Late Ming Dynasty: Summoning players from Liaodong to support the Ming Dynasty

The sky was just beginning to brighten.

As the first rays of gray light pierced the horizon, the old soldier on the watchtower of Guangning City wall habitually rubbed his bloodshot eyes.

He was prepared for a new wave of despair.

However, when he turned his gaze to the outside of the city, he froze on the spot.

What did he see?

A team.

A caravan, pushing wheelbarrows, carrying sacks, and even with captured warhorses laden with supplies, was slowly approaching from the western horizon.

Their clothes were tattered, and their bodies were covered in blood and mud, but their steps were light and vigorous, as if they had won a battle.

They talked and laughed loudly, playfully teasing each other, as if they had just returned from a battlefield where they had barely escaped death, but had just finished a pleasant autumn outing.

food!

It's grain!

The old soldier felt a sudden pang of emotion in his nose, and a surge of warmth welled up in his eyes.

He strained his already hoarse voice, using all his strength to let out a broken, wild roar.

"They're back! They're back! They've returned with food!"

This roar, like a thunderclap, shattered the lifeless silence of the desolate city.

At the city gate, more and more soldiers peeked out, staring blankly at the triumphant procession and the cartloads of heavy sacks.

After a brief silence, a thunderous cheer erupted, loud enough to topple city walls and cause a landslide and tsunami!

"Heavenly soldiers! The heavenly soldiers have returned!"

"We're saved! We're saved!"

The heavy city gate was slowly pulled open with a creaking sound.

The entire city's population, including women and children starving and huddled in corners waiting to die, and widows and orphans who had lost their sons or husbands, all rushed into the streets upon hearing the commotion.

They looked at the group of young men called "heavenly soldiers" and at the food they brought back—enough to sustain the entire city for another ten days. Their eyes were filled with indescribable awe, gratitude, and fervor.

Shi Dali took a huge sack off his shoulder and casually tossed it to a emaciated soldier next to him, grinning like a landlord's foolish son.

"Take it! The city lord said everyone gets a share!"

The soldier, clutching a sack of grain heavier than himself, suddenly collapsed to his knees, clutching the sack and bursting into tears.

An elderly woman with gray hair shakily squeezed through the crowd and forced a shriveled and blackened wild fruit, which she had been hiding in her bosom, into Xiao Ran's hand.

Xiao Ran looked at the wild fruit in his hand, then at the old woman's cloudy but expectant eyes. His usually aloof face showed a rare hint of unease.

In the team channel, Qian Lele had already started live streaming, with the camera focused on this touching scene.

"My family members, you wouldn't understand! This level of immersion is off the charts! I feel like I'm the savior!"

"Waaaaah, that little girl just gave me a clay doll! I almost betrayed the planet on the spot and didn't want to go back to Earth!"

In a corner of the crowd, a thin figure was straining to stand on tiptoe, trying to get a clear look at the "heavenly soldiers".

It's looking around.

Looking at the laughing and jubilant "heavenly soldiers," and then at the mountains of grain behind them, a burning flame ignited for the first time in his eyes, which had previously been filled with only numbness and fear.

It turns out that people really don't have to just wait to die.

It turns out that hope really could be snatched back from the Tartars' butcher's knife.

Wang Erniu silently followed at the back of the group, watching the jubilant scene of soldiers and civilians before him, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He couldn't understand or agree with the fighting style of these "heavenly soldiers".

But he had to admit that they had accomplished in a way he despised and scorned the most, a feat that he could not have achieved even with the lives of all his guards.

Standing atop the city tower, Chu Ze leaned against the railing, taking in the entire scene.

He showed neither joy nor excitement, but simply watched calmly.

He knew this was just the beginning.

His most crucial step was to completely deify these "chosen ones" with a resounding victory and a life-saving supply of food.

"Pass on the order!"

Chu Ze turned around, his tone steady.

"Open the granaries! Distribute the grain! Reward the troops!"

"Furthermore, a reward platform shall be set up atop the city wall! I will personally reward the returning warriors for their merits!"

The news spread, and the whole city was in an uproar once again.

Half an hour later, the Guangning city gate tower became the focus of everyone's attention.

Chu Ze, clad in black armor, stood on the high platform with his hand on his sword.

Wang Han, Shi Dali, Xiao Ran, Qin Jue, and others were invited to the high platform.

Below the stage was a dense crowd of people, soldiers and civilians from the entire city.

"In this battle, we marched thirty li west, destroyed the enemy's supply depot, beheaded three hundred, burned ten thousand shi of grain, and seized three thousand shi of grain before returning!"

Chu Ze's voice, amplified by the faint sound of the Mountain and River Map, clearly resonated throughout the entire venue.

"The chosen one, Wang Han, has made a tremendous contribution!"

