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

When the horses' hooves trod on the solid ground worn down by countless footsteps, the complex stench of roasted meat, sweat, rust, and mud slammed into the faces of Lu Jian and all his men like an invisible wall.

Before me stretched an endless cacophony.

Outside the gates of Guangning, an enormous open-air market had sprung up, far beyond imagination. Thousands of people thronged the market, shouting their wares and haggling, their voices creating a deafening cacophony that made one's eardrums ache.

This created two completely different worlds for them, one in purgatory and the other in the human world... No, this is not the human world either, this is an asylum.

"Freshly roasted wolf meat! Just hunted from the woods west of the city! Ten copper coins a pound, fair price for everyone!" A burly man with bare chest and bulging muscles brandished a broken iron sword that was still dripping blood, spitting as he spoke.

"Don't miss out! Enchanted wooden sword! Comes with the 'Pain Strike' effect, it hurts a lot when you hit someone! Selling it cheap, trade it for some potatoes!" Another player, who was as thin as a bamboo pole, held up a crookedly shaved wooden stick and mysteriously whispered to the onlookers.

Even more outrageous, one player spread a tattered cloth on the ground, on which were several pieces of dark ore and a few withered herbs. Next to it stood a wooden sign written in charcoal: "[Shenzhou] Guild Certified, Officially Designated Newbie Material Shop! Tenfold Compensation for Fakes!"

Next to the stall, a player with the ID "Guaranteed to Make Money" was enthusiastically peddling his exclusive information to several newcomers.

"Hey bro, you look unfamiliar. Just started playing? Don't go down the wrong path. I have the latest version of 'One Hundred Ways to Make Money in Guangning,' only five copper coins! It'll teach you how to earn your first pot of gold by collecting cow dung, pulling weeds, and chatting with NPCs!"

He pointed to several veterans from Guangning who were patrolling not far away, their faces filled with despair.

"See those guys? They're like walking ATMs. Go up there and say a few words, and if you're lucky, you might trigger the 'Veteran's Troubles' questline, which gives a good amount of experience and coins!"

Lu Jian and his elite guards stood frozen in place, like a group of stone statues that had stumbled into a swarm of crazed ants. The somber, menacing aura of the Imperial Guards that clung to them was completely washed away in this bustling atmosphere, making them seem utterly out of place.

"Boss..." The deputy swallowed hard, his voice hoarse, "This...this is the 'living hell' that old soldier talked about?"

If a place littered with starving corpses is hell, then what is this scene before us?

Lu Jian did not answer; his facial features were taut.

hell?

No, in hell, the dead don't laugh.

The faces of everyone in front of me were filled with an inexplicable, extremely excited joy.

They continued forward and finally saw the "long dragon" leading to the city gate.

Thousands of players, dressed in various styles, huddled together in a chaotic, long, crooked line, slowly inching towards the city gate. Maintaining order was a mixed guard unit.

Half of them were veterans under Wang Erniu's command, dressed in old-fashioned Ming Dynasty uniforms, while the other half were players wearing the [Shenzhou] guild badge on their chests.

The two types of people standing together create a very impactful scene.

The veterans' faces were numb, their eyes vacant, as if their souls had long been drained by the endless chaos before them. They mechanically repeated the command, "Line up, no cutting in line," their voices hoarse and devoid of emotion. They had become indifferent to everything, giving up on thinking.

Meanwhile, the players and guards from [Shenzhou] were as energetic as if they had just drunk ten kilograms of strong liquor.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! You wearing a green hat! Get back to the back of the line, did you ask for my sword before trying to cut in line?" A player guard brandished his longsword arrogantly and cursed at a player who tried to cut in line.

"Brothers, keep a close eye on things! The vice president said that [Shenzhou] is on duty today. Anyone who dares to cause trouble under our noses is disrespecting [Shenzhou]! Cut them down on the spot, don't let them get away with it!"

The entire city gate area maintained a fragile, precarious order amidst this bizarre atmosphere of half numbness and half madness.

The appearance of Lu Jian and his group caused no ripples. These dozen or so elite soldiers, riding tall horses and exuding an aura of unapproachability, were like drops of water in the ocean, instantly submerged in the crowd.

Lu Jian's patience was rapidly wearing thin. He was a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Emperor's sword; when had he ever been treated with such disregard?

