Eternal Empire

Chapter 47 - Flaunt Your Might

After she finished moving the vegetables, Master Cha saw Shen Leng squatting down at the entrance of the kitchen, facing the camp. She clasped her hands behind her back and walked over to Shen Leng. Her shoulders leaned against the wall as she poked Shen Leng's butt with the tip her foot.

"Lift it up!"

Shen Leng lifted his butt.

"Arm!"

Shen Leng responded, "Oh."

He stood up and laughed, feeling somewhat embarrassed. He lifted his wounded arm. Master Cha carefully removed the bandage on his arm and replaced the medication on it. She took out new bandages in the box of medication that she brought with her and dressed his wound again. "You're Class A Seventh pin now?

Shen Leng nodded. "Yeah! Class A Seventh pin. Awesome, huh?"

Master Cha's mouth twitched. "But you're injured."

Shen Leng replied, "I will be more careful next time. I will be able to get promoted without

Master Cha held Shen Leng's wounded arm with both hands. She suddenly lowered her head and touched her lips lightly against the area he was hurt. Thereafter, she blew on it. "Does it still hurt?"

Shen Leng felt as though he was poisoned. He was giddy with happiness.

"I noticed that other people.when two people are on good terms, they would say endless sweet nothings to each other and are lovey-dovey. Why is it that you never say anything to me?" she asked Shen Leng.

Shen Leng answered, "What are sweet nothings?"

Master Cha scoffed. "I want to go back. Uncle Chen is still waiting for us outside the camp."

Shen Leng laughed and said, "Stand in front of me and let me take a look at you for a while longer."

Master Cha turned around and asked, "What for?"

Shen Leng replied, "Every night when I return to the barracks after training, I will look at Nanping River. There is a moon in the river. It is exceptionally beautiful.however, the moon in the river is merely a reflection of the river in the sky. No matter how beautiful it is, it is only illusory. It's not as real as the person I love, standing before my eyes."

Master Cha was surprised and turned around before leaving. She felt goosebumps forming. "Don't say any further. Listening to it makes my hands itch. I'm afraid I might not be able to hold myself back and cut up a few more of sir's clothes. It's his fault for getting you to enter the Navy."

Mr. Shen was currently arranging the empty chariots at the moment. He shook his head and sighed. "The moon in the river is a reflection of the moon in the sky. I am always offending people."

Shen Leng laughed out loud. He waved as he saw Master Cha and Mr. Shen off.

When they left the camp, Master Cha suddenly thought of something and asked Mr. Shen earnestly, "Do you think the Navy is a little odd?"

Mr. Shen asked, "Why?"

Master Cha answered, "How did he learn how to say such things?"

Mr. Shen replied, "How scary."

When Shen Leng returned to the barracks, he was about to get his ten-man squad to head out for training. Just then, the other nine ten-man squads headed over to them. They kept silent and stopped outside Shen Leng's barracks. They stood in neat lines.

The squad leaders of each squad took a step forward and saluted him.

They followed the rules and were well-behaved. However, they evidently had a hostile look in their eyes as they looked at Shen Leng.Needless to say, they were loyal towards Li Yong. Shen Leng knew that Zhuang Yong definitely did not kill Li Yong. However, these soldiers did not know that. As far as they were concerned, what happened to Li Yong was naturally because of Shen Leng.

"By looking at me like that, did you think it would aggravate me?"

Shen Leng shrugged. "Stand there."

Thereafter, he led his own ten-man squad to the drill ground to take part in the combined training session. The other nine ten-man squads were left waiting outside the barracks. He did not even bother to look at them at all. When morning was almost over, Shen Leng brought his ten-man squad back, as he laughed happily with them. Thereafter, they went to the dining hall to have their meals. When they got back to the barracks to take a rest, they treated those people like they were statues.

In the afternoon, Shen Leng took his ten-man squad with him once again and headed to the drill ground to take part in the combined training session. Right before the sky turned dark, they happily returned to have their dinner. After they rested for an hour, Shen Leng brought them out for their additional training session. For the entire day, the nine ten-man squads stood there. Shen Leng ignored their presence altogether. He acted as though they did not even exist, even when he looked at them.

Two hours later, Shen Leng returned with his men from their additional training. When they passed by those people, Shen Leng casually told them to disperse. Thereafter, he walked away. He did not say a word more.

