Strength Was Lacking, So Cunning Would Make Up the Difference

At the entrance to Luna Village, the hot-blooded villagers who had volunteered to stay behind and cover the retreat were hard at work.

The Village Chief's son, Xi'an, directed them. Under his orders, the villagers hauled stones of every size into place, building a crude wall. They seemed to intend to use it as a defensive fortification and fight the approaching Holy Legion to the death.

Pan Long looked at the ring of wooden fencing around the village, sighed, and did not go over to help.

To him, it was a waste of time and strength. Forget the flimsy wall they were throwing together—even if they built a composite-concrete wall like the fortified structures from his previous life, what good would it do?

If the Holy Legion's Warriors could not break through the wall, could they not tear down the fence?

But he did not want to say anything so discouraging to the villagers. Everyone in the Northlands knew one thing: if your words would not help, you were better off keeping your mouth shut and saving your strength for hacking at the enemy.

There was no fixing Luna Village's lack of defenses. Talking about it would be pointless. Why waste his breath and crush his allies' morale at the same time?

He would have to have water in his brain to do that.

"I'm going out to scout again," he said. "Are there any horses left in the village? I remember seeing some when I arrived yesterday."

The villagers looked at one another. After a moment, Xi'an answered, "We gave the few horses we had to the people taking the provisions..."

Pan Long was at a loss for words. He had thought they would leave at least one horse for a scout to ride.

Ah, they're farmers who've never fought a battle. I shouldn't expect so much of them!

He collected himself and asked, "Is there anywhere near the village that would make a good lookout?"

Jin En the hunter thought for a moment. "There's a fairly high cliff ten miles south of here."

Pan Long stared at him without a word. Several seconds passed before Jin En turned away, unable to meet his eyes. Only then did Pan Long sigh. "The enemy's coming from the west. What would a scout see from a cliff ten miles south?"

Jin En had no answer.

Fuck, they're beyond rookies. They're vegetables! Even rookies could eat them for rations!

This time, Pan Long could not even manage a sigh.

He began to think that choosing to stay and fight alongside these villagers might not have been wise.

...He should have gone looking for the Holy Legion overnight after leveling up yesterday. He could have used Stealth to slip into their camp under cover of darkness, struck back out of nowhere, and tried to assassinate Seles, the "Most Holy."

If that failed, he could simply fight them to the death.

He could not die anyway. The outcome would be settled one way or the other, clean and simple.

He really could have tried it then, but he had not wanted to.

Where was the thrill in a Stealth assassination compared with cutting his way through the enemy head-on?

Besides, when faced with a bastard like Seles, who took pleasure in slaughtering civilians, merely killing him would never be enough. Pan Long wanted to cut him down savagely, grind his pride and honor into the dirt, and let everyone see him fall with his brains and blood spilled across the ground. Seles deserved a death stripped of every shred of honor and dignity. Now that would be satisfying!

One word: crush him! Crush him mercilessly! Crush him until he was dead!

If this world were reality, Pan Long would never dare indulge himself like that. Taking a general's head amid ten thousand troops would make him the picture of glory if he succeeded—but if he failed, he would die horribly, hideously, beyond all imagining!

A few hundred people, each with a knife, could chop him into a puddle of lean mince fit to send straight to the Ten-Mile Slope Black Inn as an ingredient.

But this was a world opened by the Classic of Mountains and Seas Fragment. Dying here would have no effect on his real body.

So why not choose the solution that felt the most satisfying?

Even if he died, the worst that could happen was losing everything he carried in a complete "loot explosion," then returning to reality as naked as a newborn. He had nothing precious on him now, so let the loot explode. Was he supposed to be afraid of his father and grandfather seeing him naked?

People naturally grew bold when they knew they could not die. Plenty of gamers back in the day had dared to pull off all kinds of extreme maneuvers and throw their lives at bosses until they won. But tell those same peerless warriors in-game to go fight someone in real life... Pan Long remembered two groups who had fallen out over a boss in an online game. They had agreed to meet for a real-life fight, but neither side showed up. Only Pan Long and a few other curious spectators went, along with several Earth-Piercing Braves guild members who had volunteered to serve as referees. They had all stood in that park like fools, baking under the sun for half an hour...

Well, he could treat the world opened by the Classic of Mountains and Seas Fragment as a VR game.

With that in mind, he had decided to join forces with Luna Village's inhabitants today and pull off something big, teaching the Frees Empire and the One God Religion a lesson they would never forget.

Now, though, he realized he had been far too optimistic.

The villagers of Luna Village certainly had courage, but they had no brains!

Ouch. Good thing I ate breakfast, or I'd have given myself a stomachache from sheer frustration!

Silently pulling himself together, Pan Long reluctantly changed his plan.

