A Great Haul

"Did we really win?" Facing the battlefield strewn with devastation, Zichuan Xiu murmured a question.

"Without a doubt, my lord, we won a great victory!" Gurei, captain of the personal guard, was so excited that his face had turned red. "It was all thanks to you. Please allow me to congratulate you: you will surely be promoted to Red Guard Captain for this achievement! Just think, before even reaching twenty, you'll be on equal footing with the governors of every province! How remarkable is that? There has never been such a precedent in the family's history!"

"Heh heh, congratulations to you too," Zichuan Xiu said, without a gram of joy in his smile. "If I remember correctly, you're still a Minor Banner Warrior, aren't you? You have a good chance at becoming Vice Banner Captain."

Gurei was overjoyed. "Thank you for your patronage, my lord! I will certainly serve you with all my heart and strength to repay your kindness in promoting me. I will brave fire and water without hesitation..."

"Mm, mm, mm." Zichuan Xiu cut off Gurei's declaration of loyalty and muttered to himself, "It seems living simply really is a kind of happiness..."

"What did you say, my lord?"

"Oh, I said you should work hard."

A squad of cavalry appeared ahead. Upon seeing Zichuan Xiu's banner, they immediately saluted from horseback. Zichuan Xiu reined in his horse and called out, "Which unit are you from? What are you doing?"

The cavalry captain replied, "Reporting to you, my lord, we are the Seventh Company of the Third Battalion under Roger's command. We are currently transporting prisoners."

"Oh?" Zichuan Xiu suddenly became curious. "Are there many prisoners? Let me take a look."

"Yes, my lord!" The captain turned and shouted. The cavalrymen drove the prisoners before Zichuan Xiu with their whips, while the guards nervously gathered around him in case the Demon Race prisoners suddenly rose up and attacked. But that was entirely unnecessary, because these prisoners were all Elf-monsters—small green-skinned humanoids. They were exceptionally dexterous in crafts, but extremely poor fighters. Mild-tempered and easily subdued by force, they were mostly used as laborers by Demon Race armies. They could also be sold as servants in human markets, and it was said that in the Imperial Capital, each could fetch as much as thirty thousand coins.

Seeing that Zichuan Xiu seemed somewhat disappointed, the cavalry captain felt embarrassed and decided to try to please him. "My lord, you know, we found something strange among the prisoners."

"Oh?"

The captain turned back and shouted, "Bring it up for my lord to inspect!"

Several cavalrymen came forward carrying a bulging sack. The captain untied it with a flattering grin. "My lord, this is a rare treasure indeed."

Inside the sack was a girl—and a very beautiful one at that!

Zichuan Xiu frowned. "Since when did the Far East Army start working as kidnappers?"

The captain felt deeply wronged. "My lord, she is absolutely no ordinary girl! We found her in a very beautiful carriage, with more than a dozen guards protecting her. It took dozens of our men being wounded before we captured her! This girl must be someone important, perhaps even a high-ranking figure of the Demon Race."

"Did you interrogate her?"

"She refused to say anything, and we had no time to question her closely. We are handing her over to you for safekeeping now, my lord. Don't miss this opportunity!" The captain spoke in a highly suggestive tone.

Zichuan Xiu smiled just as suggestively. "Heh heh heh, I'll certainly interrogate her very, very thoroughly." It was the kind of tone one man used with another, instantly understood regardless of rank.

Only after the cavalrymen had disappeared from sight did Zichuan Xiu let out two sly chuckles. "Good thing that old woman Shirakawa isn't here, or this would be troublesome..." He turned to Gurei and the other guards. "If Shirakawa asks... you know what to do, right?"

Gurei answered with a stern face, "Rest assured, my lord. We saw nothing and heard nothing!"

"Now that's what smart people are like!" Zichuan Xiu began looking around. "Where can we find a deserted place to pitch a tent?" As he spoke, he stared at the girl with lecherous eyes until she...

"I am Kadan, the third princess of the God Race King. I am a member of the royal family, and I demand treatment befitting my status!" The girl declared her identity in a trembling voice, striving to sound dignified.

The sound of all the guards drawing breath at once was especially loud.

Gurei said softly, "Lord above, my lord, you cannot act recklessly with this woman, or the Military Law Department will come looking for trouble."

Without turning his head, Zichuan Xiu said, "Gurei, you're as stupid as a pig!" Then he muttered, "This is a great haul."

One thing should be explained: this game had no client. It was a browser game. After entering the game, players became nobles of one of three countries of their choice and received their first small village.

As the game progressed, players could continuously obtain resources by building farmland, mines, and the like. Selling resources earned gold coins, which could be used to improve technology, recruit troops, and build more cities.

The nobles of the other two evil countries would constantly send troops to attack you—though of course, it was also possible that you would be the one constantly attacking them. Heh heh.

Players could also train their own heroes, establish guilds, run dungeons, and so on.

The greatest feature of this type of game was that it did not take up much time. You could play whenever you had a spare moment at work, and even when offline, the game would continue producing resources.

Interested friends could go give it a try!