Training and Military Advancement

“We only accept copper coins for purchasing soldiers, so everyone, work hard to earn money. Don’t worry, there will definitely be some for sale. This one isn’t for sale. Don’t block the way!”

Zhan Xiaobai shouted as he and the others broke through the crowd and ran off into the distance, their clothes disheveled and faces covered in dust. He hadn’t expected the players to be so enthusiastic. Luckily, they were quick enough, or else Fierceblood Militiaman No. 1 would have been snatched away.

When Spring and Autumn Young Hero squeezed out of the crowd, he was stomped on several times and grumbled, “I told you we should’ve quietly left through the west gate, but A-Fei insisted on showing off at the east gate. I almost got crushed to death.”

A-Fei protested, exclaiming, “What? You said we should take the west gate? I didn’t hear that at all. Weren’t you just as eager to show off? Always blaming me.”

“Alright, enough. Trailblazer, keep moving, or we’ll get caught again.”

The wild beasts near the small village had long since been wiped out by the players. After leaving the village and traveling four or five miles, they reached a deserted wasteland and spotted a herd of over twenty wild goats led by a head goat. Wild Goat: Level 7, Horn Attack Power 4. Head Goat: Level 11, Attack Power 10.

They stopped.

Sword Tyrant said, “Let’s hunt the goats. Their level is high, so the experience is good. Perfect for our team to level up.”

“Agreed, not bad,” the others chimed in.

To test the difficulty, they picked a lone wild goat on the herd’s outskirts as their target.

Before this, let’s review everyone’s levels.

Zhan Xiaobai usually handled village affairs and barely had time to hunt monsters, so he was currently level 4. Sword Tyrant mostly stayed in the village but sometimes hunted near the outskirts, also level 4. Spring and Autumn Young Hero spent the most time hunting and had the highest level, at 5. A-Fei was level 3 and a half—purely out of laziness, unwilling to grind. Qiushui was level 4 and lived leisurely.

Among them, Spring and Autumn Young Hero had the highest health, so he went first to test the wild goat’s strength.

He grinned proudly, let out a chuckle, and leaped in to solo the goat.

With years of gaming experience, his technique was refined. He hopped around the wild goat, avoiding its sharp horns, and seized opportunities to strike from the sides. After dueling for three or four minutes and slashing more than a dozen times, the goat’s health didn’t drop at all.

Feeling increasingly pleased, he pressed close behind the wild goat, slashing at its undefended rear. Fighting monsters like this was exhilarating.

Unexpectedly, the wild goat went berserk, bleating loudly as its hind legs lashed out, kicking Spring and Autumn Young Hero square in the stomach.

His joy turned to disaster as he let out a miserable cry and was knocked to the ground.

The wild goat lowered its head, charging at him with its horns. Pale with fright, he rolled desperately on the ground, narrowly dodging the attack.

Zhan Xiaobai quickly shouted, “Everyone, grab your knives and stop it!”

Sword Tyrant and A-Fei charged in from both sides, while Qiushui ran to pull Spring and Autumn Young Hero up.

Zhan Xiaobai was about to join in when he realized he didn’t have his copper knife—it had been given to Fierceblood Militiaman No. 1. Seeing No. 1 standing dazedly, he quickly ordered him to charge and hold the line.

Fierceblood Militiaman No. 1 immediately let out a loud shout, raising his wooden shield in his left hand and gripping the copper knife in his right. He strode towards the wild goat.

The goat, beset on all sides, panicked and crashed straight into No. 1’s wooden shield, its horns piercing deep into the wood.

With a mighty shout, No. 1 barely took a step back under the impact before planting his feet and pushing forward, locking horns with the goat in a contest of brute force.

With a strength of 13, Fierceblood Militiaman No. 1 proved his worth, steadily forcing the wild goat back.

Not missing the opportunity, Sword Tyrant and A-Fei slashed furiously from both sides, while Spring and Autumn Young Hero leapt back up for revenge. In less than half a minute, the wild goat’s health was depleted. With a mournful cry, it collapsed to the ground, dead.

Each person received 5 experience points. Zhan Xiaobai, though he hadn’t directly participated, also received 5 points for being in the party.

“That felt great—I didn’t even take a scratch! Young Hero, was rolling around on the ground fun?”

A-Fei laughed, waggling his eyebrows at Spring and Autumn Young Hero. The latter snorted, itching for payback. Just you wait.

The smooth battle made Zhan Xiaobai nod in satisfaction.

Fierceblood Militiaman truly was a powerhouse, with high strength making monster hunting much easier.

“Let’s stick to this tactic for leveling: have the militiaman block in front, and the rest attack from the sides. If we clear this goat herd, we should all level up.”

Next, A-Fei went to pull more goats, carefully avoiding the head goat and drawing one at a time aside. Fierceblood Militiaman No. 1 would block them, and the team would kill them together.

After successfully defeating five goats, an unexpected incident occurred.

When No. 1 was blocking the sixth wild goat, his wooden shield suddenly shattered, sending him tumbling to the ground and injuring his right arm.

The group quickly dragged him out from under the goat’s horns and slew the beast.

Zhan Xiaobai picked up the “broken wooden shield” and examined it, discovering its durability had dropped to zero. He felt a stab of regret—he hadn’t realized the wooden shields had durability, a crucial detail they’d overlooked. The players’ copper knives were permanent and never wore out, so they hadn’t thought about other weapons’ durability.

Fortunately, Fierceblood Militiaman’s injury was minor. After a simple bandage, his arm was fine.

Sword Tyrant glanced at the broken shield and sighed, “We were too careless. I didn’t expect the shield’s durability to be so low. The wild goat’s attack power is 4, so a wooden shield must only have about 20 durability points. What do we do now?”

Zhan Xiaobai thought for a moment and said, “Let A-Fei go back and ask the carpenter to make more wooden shields. They’re easy to make. Without shields, leveling up will be tough.”

A-Fei rushed back to the village for shields while the others stayed and hunted monsters, though at a much slower pace.

An hour later, A-Fei returned with ten wooden shields.

They continued grinding.

Before long, the shields were used up, and someone else went back for more. This cycle continued until nightfall, during which everyone gained over two levels, and even Fierceblood Militiaman leveled up once. The leveling speed really was impressive.

Before dark, they returned to the village, and Zhan Xiaobai ordered the carpenter to work through the night making a large batch of shields. One unit of wood could make twenty shields, and by morning nearly a hundred were ready.

At dawn, Zhan Xiaobai and the others eagerly set out again with Fierceblood Militiaman to level up—this time, slipping quietly out the west gate.

After three days of relentless grinding, everyone miraculously reached level 10, and Fierceblood Militiaman reached level 13.

Level 10 is a turning point for players, as it’s when they can finally choose their class.