Chinese Generals Summoning System

Chapter 22: Recruiting a Headstrong General

Watching Chen Hao run to the front of the carriage—where he stood slightly taller on the ground than Liu Ji did atop it—Liu Ji waved to the nervous quartet of Yue Yi and the others, signaling them not to make any rash moves. Then, suppressing his own inner tension and excitement, Liu Ji asked Chen Hao in a calm voice, “So you’re Chen Hao. Are you still willing to listen to your master’s words? If so, from now on, I, Liu Ji, will be your lord, and you will be my personal retainer. From this day forward, you must obey my every command; whatever I forbid you to do, you absolutely must not do!” Seeing that Chen Hao’s Intelligence stat was only 15, and considering Chen Hao’s claim that only he and his master knew his true name, Liu Ji quickly came up with a lie on the spot. He wasn’t sure if he could fool Chen Hao, but if he could really recruit Chen Hao—whose Strength stat was as high as 91—into his ranks, he’d be getting a huge bargain. So even though Liu Ji looked calm on the surface, he was actually extremely nervous inside. His heart was racing, and his eyes never left Chen Hao. “If I become your chief general, will you put food on my table?” Chen Hao suddenly asked. “Of course I will! Absolutely! If you’re willing to swear allegiance to me as your lord, as long as I, Liu Ji, have a bite to eat, I’ll make sure you never go hungry!” Chen Hao’s question about meals instantly shattered Liu Ji’s composure. Judging by Chen Hao’s tone, it seemed he might actually be able to recruit this top-tier general with a combat rating of 91. Chen Hao grinned widely and said cheerfully to Liu Ji, “My master used to tell me to find a lord who’d feed me—so it turns out it’s you! Um, from now on, you’re my lord. Whoever you tell me to kill, I’ll kill; whatever you tell me to do, I’ll do. But you’ve got to make sure I’m well-fed! Otherwise, I won’t have the strength to help you kill people!” “Hahaha! Great! Just great! Chen Hao, don’t worry—I, your lord, will make sure you’re well-fed at every meal!” Hearing Chen Hao agree to join his ranks and immediately address him as “lord,” Liu Ji was so excited he could hardly put it into words. After all, given the summoning success rate and soul point limitations, who knows how long it would have taken Liu Ji to successfully summon a top-tier general. But this time, with just a few words, he’d managed to rope in a top-tier general—Liu Ji was so happy he nearly fainted. But his joy didn’t end there. “Congratulations to the user on completing the hidden quest to recruit a mighty general. You have recruited a mighty general with a real-world Martial Power rating exceeding 90 points and earned the sincere loyalty of this mighty general, Chen Hao. As a reward, the user receives 6 points in Martial Power, 2 points in Intelligence,2 in Leadership, one opportunity with a 100% success rate to summon a top-tier general, and a set of custom-made armor and helmet tailored specifically for Chen Hao. We hope the user will keep up the good work and complete more hidden quests!” These words, suddenly spoken by the system in Liu Ji’s mind, made him unable to contain his excitement. He pumped his fist vigorously, and at that very moment, he instantly felt his strength increase slightly. He never expected that by recruiting Chen Hao, he would have completed yet another hidden quest—it was like manna from heaven, and the reward was so substantial it nearly knocked Liu Ji off his feet. What is happiness? Happiness is when, right after subduing a top-tier general, you get another top-tier general thrown in for free. Liu Ji was so overwhelmed by this sense of happiness that he felt he might suffocate. “9527, is Chen Hao truly loyal to me? Also, will Chen Hao—just like the summoned generals—never betray me?” “User, this system has fused with the spatial laws of this world; there will absolutely be no errors. Furthermore, people in the real world cannot remain as unwaveringly loyal to the user as the system’s generals do. The user should be mindful of this.” Although Chen Hao could never be as unconditionally loyal to him as a summoned general, Liu Ji felt that someone as simple-minded as Chen Hao, once he set his mind on something, wouldn’t change it easily. As long as he treated Chen Hao with sincerity in the future, Liu Ji believed Chen Hao would remain loyal to him. “9527, if I subdue another fierce general from the real world with a Martial Power rating of 90, will I still receive the hidden quest reward?” “User, the hidden quest to recruit mighty generals is a chain quest. For every