Immortal Dao Fruits, Cards to Help Me

Chapter 51 Ratman Digging Officer

Regional event: [The Boarman's Probing (Blue)], that's alright.

In "The Great Thousand Worlds", some random special events will occasionally spawn in certain places. Sometimes these events will escalate and become regional quests.

Once you enter that area, you can participate in area missions.

Because it is a randomized system simulation, it is not fixed and cannot be predicted.

Of course, you can also do what Chen Xiuxian and his group did and directly accept the quest from the NPC.

In short, it is a large-scale task with randomized simulations and updates.

The boarmen's probing... According to information seen on the forum, the boarmen have been probing several times.

I've never heard of it infiltrating between Sanyangbao and Wadangbao.

……

The three most intense battles in the entire Liaodong region were, firstly, Kaiyuan in the far north.

Kaiyuan is located north of Tieling and is a protruding part of Liaodong.

Almost every quarter, there are battles involving hundreds or even thousands of people in the three fortified cities in front of Kaiyuan City.

They could either ally with the Boarmen, the Werewolves of the Liao Kingdom, or the five tribes of the Eastern Grasslands Horsemen; there might even be a four-way battle.

The second was Zhenliao Fortress under the Guangning Guard in western Liaoning, whose main enemies were the wild wolf tribes of the Liao Kingdom that were not very assimilated.

In terms of civilization and lifestyle, the Liao people are now no different from humans, and they have even come to believe in Buddhism.

Therefore, they also disliked these primitive mountain tribes that resembled savages or wolves.

But I like to let it out to restrain Da Shun~
The third place is Fushun City in Liaodong East Road.

The Great Wall east of Fushun Pass, a border defense post, is only 180 li (approximately 90 kilometers) from Hetu Ala, the capital of the Wild Boar People!
The tense atmosphere in this place is easy to imagine.

Although there were no large-scale wars to breach the passes, sporadic battles involving dozens or hundreds of people occurred almost every month.

Nearly half of Liaodong's fighting force is now converging on Fushun Pass.

Wadang Fort is located more than 60 li south of Fushun City. The area that was infiltrated and breached this time is 40 li south of Wadang Fort and less than 40 li from Sanyang Fort.

It was later learned that four 100-man squads of boarmen had actually launched infiltration operations, each with a different objective.

But this one group was the most successful, and they took advantage of the heavy snow to climb the Great Wall, kill the guards, and infiltrate the inner outpost.

The main reason was that the heavy snow blocked the roads, causing communication to be interrupted, which caught us off guard.

In just three days, by the time the rear learned of the incident, the Wild Boar People had already begun fortifying the outpost.

The Liaodong army is now attempting to retake that section of the Great Wall and block the subsequent Boarman reinforcements.

The boarmen who have infiltrated from within will have to rely on the "local defenses" here.

It has been more than two days since that outpost was captured, so there must have been more than one hundred-man boarmen squad by now.

As for the exact number of enemies, you'll have to find out for yourself.

……

Chen Xiuxian's side had fewer than fifty people in total, more than thirty of whom were Cao Bianjiao's personal guards, level 13 and above.

As mentioned before, the Great Shun Dynasty was old and corrupt, and the salaries for defense here could not be paid in full, resulting in serious manpower shortages, with many soldiers filling the ranks.

The truly capable fighters in this unit are the officers' personal guards.

After all, going to the battlefield is a matter of life and death. Whether you can win or survive depends on your personal guards, so you definitely have to provide them with the most resources.

Therefore, the officers' personal guards were all selected through rigorous processes, were battle-hardened, and highly trained. Their armor and weapons were of the highest quality, and they were also equipped with the best firearms.

The compensation and benefits are also the highest.

Most of this money was paid out of the officers' own pockets. This was also the reason why many officers embezzled military pay—since they couldn't rely on ordinary soldiers, they had to support their own personal guards.

