Chapter 159: The Might of the Maxim

PS: (Thanks to the valuable monthly votes from Rebel, Wind Whisper, Deat, Asd300, Forbidden Love, Ai Zero, and Awo. To guarantee the first update, brothers with monthly votes don’t wait until the end of the month—help me climb the monthly vote leaderboard! For every five additional votes, I’ll add another chapter.)

Li Hongbo noticed that Chen Baxian wasn’t running very fast, maintaining a distance of over a hundred meters steadily behind. He knew Chen’s horse was swift, and it would be easy for Chen to widen the gap; yet this time, Chen jogged ahead at a steady, unhurried pace, almost mocking him, which made Li suspicious of some hidden scheme.

Li Hongbo ordered his pursuing men to spread out cautiously, sending scouts ahead whenever they encountered complex terrain. Meanwhile, he frequently glanced back at the carriage carrying the Nie family, wary of any trick to lure them away.

Not far from the official road, Li saw Chen Baxian stop, standing astride his horse directly on the path. He stood motionless, as if dismissing Li and his men entirely, a mocking smile playing on his face.

Li Hongbo signaled his men to halt, fearing another ambush from Chen. But the spot Chen chose was flanked by farmland, making an ambush impossible. Li noticed a small shrubbery about a hundred meters behind Chen, large enough to hide only two or three people, hardly a threat even if it were an ambush.

Suddenly, Chen Hao laughed loudly, throwing his head back: “A bunch of useless fools dare to steal my horses! Killing so many was just a lesson for you. In ancient times, Zhuge Liang played the Empty City Strategy; today, I alone terrify you into hesitation. Stand there dumbfounded! I’m leaving now, but I will return. None of you will escape.”

With that, Chen kicked his horse, Snow Black, urging it forward at a faster clip. Hearing him boast about his Empty City Strategy, Li’s face flushed with a mix of anger and embarrassment. Seeing the carriage approaching the road, he ordered grimly, “Form ranks along the official road on both sides to protect the carriage. Be vigilant—Chen Baxian may return to ambush us.”

Li and his men lined up in two columns along the road, shielding the carriage as it slowly advanced. Just then, Chen Hao, who had ridden off some distance, suddenly returned, galloping rapidly on Snow Black, raised his rifle, and shot down one of Li’s men before turning his horse and fleeing.

After confirming no large player ambush awaited, Li instructed two men to guard the carriage while the rest pursued Chen Hao. Though they knew they couldn’t catch him, Li had to show resolve; otherwise, his men, shaken by the ongoing casualties, would lose heart and become vulnerable, especially if they encountered players with dual-sided missions.

Li had long been unaware that Chen Hao had accepted a mission at Nie Shicheng’s location. The Boxers could assign up to sixteen players to the task of abducting the Nie family. The opposing side likely had over fifteen slots too. Yet Chen had only dispatched two men for the counter-mission—boldly coming to rescue the family guarded by over twenty men.

This time, Chen did not flee. He stopped beside the machine gun emplacement used by a fishing NPC, which was nestled in a small thicket. Because the shrubbery was small, Li was unconcerned about a large ambush. Seeing Chen provocatively standing still, Li led over twenty players in a charge.

Chen controlled Snow Black, slowly retreating. When Li’s men were eighty meters from the machine gun nest, Chen raised his Mauser rifle and fired a shot into the sky.

“Rat-a-tat-tat.”

The fishing NPC, fully focused, pulled the trigger. The Maxim heavy machine gun unleashed a torrent of bullets; four cavalry horses at the front fell dead, their riders instantly incapacitated. The pursuing riders, unable to stop on a dime, crashed into each other under the sweeping gunfire and dropped one after another into pools of blood.

“Maxim...” Li Hongbo’s face was pale with terror. It was too late to retreat, and he soon fell too, his prized white horse shot down beneath him. The sudden appearance of the heavy machine gun caught them unprepared; their tight formation meant riders turning to flee collided with comrades behind them.

Even those lucky enough to turn their horses around without obstruction couldn’t escape. The Maxim’s range exceeded a thousand meters, capable of firing 600 rounds per minute—there was no chance of fleeing. Some riders were cut in half by the bullets; not a single horse survived, all collapsing in bloody heaps.

Chen Hao felt a twinge of regret. The heavy machine gun’s immense power was offset by poor accuracy; it was difficult to capture horses from mounted troops when firing wildly. In just thirty seconds, the fishing NPC discharged 300 rounds, annihilating Li Hongbo’s men and horses completely.

