Chapter 440: Section 227: Zong Ge Military Training
The ship of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps sped across the sea.
Onboard the flagship, the White Bandage, Menshi stood at the bow, gazing ahead.
His face was full of worry, hoping that the next moment he would see the Iron Lump, although he knew that was unrealistic.
On the second medium-sized sea ship following the White Bandage, pairs of mercenaries were practicing with weapons.
Of course, all these weapons were wrapped in thick cloth to prevent accidental injuries during the practice.
Bai Ya was among them.
He held a scimitar, battling against an elderly mercenary.
The elderly mercenary’s moves were seasoned, and his combat experience was very rich. Bai Ya, unable to overpower him, was getting a bit impatient.
But the elderly mercenary’s physical strength was waning, so he had to risk exposing a flaw, luring Bai Ya to attack.
Bai Ya fell for it indeed, as the elderly mercenary deflected his scimitar, quickly turned around, and aimed at Bai Ya’s vulnerable side.
But in the next moment, Bai Ya, stimulated, forcibly twisted his waist and managed to block the elderly mercenary’s weapon just in time.
Caught by surprise, the elderly mercenary was then counterattacked by Bai Ya.
The weapons collided, emitting a muffled sound.
After several intense clashes, the elderly mercenary’s weapon was knocked out of his hand, and he had no choice but to admit defeat, “I’m old, no match for you young folks.”
Bai Ya was sweating profusely, panting heavily.
His physical strength had plummeted rapidly, leaving him so exhausted he almost collapsed on the deck.
Yet he still managed to hold on, keeping his grip on the scimitar, and didn’t forget to console his opponent, “Uncle, you’re not old. I still have so much to learn from you.”
The elderly mercenary teased him with a smile, “If you want to learn from me, good food and drinks are a must, you rascal!”
Zong Ge, overseeing the situation, saw that everyone had finished their matches and let Bai Ya and the others leave the field, making way for another group of mercenaries to start their practice.
Bai Ya approached Xu Ma.
Xu Ma treated Bai Ya like a younger brother, taking good care of him.
He patted Bai Ya’s shoulder, encouraging him, “You did well, but there’s still room for improvement.”
“You were tricked; you were originally the one who lost. But your opponent lost out due to age, which is why you narrowly won.”
Bai Ya also reflected on his performance in the recent fight and eagerly asked, “Boss, how can I discern an opponent’s feints?”
Xu Ma smiled and immediately advised Bai Ya, sharing his combat experience.
Bai Ya listened attentively, having experienced many battles, he deeply understood that sometimes a single piece of experience could decide the outcome at a critical moment, possibly even saving his life.
Xu Ma spoke at length, then summarized, “Actually, talking too much is useless. You need to let your body remember, just remembering with your brain often isn’t quick enough when you’re in actual combat.”
Bai Ya immediately realized, “So, I need a lot of practical experience!”
His eyes were sharp, watching the group of mercenaries currently practising intently.
His hands also occasionally mimed actions, not missing any chance to gain practical experience.
Observing Bai Ya, Xu Ma sighed internally, feeling sorry for him, “This kid is hard-working, but alas, he doesn’t have a Bloodline, he can’t become a Transcendent. He will remain an ordinary person for life.”
Zong Ge secretly admired the performance of the mercenary group, though he remained composed outwardly.
“Snake Rat Island had gone through a naval battle, Twin Eyes Island defended against the Beast Tide, among other chaotic battles.”
“After going through these battles, the remaining mercenaries have significantly transformed.”
The spirit of the mercenaries, compared to when they first formed, had greatly improved, and they showed signs of becoming elite soldiers.
“Sir,” Sanda approached Zong Ge and spoke softly, “The squad leader just called me, took my blood, claiming it’s for making potions to protect willpower. But… I have some concerns.”
Zong Ge kept his eyes fixed on the mercenaries, responding lightly, “What are you worried about?”
Sanda took a deep breath, “The situation is subtly changing, sir.”
“The Fast Blade team performed very well in battle.”
“Now, you’ve begun training the Water Pigmen; surely they will form a combat team in the future.”
“Chi Lai and Menshi have joined the group, and adding Qing Xin, that side suddenly has three Silver Level fighters.”
“Also, the most crucial point, sir, you’ve taken the Healing Potion, your injuries have healed. You becoming a Golden Level is just a matter of time.”
Zong Ge shook his head slightly, “I can feel that I’m still some distance away from reaching the Golden Level.”
“Stop being paranoid, our squad leader… is not a villain.”
Sanda hurriedly said, “Of course, I am not worried about the squad leader. But Old Zhong (Cang Xu) and Red Vine (Zi Di) – their identities are not ordinary (Undead Mage).”
“Even if they have no ill intentions now, what about in the future?”
“What if they are influenced by Divine Arts and change their wills again?”
“The matter with Devil’s Coin happened just two days ago, sir.”
“Especially about their rebellion, the squad leader has never clarified things to us.”
Zong Ge slightly frowned, finally turning his gaze to Sanda, unable to hide his displeasure, “What clarification do you want? They were only affected by Divine Arts, if it were you, or anyone among us, we would also rebel.”
“It’s not their subjective intention; they are just unluckier than you and me. During the entire battle, they were fully exerting their abilities, bravely fighting, there’s really no need for any clarification.”
