Chapter 111: Military Might on the Drill Ground (2)

"Speaking nonsense? You are so eager for victory that you cannot listen to others' opinions, and you only have eyes for offense. If that isn't being short-sighted and greedy for quick success, what is it? Putting all your elite troops in offensive positions while neglecting defense—if that isn't being short-sighted, what is?" Gu Yun laughed coldly. She walked back to the general she had just disarmed, glanced lightly at the position of the scabbard at his waist, and with a casual backhand flick, the long sword fell perfectly back into the scabbard without the slightest deviation.

Everything happened too fast. The crowd hadn't even reacted yet. It wasn't until Gu Yun turned and walked away that the general broke out in a cold sweat from lingering fear. If there had been the slightest deviation, the sword would not have entered the scabbard, but his own body...

Facing Gu Yun's reprimand, Su Yu naturally knew in his heart that his way of leading troops was indeed flawed, but he still could not accept criticism from a woman. "Even if I truly have faults, it is not a woman's place to lecture me!"

The anger that had slightly subsided due to that brief exchange was ignited once more by Su Yu's words. Coldly staring at Su Yu's arrogant face, Gu Yun raised the corners of her lips in a faint, imperceptible smile and asked in an extremely light and calm voice, "You look down on women, don't you?"

The woman before him had cold, piercing eyes, and her soft voice sounded somewhat hair-raising. Su Yu stood there stunned, and before he could answer, Gu Yun parted her cherry lips again and said in a chilling voice, "Then do you dare to make another bet with a woman? You and I will train troops at the same time. Half a month from now, we shall see whose soldiers are more valiant." She didn't like the look of Su Yu—or more accurately, she didn't like the look of those men on the drill ground who hadn't spoken but were expressing their disdain for women with their eyes. She really didn't like it!

She wants to compete with him in training troops?! Su Yu burst into loud laughter. Did she think she was something special just because she knew a few amateur moves? It wasn't just Su Yu; on the drill ground, everyone except for the pensive Su Ren let out a scoff.

Waving his hand, Su Yu said with disdain, "I won't bet on the art of training troops with a woman."

With her arms crossed over her chest, Gu Yun retorted, "A defeated opponent, what right do you have to speak of courage!"

Su Yu's eyes widened suddenly, and he shouted, "Who is the defeated opponent?!" If his second brother hadn't stopped him just now, he would have made her look good!

Gu Yun sneered and replied with impatience, "You wouldn't have forgotten so quickly that you just lost a round, would you? Enough, less nonsense. Be quick about it—do you dare to bet with a woman?"

Gu Yun said the word "woman" with extra emphasis, waiting for the fish to take the bait again. A challenge—for someone like Su Yu, it worked every time.

Sure enough, Su Yu slapped his thigh and hummed, "Bet it is! This time I will make you lose until you are thoroughly convinced!"

Gu Yun laughed inwardly. Su Yu, oh Su Yu, didn't the bet you just lost give you a hint? Never be self-righteous.

Su Ren, who had been silent and whose emotions were hard to read, suddenly laughed aloud, "Alright, I will be the witness. What do you two want to bet on? A head-on battle? A city-seizing battle? Or..."

Before Su Ren could finish, Gu Yun's mind shifted, and she smiled, "You must have competed in these many times before. How about something different this time?"

Su Yu replied ungraciously, "What do you want to compete in?"

Gu Yun raised her lips slightly and spat out two words, "Night raid."

A night raid? Su Ren and Su Yu were both stunned. Su Yu frowned at Gu Yun and asked coldly, "Are you sure you want to compete in a night raid?" Don't say he bullied her later; night raids were always the most difficult and tested the soldiers' abilities the most.

She might not be Su Yu's match in marching and formations, but when it came to surprise attacks and field battles, she would never fall behind! Gu Yun nodded firmly and smiled, "Sure. The General's Mansion has three thousand elite soldiers and good generals; it's perfect for an exercise to see whose soldiers, the ones trained by me or Su Yu, can break through the elite defense line and succeed in a night raid."

