Tang Wulin's brows furrowed slightly. Could it be that this man was seeing him as a rival in love?
He could clearly tell from the way he looked at Long Yuxue that he seemed to like her. What had he done to deserve antagonism from him?!
"My greatest strength is strength," Tang Wulin replied in a calm manner. He didn't want to attract trouble, but he certainly wasn't going to allow himself to be pushed around. This was the military, and power was the most important thing here.
The lieutenant colonel immediately burst into laughter. "Strength? That's great! Let's have a little contest of strength. If you can last three seconds against me, I'll believe that you have what it takes to become a first-rank soldier."
A cold expression appeared on Tang Wulin's face. "Why does it matter to me what you think? What do I stand to gain from competing with you?"
Jiang Qiyue's eyes widened, and even Long Yuxue couldn't help but turn around.
There was always the occasional newbie who came in thinking that they were better than everyone else, but almost all of them ended up learning some life lessons the hard way.
The lieutenant colonel wasn't irked by his cold response. Instead, he appraised Tang Wulin with an intrigued expression, and asked, "Alright, then what do I have to do to make you agree to this contest?"
Tang Wulin suddenly smiled. This was a very friendly and benevolent smile, and if any other members of Shrek's Seven Monsters were here, they'd immediately realized that he was about to screw this man over. The more sinister the scheme he was plotting, the more genuine his smile would be.
"I'm completely new here, so I don't have any accolades for food; how about we bet on a meal? If I win, I get to eat at whichever window I want until I'm full, and you have to pay for it."
The lieutenant colonel sized him up as he agreed, "Sure! You have yourself a bet. If you lose, I won't ask too much from you; all you have to do is wash my clothes for a month, deal?"
This was indeed quite a low stake, and Tang Wulin's negative impression of this lieutenant colonel improved slightly. At the very least, he wasn't going too far, but did he really know what he was setting himself up for?
A hint of sympathy welled up in Tang Wulin's heart. "What kind of contest do you propose?"
"That's simple, we'll shake hands, and the first to fold loses." He extended a massive hand as he spoke.
Tang Wulin turned to Jiang Qiyue and Long Yuxue as he said, "Superiors, would you be able to act as witnesses to this bet?"
Jiang Qiyue sighed, "Washing my brother's clothes for a month isn't a bad thing. My brother can teach you a few tricks that you can use on the battlefield during the process."
Tang Wulin smiled. "Are you that convinced that I'll lose, Superior?"
Jiang Qiyue giggled, "Looks like you're very confident in yourself! Alright, let me get in on this bet as well. If you win, I'll also take care of one of your meals, but if you lose, you have to wash my clothes for a month as well. Of course, that's excluding my underwear!"
The soldiers that had gathered around to spectate immediately burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Tang Wulin wasn't irked in the slightest by this. He merely smiled, and said, "That sounds great to me."
He gripped onto the lieutenant colonel's hand as he spoke.
The lieutenant colonel raised an eyebrow, and said, "Remember my name, newbie; it's Jiang Wuyue!"
Tang Wulin's lips twitched upon hearing this. Their parents sure were lazy with naming their kids! [The literal translation of Jiang Qiyue's name is July Jiang, while her brother's name, Jiang Wuyue, can be directly translated to May Jiang, so they're both named after months of the year.]
Jiang Wuyue's hand was far larger than Tang Wulin's. Tang Wulin held a slight advantage in terms of the length of his hand and fingers, but Jiang Wuyue's hand was as wide and thick as a bear paw, creating a stark contrast with Tang Wulin's fair and slim hand.
The two hands quickly locked onto one another.
"This is a pure contest of strength, so no using soul power or martial souls!" Jiang Qiyue warned as she skipped on the spot in an excited manner.
A sly grin appeared on Jiang Wuyue's face as he began to exert force with his hand. Unfortunately for him, he failed to catch sight of the sympathetic look that had flashed through Long Yuxue's eyes.
Jiang Wuyue was engaging in a strength contest with a freak whose strength was superior to that of a Ba'an; he really was an idiot.
Tang Wulin also wore a smile on his face as he engaged in the handshake.
"Hmm?" Moments later, Jiang Wuyue's expression began to change slightly. He felt as if he were holding onto an extraordinarily hard piece of uncommon metal rather than a human hand. No matter how much force he exerted, there was no give in Tang Wulin's hand at all, and his expression also remained completely unchanged.
