Chapter 113: Dog Leg Zi Duo Duo Luo

  Although winter was almost over, the weather suddenly changed and a sudden heavy snowfall hit the northern border of the Byzantine Empire. The heavy snow lasted for three days, blocking roads and collapsing bridges in many places. The inability to transport goods caused prices to soar in some areas, and the price of grain skyrocketed during this cold winter season, putting immense pressure on many poor families.

  But these problems seem to be too far away for the nobles. With the arrival of a big snow, the nobles are busy holding various outdoor banquets, horseback riding and hunting in the snow, admiring the beautiful snowy scenery, while the noble ladies and young ladies are taking advantage of the opportunity to show off their latest precious fur coats.

  Xia Ya and the caravan of this fellow Galenus merchant were troubled by road congestion, and they were forced to stay in Merik City, the capital of Armenia.

  Armenia County is already very close to the imperial capital of Osgiliath, and administratively it does not belong to the central jurisdiction of the empire but a Thema military district. The military district, which consists of the county capital Merika City and six small cities around it, as well as dozens of villages and towns, has a population of over 500,000. Geographically, Armenia Military District is the closest to the imperial capital Osgiliath, and Merika City is also the third largest city in the empire. In terms of military strength ranking among the forty-six Thema military districts of the empire, Armenia Military District is also steadily ranked in the top three.

  The Armenian military district was also one of the first military districts established under the Tumen system of the Empire, and the current Governor-General of Armenia, General Hovhannes, is a powerful figure in the imperial military. The Armenian military district fell into his family's hands more than 70 years ago and has been passed down for three generations without being handed over to others.

  After seventy years of operation, like most other military regions within the Empire, Armenia apparently looked more like a state within a state. Governor General Huseynov had in his hands not only more than fifty thousand imperial Thagatai peasants on paper but also, more importantly, developed a regular army force belonging to the region, an army corps of twenty thousand men - of course, this corps did not exist in the military department's register and still retained the name "certain regional peasant soldiers" - this was also the case with most other military regions.

  It can be said that if the imperial border is to be discussed, among the many military regions, which military region is most favored by the emperor, then the Armenian military region can definitely rank first!

  It's too close to the capital district of Osgiliath, the capital of Gondor!!

  The Imperial Capital District is composed of the Imperial Osgiliath and six imperial garrison cities, plus about 1,000 square kilometers of surrounding land. From Merika City, at the speed of a military forced march, in all favorable circumstances, it would take no more than three days to reach the outskirts of Osgiliath!!

  In addition to the Tamerlane military system, these warlords and the imperial central government had inconsistent positions, which made it difficult for successive emperors to feel at ease.

  The Armenian military district has a high-quality iron ore mine, which was discovered sixty years ago. As a result of this discovery, the family of Governor Hughes flourished! With land, population, and rich iron ore, the strength of the Armenian military district almost doubled! There is even a saying that the infantry of the Armenian military district wears better armor than the imperial regular army.

  Here produces the best Byzantine armor and weapon equipment! And the output is also astonishing.

  Due to this advantage, the governor's family of the Armenian military district was considered a core figure in the local military faction of the entire empire. The various armor and weapons produced in Armenia were often sold to other military districts, becoming the core strength of this faction.

  The current governor Hughes is a person who can rank in the top ten even in the imperial military, and such a person would not come to curry favor with someone as insignificant as Shaya.

  Although Shaya arrived in Merica City on the second day, the Hughes family's surveillance network, which had been operating under Merica City for three generations and was all-pervasive, had already discovered the arrival of this new figure in the empire. When entering the city, Shaya's identity was exposed by the pass documents he presented.

  However, after the news was reported to the Governor's Mansion, Governor Hughes did not have any intention of meeting this "Imperial Hero". Instead, the Governor's Mansion spies in Merica City received orders: Don't provoke that guy, let him pass smoothly.

  Unfortunately, due to the heavy snow blocking the road, Xia Ya and others stayed in Merica City for several days.

  The snowy scenery in the suburbs attracted the nobles like a magnet, but the city was a completely different scene.

  The snow on the road was trampled by horses and vehicles, turning into black mud that looked dirty and disgusting. Everywhere were puddles of melted snow, and occasionally when a horse-drawn carriage passed by, the wheels would splash dirty water onto pedestrians.

  The price of grain has risen a lot, although the governor has ordered the release of reserve grain and prohibited hoarding by grain merchants. The price of bread has increased by 40% and meat prices have doubled - Armenia is rich in iron ore but it is not a major grain-producing region of the empire, and livestock farming is also underdeveloped. Some food for the military district usually needs to be transported from outside.