"Fine." Since she wasn't afraid of death, he would fulfill her wish. Pointing to the thousands of soldiers below, Su Yu said, "These are General Su's elites. I'll let you choose first."

Gu Yun glanced at the sea of soldiers below. They were all physically strong with sharp eyes. She didn't doubt their status as elites, but the disdain and disgust in their eyes were also clearly expressed. It wasn't that she didn't have the ability to tame them, but half a month wasn't enough time!

Withdrawing her gaze, Gu Yun said loudly, "I don't want them."

As soon as she finished speaking, fierce glares shot straight at her. Gu Yun remained unmoved and continued, "Since these are all elites of the Su Army, they must have received a lot of training. Using them as candidates for the competition, how can it show the strength of Su Yu and me? I think it's better to select five hundred small soldiers from the new recruits and train them. Only then will this competition be fair."

What she said made sense. This time, Su Yu didn't say much and replied readily, "Fine, I agree!"

Su Ren sighed in admiration. Truly clever. Giving up the elites was indeed a wise move. How could these soldiers who had fought on the battlefield for years listen to her reprimands!

He didn't know how her troop-training skills were, but in terms of quick-wittedness and methods, she was indeed a cut above his third brother. Su Ren felt a hint of anticipation for this competition. Pointing to the vast field in front of them, Su Ren smiled, "This drill ground is only so big. If you both train here, aren't you afraid the other will see your training methods?"

Su Yu shook his head, looking as if victory was already in his grasp, "What if she sees? It will save her from being completely ignorant and wasting the new recruit seedlings of my Su Army."

Gu Yun squinted and looked over. After seeing the dense forest behind the drill ground, she was overjoyed. That was the venue she wanted. "You keep the drill ground; I'll just take that forest behind it. Starting tomorrow, half a month is the deadline."

"Fine!" Su Yu shouted, declaring the official start of the competition.

Watching the two walk away, Su Ren laughed softly. These two seemed to have forgotten the stakes.

At dawn, as the rising sun cast its first rays, the summer heat seemed to have already arrived. On the large drill ground, one thousand soldiers stood in neat rows. Though the crowd was moving, it was deathly silent, showing the Su Army's excellent discipline.

On the high platform built in front of the drill ground, two figures, one tall and one short, stood on either side. Su Yu was wearing a dark blue military uniform, tall and imposing. Glancing sideways at Gu Yun, who was dressed in black with her long hair tied high in a tight outfit, he had to admit that a woman dressed like this really had a unique charm.

Su Ren stepped onto the high platform leisurely, stood between the two, and smiled, "These are all good seedlings selected from the Su Army's new recruits. You two can start choosing."

Su Yu said generously, "Let her go first."

Gu Yun glanced at the young and nervous faces below the platform. She naturally knew that no one wanted to be chosen by her; after all, in their minds, she and Su Yu were as different as clouds and mud. But she would soon let them know who was the cloud and who was the mud!

Gu Yun replied indifferently, "Since they are all good seedlings, there's no need to waste effort choosing. Split them in two; the left side belongs to you, and the right side belongs to me."

In the previously quiet army, a small commotion was audible. Those on the left secretly rejoiced, while those on the right couldn't help but feel deflated and annoyed.

Gu Yun and Su Yu walked toward their respective armies. Gu Yun pointed to the forest about two kilometers behind the drill ground and ordered loudly, "All soldiers on the right, listen to the order! Target: the dense forest behind the mountain. Time: half a quarter of an hour. Run forward! Move out!"

"Yes!" Although the soldiers were unwilling, the Su Army's strict discipline made them quickly execute Gu Yun's order. In an instant, a long line of three abreast ran toward the forest in a grand manner.

Su Ren watched Gu Yun and the team of five hundred new recruits moving away with great interest. He was very curious and looked forward to seeing what they would look like in half a month.

