Strongest Soldier King

"If I become the team leader, they definitely won't be convinced, and the squad's combat effectiveness won't be fully exerted. We're bound to perform poorly in the early stages of the competition. I will need to do a lot of work to prove myself. By then, the mid-stage of the contest will have arrived, and the squad will have fallen behind. Catching up won't be easy. The key point is the mid-stage, and just as the squad is starting to trust me, we'd be lucky to reach 80% of our potential combat effectiveness. By the late stage, we'll still be trailing the other squads. Even if we give it our all, we would only have a fifty percent chance of succeeding," Luo Zheng explained.

"You're only worried about team coordination? Aren't you concerned at all about combat effectiveness? After all, the other teams are also strong," the squad leader asked with interest.

"Of course I'm concerned, but the battlefield changes in an instant, with many uncontrollable factors. It's pointless to discuss this now. However, one thing I can thank you for is keeping me under wraps. No one knows about me. With my mediocre performance today, I believe this intel will quickly reach the other competing teams. Everyone will think I'm just there to make up the numbers, unfamiliar with my combat style and tactics. I'll be able to catch them by surprise. This is one source of my confidence in claiming a fifty percent chance," Luo Zheng explained.

"Oh, you said 'one source,' so there's a second? What's the other source?" the squad leader asked with a smile.

"During today's skirmish, I observed an interesting phenomenon. The four of them complement each other's abilities well, perhaps even unbeknownst to themselves. After watching them for a day, trying to score points and gain experience from me, I feel the Gardener excels at offense, the Monk is good at defense, the Farmer is good at surprise attacks, and the Scholar is balanced in both attack and defense. If used well, they can exhibit tremendous combat power," Luo Zheng said with a chuckle.

"Interesting," the squad leader remarked, reflecting on today's game. Upon further thought, it really was that way, and he couldn't help but laugh, "I didn't notice that at the time. Now that you mention it, it's true. I suspect many others didn't catch it either. You have a good eye."

"What good eye? I was just being pummeled, that's all," Luo Zheng laughed.

"Well, a beating won't cost you a couple of pounds of flesh. In the end, we'll have to prove ourselves on the battlefield. What are you good at?" the squad leader comforted him.

"Me? I'm good at running away," Luo Zheng said with a wry smile.

"You're quite self-critical. But you're right, I paid special attention to your performance today. There's one thing that perhaps others haven't noticed. When you're being beaten up, you always manage to dodge the lethal blows. It takes others almost the same amount of time to score the same points from you. You were controlling that, weren't you?" the squad leader said with a chuckle, looking at Luo Zheng.

"Heh, you caught me," Luo Zheng laughed awkwardly.

"You're quite the actor. I reckon you fooled everyone. Don't worry, everyone else was distracted by other contestants. No one was paying attention to you—I was the only one. Plus, with your mediocre performance, even if today's game footage is analyzed, you won't attract much attention since your performance was quite poor," the squad leader said cheerfully, without a hint of reprimand, but rather with a hint of pleasure.

"That's good," Luo Zheng replied with laughter.

"Who do you want to deceive the most?" the squad leader asked curiously.

"The tournament organizing committee," Luo Zheng said seriously. Seeing the squad leader's puzzled expression, he explained, "Think about it. If I show too much flair, won't the committee send elite troops after me? Let others grab the spotlight; we'll be content to gain the substantial benefits."

"Pfft!" The squad leader couldn't help but spray out a mouthful of tea, then said with a laugh, "You're quite the schemer, but I like it. Let's do that; let's win our own championship and let others hog the limelight."

"Championship? Squad leader, aren't your expectations of me a little high?" Luo Zheng said.

"They are a bit high, but I believe in you. Someone entrusted me with a message for you: if you can't bring home an individual championship, you might as well go drink the northwest wind," the squad leader said, still chuckling.

"Huh?" Luo Zheng was taken aback, recalling Lan Xue's beautiful figure in his mind, and said with a wry smile, "Squad leader, that 'someone' wouldn't talk to me in that tone. You can't be making up orders."

"I modified it a bit, but the meaning is similar. I asked about the rationale behind it, but that person didn't want to explain, just said something like 'you'll understand.' Anyway, I've delivered the message; it's up to you to weigh your options," the squad leader said with a grin.

Luo Zheng nodded, his expression turning solemn as he fell into deep thought, a bright glint in his eyes like shiny stars in the night, exuding a steadfast aura. The squad leader glanced at Luo Zheng, satisfied, and went off to rest.

┅┅

The rules of the next day's game changed to team-based cooperation against external parties. Five people took turns being the team leader and carried out the leader's commands. Considering the upcoming competition, Luo Zheng thought that performing too poorly wasn't quite appropriate. If he did so on the battlefield, he risked being abandoned by his teammates or being treated as a burden, holding the team back. He strictly followed orders given by others, though sometimes he deliberately underperformed, missing targets that he could have easily hit.

When Luo Zheng finally took his turn as the team leader, he distinctly felt that everyone's responses were perfunctory at best, clearly lacking confidence in his commands. Of course, due to discipline, everyone still followed through, but with less enthusiasm and sincerity. Luo Zheng didn't mind, and he led the team forward through the challenges, stumbling along. The time they took was more than twice that of others, quite embarrassing, but they managed to hold on.

Upon General Wang's command, the result was declared on the spot, and the Scholar was named the team leader. General Wang also severely criticized Luo Zheng, hoping Luo Zheng wouldn't drag everyone down in the real competition. Luo Zheng nodded in agreement without explanations, assuring that he would be willing to take a bullet for the others when it mattered and definitely wouldn't hold them back. This quelled everyone's anger—a sacrificial spirit for the greater good is hard to fault.

Returning to the guest room at the lodging, Luo Zheng saw the squad leader leave with some items. Left alone in the room, Luo Zheng was caught off guard by a knock at the door; it was the Scholar, accompanied by a few other competitors. Luo Zheng stepped aside in surprise, letting them in, and after closing the door, he asked with a smile, "What brings you all together? Is there something you need from me?"

"Oh, let me explain," said the Scholar, sitting comfortably on the sofa and leaning back, "Luo Zheng, the guys mean no harm here, and I'm not here to flaunt my authority as a leader. We're due to fight together on the battlefield tomorrow, and it feels necessary to have a proper conversation."

"Oh? Please enlighten me," Luo Zheng said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"There's no need for formalities. Yesterday, I carefully reviewed the details of your skirmishes, and it always felt like you were holding back. After discussing it with the other brothers, they felt the same way. We'd like to know the truth—can you tell us?" the Scholar asked seriously, looking at Luo Zheng.