For A Prosperous World Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Peace on the Road

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 s.p.a.ce within a few feet of the body can become an impenetrable defense.

She's proficient in thrusting, slas.h.i.+ng, 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 crus.h.i.+ng 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 refres.h.i.+ng.”

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 ma.s.sive.

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 refres.h.i.+ng! 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 s.h.i.+elded 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 refres.h.i.+ng 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 refres.h.i.+ng, 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.