Chapter 130: What Was All That Hard Work For?

P.S.: Thank you to Yongyuan Ailian, Gao Wanjia, Long Gudu, Shabiantianxia Zhu, Meiyou de Cunzai, Pianhong, Taojiaren, Yichen Lan, and Shengzhe? Wuhua for your precious monthly tickets. With the new book now published, I hope everyone will support it with subscriptions and monthly tickets.

Chen Hao led his Tixue Wuzhui (Snow-Hoofed Black Stallion) out of the inn, only to see about twenty players in blue military uniforms riding tall horses nearby. To celebrate the establishment of his headquarters, Guan Ning had made extensive preparations; beyond the twenty-man honor guard, he had pretentiously planned to hold a military parade.

The Guan Ning Iron Cavalry was primarily a mounted force, so the parade focused on cavalrymen equipped with brand-new Lee-Enfield carbines and riding selected tall horses. When selecting the mounts, Guan Ning did not prioritize speed, but rather a striking appearance, making the hundred cavalrymen look all the more imposing.

He positioned these hundred cavalrymen behind a small grove on the side of the estate, intending for them to gallop out in formation once the parade began for maximum visual impact.

The fact that the trade protection zone prevented him from killing Chen Hao left Guan Ning deeply frustrated. He ordered his subordinates to select the twenty most formidable riders from the parade force and instructed them to pursue and kill Chen Hao the moment he left the protection zone.

"Neigh!"

Chen Hao flicked his whip, and the Tixue Wuzhui let out a long whinny before charging toward the town exit. The twenty Guan Ning Iron Cavalry players immediately spurred their horses in pursuit.

Not long after the Tixue Wuzhui charged out of Gupu Town, Chen Hao received a system notification: "Player Chen Baxian, your contract trade with ID 1592701 is complete. Your trade protection status has expired, and your appearance has been restored to normal."

Chen Hao had been 50 meters ahead of the twenty players while in town. After the Tixue Wuzhui galloped for over a thousand meters, he had pulled more than 200 meters ahead of his pursuers. He took a Mauser G98 rifle from his saddlebag, leveled it at the direction of his pursuers, fired several shots in rapid succession, and then rode off with a laugh.

The Guan Ning Iron Cavalry players realized their horses were far slower than their enemy's and that further pursuit was pointless, so they returned to report to Guan Ning. Upon hearing the report, Guan Ning became even more depressed. After cursing his men as useless, he ordered the twenty riders to return behind the small grove and wait for the parade to begin.

Chen Hao rode the Tixue Wuzhui for another three kilometers before pulling on the reins. Confirming that the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry was not following, he turned his horse around and returned to Gupu Town. Circling the outer wall of the town, he appeared 400 meters to the east of the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry headquarters, hiding in a forest to quietly wait for an opportunity.

If Guan Ning had completed the trade honestly, it would have been one thing, but since he harbored such deep hatred, why should Chen Hao show him any courtesy? If this ceremony celebrating the headquarters' establishment succeeded, the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry would gain great momentum; if Guan Ning were shot dead during the ceremony, their plan to make a name for themselves would become a joke.

After the guests had finished their food and drink, Guan Ning ordered the hired NPCs to clear the tables and said with a beaming smile, "Thank you all for coming to support us! Today, the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry headquarters is officially established. Therefore, I have decided to hold a military parade on the open ground behind the estate."

"How pretentious! It's just a headquarters; why go to the trouble of a parade?" Liu Shuo, one of the Four Young Masters of the Capital and an invited guest, couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

Huang Jiaxin, standing beside him, smiled wryly. "Guan Ning has always loved to show off. It’s not like you’ve only just met him. If his parade is a success, most players will only focus on the strength of the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry, and the incident with Chen Baxian will be nothing more than a minor blemish."

Liu Shuo said unhappily, "Although Guan Ning’s capabilities are limited, holding a parade shouldn't be a problem. It seems the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry is truly about to make a name for itself."

Huang Jiaxin asked with surprise, "You have that much faith in him?"

Liu Shuo let out a cold snort. "Many of the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry are his subordinates from real life, and some are veterans. Training players to march in formation is the easiest thing in the world for them. Haven't you seen the honor guard at the gate? Look at how standard their military posture is; I expect the march-past will be just as good!"

"Some people just have blind luck. Guan Ning might have arranged this parade just to show off, but it happens to neutralize the negative influence brought by Chen Baxian."

"Haha! Well said. Blind luck it is. When he spent 36 million on the blueprint, many said Guan Ning was acting like a fool, but just now someone told me there are 87 million people watching the live stream of the first headquarters being established on the forums. The millions he spent..."

Liu Shuo stopped mid-sentence because Guan Ning happened to walk past him, leading the guests to the open ground behind the estate. He announced loudly, "The military parade begins."

The honor guard raised their rifles in unison, fired five shots into the air, and then marched from west to east past the back door of the estate. The player in charge shouted, "Eyes right!"

"Clap, clap."
"Clap, clap, clap."

The honor guard switched to a goose-step, marching in perfect cadence while turning toward Guan Ning. Guan Ning, full of spirit, waved his hand and said in a booming voice, "Comrades..."