Noticing Zong Ge’s displeasure, Sanda immediately knelt on one knee, earnestly pleaded, “Sir, we must not lack vigilance. Just like how they also placed the Water Pigmen on the White Bandage, right?”
Zong Ge’s expression was stoic, “That’s because the White Bandage is a demon energy ship. The giant bandages can not only heal wounds but can also wrap around enemies for control. Placing the Water Pigmen on the ship is the most secure option.”
Sanda then spoke again, “Sir, isn’t this behavior deliberately demonstrating the ownership of this group of Water Pigmen? We’ve painstakingly trained them, gained results, what if the Backwater Army ends up in their hands?”
Zong Ge fell into silence.
He had once been a general in the Empire and was a man who loved his soldiers.
Seeing his own trained soldiers fall into the hands of others, Zong Ge naturally felt extremely regretful and sorrowful.
After pondering for a moment, Zong Ge didn’t respond to Sanda’s question, but instead ordered, “When it’s time for training, you go and bring over all the Water Pigmen.”
Sanda accepted the order and withdrew.
Before long, the fleet’s flagship, White Bandage, gradually slowed down and began to sail side by side with Zong Ge’s medium-sized sea vessel.
Sanda agilely climbed up the mast and then leaped onto the White Bandage.
Soon, he appeared on deck with a group of Water Pigman slaves.
Under Sanda’s command, the Water Pigmen threw grappling hooks attached to ropes and clung to the side of the White Bandage.
Then, using about a dozen long planks, they temporarily constructed several small bridges between the two ships.
“Charge over!” Sanda commanded, and the Water Pigmen stepped onto the planks and ran onto the deck of the White Bandage.
Most of the Water Pigmen performed poorly, with a few even nearly falling over. If it hadn’t been for Sanda’s timely intervention, they would have fallen into the sea.
Sanda, bringing up the rear, stepped onto the plank, broke into a trot, then jumped back to Zong Ge’s side, and reported, “My lord, I have brought the Water Pigmen.”
Zong Ge nodded his head and evaluated, “The tactics involving grappling hooks and planks are still very unskilled. These training contents will be handed over to you after today’s sparring.”
“Yes, my lord,” Sanda immediately responded.
Every gaze turned towards the Water Pigmen.
These Water Pigman slaves were survivors who had been bought from Hun Tong after a chaotic battle.
They were originally villagers from the same village, caught all at once by the Human Race’s Slave Capture Team and reduced to slavery.
The slave traders had already trained them well, and now the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps could give any command and they would obediently listen.
But to Zong Ge, this was still far from enough.
His next focus was to train this group of Water Pigmen into a fighting squad.
The Backwater Army!
Last night, Zong Ge had ordered Sanda to pass on the “Backwater Fighting Energy” to these Water Pigmen.
The results delighted Zong Ge.
He discovered a total of 16 Water Pigmen who were qualified to be members of the fighting squad.
The number was even a bit larger than that of the previous Fast Blade fighting squad he had created.
Shortly afterward, under Zong Ge’s command, the Water Pigmen slaves became the last batch of people for sparring.
Halfway through the sparring, Zong Ge had already made up his mind.
He identified targets worth cultivating and initially trained some courage into the Water Pigmen. But to get them on the battlefield, there was still a long way to go.
Many of them hadn’t even mastered the use of basic weapons.
As a result, during sparring, the Water Pigmen showed their clumsiness and often injured themselves or missed opportunities, causing the surrounding Human Race mercenaries to point and laugh, mocking the Water Pigmen’s stupidity.
Hearing these laughs, Zong Ge suddenly announced individual practice at the end of the sparring.
The rule of the individual practice was for Zong Ge to randomly pick people—one ordinary against another, one Bronze against another, Black Iron against Black Iron—in one-on-one combat.
“You, and you,” Zong Ge seemingly randomly picked Bai Ya, then another Water Pigman.
Bai Ya had a premonition when Zong Ge’s gaze fell on him.
Sure enough, he was picked for the one-on-one practice.
“This is the advantage of being ‘one of us,'” Bai Ya thought excitedly, eager for as much real combat experience as possible.
Soon, a large circular area was cleared on deck, and the Water Pigmen and mercenaries formed a circle around it.
Someone shouted something, and the crowd started to buzz.
The Human Race mercenaries naturally stood on Bai Ya’s side, while the Water Pigmen naturally supported their peer.
In an instant, the opposing atmosphere was set.
Bai Ya flipped his wrist, side-stepped slowly towards his opponent.
He didn’t approach the straight line, but mixed it with side-moving.
The Water Pigman also held a scimitar, continually turning so that he always faced Bai Ya head-on.
Although Bai Ya, during his observations, also thought that the Water Pigmen were dimwitted, once he was actually fighting alone, he felt the pressure they exerted.
The adult Water Pigman had an average height of 2 meters and were quite stout.
The physical difference between Bai Ya and the Water Pigman was very pronounced.
“Hurry up, stop dawdling.”
“Go for his legs.”
“Don’t be a coward, just go for it!”
Bai Ya, being young, got increasingly agitated by the heckling from the surrounding crowd.
He gradually became impatient and initiated a tentative attack.
His opponent was already well-prepared, using the scimitar to block.
As their scimitars collided, Bai Ya’s expression immediately changed.
His scimitar almost flew out of his hand, and he exclaimed in his mind, “What’s with this freakish strength?!”