The two shook hands briefly, and Hao Yun replied casually.
"Hao Yun".
The young men standing behind Eddard Stark clearly showed anger on their faces.
"You're being incredibly rude!"
A young man who looked seven or eight parts like Ed stood up and expressed his dissatisfaction.
In this place, it is disrespectful to the other person not to use your full name in formal communication.
Hao Yun glanced at the young man and quickly guessed his identity. He looked so much like Eddard, so he must be his son. Based on his age, he could deduce that he was the future Young Wolf Lord, Robb Stark.
“My name is Hao Yun. I come from the East, and my surname and given name are different from yours.”
"I'm sorry, I was reckless."
Robb Stark realized he had made a mistake and apologized without saying a word.
Ed, who was standing to the side, smiled and patted his son on the shoulder, signaling him to step back.
"Hello, traveler from the East. I noticed you seem to have a different perspective on our training methods?"
Hao Yun shrugged. He really looked down on their training methods; they were far too rudimentary.
When it comes to training troops and fighting wars, the Stark family is quite formidable. Hao Yun's actions naturally aroused dissatisfaction among some people, such as the future young Wolf Lord.
"I don't have any insights, but I feel that if you train like this, you'll definitely be at a disadvantage in battle."
Hao Yun really wanted to say that your training method was absolutely terrible; if it were a war, these people would just be sending themselves to their deaths.
It's clear from their training that these soldiers have no discipline whatsoever; in actual combat, they would simply swarm in.
Even if you win with this kind of fighting style, it will be a Pyrrhic victory.
"Do you have a better method for training troops?"
From Hao Yun's expression, Ed could tell that the other party held his army in great contempt.
"It's not that it's better, it's just that we have some different opinions."
Robb Stark couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward to speak.
"In that case, why not separate the armies and have a contest?"
By this time, almost the entire Stark family had arrived.
Arya, the youngest daughter who loves to join in the fun, dragged her second son, Bran, over.
Accompanying them was their bastard son, Jon Snow.
As for Theon Greyjoy, he could only watch from the sidelines. Despite being an adopted son of the Shrek family, he actually had no say in the Stark family at all.
Seeing the other person's enthusiasm, Hao Yun replied nonchalantly, "Whatever."
Both men turned their gazes to Ed, who nodded in agreement. He also wanted to see whether this traveler from the East was a boastful madman or a truly capable and arrogant individual.
The soldiers in the military camp began to assemble. Hao Yun counted them carefully: 324 people.
Hao Yun really wanted to complain about this. Western warfare was really lame. If there were more than three thousand people on both sides, it was considered a major battle.
If this were in the East, a war involving thousands of people wouldn't even cause a ripple.
“We will each select one hundred people. You are the guest, so you can choose first.”
Robb Stark stated that he did not want to take advantage of anyone.
Arya, the youngest daughter who was watching from the sidelines, asked in a low voice.
"Jon, will Robb win?"
Jon smiled and nodded. He didn't think highly of Hao Yun. The other party looked like a pretty boy and didn't seem like someone who could fight. He just hoped that Robb would give him some face later.
"Can."
Hao Yun walked up to the army and couldn't help but frown. This group of people was really bad. Standing in the ranks, they were all looking around, and some were even chatting idly.
After selecting one hundred people of similar height, Hao Yun said he had finished his selection.
Robb Stark glanced at the remaining soldiers and thought Hao Yun had no vision; many of the remaining men were strong and healthy.
"I need some time to prepare, please find me an open space."
Hao Yun naturally didn't want to lose this match, so he wanted to subdue the group of people in front of him first.
Ed nodded to indicate that there was no problem, and then had someone take Hao Yun to another training ground.
Robb selected one hundred soldiers and simply instructed them to prepare weapons, without saying much, because in his heart, he was certain of winning this contest.
On the other side, Hao Yun was setting up a challenge arena. The best way to subdue these people was to beat them into submission.
"If you're not satisfied, come and challenge me. If you lose, you'll do whatever I say. Keep any questions to yourself, understand?"
None of the soldiers below responded; instead, they were all eager to go up and take on the challenge.
"The challenge begins now. Anyone who disagrees, come at me!"