He looked at Wang Han, who immediately puffed out his chest and flashed a smug smile.

[Chosen One No. 001, Wang Han, has gained 500 merit points and the rare title 'Guangning Warrior'!]

[Guangning Warrior: Your reputation in Guangning City has reached "Honored". You will receive positive feedback when talking to most NPCs and enjoy a 10% discount when purchasing supplies.]

Wang Han was overjoyed when he saw the notification that popped up in his field of vision.

"The chosen ones, Shi Dali, Xiao Ran, Qin Jue... are all pillars of Guangning!"

Chu Ze called out names one by one and distributed the pre-arranged rewards.

The players below the stage were green with envy as they watched their merit points soar and their titles gleam.

"Holy crap! I got my graduation outfit!"

"This title is awesome! I can walk around the city like a hog now!"

After the ceremony of bestowing rewards, Chu Ze did not allow everyone to disperse.

He raised his hand, and to everyone's astonishment, a huge "curtain" made of light and shadow appeared out of thin air on the wall of the city gate.

This "open-air cinema" function was achieved by him consuming a full 50 points of spiritual energy.

"Today, I will let you witness firsthand the divine might of the heavenly soldiers!"

Chu Ze's consciousness sank into the GM editor, where he played the video he had edited the night before.

He gave the video a name that was enough to set the world on fire.

"Iron Blood and Rivers Gameplay Demo: A 'Real' Battlefield You've Never Seen Before".

The scene begins.

The first scene shows Qin Jue, from a first-person perspective, fearlessly charging into the enemy camp time and time again, getting shot, stabbed, and hacked to death... and then getting up from the respawn point again and again, leaving his calm coordinates in the channel.

That bloody yet efficient "corpse-running scouting" instantly silenced all doubts in the live streams of major forums on Earth.

"Holy crap... what kind of hardcore reconnaissance is this?"

"Risking your life to unlock maps? Are these game designers devils?"

The scene then shifts to Shi Dali leading the "Kamikaze Special Attack Corps," shouting "Hurrah!" and "Demacia!" as they bravely storm the camp gates amidst a hail of arrows.

And his "battle of fame" was when he jumped down from the city wall, which was more than ten meters high, and smashed a Jin soldier into a pulp.

In the video, Chu Ze even added a caption for Shi Dali with a wicked sense of humor: "[Professional door blocking, jumping off buildings to smash people, for services please look for ID: Baqiang Durou]".

The most shocking scene was the mental breakdown of the Later Jin soldiers.

When a Jin soldier kills a player, only to turn around and see the player naked, patting him on the shoulder and giving him a friendly smile, the change in the Jin soldier's expression—from ferocity to astonishment, and then to extreme fear—is perfectly captured in a close-up shot.

"A ghost—!"

That piercing scream was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The video ends with a freeze-frame on the burning granary, showing players joyfully dividing up the spoils.

The screen went black.

A line of large characters appeared.

[Limited access to the first closed beta test of "Iron-Blooded Empire" will be released soon. Stay tuned.]

The entire planet Earth exploded completely.

"I take back what I said before! This isn't a short film! This is fucking real!"

"An infinite resurrection strategy for Ancient Warfare? That's insane! What kind of genius came out of a mental hospital to design this?!"

"GM! Open the door! Open the door! A friend of mine has a terminal illness and wants to play this game! I'm that friend!"

"Stop pretending, you upstairs! I'm willing to pay 100,000 for a beta test qualification! I mean it!"

The official website of "Iron-Blooded Jiangshan" was instantly overwhelmed by traffic.

Beta testing access became the most sought-after luxury item on Earth overnight.

On the Guangning city tower, the players looked at their "highlight moment" and laughed so hard they almost fell over.

Shi Dali's face turned red, and he pointed at his own heroic jumping posture on the screen, shouting in Wang Erniu's direction.

"Brother Niu! Did you see that? Isn't he handsome!"

Wang Erniu's face twitched, and he turned his head away, not wanting to pay attention to this madman.

Amidst the celebratory clamor, Wang Han did not participate in the revelry.

He exchanged his loot for a brand new set of leather armor and a blunt sword, and the guild warehouse was overflowing with his spoils.

But he knew in his heart that the real challenge was far from over.

He walked through the cheering crowd and stood behind Chu Ze, who was standing alone on the edge of the platform.

"City Lord."

Chu Ze turned around.

Wang Han took the letter, soaked in blood and carefully dried by him, from his bosom and solemnly handed it over.

"This was found on an enemy general."

Chu Ze took the letter and unfolded it.

When he saw the name stamped with cinnabar on the letter and the agreed date for the raid, his entire demeanor changed instantly.

A chilling cold emanated from him, shutting out all the noise and heat around him.

Chu Ze slowly pinched the letter, and the paper was silently crushed into powder at his fingertips.