Shocking Transformation, Qiang Rebellion

Shocking Turn of Events, Qiang Rebellion

Inside Warring States Village, the various troops gathered to set out, mustering a total of over two thousand warriors.

Aside from the NPC senior official and a few others who rode on horseback, the rest proceeded on foot. Composed mainly of disorganized foot soldiers shouting loudly to encourage one another, their shared goal was to capture Sword Cauldron Village in a single stroke. Since the players were neither professional soldiers nor accustomed to forming such massive formations, a certain degree of chaos in the ranks was entirely understandable.

The NPC old official paid no heed to such trivialities, simply ordering the forces to march.

Noticing that the chaotic order was unfavorable for the march, Zhan Xiaobai decided it would be best to organize the troops. He instructed Qiushui to take charge of the deployment. Qiushui conferred with the village chiefs, dividing all the players into three distinct legions: left, center, and right.

The center legion consisted of 850 men, primarily players from the seventeen villages, forming the main striking force. Each of the two wings comprised about 600 men, mostly players from smaller settlements, many of whom had tagged along purely out of curiosity to taste the thrill of battle. Keeping a distance of one furlong apart, the three legions advanced side by side, slowly making their way toward Sword Cauldron Village.

With this arrangement, the force finally began to resemble a proper military expedition capable of mutual coordination, avoiding a disorganized free-for-all.

Beyond these 2,000 frontline players, nearly ten thousand reserve player-warriors were gathered in over a dozen villages surrounding Sword Cauldron Village, standing by and ready to join the encirclement at a moment's notice. If the initial 2,000 men succeeded in taking Sword Cauldron Village, the reserves would naturally hold their ground. If they failed to breach the village, the coalition would cast aside all pretense and deploy every available soldier, drowning Sword Cauldron Village in an overwhelming sea of troops.

This massive reserve force made it painfully clear how ruthless and determined these village chiefs truly were. They would not rest until Sword Cauldron Village was razed to the ground. Otherwise, they would be forced to bestow upon Sword Cauldron Village the glorious title of the "Invincible Village That Stood Alone Against Seventeen Allied Forces," while they themselves would become the laughingstock of the region—a mere mob of disorganized bandits.

Upon seeing the players spontaneously organize themselves, the NPC senior official was quite pleased. He smiled at Zhan Xiaobai, who stood nearby, and said, "Chief Xiaobai is truly talented and capable of handling affairs with great skill. As a civil official, I am completely clueless about these military matters and rely entirely on you and the others to command this army."

All seventeen village chiefs present had already received official government appointments as village chiefs.

The surrounding players broke out in a cold sweat. Completely clueless, yet sent here to command? That was practically treating human lives as a joke!

One village chief remarked hastily, "Not at all, Your Honor. It is entirely due to your great prestige and the cooperation of the various villages that we are able to manage such a multitude. By the way, My Lord, when shall we officially launch our attack on Sword Cauldron Village?"

Stroking his beard, the NPC senior official pondered, "Well, as for that, we naturally must wait for the Colonel to arrive in person with his troops. The Colonel should be on his way here with the army right now. I imagine it will not take much longer for him to reach us. Let us wait five miles outside Sword Cauldron Village."

Another village chief inquired, "My Lord, may I ask how many merit points and rewards we will receive after this battle is won?"

Looking somewhat troubled, the NPC senior official replied, "Ah, that is difficult to say for certain. If the rebel forces are successfully subdued, at least one merit point is guaranteed. As for the rest, it will depend entirely on everyone's individual contributions."

The player-village chiefs nodded with satisfaction. A single merit point was by no means a small amount.

Holding low-ranking court offices of the tenth rank—such as county scribe, inspector, record-keeper, or judicial secretary—required merely this single point of contribution. Meanwhile, ninth-rank posts—such as county governor, chief of penal administration, assistant to the governor, supervisor of taxation, director of agriculture, or supervisor of metals—required ten merit points.

Lower-tier rural positions like hamlet heads and village chiefs did not require any merit points at all.

***

Sword Cauldron Village.

Inside the village, thousands of players were in a state of intense anxiety, clamoring to go out and fight the seventeen allied armies to the death.

"Isn't this just pure bullying? So many of them showing up all at once! How are we supposed to fight this?"

"Damn it, I've been saying all along that we shouldn't go around randomly attacking other villages and asking for trouble, but Village Leader Sword simply wouldn't listen. Look at the mess we're in now. See how he plans to clean this up. Even if we beg for mercy, they might not even spare us."

"What's the use of speaking with hindsight now? Weren't you the excited one who tagged along to pillage back then?!"

Restrained within the settlement by their leaders, the players were forced to focus entirely on emergency defensive deployments without acting on their own initiative.

Inside the administrative courtyard of the village, Sword Deranged paced back and forth across the main hall, burning with anxiety.

He felt a deep sense of irritation. Damn it all, they had merely plundered five or six villages, yet this whole pack of hypocrites had come swarming to their doorstep demanding a crusade. They were all nothing but cowards who lacked the guts to openly pillage themselves while begrudging others the spoils. It was pure jealousy—envy of the vast benefits he had effortlessly reaped from neighboring settlements.

