Chapter Thirty-Four: Tenth-Rank Second Lieutenant

Chen Hao and the pale-faced prodigy found a secluded corner to replenish their hunger, then continued grinding on the bullies to level up. After reaching level 8, Chen Hao noticed that fighting level 10 bullies no longer yielded as much experience, but he chose not to challenge even higher-level monsters. Monsters above level 10 often attacked from a distance; for example, some of the level 15 thugs wielded bows and arrows. While defeating them granted slightly more experience than bullies, the efficiency would certainly drop.

The two of them kept leveling up in the bully training zone, stopping twice along the way to restore their hunger. A day passed in-game, which, given the 4:1 time ratio between the game and reality, meant only six hours had elapsed in the real world, so neither of them logged off.

More and more players flocked to the bully zone in the southern part of town. Chen Hao and his partner’s monster-killing speed was so astonishing that, to avoid having their exploits recorded and posted on the forums, they moved into the densest southeastern corner of the area.

Bullies were aggressive monsters. Other players might dare to take on higher-level monsters, but they could only tackle them one at a time, and none dared venture into the southeast. Back when he hadn’t yet reached level 9, even though his combat skills were formidable, Chen Hao hadn’t risked entering. Now, eager to rush for level 10, he decided to take a gamble and headed for the prime leveling spot in the southeast corner he remembered.

Upon entering the bullies’ stronghold in the southeast, Chen Hao fought his way forward, leading the pale-faced prodigy to the foot of a small hill. A narrow path wound up the cliffside, sparsely dotted with bullies. Once on the path, Chen Hao cleared the way ahead, and the two of them charged all the way to the summit.

Charging into the midst of the bullies, Chen Hao drew a significant amount of aggro. By the time they reached the top, the path below was swarming with bullies. The two quickly switched positions: the pale-faced prodigy took his stand on the small summit, barely ten meters across, while Chen Hao blocked the only access point.

The path was so narrow that Chen Hao only had to face one bully at a time, making it easy to handle. The pale-faced prodigy leisurely shot arrows down from his high vantage point, and whenever he ran out, Chen Hao would gather the spent arrows from the ground below and toss them back up to him.

Unfortunately, the prodigy’s archery skills weren’t great, and many of his arrows missed and landed at the base of the hill, beyond Chen Hao’s reach. After he’d wasted all his arrows, Chen Hao retreated to the summit and said, “Prodigy, move all the stones on the hilltop to the entrance.”

Only then did the pale-faced prodigy notice the many rocks scattered around. Slapping his forehead, he exclaimed, “Why didn’t I think of using the rocks to smash them? Heh! Chen, do you think the two of us are like the heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain in the game?”

With a laugh, Chen Hao dispatched the foremost bullies and scolded good-naturedly, “Get to work. Once we use up these rocks, we’ll both make it to level 10.”

In this war game, players could utilize terrain whether leveling up or leading troops, especially those with commanding roles, who always familiarized themselves with the lay of the land. Chen Hao was intimately familiar with the Penglai region, especially the bully training grounds in the south of the city. To reach level 10 faster, he’d decided to take the risk and bring the prodigy to the summit.

In no time, the prodigy had rolled over a dozen large rocks to the entrance. Chen Hao stepped aside, and together they heaved a boulder down the path. It rumbled away, crushing bullies in its wake, and soon over a dozen fell to the base of the hill.

Terror flashed across the bullies’ faces as they scrambled to flee downhill. Chen Hao and his companion quickly pushed down a second boulder, which proved just as effective, claiming more victims.

In less than half a minute, Chen Hao and the pale-faced prodigy had gained ample experience. But after the fourth boulder, all the remaining bullies had fled to the foot of the hill.

Unable to do anything about Chen Hao, the bullies reluctantly dispersed, leaving the path deserted. The prodigy, now at level 9, glanced at the leftover rocks and grumbled, “Chen, we only needed three rocks, but you made me haul over a dozen.”

Chen Hao chuckled. “Who said three would be enough? I’d rather have even more up here! Now go down and lure the rest of the bullies back up.”

The prodigy gave him a doubtful look. “Didn’t we just crush dozens of them with rocks? You think the rest will fall for it?”

Chen Hao pointed at the bullies still milling about at the base. “There are countless bullies in the southeast corner. The ones who went up the path were just a fraction—the majority don’t know this is a trap. With your high diplomacy, taunt them a bit and toss some copper coins, and you’ll have no shortage of bullies following you up.”

After two days of working together, the prodigy trusted Chen Hao’s judgment. He grabbed a handful of copper coins and went down the hill. Almost immediately, two bullies charged at him. Tossing them a few coins, he pleaded, “Gentlemen, here’s some money. Please don’t beat me, all right?”

The bullies, showing more cunning than one might expect, were not satisfied after picking up the coins. Grinning menacingly, they rushed at him even faster. The other bullies nearby, seeing the coins thrown, also lunged at him with red eyes. The prodigy turned and dashed up the path. Some of the bullies who’d witnessed the earlier rockfall gave up the chase, but even more followed close behind.

Whenever a bully hesitated, the prodigy would taunt them with his quick wit, sending them into a frenzy once more. The scene repeated itself: the path was packed with bullies.

Taking up position at the choke point, Chen Hao dispatched the nearest pursuers, and together they sent more boulders rolling down. With experience, they timed the release: launching the second boulder five seconds after the first, then the third, and so on. Twelve boulders rumbled down in succession, leaving no chance for those behind to dodge.

“Player Chen Baxian, congratulations on reaching level 10. Your military rank has been promoted to Second Lieutenant.”

“Player Chen Baxian, as a Second Lieutenant, you can now recruit subordinates and develop your own base. Recruiting subordinates requires sufficient funds, and developing a base requires first finding a secure location and obtaining the command center blueprints.”

“Player Chen Baxian, congratulations on becoming the first player in the Huaxia region to reach level 10. Your reputation has increased by 3.”

Less than a minute after Chen Hao reached level 10, the pale-faced prodigy received his own level-up notification. Although he’d had far less experience than Chen Hao before, the avalanche of nearly a hundred bullies crushed by the rocks had catapulted them both to level 10.

In the game, any player willing to use their wits could find shortcuts to level up, but these methods were rarely repeatable. Take Chen Hao’s use of boulders, for instance—since there were only so many on the summit, once he and the prodigy had used them all, no one else would have the opportunity. After all, who would go to the trouble of hauling rocks up from the foot of the hill to recreate such an advantage?