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

Wang Erniu felt like his head was about to explode.

His hands, which were used to holding knives for years, were now clenched into fists, the veins on the back of his hands bulging and his knuckles white from the force. He looked at the group of "heavenly soldiers" who were screaming, crowding together, and even trying to climb the city wall, and a fire burned in his chest.

That fire is called anger, and also confusion.

who am I?

Where am I?

What is going on in this world?

Just now, he saw with his own eyes that idiot named Shi Dali jump off the battlement with a loud cry, fall into a puddle of mud, and then reappear in the square not far away in a flash of white light, grinning foolishly at him.

What is this?

What the hell is this?!

He had fought for over a decade, his life a constant companion, accustomed to death and carnage. He knew that when people died, they were gone, they would grow cold, harden, and finally turn into a handful of dust. But these things before him… these were not human! They were demonic magic! They were ghosts!

"Get the hell out of here!" Wang Erniu's patience finally reached its limit. He drew his ring-pommel sword from his waist, the nicked blade gleaming with a chilling aura in the pale light.

However, his menacing aura, enough to scare away hundreds of enemy soldiers, only elicited more excited screams from the surrounding players.

"He's drawing his sword! He's drawing his sword! The Tauren instructor is about to unleash his ultimate attack!"

"Quick, take a screenshot! This is definitely the trigger for the hidden storyline!"

"Brother Erniu, kill me! Please! I want to experience what it feels like to be killed by the BOSS!"

Wang Erniu was completely stunned. He gripped the knife, but didn't know who to slash at. These people weren't afraid of death, they even... sought death? His worldview, his understanding of war and death built on blood and scars, was utterly shattered in this moment.

In front of the Confucian Temple, Li Xunyi slumped onto the threshold, his white beard trembling with anger and frustration. He watched as several players, grinning and joking, surrounded the tablet of Confucius, discussing whether the piece of wood could be made into a good shield.

"What a tragedy! What a tragedy!" The old scholar wept bitterly, pounding his chest and stamping his feet. "The world is going to the dogs! People's hearts are no longer what they used to be! The sages are disgraced! Civilization has been swept away!"

The entire city of Guangning has been turned into a huge, out-of-control playground.

And the one who started all of this, Chu Ze, was sitting cross-legged in the quiet room, the cold floor isolating him from all the noise of the outside world.

[WARNING: Overall order assessment of Guangning City: Chaotic! On the verge of collapse!]

[Final Warning: A chain reaction of order collapse is about to be triggered! Countdown: 60, 59, 58...]

Chu Ze didn't move. He just stared at the constantly ticking countdown, his deep face showing no emotion.

The floodwaters are raging and are breaching the dikes he painstakingly built.

But he had already prepared the river channel for flood discharge.

The time has come.

Just as Wang Erniu finally exhaled the breath that had been suppressing the collapse of his worldview, about to plunge the blade into a player's neck;

Just as Li Xunyi was filled with despair, he took two shaky steps back, preparing to smash his head against the cold stone pillar in the Confucian Temple that had been touched by countless scholars, in order to preserve the last vestige of the scholar's reputation.

Just as Guangning City, a lonely city that had just survived the ravages of war, was about to be "played" to collapse by these living ancestors—

A voice came.

It is not heard through the ears.

It was a more primal torrent of information that exploded directly in the deepest recesses of the mind. It had no source, no direction, yet it transformed into a resounding bell within each person's head, shaking their very soul.

In an instant, heaven and earth fell silent.

The wind stopped, the players' screams were stuck in their throats, and the sounds of the new recruits training outside the city disappeared without a trace.

The entire city of Guangning was put on pause.

All the players froze in place.

The player who had brought his face close to Wang Erniu's blade, maintaining his lewd, forward-leaning posture, froze, his "Come and chop me" smirk frozen in place. His eyes darted around, filled with a bewildered expression of "Who am I? Where am I? What happened?"

The burly men who were working together, trying to pry up the stone lions at the entrance of the Confucian Temple to use as guild mascots, were still in a horse stance, pushing and shoving, looking like a group of comical sculptures that had come to life.

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

The eerie silence lasted less than a second before the players' internal communication channels exploded.

