novel
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Chapter 18
Chapter 18 - Joining the Army
Unknown location, City of Luo Yang.
"To think that godfather made a mistake, or should I say that we underestimated the A. I. ?"
"Well, this is quite troublesome."
"..."
*sigh*
"I guess I have no choice."
"I hope Friday won't blame me for this."
...
Inner Palace, Official Resident, Tian Shui City.
"What the heck!? What did the A. I. do to my lifespan?"
"How can I go back if I only have 50 years to live?"
"I can't kill the natives? This is absurd! A. I. is a jerk!"
"..."
"Ah! There's that way!"
"Heheheh! As long as I find him then the problem will be solved."
"I'm such a genius! Hehehehe!"
...
January 2nd, 181 AD, Morning. Zhang resident.
Tong and Hua Shi gathered up and discussed what skill they bought last night.
Hua Shi had bought the [Sword Master] skill which gave her boost when she used a sword as a weapon and also gave her additional lifespans if she killed a person.
********************************************
[Sword Master] Cannot be leveled up
- Master all kinds of swords. Increase all attributes by 10 times if the host is using a sword.
- If the host kill an enemy, increase the host lifespan by the remaining lifespan of the dead enemy.
********************************************
Hua Shi claimed that she didn't want to participate in the upcoming war, so she needed a skill to defend herself when she returned home.
She also started up another mission right away. She had to heal one hundred natives within a year then she would get another 10, 000 years of lifespans and the right to buy another item from the system.
Tong didn't activate any new quest yet. He still possessed two major quests that he still hadn't completed. Tong had to officially join the Yellow Turban Army and would have to make sure the army successfully formed up in the next two years, just like in the history.
...
In the afternoon, Tong went to see his father, Zhang Jiao.
His father was delighted when Tong came to see him. But what Tong asked him next sadden and terrified him.
"I knew what you are doing. You're going to start a war soon."
"Count me in, make me one of your soldier."
As a father, Zhang Jiao never wanted his son to participate in the mess he created. He wished his son would continue pursuing the path of merchants.
Zhang Jiao refused it right away and was about to scold Tong.
However, Tong suddenly mumbled "Time Stop" and teleported behind Zhang Jiao with a dagger pointed at his neck.
At the time, Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang, Zhang Jiao's two brothers, was there as well. They witnessed a miracle of teleportation for the first time in their life.
"I can use this magic once a day."
"I'm also invincible, no one in this world can kill me."
"If you don't believe it, you can try. I won't dodge or defend myself."
Tong challenged the three of them. His stern voice and his face showed his seriousness.
Zhang Liang, who hadn't interacted much with this nephew, got angry. He determined to teach this little brat a lesson that war wasn't a place for a kid. He threw a punch at Tong.
The punch landed on Tong's face.
Betraying everyone's expectation, Tong didn't move an inch. Instead, Zhang Liang stepped back while holding his hand that had hit Tong in pain. He felt like he just hit an iron plate with his bare hand.
Zhang Bao raised his eyebrow and smirked in amusement. Then he threw a kick aiming at the back of the head.
The result was the same. Tong was standing still as if nothing happened, but Zhang Bao felt pain on the foot that kicked Tong.
Feeling interesting, Zhang Bao drew a knife and stabbed at Tong's arm. The tip of the knife was stopped by Tong's mysterious skin. His skin wasn't pressed in even a tiny bit.
Then Zhang Bao threw his knife away and grabbed a sword. He slashed Tong 20 times in a row, cutting his cloth into pieces. But no wound appeared on Tong's skin.
Zhang Bao gave up. He walked back and confirmed to Zhang Jiao and Zhang Liang that he didn't hold back yet Tong was still fine.
Everyone was shocked especially Zhang Jiao. Though he already experienced this weird phenomenal when he treated Tong's injured knee, he was still astonished when he witnessed it again.
Zhang Jiao was skeptical about this and insisted not accepting Tong into his army. If he was truly invincible, then how did Tong get that knee injury?
However, Zhang Bao ensured that Tong wouldn't be harmed if he supervised Tong himself. It could also serve as a rehabilitation camp for Tong because he always cooped up in his warehouse or his room all day.