If we don't withhold wages, we can't afford to feed them; if we can't feed them, they'll die.
If the combat effectiveness of ordinary soldiers is reduced, then they will have to rely even more on their personal guards, and their pay will have to be drastically reduced.
It's a vicious cycle.
Besides Chen Xiuxian and Lao Niu, there were seven or eight other "righteous men" in the group.

They were all people who made a living working in government offices and had some ability.

For example, Chen Xiuxian had met one of them before during the "demon-slaying mission." He was a shaman, probably a descendant of the old lady who smoked the pipe.

Dou Zhongde said that he was accompanied by a fox spirit and a weasel spirit.

This kind of following doesn't seem like Dou Zhongde's physical body following Chen Xiuxian, but rather it's a kind of aura possessing him, able to possess him at any time and take over the battle.

Or they can use their magic remotely to provide assistance, such as gathering information, with the spirit following the shamanic disciple.

This can be considered a characteristic of shamanic practices.

The others included several burly men who looked like they practiced martial arts.

There are also a few similar folk sorcerers and special professions.

These people may not be very strong in combat, but they have other uses.

The group hurried on their way and soon reunited with the people from Sanyangbao.

The leader over there was a centurion, whose official rank was one level higher than Cao Bianjiao's, but his grade was still lower.

He brought even more people with him, about seventy or eighty, of whom about thirty were like "righteous men." They were dressed in all sorts of ways, including monks and Taoist priests.

After all, the capture of that section of the Great Wall was the responsibility of Weizi City above Sanyangbao, so they bore greater responsibility.

If they can't wipe out these boar-men within two days, and the General's Office sends guerrillas, then they're in big trouble!

……

It could be that the situation was urgent, or it could be that the commander simply didn't want to waste words.

There were no official jargon or platitudes; the task was explained directly.

They even made grand promises to everyone...

Chen Xiuxian received two more missions: [Bounty: Wild Boar Man (Blue)] and [Recapture Sanjiazi Outpost (Blue)].

The former demands killing boar-men and bringing back as many of their ears as possible, for which they will be paid 15 taels of silver. The latter requests assistance in retaking the outposts occupied by the boar-men from Liaodong.

Chen Xiuxian and his righteous followers were dispersed.

He and Lao Niu headed straight for the Sanjiazi outpost.

Even from afar, the Spirit Eye Technique could spot a three-story rammed earth fortress. It wasn't large, about the size of a university sports field, but it was armed to the teeth!

Chen Xiuxian also saw the boar-man from afar using his spiritual eye technique.

They were all big and burly, with stiff manes on their heads and the back of their necks.

It has a large upturned nose, fangs in its mouth, and large, pig-like ears. Its fingers are short and thick, and its waist is as big as a water vat...

Some of these boar-men resemble boars more, while others are more human-like.

For example, the fangs are very small, the upturned nose is also small, and the ears are not obvious, etc.

These boar-men are all at level 12 or higher on average, with a significant number at level 14 or 15, and I even saw a centurion who was level 16!
They truly are elite special operations personnel.

On the Liaodong Army side, ordinary soldiers were only at level six or seven, and even the better ones were only at level eight or nine.

Like Cao Bianjiao and that centurion's personal guards, they were only around level twelve or thirteen.

However, playing at home gives them an advantage.

Chen Xiuxian saw that Cao Bianjiao and the captain had already organized their personal guards to prepare to attack the outpost.

There were also a few folk sorcerers who seemed to know some magic, and they were fiddling with something, probably preparing to perform a ritual.

He and Old Niu bypassed the outpost and headed towards the back.

The outpost was less than five miles from the Great Wall, and he wanted to see what the situation was like there.

In the game, these kinds of events all involve breaching sections of the Great Wall.

After walking about two miles, the gambling addict Ma Si'er ran over: "My lord, I've found someone who's still alive."

