Chapter 810 - Checkpoint
During lunch, I ate hot pot with Dong Cheng and Wan Er. After we came back, we discovered a pile of luggage indicating that Tang Qi had come back. That b*st*rd sure is energetic, coming back on the second day of the year.
That afternoon, I logged back online!
“Shua!”
I appeared outside of the Royal Army’s General’s Tent. Just in front of the garrison was the central camp. The central camp was made up of the cavalry and footsoldier units, while the left camp was made up of Long Xing’s Magic Flame Unit and the right camp was Xia Ye’s Star Rifle Unit. Fifty thousand troops were stationed at this garrison. The General’s Tent was the heart of the garrison, but it was very quiet and secluded. Han Yuan had prepared this tent for me, revealing that he thought of me as someone who preferred solitude.
When I walked out of the tent, one of the guards walked over to me and smiled, “General, you’re awake now?”
Looks like when players log off, the NPCs think that we’re sleeping.
I nodded, “Yup.”
The guard then candidly asked, “Commander, the other commanders usually have concubines living in their tents to accompany them. At the minimum there’s one, but there can also be several. From what I hear, his highness Theodore has seven concubines in his tent, while the second prince has four. Even the Marquis Louis has one famously spoiled concubine. So why is it that my lord’s tent completely empty?”
I let out a bitter laugh, must I do as the Romans do here as well? But I’m a man with a girlfriend. If Wan Er found out that I kept a concubine in my tent, it would be a miracle if she didn’t kill me. Plus, even if I were to bring a girl back to my quarters, it would be Wan Er. And so I shook my head with a smile, “Guard, do not worry about these matters. Naturally, I have a girlfriend, but you do not need to know more.”
The guard stiffened. He clearly didn’t know the concept of a girlfriend. Even so, he nodded his head and said, “Yes sir!”
I summoned my Flying Scythe Horse and galloped straight towards the training grounds. I could hear waves of shouts rising above the camp as I got closer. All of the barbarians in the Blade and Shield camp were training their defense and advance tactics. In the distance, I could see that the cavalrymen were training their riding skills.
Han Yuan had his blade in hand and stood among the crowd of barbarians. He would slice at the shields at different angles, revealing any weak points in the formation. He was personally demonstrating these tactics. Even though he was a high-ranked general, he did not put on any airs and mixed right in with the soldiers. His strength was also increasing and he became more powerful as the days went by, making him one of the strongest experts in the Royal Army. Of course, that was excluding me, the commander. After all, I wasn’t an NPC, and Han Yuan would never try to fight against me.
“The general is here!”
Han Yuan put down his blade and immediately walked over to me with his spear to welcome me, “General!”
I nodded in acknowledgement, “Are there any new developments?”
“I sent a recon team out this morning, but they haven’t reported back yet.”
“Got it!”
……
A few minutes later, a line of soldiers rode back into the camp, creating a cloud of dust. One of them stepped forward and said, “Commander, General, we’ve already scouted out the entire eastern shore of the War God’s River, but we did not find any suspicious docks or ports. The only one we found was a port that was abandoned and had been burned down by the Dragonling Army about half a year ago. I believe that their stronghold must be on the western banks!”
Han Yuan furrowed his brow and said, “The western shores of the War God’s River is all Xia Yu Army territory. Their garrison spans over several hundred square miles and is a critical resource for the empire. Logically speaking… based on the power of the Xia Yu Army, there’s no reason for them to tolerate the Dragonling Army on their territory… unless… his highness Prince Owen is like Yugo and has some backhanded deals with the Dragonling Army?”
I shook my head. “That’s impossible. Owen is a prince and has a very special position. He has no reason to collude with bandits. Besides, it’s not like Owen has a shortage of women or money. He has no need for that. Let’s investigate further before making any conclusions!”
“Yes sir!”
I continued supervising the training on the grounds. Every ten minutes, I earned +1 Achievement Points. Acting as the commander of the Royal Army was almost too easy. In addition, my experience almost came exclusively from completing quests. There was no need for me to personally go and farm monsters and BOSSes. Or, when I did kill BOSSes, they were top tier, like the Blood Giant Kehl. In that last battle in the Hybrid Demon Territory, the enemy sacrificed two king tier generals, so it was unlikely they would launch another invasion anytime soon.
Around an hour later, another recon team returned. They immediately knelt before me and reported back, “Commander, General, we surveyed the western shore and found something!”
I felt my heart leap and quickly replied, “Tell me!”
He politely replied, “There are three ports on the west banks of the War God’s River, and all of them are being used by the military to receive and ship resource shipments. Each one was guarded by 5000 soldiers and were set up with Dragon Crystal Cannons for defense. None of the Dragonling Army ships would dare come close. However,... under the protection of the Xia Yu Army, there is a small fisherman’s village that built a port. The villagers buy and sell food, fodder, steel and other goods. I asked around and found that every week, the Dragonling Army would send men there to trade with the villagers for weapons and food. It does appear that this village’s livelihood is almost entirely based on the business that the Dragonling Army brings. All of the fishermen have become businessmen, and their young men, blacksmiths. That’s right, the village is called ‘Danyan Village’. The village chief is the younger brother of the marquis and the cousin of General Louis. His name is Lucen!”
