Yellow Turban Squad Leader

Chapter 7: Yellow Turban Squad Leader

Just as Lin Maoxian stopped, someone on the mountain seemed to sense something and glanced in his direction.

Seeing this, a Yellow Turban Soldier beside him asked, "What's wrong, Squad Leader? Is something happening?"

The Squad Leader shook his head. "It's nothing. I must have imagined it. I just felt like something was watching us from that direction, so I looked over, but didn't see anything. I was probably mistaken."

The Yellow Turban Soldier smiled. "Sir, the woods around here are thick. It might've just been an animal."

The Squad Leader noncommittally replied, "Maybe. But why have Wang Hu and the others been gone so long? It seems he's getting more and more unruly."

"Sir, Wang Hu's always thinking about earning merit so he can become a Squad Leader like you. Who knows what he's doing out there now?" another Yellow Turban Soldier immediately chimed in. He and Wang Hu didn't get along. Wang Hu was stronger than most people and had bullied him plenty, so now that Wang Hu wasn't around, naturally he wanted to badmouth him in front of their superior.

"Hmph!" The Squad Leader snorted. "With Wang Hu's abilities, even if he earned enough merit to become a Squad Leader, he'd be the weakest one around. We became Squad Leaders through hard work and training. If he fought me, I'd kill him in just a few moves."

"Exactly. Even if Wang Hu became a Squad Leader, he'd never compare to you," the Yellow Turban Soldier beside him immediately flattered him.

Hearing the little soldier's praise, the Squad Leader's expression softened. "That's true, but Wang Hu's been gone too long. Could something have happened to him?"

"You're worrying too much, sir. This is the middle of nowhere, and hardly anyone comes around here. Besides, we're about to attack the county seat. Everyone's bound to be hiding inside Pingyang County to escape the fighting. Who would come to a godforsaken place like this? I bet Wang Hu and the others went off somewhere to enjoy themselves and left us here on guard." The soldier who held a grudge against Wang Hu quickly picked up the conversation.

The Squad Leader didn't entirely believe him. He shook his head. "Wang Hu may be a bit fanciful, but he knows what matters. He's been gone a long time, so something may have delayed him. If he hasn't returned in another quarter of an hour, we'll go back to the valley and report to the Centurion. He can decide what to do."

After hearing the Squad Leader, the soldier said no more. He knew better than to overdo it. If he kept badmouthing Wang Hu, the Squad Leader would realize he had a personal grudge and was trying to frame him.

When Lin Maoxian saw the Squad Leader look in his direction, he had jumped, thinking he'd been spotted. Only after hearing their conversation did he realize that although the Squad Leader had sensed something, he hadn't been sure. He had only glanced over and then said nothing more. Still, this showed that the man's Perception was probably quite high. Lin Maoxian used Probe to check the Squad Leader's attributes.

Yellow Turban Squad Leader: Huang Liu

Strength: 17; Agility: 13; Stamina: 16; Intelligence: 9; Charm: 5; Perception: 12; Willpower: 11

Skills: Absolute Faith—when the target enters a state of faith, Strength, Agility, and Stamina each increase by 5 points; only special characters can activate this skill, and it cannot be used voluntarily.

Exquisite Iron Blade (Common): Damage +5. A finely crafted iron blade made by an ordinary blacksmith. Sharpness: 15 (if the target's Stamina is no higher than 15, it will cause bleeding).

Crude Armor (Common): Defense +3. Crude armor made by an ordinary blacksmith. Durability: 10 (as long as the force or sharpness of a blow against the armor is no higher than 10, the armor must be struck repeatedly in the same spot to break through; the armor can be cut apart).

Seeing the Squad Leader's 12 points of Perception, Lin Maoxian understood why the man had sensed him. His own Perception was only 15, not enough to suppress the man's Perception (Perception suppression required a difference of 10 points and misled the target's senses), so it was only natural that the Squad Leader had noticed something.

Seeing the Squad Leader's exceptionally high Strength and Stamina, Lin Maoxian did the math. His own Strength, including his equipment, came to 31 points. If he chose Reward 3, which dealt 100% more crushing damage, each attack would deal (31-19)*3+10%===39.6 damage. With the health granted by his 16 Stamina, he could take the man down in about four hits, and the little health he had left wouldn't cause Lin Maoxian any trouble. Lin Maoxian currently had 15 Stamina. With his basic skill, one of the man's attacks would deal (22-16.5)===5.5 damage, which was nothing to him. As for the soldiers, as long as they didn't keep attacking him, they couldn't hurt him without breaking through his defense. So as long as he got close and kept the Squad Leader tied up in a fight, the man wouldn't be able to escape.

