The World Online

After Ouyang Shuo defeated Sha Pojun, he looked around to evaluate the situation of the battlefield.

Both armies fought in close proximity, engaging in close-combat warfare. Right at this moment, Ouyang Shuo noticed that a small force was making its way out of the encirclement, retreating toward the south.

Needless to say, it must be Zhan Lang and the others.

Without hesitation, Ouyang Shuo led his guards and chased after them. Along the way, Lin Yi led the vanguard 1st unit and joined Ouyang Shuo.

The advantage of Qingfu horses became evident. After less than 5-kilometers, Ouyang Shuo and his men had caught up with the enemies.

They only had less than a squadron left. Clearly, they were all elites of the elites. Their mounts were also quick. Sadly, they still couldn’t match up with the Qingfu horses.

Ouyang Shuo realized that the squadron must be Xiongba’s soldiers. He could still remember that during the last system auction, Xiongba had spent 1,200 gold on one heavy cavalry token—this must be them.

“Brother Xiongba, I hope that you are well!” Ouyang Shuo shouted loudly.

Among the squadron, a man trembled for a moment. He must not have expected that Ouyang Shuo could catch up to them so quickly. Of course, this man was Xiongba. But he did not give up and ordered the squadron to move faster.

Ouyang Shuo sneered at Xiongba’s order, and he made a gesture to Lin Yi.

Lin Yi understood his meaning and split the cavalry unit into two, preparing to flank the side and surround the enemies.

After Ouyang Shuo surrounded him, Xiongba had no choice but to stop. He turned around and looked at Ouyang Shuo. Then, he spoke with a bitterly smile, “Brother Wuyi, do you really have to do this?” His partner Wandering Magic stood beside him.

Ouyang Shuo had a heart of stone; he smiled, “Brother Xiongba, you can only blame that we chose different sides. Next time, think twice before you select who you should side with. Try not to chose the wrong side.”

Xiongba’s sight congealed. He had a feeling that these words had a hidden meaning behind them.

Could it be that Ouyang Shuo knows about the cooperation of the families? How did he get the news?!

While his head flowed with various thoughts, his face remained calm. He smiled and said, “Brother Wuyi, killing me is pointless. Di Chen is still in Mengjin. With him there, the players of Zhou will not fall. Why not do me a friendly favor? Lend me a hand. Levels are not that easy to train.”

This cunning fox, trying to play around with his famous favor card again.

Ouyang Shuo realized why he had not seen Di Chen. As the saying went, ‘Those who knew you best were often your enemies.’ Di Chen and Ouyang Shuo had a bit of history together, which almost allowed Di Chen to grasp and understand Ouyang Shuo’s plannings, how interesting.

“You can leave Di Chen to me. That is not something brother you should worry about,” Ouyang Shuo was still unmoved, “So, I think it is best for me to send you off,” as he finished his sentence, he waved his hand forward.

The lord’s guards and the vanguard unit understood his orders and charged forward.

Xiongba was stunned; he was really surprised. But Xiongba was also a formidable person, so he laughed, “Good, brother Wuyi, it seems like we are of the same kind. I will accept my defeat today wholeheartedly.”

After settling Xiongba and his men, Ouyang Shuo brought the troops back to the battlefield.

When he returned, the fight had already finished. Horses that lost their master stood helplessly, and the neighing of horses resounded through the battlefield. The wounded laid on the ground wailing in pain and sorrow, as their splattered blood painted the field red. Broken spears perforated the ground, endlessly telling unspoken words of desolation.

Zhang Liao and Qin Qiong noticed Ouyang Shuo and patted their horses. They came forth and reported to Ouyang Shuo, “Sire, the enemies are all eliminated.”

Ouyang Shuo nodded: “Is there any lords that escaped?”

“Other than the group that sire chased after, we terminated all the others,” Zhang Liao did not disappoint him.

“The slaves?” Ouyang Shuo asked.

“I have sent troops to capture them all. We took back the escaped slaves.” Ouyang Shuo had already ordered them to not slaughter the slaves, and Zhang Liao had precisely followed his words.

“Bring me to them.” Ouyang Shuo had some plans in mind for the slaves.

“Understood.”

Although the massacre had only lasted for half an hour, the casualties of the slaves had risen to tens of thousands. The trenches that they dug now contained their own blood.

Ouyang Shuo rode to the front of the slaves and shouted, “It is I, player representative Qiyue Wuyi. All of you have seen it with your own eyes. It was the Shang dynasty that protected you, that kept your soul and body intact. Your home countries, your tribes, have abandoned you like a pile of useless dirt. You are now standing on the edge of a cliff; you have nowhere to go.”

“Save us sire!” some slaves started calling for help.

“Save us...save us…” Eventually, all of them started to call for help.

Ouyang Shuo raised his hand, indicating for them to keep silent. Then, he continued, “You want to live? Simple, continue digging and finish these trenches. If the time comes, raise your arms and fight on the battlefield for the Shang dynasty.”