Zhang Jiao reluctantly transferred Tong to the training camp that Zhang Bao supervised. But he made a condition that Tong had to rest until his injury healed. And if Tong got injured again then he would be grounded in his house and won't be able to mention about joining the army again.
Succeeded coaxing his own father, Tong smiled but he felt pain in his heart. He wanted to tell his father about his past, his previous life and the missions, but it wasn't the right time to do so.
Tong glanced at the status menu and looked at his mission. There was no announcement from the system. It seemed he had to be officially instated as a soldier or a higher rank officer first so he could complete the mission.
...
February 9th, 181AD.
For a month, Tong stayed in his room, studying his handgun structure. He wrote several cannon designs focusing on the 16th to 18th century wheeled cannon models.
The earlier version was not good enough in Tong's eyes. The cannons could not aim properly and most of them were designed to affix with a fort or stone wall and was used solely on the defensive warfare, which lacked versatility.
Now, he had to solve another issue with the design. He lacked materials and proper manufacturing methods, such as iron or bronze ores, gunpowder, cannon casting method, chamber drilling method, cast sand forges and etc.
It was not an easy task to simply skip a few technology trees of the 21st century civilization, and imported the more advanced warfare technology into the medieval era in short period of time without a cheat or an overpowered genius witch that could help on the task.
Tong knitted his brows, stopping his research for now.
Tong sensed that his knee injury got better and he could walk freely without any pain. He went up to Zhang Bao training camp to see how his uncle trained his militias.
What Tong saw disappointed him. What the training all rookie soldiers did were wailing their weapon widely, hitting scarecrows without any proper martial art forms or styles.
'This is bad. If this continues, all of them will die in the war. '
'More of my dad's followers will gather here soon, this useless training cannot go on. '
Tong had seen many medieval war movies in his previous life. He had a rough idea how the real war during cold-weapon era worked and how tactics were applied.
What the current Yellow Turban Army camp did right now wouldn't make their soldiers stronger or be able to use more tactics. It was like a children playground where children wailed their sticks, playing war.
Tong couldn't stand it anymore. He barged into Zhang Bao's tent, ignoring the surrounding guards trying to stop him. Anyone who tried to get in his way was punched or thrown away like a rag doll.
"Uncle! I want to change the way you train the soldiers."
Tong didn't waste any time. He spoke using all the air in his lung and stomach. The voice was loud enough that the others outside the tent could hear it.
Inside the tent, there were three people sitting on a chair, facing the middle table. On the only table in the tent, a map was laid there with several wooden dolls and rocks placing on different location of the map. It was as if everybody here was playing a table-top game.
But the reality wasn't as comical as Tong imagined. Those were not table-top game but a strategy map and wooden dolls and objects on the map represented troops, mountains, forests and cities.
Tong knew one of the person in the tent. He was Zhang Bao whom Tong came to see. As for the other two, Tong never met them.
"Who is this brat? How come the guards let him in? Drag him out and give him 20 whips!"
One of two men Tong didn't know shouted.
Zhang Bao grinned, feeling amused from the reaction of this man. Then he gazed at Tong as if he was looking forward for a good show.
Tong's eyes corner twitched. This uncle of his had a bad habit. He enjoyed watching people fell into a complicated situation.
"I am Zhang Tong, nephew of Commander Zhang Bao. Who are you?"
"Hah? If you are Zhang Tong then I am Emperor Ling! Do you think great teacher will let his precious son coming here? Now screw off or I'll screw you myself!"
Tong glanced at his uncle. Zhang Bao was trying his best not to laugh. This person was really enjoying it.
'I can't rely on my uncle. He only enjoys this mess too much. '
'I guess I have to establish my dominance here from ground up. '
'And this situation is kind of stupid. '
'I'm actually at fault. Where was my manner and common sense?'
'He has the right to be angry. '
'If I'm a commander I won't let a brat barging in the command center too. '
'My speech and my action was too frank. I need to fix that in the future. '
Tong recollected his thought. He swore that he would fix many bad habits of his. His behavior was still the same as in his previous life, frank, reckless and always acted before thinking.
Tong looked at the scolding man and shook his head in guilt. Let wrong be wrong, since he was in the wrong then he shall follow through till the end.
"Make me."
Tong stared straight at the man and made a finger gesture to challenge him.
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