  All in all, the governor's family managed to run Merica City for three generations with some success, at least there weren't many beggars who froze or starved to death in the city.

  However, due to the heavy snow blocking the road, not only Xia Ya and his group were trapped in Armenia City, but also many other merchant teams traveling north and south were trapped here - this is just the case. After all, people who go out to do business are generally still law-abiding citizens.

  This time, however, in Merica City, a number of mercenaries and martial artists have gathered.

  Just after the beginning of spring, in the imperial capital of Osgilia, a competitive tournament will be held once a year. Throughout the Byzantine Empire, as long as you are a citizen of the Byzantine Empire and have an official warrior title, you can sign up to participate in this grand event.

  This is an ancient tradition of the Byzantine Empire for thousands of years, and it is said that in the early days of the empire, such a grand event was held only to promote the martial spirit of the empire. The earliest competitive games were just for warriors to register and compete, and finally, there would be a batch of winners with outstanding military achievements who could meet the emperor himself and receive some honorary medals, as well as a generous reward. There have even been cases where people became famous overnight by participating in such events and becoming palace-appointed imperial guards.

  After thousands of years of imperial history, the tradition of this grand gathering has been preserved, but its splendor has increased a hundredfold.

  In the arena, the original one-on-one combat between warriors was retained, and team battles were also developed. The two sides of the competition are no longer individual warriors, but teams! In the arena, under the gaze of tens of thousands of spectators, amidst the cheers and shouts of the crowd, two teams engage in a fierce battle. Various types of warriors take the stage, including close combat warriors, swordsmen, axe soldiers, even archers, assassins... etc. This kind of competition is no longer just about individual bravery, but also requires teamwork and collective combat skills.

  Often in a trial by combat, the defeated side would suffer heavy casualties or even be slaughtered on the spot. However, the rewards gained by the victorious side were also astonishingly generous!

  Besides the confrontation between humans, there is an even more intense confrontation between humans and beasts!!

  Frenzied bulls, lions, tigers, leopards, hungry wolves... and later even developed to the point where captured magical beasts were directly thrown into the arena to confront warriors who signed up for the competition!

  But the rules of the game are becoming more and more cruel and bloody! Before the game starts, all registrants must sign a life-and-death contract. Once they step onto the arena, after the game begins, when the gates of the arena fall, it's a fight to the death! Only the surviving winner can ask for the gates to be opened and the game to end!

  In recent years, the bloody degree of competition has even reached an astonishing level!

  Some convicted prisoners may also be allowed to participate in such games, and once they have achieved a sufficient number of victories, no matter what serious crimes you have committed, you can obtain a pardon signed by the Imperial Chief Justice! Exempt from all your crimes!

  And there were also some slaves who would gain their freedom if they could emerge victorious in such a grand competition!

  By now, many professional martial teams have emerged within the empire, recruiting brave warriors, organizing in cities and training hard every day. Every spring, they would rush to the imperial capital to participate in such competitions. Once victorious, it would be a double gain of fame and wealth, while once defeated, it would only mean becoming a corpse on the arena, dragged away by soldiers.

  There were also some slave traders who brought strong and healthy slaves from all over the world, hired warriors to train them, and then signed up for the competition. Once they won, the slave traders could get a huge reward, while the slaves could gain their freedom.

  At the same time, the gambling industry triggered by this ancient game has also become a source of evil...

  At this time, there is less than a month left before the annual Osgeria Competition, but many martial teams passing through are trapped in Merica City due to heavy snow. These martial artists, who are usually fierce and proud, live in various inns in the city, and after eating and drinking their fill, they look at the roads blocked by heavy snow, and as the competition day approaches, they cannot help but feel anxious and look for trouble.

  There are also some famous martial arts groups that have been participating in the competition for many years, and they have accumulated deep-seated grudges against each other over the years. Now that they meet here again, their eyes burn with even more hatred...

  There are also some who originally had no hatred, but having heard of the reputation of the other party's martial arts team, it is inevitable that someone would be ruthless and take advantage of the situation to secretly eliminate potential competitors...

  So, in the past few days, the security situation in Merica City has been almost chaotic. The soldiers patrolling the city have been busy running back and forth all day, with fights and killings happening one after another.

