'Liang?'
Liang's army?
Troops from Liang City?
Allies!
They're friendly forces!
A thought flashed through Liu Yuan's mind, and joy spread across his face. He immediately wanted to run over and greet them.
But after just two steps forward, Liu Yuan seemed to remember something. His feet froze mid-step, his body stiffened, and he silently retreated behind a large tree.
Old Man Zhang didn't mention anything about reinforcements outside the city, did he?
Liu Yuan muttered inwardly.
Given what he knew about that sly old fox—
If part of the forces had really been stationed outside the city and hadn't entered yet, he would definitely have entrusted the letter delivery task to one of his own loyal soldiers.
Not spend a fortune to get him to deliver it.
Plot requirements?
Pah!
From the moment this godforsaken game started, this young master hadn't experienced a single storyline that was even remotely friendly to players!
Every. Single. Time. It was a nightmare start!
So then, this army...
Crack...
Just as Liu Yuan was deep in thought, his foot slipped on a loose stone, causing him to stumble and step on a dry branch.
Snap!
The sound was faint, but in the stillness of the moonlit night, it sounded harshly loud.
"Who's there!"
"Catch him!"
"Kill!"
...
Screw me. I'm exposed!
Liu Yuan's expression changed. He immediately saw five figures charging straight at him through the woods, spears in hand. One of them even threw down the large flag he had slung over his shoulder, a ferocious grin on his face.
As the five drew closer, Liu Yuan got a good look at their armor—and his face twitched.
That was the standard armor of Li Yuanba's army!
What kind of friendly forces were these?!
They were wolves in sheep's clothing!
Which idiotic NPC came up with such a BS tactic?!
But just five men? That's not even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth.
I've taken down seventh-rank warlocks who had more men than this!
Just a few measly soldiers? Barely worth this young master's attention.
Liu Yuan let out a cold snort, his face full of arrogance.
Very well then—let this young master take a look at your stats and see if you're even worthy of being cut down.
[Li Jia
Level: 11
Faction: Baxian
Unit Type: Spearman]
[Zhang San
Level: 11
Faction: Baxian
Unit Type: Spearman]
Reading all the way down, Liu Yuan's smug grin gradually stiffened.
You've got to be kidding me!
They're all level 11 spearmen?!
This game is brutal!
But still—my head may be chopped off, my blood may flow, but I will never cower!
So what if they're spearmen?
So what if their level's higher than mine?
So what if they outnumber me?
This young master won't back down!
Liu Yuan forced himself to swallow his spit, straightening his aching chest.
In just a few swift motions, he pulled out a set of military gear from his backpack and quickly changed.
It was a uniform he'd looted from a captured soldier of Li Yuanba's army. Before leaving the city, Liu Yuan had specifically grabbed a few clean sets just for situations like this.
Whoosh!
Just as Liu Yuan finished changing into the uniform and rubbed some dirt onto his face, a sharp wind cut through the air. A glint of cold steel flew at him, aimed straight for his face.
"Brother, wait—don't!" Liu Yuan shouted!
The spear tip halted just centimeters from his face.
The one who attacked was the spearman named Zhang San.
Zhang San stared at Liu Yuan, and upon seeing the uniform he wore, his expression eased slightly.
His gaze moved upward, landing on Liu Yuan's dust-covered face. Slowly, he withdrew his spear.
"You're one of ours? Which unit are you from, and what are you doing here?" Zhang San questioned, his eyes sharp.
Liu Yuan squinted at the NPC who had just held back his blow, calculating whether he should take advantage of his momentary guard-down and slash him.
But just as the thought formed—
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Four more spearmen closed in from behind, surrounding Liu Yuan from all sides.
Liu Yuan: ...damn it, snake formation!
He slowly unclenched his fists and tilted his head back, pretending to wail in despair as he began spinning a sob story.
"Brothers, I'm just a humble saber-wielding soldier under General Zhang Dong. I was with the general in the siege, but the Yellow Turban bastards used some dark sorcery and trapped our forces."
"I was weak and slow, couldn't charge in with the rest of the army. Got scattered and lost in the wild. Thank heavens I ran into you five, or I'd be dead!"
Tears streaming down his face, Liu Yuan cried pitifully as he observed the five NPCs closely.
If any of them so much as flinched suspiciously, he'd draw his blade and go down swinging.
If he was going to die, he'd die fighting!
But surely these low-intelligence NPCs could be bluffed, right?
After all, his story made some sense.
As for General Zhang Dong?
Wasn't he that fifth-rank warrior Liu Yuan had personally sent to the afterlife?
Sure enough, after hearing Liu Yuan's tale, the five looked at each other, and most of their hostility faded.
Li Jia narrowed his eyes, a fierce glint flashing in them. He pointed southeast toward the main camp and grunted:
"If you're alive, why didn't you return to camp? Planning to desert?"
Desertion?
The word sent a chill down Liu Yuan's spine.
If he remembered correctly, according to the official game lore, deserters were despised by every faction.
Once discovered—immediate execution!
"No-no-no! I wasn't trying to run. It's just… there's a tiger over there."
Liu Yuan pointed into the distance, trembling as he spoke.
On the map Zhang Yingjun had given him, this southern area—right between this small path and Li Yuanba's camp—was indeed home to a tiger.
"There's a big cat prowling that way. I didn't want to end up as its dinner—that's fair, right?" Liu Yuan muttered.
A tiger?
The five men exchanged looks and nodded silently.
When they had come through, they had indeed heard faint tiger roars in the forest. But orders were orders—they hadn't stopped to investigate.
This guy barely escaped death—naturally he was scared out of his wits.
Meeting a tiger along the way and being too afraid to return to camp seemed understandable.
After some internal deliberation, the last trace of suspicion vanished from the men's faces.
They whispered to each other for a bit.
Then Zhang San turned back and clapped Liu Yuan on the shoulder with sympathy.
"Don't worry, brother! Stick with us—we'll get you back to camp safely."
"Really? Thank you, brothers!" Liu Yuan's eyes lit up, and he quickly expressed his gratitude.
"But... before that, we need your help with one little thing."
"What is it?" Liu Yuan swallowed nervously.
This kind of twist never meant anything good.
"That tiger is dangerous. Since we've encountered it, we five brothers must slay it. So we'll need you to help lure it out!" Zhang San said with a big smile.
Liu Yuan's hair stood on end.
F** you and your ancestors!*
If you want to die, go do it yourselves! Why drag me into this?!
But in the next moment, as one of the five ran off and soon returned dragging a dead spotted deer, Liu Yuan began to suspect what they were planning.
The five men skillfully carved up the deer with their spears, hanging bloody chunks of raw meat all over Liu Yuan.
Then, with a poke of a spear to his backside, one of them said cheerfully:
"Let's go, brother! Once we kill the beast, we'll get you safely back to camp!"
Liu Yuan: What the #%!@...
He cursed them to hell and back in his mind, wanting nothing more than to insult all eighteen generations of their ancestors.
They were using him as bait!
Luring the tiger out with him as the main course!
To hell with you all!
"Sure, sure… happy to help."
Liu Yuan forced a smile, trudging forward with raw meat dangling from his body.
Operation: Tiger Bait—commence.