In a world where the strong preyed on the weak, asking why Zhao Fu was attacking him seemed rather ridiculous. Still, Zhao Fu answered, "I'm doing this for your village!"
After saying that, Zhao Fu turned his head slightly and ordered, "Leave a few alive!"
The archers and crossbowmen prepared to fire. The Great Han's face paled, and he hurriedly called out, "I'm Zhang Dahu, the village chief of Da Hu Village!"
Hearing this, Zhao Fu was a little surprised. He hadn't expected the Great Han in front of him to be the village chief of Da Hu Village, so he immediately said, "Hold your fire!"
Zhang Dahu let out a breath of relief. He had just heard Zhao Fu's words, and looking at the well-equipped, menacing enemies before him, he knew that if they attacked Da Hu Village, it would be an absolute disaster.
Zhao Fu looked at Zhang Dahu, thinking about what to do next and how to use this valuable pawn he had captured to bring Da Hu Village under his control.
"Why do you want our village?" Zhang Dahu suddenly asked, looking seriously at Zhao Fu.
Zhao Fu thought for a moment and decided not to hide anything. He answered simply and directly, "To defend against the five thousand Orcs a hundred miles away!"
"What? Five thousand Orcs?"
Zhang Dahu and the others were shocked by Zhao Fu's words. As native residents, they understood all too well how terrifying foreign races could be.
Orcs usually showed humans no mercy. They killed everyone they came across. If a tribe of five thousand Orcs attacked and discovered Da Hu Village, not a single person there would survive.
Now, Zhao Fu's soldiers looked so well-equipped that they might actually be able to hold off the Orcs. Joining their village might not be a bad thing. Zhang Dahu wasn't good at managing a village anyway. But if he simply joined them just like that, wouldn't it make Da Hu Village look spineless? They could also choose not to join and instead cooperate.
After thinking it over, Zhang Dahu wanted to test Zhao Fu's side's strength while also showing off his own. He pointed to the person beside Zhao Fu and said:
"Da Hu Village won't casually join anyone. The pale-faced fellow beside you looks like he'll do. If he beats me, I'll join your village. If you lose, we'll cooperate to fight off the Orcs, and you'll provide us with equipment."
"Pale-faced fellow?"
Zhao Fu was a little puzzled by Zhang Dahu's words. He turned to look at the person Zhang Dahu was pointing at and saw that it was Bai Qi. He couldn't help laughing. This guy actually called Bai Qi a pretty boy and challenged him to a duel. He's practically asking for death.
After considering it, Zhao Fu realized that either outcome would benefit him, so he nodded and agreed. He was certain Bai Qi would win.
Zhang Dahu took the bow off his back, drew his great saber, and looked at Bai Qi as he strolled toward him. "Pretty boy, be careful. Don't blame me if you get hurt!"
When the Great Han said that, nearly everyone on Zhao Fu's side who knew Bai Qi's strength silently mourned for Zhang Dahu for a few seconds. There was no need to imagine how this would end.
The duel began!
The Great Han raised his great saber and swung it at Bai Qi with tremendous force. Bai Qi remained perfectly calm, standing still. Just as the blade was about to strike him, a flash of swordlight appeared.
"Clang!"
The sound of steel colliding rang out. Zhang Dahu suddenly felt an immense force slam into his blade. He nearly lost his grip, and his weapon was almost knocked flying.
But the next moment, a glint of cold light flashed. Seeing Bai Qi's sword thrust toward his throat, Zhang Dahu hurriedly raised his great saber to block. Bai Qi spun around and kicked him squarely, sending the Great Han flying.
The Great Han hit the ground, then climbed back to his feet, unwilling to give up, and charged at Bai Qi again. But after only a few moves, he was beaten down once more. Zhang Dahu was stunned. He had always been confident in his strength; without him, Da Hu Village would have been wiped out by some other foreign race long ago. How could this fellow, who looked like such a pretty boy, be so strong?
"Wait, I give up."