There were no soul power fluctuations emanating from his body, so this was definitely his strength alone and nothing else. Could this pretty boy be stronger than him?
All of the rowdy soldiers from the Blood God Legion had also begun to quiet down. Three seconds? More than 10 seconds had already passed! Jiang Wuyue had announced that it would be his loss as long as Tang Wulin could last three seconds against him.
Among all of the officials of the Blood God Legion that were at or below the lieutenant colonel rank, Jiang Wuyue's strength could definitely rank among the top three, but this newbie was handling his strength with ease. This indicated that his strength was definitely not inferior to that of Jiang Wuyue.
Tang Wulin wore an innocent look on his face as he reminded, "Superior, three seconds have already passed!"
However, Jiang Wuyue wasn't willing to give up. He exerted his full force with his right hand, and a serious look appeared on his face. The thought of being bested by a newbie in front of so many people was very unappetizing to him.
Tang Wulin heaved a faint sigh. He was trying to let Jiang Wuyue down easy, but it seemed like he'd have to teach him a lesson! With that in mind, he finally began to exert force with his hand in retaliation.
Jiang Wuyue felt as if his hand had been stuck into a vice that was compressing in a completely irrepressible manner. His strength was nothing in the face of this newbie's vice-like grip! A sharp pain began to spear through his hand, and his face was beginning to turn green. Only then did he realize that this newbie had far superior strength compared to him!
Right this moment, the pressure on his hand was alleviated, and Tang Wulin ceased exerting force on his palm. Jiang Wuyue heaved an internal sigh of relief as the pressure was alleviated, and he immediately realized what Tang Wulin was doing. After all, he wasn't really an idiot.
He let go first and raised an eyebrow as he said, "Very good! You're an exceptional talent to be able to last so long in the face of my strength. I'll make a request to the higher-ups to get you into our first melee combat battalion." He patted Tang Wulin's shoulder firmly as he spoke. He did so with tremendous force, but Tang Wulin merely took it with a smile.
"Thank you, Superior. Now, about my meal..." Tang Wulin prompted.
Jiang Wuyue waved a hand in a generous manner. "Eat whatever you like. The lower the number on the window, the better the food they sell. I suggest you go and eat from the first window. I lost this bet, so I'll be paying for your meal!"
This lieutenant colonel had a very straightforward personality, and he was even pointing out where the most expensive food was to him. This made Tang Wulin's impression of him improve even further, but that still didn't mean that he was going to hold back...
After traveling for so many days, he hadn't anything good to eat for a while. Especially after entering the Skyend Mountain Ranges, he'd had nothing to eat but cold dried rations, and the earlier trial had also been quite mentally taxing to him.
If there were one word to aptly describe Tang Wulin's current state, then it would be ravenous!
"Looks like I won't have to borrow accolades from you for now, but thank you for the offer, Superior." Tang Wulin made his way over to the first window as he spoke.
Only then did Jiang Qiyue turn to her brother with an inquisitive look in her eyes. All of the spectating soldiers also departed. They were all quite curious about Tang Wulin, but having dinner clearly took priority here.
A wry smile appeared on Jiang Wuyue's face. "The kid's a freak! He's even stronger than I am!"
"No way!" Jiang Qiyue's mouth gaped open as she exclaimed, "I recall that your strength had already exceeded 30 tons during your last examination. You didn't hold back, did you?"
Jiang Wuyue's lips twitched in response. "Do I look like the type of guy that would hold back? That kid is a brilliant talent. With his freakish strength, he'd be a brilliant asset to our melee combat battalion. It's decided, I'm going to request him from our higher-ups right after dinner."
"Don't even think about it; he belongs to our special service department," Long Yuxue countered in a cold voice.
"Special service department?" Jiang Wuyue exclaimed, "You also want him? But your special service department does more reconnaissance missions where long-range battle is more important than melee combat; do you really have a use for him?"
Long Yuxue couldn't be bothered to explain anything to him. Instead, she pointed at the first window, and said, "I suggest you worry about yourself first."
Jiang Wuyue reflexively turned toward the first window, and his expression instantly changed drastically. "Does this kid have a death wish?"
He immediately strode toward the first window.
One platter after another was being carried out from within the window, and they'd already been arranged into a row on the counter, but there were still more dishes being prepared.
Over 10 dishes had already been served.
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