Seeing Hao Yun's arrogance, a soldier came out carrying a long sword.
"My lord, what kind of weapon do you need?"
Hao Yun shook his head, indicating that he could do it empty-handed.
The surrounding soldiers were in an uproar. "Without weapons! You're too arrogant. If we don't teach you a lesson, you'll really think we Northern soldiers are made of clay."
The soldier who came on stage was equally furious. Without saying a word, he raised his longsword and slashed.
Hao Yun dodged to the side, then kicked the soldier away. The soldier landed on the ground and didn't get up for a long time.
"Anyone else who disagrees, come at me all at once, don't waste time."
The soldiers below looked at each other, then rushed forward in a swarm.
A minute later, more than forty people were lying on the ground, groaning and crying out in pain.
Chapter 132 The Competition
Using force, Hao Yun successfully subdued the soldiers, eliminating any worry about them disobeying orders.
About an hour later, Robb, who was waiting for the challenge, was getting impatient and kept pacing back and forth.
Ed glanced at him and couldn't help but shake his head. He was still too young and a bit impatient; he needed more training.
As for the others, they were all just standing there doing nothing, each playing their own game.
Seeing this, Hao Yun's youngest daughter, Arya, secretly slipped away to another training ground to see what Hao Yun was doing.
After peeking around from the corner for a while, Arya ran back and took Jon away.
"Look what they're doing!"
Jon, who had been forcibly dragged over by Arya, nearly popped his eyes out. It was over; Robb was doomed this time.
Hao Yun, who was training his soldiers, couldn't help but sigh, "These guys are really stupid. It took them so long to understand how the battle formation works."
Rubbing his temples, Hao Yun felt it was about time. He led a hundred soldiers back to the arena.
Robb, who was impatient, immediately gathered the soldiers when he saw Hao Yun return.
These one hundred people stood loosely in place, but their fighting spirit was very high.
"Shall we begin the competition now?"
Robb asked Hao Yun a question in return, then drew his longsword and stood at the front of the group.
"Okay, let's begin."
Hao Yun did not participate in the game himself, but stood at the back of the team.
The people of the North have always valued strength, and when they saw Hao Yun run to the back of the group, Robb's soldiers couldn't help but mock him.
As for the hundred soldiers led by Hao Yun, not one of them spoke. Instead, they looked at their former comrade-in-arms with eyes that seemed to regard them as fools.
Hao Yun just fought 100 against 1, and he completely defeated them.
If Hao Yun hadn't said that no talking was allowed while the troops were marching, they would have already started hurling insults at each other.
"Shieldbearers advance! Spearmen, prepare!"
At Hao Yun's command, the shield formation began to advance.
Hao Yun, who was watching from the rear, couldn't help but shake his head. The group's steps were too chaotic; some walked fast, and some walked slowly.
Robb roared, brandishing his longsword, and charged forward as the first to charge.
"Charge!"
One hundred soldiers, scattered and disorganized, charged toward the shield formation.
"Halt! Spearmen, thrust!"
Hao Yun, standing at the rear, kept issuing orders. The battle formation that had been advancing just moments before stopped, and the shield bearers erected a shield wall on the spot with their shields, which were more than a meter high.
The spearman thrust his spear out from the gap.
Because it was a competition, both sides used wooden weapons, and the spearheads were covered with hemp cloth; otherwise, dozens of the other side would have been killed or injured in that attack.
Even though it was a wooden weapon, the blow still hurt so badly that they lay on the ground, unable to get up.
"Spread out! Attack from both sides!"
The path of the charge was blocked by the shield wall, so Robb turned and ran to the sides of the shield wall.
"Change formation!"
Hao Yun shouted from behind, and the shield wall moved quickly. The shield bearers, carrying large shields, moved to both sides as they had been trained.
By the time Robb arrived at both sides of the shield formation, Hao Yun's side of soldiers had already transformed into an oval steel fortress.
Robb was stunned. What was this thing? It looked like a hedgehog. How was he supposed to fight it?
The soldiers inside the steel fortress didn't care who their opponents were; they would raise their guns and stab them.
Robb barely managed to deflect the three spears thrusting at him with his wooden longsword and hurriedly retreated.