Chapter 125: The Green Camp NP

Chen Hao’s twelve-man cavalry unit possessed two cavalry skill buffs, giving them an absolute advantage in maneuverability over the Guanning Iron Cavalry. Furthermore, the individual prowess of his team members surpassed that of their opponents. The Guanning Iron Cavalry’s only advantage had been their sheer numbers, but once their formation scattered during the chase, even that numerical superiority vanished.

Eight Guanning Iron Cavalry players were galloping along a country path, widely spaced out. Chen Hao’s twelve riders suddenly charged from the flank, shooting two of them dead in quick succession. Seeing their teammates fall, the remaining six riders’ first instinct was to flee, but they could not match the speed of Chen Hao’s unit and were soon overtaken and eliminated.

Every player in the Guanning Iron Cavalry had accepted a mission to sabotage the railway, so Chen Hao’s team received experience rewards for killing them. To capture the horses intact, the team only opened fire when in close pursuit, ensuring none of the eight horses were injured. Chen Hao had his men gather the horses and take them to a nearby village, where they boarded them with local farmers for the price of two silver dollars per horse.

The Guanning Iron Cavalry had spread out over a ten-mile radius. Chen Hao’s team focused on picking off these isolated players. In just one hour, by leveraging local superiority, they wiped out 128 Guanning riders, capturing 74 horses and 36 firearms.

Xiao Mile had long since received word that the twelve riders were hunting his men. He panicked and ordered his cavalry to regroup, but they were scattered far and wide—regrouping was not so simple. In-game messaging was disabled, and once they entered the pursuit, the system flagged them as being in a state of war, which prevented players from logging off and made it impossible to notify his men in the real world.

Xiao Mile and Long Dahai had no choice but to gallop along the road, desperately gathering stragglers. After collecting about 80 riders, Xiao Mile rode for another four kilometers without finding a single soul. His face turned deathly pale. The Guanning Iron Cavalry had brought 300 riders into northern Hebei; with over two hundred men now missing, if they were all confirmed dead, the Guanning faction would never forgive him.

"April 13, 1900: Player 'White-ish Monster' has reached Level 20, becoming the second player in the China region to do so. Let us offer our congratulations."

"April 13, 1900: Player Chen Feng has reached Level 20, becoming the third player in the China region to do so. Let us offer our congratulations."

Just as Xiao Mile feared, those 200 men he couldn't contact had all been wiped out by Chen Hao’s team, save for a few who had merely gotten lost. Aside from the five newest members, all the original team members had reached Level 20, with White-ish Monster and Chen Feng receiving additional rewards.

White-ish Monster’s C-rank skill, "Glib Tongue," upgraded to the B-rank skill, "Lotus-Blossoming Speech." Beyond improving diplomatic success rates, if an NPC refused a request, this skill granted a 20% chance to make the NPC change their mind.

Chen Hao was delighted by this upgrade. Since their upcoming journey to the Northeast would involve dealing with numerous NPCs, they would rely heavily on White-ish Monster. With this skill, the chances of persuading NPCs to cooperate increased, making Chen Hao’s plan to alter the plot missions more viable.

Chen Feng gained a C-rank skill, "Powerful Reconnaissance," which increased his scouting range by 50% and made it easier to detect hidden enemies. This significantly bolstered his scouting capabilities, allowing Chen Hao to march with greater peace of mind.

Because the Guanning players were scattered over a ten-mile area, the captured horses were stabled in over a dozen different locations. To retrieve them, Chen Hao first had to neutralize the remaining threat of the cavalry. Though severely crippled, the Guanning Iron Cavalry still had eighty or ninety riders left, and having learned their lesson, they would surely not give Chen Hao another chance to pick them off one by one.

Just as Chen Hao was considering how to deal with the remainder, a cavalry unit bearing banners appeared in the distance. Since players in the China region had yet to establish a stronghold, no player group could possess banners; therefore, the approaching unit had to be NPCs from the Green Standard Army.

The twelve riders mounted up and fled. The Green Standard soldiers pursued them relentlessly. Although Chen Hao’s team had cavalry skill buffs, the Green Standard soldiers were masters of horsemanship and rode well-trained warhorses, keeping pace with them.

Chen Hao had known these soldiers would be troublesome. The reason he had dared to stay south of the railway after killing Li Wencai was the mission token in his satchel.

When a player accepted a mission from Nie Shicheng, they received a token that tracked kills and served as identification. Since Nie Shicheng was the Zhili Provincial Commander, these Green Standard troops were nominally under his command. Using his authority as a shield was highly likely to intimidate them.

If they hadn't accepted the mission from Nie Shicheng and had simply gone to kill Li Wencai for Xu Wenhuai’s quest, they would have been forced to evade the Green Standard pursuit. By accepting the mission to deal with the Boxers from Nie Shicheng and then seeking revenge for Xu Wenhuai, the two missions intertwined, allowing them to claim they were acting under Nie Shicheng’s orders when they killed Li Wencai and his Boxer cohorts.

Chen Hao was 90% certain he could bluff the Green Standard soldiers. He chose to flee instead of presenting the token immediately, hoping to use the situation to deal with the remaining Guanning cavalry.

Once Xiao Mile confirmed the loss of two hundred riders, he could no longer keep up his facade. He wore a look of utter despair, frantically leading his remaining 80 riders in search of targets. He hoped that by wiping out the twelve riders, he could satisfy the Guanning leadership’s thirst for vengeance and earn their forgiveness. But if 300 riders hadn't been able to finish the job, could 80 really succeed?

Despite having no confidence, Xiao Mile did his best and left the rest to fate, not abandoning his last shred of hope. Soon, he received word that one or two hundred Green Standard cavalry were also pursuing Chen Baxian, which restored his confidence.

The Green Standard NPCs might be mediocre, but compared to current players, they held a massive advantage. With their help, the twelve riders were surely doomed.

Xiao Mile kept sending out scouts, and upon learning that the Green Standard troops were still in pursuit, he led his remaining eighty men on a detour, planning to help the NPCs intercept them. He calculated that if he couldn't catch the twelve from behind, he would ambush them from the front, not only killing his enemies but also gaining favor with the Green Standard NPCs.

When Chen Hao realized Xiao Mile was moving to intercept, he decisively turned his horse, veered off at an angle, and rode toward the Green Standard unit. As he approached from the side, he raised his mission token high and shouted, "Which general is leading this unit?"

A burly man with a thick beard spurred his horse forward and replied, "You rebels slaughtered over a hundred villagers in Sanyuan Village. I, Sukhaar, have been ordered to arrest you."

"Rebels?" Chen Hao laughed. "Li Wencai of Sanyuan Village colluded with 'Outlanders' to burn the railway. We acted under the Commander’s orders to eliminate him—how does that make us rebels? If you don't believe me, here is the token from Lord Nie ordering us to exterminate the Boxer rebels."