"If I were you, I'd start by finding somewhere to hide. Make sure it can withstand fire. Otherwise, if the enemy sets the village ablaze, you'll burn alive no matter how well you're hidden."

The villagers looked at one another. Xi'an could not help asking, "What about this wall?"

"Leave it. I might have a use for it."

"Aren't you going to hide?" Xi'an asked.

"Someone has to stay." Pan Long waved them away. "I'll go ahead and see how close the enemy is. I hope you've all found hiding places by the time I get back."

Without waiting for an answer, he strode west along the main road.

His thief skill increased his movement speed, making him faster than he had been the night before. With only a slight quickening of his pace, he could now match an ordinary warhorse at a trot. His mobility had improved considerably.

He walked in fits and starts, climbing roadside trees now and then to scan the distance. Before long, he spotted the Frees army's camp.

The camp was still where it had been, and its troops appeared to be packing up. Tents still stood, but many Warriors were busy taking them down, loading them onto carts, and preparing to depart.

Judging by the activity, they would probably set out after lunch. The baggage would slow their march, but however slowly they moved, they would reach the village within an hour.

It was around ten in the morning. That meant Luna Village had another three or four hours for its final preparations.

That was nowhere near enough time. In fact... no amount of time would be enough.

Pan Long estimated that the Frees troops he could see alone numbered sixty or seventy. Others were still resting—including Seles, the "Most Holy," who had yet to emerge from the golden-topped tent. The enemy still held an overwhelming advantage in numbers.

The real problem was how weak Luna Village was. If it were Dingfeng Town instead... the old and young, men and women alike, would probably march out to counterattack the Frees Empire and try their hand at "emperors take turns; this year it's our family's turn."

As for Seles and the Holy Legion, they would probably be nothing more than a fly swatted along the way...

Unfortunately, Pan Long knew no technique like King's Army that could summon reinforcements. He could not call on the battle-hardened folk of the Northlands. His "comrades" were merely a group of amateurs so green they left him speechless.

The village chief had served as a soldier and might know something about marching and fighting. But his hair had turned white, and his grandson was already several years old. Was Pan Long supposed to send the old man into battle?

What a joke!

After turning it over in his mind, Pan Long decided he still had to carry out his earlier plan.

"The old-timers used this trick again and again in their tales, and it's even in the Thirty-Six Stratagems," he muttered. "It ought to be worth something. If it isn't, there's nothing else I can do. I'll just kill as many as I can."

Taking on an army alone without an overwhelming advantage in strength was impossible without a little cunning. And if his scheme fell apart... what could he do? Zhuge Liang had worked himself to death on the Wuzhang Plains. Zu Ti had died without reclaiming the Central Plains. Wen Tianxiang had waited to the end without another chance to escape and raise an army against the Yuan... If even those great men had failed, then failure was simply unavoidable sometimes.

Doing his best would be enough.

After all, he was only a mortal, not a savior.

Thinking it through eased the unease in his heart.

When he returned to Luna Village, he found the villagers gathered behind the crude stone wall, which stood barely waist-high.

"Why aren't you hiding?" he asked.

They looked at him, worry and unease in every pair of eyes.

Pan Long understood at once. They had prepared themselves to die, but now that the moment was drawing near, they were afraid after all.

"Don't worry," he said. "Find somewhere to hide first, and hand out the provisions and the Fire-Tipped Javelins you prepared yesterday. If I start fighting them, light the javelins and throw them."

"Will that work?" asked the village chief, who had also come behind the wall.

"It'll help at least a little," Pan Long said.

The Village Chief nodded and directed the villagers to distribute the supplies before each of them went into hiding.

Before long, they had all concealed themselves.

Pan Long checked carefully. Once he was certain they could not be seen from outside the village, he smiled in satisfaction.

"Good!" he called. "Stay hidden and don't come out. When the Holy Legion arrives, wait until we start fighting before you make your move. Remember! Not until the fighting starts!"

"Got it!" someone answered from a distance.

Pan Long sighed. "Don't talk! Remember, staying hidden is the best armor you have!"

"Got it!" someone else answered.

Pan Long felt a twinge in his stomach. He was glad he had told the villagers to hide in advance; otherwise, he suspected he might not be able to stop himself from hitting someone.

"Then that's settled. I'll wait for them here... It won't be long. Another two or three hours, probably."

"Got it!"

"Good luck!"

This time, two people had spoken at once.

Before Pan Long could answer, the Village Chief's voice rang out. "All of you, shut up! Didn't you hear Mr. Pan tell everyone not to talk?"

I didn't hear that. I didn't hear anything. I heard absolutely nothing!

Pan Long sighed and gave up on saying anything more. He found a stone, sat down, and closed his eyes, repeating the self-deception to himself as though he truly had heard nothing.

He still needed to think his plan through carefully. He had no energy to waste arguing with this bunch of rookies!