Rebirth of a Star General: Chapter 61
THE ART OF WAR
Translator: Sylph
Editor: Elsa
The edge of the blade was close to her face with a vague hint of blood. The scene left the audience wide-eyed and all of them gasped in alarm.
Liang Ping couldn’t help but blurt out, “Be careful!”
Swordsmanship was different from spearmanship. A spear was more dangerous than a crossbow and a sword more dangerous than a spear. If one was not careful, they would bleed. Given Huang Xiong’s strength, if He Yan couldn’t hold his sword, then he would be in trouble.
This brat. How can he be distracted at a time like this even if he’s usually a carefree person? Liang Ping was deeply anxious as being distracted during sword duels was a taboo!
Huang Xiong saw the opportunity and took advantage of this moment. He was about to slash at her, his sword pointing at He Yan’s neck. There was no way for He Yan to avoid it but the young man raised his head and smiled wryly.
Damn, Huang Xiong cursed in his heart. He had to stop. In an instant, He Yan’s sword on her left hand was on top of his long sword and the sword on her right hand was behind him. In a panic, Huang Xiong bent down to avoid. He saw the boy’s smile widen and his mandarin duck swords made a single cut, slashing Huang Xiong’s head straight. Huang Xiong wanted to reach his hand out to block it but he was already a step too late.
The blades stopped in front of his forehead. However, due to the ferocious force behind the strike, a small wound was inflicted on his forehead. And a fresh line of blood began to draw.
The audience was silent.
After a long while, He Yan put away the sword at her side and took out a crumpled handkerchief. She handed it to him, “Here.”
Huang Xiong looked at He Yan’s handkerchief without accepting it, “Just now, you weren’t distracted? Were you trying to deceive me?”
“Soldiers aren’t afraid of deception,” He Yan smiled, “What do you think?”
She had been in this line of field for so many years. Of course, she knew that nothing should be taken lightly and she should’ve been even more focused during competitions. She shouldn’t be swayed even if the emperor came, not to mention Xiao Jue. Huang Xiong’s sword technique was superb unlike her, so how could she win easily if she didn’t deploy some tricks? So, she deliberately made a ploy to lure Huang Xiong to take the bait like when a mantis catches the cicada but had an Oriole on its back. [1]
With that said, she was quite smart. Xiao Jue would have never thought that the ‘stupid’ person he evaluated at that time would be so quick-witted. When she thought of this, He Yan proudly looked down at the stage to see if Xiao Jue was looking at her with admiration. Who knew that there was no trace of Xiao Jue. Not even Shen Han was there. Except for Cheng Lisu, who waved at her excitedly.
Did he just leave like that? He Yan was dumbfounded.
Did he actually see her win?
Before she could figure this out, there was a huge crowd of people hailing around her. Half of the new recruits were completely impressed by her. Her crossbow, spear and swordsmanship were so exquisite that they thought the young man was worthy of praise. However, the other half was even more off-putted by her arrogance and muttered, “It’s not righteous to only use schemes and tricks. If you have the ability, you should fight people in an upright manner. It’s precisely because someone’s inferior to their opponents that they would turn to deception.”
“That only shows that people are smart!” someone sneered.
Wang Ba walked out from the crowd with mixed feelings. On one hand, he hoped that He Yan would keep winning to show that He Yan was truly a strong man. It was understandable that he lost at the hands of a strong opponent. After all, no one in the entire Liang Zhou Guards could beat him.
On the other hand, Wang Ba was very unhappy that he was the only one who had to call him ‘boss’ despite so many people having lost to He Yan.
Why?
When he thought about it, Huang Xiong was over forty years old. Having lost to the hands of a sixteen-year-old boy seemed a bit worse than his situation. Thinking about this, Wang Ba’s heart settled down. He temporarily let out a sigh.
……
Two people were walking leisurely in the woods under the Bai Yue Mountain.
The vegetation was dense and the shade from the sun made the surroundings cool and refreshing. There were also birds chirping, and the scenery alone was unique to Bai Yue Mountain.
“You just saw the arena competition,” Xiao Jue said, “What did you think?”
Shen Han thought about it carefully before he said, “Liang Ping has recruited a good soldier and He Yan is a good seedling. He is a rare talent who can wield a crossbow, spear and a sword. It’s not easy for him to do so and I can’t find another one in this group of new recruits from Liang Zhou.”
“How was his sword technique?” Xiao Jue enquired again.
“He Yan’s sword skills were not as skilled and subtle as Huang Xiong’s, but he was more clever with his footwork, had critical thinking skills and knew how to apply deception into his duel.” Shen Han replied.
He Yan’s shortcomings were very obvious. If the match dragged on for another minute, He Yan would definitely be outplayed. He probably knew this himself, so he pretended to be distracted. Huang Xiong fell right into the trap by making an impulsive move. He Yan was able to gain an advantage at the end and defeat him instead.
“What do you think about recruiting him into the Nine Banners Battalion?” Xiao Jue said thoughtlessly.
“This young man is resourceful and not overly courageous. He is also skilled with a bow and horse, has excellent martial art skills and is said to be literate. If you are looking for someone from this group of new recruits, he should be the best choice.” Shen Han replied cautiously.
“You think so too?” Xiao Jue turned around, his tone undisputed.
When Shen Han observed the youth’s face, the Xiao family’s young general looked strangely stoic at the moment when he had always been happy or angry. Shen Han couldn’t perceive his thoughts but felt that he didn’t seem to agree with his opinions.
“General….do you think there’s something wrong with him?” Xiao Jue slowly drew out the words, “There is something wrong with this person.”
Shen Han was stunned.
“He was not very skilled in the sword competition today but the footwork he used could only be of someone who had trained in the Assault Battalion Infantry.”
When the infantrymen of the Assault Battalion enter the battlefield, they would always be in the frontline. Their footwork had to be extremely flexible because of their high chances of being killed. When He Yan and Huang Xiong duelled, he was not as skilled as Huang Xiong but He Yan dodged every single attack from him. Xiao Jue knew that the subconscious retreating and dodging were skills honed at the Assault Battalion. He Yan probably noticed it himself. He deliberately changed his ways to avoid being discovered. However, muscle memory was difficult to change.
“This….this….” Shen Han stuttered, “How is this possible? He’s only sixteen. Has he been to war before?”
“It’s precisely impossible that makes him problematic.” Xiao Jue said.
Now that the conversation was tense, Shen Han must be cautious. He hesitated and asked, “General, what should we do now?”
“I’m going to test this man.” Xiao Jue replied.
“How does General Xiao plan to test him?”
“Didn’t he set up a ring arena? One game a day and he swore to win every game? Tomorrow, you will pick three instructors to compete with him in a mounted archery contest.”
Shen Han was startled and hesitated for a moment, “Is that a good idea? If he wins….”
If He Yan wins, how will the recruits see their instructors?
Xiao Jue stopped and faintly said, “If he wins, there must clearly be something wrong with him”
“There won’t be such a genius in the world. Even if there were, he wouldn’t appear as a Liang Zhou Guard.”
[1] It satirizes those who only care about their immediate interests and ignore the disasters behind them; warns against those who are short-sighted, stunned, and ignorant of future troubles.
