Chapter 121: Xu, the Wealthy Landowner of Ancient Locust Town

Guan Ning commanded a cavalry force of one to two thousand men. He dispatched Xiao Mile with a hundred elite riders, mounted on the finest horses, to the Hebei region to hunt down the notorious Twelve Riders, who were currently dominating the area. Guan Ning himself kept a close watch on the game’s trading platform—more precisely, on the command center construction blueprints displayed there.

Players with official affiliations didn’t need to build a reputation in the game; they had no shortage of manpower. It was wealthy but politically powerless merchants like Guan Ning who needed to make a name for themselves to attract players. Establishing the first stronghold in the Chinese region and eliminating the elusive Twelve Riders would cement the reputation of Guan Ning’s Iron Cavalry once and for all.

Chen Hao’s counterattack caught everyone off guard. His assaults were unpredictable, causing great headaches for rival faction leaders who sought to outshine each other by exterminating the Twelve Riders. After wiping out players in five villages near Zhongming, the cavalry had killed 324 players and 28 Boxers NPCs.

A passerby, fishing by the roadside, trudged behind them with a sullen face, carrying two pouches. Though the load wasn’t heavy, the thought of bearing three severed heads chilled him to the bone. Rewards for killing Boxer NPC leaders could be claimed from Nie Shicheng, but only after the heads were taken. Chen Hao had assigned this grim task to the passerby.

At first, the passerby refused, but Xia Weiwei scorned him. “Fishing, you’re too timid! If you won’t carry these three heads, I will.”

If the passerby handed over the heads to Xia Weiwei, the leader’s real-life image would be tarnished. Seeing the murderous glare in his leader’s eyes, he reluctantly placed the three heads into his pouch. Fortunately, because his pouch now held the heads, the others unanimously agreed to give him an upgraded blue cloth pouch.

Chen Hao smiled warmly and patted the passerby on the shoulder. “Fishing, don’t feel wronged. These heads were an unexpected gain, so the rewards aren’t fixed. We can bargain with Nie Shicheng. If we kill enough high-ranking Boxer NPCs, we might trade heads for machine guns. I heard Nie Shicheng’s Vanguard is equipped with Maxims…”

“Haha! It’s just heads! The weight’s not much. Even if there are ten or eight more, I can carry them all. Let the heads come faster and fiercer!” Hearing the possibility of acquiring a Maxim machine gun, the passerby no longer felt burdened and shouted excitedly as if energized.

“Ahem, calm down,” Chen Hao gestured subtly. In reality, he was always composed, never showing much emotion. Fishing’s exaggerated behavior might raise Xia Weiwei’s suspicions.

When the cavalry’s glorious victories were posted on the forum, players aligned with the government faction felt vindicated, and many more sought tasks from Nie Shicheng.

Some players attempted to emulate the cavalry’s deep incursions behind enemy lines, but the Boxer faction, nursing a grudge after heavy losses, had heavily fortified the Jing Mountain railway. Many who tried to sneak south were swiftly killed.

Even the strongest players who ventured south lacked horses or the terrain familiarity Chen Hao had. They were quickly slain by Boxer players. Only Chen Hao’s Twelve Riders roamed freely south of the railway, becoming the nightmare of Boxer players.

Because the Twelve Riders tied down large enemy forces by stirring chaos deep behind their lines, players guarding the Jing Mountain railway felt far less pressure. Without exterminating the Twelve Riders, Boxer faction players would suffer a great loss of face; the Twelve Riders were a thorn in their side.

Chen Hao’s intimate knowledge of the terrain allowed his cavalry to attack unpredictably. After assaulting a medium-sized northern village and killing many players, everyone expected them to finish off the other three nearby villages. Instead, they feigned a retreat and dashed ten kilometers south to hunt players in a large village.

Boxer faction players grew wiser. After accepting tasks, they never formed groups outside villages and always scouted for suitable cover before entering. If fewer than thirty players were present in a village, they would immediately call for reinforcements to reach that number.

To ensure each village was well-defended and to lure the cavalry, some prominent player groups assembled squads exceeding a hundred, lying in wait. What puzzled them was that after the cavalry destroyed the large southern village, all trace of the Twelve Riders vanished as if into thin air.

“War” was a gunbattle game, striving to stay true to its historical setting—there were no teleportation or other supernatural skills. The cavalry’s disappearance meant they must have hidden in a remote corner. Each faction dispatched numerous skilled scouts throughout Langfang, Baoding, and Cangzhou to search, but found nothing.

In the grand courtyard of the Xu family mansion in the ancient Huai Town of Langfang, Chen Hao and his eleven companions shared drinks with Lord Xu, their host and guest displaying utmost courtesy.

The Twelve Riders had fought tirelessly, their spirits near breaking point. Without rest, their physical attributes would plummet. Resting in the wild risked discovery. Thus, after killing all players outside Huai Town, Chen Hao pretended to ride away, then circled back to find the local gentry, Xu Wenju.

Xu Wenju was a licentiate who had once sent his son to study in France. Upon returning, his son was beheaded by the Boxers for cutting off his queue. Lord Xu bore a bitter, mortal hatred for the Boxers. When he heard Chen Hao and his men had come under the orders of Lord Nie Shicheng to suppress the Boxers, he treated them with great respect, instructing his servants to care for their horses and hosting a grand banquet.

After the feast, Xu Wenju arranged guest rooms. Bai Huhui and Lin Xiaofeng shared a room. Bai Huhui teased, “Brother Xiaofeng, the Xu family’s cook is excellent! Much better than your cooking.”

Lin Xiaofeng nodded. “I agree. You should stay here as a son-in-law. Better to stop eating my food.”

Bai Huhui rolled his eyes. “Honestly, there’s no harm in telling the truth! I mean, you could learn some cooking skills from the Xu family’s chef. By the way, some gentry hate the Boxers while others support them. Why does Brother Chen assume Lord Xu despises the Boxers?”

“How would I know? I’m not him. I’m going to sleep now; you should too.” Lin Xiaofeng closed his eyes. In reality, he used a nutrition pod that allowed him to sync sleep between the game and real life.

Chen Hao also chose to sleep in a nutrition pod. He recalled having accepted missions from Xu Wenju to fight Boxer NPCs before, so planning to rest at the Xu residence was deliberate. Gentry like Xu Wenju were protected by the government; if they objected, no player would dare trespass. Thus, staying at his home was perfectly safe.