chapter 34

Meng Wu carried his halberd and gave a squinted stare at his opponent . Although he didn’t believe that Gu Nan could defeat him, he remained wary and on guard .

The lion uses all of its strength to catch a rabbit .

Because of this, Meng Wu’s hand on his halberd grew tenser . Only after Gu Nan attacks can he launch his full strike .

Waiting on me to attack? As you wish .

Gu Nan narrowed her eyes at the apparent stalemate and lifted her spear . As if sensing this, Blackie suddenly galloped forward .

Only felt the fluttering of dust, when Meng Wu reacted she already arrived before him .

The next moment, a cold whistling sound of a spear hurtling towards his chest rang into his ears .

Fast!

Meng Wu felt a cold sweat on his back . He didn’t even notice her urge her horse forward .

Standing in the distance, Bai Nan looked onto the field, touching his beard and nodded .

It seems that her horse-riding skills have not dulled .

It’s a pity that this was all a misunderstanding . Gu Nan did absolutely nothing, it was all Blackie . She merely lifted the spear .

Just in time, Meng Wu lifted his halberd and successfully deflected the strike .

“Vhm!!”

There was a loud humming of vibrating metal, which shook the surrounding air . The soldiers sitting near the front felt an acute pain in their eardrum, quickly covered their ears .

As the spear and halberd collided, the difference began clear .

Gu Nan’s face remained unfazed, but Meng Wu’s turned slightly red . His eyes were of slight shock as his hands trembled .

“Neigh!!”

The force of the strike was transmitted down to his white horse, which buckled under the pressure, retreating back several steps .

The long halberd in his hands was shaken badly, and cold sweat dripped off his forehead .

His two hands were almost unable to maintain their grip . Just after a single clash, he concluded to her absurd strength .

He didn’t detect any qi fluctuations off her body, only relying upon her muscles to make this blow . But looking at this tall, still-slim girl, he could only gulp down his shock .

What kind of joke is this, this girl is so powerful?!

Physically stronger than a military commander at their peak condition . Are there really people blessed with divine physique? A girl like this?

Compared to Meng Wu, who shocked speechless, Gu Nan was having a pretty good time . After the longest span, she could finally battle somewhere other than that small courtyard .

She boldly shouted out, “Brother Meng! Come again!”

This kind of warrior’s excitement brought nods and cheers from some soldiers, shouting, “Good!”

“Miss Gu is a true hero!”

Gu Nan tightly clenched her spear .

Now it’s time to get serious .

Just then, Blackie had galloped forward without any warning . Even Gu Nan was slightly unprepared and didn’t have the time to use her full force .

Now, with her full strength and Blackie’s charging momentum, it’d be more than enough to land a strike of a thousand jin .

“Neigh!” Blackie cried out loudly, carrying her as if a black wind .

In a breath, it crossed a few tens of meters . With hardly time to react, Meng Wu was faced with the second strike .

Gu Nan’s spear is three meters long . A spear designed to attack large and close large . Any space within a few feet of the body can become an impenetrable defense .

She’s proficient in thrusting, slashing, and blocking . But most of all, the spear is for killing by a sudden piercing strike .

“Dang!” “Dang!” “Dang!” “Dang!”

A series of rapid sounds rumbled through the air, startling the birds to fly far away .

Meng Wu could only feel a sense of regret in his heart . Against such divine power, even with internal qi, it may still be a bitter fight .

Not to mention, it’s currently a one-sided fight . Relying on several years of battlefield experience, he could barely avoid Gu Nan’s tricks . Nonetheless, both his hands were red and swollen, even keeping grip onto the halberd might become impossible .

“Bang!” Another strike, Meng Wu narrowly dodged, quickly retreating back several steps . His hand wiped the sweat forming on his forehead .

Now is not the time to consider losing or not losing face . If word of a crushing loss gets out, it would be most humiliating . The entire military camp is the audience!

Shouting, he said, “Miss Gu has divine strength, and this brother is not your opponent . I would like to use internal qi, and I hope Miss Gu will be careful . ”

“Ha . ” Gu Nan chuckled lightly and agreed, feeling that fighting against Meng Wu’s current strength wasn’t too fun . “Brother Meng, then come!”

Understanding that the other party defaulted to his violation of the rules, Meng Wu cast a grateful glance at Gu Nan . This is really a shameful thing, but for the opponent to give up the advantage, she is really heroic indeed .

“Haha, alright! Then, Miss will have my thanks . ” Meng Wu sighed .

A light glow illuminated over the halberd, the faint but dense gas-like appearance rushed out from within him, bursting out like waves of tangible power .

“Receive this!” Meng Wu flicked his reins and his white horse sprinted forward .

Gu Nan felt a stinging feeling from the blown wind, but her heart still pulsing with the desire of battle .

The spear spun into position, releasing a clean piercing thrust .

“Weng!”

The sounds of battle continued .

…

The performance continued until the afternoon, taking nearly an hour . The combatants and horses finally staggered, and the lances came and went, leaving only wonderful applause .

