Chapter 225: You call this a literary scholar with a refined mind? [Two-in-one]

Everyone was so shocked by this turn of events that they were speechless.

Who would have thought that Shen Tang would draw his sword and threaten someone without saying a word?

Gu Ren cried out in shock, "Lord Shen, please show mercy—"

"Are you kidding me? A group of people formed an alliance here to take down the Pig King rebels, but the first person to be sacrificed was one of their own. If the Pig King rebels found out, wouldn't they laugh their heads off?" Gu Ren's words made the others realize their mistake!

Qi Shan said helplessly, "Please don't panic, everyone. This is how my lord is when he's drunk. He's not easy to talk to, but he will never kill innocent people indiscriminately."

He spoke with utmost sincerity, but nobody believed him!

The scholar in the black robe seemed thoughtful. He seemed to understand why Qi Shan had chosen this callow youth; perhaps they shared similar interests? Were they a perfect match?

"You call this being difficult to talk to?"

As one of the parties involved, the man with the sword tip pressed against his vitals felt a burning rage within him. His anger erupted uncontrollably, veins bulging, revealing a fierce and furious expression. He wasn't one to mince words, and immediately decided to teach Shen Tang a lesson.

roar--

A low, menacing growl, like that of a wild beast, escaped his throat, stirring up a whirlwind within the tent. The shockwave spread outwards from him in all directions. His voice, booming like a bell, combined with the intimidating aura of martial energy, transformed into invisible daggers and blades, hurtling straight towards Shen Tang's face.

Shen Tang is the primary target, but people in the vicinity will also be affected.

A group of people instinctively activated their respective protective measures.

The poor ordinary soldiers patrolling outside the tent were caught in the crossfire; they only felt a piercing sound followed by complete silence. As soon as the noise subsided, their ears felt itchy, numb, and warm, as if a small snake were crawling out…

A soldier instinctively raised his hand to touch his itchy ear, but instead of catching a small snake, he felt a warm, sticky liquid. Looking down, he saw specks of bright red blood on his palm! Their ears were bleeding!

Before fear could even creep into their hearts, a dark figure flew out of the tent like a cannonball, crashing heavily to the ground and leaving a long trail. Upon closer inspection, the dark figure was none other than the same "outspoken hero" from before.

What happened?

Could it be that the enemy has infiltrated?

Outside the tent, soldiers drew their weapons with a rustling sound.

At this moment, a slender, fair hand lifted the tent flap, a sword in her right hand, and she strolled out of the tent with an air of nonchalance, completely disregarding the soldiers who were on high alert. Following closely behind, the newly appointed alliance leader and a host of heroes who had joined the alliance also made their appearance.

The soldiers were all dumbfounded.

This...this doesn't look like an assassination or sneak attack at all!

The new leader looked terrible, extremely terrible.

After Shen Tang drew his sword, he was prepared to intercept him.

He had just been elected as the leader of the alliance, and these people started fighting amongst themselves right in front of him. Where did that leave his dignity as the leader of the alliance?

But before he could even raise his hand, he was stopped by his trusted aides.

It was that scholar in the black shirt.

The new leader of the alliance relied heavily on and trusted this scholar.

Question: "Why?"

Throughout history, alliances have consistently shown that the more people involved, the more fragmented and disorganized they become. In essence, they are disorganized, undisciplined, and self-serving mobs. While they may appear to have strength in numbers, they cannot be united and will only be defeated one by one.

He didn't expect these people to be of much use.

But at the very least, we can't let internal strife happen.

This is precisely the time when the alliance leader needs to step in and suppress Shu Yang's arrogance. Why isn't the gentleman helping him, but instead hindering him? The new alliance leader looked at the scholar in black robes, needing a reason that could convince him. The scholar in black robes asked, "Whom does my lord intend to stop?"

There are also techniques to stopping a fight.

If you make a mistake, you could easily be resented by both sides.

One of them was also Qishan's new lord.

The new leader looked down at his own physique.

He asked, "Can't we stop both of them?"

Despite lacking the imposing physique of a burly man, he was a formidable and courageous martial artist, a ruthless leader capable of commanding troops on the front lines. A young wandering knight, he rose to officialdom in his youth, personally leading his private retinue to quell bandits, and he had seen battle before…

Although he wasn't a martial arts master, he couldn't defeat these two.

A callow youth, a literary figure.

A martial arts master with nothing but muscles and a cowardly spirit.

snort--

No problem at all!

The new alliance leader thought this way, and then watched helplessly as Shen Tang remained unmoved, completely unfazed, and instead kicked the Martial Courage Warrior out of the tent. His movements were effortless, the surrounding energy as calm as still water, clearly without any external force.

With only the strength of the physical body!

New Alliance Leader: "..."

The scholar in the black robe said, "Qi Yuanliang is not in a hurry at all."

