Pledge of Allegiance

At a table in the corner, the three men sat facing one another.

The two burly men stood out from the other tavern patrons watching the show. One carried a greatsword on his back, while the other bore a shield. They had fierce expressions and sturdy builds. The wear on their chainmail, weapons, and shield was enough to show that both had seen battle and bloodshed.

The three introduced themselves.

The greatsword wielder was named Ralph, and the shield bearer was called Loga. As for Bai Xiaowen, he temporarily gave himself an inconspicuous name—Dio Skalboom.

Bai Xiaowen checked Ralph and Loga's attributes and was secretly startled. Loga was a level 3 Shield Armor Warrior with nearly 40 total attributes, while Ralph was even stronger. There was actually an Elite Tier prefix after his name—a level 3 Champion Swordsman!

"Dio, what made you leave your hometown and come to this godforsaken place? I remember Volterren being a prosperous city," Ralph said in a deep voice.

Bai Xiaowen continued to give the sort of answer expected from a hotheaded youth. "The Northern Frontier awaits liberation. I left warm Volterren precisely to join the fight to liberate the Northern Frontier!"

"Well said!" Loga, the younger man beside Ralph, praised him.

"Yes, my brother. The Northern Frontier belongs to us Vikings. We must drive those damned Imperial dogs out!" Ralph said quietly. "If you wish to join Usok's Resistance Army, we would gladly welcome you with open arms—but the Resistance Army needs strong warriors."

Loga nodded. "You need to prove yourself. A tavern brawl proves nothing."

Bai Xiaowen showed just the right amount of shock. "You are members of Usok's Resistance Army? Then why did you sit by while a flea insulted the great Viking leader?"

"Shh..." Ralph said in a low voice. "We came to Elu City to carry out a special mission for Lord Usok. Though this city bears no particular prejudice toward the Resistance Army, we still need to act cautiously. A dragon would not care about a wild dog's barking, nor would Lord Usok care how some down-and-out bard slandered him. Still, we thank you for speaking up for what was right. In you, we see the hope of the Northern Frontier."

Bai Xiaowen's thoughts:

Hah, I figured out long ago that you two were with the Resistance Army! When that song "Usok the Regicide" was being performed, your drinking pace increased by a full 30%. The shield bearer clenched and released his fist five times, like someone had insulted his own father... Was there any other possibility besides the Resistance Army?

Outwardly, however, Bai Xiaowen still showed excitement and fervor.

"I am willing to join Usok's Resistance Army. I've long wanted to kick those Imperial dogs in the ass!"

Ralph nodded in satisfaction. "Don't rush, brother. So long as you prove yourself to be a warrior, I will certainly take you with me when I return to Spiked Helm City."

"How do I prove it?" Bai Xiaowen asked impatiently.

Ralph and Loga exchanged a glance.

"Brother, there is a small Imperial dog outpost in a mountain hollow fifteen li northwest of Elu City. Bring us an Imperial dog's identification tag, and we will acknowledge you as a brave warrior."

Amid the biting north wind, Bai Xiaowen left the Wild Mare tavern and headed northwest of Elu City.

As he walked, Bai Xiaowen brought up the mission panel and checked the newly added mission.

"Side Mission: Pledge of Allegiance."

"Mission Objective: Kill an Imperial Army soldier, bring back the identification tag on his body, and hand it to Ralph, a Resistance Army warrior."

"Mission Reward: Unknown."

"Time Limit: 48 hours."

"Mission Difficulty: C+."

Bai Xiaowen closed the mission panel.

"If I'm doing this, I'm doing it big! I have to complete this mission perfectly and earn Ralph's trust. Only then can I become further involved in the Northern Frontier's main conflict and meet the upper ranks of the Northern Frontier Resistance Army as soon as possible."

Bai Xiaowen's choice of the Resistance Army faction was the result of careful consideration, mainly for two reasons.

For one thing, the Imperial Army faction could not accommodate him.

Everything Bai Xiaowen did was for the sake of completing his Class Change mission: Black Soul Stone. North County Monastery and the Royal Knights Order were both forces on the Empire's side. Joining the Imperial Army would be suicide, would it not?

For another, the Resistance Army should be friendlier toward promising newcomers.

Just think about it. Within the Northern Frontier, the Resistance Army could still contend with the Imperial Army. But across the entire Aaron Continent, it was all the Empire's domain. Joining the Resistance Army meant opposing the colossal Lionheart Empire! The Lionheart Empire's manpower, resources, and influence were almost more than ten times those of the Northern Frontier Resistance Army.

With such a small foundation, the Resistance Army leaders would surely be desperate for talent. Whether in terms of entry requirements or promotion speed, they could not compare to the aging and rigid Empire.

Usok, the Resistance Army leader, was at least a lord. He should have capable people under him who could lift the seal on a Soul Stone. So long as Bai Xiaowen attained a certain position within the Resistance Army, his Class Change mission would finally show some promise.

The only difficulty was the time limit.

The Class Change mission had to be completed within ten days, which meant Bai Xiaowen could not gain promotion through ordinary means. He had to enter the Resistance Army's upper ranks' field of vision as quickly as possible.

"This small outpost has so few people?"

An hour later, Bai Xiaowen arrived on foot at the mountain hollow Ralph had mentioned and spotted a small squad of Imperial soldiers—four in total.

Bai Xiaowen recalled that in medieval European wars, the number of soldiers involved truly was not that large. A battle involving dozens of people counted as a small-scale conflict, while one involving hundreds was already a local war. In a full-scale war between two territories, the combined number of soldiers on both sides might not even exceed a thousand.

Of the four Imperial soldiers before him, three wore linen clothing and looked rather scrawny. They were constantly busy feeding horses and chopping firewood, clearly auxiliary soldiers. The remaining man was much sturdier, dressed in fine chainmail and resting inside a tent—he should have been the squad leader, a regular soldier.

Bai Xiaowen used Insight to examine their strength.

The three auxiliary soldiers all had total attributes around 15 points. Their combat power was roughly comparable to the bard in the tavern. They were probably farmers who had not put down their hoes long ago.

What Bai Xiaowen mainly wanted to examine were the fine-chainmail leader's attributes.

[Bjorn / Challenge Level 2]

[Race: Humanoid / Human Race]

[Class: Level 2 Great Hammer Warrior]

[Attributes: Strength 9, Agility 6, Constitution 10, Spirit 4]

[Skill 1: Heavy Strike: Swings a two-handed warhammer in a heavy blow against an enemy, dealing 150% actual damage.]

[Skill 2: Intimidation: Intimidates an enemy. The enemy must pass a Will check or turn and flee for 3 seconds.]

Bai Xiaowen frowned. Leaving aside the fact that his combat strength was only comparable to that of an auxiliary soldier, even if he had the strength of an ordinary Quasi-Awakened, rashly charging in would still be extremely dangerous. All Bjorn needed was one Intimidation. If Bai Xiaowen failed the Will check, he would be beaten to death by the three auxiliary soldiers.

"If I go head-on, I'm definitely getting wrecked!"

Bai Xiaowen thought for a moment, then turned and quietly left the observation point. He found a river nearby.

"There really is a reason to read more books... There was a scene in some novel I read before where a weak protagonist used a clever scheme to kill an enemy. I can use that idea..."

Between the mountain hollow where the camp stood and the river, Bai Xiaowen concealed himself among the branches of a large tree and waited quietly.

About two hours later, just as Bai Xiaowen's legs were starting to go numb, the change he had been waiting for finally appeared at the camp.

An auxiliary soldier carrying a waterskin staggered toward the river.