The Second Rank E Badge

The White Wave Bandits immediately panicked.

Their instinct to bully the weak and fear the strong, to fear death, took over. Some White Wave Bandits even fled amid the chaos.

Ding Ling made a swift decision as well, leading the more than one hundred cavalrymen on the left in a charge toward Guo Tai.

His horse was fast, and his charge was fierce!

The cavalry fell behind him.

Ding Ling paid them no mind. The White Wave Bandits were no match for a regular army. They were in complete disarray, with no formation to speak of! He easily tore straight through them!

Clang!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Ding Ling wielded his Fangtian Halberd, shifting between the Battlefield Saber Art, Water Fire Dragon Binding Staff Technique, Thirty-Six Heavens Gang Axe Technique, and Advanced Spear Technique.

A single halberd took on the essence of countless different weapons in his hands.

Whether it was the Battlefield Saber Art, Water Fire Dragon Binding Staff Technique, or Thirty-Six Heavens Gang Axe Technique, they were all supreme martial arts!

Ordinary people could not withstand them at all!

Even with the Advanced Spear Technique, a casual thrust produced five flashes of spear flowers, piercing through the foreheads of five soldiers and killing them on the spot!

His entire body was drenched in blood, like a battlefield killing god.

He was even more like a swift ship cutting through waves, a God cleaving through mountains.

Wherever he passed, all who stood in his way were crushed!

Not a single person could withstand one exchange with him!

His halberd incorporated the transformations of many weapons. Anyone who dared block his path was pierced to death, slashed to death, cut down, or split apart!

They died in different ways.

But without exception, their vital points had been struck, and they died quickly!

At this moment, Ding Ling had clearly passed his novice stage!

Especially during the duel at the city gate, as he saw more and more blood and the number of people he slew soared.

His panic and discomfort had completely vanished.

All that remained was burning blood!

The bold spirit of a man meant to roam proudly across the battlefield had been awakened deep within his bones!

"Ah!"

"He's not human!"

"He's too strong!"

"Run!"

There were Players among the White Wave Bandits as well.

Seeing Ding Ling as powerful as a demon god descending into the world, the veteran Players who dared step forward to fight him in hopes of gaining "experience points" and "treasures" were all effortlessly killed.

The other new Players could no longer endure it. With a shout, they spurred their horses and fled at full speed.

Their flight caused a flood-like chain reaction, eventually sweeping groups upon groups of people into fleeing as well.

Guo Tai could not stop them at all. When he finally saw just how ferocious Ding Ling was, fear took hold of him, and he turned to run as well.

"Guo Tai, don't run!"

Ding Ling shouted.

Guo Tai's scalp tingled, and he ran even faster.

When the other White Wave Bandits saw that even their Commander had fled, those who still wanted to hold on scattered in every direction.

This final group of holdouts consisted of passionate White Wave Bandits who did not fear death, but their Commander's departure utterly crushed their faith, turning them into part of the fleeing rabble.

Hah!

Ding Ling grabbed a short spear from the side of his horse and hurled it with all his strength toward Guo Tai!

Whoosh!

The short spear tore through the air and struck Guo Tai squarely in the back, pinning him to his horse.

His mount let out a mournful cry, sprinted forward a few more steps, then abruptly toppled to the ground.

"Phew."

Ding Ling let out a long breath.

He thought:

This Javelin Throw skill really comes in handy at critical moments.

He had naturally learned the Javelin Throw skill in the Real World.

It was already at max level.

Just in case, Ding Ling had prepared several short spears beforehand.

They had indeed proved remarkably effective.

He rode over to Guo Tai's side and saw that he was still alive.

"Y-you... who exactly are you?"

Guo Tai stared at Ding Ling with his eyes wide open. He glared at him, speaking in ragged gasps, his eyes filled with regret, fear, and a longing to live.

Ding Ling could not be bothered with him.

He waved a hand.