He took a deep breath, pulled out the official document issued by the Ministry of War from his pocket, and prepared to ride forward to reveal his identity.

Just then, a figure suddenly squeezed out of the crowd, carrying a large bundle of smelly animal hides on his shoulder, sweating profusely. Seeing that the people in front of him were about to enter the city, he was extremely anxious and rushed over from the side with his head down.

boom!

A dull thud.

The man crashed solidly into the saddle of Lu Jian's horse, with such force that the fine steed of the Western Mountain Camp pawed at the ground in frustration.

"Make way, make way! The NPC in front of us isn't blocking the way!"

The player didn't even look up, muttered something impatiently, and walked around the tall horse's head. Like a slippery eel, he plunged into the crowded people ahead and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The surrounding noise seemed to vanish in that instant.

Lu Jian and the dozen or so guards behind him remained motionless.

Time seemed to stand still.

"court death!"

Behind Lu Jian, the youngest member of the elite guard had bloodshot eyes. With a flick of his wrist, the Embroidered Spring Blade at his waist was already half an inch out of its sheath! The chilling blade flashed and disappeared in the murky air, and the killing intent honed from mountains of corpses and seas of blood instantly locked onto the departing figure.

He had been a soldier for many years, and countless lives had been lost under his blade, but he had never heard such... contemptuous words.

NPCs?

What is that? Some kind of new swear code?

Blocking the way?

They were the imperial guards of the Ming Dynasty, the sharpest blades under the emperor's feet! On this land that theoretically belonged to the Ming Dynasty, how dare anyone tell them "Don't block the way"?!

"Sheath it."

Lu Jian didn't turn around; his voice was very soft, like two pieces of ice colliding.

The young imperial guard stiffened, his eyes filled with a fierce mix of killing intent and resentment. In the end, he gritted his teeth and slowly pushed the half-inch blade back into its sheath, making a soft "click" sound.

Lu Jian's expression was frighteningly calm.

There was no anger.

Anger is directed at one's own kind. One will not get angry at a stumbling stone or a noisy summer insect.

He was just chewing on that strange word in his mind.

NPC.

What kind of term is this?

He, Lu Jian, an imperial envoy ordered to inspect Liaodong, had just been mistaken for a roadside stone that needed to be avoided by a savage carrying an animal skin.

An extremely absurd feeling, like an icy tide, overwhelmed his internal organs.

The imperial sword in his arms was no longer a symbol of the emperor's power, but rather a huge joke.

Just as he was pondering whether he should use the most direct and bloody method to make these madmen understand what "the majesty of the imperial court" meant.

A hoarse, almost broken scream tore through the surging crowd.

"Heavens... Angels!"

He was an old Ming soldier maintaining order at the city gate.

His eyes, which had blended into the surrounding chaos and were now empty and numb, were fixed on Lu Jian. More precisely, they were fixed on the bright yellow document that Lu Jian had pulled out in his hand in preparation for revealing his identity.

In an instant, a terrifying light burst forth from those lifeless eyes.

It was not fear, nor flattery, but the ecstasy and struggle of suddenly seeing a glimmer of light in the endless, desperate darkness!

"Clang!"

The veteran's spear slipped from his hand and crashed onto the frozen ground. He felt as if his bones had been removed, or as if he had been given his last ounce of strength, and he scrambled forward, stumbling and crawling.

Ignoring the icy, bone-chilling mud on the ground, he knelt heavily before Lu Jian's horse.

boom! boom! boom!

He slammed his head against the ground, his forehead making a dull thud as it struck the hard, frozen earth, quickly turning it into a bloody mess.

He was like a person who had been drowning for a long time, whose lungs were filled with icy water, about to sink to the bottom, finally grabbing onto that life-saving straw that was hanging down from the sky.

"Your Excellency! You...you've finally come!" The old soldier wailed, his face smeared with snot and tears mixed with blood from his forehead, but he paid no heed. "The court hasn't forgotten us! It hasn't forgotten Guangning!"

His cries, filled with a deep-seated grievance and despair, silenced the surrounding noise.

Then, he abruptly raised his bloodied and mangled face, and let out a heart-wrenching roar at the players who had stopped and were curiously watching:

"Get the hell out of my way! Don't you have eyes?!"

"The imperial court has sent people! It's the Emperor himself! Get the hell out of my way!"

The five words, "The imperial court has sent people," struck like a thunderbolt.

