114 Camp of the Insurgents

114. The Rebel Camp

After Zhan Xiaobai established the private school in the village, the education of the villagers began to follow a normal track. This also served as a response to the Liangzhou Inspector's mandate to establish a school as soon as possible, appoint village elders, civilize the commoners, enlighten the people, and bring the barbarian tribes into the fold.

Early that morning, while Zhan Xiaobai was managing village affairs with Li Asan and browsing through various village information, he suddenly noticed a special building: the "Rebel Camp." [Effect: ??? Please build with caution. This may cause damage to the village and decrease public order.] Status: Not yet built. Build: Yes/No.

The building provided little information. Zhan Xiaobai couldn't figure out why a "Rebel Camp" would cause damage to the village or lower public order. Could it bring rebels and disaster? He couldn't help but ask Li Asan, "Asan, what is this Rebel Camp, and what is its purpose?"

Li Asan looked puzzled. "I am not entirely sure, sir. I only know the functions of the village's basic buildings; I know nothing of such obscure special structures."

Zhan Xiaobai wanted to build it to see its function, but he was worried about potential trouble. He decided to have Qiushui assemble nearly a hundred player guards, ready for any chaos. If any NPC rebels emerged from the camp, they would be ready to strike them down immediately.

Qiushui took the order, gathered all the idle warrior players in the village, and made the necessary arrangements. She also notified all players and NPCs in the village to be careful, warning them that NPC rebels might appear soon.

Once everything was ready, Zhan Xiaobai pressed "Yes" on the village jade tablet, causing the Rebel Camp to be built automatically.

The camp was generated by the system, and Zhan Xiaobai could not determine where it would appear in Xiaobai Village. After about ten minutes, the jade tablet displayed that the construction was complete.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the village's busiest player market, with countless players shouting in surprise.

Zhan Xiaobai left Li Asan in the courtyard and hurried with Qiushui and several dozen men toward the scene of the disturbance.

An NPC Rebel Camp tent had spawned in the most crowded area. Hundreds of players scattered, surrounding it to watch the spectacle, full of amazement. "Wow, a ragged tent! What do you think will come out of it?" "Who knows? Maybe an NPC rebel will spawn and beg you for food." "Haha, I'm not a cook, what good would that do me!" "It's definitely going to spawn monsters, heh! Don't you see the rebel's name is in red, indicating hostility?"

As Zhan Xiaobai and Qiushui arrived, the crowd parted to let them through. They approached the tattered Rebel Camp with curiosity.

Level 1 Rebel Camp: Once built, level 10 rebels will appear in the vicinity. Durability: 50/50. This is an upgradeable building—if the Rebel Camp is destroyed, it will automatically refresh into a higher-level camp: Level 2 Rioter Camp.

The crowd waited for a while, but there was no movement from the tent. Just as everyone was becoming impatient, a hostile NPC finally spawned—a level 10 NPC rebel wielding a sickle with a fierce expression.

The rebel spawned right next to the tent. It stared blankly left and right, then slashed at the nearest player, a level 20 warrior. The warrior was startled, having never fought a human-like NPC before, but he quickly drew his sword to trade blows.

The nearby players did not intervene; they watched to see what would happen.

"Slash, slash, slash!"

The rebel landed a hit on the warrior: "-5 HP." The warrior retaliated with three fierce strikes: "-15 HP, -13 HP, -15 HP." The NPC rebel let out a cry and collapsed. On the ground lay a white headband and one copper coin.

Level 0 White Civilian Headband: Accessory, +0 Defense.

The warrior player was overjoyed. He quickly picked up the headband and the copper coin, equipped the headband, and laughed triumphantly, "Haha, it actually dropped a headband! My luck is amazing today!"

The onlookers clamored, "Damn! It actually dropped equipment!" "We should have done it ourselves instead of letting him get the bargain." "Oh man, I can't believe it dropped gear just like that!"

Zhan Xiaobai and Qiushui exchanged shocked glances.

The drop rate for items from human-like NPCs was extremely low. They had killed so many NPC bandits in the abandoned Gray Sunshine Village and the Tiger Head Stronghold, yet they had received only a few copper coins and almost no equipment. This showed just how low the drop rate was.

But this Rebel Camp spawned a rebel that immediately dropped a rare piece of headband equipment. They couldn't help but be astonished.

The crowd continued to surround the camp, waiting for the next NPC rebel to spawn to farm for loot. With so many people in the market, as soon as a level 10 rebel appeared, dozens of light spears, swords, and blades would strike it at once. The level 10 rebel was so weak that it would be killed before it could even move.

Although Zhan Xiaobai and his group didn't join the fray, they observed the camp's spawn patterns.

The spawn rate was slow, roughly one level 10 NPC rebel every two minutes, within a 500-meter radius of the camp. Most dropped 2-3 copper coins, and occasionally a piece of level 0-9 equipment—all trash gear without attributes, ranging from headwear to footwear and various weapons.

After watching for an hour and confirming that these level 10 rebels wouldn't drop anything good, Zhan Xiaobai had an idea. "Qiushui, go upgrade the level 1 Rebel Camp to a level 2 Rioter Camp and see what happens."

Qiushui nodded and, without further questions, used her sword to hack at the camp in the middle of the market until it was destroyed. Once the camp disappeared, no more rebels appeared.

A short time later, a commotion erupted in the southeast corner of the village; a level 2 Rioter Camp had spawned.

Zhan Xiaobai, Qiushui, and the many players waiting for loot rushed over.