Someone immediately stepped forward and cut off Guo Tai's head.

This was crucial evidence to prove the success of the bandit suppression operation!

It could not be lost.

Ding Ling had someone put it away.

He led his forces in pursuing and killing some of the White Wave Bandits while issuing the order, "Those who surrender will not be killed!"

Compared to the cavalry.

The vast majority of the White Wave Bandits were infantry. How could two legs outrun four?

As soon as the order was given.

Ninety percent of the White Wave Bandits stripped off their armor, threw down their weapons, and knelt to beg for surrender.

Of course, some refused to surrender and fled desperately.

As for such people.

Ding Ling ordered them killed outright.

Those who had run too quickly and were already out of sight, however, could only be ignored.

It was enough as long as he kept the overall situation under control.

Obtained E-Rank Achievement Medal: Defeated the fierce White Wave Army bandits who had run rampant across Bing Province and Ji Province!

Note: This White Wave Army would gather a force of one hundred thousand in the future, join forces with the Xiongnu Chanyu Yufuluo, and plunder throughout the Central Plains, causing immense destruction there. You successfully prevented this catastrophe.

Ding Ling was somewhat surprised.

He had actually obtained an E-Rank Achievement Medal.

That was quite rare.

Even the one he had obtained from Zhang He was merely an ordinary medal. Yet defeating the White Wave Bandits had earned him an E-Rank Achievement Medal.

It seemed the White Wave Bandits had not yet had time to develop.

Ding Ling pondered this.

The reason he had divided his troops into four routes was to test the White Wave Bandits' strength.

He wanted to see whether Xu Huang was among them.

It seemed he was not.

Presumably, due to the arrival of the Players.

The White Wave Bandits' path of development had become completely different from history.

If Xu Huang, a fierce general of that caliber, had really been there, I would most likely have retreated.

Xu Huang was a top-tier First-Rate Military General.

Although Ding Ling was quite strong now, he did not dare claim he could definitely defeat Xu Huang.

And the White Wave Bandits had overwhelming numbers.

How could he have fought them then?

Fortunately, what comforted him was that his plan had succeeded.

First, use a duel to probe them, show weakness to the enemy, and incidentally kill off their active fighting strength.

Then, secretly advance by an unsuspected route. Order several clever veteran Players to lead a squad into the ancient city, then set fires, beat drums, and so on after receiving the signal, throwing the White Wave Bandits into confusion.

Then coordinate with the troops lying in ambush on the left and right, as well as the troops in the distance meant to confuse the enemy's vision, making them believe a massive force had arrived, filling them with fear and leaving them unwilling to fight.

This was a combination of waiting at ease for the exhausted enemy and creating something out of nothing.

Afterward, capturing the bandit leader first and turning from guest to host naturally became easy as well.

"This succeeded entirely because I was strong enough and the White Wave Bandits were chaotic enough. Otherwise, no matter how many schemes I had, they would have been useless."

If the enemy had been Cao Mengde.

Ding Ling's plan might not have had any effect.

But Ding Ling had never intended to develop in the direction of a "commander."

His plan was to clear the major stage instances of the game all by himself!

He only needed to make himself stronger and stronger.

Why bother with so many plots and schemes?

As long as he was strong enough, facing enemies head-on and crushing his way through was the true path!

Obtained Achievement Medal: Defeated three historically renowned fierce bandits in succession—Hu Cai, Han Xian, and Li Le.

Note: Hu Cai and the other two possessed considerable martial prowess. Defeating them proves that you have stepped into the ranks of First-Rate Military Generals. Your name will surely spread throughout Ji Province because of this battle!

This notification had appeared after he defeated Hu Cai and the other two.

Ding Ling mused:

No surprise, Achievement Medals should be connected to historical figures. But Cheng Huan, Zhang He, and the others had each contributed nearly one medal. Why had Hu Cai and the other three contributed only one? Could it be because they died, so there were fewer medals?