The problem was that the soldiers were up on the hillside, where the terrain favored them. Charging straight up would put Lin Maoxian at a disadvantage. Remembering that one of their men was still farther back, he cautiously turned and went to find Xiao Zhang.

When he returned to where he'd left, Lin Maoxian didn't see Xiao Zhang. He carefully sensed the surroundings, then shouted toward one of the directions, "Kid, get out here! How long are you planning to hide?"

"Sir, you're back!" Hearing the familiar voice, Xiao Zhang hurried out of his hiding place.

Ignoring Xiao Zhang's current state, Lin Maoxian glowered at him. "Listen, you'd better cooperate this time, or you might not make it out alive."

Hearing that his life might be in danger if he didn't cooperate, Xiao Zhang said nervously, "I... I'll do whatever you say."

"There's no need to be nervous. This isn't hard." Seeing how tense Xiao Zhang was, Lin Maoxian reassured him. "In a moment, you'll run ahead while I pretend to chase you. Lead the few men on the mountainside down here. Once you've lured them down, you can hide to the side so you don't get hurt by accident. Simple enough? Do you understand?"

"I understand," Xiao Zhang said fearfully. "But... but..."

"I know what you're worried about. I might really hit you, but I'll hold back. At worst, you'll get a minor injury. You'll be fine, so don't worry." Lin Maoxian knew what the kid was concerned about: that he'd really punch him and finish him off. But Lin Maoxian had 15 Strength, and without his title, his equipment brought it to 17. With the bonus from his basic skill, Xiao Zhang's 7 Stamina and cloth armor with 2 Defense (it wasn't even Common quality, so it wasn't worth mentioning) meant he'd only lose a sixth of his health from one hit. As long as Lin Maoxian was careful, it would be fine.

"O-okay."

"Squad Leader, help! Help me!" Xiao Zhang shouted as he pretended to flee in a panic. To make it look more convincing, Lin Maoxian had punched him beforehand and told him that if he failed to lure them down, he'd have to charge in and fight. For the sake of his own life, Xiao Zhang shouted as loudly as he could.

Lin Maoxian chased after him, ready to intercept him when he neared the path and trick the men into coming down.

"Hm? Something's happening. That's Xiao Zhang calling for help. Stay alert and let's see what's going on," Huang Liu said to the others when he heard Xiao Zhang's distant cries. He didn't know how many enemies there were, so he didn't dare rush out recklessly and put himself in danger.

Watching Xiao Zhang run toward them in a panic, shouting for help, Huang Liu tightened his grip on his weapon. If there weren't many enemies, he'd charge out, kill them, and earn merit. If there were too many, he'd have to abandon Xiao Zhang. He'd just have to accept that the man was out of luck. At most, Huang Liu could report what happened to the Centurion and ask him to avenge Xiao Zhang.

In no time, Xiao Zhang reached the path. His pursuer caught up and stopped him, and the two began fighting. But it was clear Xiao Zhang was no match. After just a few blows, the man punched him, knocking him to the ground as he spat blood. Huang Liu quickly calculated that with his own strength and the help of the others, they should be able to take this man down.

"Come with me and help me kill him!" Huang Liu said as he charged down the mountain with his iron blade. The other four soldiers followed close behind.

Watching them charge down, Lin Maoxian hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. It seemed he'd put on quite a convincing act. He looked down at Xiao Zhang, who was pretending to spit up blood, and said, "You're out of this now. You'd better hide to the side, or you might get hurt by accident, and I won't be responsible. Also, my punch wasn't that strong. Stop spitting blood. I know what you're up to."

Seeing that his little act to win their sympathy had been exposed, Xiao Zhang wiped his mouth and hurried to his feet, then ran into the woods.

"Damn it, Xiao Zhang's working with him! They tricked us into coming down here. Retreat!" When Huang Liu saw Xiao Zhang get up as if nothing had happened and run toward the woods, he realized they'd been tricked. He shouted for his men to retreat and immediately ran back.

"Too late to run now." Lin Maoxian immediately equipped his title and activated Copper Skin, then charged at Huang Liu and the others. His main target was the Squad Leader, so Huang Liu was the first one he attacked. He rushed up to him and threw a punch.

Seeing how fast the man was charging toward them, Huang Liu knew they wouldn't make it back. Without a second thought, he raised his broadsword and swung at the incoming fist. He thought just like Wang Hu had: if he swung his blade, the man would surely pull back his fist and dodge. But he didn't know how powerful an Adventurer's data-based body was. As long as a weapon's Sharpness wasn't more than 10 points above an Adventurer's Defense, it wouldn't sever a limb.