"Holy crap... what's going on? A world boss entrance animation?"

"That voice... it rang directly in my head! My god, this technology is amazing! Even brain-computer interfaces aren't this incredible!"

"It's the GM! That's the GM's voice!"

The grand voice ignored the turmoil in the players' hearts, continuing to echo in their souls with a tone devoid of any human emotion, as precise and indifferent as the movement of stars:

"Welcome, chosen one, to 'Iron-Blooded Empire'."

These ten simple words carry an undeniable authority, like a red-hot branding iron, deeply imprinted on everyone's consciousness.

The voice continued:

"You were born from chaos, this is destiny."

"The current chaos is not disorder."

The voice paused, and that brief pause seemed to put immense pressure on the heartbeats of all the players, causing them to instinctively hold their breath.

"It is the most primal form of your power."

"It is an inevitable prelude to change."

All the players were stunned by these words.

Wait, this script isn't right!

We turned the city upside down, and the NPCs were almost driven crazy. Instead of warning or banning our accounts, the GM said it was "the original form of power" and "the prelude to change"?

This game is so considerate!

Some quick-thinking players' eyes lit up instantly.

That booming voice, as if it knew their thoughts, continued to drop a truly devastating bombshell in that godlike tone:

"Chaos is also a breeding ground for opportunity."

"Only after destruction can there be new life."

"Now, the test begins."

"Only those who can establish order within chaos—"

"Fang Wei, a hero!"

The last two words, "hero," are like a giant hammer, slamming hard into the hearts of every player!

The sound gradually faded away, receding like the tide, and the sounds of the world returned to normal.

But Guangning City remained eerily quiet.

Hundreds of thousands of players stood still, looking at each other with expressions that were incredibly varied and fascinating.

Shock, bewilderment, ecstasy, sudden realization...

Before Wang Erniu, the frozen player slowly and carefully moved his neck away from the blade, then showed Wang Erniu a brand new smile full of "understanding" and "sympathy".

"Brother Niu," he said softly, "you've worked hard. Don't worry, we'll take care of you from now on."

Wang Erniu: "?"

In front of the Confucian Temple, the burly men who had been prying open the stone lions also let go. One of the leaders scratched his head, looked at the pair of majestic stone lions, and then looked at Li Xunyi, who was slumped on the ground next to him with a blank expression, and seemed to be deep in thought.

"Brothers, I think I understand now."

"Does GM mean that we can't just cause chaos randomly? We have to do it in an organized and disciplined way?"

As soon as the words were spoken, a huge system panel burning with golden flames popped up in front of all the players!

[Epic Regional Quest: The Road to Restoration (Now Open)]

[Mission Description: Although the siege of Guangning City has been lifted, the lifeline to the Liaoxi Corridor—the Jinzhou official road—has long been destroyed by war, leaving only ruins along its hundred-mile length. Repair it, reopen it, and lay the first cornerstone for the army's westward advance and the recapture of Liaodong!]

[Mission Objective: Repair the official road from Guangning to Jinzhou, making it passable for a supply convoy of 500 people.]

[Task Requirements: This is a team task; the team must consist of at least fifty people.]

[Mission Reward: 20000 shared merit points for the team!]

silence.

A deathly silence.

The next second, the volcano erupted!

"Twenty thousand?! Twenty thousand merit points?!" a player screamed, his voice trembling. "I'm not seeing things, am I? Twenty thousand?!"

"I've struck gold! I've struck gold! If I can get this, I'll upgrade from a slingshot to a cannon and get full-body armor!"

"Shared team... fifty people... Holy crap! This is practically forcing us to form teams!"

"Repairing the official road? Infrastructure construction mission? Hahaha, the spring of us infrastructure maniacs has arrived!"

If 20,000 merit points were a bombshell, then the second announcement that followed was the detonator that set it off!

[Follow-up Quest: The Cornerstone of Order (Unlocked)]

[Mission Description: Order originates from organization. Heroes need a banner.]

[Mission Objective: The first team to complete the "Path to Restoration" mission will receive official recognition from this world.]

[Mission Rewards: Award the title of "First Registered Mercenary Group"! Unlock exclusive guild channel! Receive an initial guild warehouse! Obtain the right to apply for the first guild headquarters in Guangning City!]

boom!