“Lucen?”
Han Yuan knitted his brows, “Why is it him?”
“Who’s Lucen?” I asked.
Han Yuan replied, “General, you may not have heard about it. Lucen is around thirty years old, but he was once a famous general. At the young age of 21, he had already climbed his way to becoming a general. He was history’s youngest high general. However, as time went on, the differences in his thinking with Prince Theodore became apparent, and he lost his position as a military officer, forced to retire. From then on, he disappeared. I never would have imagined that he’d become a chief of a village!”
I asked, “Lucen, is he very strong?”
Xiao Lie replied, “He’s smart and talented in the martial arts, and is one of the most superior officers of the empire. His character, however, is cruel and shortsighted. During his short tenure, he managed to offend a great number of people. Furthermore, he’s extremely greedy. Even though he knew that the Dragonling Army was buying weapons and selling loot that they had stolen from the villagers, he’d rather take the money than care about the villagers. In his heart, honor and kindness hold no weight.”
Han Yuan then went to ask the scout, “How many villagers are there in Danyan Village?”
“Around a thousand!”
“So it’s like that…” Han Yuan furrowed his brow, “General, if I’m correct, I believe that these thousand men are veterans from Lucen’s old army. They should all be brave and strong warriors…. If we want to pluck off Danyan Village, then we have to face these men. My lord, you must consider this carefully. Lucen may be many times more powerful than what we imagine him to be!”
I nodded, “Even if he is, we still must fight him! Start picking out the troops, we need ten thousand elite soldiers and they have to be able to move fast. We’ll get to Danyan Village at the fastest possible speed and destroy that stronghold! I don’t care who Lucen is, but if he dares to help the Dragonling Army, then we’ll eliminate him!”
“Yes sir!”
……
Not long after, ten thousand cavalrymen set out from the garrison. This time, they were all equipped with light leather armor. While their defense was much lower than when they’re dressed in heavy armor, they could move much faster. This also reduced the stress on our mounts. Each man was equipped with bows, lances, and swords so that they could fight in long range battles and close combat.
All of the men brought three days worth of rations with them before galloping off. Under my command, we passed through the Broken Blade Canyon, over the Bridge of Fate, and into the Blood Demon Forest. I could see some [Zhan Long] players training in the distance and even recognized quite a few of them. They happily waved to me, “Guildmaster, are you off to fight another war?!”
I smiled back, “Yup, keep on working hard! You’ll only get girls that way!”
“But of course we have to grind levels. Nevermind about getting girls, I’m too poor for that….”
I was speechless.
……
Not long after, the ten thousand soldiers of the Royal Army passed by the Xia Yu Army camp. A checkpoint was set up along the road with a group of Xia Yu Army guards holding it. They walked up to us and a lieutenant addressed us directly, “Who are you, report your position and name!”
Han Yuan immediately stepped forward, “The Commander of the Royal Army, the General of the South Li Xiao Yao is leading troops to complete a mission. Can you please let us through!”
“Royal Army?”
The lieutenant smirked, “Well well, so it was the Royal Army that performed so well at the Sea of No Return. What, have you decided to sink your claws into the Xia Yu Army territory as well? You Royal Army folk are truly incredible, you don’t even respect the Crown Prince and the Second Prince. You want to pass through our checkpoint? I have to apologize! Why don’t you go to the right and pass through the desert!”
Han Yuan angrily rammed his spear against the ground, “You want to die? You actually dare to act so arrogant before us!”
I quickly chided him, “Han Yuan, don’t be rash!”
Han Yuan was a strong general, but he was a hot-blooded man. Nobody else but me could keep him back. I managed to stop him in his place with that one order. Xiao Lie couldn’t help but joke, “Old Han, you airhead, you were stopped by a single word from the commander!”
Han Yuan spun around and said, “I only follow the commander….”
Xiao Lie raised his blade and walked over, “Sir Flag Bearer, I am a general of the Royal Army, Xiao Lie. Could you please let us through? We have a critical mission to attend to and we must pass through!”
Logically speaking, a lieutenant is much lower than a general, but this lieutenant was too arrogant and haughty said, “What you going to do to me if I don’t?”
Xiao Lie was a prudent man and immediately charged forward, “Then I’ll cut you down!”
……
Right then, a Xia Yu Army soldier charged forward. He was a player. I could see the insignia of his unit on his shoulder. He raised his spear and shouted, “Xu Yu, do not be impudent! Let them through!”
The lieutenant called Xu Yu turned around. When he saw the man, his tone immediately changed, “But supervisor, this is Xia Yu Army territory, how can we let the Royal Army soldiers do what they want here?”
The player smiled, “Don’t worry, I’m friends with Li Xiao Yao, do not disobey him!”
“Yes sir!”
I led my horse forward and smiled, “Drunken Spear, looks like you’ve become accustomed to the Xia Yu Army…”
Drunken Spear smiled wryly, “Motherf*cker, I set up an entire camp here, but we’re just being used like guards. Nothing as impressive as you….”
I laughed, “Alright already, I’m here for a military quest. When I come back, I’ll properly thank you!”
“Good luck!”
“As if I need it…”