Qi Shan was not in a hurry at all; in fact, there was a hint of malicious schadenfreude in her eyes.

The scholar in the black robe knew that the young master Shen was not going to suffer a loss. Just as he had said, when drunk, he would cause a ruckus that ordinary martial artists could not stop. The new alliance leader stole a glance at Qi Shan and indeed saw that the "Lord Assassin" had a smile playing on his lips.

The scholar in the black robe said, "Let's probe first..."

To be precise, the one who kept making noise also seemed to be provoking and stirring up trouble. At its worst, this was a "personal grudge." The alliance leader is in charge of major affairs and doesn't concern himself with such trivial matters. Besides, it happened in full view of many people; no one is likely to die.

The scribe in the black shirt was very composed.

The new leader paused to consider his options and temporarily postponed his plans to take the lead.

"Pooh--"

The guy who was knocked away got up from the ground.

He spat the sand and saliva he had eaten onto the ground.

My face was burning.

How embarrassing! So incredibly embarrassing!

He never imagined that he would be kicked so far away by a twelve-year-old scholar. As he stood up, his lower abdomen still ached slightly. He didn't need to bend down to lift his clothes to know that there must be a dark bruise shaped like a footprint on them.

Shen Tang did not press her advantage, but instead looked at the man with a cold expression and asked in a low voice, "What, you can't stop me?"

How could that guy possibly hold back after being provoked like that?

He immediately shouted and slapped down with his large palm fan!

Before the palm strikes, the wind from it has already arrived.

Don't let your guard down just because he's unarmed.

This person's palm was covered with a layer of martial energy, which looked thin but was actually extremely solid. He could break swords and knives with his bare hands without any problem.

Shen Tang did not use his right hand to catch the sword, but instead raised his left hand.

New Alliance Leader: "..."

He opened his eyes wide as if he had seen a ghost.

The impact was more terrifying than a mouse getting on a cat!

He believed it!

He believed that Lord Shen was truly drunk.

The scholar in the black robe reacted less strongly, but a moment of astonishment was still evident. He was no stranger to scholars who followed a forceful and aggressive path, but no matter how forceful they were, they would never raise their hand to clash with a martial artist! The reactions of the other onlookers were similar.

It feels like a dream!

boom--

The two struck palms together, and a shockwave exploded outwards.

The gust of wind was so strong that the soldiers couldn't open their eyes.

The new leader and others cleverly erected a barrier between civil and military officials.

Wait until the gale subsides.

The two quickly separated, but were both able to stand.

The scene everyone expected—the shattering of Shen Tang's left hand—did not occur. Her expression remained unchanged, without the slightest alteration. It was the man who swayed, his right hand hanging limply, his fingers twitching slightly involuntarily.

When the wind blows, the sand flies up.

That guy's knees bent.

Seeing that he was about to collapse to his knees, Shen Tang swiftly threw her sword. The blade of the Compassionate Mother Sword sank diagonally into the ground, its not-so-wide blade supporting the man's knees and preventing them from making intimate contact with the ground. Shen Tang then stepped forward and grabbed his shoulders.

My brother seemed to have just woken up.

Because Shen Tang wasn't tall enough to lift him up, he could only maintain an awkward half-squatting position.

After a while, he said, embarrassed and annoyed, "Let go now!"

Shen Tang did as instructed.

He recalled his sword and released his grip.

The man lost his balance and stumbled, almost falling forward. Fortunately, he was skilled and quickly regained his footing.

Seeing that the tension had subsided somewhat, the new leader of the alliance stepped forward with his men and said, "Gentlemen, please give me some face and put this aside for now, for the greater good. We are here to punish the traitors, not to kill each other and bring pain to our allies and joy to our enemies!"

The new leader has already spoken, so it's naturally not a good time to fight anymore.

and--

The man's face turned slightly pale.

Although the exchange was brief, he knew perfectly well that he was no match for the short man before him—the man was a scholar with a refined mind, and physical strength was not his forte; his defeat was not unjust. Continuing to argue would be very disadvantageous for him.

Most importantly—

He could clearly sense that Shen Tang was holding back.

If he hadn't held back, his right hand wouldn't have just been numb and weak; his entire arm would probably have been ruined. Moreover, Shen Tang had pulled him back from kneeling, otherwise he would have lost all his dignity. Thinking of this, he forced a gentle expression.

"I lost, I was simply outmatched!"

He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Shen Tang.

He said, "Master Shen, your martial arts are truly impressive!"

Shen Tang returned the greeting but did not reply.

The new leader looked somewhat embarrassed.

He thought the two would let bygones be bygones and create a beautiful story, but why did the atmosphere become even stranger?

With a sudden change of heart, he began to liven up the atmosphere.