After the long period of fighting, both Meng Wu and Gu Nan felt the growing fatigue and ended the match with a draw .

As the field scattered, the soldiers watching chatted at great length, evidently still soaking in the aftertaste of the spar .

“Gugugu . ” Gu Nan gulped down a large mouthful of water, stating her growing thirst after more than an hour .

In her carelessness, lines of water spilled from her mouth and onto the collar of her robes . Satisfied, she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her arm .

Grinning and laughing, she said, “So refreshing . ”

Indeed, she hasn’t been so happy in a long time .

Ever since becoming Bai Qi’s disciple, besides the daily practicing, actual fighting was a rarity . However, even then, it was with Ghost Valley and the disparity between the two was just too massive .

This time though, it was surprisingly enjoyable .

This desire, this feeling, it’s something she’s never felt before, and maybe it’s only able to be experienced in battle .

“Indeed refreshing! Haha . ” Meng Wu stood next to her, taking a large gulp of water from the water bag .

“I say, for Lord Wu’an to take a female as a disciple, they obviously cannot be simple . In today’s fight, I was really overpowered . ”

Gu Nan waved dismissively . “You flatter, you flatter . You and I have pretty similar strengths . Truly, no such thing as one overpowering the other . ”

Meng Wu smiled and shook his head . “Today I must thank Miss Gu for allowing my violation of the rules . With your divine strength, it would be impossible to even retaliate without internal qi . ”

“It’s not necessary to thank me . ” She waved it off again, as she was never really concerned about such things . “Do you know what the most iron bond that can be forged between men?”

“?” He gave a confused look . “What?”

Gu Nan had a mysterious smile on her face as she raised three fingers . “That is to drink wine together, visit brothels together, fight battles together . ”

Pointing at him, she continued, “You and I wear the same robes and are comrades-in-arms . We fight together, and who then, in this entire army, is not your brother?”

“Hm?” Meng Wu froze in thought . How did this conversation get to the bond between men?

But the thought of the proposition still made him laugh, nodding repeatedly . “Haha, yes, Brother, Brother Gu is insightful!”

“Come, have a drink . ” She held out her canteen bag and prepared to pour a drink, only to remember that it was a water bag .

Alcohol was prohibited in the army, and she could only scratch her head in frustration .

“Ah, the ban on alcohol is really unreasonable . ”

“It’s nothing . When we return to Xianyang, I will treat you!”

“You already made your word, don’t forget it . ”

“I won’t . I definitely won’t . ”

…

“Ta ta ta ta . ”

The sounds of horses walking reverberated through the mountain valley . Gu Nan was riding on Blackie, following behind Bai Qi .

Behind both of them was Bai Qi’s contingent of heavy cavalry with black metal armor and iron helmets that fully shielded their face .

The column of cavalry rode with impeccable uniformity, giving rise to an inexplicable pressure radiating off of them . The infantry followed behind at a slower pace, forcing the cavalry ahead to control their speed as well .

Marching was rather tedious and boring . In her boredom, she absentmindedly looked back, taking note of the cavalry behind her .

Qin’s Iron Cavalry, regarded as one of the most elite forces in Qin .

Unlike the dispirited state of the soldiers several days ago at the camp, all of these men wore an iron mask, covering their expressions . Only a pair of calm, unwavering eyes could be seen from the holes in their masks .

Even amidst the sunlight, their hands on their halberds gave off a stern chill .

All of them were chilly .

“Nan’er, the match with Wu yesterday, you did well . ” Bai Qi said with a refreshing smile .

“That’s right, but that doesn’t change the fact that if it weren’t for Master, the situation would’ve never happened . ” Seeing this trick from the beginning, she rolled her eyes at his words .

Sure, the match was refreshing, but her hands were still sore . And then there was Meng Wu, he’s still laying down somewhere in the army .

“Young minds shouldn’t be too concerned about these things . Being more open-minded be for the best . ” Bai Qi made a stiff smile then followed by a chuckle .

“Nan’er, remember to not get arrogant after victory . Although you were born with great courage, you still don’t have internal qi after all . Without it, battles are much more dangerous and gaining victory will prove difficult . ”

Here it comes again…

Gu Nan reluctantly shaking her head but continued to listened to Bai Qi’s lecture . Still, she found the scenery around the route to be more interesting and therefore didn’t really pay attention .

“…And because of that, you must remember, an anxiety attack will always fail against a prepared opponent . The conceited will certainly taste defeat . ” Bai Qi talked for what felt like half a day . But turning around, he found that Gu Nan was staring at the birds in the sky .

This punk girl!

He stretched out his hand and knocked her forehead with a large walnut .

“Oi!” She exclaimed .

“Listen to this old man . ”

Looking at the both Lord Wu’an and Gu Nan, even the stoic Iron Cavalry shared a couple glances and a bit of a smile under their helmets .

“Hehe . ” Several people even let out a few chuckles .

On the way to Changping, it was a rare peace .