Chapter 125: The Relay Battle

In prison, one’s movements are restricted, so of course, they couldn’t spar there.

Jia Zhengjin led his men out to a spacious grassy field, where General Torma and Christina also stepped forward.

Both sides stood facing each other. Wolf emerged from the crowd, clenching his fists in readiness for battle.

Christina stepped back a bit to avoid getting caught in the fight.

“Are you all ready?” Jia Zhengjin shouted loudly.

“Bring it on!” General Torma flexed his thick arm muscles, veins bulging with intensity.

“Let’s begin!” Wolf’s claws shot out, gleaming with a cold light. Since they were part of his body, this wasn’t against the rules. Facing a formidable warrior like General Torma, he had to give it his all!

Seeing Wolf and Torma ready, Jia Zhengjin raised his arm and shouted, “First challenge, begin!”

With those last words, Wolf instantly dashed forward like a blur, launching the attack.

“Haah~!” Torma reacted swiftly, sweeping his left arm in a precise strike that hit Wolf mid-charge.

“Boom!” Wolf was sent flying, crashing hard onto the ground.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk!” Jia Zhengjin winced at the sight and turned to Buddy, asking, “Where would you rank this Torma’s combat strength in the Xiongfeng Empire?”

Buddy scratched his chin and replied, “Lord Keane, within Bright City, he’s definitely among the top experts. But across the entire Xiongfeng Empire, he probably wouldn’t even make the top 100!”

“What?” Jia Zhengjin was stunned. “Torma, who neither Wolf nor Karl could defeat together, can’t even crack the top 100 in the empire? That’s absurd! The number one must be terrifying then.”

“Lord Keane, you’re asking about combat strength!” Buddy explained earnestly. “The strongest combatant recognized in the Xiongfeng Empire is Donald Higgins, the current president of the Mage Guild. It’s said he once single-handedly fought a seventh-tier magical beast—the Desert Scorpion Lion—and emerged completely unscathed, shocking everyone!”

“How powerful is a seventh-tier magical beast?” Jia Zhengjin inquired.

“A single seventh-tier beast can easily wipe out over a hundred Generals like Torma without a scratch!” Buddy answered.

Jia Zhengjin was speechless upon hearing this. He had thought Torma was quite formidable, but in comparison, he was barely noticeable.

“Lord Keane, there’s no need to worry,” Buddy said after noticing Jia Zhengjin’s expression. “Although the Xiongfeng Empire is filled with strong warriors, those truly under the king’s command are few and far between.”

“What do you mean?” Jia Zhengjin asked, puzzled.

“Actually, only a handful of strong warriors truly serve the king directly. The rest belong to powerful guilds. While these guilds fall under the empire’s umbrella and can be considered affiliated organizations, they don’t accept the king’s orders unless faced with calamities like city massacres or national annihilation. Even the exalted king must offer sufficient rewards and formal task assignments to enlist their help,” Buddy explained seriously.

“Is that so?” Jia Zhengjin was surprised.

“Yes! The king can only mobilize the mid-to-low-level soldiers assigned to the army by the guilds for training and cultivation. As long as these guild-affiliated warriors aren’t lethally targeted in battle, the guilds’ elites won’t intervene.”

“Oh~~” Jia Zhengjin nodded, beginning to understand.

Turning back, they saw the battle had concluded.

Wolf the werewolf lay panting, knocked down by Torma’s full-strength punch and unable to rise momentarily.

“I won!” Torma, only slightly out of breath, turned and shouted to Jia Zhengjin.

Jia Zhengjin snapped his fingers, and someone brought honey for Wolf to eat while resting. “I keep my promise! Send out a city guard!”

“Yes!” Labi stepped from the crowd and quickly went to the prison, returning shortly with a city guard in tow.

“General Torma!” The guard bowed deeply, tears of gratitude in his eyes.

“You’re free, Ed!” Torma glanced at him and called him by name. “Let’s go—return to Bright City!”

“Wait!” Jia Zhengjin stopped him.

“What? Are you backing out?” Torma clenched his fists tightly.

“Of course not! The Beast Forest is dangerous. He’d probably die before getting far on his own. I suggest he rest here on the grass for now. Once you finish all your challenges, he can join the other freed guards, and you can all leave together,” Jia Zhengjin hurriedly explained.

Torma nodded immediately. “You’re right! Ed, wait here for now. I’ll get the others out soon.”

“General Torma, be careful!” Ed called out before being led to the nearby clearing.

“All right! Who’s next to challenge?” Torma shouted, his eyes fixed on Karl the werewolf.

Feeling the provocation, Karl was eager to jump in.

But Wolf stood up, stretching his limbs. “I’m still your opponent!”

“Are you sure?” Torma glanced at Jia Zhengjin.

Jia Zhengjin smiled and nodded.

“Then let’s go!” Torma ignored everything else and took a battle stance.

Wolf’s remarkable healing ability, boosted by the honey, soon restored him to peak condition. He lunged at Torma again, claws flailing.

Of course, he lost again without question.

The second city guard was brought out, and Torma again called him by name—Eden.

Each time, Wolf was thoroughly beaten, unable to move, while Torma only breathed slightly heavier but showed no other signs of strain. After a brief rest, Wolf would bounce back as if nothing had happened.

One challenge after another, Wolf was beaten by Torma over a hundred times.

The more than one hundred freed city guards waited nearby.

Though Torma appeared simple-minded, he was not lacking in emotional intelligence.

These guards were randomly selected, yet he could call out each by name, showing he knew the entire city guard force intimately. He likely knew all the names of the several hundred men there.

In that regard, he was quite a clever man.

Jia Zhengjin, on the other hand, lacked the confidence to do the same. In the past half month, he barely recognized a third of the villagers—let alone the goblin troops he recruited, of whom he could name only two or three. Mainly, he was too lazy to remember the goblins’ names, since they were merely cannon fodder.