Selecting Side Quests

After seeing the soldier off, Lin Maoxian led Xiao Zhang inside.

Upon entering the small encampment, he discovered over a dozen military tents standing on the ground, though he had no idea where the Centurion might be. Lin Maoxian had no choice but to ask one of the men currently training, "Greetings, I am a new recruit reporting for duty. May I trouble you to tell me where Centurion Lin is?"

The man looked at Lin Maoxian and said, "Follow me." With that, he walked toward the tent in the very center, and Lin Maoxian and Xiao Zhang immediately followed behind.

"My Lord, two more new recruits have arrived to report," the leading soldier said, standing outside the tent.

"New recruits have arrived again? Tell them to come in," a resonant voice came from inside the tent.

The soldier turned to Lin Maoxian and the other man and said, "You two may enter." He then turned and walked back the way he came, evidently to continue his training.

Stepping into the tent, they were met with the sight of a burly man, seven feet tall and imposing, sitting right in the center of the main tent. Lin Maoxian and Xiao Zhang hurriedly bowed, "Greetings, My Lord. We are two new soldiers reporting for duty, assigned to your command."

Lin Wu looked at the two before him, thinking to himself: I fear these two are also from Earth Village. I don't know what is going on with that village; not only is the number of people joining the army extremely high, but there are even women among them. The superiors not only allowed these women to participate in combat but also grouped everyone from this village into a single century. They aren't even worried that these people might be Yellow Turban Army spies, endangering the safety of Pingyang County.

Shaking his head to clear these thoughts, he said to the two, "Since you were assigned to my unit, you must be from Earth Village. I am your Centurion, Lin Wu. Because this century was formed temporarily, aside from my own personal guards, the Squad Leaders have not yet been selected. By sunset today, if no other new recruits join, I will find other soldiers to fill the ranks. Once the unit reaches one hundred men, there will be a martial competition. Whoever possesses the greatest strength will temporarily become the Squad Leader of this century. Do you understand?"

Lin Maoxian looked up and asked, puzzled, "My Lord, why is it a temporary Squad Leader position, rather than a permanent one?"

Lin Wu explained, "Because those of you who become Squad Leaders are chosen solely for your martial prowess; you have not yet earned sufficient military merit. Once you have enough merit, you can become official Squad Leaders."

Lin Maoxian continued, "My Lord, how does one earn military merit? Is it earned simply by killing Yellow Turban Army soldiers?"

Lin Wu nodded. "That is one way to earn merit. On the battlefield, killing one Yellow Turban Army soldier grants 1 point of military merit, killing an elite Yellow Turban soldier grants 3 points, killing a Yellow Turban Army Squad Leader grants 10 points, and killing a Yellow Turban Army Centurion's guard grants 20 points. As for a Yellow Turban Army Centurion, killing one grants 100 points of merit, which would allow you to immediately become an official Squad Leader. Only such Squad Leaders are recognized by the imperial court and will receive military pay and other benefits."

Seeing the two before him listening intently, he continued, "What I just mentioned is only one way to earn merit. Other methods, such as accepting missions issued by superiors or performing other great feats, can also earn you merit."

Lin Maoxian did the math: he would need to kill 10 Squad Leaders, or 100 points of merit, to obtain an official position. He would wait until after the competition to see the attribute bonuses of a Squad Leader; if they were good, he would have to put in some real effort. "My Lord, where is the place to accept missions? I would like to go and take a look."

Hearing this question, Lin Wu looked Lin Maoxian up and down. "Your village is truly strange. How is it that everyone asks this question? Is this some kind of common affliction?" He shook his head in disbelief. In his many years of military service, the soldiers he encountered were always hoping there would be no missions. But those from this village were different; whenever they learned there were missions, they would ask about them as if they were desperate to have work to do.

He casually picked up a bamboo slip from the desk and tossed it over. "All current missions are on there. You may choose one here, but be warned: if you accept a mission and fail to complete it, there will be severe punishment."

Lin Maoxian ignored the Centurion's warning and opened the bamboo slip, simultaneously receiving a prompt from the space:

"Adventurer, you may freely accept any of the following missions. The rewards and penalties for each are specified. Please choose carefully."

"Side Mission—Probe: Infiltrate the Yellow Turban Army outside the city and discover the exact time of their siege. Mission completion reward: 10,000 Source Points; failure penalty: 10,000 Source Points."

"Side Mission—Intercept Supplies: 'The army moves, but the supplies come first.' Intercept the Yellow Turban Army's supplies and bring them back to Pingyang County. Mission completion reward: 10,000 Source Points; failure penalty: 10,000 Source Points."

"Side Mission—Slay a General before the lines..."

