Eight hours later. A long sleep had passed.
Lam Minh was awakened by the whirring sound of the ceiling fan in the hospital room.
He slowly opened his eyes. After a long sleep, his spirit was, to say the least, refreshed. This meant that his mental strength was not enough for one simulation session.
He had to find a way to increase his mental strength. He couldn't just exhaust himself like this every time he played.
Lam Minh looked at his total points: '283'.
He sighed. First, farm more points. Then we'll talk.
Lam Minh silently contemplated the last battle. It was truly overwhelming.
The enemy side had at least double the number of troops compared to his side. If each of them spat a mouthful of saliva, they could drown him.
How could he possibly fight?
Lam Minh silently formulated a plan. How to win.
Should he talk to the general as soon as he entered and advise a retreat because of the ambush?
No. First, the general wouldn't believe him. Second, if they retreated, how could he win the game?
Apply the art of war, use a few to defeat many?
He wasn't a general, just a flag-bearing soldier. Where would he get the authority to lead troops? And he didn't understand the art of war anyway.
He had to create a variable. Only then might he have a chance to turn the tables.
If his cultivation was at the Foundation Establishment or Golden Core realm, he could just directly slap the enemy army to death.
Thinking too much was useless. If he hadn't waited silently for the right moment before, how could he have died such a pointless death? He should have just charged in with his saber and hacked at the enemy. That would have been the variable.
But humans are persistent. If one time doesn't work, he'll farm it ten times, slowly breaking through his cultivation and grinding them to death.
With this thought, Lam Minh silently called the system.
Looking at the flashing [-Log in-] box, Lam Minh took a sharp breath. Although he knew he couldn't really die, the pain of being killed was not pleasant.
"Let's do it!"
With that, his consciousness tapped it.
Once again, his consciousness was pulled by the system into a dark, hazy void.
[Ding! The host has successfully logged into the Battlefield Simulation System. First stage: the "Binh Vi Ambush" battle. Mission: "As a flag-bearing soldier...". Reward: 1,000,000 attribute points! Cumulative failures: 1 time. Additional reward: +0.5% attribute points.]
Ah! So there was a cumulative bonus for failure.
The system was smart enough.
Immediately, a familiar scene appeared.
Lam Minh was still holding the flag and following the army. Seeing the familiar things happen again, he curled his lips into a smile.
He was waiting, waiting for the old script to play out.
He calculated in his heart. It was almost time for the ambushers to appear.
At this moment, he turned to look at the shield-bearing soldier marching beside him. This shield bearer was yawning as he walked, looking as if he were sleep-deprived.
"Brother, may I ask, what's your name?" Lam Minh whispered, which startled the shield bearer.
"Flag-bearer brother, I am Tran Van. Is something the matter?" the shield bearer replied.
Lam Minh rubbed his palms together, putting on a humble look. "Brother Tran Van, could you lend me your shield for a moment? I've never held a shield in my life."
"I can't. What if there's an ambush? How will I protect myself?" the shield bearer refused.
Lam Minh reached into his pocket. Luckily, there was silver in it. He took out a few small silver pieces.
"Take this silver, brother. I really want to touch a shield," Lam Minh said, pressing the silver into Tran Van's hand and at the same time snatching the shield from his hand.
Seeing the silver, Tran Van's eyes lit up. He no longer thought about his duty. He quickly pocketed the silver and even helped Lam Minh hold the flag. "Let me, let me hold this for you. Just focus on studying the shield."
Lam Minh now held the shield in one hand and touched the saber at his waist with the other. He felt a certain degree of confidence. As soon as the general appeared, he would go all out.
Before long, the old script played out again.
The light of torches from the mountainside illuminated the entire valley, making it bright.
"Charge!!!!"
The sound of war drums echoed.
The sound of forming ranks was urgent.
The horns were blown continuously.
Lam Minh quickly blended into the shield formation, having long since forgotten about his brother-in-arms.
But Tran Van had never expected a real ambush. His eyes watched Lam Minh form up with the shield, and he only had time to shout, "Flag-bearer brother!"
A series of sharp gazes from the other flag-bearing soldiers turned to him.
Tran Van: -_-.
Only then did Tran Van remember that he didn't know Lam Minh's name.
So awkward.
"No, it's nothing." Seeing the sharp gazes on him, Tran Van replied shyly.
Boulders weighing at least 200-300kg rolled down from the mountainside.
The valley echoed with a rumbling sound.
One by one, soldiers were sent flying upon impact. The casualties were extremely heavy.
Lam Minh had already experienced this once. How could he not know which positions would be bombarded by the rocks?
From the moment he held the shield and formed up, he had already chosen the best position for himself.
He watched as his comrades were sent flying from the formation, spitting out mouthfuls of fresh blood.
Lam Minh felt a pang of sorrow for his comrades, especially when he saw the flag-bearing soldier Tran Van being crushed into meat paste by a boulder. He felt even more sorrowful.
After a while, the army had managed to withstand the assault.
At this moment, the Black General appeared. Still the same stern face, the same heroic bearing.
His formation was once again surrounded.
Lam Minh knew his chance had come. If he didn't make a move now, when would he? When he was shot dead by arrows?
Just as General Do Luong opened his mouth to engage in a verbal battle with the general on Lam Minh's side.
Swish!
"F*ck, I'll chop your head off!" Lam Minh drew his saber and charged out from the shield formation.
Before General Do Luong could react, Lam Minh had already reached him.
A shield in his left hand, a saber swinging in his right.
He looked extremely valiant.