  Although the patrolling soldiers tried their best to suppress, these sword-wielding warriors and mercenaries who lived by risking their lives were not intimidated at all. In fact, a few particularly fierce warrior teams even clashed with the soldiers maintaining order in two intense battles before taking advantage of the chaos to leave Merica City.

  Anyway, the outskirts are icy and snowy, the pursuers in the city won't be able to chase too fiercely. It's better to find a small village to hide in and wait for the weather to clear up before leaving.

  Xia Ya and Gu Luo had been staying at this inn in the city for two days. In the evening, they were having dinner and drinks in the large hall on the first floor of the inn. Just as they had barely started eating, they heard shouting and cursing from next door, followed by the sound of tables being overturned and dishes shattering. Two groups of people who appeared to be warriors, sitting at a distance from each other, exchanged insults across the table before quickly standing up, drawing their swords, and charging at each other.

  "Ah, this is the third time today." Xia Ya let out a sigh, then picked up the wine bottle and took two gulps, sitting steadily there to watch the battle.

  The boss and the clerk of the inn had already been frightened into hiding behind the counter, with the boss crouching under the table, his fat face trembling wildly. Hearing the sound of the chairs shattering and the bowls smashing made him even more heartbroken, but he could only crouch behind the counter and pray silently.

  The people of Lantis had quickly gathered together, surrounding Gu Luo and the others in the middle. This scene had been seen countless times over the past few days, but the crowd didn't seem to be panicked, they just kept a safe distance and watched.

  A few days ago, when he first encountered this scene, Xia Ya was still curious to watch, but after watching for three days, his initial interest had disappeared, and yet there were other reasons that attracted him to continue watching:

  Among these warriors, there are indeed hidden dragons and sleeping tigers, and some guys with strong and unique martial skills exist!

  Xia Ya himself was very clear about his own abilities, and now his greatest ability was the Crimson Killing Intent and Dragon Strike. The Crimson Killing Intent could still be used as a regular combat force, but using the Dragon Strike once would basically exhaust all his strength, and if he couldn't kill his opponent, then he would be finished too.

  As for the moves, he only knows a set of "Breaking Kill Thousand Armies" passed down by an old man! This martial skill is naturally extremely powerful, but Dora in the pendant told Xia Ya that this Breaking Kill Thousand Armies is obviously a group battle technique! In other words, this martial skill is very suitable for use on the battlefield to kill groups. But if it's a one-on-one fight, it's enough to encounter ordinary enemies, but when encountering some strong enemies, this group battle technique will inevitably be somewhat insufficient.

  In the midst of a thousand troops, the most common technique is the group killing skill, which is to swing out and cover an area with consecutive attacks. However, in one-on-one situations, such techniques have significant shortcomings in terms of speed, attack power, and defense.

  Xia Ya was originally not paying attention, but Dora's one sentence made Xia Ya convinced.

  "If you've seriously studied a powerful martial art, then when you encounter Hastings again, at the very least you'll be able to hold out for several rounds under his hands! Otherwise, with your current skills, even if you have the Scarlet Killing Intent, you'll only end up being instantly killed. Even if you manage to unleash the Dragon Strike, it will only injure him slightly, and you yourself will undoubtedly die."

  Kung Fu...... newer/faster/better 1———om…… Where did you learn that yourself?

  Before, when encountering enemies, it was all about relying on Xia Ya's physical strength and using his instincts to react quickly, with power and speed to counterattack. When facing ordinary enemies, he naturally had the upper hand - Dora's evaluation of this was very harsh: "You're just a mindless brute who relies on force to bully those weaker than you! If you really encounter a skilled opponent, they'll find your weakness and take you down with one sword!"

  There's no place to learn decent martial arts... Dora seems to be very knowledgeable and knows a lot, but after all, she is a dragon, and human martial arts are not something she would know.

  As for other acquaintances, Sharuba and friends are not as good as Xia Ya in martial arts! And the formidable ones... Heisui is one of them, but Heisui might come to collect himself as a disciple?

  General Adrick's martial skills should be quite extraordinary, but it's not necessarily possible for him to save himself, after all, he has to lead his troops into battle. Watching these warriors fighting chaotically, Xia Ya suddenly had a few thoughts of secretly learning from them.

  In the past, I have seen many mercenaries fighting in the town of Wildfire, but most of them were also from a rough background! However, the warriors in front of me are all genuine martial artists! They have been practicing their skills for years and their ultimate goal is to participate in the tournament! Among these people, most of them have mastered their skills, and after watching for several days, I found that there are actually several masters among them!

  Setting aside actual combat and just looking at techniques, I'm afraid that even a randomly selected one would be much stronger than mine.