"Side Mission—Lead the Charge..."

"Side Mission..."

"Side Mission—Slay a General on the Ramparts: During the defense of the city, you must kill at least 10 Squad Leaders, or 5 Centurion's guards, or 1 Centurion. Mission completion reward: 3,000 Source Points; failure penalty: 5,000 Source Points."

"Side Mission—Valiant Combat: During the defense of the city, you must fight on the ramparts for 12 hours every day or complete corresponding tasks. Mission completion reward: 3,000 Source Points; failure penalty: 5,000 Source Points."

After looking through the list of side missions, Lin Maoxian realized that only "Slay a General on the Ramparts" and "Valiant Combat" were suited to his current strength. Missions like gathering intelligence inside the enemy army or hijacking supplies required either immense power or a large group of people. Even more absurd were the "Slay a General before the lines" and "Lead the Charge" missions; in his view, anyone who accepted those now was surely courting death. One required the Adventurer to duel an enemy general, and the other required one to act as the vanguard in a charge—neither of which an Adventurer could currently accomplish.

"My Lord, I wish to accept the 'Slay a General on the Ramparts' and 'Valiant Combat' missions." Lin Maoxian said, handing the bamboo slip back. As for Xiao Zhang beside him, Lin Maoxian simply ignored him; with that kid's cowardly personality, it was absolutely impossible for him to accept a mission.

Lin Wu took the bamboo slip with some surprise. "Oh? You wish to accept two missions? Very well, but since you have accepted them, there will naturally be specialized battlefield supervisory soldiers responsible for monitoring and recording your performance. Do not harbor any thoughts of luck."

As soon as Lin Wu's words fell, Lin Maoxian received a prompt from the space: "Adventurer has accepted Side Mission—Slay a General on the Ramparts...; Side Mission—Valiant Combat..."

"I would naturally never dream of it."

"Good that you know. I have said all that needs to be said. Go outside and find any tent to rest for a while. Once the martial competition after sunset is over, the formal division of the units will take place, and you will have fixed tents then. You may leave now." After saying this, Lin Wu waved his hand at the two, signaling that they could leave.

"Yes, My Lord!" "Yes, My Lord!"

After exiting the tent, Lin Maoxian said to Xiao Zhang, "Kid, you did well; you didn't make a sound just now. In a moment, we are going to meet those 'fellow villagers' of mine. Those 'fellow villagers' of mine are not exactly kind-hearted people, so you had best continue as you just did—don't ask anything, don't say anything. Do you understand?"

Xiao Zhang replied, "I understand, My Lord."

"Good, as long as you understand. Let's go." Lin Maoxian led Xiao Zhang toward the other tents.

Lin Maoxian randomly chose a tent and lifted the curtain, discovering eight people sitting inside. He turned to Xiao Zhang and said, "Kid, you wait outside the tent for now. If anything happens, just shout, and I will come out. Also, those 'fellow villagers' of mine are not ordinary people. If you notice something is wrong, you had best shout immediately; don't wait until you've been beaten to the point where you can't even call for help before thinking of asking me to save you. If that happens, I'll only be able to collect your corpse."

"I... I understand, My Lord!" Having been told this, Xiao Zhang was visibly nervous, looking around as if danger could descend at any moment.

Ignoring Xiao Zhang's state, Lin Maoxian walked straight into the tent and found a spot to sit down.

Watching Lin Maoxian walk in, a middle-aged man among them laughed, "Another Adventurer has arrived. There are truly a lot of Adventurers encountered in this mission world!"

The young man sitting next to him also said, "Who's to say otherwise? According to that Centurion, it looks like there might be 100 people coming here. I wonder how many will choose the Yellow Turban side."

"That shouldn't happen, right? When everyone was assigned, they were all placed relatively close to Pingyang County, and the Yellow Turban faction is the one attacking the city. Surely no Adventurer would choose that side?" The speaker was a young-looking woman; while not particularly beautiful, she was pleasant to look at.

"Who knows? Perhaps some want to gamble on a big return with a small stake?" said the middle-aged man who spoke first. After finishing, he turned to Lin Maoxian, who was sitting to the side, and said, "Brother, my name is Tiger, and this one next to me is Eel. This beauty is called Shasha. As for the others, they are called Belcha, Wumu, Laser Machine, Stationery, and Biscuit. I don't know how to address you, little brother?" The man called Tiger introduced the others first before asking for Lin Maoxian's name.

Listening to their strange names, Lin Maoxian replied, "You can just call me Adventurer. I don't know how long you all have been here?"

Tiger shook his head and said, "We only arrived this morning, just a little earlier than you, Adventurer. But now everyone is gathering in the tents, waiting for the martial competition after sunset."