Level 2 Rioter Camp: Once built, level 20 rioters will appear in the vicinity. Durability: 500/500. This is an upgradeable building—if the Rioter Camp is destroyed, it will automatically refresh into a higher-level camp: Level 3 Bandit Camp.

This time, most players were experienced and knew that these camps spawned human-like NPC monsters with high drop rates, so they were already eager and ready.

The first level 20 NPC rioter emerged, holding an axe and howling as it charged at the nearby players. One hit dealt "-25 HP" to the target.

While 25 HP didn't sound like much, it would take five +5 HP health potions to recover. If a player was hit 5 or 6 times, those with low health would likely die.

The players attacking the rioter were much more cautious this time, trying to avoid the first wave of attacks and letting others take the lead so they could swoop in for the kill.

There were simply too many players; with a flurry of blades, the level 20 rioter was quickly defeated.

"Clatter," it dropped a level 15 weapon: Light Axe, +2 Attack.

The players scrambled for it. The axe vanished into a player's hands. "That's mine, I landed the final blow!" "Nonsense, who said it was you!" "Who took the axe? I'll pay 40 copper for it!"

The rioter camp spawned one monster every 5 minutes, totaling 12 within an hour. They yielded one level 15 Light Axe [+2 Atk], one level 13 Dog-skin Boot [+0 Def], one level 11 Light Green Jade Pendant [+1 Charisma], and the rest were 10-15 copper coins.

While the drop rate was decent, Zhan Xiaobai was not satisfied with this level of equipment. He figured the Rioter Camp wouldn't yield any high-quality weapons.

He had Qiushui and her team destroy the Rioter Camp.

Qiushui worriedly asked, "Brother Bai, if we upgrade to a level 3 Bandit Camp, won't the monsters be too strong? I'm afraid we won't be able to handle them!"

Zhan Xiaobai laughed, "Don't worry. A level 3 Bandit Camp should spawn a level 30 bandit. With so many people in the village, ten people would be enough to handle it. There won't be any trouble. Plus, the spawn rate should be very slow. Go ahead!"

Qiushui and two players spent five minutes hacking away before finally destroying the Rioter Camp.

Shortly after, in a remote part of the village, a Bandit Camp spawned.

Level 3 Bandit Camp: Once built, level 30 bandits will appear in the vicinity. Durability: 5000/5000, +5 Defense. This is an upgradeable building—if the Bandit Camp is destroyed, it will automatically refresh into a higher-level camp: Level 4 Rebel Army Camp.

The Bandit Camp spawned a level 30 bandit wielding a large blade and wearing grass armor, looking extremely fierce.

A level 20 player, being the closest, charged in first. Thinking the level 30 bandit would be as easy to handle as the rebels and rioters, he rushed forward and landed a strike for "-2" damage. The low damage left the player stunned.

Before he could react, the bandit flashed, and with two swift swings—"-35 HP, -65 HP"—the player let out a scream and turned into a white light, dying instantly.

The players following behind were terrified and scrambled to retreat, not daring to get close. "Damn, this guy is way too OP! Everyone be careful, don't rush in and die!" "Back off, back off! Don't block the way!"

By the time Zhan Xiaobai and his group arrived, the scene was in chaos.

Qiushui and several legion leaders stepped in to maintain order, dispersing the players surrounding the bandit.

The level 30 bandit wore grass armor, providing significant defense that hindered the players. In truth, if they had all swarmed it at once, they could have easily killed the bandit, but it would have cost some players their lives or severe injuries. Naturally, no one wanted to be the one to die for the group.

As the bandit wandered through the village, with no players willing to engage it, it began to destroy village buildings, hacking at the wooden houses.

Seeing the bandit destroying property, Qiushui quickly assembled twenty players with light spears and charged from three sides. "Ya, charge!"

The level 30 bandit swung its blade, but before it could hit anyone, dozens of light spears pierced it simultaneously. Even with high health, it couldn't withstand so many strikes, and it let out a cry before collapsing.

It dropped a level 25 weapon: Light Longblade, +5 Attack.

The players gasped. Wow! This was a high-attack, quality weapon! And at level 25, a small portion of the players had already reached that level. If this wasn't a good weapon, what was?

This time, there was no fighting over it; Qiushui picked it up. Since it was a team effort, the weapon would be sold, and the proceeds divided among the participants.

The weapon was valued at around 150 copper. Qiushui took the money directly from the village treasury to pay the players and then placed the weapon in the weapon shop for sale.

Zhan Xiaobai was satisfied. A level 3 Bandit Camp could drop such weapons, which was quite good. If he upgraded to a Rebel Army Camp, he feared the villagers wouldn't be able to handle it. He decided to leave it at that, allowing players to kill monsters and farm for gear within the village. Although the spawn rate was slow, at least it could yield some decent equipment.

Zhan Xiaobai ordered Qiushui’s patrol teams to add a new task: clearing out the bandits in the village every day to gain copper and a small amount of gear. The fierce militiamen were also organized into a spear unit and sent out to level up by fighting the bandits.

Additionally, some players spontaneously formed teams to camp by the site, waiting for monsters to spawn.

The Bandit Camp had a 500-meter spawn radius, which could accommodate a dozen teams. It depended on luck; whichever team was near the spawn point would be able to kill the bandit first and claim the copper or loot.

The Bandit Camp did lower the village's public order, so the bandits had to be cleared out regularly to prevent them from harming NPC villagers.

Li Asan was worried about the villagers' safety, but Zhan Xiaobai had no better solution, as there was no way to stop the camps once they were built. Fortunately, the monsters spawned near the camp, and as long as the villagers stayed away, there wouldn't be any major safety issues.