Shen Tang remained uncooperative, walking straight towards Qi Shan and frowning as she asked, "What are you doing standing here?"

New Alliance Leader: "..."

Shen Tang asked again, "Weren't we supposed to be discussing how to advance the troops?"

New Alliance Leader: "..."

Everyone: "..."

Qi Shan revealed a slightly relieved smile.

His demeanor was impeccably polite, without a hint of rudeness. He said, "This is how my lord appears when drunk; please forgive him. He will return to normal once he sobers up..."

Don't argue with her in this state. You might gain a verbal advantage, but the Mother's Sword in Shen Xiaolangjun's hand might drink blood.

Everyone's expressions were puzzled.

But she still listened to what Qi Shan said.

Because of this little incident, Shen Tang's seat was still in the corner, but no one dared to underestimate her. They would occasionally steal glances at her out of the corner of their eyes—a powerful martial artist or scholar could greatly elevate the strength of a small force!

There were also two scholars of dubious literary talent by his side...

It's clear that Shen Tang has few men, but they are skilled fighters.

Everyone sat down again, and the meeting continued.

The new leader spoke: "I am deeply grateful for your high regard in electing me as leader. Although I am not talented, I know the principles of national laws and military discipline. I will reward those who have merit and punish those who have committed crimes! I hope you will all keep this in mind so that we can work together to drive out the rebels!"

The last sentence was basically said to Shen Tang and a few others.

The crowd echoed, "We will certainly obey the leader's orders!"

The new leader then asked everyone how many people they had brought.

They formed an alliance later in life, having never worked together before, and needed a basic understanding of each other in order to command and coordinate.

Everyone spoke one by one

The scholar in the black shirt recorded everything.

Initially, it was said to be twelve forces, but in reality, there were twenty-three forces of varying sizes. Some of them had three-digit numbers, ranging from five hundred to nine hundred people—Shen Tang's group of over one hundred people was the most unusual—and most of them had two to three thousand troops.

And then there's the new leader's share.

All things considered, the total is close to fifty thousand!

Regardless of quality, in terms of sheer quantity, they were almost twice the size of the rebels! However, this news did not make them particularly happy.

Because they knew very well that in war, whoever had more men was never guaranteed victory! Especially after Gu Ren mentioned Gongxi Chou's duel with generals on the battlefield, winning three consecutive rounds. Some of the smaller forces, with fewer scouts, were hearing this news for the first time.

He gasped in shock.

Some people value it, while others don't.

The man said, "That Gongxi Chou is very strong?"

It is indeed terrifying for a single player to win three consecutive games.

However, it's also possible that Xiaocheng's military strength was too weak!

It's not necessarily because Gongxi Chou is too strong!

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Shen Tang's voice coming from the corner.

"Yes, he is very strong."

Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound.

One person asked, "How do you know? Have you seen it?"

Shen Tang replied calmly, "I know, because I've hit him before."

Everyone was stunned for a moment before they understood what she meant.

You should know that there are rules in a duel—

The duel is a clash between the two sides' martial arts masters, and scholars are not allowed to interfere. Interference not only breaks the rules but also serves as a prelude to an attack. The opposing scholars can then act with impunity, regardless of their methods!

If Shen Tang, as a scholar, wanted to intervene, she only had one option—she would personally participate in the duel, thus avoiding any restrictions.

In other words—

Everyone watched her silently.

The new leader asked, "Because...we fought?"

Gu Ren also asked, "A duel?"

Shen Tang nodded and said, "Yes, that's right."

After saying that, he added another sentence.

"Anyone who underestimates him can come and fight me. If they can beat me, they can probably compete with Gongxi Chou."

If you can't even beat her, then don't bother with words...

Because it's shameful!

Shen Tang's casual remark caused many people present to turn pale—firstly, they doubted the veracity of Shen Tang's words; secondly, even if it were true, wasn't Lord Shen's statement just boosting the morale of others and diminishing his own?

The battle hasn't even started, and we haven't even seen Gongxi Chou's shadow. Why are we already feeling cowardly? How can one man's might be compared to the courage of ten thousand? They have fifty thousand men, why would they fear one Gongxi Chou?

Just then, one person stepped forward.

This person was none other than the sworn brother of Xiao Jiu, who was under Gu Ren's command.

He came to volunteer for the battle!

The new leader didn't recognize him.

Gu Ren explained with a smile, "This is my sworn brother, and also a capable and fierce general under my command, whose prowess is second to none!"

The new leader asked, "Gong Xichou's strength is unfathomable. Are you confident in your abilities?"

_(`」∠)_

Do you believe me if I say my cat ruined several hundred of my words?

He plopped down on my keyboard...

Is it really that comfortable?

There are still two thousand words left to write at 2 AM. I only need seven hundred more to finish. Please wait a moment...

(End of this chapter)