The nine ten-man squads dispersed. Naturally, they were filled with resentment.

On the second day, early in the morning, Shen Leng went to the kitchen to carry the vegetables as per normal. He saw Mr. Shen and Master Cha before heading back and led his ten-man squad out for the combined training session. The other nine squads got into neat rows just like they did the day before. Shen Leng instructed them to stand there.just like he did yesterday.

For three consecutive days.

On the fourth day, most of the men in the nine squads could no longer tolerate it. They could not even get up, let alone stand. Shen Leng got his own men to go to the drill ground for the usual combined training session. He stood outside the barracks and waited for the rest of them to come. However, when it was almost noon, not a single one of them came. Not only was Shen Leng not angry, he started laughing.

In the afternoon, he heard some news. Because they broke the military rules, the squad leaders were dismissed by General Zhuang Yong himself. They were sent to the new recruits' camp to train the new recruits.

At dinner time, the hundred odd soldiers appeared outside the dining hall and got into neat rows. It seemed as though they were about to collapse. When Shen Leng brought his men over to eat, he saw that those people no longer had an air of arrogance.

"Wang Kuohai and Chen Ran, stay behind. The rest of you, pick a ten-man squad each and have your dinner. From today onwards, you will be their new squad leaders."

Shen Leng gestured. His men started cheering. The rest of the soldiers were shocked.

Shen Leng promised Zhuang Yong that within ten days, he would straighten out these people and prepare to go down south. Four days had already passed, but Shen Leng was not anxious at all.

After taking their dinner, they became more energetic. They were about to return to their barracks to rest, but they were stopped by Shen Leng outside the dining hall. All hundred odd soldiers gathered together and were hauled off by him to the drill ground for additional training for an hour. More than half of them ended up throwing up after the training.

On the fifth day, Shen Leng did not say a single word to his new soldiers. As per normal, he brought them to take part in the daily combined training sessions and took them to the dining hall for their meals, before putting them through the additional training session at night. It was a strict routine.

On the eighth day onwards, some people started cursing and expressed that they wanted to quit. Shen Leng picked ten people, who protested the most violently, and called them out. He made them line up on the drill ground.

The remaining people stood at one side and watched. Not long after, several people started gathering at a distance and looked on.

Shen Leng walked up to the ten people. When he looked at the resentment in their eyes, he could not help but laugh. "How immature.your gazes cannot kill me. If that's all you can do, I really look down on you. How about this - I will give all of you a chance. All ten of you team up and fight against me. If you defeat me, I will tell the general to release you and you will be free to join other battalions."

One of them was a strong and muscular man named Gao Chengyue. He scoffed. "Everyone knows how treacherous you are. You make us fight you, and then you will use breaking the military rules as a justification to expel us from the Navy!"

The soldier next to him, Zheng Duoqiu, agreed with him and added, "Did you think we forgot how our original squad leaders got transferred over to the new recruits' camp?"

Shen Leng replied, "Trust me, them getting transferred to the new recruits' camp was kindness on my part."

He circled the ten of them. As he walked, he said, "Since you are so certain that I am looking for a reason to expel you from the Navy, why are you going down without a fight? Before you leave, you even have the chance to beat me up. You are not making a loss."

Gao Chengyue was dumbfounded. Thereafter he rushed forth and said, "You are goddamn right."

He threw a punch at Shen Leng's face. His punch was extremely ferocious.

Shen Leng moved to the side and dodged it. "Too slow."

Zheng Duoqiu saw Gao Chengyue making his first move, he could no longer hold his anger down. He yelled and charged at Shen Leng. The moment he moved, the rest of them started moving too. They felt that since they were about to get kicked out of the Navy, they might as well go all out this time.

These people were not new recruits. They were the soldiers handpicked by Mu Xiaofeng himself. They were soldiers who got transferred over from other bases. Even though they were not the cream of the crop, they were a lot stronger and more powerful than the new recruits. The ten of them surrounded Shen Leng and were all ruthless in their attacks.

Not before long, the news got out and spread to the main tent. Zhuang Yong, who was contemplating about his plans for their move to the south, heard about it and his facial expression changed. Instinctively, he wanted to leave and head there, however, after he took a couple of steps, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. His lips curled and said, "Let them fight it out. When they're done, let me know the outcome."