The 500 royal guards that Di Xin send had all died. Hence, Ouyang Shuo had placed his cavalries in Muye to ensure that the trenches work could be completed in time.

Ouyang Shuo and his guards rushed back to Zhaoge City and reported to King Zhou of Shang.

……

Mengjin, the news of the annihilation of the player armies had spread through the whole place.

King Wu was naturally unhappy, but the other lord players were even more unhappy. They only learned now that Chun Shenjun and the others had secretly gone to claim merit points.

Although Chun Shenjun and the others were ambushed and forced to leave the battlefield, their names remained on the battle contribution list. All of them had at least 10,000 merit points, dazzling the eyes of the other lords.

Even as the player representative, his decision to act alone disgusted the others. Therefore, even after their death, they weren’t spared any compassions. Instead, the others only gloated and despised them.

Di Chen, the only one in his group that had remained rational, tried to take over Chun Shenjun’s place and unite the lords. Unfortunately, the other lords did not trust him anymore.

Although you did not personally go, you did send your men along, so you too took part in it. Plus, Handan City is only left with 500 infantries now. What qualifies you as the leader?

He had the intention to lead, but the other lords did not commit to him. Di Chen could only try his best in the following battles.

Fortunately, there were indeed some lords that were reasonable. They knew that at times of crisis, they had to unite and stand together. Otherwise, the players of Shang might defeat.

These rational lords formed an alliance of their own. However, they refused Di Chen as their chairman.

In the king’s tent, King Wu was furious, “Prime minister, what should we do now? Should we send more troops over and stop them from digging the trenches?”

Jiang Shang opposed this proposition. He was as calm as always, “My king need not be impatient. It was only a small defeat. Only the player’s armies were lost, which will have no major effect on the war,” he waited until King Wu had calm himself down. Then, Jiang Shang continued, “Sending over more troops will not work either. The Shang must have already stationed more troop over in Muye. The only thing we should do now is stay on guard. We need to wait for the others and their troops to gather together. After that, we will launch the final attack on Muye, taking down Shang from the mighty throne once and for all.”

The plan that Jiang Shang proposed was frank and upright, launching the attack and fighting Shang in a face-to-face in war. From the intelligence that Weizi sent, there were only less than 20 thousand soldiers in Zhaoge City. There was a huge difference in military size between the two parties. However, if Jiang Shang knew that there were 100 thousand crossbowmen receiving training in Zhaoge City, what would he think?

Ji Fa was a king after all, he picked himself up and said, “Minister, should we send a spy and contact Weizi? We can get them to gather the latest information regarding Zhaoge City. They can find out what is going on and who is helping the Shang.”

Naturally, Jiang Shang had no objections.

……

While the lords in Zhou were like a sheet of loose sand, the lords in Shang became more united. Ouyang Shuo had proved with his actions that he possessed the ability to lead them to victory.

In contrast to Chun Shenjun’s selfish decisions, Ouyang Shuo’s actions were just and even. As a result, the former 2,000 troops that were reluctant to join them submitted themselves in the end. Now, the leadership of the players in Shang was completely transferred to the Shanhai Alliance.

With this opportunity, Ouyang Shuo could raise his prestige among the players. Slowly and steadily, he could build up his reputation. This was important. If Ouyang Shuo continued to make decisions that were just and even, he would not need to waste his energy convincing the lords to join him on the battlefields in the future. Instead, the other lords would come looking to cooperate with Shanhai Alliance.

King of Shang, Di Xin finished listening to Ouyang Shuo’s reports. Although he mourned the royal guards, he also praised Ouyang Shuo for the victorious battle, and his trust toward Ouyang Shuo grew greater.

In addition, the battle’s victory was like charcoal in the snowy weather.

When the news reached the people in Zhaoge City, it settled their uneasy hearts. They now knew that there stood a strong force by their side, helping them fight off the Zhou armies.

The once tense atmosphere in the city was no more, as the people brimmed with energy. They voluntarily donated food and grains to the military. As a result, they greatly helped the military logistics and eased the shortage of food for the soldiers.

Under the official’s guidance, carriages after carriages of food were sent from Zhaoge to Muye.

As food was no longer a concern, Ouyang Shuo proposed that the king ameliorated food supplies to the slaves. This action would ensure they could acquire enough energy to sustain their work of digging trenches. By doing so, Ouyang Shuo proved to the slaves that the promise he had made would be kept. Subsequently, the slaves worked harder.

At the same time, they 100 thousand crossbows were finished and distributed to the slaves. The general, E’lai, was training the slaves to ensure that they could effectively go to war.

The general divided the 100 thousand crossbowmen into 10 formations of 10 thousand men. After that, every formation was divided into 10 again. Under Ouyang Shuo’s suggestion, Mu Guiying led the 5,000 properly-trained military crossbowmen and joined the formations. Every formation of a thousand men was given 50 crossbowmen, who acted as the tutors and the leaders.

Ouyang Shuo formed the first mixed military force from both the player’s troops and the system’s armies—the first of its kind in humanity’s history. Without the great trust that Di Xin invested into Ouyang Shuo, he could not have possibly done this.