

  This gift is not gold, silver or precious jewels, nor a beautiful dancing girl, but a bow!

  The people of Lantis are not only famous for their naval power, but also have a unique longbow troop. The people of Lantis are skilled in archery, especially the longbow. This bow given to Shaya is of high quality.

  The bow's body is made of rare white rhinoceros leather, with a steel bowstring made from the tendons of a giant snake that grows in the ocean. The bow was soaked in whale glue for three years before it was completed. It is said that the craftsman who made this bow was a famous bow-making master in the Lantis Kingdom. In his youth, he traveled across the continent and somehow managed to learn some techniques from the dwarves. After returning to Lantis, he became a renowned bow-maker. This bow was one of three that he made in his later years, with the other two being owned by famous warriors in the Lantis Kingdom.

  The bow handed over to Xia Ya, the bow body is as long as 1.5 meters, almost as tall as a person, named "Ju Xiao", when used, the arrow shot out is strong and sharp, with a breaking sound like a tsunami!

  It can be seen that Gu Luo spent a lot of money to make friends with Xia Ya!

  Xia Ya was overjoyed to have obtained this bow, which was just suitable for someone of his height and strength. Tu Bie pulled open the large bow in front of Gu Luo and tried it out, feeling its power as soon as he drew it back!

  With the strength of a tortoise, like a monster, and with concentration and calmness, he finally managed to draw the bow full!

  With a try, the bowstring vibrated, humming loudly like a strong gust of wind! Although no arrow was shot, just the force of the vibrating bowstring caused a sheet of white paper on the table in front to split into two with a ripping sound.

  The tortoise was overjoyed in his heart and tried again continuously.

  But as a result, Tui Bei's strength was only enough to pull the bow full three times, and on the fourth time, he ran out of energy!

  "What a great bow!" Xia Ya was extremely excited, after all, he was young and full of energy, and he loved this kind of powerful weapon the most. This bow was so strong that even he could only pull it to its limit three times, clearly an extraordinary treasure!

  Gu Luo watched Xia Ya try the bow and couldn't help but change his expression.

  After the bow was delivered, the warriors guarding him were curious and tried it out. The captain of his guards had mid-fourth-tier strength, but no matter how hard he tried, even using his internal energy, he still couldn't pull the bow to its full draw!

  Look at this Xia Ya, casually pull it full

  He tried three times but didn't even use his fighting spirit... It seems this guy is indeed a strong man who defeated Hastings on the battlefield!

  With great restraint, Gu Luo presented twenty iron-backed broken armor arrows and smiled: "Summer Ya, these arrows may not be made by that master bow maker, but they are crafted by skilled craftsmen in Lantis. The three-edged arrowhead has extraordinary killing power! The heavy arrow body weighs three times more than usual, making it perfect for use with this strong bow. More importantly, the arrowheads have been coated with a fish oil extracted from a magical fish that grows in the sea, which has been marinated and smoked three times, allowing its potency to penetrate deeply. Although it's not toxic, it can help break through some magical defenses."

  Demon attribute?

  Xia Ya's eyes lit up.

  The ancient Lou sent it out, and he let out a sigh of relief in his heart... The value of this quiver is immeasurable, not to mention. And these twenty simple specially-made iron-spined armor-piercing arrows are worth hundreds of gold coins! This generous gift has already emptied the annual budget of Gu Lou, it can be seen that he has spent a lot of money.

  After Xia Ya got this bow, he was like a child who had gotten his favorite toy and couldn't bear to put it down, even putting it beside him when he slept. His shooting skills were actually not very good... after all, he came from the mountains and fields and hadn't practiced archery carefully before. However, after getting this bow, whenever he had free time during the day, he would set up a target in the courtyard and try shooting a few times. As a result, Xia Ya's archery skills were indeed average, out of ten arrows shot at fifty paces, three or four would miss the mark, and among those that hit the mark, only one or two could hit the center.

  Unfortunately, the people around him, Katō and Sharuba were both cavalrymen by origin, and their horseback riding skills were quite skilled, but their archery was just average. Avfrekat was a proper warrior by origin, and his archery had some exposure, but it was only proficient, far from being an expert. After trying, he was slightly stronger than Shaya.