"Bang."
"Bang, bang."

Before the word "good" could leave Guan Ning's lips, a rider galloped out of the eastern woods like a gale. When he was twenty meters from the back door, the rider stood in his stirrups, raised the silver-white revolver in his hand, and fired in rapid succession, dropping Guan Ning to the ground with three shots.

The sound of the honor guard’s goose-stepping drowned out the distant hoofbeats, so guests didn't notice the Tixue Wuzhui until it was quite close. Seeing the rider’s exceptional horsemanship, they assumed it was a clever part of the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry’s performance.

It wasn't until the gunfire rang out and Guan Ning was struck down that they shouted, "Assassins!" though their faces wore expressions of schadenfreude.

The hundred cavalrymen behind the woods on the west side hadn't yet entered the field; blocked by the trees, they had no idea what had happened. The honor guard was only 30 meters from Chen Hao and reacted first, but after leveling their rifles and pulling the triggers, they realized they had emptied their magazines firing into the air before the parade.

After shooting Guan Ning, Chen Hao did not linger. He whipped the Tixue Wuzhui and vanished into the eastern woods in the blink of an eye. The hundred riders to the west were still waiting for the honor guard to finish before they made their entrance. After waiting a long while and seeing no sign of the honor guard, they heard the commotion in the estate and spurred their horses out, but the assassin had long since vanished.

After buying the estate in Gupu Town, Guan Ning had set his respawn point there. However, a death respawn traps the player in a special space for an hour, so he could not come out to handle the situation. Led by their captain, the hundred riders of the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry chased in the direction the assassin had fled; whether they could catch him or not, they had to go through the motions since their boss had been killed.

The ceremony Guan Ning had painstakingly crafted turned into a complete joke. With the protagonist shot dead on the spot, the ceremony could not continue. The guests offered hypocritical condolences to the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry players while wearing mocking smiles.

The Guan Ning Iron Cavalry had backfired; instead of making a name for themselves, they had become a laughingstock.

Guan Ning had arranged for players to record the event and live-stream it on the "War" forum. When the audience saw the march-past video suddenly cut off, they were extremely dissatisfied and flooded the forum with questions, but no one from the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry stepped forward to explain.

It didn't matter that the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry didn't explain, because a new post soon appeared on the forum: "Why did Guan Ning work so hard?" This post contained the video of Guan Ning being shot, and it quickly attracted the attention of a large number of players.

The poster was the somewhat famous Zhuge Buliang, who had also been invited to the ceremony. He wrote in the post, "The Guan Ning Iron Cavalry paid 36 million for the first headquarters construction blueprint in the China region, blinding many with their wealth. I was fortunate enough to be invited to their ceremony."

"Upon arriving at an estate in Gupu Town, Qinan Province, the NPC chefs had already prepared gourmet food, and we ate and drank while waiting for the headquarters to be established. Shortly after, Guan Ning brought over the player who sold the blueprint. This player was short and had a dark complexion. No one paid much attention to this stranger, assuming he was just a lucky guy."

"The moment the headquarters was established, everyone was stunned by the server-wide announcement. That unremarkable guy was actually Chen Baxian, who has been quite popular on the forums lately. He was the first to reach level 20 to become a lieutenant, and he led twelve riders on a rampage across Heibei, killing nearly a thousand players, including 300 elites of the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry."

"Enemies are always especially jealous when they meet. Guan Ning immediately ordered his men to shoot Chen Baxian, but Chen Baxian was under trade protection, and Guan Ning could only watch helplessly as he walked away. After Chen Baxian left, the ceremony continued, and Guan Ning held a meticulously prepared parade, with the honor guard marching in perfect formation across the open space behind the estate."

"I later heard that another hundred elite cavalrymen were supposed to participate, but they never got their chance. Just as the honor guard passed the back door of the estate, Chen Baxian returned, shot Guan Ning three times, and rode off again. Without Guan Ning, the protagonist, the celebration naturally lost its meaning. Guan Ning worked so hard to set everything up, only to end up working in vain for someone else..."

Zhuge Buliang happened to have recorded the video of Chen Hao shooting Guan Ning. Just as he said, Guan Ning spent a fortune and put in a lot of effort, only to become the best supporting actor. The Guan Ning Iron Cavalry had humiliated themselves, while Chen Baxian’s popularity soared, solidifying his position as the number one solo player in China.

"Haha! That was brilliant. The Guan Ning Iron Cavalry loves to act cool, but this time they acted like complete idiots."

"Chen Baxian slaughtered innocent players. If he isn't killed, the public outrage won't be appeased. I strongly demand he be dragged out and shot for five minutes."

"The guy above, you're one of the ones who got wiped by the Twelve Riders in Heibei, right?"

"So what if I am?"

"Your heart is too narrow. When doing regional quests in Heibei, everyone serves their own masters. If you had the skill, wouldn't you have killed him too? I also got wiped by Chen Baxian in Heibei, but I don't hate him at all. In fact, I admire him. Seeing him shoot down that pretentious guy made me admire him even more."

"The guy above is right. Seeing Chen Baxian give that show-off a good slap in the face made me feel so satisfied..." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)