Chapter 37: The War Ends, The Rewards

"System, let's begin claiming the rewards." Having already decided against pursuing the enemy, Li Xiang chose not to dwell on it further. With a flicker of his mind, he turned his thoughts to the rewards for the conclusion of the great battle.

"Ding! Calculating rewards...
Congratulations to the Host for repelling the Xiongnu. You have received 100 summoning points, bringing your total to 167.
Additionally, the Xiongnu initially deployed 150,000 troops, losing over 30,000. Later, they reinforced their numbers with 130,000 men, including both able-bodied adults and the elderly and weak; during the multi-day siege, they lost 100,000. In the battles involving the rescue of civilians, the defense of the city gates, and the combat along the walls, the Xiongnu suffered nearly 20,000 casualties.
Given that the total number of Xiongnu troops killed exceeds 50%, congratulations to the Host for receiving one Peerless Talent Summoning Card."

Li Xiang had truly not expected that, unknowingly, he had eliminated over half of the Xiongnu's total strength. When he first received the task, his goal had been to kill 30% of their force, and he would have been satisfied just to repel them.

In Li Xiang's view, while there might be ways to repel Xiongnu cavalry, inflicting massive casualties was harder than ascending to heaven. Cavalry moves like the wind; without a sufficient number of mounted troops of his own, even if he could break the enemy's formation, it would be nearly impossible to hunt them down once they scattered and fled.

This was the very reason why Central Plain dynasties had long remained on the defensive against the nomadic tribes of the steppes, rarely launching proactive offensives. For the Central Plain, the issue of cavalry numbers was a persistent headache—due to both a lack of horse sources and the difficulty of training cavalry. Consequently, they were always at a disadvantage when facing the steppe.

"Ding! Detecting that the Host has ceased the pursuit of the Xiongnu, the 'Slay the Emperor' mission has ended. The reward for slaying Wanyan Zongwang has been issued. The failure to slay Wanyan Aguda carries no penalty."

"Ding! During the battle, Xue Rengui slew Wanyan Liang. Since Wanyan Liang’s base martial arts rating exceeded 90, congratulations to the Host for receiving 9 summoning points. The Host now has a cumulative total of 176 summoning points, one Peerless Talent Summoning Card, two Random Summoning Cards, one Historical Beauty Summoning Card, and one Divine Weapon Card."

Only then did Li Xiang realize that, without noticing, he had accumulated quite a fortune and could now summon several figures.

He felt it was time to conduct a few more summons. With the great battle now over, even if the system balanced in some powerful figures for the Xiongnu, they would not be able to pose an immediate threat. However, when the true balancing occurred, Li Xiang knew he would not feel so at ease.

Although that person had indeed been balanced into the Xiongnu faction and posed no immediate threat, his very emergence and existence were the greatest threats of all.

Moreover, this balancing act was not limited to just one such existence; the others were no less formidable. There was even one who, if not stronger than the one appearing among the Xiongnu, was certainly his equal.

Li Xiang had assumed the rewards were finished, but he had not expected more to follow. This was no problem, however; for Li Xiang, the more rewards, the better.

"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for issuing the 'Slay the Barbarians' Edict. This has greatly increased your reputation and influenced history to a certain degree. Furthermore, given the political intent behind your issuance of the edict, you are rewarded with +5 Martial Arts, +1 Intelligence, +4 Politics, and +5 Charisma."

"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for your effective command and deployment of troops during the civilian rescue operation, and for successfully saving the people without losing Yanmen Pass. You are rewarded with +5 Command, +1 Intelligence, and +2 Charisma."

"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for repelling the Xiongnu army, successfully defending Yanmen Pass, and achieving your first major military victory. You are rewarded with +5 Command, +5 Martial Arts, +1 Intelligence, +3 Politics, and +3 Charisma."

Upon hearing these three system notifications, Li Xiang was overjoyed—even more so than when he received the Peerless Talent Summoning Card. After all, these four dimensions represented his own abilities, and such a significant increase was far more meaningful to him than summoning a subordinate.

"System, why are the rewards for the other dimensions so high, while Intelligence is so low?" Li Xiang asked, filled with curiosity.

Compared to those who traveled through time and enjoyed the clash of steel and the heat of the front lines, Li Xiang preferred to strategize from within his tent and secure victory from a thousand miles away; thus, his intelligence could not be low.

Li Xiang believed that a gentleman should not stand under a crumbling wall. It was precisely for this reason that, no matter how dire the situation at Yanmen Pass became, he never considered charging into the fray himself.

While he hoped his martial skills would not be inferior to others, it was merely to ensure his own survival. Charging into battle could be left to others; Li Xiang had always defined himself as a lord, not a martial general.

The system was uncharacteristically playful, asking Li Xiang, "Does the Host wish to hear the truth or a lie?"

"Naturally, the truth. Enough, System, stop with the nonsense and speak." For some reason, after hearing the system's response, Li Xiang suddenly had a bad premonition.

"Ding! Naturally, it is because, aside from your barely passable intelligence, your other attributes were far too low. The system has strengthened the rewards in those other areas so that the Host may grow as quickly as possible."

Having heard the system's words, Li Xiang nearly lost his temper. He was only twelve years old this year; such a five-dimensional spread was normal. If they were all as high as his intelligence, that would be the anomaly.

However, seeing the wealth of attribute rewards, Li Xiang was, on the whole, very excited.

"Ding! The Host has cumulatively gained +10 Command, +10 Martial Arts, +3 Intelligence, +7 Politics, and +10 Charisma. Your current five-dimensional stats are: Command 31, Martial Arts 43, Intelligence 85, Politics 68, and Charisma 85."

Li Xiang nodded with satisfaction upon seeing his current stats. Although, aside from Intelligence and Charisma, his other stats were still unsightly, they were far better than when he first arrived.

Moreover, he was only twelve; there was plenty of room for future growth. Li Xiang firmly believed that with the system’s help, his future attributes would be no worse than anyone else’s in history.

After successfully claiming his rewards, Li Xiang slowly stepped out of the room and let out a long, heavy breath.

Though the great battle had ended, it did not mean Li Xiang could relax. On the contrary, the problems ahead might be even more troublesome than the crisis at Yanmen Pass. He had to handle the issue of Ding Yuan, find a way to ensure his father, Li Yang, successfully became the Inspector of Bing Province, address the future development of the province, and prepare for the dramatic shifts in the world's situation...

All these problems had to be managed and solved. Only then, Li Xiang believed, could he seize the advantage during the coming era of warring warlords.

After all, the future would surely be a gathering of legendary heroes, where the great emperors and枭雄 (tyrants/ambitious heroes) of history would vie for supremacy. If he failed to lay a solid foundation and prepare as much as possible in these early stages, Li Xiang had no confidence in comparing himself to these figures, let alone surpassing or defeating them.