After a while, Zhang Dahu's saber had long since been knocked away. Bai Qi couldn't even be bothered to use his sword and simply punched the Great Han in the face a few times. Zhang Dahu took several blows. They really hurt!
He knew he had already lost, so he didn't keep fighting and simply admitted defeat.
When he heard the Great Han concede, Bai Qi stopped and turned to return to Zhao Fu's side.
Zhao Fu couldn't help smiling. Zhang Dahu had dug his own hole and jumped right into it. He'd even dared to call Bai Qi a pretty boy, and now he'd gotten a good beating.
"Now that you've lost, do you remember what you said earlier?" Zhao Fu asked Zhang Dahu as he walked over, trying to hold back his laughter.
Zhang Dahu sighed, knelt on one knee, and clasped his fists. "I accept defeat. Greetings, my lord!"
Zhao Fu received a notification asking whether he would accept Da Hu Village's surrender. He chose to accept and gained 100 Battle Merit.
Zhao Fu also took an interested look at Zhang Dahu's attributes.
Name: Zhang Dahu
Aptitude: SS
Title: None
Class: Militiaman
Battle Merit: Citizen (24/500)
Race: Human
Lifespan: 31 (100)
Loyalty: 60
Attributes: Strength: 10, Intelligence: 6, Constitution: 10, Agility: 8
Cultivation: Zero Stage
Cultivation Method: None
Skills: Basic Blade Technique
Equipment: Cloth Shirt, Cloth Shoes, Coarse Cloth Pants
After looking over Zhang Dahu's attributes, Zhao Fu was a little surprised. Zhang Dahu actually had SS aptitude, yet he had no cultivation method, his class was only Militiaman, and he knew only one basic skill. Even so, he didn't seem weak at all. If he joined Great Qin Village and received all kinds of bonuses, Zhang Dahu's strength would multiply. He was more than capable of becoming a mighty general.
Meanwhile, the peaceful Da Hu Village was suddenly thrown into confusion when its residents heard a notification in their minds.
Fortunately, Zhang Dahu rushed back in time and calmed the residents down, and the situation gradually settled. They looked at Zhao Fu and his group with some fear. The main reason was that, among Zhao Fu's three hundred soldiers, there were not only troops clad in iron armor but also Goblins and Gnomes. The native residents were still quite afraid of foreign races.
Zhao Fu went to the Village Chief Hall in Da Hu Village and checked its attributes. He was a little disappointed: it was only of ordinary quality, and Da Hu Village seemed to have only recently been upgraded to a Level 2 village.
Da Hu Village was fifteen miles from Great Qin Village, a little too far away. Zhao Fu planned to move all of its residents to Great Qin Village to fill the population gap.
"Choose to relocate village. Notification: gained 540 experience!"
This relocation granted more experience than any previous one. There was no helping it; Da Hu Village was a Level 2 village. Downgrading a Level 2 village to Level 1 caused quite a loss through relocation. But Da Hu Village was so far away that if anything happened, Great Qin Village wouldn't be able to react in time, so relocation was the only option.
A few hours later, Zhao Fu led the large group back to Great Qin Village. The people from Da Hu Village had seen how powerful it was and were secretly glad; they now had a guarantee of safety. Zhang Dahu in particular looked at how orderly everything was in Great Qin Village and how smoothly it was developing. He felt a little embarrassed, as his own Da Hu Village seemed like a doghouse in comparison.
Great Qin Village had gained six hundred people all at once, bringing its total population to 1,340. Considering the threat posed by the Orcs, Zhao Fu immediately had another three hundred people undergo Class Transfer. Zhao Fu could now take six hundred soldiers out with him.
Zhao Fu didn't treat Zhang Dahu poorly, either. He first let him undergo Class Transfer, then gave him a Soul of Martial Refinement and a silver-quality great saber, along with a blue-quality suit of armor.
Having gained so many benefits all at once, Zhang Dahu was overjoyed, and his loyalty rose considerably.