Chinese Generals Summoning System

Chapter 12: Hidden Quest: First Blood

Liu Ji was holding his younger sister, Liu Niuniu, when Liu Pi shook him awake just as dawn was breaking. “My lord, we’re in trouble. A large band of marauders has appeared outside the village and has already surrounded it. It looks like they’re after the Zheng family’s merchant caravan.” “What? Bandits have surrounded the village?” Liu Ji was immediately startled. “It’s true—we’re surrounded. There are a great many bandits, possibly over a thousand, and more than 200 cavalrymen. Judging by the appearance of these bandit cavalrymen, it’s very likely they’re the same ones we encountered the day before yesterday,” Liu Pi said in a grave tone. “What about the Zheng family’s caravan?” Liu Ji asked anxiously. “Manager Zhang is currently sending someone to negotiate with the bandits. However, judging by the sheer number of troops they’ve mobilized, I don’t think they’ll let the Zheng family’s caravan off easily,” said Gong Du from beside him. Just then, the sound of battle cries drifted in from outside, as if to confirm Gong Du’s words. A flicker of panic crossed Liu Ji’s face, though it vanished almost immediately. “Liu Pi, Gong Du, let’s go out and take a look. If things look bad, we’ll break through the encirclement—the bandits won’t care whether we’re part of the Zheng family’s caravan or not.” Liu Ji then instructed Liu Pi to carry Liu Niuniu on his back. Drawing his steel knife—which had a notch the size of a peanut—he led the way out of the thatched hut and onto the village’s only main road. By then, the Zheng family’s caravan had already become embroiled in a fierce battle with the bandits near the main gate of the earthen enclosure. Originally, the caravan had blocked the earthen enclosure’s gate with two large cargo wagons, but by now the bandits had pushed them aside. The bundles of cloth loaded onto the wagons were scattered all over the ground, and many bandits had already stormed through the gate into the enclosure. Numerous bodies lay strewn across the ground; though the number of casualties on both sides was roughly equal, Liu Ji knew the situation was extremely perilous for the Zheng family caravan. After all, the caravan had only a little over 200 guards; even with the addition of more than 100 cart drivers and laborers, their total number did not reach 400. In contrast, the bandits besieging the village numbered over a thousand. Furthermore, the village had been breached by bandits before, and Tuweizi lacked even a proper gate—allowing the bandits to easily storm inside through the gate area and exploit their numerical superiority. “My lord, should we intervene?” Gong Du asked in a subdued voice. Liu Ji hesitated for a moment before whispering to Liu Pi, “Do we stand a chance of breaking through the siege now?” Liu Pi replied in a grave tone, “My Lord, the entrance to the earthen enclosure is swarming with men. Even on horseback, we couldn’t break through. There are also bandit cavalry outside the enclosure, and since there’s only one exit, if we were to scale the wall to escape, we’d have to abandon our horses—and then there’s absolutely no way we could outrun the bandit cavalry.” To be honest, he’d only met the Zheng family’s caravan from Yongzhou by chance. If he could escape, Liu Ji would absolutely prefer not to get involved in this major battle between the Zheng family’s caravan and the marauding bandits. Gritting his teeth, Liu Ji said, “Liu Pi, hand Niuniu over to me. You and Gong Du go up to help—and make sure to block the main gate of the earthen enclosure. If we let the bandits storm in, we’ll be in big trouble!” Gong Du then said, “My Lord, it’s too chaotic here. Let my older brother stay behind to protect you and the young lady. I’ll go up alone to help!” Liu Pi also said, “My Lord, I’d better stay here to protect you and the young lady. If the bandits penetrate deep into the village, you and the young lady will be in grave danger!” Liu Ji thought it over and realized he was right. His combat prowess was too weak; even if he encountered just one bandit, his own life would be in jeopardy. If he died, his younger sister, Liu Niuniu, would have no chance of survival either. So he nodded in agreement, sending only Gong Du to help while keeping Liu Pi by his side as a bodyguard. Don’t let the fact that Gong Du was alone fool you—with a combat rating as high as 69, he immediately unleashed a storm of