Chapter Ninety-Six: Five Tiger Door-Breaking Saber

What happened in the real world had shaken Chen Hao deeply and altered his mindset. He was desperate for success. There was no chance to rise in reality, so he could only place his hopes in the game. If he could develop rapidly there, he could exchange in-game currency for game points and donate them to the authorities. Once those points reached a certain threshold, he would gain certain privileges in real life.

When he first entered the game, he had planned to build his base only after the Wuchang Uprising, because he lacked the money to invest. Even with the blueprint for a command headquarters, he still would not have been able to develop. But after entering the game this time, his eagerness to succeed quickly gave rise to a mad idea: to make a windfall when the Eight-Nation Alliance attacked the imperial capital.

After the alliance seized the capital, German Marshal Waldersee allowed the invading troops to plunder openly for three days, and China’s priceless cultural relics suffered an unprecedented catastrophe. Treasures long stored in the imperial palace and the Summer Palace were carried off, the gold- and jewel-encrusted valuables of Empress Dowager Cixi’s palace were stripped clean, and French Catholic Bishop Fan Guoliang led believers to seize a million taels of silver from an official’s residence...

If, when the Eight-Nation Alliance entered the capital, one could lead an elite squad into hiding within the city and strike specifically at the invaders who had looted great wealth, it would be very possible to acquire a fortune.

Even players with formidable strength would find it hard to profit from the chaos, because when the capital was occupied by the coalition, it was difficult enough just to protect oneself, let alone move against the invaders. Western players participating in the Eight-Nation Alliance scenario had no such chance either. They could only cooperate with the NPCs; any plundered goods had to be handed over to the NPCs, and they themselves would receive only a token reward.

The system’s design was extremely strict. Chinese players in the capital would be slaughtered mercilessly and would have no chance to loot, while Western players could only obey NPC orders. This effectively shut down any possibility of an early-game windfall.

After the Eight-Nation Alliance storyline ended, the details of the looting were posted by Western players on the forum. Chen Hao remembered part of it. For example, he knew very clearly how Bishop Fan Guoliang of Xishiku Church had seized that million taels of silver. If he could lie low in the capital and successfully take that money from Fan Guoliang, then he would have the capital needed to build his base.

That would not be easy. In the early stages of the game, NPC soldiers were far stronger than players, especially those from the Western armies. The invading coalition’s average level was around forty, while the NPC soldiers had only individual attributes, each of which was above forty as well. If this were a real fight instead of a mere contest, Chen Hao could not even beat an ordinary soldier.

The bishop Fan Guoliang, who was relatively the easiest target, still had a small squad of NPC soldiers guarding him. If Chen Hao wanted success, he would need ample preparation. First, he had to improve his own hand-to-hand combat ability. Western soldiers were somewhat weaker in close combat. If he managed to lie hidden in the capital, then to kill the invaders silently and seize their money, he would have to rely on strong melee skill.

Chen Hao did not need to worry too much about that. He was only level thirteen now, yet his combat attribute had already reached thirty-five. With a yanling saber in hand, his melee could rise to forty-three. There were still several months before the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China, and during that time he planned to raise his level to twenty and become a lieutenant, which would add another seven points to his combat attribute. Coupled with continuing to study swordsmanship under Wang Wu, he could likely push his melee to around fifty-five.

Another crucial individual attribute was stealth. To survive hidden in the occupied capital, stealth would need to be at least sixty. After reaching level twenty, his stealth would only be twenty, a full forty points short. But Chen Hao was not worried about that at all. In the game, stealth was improved in a rather special way, and relying on his knowledge of the future, he was confident he could train it up in time.

After the coalition occupied the capital, soldiers were not allowed to act alone, so the smallest unit Chen Hao would have to face was a ten-man NPC squad. Victory on his own would be impossible. When the coalition entered the city, players would only be around level twenty, and teammates like Rain Butterfly would be of little help. He would have to find a way to recruit a few capable NPCs as well.