The most infuriating part was the Wuwei Commandery government, which had actually dispatched a thousand regular troops. These elites, ranging from level 40 to 50, were heavily armored, well-equipped, and physically imposing; a single charge from them could easily turn his village upside down.

Three or four other individuals were present in the hall: the second-in-command, Solitary Cheapster; the third-in-command, Arrogant Ginseng; and an NPC Qiang-Hu lean warrior.

Solitary Cheapster sat with his legs crossed, entirely unconcerned. "Big Brother, stop stressing. Water comes, earth blocks; soldiers come, general halts. With the geographical advantage on our side, can't three or four thousand men fend off their puny two thousand?! Besides, we have the Qiang people backing us up."

Arrogant Ginseng did not share Solitary Cheapster's optimism, remaining deeply uneasy. The trouble they had stirred up this time was no small matter. If things went south, catastrophe might be right around the corner... It was perhaps time to start considering his own future.

Ignoring Solitary Cheapster, Sword Deranged continued to pace frantically. Suddenly, he rushed up to the lean NPC Qiang-Hu warrior, grabbed him by the collar, and barked harshly, "Tell me, where are your troops? Where are they right now? You gave me your word that whenever we faced hardship, you would definitely come to our aid! Now they've pushed right to our doorstep, where on earth is your army? Tell me immediately!"

Calm and composed, the NPC Qiang-Hu warrior showed not the slightest bit of respect for Sword Deranged, sneering, "Village Leader, what are you panicking about? My tribe has our own arrangements. We will certainly honor our promise and not let the government troops press upon your village."

Sword Deranged roared, "Don't play games with me! I want to know where your troops are! Exactly how many men do you have?"

"Confidential."

Trembling with rage, Sword Deranged pointed a shaking finger at the Qiang-Hu warrior. "You—if my village is destroyed, none of you will come out of this unscathed either! I'll report you to the government and expose every last one of you."

The Qiang-Hu warrior let out a cold scoff. Expose them? With what evidence? The government would have to be out of its mind to believe you. If your Sword Cauldron Village weren't still useful, the ghosts would bother helping you.

Waiting.

Anxious waiting.

Both sides awaited news to determine their next moves. The seventeen allied player armies had already reached a point five miles from Sword Cauldron Village, preparing to launch a full-scale assault the moment the colonel arrived with his troops. Inside Sword Cauldron Village, a dead silence hung in the air as an atmosphere of despair spread.

At 1:00 PM on May 6th, the system suddenly broadcasted an announcement:

"Liangzhou System Broadcast: The Wuwei Commandery Colonel led an army of 1,000 to suppress Sword Cauldron Village. On the way, they were ambushed by a Qiang-Di tribal force, resulting in the total rout of the regular army. The following is the battle report: Government NPC forces—1,000 level-40 elite cavalry (816 killed in action, remainder routed). Qiang-Hu rebel forces—1,000 level-40 cavalry, 2,300 level-40 foot soldiers (1,824 killed in action). Battle coordinates: XXXX:XXXX. A level-0 Netherworld Killing Field has been formed, containing ??? corpse-soldiers (1% formation probability)."

As soon as the system announcement echoed, the situation flipped dramatically.

Players across the entire Wuwei Commandery fell silent in astonishment.

Hundreds of thousands of players shared a single thought at that moment: *Holy crap... the government's elite cavalry got wiped out by the Qiang-Hu cavalry... Looks like government troops aren't all that great after all, and the Qiang-Hu are truly fierce for daring to challenge the authorities. Sword Cauldron Village is seriously lucky; a massive weight has just been lifted off their shoulders.*

Inside Sword Cauldron Village, an overwhelming wave of joyous cheers erupted.

"Heaven never cuts off all our paths!"
"Heaven helps Sword Cauldron Village!"
"Haha, now it's time for that bunch of bastards to suffer! Brothers, pump yourselves up, hold the line firmly, victory is right in front of us!"

Inside the administrative courtyard of Sword Cauldron Village.

Laughing heartily, Sword Deranged grabbed the lean warrior's hand and said with extreme warmth, "Your tribe truly keeps its word! I was somewhat impolite just now, Brother, please don't take it to heart!"

The lean warrior sneered coldly, "With my tribe around, we will certainly not allow your village to be destroyed."

Solitary Cheapster cheered excitedly, "Big Brother is an absolute genius! Once Sword Cauldron Village wins this battle, we'll rise to power like the midday sun. Who in Xiliang would dare contend with us then?! Big Brother, I'll go dispatch the troops right now and fight them to the death."

Arrogant Ginseng stood frozen in a daze... *This situation is changing way too fast. It looks like I don't need to make other plans just yet; I might as well stick with Boss Sword.*

***

"Sword Cauldron Village has the Qiang-Hu as their backing!"

Five miles outside Sword Cauldron Village, the players of the seventeen allied villages were struck with profound shock. No wonder Sword Cauldron Village had dared to be so arrogant. With the assistance of the Qiang people, anyone would have the guts to run wild.