Oh?
When Chen Xiuxian arrived, the man's face was ashen. The blood on his arm was frozen solid, and there was a shallow cut on his side...

Judging from the chipped edge on his sword, he must have been through a fierce battle.

He quickly pressed down on the man's chest, channeling some internal energy into his body while simultaneously examining him.

Chen You, the sentry officer of Sanjiazi Outpost, level 12...

Ten seconds later, Chen You felt a heat in his chest and finally woke up.

Chen Xiuxian asked, "I am a righteous man sent by Wadang Fort. Who are you? Do you know what happened here?"

Chen You felt cold and stiff all over, and his head was spinning. His vision went black and he could not see people's faces clearly. Only his chest was still warm.

His lips were cracked, and his face was covered in chilblains.

"I...I am Chen You, the sentry officer of Sanjiazi Fortress...Quickly, quickly notify Sanyang Fortress, the wild boar people...and...and rat people have crossed the Great Wall..."

Chen Xiuxian took the water bag from Dou Zhongde and gave the sentry Chen You a few sips of hot sugar water.

He told me what happened.

Three days ago, the patrol team failed to return on time. At first, he thought it was because the snow was too thick, but after an hour, he couldn't sit still anymore.

Just as we were about to lead the team out to search, we saw a fire on the Great Wall five miles away!

Although it was quickly extinguished, the beacon fire was indeed lit.

He was startled and immediately led his team toward the Great Wall to check on the situation.

As a result, they were ambushed by a group of ratmen led by a boarman. The two sides fought a battle, but they were no match for the boarman and lost seven or eight men. They planned to retreat to the outpost to hold their ground and at the same time report to the rear.

It turned out that the boarmen had already bypassed the enemy lines and captured the outpost.

Afterwards, several groups of ratmen kept chasing and killing this small team of more than 30 people. For two whole days, they worked tirelessly in the wind and snow and were almost completely wiped out.

If Chen Xiuxian hadn't arrived quickly, Chen You would have already been dead by now, ten or eight minutes later.

"Is there something about the rat people?" Chen Xiuxian muttered.

Old Niu said, "The wild boar man does indeed have rat men under his command."

"Yes, yes, it's the excavator! I have those rat-men's waist tags..." Chen You barely managed to pull out a blood-stained wooden tag from his pocket, on which was drawn a simple picture of a rat-man carrying a shovel.

Old Niu took it and looked at it: "It is indeed the mark of a grave robber..."

The term "Digging Official" is an official title bestowed by the Boarmen upon their ratmen subordinates; it is the official name for those ratmen who specialize in underground work.

They are elite engineers!

It was already strange enough that the boarmen would suddenly invade the border in the dead of winter, but they were only at the level of a hundred-man squad. What was the point of their infiltration?
What's even stranger is that they actually infiltrated the area with rat-man excavators?

Are you here to till the land for the villagers?

"Ding~ You have completed the mission [Finding Missing Persons (Green)] and have gained 150 experience points."

"Ding~ You have triggered the quest [Tracking the Ratman Digger (Green)]".

……

"Mimi, Old Immortal, interrogate him thoroughly! I want to see what kind of precious gems he has inside!" Chen Xiuxian said, pointing at the captured rat-man, the Digger.

The task of tracking down the Ratman Digger (Green) was not difficult for Chen Xiuxian and his companions.

Because there's the gambling addict Ma Si'er, Mimi, and Dou Zhongde, all of whom are skilled at tracking.

Unexpectedly, after finding this lone ratman, the [Interrogation Clue (Green)] quest was triggered.

If a rat-man can keep its secrets when facing a cat demon and a rat fairy, then in terms of "stubbornness," Chen Xiuxian would call it the "toughest"!
The mouse couldn't resist any longer.
"Ding~ You have completed the task [Interrogation of Clues (Green)] and have gained 200 experience points."

"Ding~ You have triggered the quest [Ratmen Dig the Wall (Blue)]".

(End of this chapter)