All the players with even a little bit of ambition were completely baffled.

Our first guild!

This is beyond what merit points can measure! This is an honor that will go down in history! This is a qualification that you can boast about for a lifetime! This is the first team among millions of players to have its own flag!

No one can resist this temptation!

The players, who were originally sightseeing and taking photos, were now all red-eyed.

"Group up! Group up! Fifty-man raid group! Repair the main road! First kill! Looking for tanks and healers... oh no, looking for someone who can both deal damage and tank!"

"【Road to Restoration】Speed ​​Race Team! Need 20 more members! Must follow instructions and not mess around! DM me if interested!"

"Any experienced casual gamers out there? Civil engineering majors preferred! Our group will handle all the logistics; we only need technical guidance!"

The chaotic player community, guided by the banner of "the first guild," began to spontaneously organize at an astonishing speed.

In this frenzied wave, one figure stood out like a crane among chickens.

Wang Han!

That beta tester with the titles "Number 001 Lucky Dog" and "I Reign Supreme, the Hardcore Player"!

Instead of shouting for help like the others, he kicked over a nearby abandoned cargo box, jumped onto it, and raised his arm to shout!

"Brothers!"

His voice, broadcast through a megaphone he had managed to obtain from Wang Erniu, resounded throughout the entire square.

"This concludes our sightseeing tour!"

"GM has laid Kingsoft right in front of us! What do you say, should we take it or not?!"

His highly inflammatory voice instantly attracted the attention of thousands of people.

"Take it!" A thunderous response erupted from the crowd.

"Alright!" Wang Han waved his hand sharply, his face radiating the confidence and shrewdness unique to top-tier players. "That damned road, 20,000 merit points! The first guild! This piece of meat, anyone else who wants a bite will have to ask me, Wang Han, first! Ask us, the old brothers who have been fighting alongside General Chu since the closed beta, if we agree!"

"No way!" Hundreds of beta testers roared in unison, their momentum astounding.

"Now!" Wang Han surveyed his surroundings, his eyes gleaming behind his black-rimmed glasses. "I, 'The King of Grinders,' am here to form the [Shenzhou] Guild's raid team! Our goal: First kill of [The Road to Restoration]! All veterans from the closed beta, join now! Newcomers, if you think you're tough enough, fierce enough, and fearless enough, come on over! I don't care what your class is, as long as you have the strength and the drive to cause trouble!"

"Merit points will be distributed according to contribution after the battle, absolutely no unfair treatment! Whoever gets the first kill becomes a guild leader, including all veterans!"

"Anyone who wants to eat meat, wants to be superior to others, wants to have their name etched on this game's monument, you all get the hell over here!"

Wang Han's speech was crude and direct, yet it precisely hit all the players' sweet spots.

In an instant, the crowd surged. Countless players rushed towards his location like madmen; the scene was more frenzied than any midnight shopping spree.

In just a few minutes, a massive team of over a thousand people was quickly assembled at Wang Han's call.

"Set off!"

Wang Han leaped down from the cargo box, pointed his spear towards the city gate, and looked triumphant.

"Target: Jinzhou Official Road! Let those newbies follow us and eat our dust!"

"oh--!"

A thousand people roared, their voices shaking the heavens.

This "road-building army," composed of enthusiastic gamers, surged toward the city gate in a mighty procession. Wang Erniu, Li Xunyi, and others along the way were once again stunned as they watched this group of "heavenly soldiers" who had seemed like madmen one moment and were now in perfect military formation the next (although their formation was crooked).

What are they going to do?

Road construction?

Wang Erniu loosened his grip on the knife. Li Xunyi also stopped crying, leaning against the door frame, staring blankly at the surging crowd.

In the quiet room, Chu Ze watched the rapidly decreasing countdown of "Order Collapse" on the GM panel, which stopped abruptly at the last second and then slowly disappeared.

He knew that the first rein had been successfully placed around the necks of the wild horses.

The chaotic flood was completely tamed at this moment, converging into a steel torrent capable of destroying everything, rushing along the river channel that Chu Ze had personally dug, towards the future that was destined to be overturned.