The leaders of the seventeen villages turned pale with fright and hastily gathered to formulate a countermeasure.

"What do we do?"
"What do we do? What else *can* we do? Our strength is far inferior to the Qiang people! Isn't that obvious?" Perfect Girl hesitated.

"Should we..." Although Village Chief Hegemonic Path left the word "retreat" unsaid, everyone could read its meaning clearly on his face.

"We haven't suffered any losses anyway, so retreating isn't entirely out of the question... Going head-to-head with the Qiang-Di people in a hard-fought battle will likely break our bones. The cost is simply too high," said Short of RMB.

Amidst the swirling chaos, Zhan Xiaobai calmly checked the coordinates of the fierce battle between the government troops and the Qiang people, estimating the distance to their current location. The battlefield where the government forces and the Qiang-Hu troops had clashed was merely thirty miles away from Sword Cauldron Village—neither too far nor too close, just about an hour's ride on horseback.

Knowing that failing to make a decision now would lead to destabilized morale, he immediately spoke in a stern, resolute voice to the other village chiefs: "The Qiang-Hu tribes have rebelled. After shattering the imperial army, they will likely turn back to reinforce Sword Cauldron Village immediately. Their Qiang cavalry can arrive in just an hour. Once the Qiang-Hu forces arrive, no matter how many men we have, we won't be able to break Sword Cauldron Village. I believe we must attack immediately! We cannot wait for the Qiang-Hu reinforcements."

Everyone stared in astonishment.
"What! Attack immediately?"
"Are we ignoring their Qiang-Hu backers?!"

Zhan Xiaobai rebuked them sharply, "Have we reached this point only to shamelessly turn back in retreat? Even if they have the Qiang people as their backing, we must take them down in one fell swoop and complete the suppression mission! Anyone who wants to act like a coward is free to leave right now."

He shouted loudly to Qiushui, "Immediately notify Young Hero, bring all 300 reserve personnel up here, and break Sword Cauldron Village in one powerful charge."

Accepting the command instantly, Qiushui dispatched messengers to bring up Spring and Autumn Young Hero's troops.

Witnessing Zhan Xiaobai's decisive refusal to back down, Warring States Hegemony was the first to snap back to reality: *This matter concerns the prestige of the coalition; how could we easily retreat? Furthermore, my Warring States Village is right next to Sword Cauldron Village. If the main army retreats and Sword Cauldron Village isn't destroyed, my own village will likely be finished within days.* The other medium-sized villages were located far away and would suffer no losses at all.

He immediately roared with urgency, "Damn it, Boss Xiaobai is right! With so many of us here, are we supposed to cower in our nests like turtles? Ah Lai, go back into Warring States Village and mobilize every player who can hold a weapon. If I don't destroy Sword Cauldron Village today, I swear I won't withdraw my troops!"

"Understood, Boss!" His assistant, Ah Lai, immediately turned back to the village to rally the entire populace.

Seizing the opportune moment, Don't Laugh Wind shouted loudly, "My Don't Laugh Village will stake its life alongside the two big brothers! The 500 brothers my village brought today will follow the two village chiefs to crush Sword Cauldron Village! As for any village that's too cowardly to trade blows with the Qiang people, get the hell out of here!"

Stirred by these words, the players' blood boiled with righteous fury, sweeping aside all rational calculations as they responded in unison.

"Without destroying Sword Cauldron, we swear not to withdraw!"
"What the hell is Sword Cauldron Village? Can they really be arrogant enough to reach the heavens? Brothers, let's crush them!!"

Seeing the chaotic scene, the NPC senior official grew flustered and drenched in nervous sweat, barely able to speak coherently. "This—the Colonel hasn't arrived yet, how can we start a battle! Hear me out, everyone, let us wait until the imperial court dispatches troops before launching our attack!"

"Bah, waiting for what?"

High-spirited and impassioned, the players completely ignored the old official.

Zhan Xiaobai, Warring States Hegemony, Don't Laugh Wind, Hegemonic Path, Perfect Girl, Black Tiger, and the others cast aside all pretense of saving face, hastily dragging all reserve troops forward. Within a mere ten-odd minutes, over 12,000 player-warriors had gathered on the outskirts of Sword Cauldron Village. This did not even include the spectators watching from afar; if they were counted, the number was surely no less than 20,000.

Without ceremony, Zhan Xiaobai, Warring States Hegemony, and the others stripped the NPC senior official of his command authority. The nearly 10,000-strong army was urgently reorganized into several legions. Five thousand men were sent to guard the rear flank to prevent a sudden strike by the Qiang-Di cavalry, while the remaining six thousand advanced simultaneously from all four directions toward Sword Cauldron Village.

Inside Sword Cauldron Village, thousands of players hid behind the wattle fences, staring at one another in pale-faced, freezing silence.

Solitary Cheapster peered out of the village at the mass of enemies, swallowing hard: *Holy mother of god, they're all a bunch of lunatics. Boss Sword is a lunatic. And that mob outside is even crazier, conjuring up so many people in the blink of an eye. Caught right in the middle, I've turned into a turtle, damn it.*