Sorrowful Destiny

As the group fought its way forward, all the way into the main hall of the Village Head's Office, Jian Shang killed three more NPC enemy soldiers in succession, raising his Strength by another two points. But for the last one, he only received a system notification for merit, with no notice of increased Strength.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

Bloodshot-eyed, Jian Shang gave it no further thought. Still wielding his spear like a rampaging bull, he charged recklessly through the battlefield. By sheer luck, he became one of the players to reach the middle of the Village Head's Office, and he had not suffered a single injury.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

His reddened eyes locked onto an NPC guard. Jian Shang repeated his old trick, gripping the Pear Blossom Wrought-Iron Spear with both hands and charging straight ahead, intending to use the chaos to land a surprise killing thrust.

Unexpectedly, at the critical moment, the NPC guard dodged Jian Shang's sneak attack. With a flick of his steel saber, he unleashed three slashes in an instant amid sharp whistling winds, hacking at Jian Shang as he charged forward on momentum and sealing off both sides of his retreat.

Jian Shang could only watch helplessly as the three cold flashes of steel came chopping down at him. He had neither the time nor the ability to evade...

"Clang..."

"Pfft!"

At that moment, a steel saber swept across in front of Jian Shang. A clear ring of metal echoed as it blocked the three fatal strikes, then it reversed and killed the NPC guard.

"Be careful!"

Captain Dong appeared beside Jian Shang, looking approvingly at the pale-faced Jian Shang, who was still shaken from the close call.

"I can tell this is your first time taking part in a bloody battle. The young lady truly has a keen eye. You have courage and brains; you're a promising talent. You just haven't adapted to it yet. You'll get used to it. I think highly of you!"

Meeting Jian Shang's grateful gaze, Captain Dong nodded and praised him warmly. After a pause, he added, "I will truthfully report your achievements this time to the young lady. Keep it up! Remember, the two most important words on the battlefield are... stay calm!"

With that, he ignored Jian Shang and charged toward another NPC.

"Whew..."

Jian Shang let out a long breath. The feverish madness from before cooled considerably.

Though Captain Dong had not called him by name, he clearly recognized him. At the very least, he knew Jian Shang had been personally brought into the Golden Roc Faction by Ye Caiyun. Jian Shang had thought he had no presence at all!

Now that was a warrior. That was a soldier!

Watching Captain Dong move nimbly across the battlefield, calmly handling every situation and striking with ruthless precision, Jian Shang felt genuine admiration, even a little reverence.

Jian Shang had reached this point without injury after killing five enemy soldiers. Half of that was thanks to the reach advantage of the Pear Blossom Wrought-Iron Spear; some was luck, and some came from the players "supporting" one another. As for Captain Dong, Jian Shang had no idea how many enemies he had killed. Yet he too was unhurt, and had even saved many players, all through his own strength.

That was the gap—the gap between real soldiers and real civilians.

The young lady can do it. So can I!

Watching Captain Dong cut through the battlefield with such ease, Jian Shang shouted inwardly. He fixed his eyes on an NPC enemy soldier and charged forward with his spear again.

Blade flashes and sword shadows filled the air, blood misting like fog.

This time, Jian Shang kept Captain Dong's lesson—stay calm—firmly in mind. He no longer knew only how to thrust straight with his spear or wait for chances to launch sneak attacks. He constantly recalled and familiarized himself with the other moves of the Basic Spear Technique, adding blocks, deflections, and flicks to his spearwork.

Before long, the four forces surrounding the Village Head's Office had all arrived around the central council hall, encircling it from four sides.

By the time Jian Shang arrived, Ye Caiyun, sword in hand, was already standing before the council hall doors. She led more than a hundred fierce-looking men in a standoff against over twenty guards in brocade robes stationed before the hall.

Dozens of corpses lay sprawled across the open ground between the players and the NPCs. Most were players. Clearly, the player forces had already launched several charges, only to be driven back by those twenty-odd brocade-clad guards.

At the entrance of the council hall, a middle-aged man in the official robes of the village head stood behind the brocade-clad guards, accompanied by a beautiful, well-preserved mature woman. He stared coldly at Ye Caiyun and the others. The middle-aged man must have been the village head of Shizhuang, comparable to a town mayor.

Silence!

Dead silence!

Despite the chaotic and bloody scene, neither side spoke. At least when Jian Shang arrived, he heard neither Ye Caiyun urging surrender nor the Shizhuang village head rebuking them. It seemed both sides knew there was no need for further words.

"Sixth Squad and... all remaining troops, heed my command!"

As Jian Shang wondered about this, Ye Caiyun raised her blood-dripping sword and called out coldly, expressionless.

Sixth Squad?! Didn't the Fourth Battalion only have five squads? Where did a sixth squad come from?

Jian Shang frowned in thought. Soon, he saw a force of around fifty people emerge behind Ye Caiyun, every one of them carrying hard bows and sharp arrows. They drew their bows and aimed at the NPC force before the council hall.

Attack!