The group of five hundred ran forward and reached the forest behind the mountain before long. Gu Yun stood before them, barely reaching their chests. Although they were still standing in neat rows and standing quietly, the sharp Gu Yun still caught coldness and disdain, and even mocking looks, on their young and vigorous faces.

Gu Yun didn't get angry or upset. She understood very well that in an army that valued force and military merit, the only way to make them submit to her was to surpass them! With a cold, expressionless face that couldn't be called a smile, Gu Yun said coldly, "With your qualifications and abilities, you wouldn't have had the chance to enter the General's Mansion drill ground. The reason you can stand here today is because of a competition between Su Yu and me. If I lose this competition, you can only return to the army camp with your heads down in shame. If I win, you will have the chance to stay at the General's Mansion drill ground. I want to know, do you have the confidence?"

Answering her was silence. Being assigned to her meant certain defeat; what confidence was there to speak of?!

Gu Yun's eyes turned cold, and she shouted sternly, "Do you?!"

"Yes." The scattered response made one even more frustrated.

"Didn't you eat?"

"Yes!" Finally, there was a bit of momentum.

Gu Yun scoffed, shook her head, and sneered, "These are the good seedlings of the Su Army?!"

As soon as she finished speaking, what answered her this time was a uniform, low roar, "Yes!"

Sure enough, they were young people. Just like Su Yu, they wouldn't move without being provoked! Raising her index finger, Gu Yun pointed to the mountain peak behind the forest and said coldly to this group of soldiers who were all unconvinced, "I know you are unconvinced and all want to follow Su Yu. How about this? I'll give you a chance. See that mountain ahead? I will set off with you in a moment. Whoever reaches the top before me, I will let him go to Su Yu's group. But those who are slower than me had better honestly accept training, or else get out!"

The back mountain was located directly behind the General's Mansion, six or seven kilometers from the drill ground, and the mountain was nearly one thousand meters high. The amount of exercise from this forest to the top was estimated to be about the same as a five-kilometer cross-country run. As soon as Gu Yun said this, surprise and disdain flashed across the cold faces of all the soldiers. Competing in marching with a weak woman like her was truly an insult to them. But then, thinking that this would allow them to go to Deputy General Su Yu's side, it was actually a great thing.

Gu Yun raised her lips slightly and asked, "Do you understand?"

"Understand!" This time, they answered both loudly and uniformly.

Gu Yun headed toward the back mountain with them and shouted, "Start!" Five hundred people immediately scrambled toward the back mountain.

Gu Yun narrowed her cold eyes. A bunch of brutes—if she wasn't sure, how could she possibly compete with you!

Gu Yun had thought last night that even if they were new recruits, they wouldn't be willing to take orders from her; she had to give them a wake-up call. Fighting them one-on-one would be too exhausting. Field cross-country had always been her specialty, and choosing the right path was too important for field battles! So she had already scouted the back mountain once last night and chosen the shortest and easiest path to the top. Although it was a bit of a shortcut, all is fair in war, isn't it?

Gu Yun was petite, but her movements were very fast, and she had great endurance. Coupled with the route she had chosen, although she didn't have much of an advantage at the beginning, her advantage immediately became apparent once she started climbing the mountain.

On the top of the mountain, a tall and strong figure and a lean man reached the top almost at the same time. The two looked at each other and saw appreciation and provocation in each other's eyes. They had been competing with each other since they were in the new recruit camp. Although they didn't know each other's names, they had long regarded each other as rivals. Just as the two climbed to the peak and rushed toward the giant rock at the highest point together, they discovered a black shadow coming up from another direction. At this moment, a foot had already stepped on the giant rock that represented victory.

Gu Yun panted heavily, leaning against the giant rock. No, the stamina of this body was still weak. Taking advantage of the opportunity to train the new recruits, she also had to hone herself! Feeling two knife-like gazes behind her, Gu Yun turned around and couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. She didn't expect that someone had already reached the top. Scanning their faces, Gu Yun asked in a low voice, "What are your names?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 112 =====