On the other hand, the squad leader of the garrison troops, Yang Qibao, could not hold himself back. He ran over to the drill ground. As he ran, he called his men over. When he got to the drill ground, he realized that his worries were unfounded. Only in a short period of time, about two thirds of the ten men were already laying on the ground, unable to move.

Even though the remaining three to four people were struggling to persevere, it did not seem like they were attacking Shen Leng. They looked more like they were sparring with him, waiting to see when Shen Leng was going to knock them down as he wished.

Yang Qibao stopped gasping for air. He squatted there and stuck out his thumb at Shen Leng. Shen Leng smiled at him before punching Gao Chengyue in the nose.

The ten of them collapsed to the ground. Shen Leng was not even panting. He shook his head somewhat regretfully and said, "I thought that with your military background, you people have the capital and reason to be arrogant. Clearly, that's not the case."

"Do not vilify combat soldiers!"

Gao Chengyue, whose face was entirely b****y, yelled out to him as he laid on the ground. Shen Leng had a sudden epiphany. Their resentment was not solely because of what happened to Li Yong - it also stemmed from the fact that they were selected to get transferred over to the Navy, and what had just happened proved that they were the weakest soldiers in their previous respective camps. To them, it was a form of humiliation.

"You're right, combat soldiers aren't weak. It is you people who are weak."

Shen Leng sat on the platform of the viewing stage. "But what are you trying to prove? That combat soldiers are stronger than us? Why don't I give you another chance to do that? Not just the ten of you, all Li Yong's subordinates who got transferred here too."

Shen Leng pointed at his own subordinates. "Pick any one person you'd like to fight against. One on one. If you win against them, I will let you go. You don't have to take any responsibility or anything. Tell me which battalion you want to join, I will speak to the general on behalf of you. If my men get beaten up, it's because they are incapable. You will not be blamed. But!"

Shen Leng's tone became harsher. "If you lose, perform your duties well as my soldier. Anybody who tries to do anything funny behind my back will be punished severely. I will make your life a living hell. Try me."

What he said struck feat in everyone. On the other hand, Shen Leng's men were all excited. They were eager to give it a try.

"Are you chickening out?"

Shen Leng laughed grimly. "People who are incapable and yet talk loudly are idiots. If you want to earn my respect, show me what you got. Otherwise, you will always be trash in my eyes."

"I will do it!"

One of the soldiers who looked very muscular and strong took a step forward. "Let me fight!"

He looked at Shen Leng's men and picked one at random. "I pick you!"

Shen Leng's subordinate was named Ni Xiaoliu. He was from a fisherman's family in Anyang. He was the sixth child, and hence his name was Xiaoliu (Note: 'liu' is six in Chinese). He was a person who was not very confident of himself. When he got picked, he panicked a little. He looked at Shen Leng and stepped forward, gritting his teeth. He did not want to embarrass their battalion commander.

In the end, when they started fighting, he realized that having been through Shen Leng's demonic training sessions, his speed and reaction time were way above that of his opponent. He originally thought that he was going to have a hard time fighting, but ultimately, within two minutes, the fight had ended. The results of the cruel training sessions had revealed itself in its entirety in actual combat.

The combat soldier who had collapsed onto the ground was in disbelief. The people of Jiangnan were rather short, and he was a lot taller than the average man. Ni Xiaoliu was around half a head shorter than him. But ultimately, he was thoroughly defeated by him.

"Continue."

Shen Leng said plainly, "Next person. It's your choice, who you want to pick."

Another soldier stepped forth to challenge. He chose Du Weiming. Shen Leng's men started laughing. Du Weiming warmed up a little and went down. In less than twenty breaths, he had returned to his original position. His challenger had already collapsed onto the ground.

Shen Leng stood up and looked pitifully at those combat soldiers. "If you're dissatisfied, you can continue challenging. If you feel that you cannot take it anymore, tolerate then. I know that being selected and transferred to the Navy has made all of you feel depressed. But I do not believe that you are not any better than the other combat soldiers who remained there. If a man wants to prove himself but he is unable to release the resentment in him, he truly deserves to be looked down on. If you want to prove that you are not garbage, follow me. I will make sure that the next time you meet your fellow comrades again, you will be able to flaunt your might to them."