  Having a good bow is not enough, I still need to find someone to practice this archery well, otherwise even if the bow and arrow are good, it's useless if you can't hit the target.

  Xia Ya sighed.

  Afureka, who was standing beside him, lit up: "Shaya-sama, I think I have a way... The martial arts tournament has already begun. This time, warriors from all over the empire have gathered in the imperial capital, among whom are some famous archers. Why don't we go and watch the competition? We might gain something."

  Competition?

  Xia Ya also slapped her forehead.

  Such a big event, I've been busy these past few days and almost forgot! This is quite the grand spectacle! With Xia Ya's personality, how could she not go and take a good look?

  Tortoise is a person who thinks of something and does it immediately, and he didn't wait any longer, directly pulling Afreca out the door and heading to the arena.

  The annual martial arts competition of the Byzantine Empire has begun, but it's still some days before the final match, and these days are just some preliminary matches.

  Awei Leikaite knew that Xiaya didn't understand these rules, so he roughly explained them on the way:

  "This martial arts tournament is the best way for Byzantine warriors to make a name for themselves. If they can stand out in the competition and win fame and fortune, not only will they receive a generous prize, but it will also be beneficial for their future prospects as a warrior. If they can be recognized by some noble or dignitary and be offered a high salary, they can leap into the upper echelons of society and enter the imperial aristocracy.

  The tournament is held every year at the beginning of spring, but the process has become increasingly complex. Generally speaking, warriors who achieved good results in last year's competition can directly register for the main event without having to go through the qualifying rounds. However, new warriors or those who performed poorly in the previous year's competition have no choice but to start from the qualifying rounds.

  The rules are roughly as follows:"

  After the preliminary registration, according to the rules of the competition, the warriors who registered on the same day can draw their opponents on the same day and arrange a match for that day. A win earns one point, while a loss deducts one point.

  The preliminary round lasts for ten days, and each warrior can participate in the competition without any restrictions. After the end of the ten-day preliminary round, the points of each person will be calculated, and the top one hundred people will be able to enter the final round.

  However, there is a rule that if you win consecutively, your points will be doubled! Winning the first game on the spot gets 1 point, winning the second game on the spot gets 2 points, and winning the third game on the spot gets 4 points! The more consecutive wins, the more astonishing the score will be!

  Here is the translation:

  "Speaking of which, Avfreca felt a bit proud: "Two years ago in the qualifying round, I won four games in a row, which was quite rare at the time. However, I heard that in all previous competitions, only one person had ever gone on to win from the qualifying round without losing a single game!"

  "What's wrong? Consecutive wins?" Xia Ya frowned and said, "What you're saying is that the opponents are decided by a temporary draw, which can't be helped. What if a low-level warrior draws a high-ranking opponent, wouldn't that be terrible?"

  Africa smiled faintly: "This is fate! If one's own strength is not enough, even if they draw a good lot and luckily advance to the finals, in the end they will still lose."

  He paused for a moment, then added: "However, there are also some guys who are not strong enough, knowing that they have no hope of achieving results in the regular season. Some people take advantage of the situation and expect to draw weaker opponents in the preseason, mix up a few wins, and make a name for themselves. However, these people are in the minority."

  "When it comes to the final stage, just mixing is not enough. The final stage still uses a draw, but each person can only have three chances to lose, and after losing three times, they will be directly eliminated."

  "It's even harder to win consecutively in the final match!"

  Two people walked and talked, before long, they arrived at the arena in the Imperial City!

  In the distance, at the end of this road, a tall building stood there, over ten meters high, like a city wall, with giant stones stacked up, and flags fluttering on top. As far as the eye could see, people crowded the road, wearing all sorts of leather armor and carrying long knives, swords, iron hammers, battle-axes, and other colorful weapons.

  Under the huge building, several large gates were open, and dozens of strong men stood there, but the warriors coming and going still surrounded the road, making it impossible to pass through!

  From far away, just beyond the city walls of the arena, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed...