Zhou Bing was fine, but Tang Wen had never been an examiner before.
His hesitant steps, seen by those below the stage who aspired to become commanders, were interpreted as a lack of confidence.
In an instant, everyone who wanted to pass the selection and become a commander hoped to draw Tang Wen.
A newly promoted commander—was there a better challenge target than him?
Dozens of captains below the stage stared intently at Tang Wen.
The leadership on the stage noticed this.
General Zhou smiled and said, "Commander Tang, why don't you go first?"
"Yes, General."
Tang Wen responded and, under Zhou Bing's concerned gaze, walked down the stage and headed straight to the No. 1 area in the center of the square.
Along the way, many people cast eager glances at him.
Tang Wen felt frustrated. These guys all see me as an easy target!
The No. 1 assessment area was the size of a standard basketball court.
He stood in a stance, Entering Stillness, and silently waited for the start.
In less than five minutes, dozens of people finished drawing lots.
Five people drew the No. 1 lot.
"They got him!"
Seeing that they had drawn Tang Wen, the other examinees couldn't help but look at them with envy.
"These guys are really lucky!"
"Yeah, fighting Tang Wen—no offense, but I think I can win."
"I've been studying the Mountain-Cracking Cannon Fist for years, and I'm just one step away from a breakthrough. What about Tang Wen? Has he even practiced the Cannon Fist?"
"He only joined the hunting camp a few months ago and just recently became a formal guard. Do you think he's had the chance to practice?"
"What if all five of them defeat him? What would happen then?"
"Don't joke around. Have you forgotten how Tang Wen looked during training?"
"Training is training, but actual combat is different."
"Exactly, among all the commanders, he's definitely the weakest."
"Right, not practicing the Cannon Fist is a no-go."
"How do you know he hasn't practiced it?"
"Haha, as I said earlier, he's only been a guard for a few months. Can he even understand the Visualization Diagram?"
"The ones who drew Tang Wen seem to be all experts from the Guards and the hunting camp."
"This is going to be interesting."
"..."
Tang Wen had already decided on his strategy. He opened his eyes and looked around.
He saw five examinees with excitement in their eyes.
These guys are excited?
What? Do they think they can last long enough against me?
He then looked to the side.
At the No. 2 assessment area, the examiner was Zhou Bing.
Facing another newly promoted commander, those who drew Zhou Bing didn't look relaxed at all.
In fact, they felt extremely unlucky.
Their feelings were understandable. Even if they hadn't known much about Zhou Bing before, they had just heard General Zhou introduce her combat achievements: "She has slain three enemy commanders!"
Slain three enemy commanders.
Commanders aren't weeds by the roadside that you can just cut down with a stick.
The two Guard captains who drew Zhou Bing exchanged glances, feeling utterly dejected.
The other three in their group noticed something was off and asked them about it.
The Guard captains replied honestly, "This Commander Zhou, she's only been in combat for a little over a month."
"What?"
"Before that, she was training with us in the same place. It wasn't until the end of last month that she went to the battlefield."
"And then she slew three enemy commanders?"
"Yes, and before that, when she was a captain in the hunting camp, she was the most formidable captain."
People's perceptions of Tang Wen and Zhou Bing were completely different.
"Examinees, step forward."
As General Zhao, who was acting as the referee, gave the command, a spear-and-shield soldier walked towards Tang Wen.
The spear was a short steel spear, and the shield was a heavy steel shield.
Clang!
The steel spear struck the thick shield, producing a resounding echo.
The spear-and-shield soldier's eyes were filled with anticipation: today was the day he would defeat the Commander and become the Commander himself!
"Begin!"
The spear-and-shield soldier immediately lunged towards Tang Wen, trying to close the distance.
The reason these people thought Tang Wen was easy to bully was partly because the story of him defeating an Awakened with stones was well-known in the Guard Barracks.
Everyone knew he was skilled at throwing stones, making him a formidable mid-to-long-range fighter.
If they could just get close to him in close combat, wouldn't that guarantee a win?
Not only would they win, but they'd win big, right?
However, to everyone's confusion, Tang Wen didn't pull out any stones.
In the blink of an eye, the spear-and-shield soldier was right in front of him.
Tang Wen drew the long sword from his back, took a step forward, and slashed horizontally.
Clang!
The sword and spear clashed.
"Ah!"
The spear-and-shield soldier cried out in pain.
The steel spear flew out of his hand.
The intense collision numbed his palm, and the pain quickly spread throughout his entire right side.
Before he could react, Tang Wen delivered a powerful front kick, slamming it into the steel shield he had raised.
Under the astonished gazes of the onlookers, the spear-and-shield soldier, now disarmed, was sent flying out of the selection arena!
"Damn! That's insane!"
The spectators leaned back in shock.
General Zhao twitched his lips: "Disqualified."
Looking at the unlucky guy who had been sent flying, he didn't even know what the guy's real skill level was.
There was no way to tell—he hadn't even had a chance to show his abilities before being taken out in one move.
The spear-and-shield soldier lay on the ground, dazed and confused, his head ringing, his face filled with disbelief, as if he were thinking, "Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?"
"This... this?"
Tang Wen's sword was that fast, and his strength that great?
The onlookers were dumbfounded.
They looked at each other, mouths agape, unable to speak.
"Take a fifteen-minute break."
After General Zhao spoke, Tang Wen shook his head and said, "General, no need for a break. There are four more. Let's just finish this quickly."
"Are you sure?"
Tang Wen nodded. "I've got a lot of training to do today for the selection. I'm in a hurry."
General Zhao chuckled. This kid, treating the selection as if it were less important than his training.
Each selection break was fifteen minutes.
With five people, that would mean four breaks, totaling an hour.
Tang Wen thought it was unnecessary.
General Zhao was speechless, feeling like he'd just been shown up by this kid.
"Second one, get ready."
"Begin!"
The second contestant was from the Guards, tall and lean, wielding dual swords.
It was clear he was an agile fighter.
But agility didn't work against Tang Wen. Over the past month, he had been training daily with hundreds of pounds of weight, and his Traceless Step had already leveled up.
[Traceless Step, Proficient (927/3000)]
At this moment, he was only wearing two pieces of inner armor weighing a mere two hundred and forty pounds, which didn't hinder his speed at all.
Whoosh!
The dual-sword Guard, who had been circling to find an opening, suddenly saw Tang Wen's figure flash before him, raising his sword for a downward slash!
He was horrified, quickly raising both swords to block with all his strength.
Having just witnessed Tang Wen's power, he didn't dare hold back.
But in the next moment, Tang Wen suddenly retracted his sword.
A feint?
The dual-sword Guard's heart sank, but it was too late to withdraw his move.
Tang Wen kicked him in the waist, sending him flying out of the ring.
With a thud, he landed outside the circle.
The surroundings fell silent.
In just a few breaths, another challenger had been defeated.
Those who had previously discussed Tang Wen turned red and pale in turns.
Some cast doubtful glances their way:
Wasn't Tang Wen supposed to be weak?
Weren't the challengers supposed to be experts?
Weren't they just analyzing everything so confidently? Weren't the challengers supposed to be skilled?
Yet, two people in a row couldn't even last two minutes combined?
Is this it?
They were so embarrassed that they lowered their heads, wishing they could find a hole to crawl into.
General Zhao covered his forehead and announced helplessly, "The selection... is disqualified."
In truth, it wasn't hard to see with his discerning eye.
The two who had faced Tang Wen were both elite individuals with considerable strength.
But they had the misfortune of encountering Tang Wen, a monster.
"Hold on for a moment," General Zhao said to Tan
g Wen. "Commander Tang, you need to let the examinees demonstrate their abilities."
In other words, go easy on
them.
Tang Wen nodded. "Alright, let's go, no problem."
With General Zhao's words, the three who had already lost hope immediately perked up.
Because they saw Tang Wen put down his sword.
An opportunity!
This was their chance!
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