To win over ordinary NPCs, a high reputation was enough. To win over powerful NPCs, however, he also needed high strategy. Chen Hao’s strategy attribute was far too low at the moment. Even if he used special methods to bring strong NPCs under his command, low strategy would cause their loyalty to drop quickly. Taking them into the capital to fight the coalition would be nearly suicidal, and the risk could easily lead to outright betrayal.

As for improving strategy in the short term, that was almost impossible. Normally, if a player performed exceptionally well in strategy-related situations, the system would reward attribute points. Another way was to encounter a high-strategy NPC and receive guidance from that NPC. But system rewards required outstanding performance in specific circumstances, and high-strategy NPCs were generally high-ranking officials. With the reputation players had at present, it was essentially impossible to meet them, so neither path was workable for now.

The rank-A special skill Benevolent Rule had the effect that the loyalty of NPCs belonging to one’s faction would not decline. If he learned that skill, recruiting NPCs would be nothing to fear. Unfortunately, Chen Hao had no clue how to obtain it. In his memory, many players speculated that Benevolent Rule could only be triggered by players who had established a base. Once a player had a base, reduced taxes and lighter burdens would allow the people to live and work in peace, and if the system’s conditions were met, one might awaken the unique special skill Benevolent Rule.

No one ever verified this theory. The game War was brutally competitive. If a player who had established a base reduced taxes and lightened burdens, he would have no money left to support his troops. How could he then compete with other players? So even if it were confirmed that this method could awaken the top-tier skill Benevolent Rule, no one would forgo the profits of their territory to do it.

Chen Hao had no leads on the top-tier skill Benevolent Rule, but he did know how to obtain another top-tier strategy skill: Imperial Statecraft. Its effect was that NPCs with a strategy lower than the player’s would not betray him, and the chance of persuading NPCs to serve him increased by fifty percent. When the player’s strategy attribute was high, this skill was in fact even more useful than Benevolent Rule.

Each top-tier special skill was unique. Once one player learned it, no one else could ever learn it again. Yet Chen Hao was in no hurry to seek out the NPC who could teach Imperial Statecraft. To trigger the quest for learning it, his culture attribute had to reach fifty points first, and he did not meet that condition yet. Going now would be futile.

Once he had sorted out his development plan, Chen Hao quickly made his schedule: every day he would learn saber techniques from Wang Wu to improve his close-quarters ability; then he would study with Li Pisen to raise his culture; and when he had time, he would team up with Bai Huhu the Fiend and the others to run instances and level up. In addition, he would set aside time each day to reload bullets, practice marksmanship, and enter special maps to train his stealth.

Chen Hao went to a tavern to buy a hearty meal and returned to the small courtyard. After eating with Wang Wu and restoring their fullness, Wang Wu, as usual, instructed him in saber practice. After he had performed the Basic Saber Technique three times, at the end of the third round he received a system message: “Player Chen Baxian, under Wang Wu’s guidance, your Basic Saber Technique has advanced to Advanced. You may now learn more profound saber techniques.”

Wang Wu nodded in satisfaction. “Baxian, your progress is very fast. Your master is deeply gratified. Today I shall teach you the saber art I know best.”

“Player Chen Baxian, NPC Wang Wu is teaching you the skill Five-Tiger Gate-Breaking Saber. Do you accept? Special note: once you learn Five-Tiger Gate-Breaking Saber, you will lose the enhancement granted by Basic Saber Technique.”

After Chen Hao learned it, he opened his attribute panel and saw that Basic Saber Technique had disappeared, replaced by the skill Five-Tiger Gate-Breaking Saber.

Five-Tiger Gate-Breaking Saber: Beginner level (1/100). One of the top saber arts. At beginner level, when using saber-type weapons, melee +4; there is a ten percent chance of beheading an enemy with a single strike; when fighting the Japanese, the Japanese’s melee attribute decreases by ten percent.

The Japanese feared broadswords most of all. In their belief, anyone whose head was cut off lost their soul, and without a soul, they could never return to their island of the Rising Sun. Five-Tiger Gate-Breaking Saber was a fierce and powerful saber style, and so it intimidated the Japanese, causing their melee attribute to drop.

Lately things have felt rather quiet. The main action is about to begin. Recommendations, favorites, and tips are all welcome.