mighty general with a Martial Power rating over 90 that you recruit and whose genuine loyalty you secure, you will receive a reward from this hidden quest.” This was indeed a shortcut to summoning a top-tier general. As long as he could continue to recruit mighty generals from the real world with a Martial Power rating over 90, he would have a 100% chance of obtaining one of the system’s top-tier generals. Unfortunately, Liu Ji would only come to realize later what a Martial Power rating over 90 truly meant—and just how incredibly difficult it would be to subdue a top-tier general from the real world! “9527, who are the other warriors in this world with a Martial Power rating over 90? And where are they right now?” “Data for the user’s two questions is missing; cannot answer!” In truth, Liu Ji was just asking out of curiosity. Knowing where the other top-tier warriors in the real world were wouldn’t do him any good at this point. Given his current circumstances, if Chen Hao hadn’t been a bit dim-witted, Liu Ji wouldn’t have had the chance to recruit him—a top-tier warrior! “9527, where is the set of standard-issue armor and helmet that Chen Hao was wearing?” “The user may retrieve them at any time, but it is recommended that the user retrieve the armor and helmet when no one is around to avoid unnecessary trouble.” Liu Ji then hopped down from the carriage with a smile on his face and walked over to Chen Hao. “Chen Hao, what’s the story with those guys back there? How did you end up becoming a bandit?” “My lord, after my master kicked me off the mountain, I didn’t want to leave, so I snuck back up. But I couldn’t find him, and there wasn’t much to eat up there, so I had no choice but to come back down!” Chen Hao glanced back at the forty-odd bandits, who seemed a bit confused about the situation, then continued to Liu Ji, “After I came down the mountain, I didn’t know where to go, so I just followed the main road. A few days ago, I ran into these guys who tried to steal my food—of course I wasn’t going to let them! In just a couple of blows, I smashed the heads of the three leaders. The rest of them knelt on the ground, and in the end, they even made me their leader and promised to feed me. I felt sorry for them, so I agreed. They’re actually not bad people—I’ve been eating my fill these past few days.” Hearing this, Liu Ji pretty much figured it out. The group behind him must have been bandits who robbed travelers on the road, but they’d had the misfortune of running into Chen Hao, a real terror. As a result, the bandits were in for a rough time: three of their leaders were killed by Chen Hao, and the rest, likely impressed by his fighting skills, forced him into the role of “big boss”—though Chen Hao probably didn’t even understand what that meant. Liu Ji immediately ordered Chen Hao, “Tell those guys behind us to come over!” Chen Hao turned and shouted, “Hey! All of you, come over here! I’m now under a lord’s command—come and pay your respects to my lord!” These bandits were actually terrified of Chen Hao. Upon hearing his command, they didn’t hesitate for a moment; in a flash, they rushed to the front of Liu Ji’s carriage and knelt all over the ground. From these bandits, Liu Ji learned that their group belonged to a nearby mountain stronghold,A few days earlier, the First, Second, and Third Leaders had been returning from a raid when they spotted Chen Hao, a burly man. They decided to forcibly drag him up the mountain. However, after the three leaders—who were quite skilled in martial arts—had just finished intimidating Chen Hao with a few threats, he struck them down one by one. Their deaths were so gruesome that their faces were completely unrecognizable. The remaining bandits were terrified of Chen Hao, so they all knelt on the ground, begging him to spare their lives. Then, some of the bandits realized that Chen Hao was mentally unstable. After discussing it among themselves, they concluded that with a leader like Chen Hao, their bandit gang could run rampant throughout the surrounding area. Consequently, they all expressed their willingness to pledge allegiance to Chen Hao and nominated him to become the chief of the mountain stronghold. Today marked the first time Chen Hao had led the bandits out on a raid since becoming the leader of the mountain stronghold, and Liu Ji and his men were their first targets. Liu Ji suddenly asked one of the bandits kneeling on the ground, who was wearing leather armor, “Do you have any iron pots in your stronghold?” “Iron pots? I report to you, young master, that the stronghold does have iron pots—several of them, in fact.”