At this moment, the drop of Hong Hoang Dragon Seed Blood in his body circulated at full speed.
His muscles bulged.
Lam Minh charged towards Do Luong. Seeing the army standing in his way, he didn't hesitate and swung his saber.
A terrifying force exploded, immediately sending a soldier blocking his path flying.
The slash stunned the other soldiers.
He sent an armored soldier flying with one slash? Is this guy an ox?
The description was long, but it happened quickly. Lam Minh was now like a wolf in a flock of sheep.
No matter how many soldiers surrounded him, one slash per person, no more, no less.
General Ma was also extremely surprised. "Since when did my army have such a fierce soldier? Do you see? The enemy is countless, yet this soldier faces death without fear, charging forward valiantly!"
"Brothers, this man is not afraid, what are we afraid of? Follow me and carve out a bloody path! When we return, each man will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver! Charge!"
With that, the army on Lam Minh's side also charged forward.
Seeing Lam Minh leading the charge, everyone's blood boiled.
Lam Minh had already hacked until his hands were numb.
His physique was strong, but the number of enemies was too large.
The branch protecting Do Luong alone numbered up to five thousand.
The archers on the slopes had already nocked their arrows, but they couldn't find a chance to shoot. The troops of both sides were already mixed in a melee. Who would they shoot now?
The beat of the war drums immediately changed.
The horns sounded once more.
All the soldiers on the mountainside no longer drew their bows.
They threw down their bows, each taking a saber, and charged straight down from the hills into the valley.
The scene at this moment was extremely spectacular. The Binh Vi valley was a river of blood, and from both sides of the cliffs, tens of thousands of troops poured down.
Seeing this, Lam Minh's face turned pale.
From the moment he charged until now, the number of enemies he had killed was not two hundred, but more than two hundred.
His hands were already exhausted.
His body was covered in wounds, his armor drenched in blood.
But this did not stop his advance. Lam Minh fought like a god of slaughter.
Some enemy soldiers, seeing his ferocity, would throw down their sabers and flee when he charged at them.
But the difference in numbers was too great.
Before long.
On Lam Minh's side, only he and General Ma remained.
The two of them stood back to back, panting.
The surroundings were dyed a terrifying shade of red.
Tens of thousands of troops surrounded the two of them.
General Do Luong slowly walked forward, parting the formation.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The sound of applause rang out. His eyes looked at Lam Minh and General Ma with great admiration.
"Although you and I are on different sides, today, I admire you. A talented general with such an elite soldier under his command. Although I won today, I also suffered heavy losses."
General Ma's one eye was closed due to blood flowing into it. His breathing was heavy, his back still straight, his long saber stuck in the ground. "Cut the crap! Winner takes all, loser is the bandit! Even if I become a ghost, I must overthrow this rotten court! Hahaha!"
General Ma now knew that he had reached his limit.
He gathered his last bit of strength, picked up his saber, and slit his own throat.
Fresh blood sprayed out.
His head rolled on the ground.
Lam Minh looked at the fallen general, his eyes filled with nothing but helplessness.
How could one man fight against ten thousand? Although he was fierce, he was now at the end of his strength.
He looked up at Do Luong, threw his shield to the ground, his eyes teasing.
"Goodbye, see you again."
Just as Do Luong was feeling smug, intending to recruit Lam Minh, Lam Minh directly used his saber and slit his own throat.
A head flew up.
Lam Minh's consciousness was once again pulled into a dark void.
[Ding! Host Lam Minh, mission failed. Number of enemies killed: 983. Additional rewards: 9,830 points. Total rewards: 9,830 points.]
Lam Minh opened his eyes, his mind heavy. The daze made it impossible for him not to fall asleep.
Dying and coming back to life, only to get 9,830 points. So paltry. I should have killed that Do Luong to make it worthwhile.
Eight hours later.
Lam Minh woke up once again.
Through the two simulation battles, his mental strength had been severely depleted. But after a good rest, his mind had somewhat recovered.
[Ding! The host has consumed 4,000 attribute points to break through in spirit, from the True Consciousness Realm to the Primordial Soul Realm.]
Lam Minh looked at the system panel.
[Name]: Lam Minh
[Age]: 16
[Cultivation]: Body Tempering Layer Five (16/14000 points), the host can use points to quickly temper the body.
[Physique]: Hong Hoang Dragon God Body
[Spirit]: Primordial Soul Realm (0/8000 Spirit Points)
[Spiritual Root]: Hoang-Grade Spiritual Root (10/100,000 Spiritual Root Points)
[Martial Arts]:
• Crippling Wind Fist (Initiate) 20/1000
• Wind Walking (Completion) 0/7200
• Primordial Chaos Sword Art (Great Achievement) 0/20000
[Accumulated Attribute Points]: 6113
Immediately, Lam Minh's sea of consciousness expanded. His mental strength diffused wildly, spreading everywhere. Every nook and cranny of the hospital was scanned by Lam Minh.
A primordial soul with a face identical to Lam Minh's appeared in his sea of consciousness, its eyes tightly closed.
On its forehead, there was a faint, narrow slit, like a half-closed third eye.
WTF!
As soon as he saw the primordial soul, Lam Minh was terrified. It looked no different from the third eye of the cultivators in the Cultivation World.
Joke around all you want, but if I end up turning myself into a person from the Cultivation World, I'm dead for sure. Mr. Quoc will kill me with a single slap.
Lam Minh staggered to the only mirror in the room.
But when he looked in the mirror, he let out a sigh of relief.
Only the Primordial Soul had the third eye; his physical body did not.