  At this moment, the two groups of people were fighting together. Suddenly, a loud roar was heard. A warrior wearing black leather armor jumped up, his hand flipped over, and a sword light shot out. Instantly, the enemy in front of him covered his throat, and fresh blood spurted out from between his fingers, falling to the ground.

  The black warrior's sword edge shone with the light of Dou Qi, obviously having reached the level of a mid-tier warrior. However, his sword technique was ruthless and sinister, with swift and consecutive shadows. With just a slight flick of his wrist, he could create a flurry of sword lights that made it impossible to discern reality from illusion. Every time he struck, he would accurately target his opponent's weak points, and the tip of his sword would always find its way into the gaps in their armor. In less than a moment, five or six opponents fell before him.

  The exquisite swordsmanship left Xia Ya in awe, and before he knew it, he had picked up a dinner fork from the table to practice against the wall painting. However, the subtle skill of wielding a sword was apparently something that required wrist technique, which he couldn't master at the moment. He simply stared wide-eyed at the person, his eyes fixed on them.

  Just as an enemy with an axe swung it down, the black-armored warrior used his sword to block the blow, and with a swift motion, he sliced off three of the axeman's fingers. He then followed up with another strike that sent the axeman tumbling to the ground!

  "Wow!" Xia Ya couldn't help but exclaim.

  This shout ruined everything, the black armored warrior and his gang had already won, more than a dozen opponents had been knocked to the ground, but when they heard the cheer, the black armored warrior suddenly turned his head, his face full of hostility staring at Xia Ya.

  Xia Ya's behavior at this moment is really not quite right. Others are fighting for their lives, but Xia Ya is surrounded by a group of Lantis warriors with bows and arrows on their backs. This big shot sits there, calm and composed, with a wine bottle in his hand...

  The black-armored warrior let out a heavy hum, slowly walking over with his sword in hand, the tip of which still had fresh blood dripping from it. He stopped about seven or eight steps away from Xia Ya, at which point his companions also gathered around him, all glaring angrily at Xia Ya, some even cracking their knuckles and rubbing their palms together, ready to continue fighting without another word.

  "Looks like you're a warrior too, Your Excellency." The black-armored warrior sneered, his eyes scanning the Lantian people: "But I didn't hear that this year's tournament allows warriors from other countries to participate? Which martial arts school are you from, looks quite familiar?"

  Xia Ya put down the wine bottle in his hand, sighed, and smiled: "I've watched for three days, today's battle is the most exciting! Your swordsmanship is really amazing!"

  The black-armored warrior's face sank, and he said with a belly full of anger: "Wonderful? So the life-and-death battle we fought was just like watching a play to you?"

  Xia Ya scratched his head: "This... I was just eating my meal, you guys want to fight on your own, can't I just watch from the side? Can't expect me to cover my eyes every time you guys fight, right? It's not like it's a woman's naked butt or something that can't be seen."

  As soon as he said this, the other side was speechless. Although Tufei's words were impolite, they made it impossible for others to respond: "In a public place, you yourselves wanted to fight, can't others watch?"

  The black-armored warrior was clearly not a man of many words, and with a swift motion, he raised his sword in a threatening gesture. "My name is Afrecaht, leader of the Wolf's Tooth Warrior Clan! You look like a warrior yourself, probably here to participate in the tournament at the Imperial Capital. If you haven't heard of me, I don't mind leaving a lasting impression on you today! State your name, warrior! Let me see if that arrogant face of yours matches your skills!"

  Xia Ya hadn't spoken yet, but Duoduo had already jumped up beside him - this was the perfect moment to show his loyalty. How could Duoduo let such an opportunity slip by? Moreover, although the opponent was fierce, a magician like himself knew all about his master's abilities! With nothing to fear and no danger, this was truly a heaven-sent chance for a loyal dog like him!

  "Blind your dog's eyes!" The magician slammed his hand on the table, but shrank back to the side of the rising moon and didn't dare to move forward. He pointed at the black armored warrior Afureikato and shouted: "How could our master be of the same status as you! Ridiculous! Our master is a fierce general in the army, where do you warriors have the qualifications to challenge? Hmph! Challenge our master? I think you're tired of living! Do you know who our master is? You think that with your two-handed swordsmanship, you can be arrogant? Your sword skills are better than Odingusutin's? Hmph! Even Odingusutin was severely injured and fled in defeat before our master! Are you more powerful than Odingusutin? How dare you challenge our master!!"