blood and carnage once he joined the fray. Before long, more than a dozen of the bandits’ most fierce soldiers had fallen beneath Gong Du’s double-edged broadsword. The guards, drivers, and laborers of the Zheng family’s merchant caravan, seeing such a formidable warrior join their ranks, were instantly buoyed by a surge in morale. Following closely behind Gong Du, they swiftly sealed off the entrance to the earthen enclosure, preventing the bandits outside from charging further into the village. Meanwhile, the bandits who had already breached the enclosure found their supply lines cut off and immediately began to panic. Zhang Baohong, the manager of the Zheng family’s merchant caravan, saw how valiant Gong Du was and, his spirits soaring, shouted, “Charge! Five taels of silver for every bandit killed!” Zhang Baohong’s deputy, Li Yuan, also raised his voice to boost morale: “Those who fall in battle against the bandits will have their families supported by the Zheng family for the rest of their lives, and those who are wounded or disabled in battle against the bandits will be cared for by the Zheng family for the rest of their lives!” Gong Du, accompanied by some of the caravan’s guards, took up position at the main gate of the earthen enclosure, preventing the bandits outside from charging in. Meanwhile, the at least forty or fifty bandits who had already managed to enter the enclosure were quickly cut down to almost none by Zhang Baohong and Li Yuan, who were leading the caravan guards, cart drivers, and laborers. One of the bandits’ minor leaders, seeing the main gate of the earthen enclosure sealed off by Gong Du and his men and his comrades inside being killed one by one, immediately swung his steel sword to fend off the merchant caravan guards fighting him and turned to flee into the village. Unfortunately for him, he happened to choose the direction where Liu Ji and Liu Pi were located. Seeing the bandit charging toward him, Liu Pi didn’t hesitate. Carrying Liu Niuniu on his back and wielding his sword with one hand, he stepped forward to meet him. Liu Pi’s powerful, forceful strike was blocked head-on by the small bandit leader’s raised blade, but the impact was so severe that the bandit leader coughed up blood and staggered backward several steps diagonally, landing right in front of Liu Ji. At that moment, Liu Ji’s mind went blank, and he instinctively thrust his steel blade forward. “Ah—” With a scream, the bandit lieutenant’s abdomen was nearly pierced right through by Liu Ji’s blade; he thrashed about twice before going still. Before Liu Ji had even recovered from the shock of killing someone for the first time, the voice of System 9527 echoed in his mind:“Congratulations, User, on completing the hidden quest ‘First Blood.’ For killing an enemy with your own hands for the first time, you are rewarded with 3 points in Strength, 3 points in Intelligence, and 3 points in Leadership, as well as one opportunity to summon a second-tier general. Special note: The success rate for this summoning opportunity is 100%. We hope you will keep up the good work and complete more hidden quests!” No sooner had System 9527 finished speaking than Liu Ji felt his strength suddenly surge. Overwhelming excitement had already replaced the fear of his first kill. This “First Blood” hidden mission not only increased each of Liu Ji’s three stats by 3 points but also granted him a 100% chance to successfully summon a second-tier general. This meant Liu Ji would soon have another loyal bodyguard—and one who was even more powerful than Liu Pi and Gong Du. After all, previously, summoning a second-tier general required Liu Ji to expend 400 Soul Points, and the success rate was only one in 128. If he were to successfully summon a second-tier general, who knows how many Soul Points it would actually cost! “9527, so the system actually has hidden quests. What other hidden quests are there?” “User, rewards for hidden quests are only granted after you complete them; there will be no hints beforehand. As for what those hidden quests are? The data for this question is missing, so 9527 cannot answer!” Upon hearing this, Liu Ji could only shake his head in resignation. He had originally thought he’d found a quick way to increase his number of generals, but given the system’s explanation, completing hidden quests was essentially a matter of luck. It seemed he’d still have to keep working hard to accumulate Soul Points.