Chapter Fourteen: The Mission

Page 1/3

"Archers, hold your fire and conserve arrows. Wait until the enemy approaches before striking precisely," Meng Tian shouted loudly as he spotted the Xiongnu launching their attack.

On the battlefield, arrows whistled through the air. Some Xiongnu fell along the assault path, while Han soldiers screamed in agony as they tumbled from the city walls. Yet, this soon became a one-sided affair, for the Yanmen troops had exhausted their arrows. At that moment, the Xiongnu reached the base of the city walls, where peasants turned militia hurled rolling logs and boulders down upon them.

This was a battle neither side could afford to lose. The Yanmen army fought to defend their homeland, while the Xiongnu sought to seize enough grain to ensure their survival. Lives were lost with every passing moment, but no one faltered or dared to retreat.

*Ding*—Wanyan Aguda’s Strong Strike skill activated.

Strong Strike effects vary by individual: those emphasizing leadership gain +3 leadership; those emphasizing martial prowess gain +5 strength. Wanyan Aguda’s Strong Strike focuses on leadership, raising his current leadership to 102.

*Ding*—Meng Tian’s Border Defense skill triggered.

Border Defense effects:
1. While guarding the frontier, leadership +1, all troops’ strength +2
2. When fighting foreign tribes, leadership +2
3. Against enemies, strength +5

Meng Tian’s Border Defense effects one and two activated, current leadership 103, strength 105, and all troops’ strength +2.

Li Xiang, marching along, was startled by the system’s notification. Without waiting to observe the full effects of Meng Tian’s and Wanyan Aguda’s skills, he quickly ordered Xiong Kuohai and Liu Yang to lead the vanguard and rush to aid the front. After all, Yanmen had been besieged for so many days; the situation must be critical.

Now that both Wanyan Aguda and Meng Tian had triggered their skills, it was clear the situation was dire—Yanmen Pass was likely on the brink of collapse. Li Xiang didn’t even have time to consult Wang Meng and the commander Fan Neng; he had to dispatch a cavalry unit immediately.

Page 2/3

As for why Li Xiang had the authority to send troops, it was thanks to his father, Li Yang. Originally, Li Xiang intended only for Fan Neng to follow his and Wang Meng’s strategies when the time came. But unexpectedly, Li Yang had secretly ordered Fan Neng to obey Li Xiang’s commands directly. What could Fan Neng do? After all, he came from a humble background, and without the Li family’s support over the years, he wouldn’t be where he was now. At heart, Fan Neng was just a disciple of the Li family; even now, as a general, he still obeyed their orders.

Of course, Li Xiang was only twelve years old. Although he had shown remarkable strategic insight these past few days, Li Yang would never entrust the fate of a hundred thousand troops solely to his son. Before ordering Fan Neng to heed Li Xiang, Li Yang demanded that Fan Neng remain flexible and adapt as needed. Moreover, Li Yang did not fully trust Li Xiang; his greater faith lay in Wang Meng’s abilities. After all, Li Yang couldn’t be completely ignorant of the teacher who had suddenly appeared to guide his son.

But once Li Yang learned more, he was shocked. Wang Meng hailed from Yingchuan. While studying there, his knowledge was so profound that even scholars like Sima Decao and Pang Degong dared not teach him directly. Instead, they became both his mentors and peers, engaging in mutual study and discussion. Wang Meng was a distinguished guest of the Yingchuan Xun family: the elder generation of the Eight Dragons regarded him as a friend, and the younger generation of the Three Ru treated him as their teacher. Though young, Wang Meng had become a legend in Yingchuan. Li Yang had never imagined his son’s teacher was such a formidable figure.

Meanwhile, what was Li Xiang doing? He was wrestling with his thoughts because his golden finger had finally given him a mission. Yet upon receiving the system’s tasks, he felt uneasy.

*Ding*—Mission system activated: Would the host accept the mission?

With rewards at stake, Li Xiang naturally accepted. “System, accept the mission.”

*Ding*—Mission One: Exterminate the Hu.

If the host defeats the Xiongnu army, reward: 100 summoning points; if the host kills 30% of the Xiongnu, additional reward: one superior talent summon card; if over half are killed, reward: one peerless talent summon card; if over 80% are killed, reward: one divine-level summon card. Failure results in the random deletion of one summoned character.

Note: Summon card rewards cannot be stacked.

*Ding*—Mission Two: Assassinate the Emperor.

Kill Wanyan Zongwang or Wanyan Zongbi, reward: one random summon card and one divine weapon card; kill Wanyan Aguda, reward: one divine-level summon card and one of the strongest skills. No penalty for failure.

Seeing these missions, Li Xiang was still excited. With Wang Meng on his side, merely repelling the Xiongnu was not difficult. The rewards were generous if successful. But claiming them would not be easy: the Xiongnu were cavalry, swift as the wind, making significant casualties rare even in defeat. Moreover, killing over 80% was a tall order. As for killing Wanyan Aguda—impossible. He was the man who, with just a few thousand troops, had defeated tens of thousands in Liao. If killing him were so simple, would Li Xiang even have a chance?

Page 3/3

Still, those two divine-level summon cards kept Li Xiang restless. He decided to take a gamble—turn a bicycle into a motorcycle. Perhaps luck would smile, and he might accidentally slay Wanyan Aguda.

“System, how many summoning points and summon cards do I have?”

*Ding*—Host possesses one random summon card, one historical beauty summon card, and 208 summoning points.

Indeed, 208 points. Before setting out, Li Xiang had visited Shen Wansan and entrusted all his assets and the sugar and brewing techniques to him, allowing Shen Wansan free rein. This trust moved Shen Wansan to tears; he swore loyalty on the spot. Thus, Li Xiang gained Shen Wansan’s summoning points and acquired his first true subordinate.

Later, Li Xiang visited various noble families in Taiyuan under different pretexts. These families held knowledge and produced eighty percent of the scholars in the realm. The system recognized a lower threshold for acceptance: a stat of 80 in any of four attributes. Though the noble families of Bingzhou lacked peerless or superior talents, they had many first-rate talents. Thus, Li Xiang’s summoning points began to accumulate steadily.

It’s worth noting that during the march, he also gained summoning points from Xingtian and Liu Yang. These days, Li Xiang had lavished Xingtian with all manner of flattery and concern, demonstrating talent and ambition to earn summoning points. He learned from the system that Xingtian’s points were hard to get because of his implanted identity—Xingtian and Li Xiang were too familiar, which left Li Xiang speechless. As for Liu Yang, his points came because of his admiration for Xingtian’s martial prowess and his persistent insistence on regarding Xingtian as his big brother. Once Xingtian’s points were credited, Liu Yang’s followed suit.

*Ding*—Host, would you like to begin summoning?

“Begin summoning. Use the random summon card. I already have one strategist, Wang Meng; summon me a fierce general.”

*Ding*—Summoning commencing.

...