No, it was even bigger than a thunderclap; it directly sparked a frenzy among the players!

The originally chaotic and crowded crowd came to a brief standstill.

The next second, whispers and strange cries replaced the previous hustle and bustle.

"Holy crap? New plot twist! A high-ranking official from the capital!"

"It's a global event! It's definitely a precursor to a global event!"

"Look at that old NPC's acting! Absolutely amazing! The micro-expressions, the emotional delivery—he deserves an Oscar!"

"Make way, make way! Don't block my screenshot! This is a historic moment, I'm going to post it on the forum to brag!"

"Hey buddy in front, move your big butt out of the way, you're blocking the BOSS... oh no, I mean, blocking the Imperial Envoy's glory!"

The players exchanged excited glances as they retreated to the sides at a speed far exceeding what the veterans had imagined.

They have no respect for "high-ranking officials of the imperial court," but they have a beast-like keen sense of smell and a hunter-like professionalism when it comes to "plot NPCs."

You can't block the way, you can't steal the spotlight, and you have to give the main characters enough screen time—this is a basic operation ingrained in the DNA of every veteran player.

In the blink of an eye, a wide passageway, wide enough for a horse-drawn carriage to run through, was forcibly carved out from this crowded sea of ​​people.

On both sides of the road, there were countless pairs of gleaming eyes and players holding up strange glowing cubes (phones).

The scene resembled a grand welcoming ceremony, except that the person being welcomed showed no sign of joy.

The veteran was still kneeling on the ground, staring blankly at this unbelievable scene. What he couldn't have done even if he shouted himself hoarse had happened so easily.

He stood there stunned for a long while, then, laughing and crying at the same time, he kowtowed frantically to Lu Jian: "My lord, please! Please come into the city quickly! General Chu... General Chu must be waiting for you!"

Lu Jian's mind went completely blank.

He was shocked by the old soldier's heart-wrenching despair, and bewildered by the inexplicable fanaticism of the players.

An unparalleled sense of disconnection was violently colliding within his consciousness.

On one side were loyal Ming soldiers who longed for the return of the Ming army, their hearts breaking with despair.

On the other side, there was a frenzied swarm of ants who saw him as a "novelty" and the imperial court as a "plot update."

He mechanically urged his warhorse forward, slowly advancing along the road that countless madmen had spontaneously parted to make way for.

His guards, gripping their sword hilts, stood tightly guarding him, their backs soaked with cold sweat.

This road leads straight to the deep, dark city gate.

Like the mouth of a giant beast.

Lu Jian knew that he was entering a world completely beyond his comprehension.

The surrounding noise seemed to fade away, and those excited, curious, and greedy faces flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern.

Just then, he subconsciously raised his head.

My gaze passed over the crowded throng, over the cold city gate, and landed on the towering, gray-white city wall.

A figure stood silently at the crenellation of the city wall.

The jet-black armor accentuated his tall, sturdy figure. He wasn't wearing a helmet, and the biting wind whipped his dark hair. He stood there, looking down at everything below—the bustling market, the throngs of people, the kneeling, weeping veterans, and himself riding towards them on horseback.

It was Chu Ze.

Their eyes met in mid-air.

Lu Jian's heart clenched.

He was fully prepared. He was ready to face a silver-tongued swindler, a stubborn madman, or a desperate gambler. He devised hundreds of interrogation techniques, ready to use the sharpest methods to tear away all the pretenses from the other party.

But Chu Ze's face showed none of the expression he had expected.

There was no fear, no surprise, no guilty conscience, not even the slightest fluctuation.

On that young yet profound face, there was only a calm indifference.

Under Lu Jian's cold, scrutinizing, and murderous gaze, Chu Ze on the city wall slowly and very slightly nodded.

That wasn't a greeting.

That was a confirmation.

A self-evident confirmation, as if saying, "You've finally arrived."

boom!

In Lu Jian's mind, it was as if something had suddenly collapsed.

At this moment, the imperial sword in his arms, which could execute first and report later and represented the emperor's power, became utterly ridiculous.

How could he be a hunter sent to judge someone?

He was clearly a prey whose every move was anticipated by the other party.

A chilling coldness suddenly surged from his tailbone, instantly piercing through his entire spine and rushing straight to the top of his head.

He finally understood that what he was facing was not some deceitful lie.

It is a truth that is a thousand times more terrifying than a lie.