Had he warned the fisherman to cease fire after suppressing the enemy, perhaps a few horses might have been spared—valuable assets, indeed. Chen looked sorrowfully at the slaughtered mounts; Li’s group was reduced to only two men guarding the carriage, stunned by the brutal scene.

Chen spurred his horse toward these two, who instinctively raised rifles to shoot. At that moment, the carriage curtain was drawn back, and Zéi San appeared, aiming Chen’s Colt pistol at the near players.

Zéi San’s shooting was poor, but at three meters, even the worst marksman lands a hit. He fired once, hitting one player in the back. The other, named Blue Melancholy, a calm and level-headed comrade from Chen’s school days, watched bewildered as his partner fell. Chen Baxian was still over a hundred meters away, hadn’t fired, yet his companion was down.

Blue Melancholy turned his horse to return fire, but a gunshot from the carriage rang out—he fell headlong from his horse. The bullet missed a vital spot, so he did not die immediately. As a thin figure jumped from the carriage, Blue Melancholy’s eyes widened, confused about when the enemy had infiltrated.

Zéi San’s hands trembled on his first kill. Seeing the fallen man try to shoot, he panicked and emptied his Colt’s remaining rounds in rapid succession, standing before Blue Melancholy and firing multiple shots. Blue Melancholy was riddled with bullets and died instantly.

Chen Hao began clearing the battlefield. Li Hongbo’s men carried standard-issue rifles, mostly Quickfire models. Chen had grown discerning and found standard rifles unappealing, but with an upcoming alliance with northeastern bandits, these weapons would arm them well.

Chen approached the carriage and bowed respectfully to the elderly Lady Nie: “Madam, please do not be alarmed. I am Chen Baxian, a special agent, sent by the Admiral to escort you safely to Shandong Province.”

Lady Nie replied calmly, “Thank you, brave Chen. We are unharmed, but Xianfan is the bloodline of Shicheng. I hope you will protect him well along the way.”

Chen clasped his fists: “Rest assured, Madam. Even at the cost of my life, I will ensure your safety.”

Mrs. Zhou, Nie Shicheng’s wife, could not help but ask, “Brave Chen, where is my husband now? Why do you escort us...?”

“Silence!” the old lady interrupted sharply. “In this time of national crisis, Shicheng leads the vanguard to resist the foreigners. How can we let him be distracted?”

Mrs. Zhou lowered her head, tears welling. Seeing her, the old lady sighed: “Huiru, if I am gone one day, promise me you will raise Xianfan well. I entrust him to you.”

Mrs. Zhou hurriedly replied, “Mother, please don’t say that. Feng’er is my son; I will do my best to raise him. Besides, you are strong and healthy—you will live long and well.”

Chen Hao’s rescue mission had two parts: first, to rescue the Nie family from the Boxers; second, to escort them to Jinan to meet Yuan Shikai. The first step was complete. Knowing Shicheng was about to die, Chen did not know how to explain this to the family, but after hearing the old lady’s words, he felt his worries were unfounded.

Though in a game, Lady Nie’s deep sense of righteousness impressed him greatly. He vowed to complete the mission and ensure the three’s safe arrival in Jinan.

Li Hongbo and his group had failed, and the Boxers, fiercely resenting Nie Shicheng, would not relent. They would soon send others to continue abducting the family, so the journey wouldn’t be peaceful.

Nie Shicheng arranged his personal guards to wait at Langfang Station, tasking Chen with escorting them. Given the situation, foes would surely appear en route to attack the Nie family. Since guards were assigned, many enemies might be Boxer NPCs rather than players.

Chen had the fishing NPC and his ammunition carrier load weapons and ammo onto horses, escorting the carriage toward Langfang. The battle site was not far from there, and soon the carriage arrived at Langfang Station.

A tall NPC approached: “Lord Chen, I am Feng Yong, Captain of Nie’s personal guards. He ordered me to bring the guards under your command.”

Chen looked toward the direction Feng indicated and saw ten more NPCs in short jackets. He asked sternly, “If you are Nie’s personal guards, why are you dressed in civilian clothes?”

Feng’s eyes reddened: “Nie said we need not return. After escorting the lady to Jinan, we will serve under Lord Yuan or follow you, Lord Chen.”

Chen sighed. It seemed Nie Shicheng understood his predicament well and had made arrangements in advance. Feng Yong and the other eleven guards were Nie’s close protectors, skilled fighters. Having them alongside in the northeast would be a great help, though whether they would willingly follow was uncertain.