Before Jian Shang could think further, Ye Caiyun slashed her sword downward and shouted.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Dozens of sharp arrows, mixed with dozens of sabers, spears, axes, and other weapons, streaked through the sky like a rainstorm of cold light, sweeping toward the brocade-clad guards.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

A dense, chaotic chorus of metal clashes rang out. Those brocade-clad guards truly were elites; more than a dozen of them actually blocked the powerful arrows and fierce thrown weapons.

Unfortunately, under such an assault, nearly half of the brocade-clad guards still met their deaths.

After several charges, the players had left behind thirty or forty corpses and only killed six or seven brocade-clad guards. They had been unable to do anything to the NPC force. Yet a single coordinated long-range attack had wiped out half the brocade-clad guards without suffering any losses.

So... this was Ye Caiyun's strategy! She must have anticipated the situation before them and expected the Shizhuang village head to be fully prepared. He would not engage in chaotic melee or close combat, so she had prepared an unknown Sixth Squad in advance. Together with the surrounding players, she intended to rely on superior numbers and a fierce offensive to wear down Shizhuang's strongest elite force?

Seeing this, Jian Shang suddenly understood. No wonder Ye Caiyun's Fourth Battalion, ranked last, had dared to take on the most difficult and dangerous task of surrounding the Village Head's Office.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Although half the brocade-clad guards had been wiped out, the players did not stop. Powerful arrows and fierce thrown weapons came in an unbroken tide, with barely a pause.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

Besides the powerful brocade-clad guards, the Shizhuang village head displayed terrifying strength. Whether powerful arrows or fierce thrown weapons, not a single one could come within three feet of him beneath the Three-Foot Green Edge in his hand. Every attack was struck down or knocked away.

"Ugh... NPCs really were NPCs. Their intelligence was indeed limited! With the village head's terrifying strength and the power of those brocade-clad guards, they might not have been unable to fight. Why were they stupid enough to form up and face the enemy, allowing Ye Caiyun to slowly wear them down with long-range attacks? Had a donkey kicked them in the head?"

Though the scene was tragic and bloody, Jian Shang felt little sympathy for the NPCs. Instead, he curled his lips and muttered in disbelief.

Even if all else failed, with the village head's terrifying strength, he would have had an excellent chance of breaking out. Did he really need to stand there like a living target and take the attacks head-on?

"Clang, clang, clang... clang, clang, clang..."

To the astonishment of many players, including Jian Shang, the Shizhuang village head stood rooted to the spot and used only his Three-Foot Green Edge to forcibly block the players' fierce long-range barrage.

Such strength, such swordsmanship—describing it as impermeable even to water would not have been an exaggeration. That did not even account for the tremendous force required to knock away every ranged attack.

"Pfft..."

Human strength had its limits. This shamelessly one-sided target practice continued for the time it took to eat a meal. At last, the Shizhuang village head made one mistake, and an arrow pierced through his curtain of sword light. A series of attacks immediately followed.

In an instant, the Shizhuang village head was struck by four arrows, one spear, and one axe. Blood stained his mighty body.

It was obvious that the Shizhuang village head had been protecting the mature woman beside him. Otherwise, his injuries would not have been so severe.

"Stop!"

Still expressionless, Ye Caiyun gave a cold cry, and the tide of long-range attacks ceased.

"Pfft..."

"Clang..."

Once the attacks stopped, the Shizhuang village head opened his mouth and spat out a stream of bright red blood. With a ringing clang, he drove his treasured sword into the ground and remained standing.

"Does Mister Shi have any last words?"

Ye Caiyun, shrewd as a ghost, actually showed regret and respect toward an NPC who had seemed like an idiot. Her tone was gentle as she asked.

"Ha, ha... Heaven seeks my destruction. What can man do? This is destiny... At a time when barbarians invade, I, Shi Rong, did not fall at the hands of barbarians, but instead die at the hands of my own people! How lamentable, how sorrowful, how laughable..."

Leaning on his sword, Shi Rong, the village head of Shizhuang, threw back his head and laughed bitterly. Bright red blood continuously spilled from his mouth amid that bitter laughter, like petals of crimson peach blossoms...

"Treat the people of Shizhuang well. They are your foundation, your hope!"

His mighty body stood tall, his tiger-like eyes wide with fury. Shi Rong's bloodshot gaze locked onto Ye Caiyun's star-like eyes as he spoke in a trembling voice.

"I will!" Ye Caiyun nodded solemnly. It was both a reply and a promise.

"Clang..."

"Come!"

A rainbow of cold light flashed. Shi Rong swung his treasured sword, sending countless stone fragments flying as he pointed it at the surrounding players and shouted boldly.

"What was this supposed to be? What kind of act was this?"

Looking at Ye Caiyun, shrewd as a ghost, then at Shi Rong, who worried for the people even as he faced death, and at the sorrow, desolation, and relief on Shi Rong's face, Jian Shang became confused, bewildered, and stunned...

From Shi Rong's words and the look in his eyes, if Jian Shang still believed he was merely a low-intelligence NPC, then there was something wrong with Jian Shang's own intelligence. But...

Why had Shi Rong done this? What exactly was going on?

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