Chapter 8 This instance actually has a second stage?

Everything in the Illusion Realm instantly froze, returning to its original state.

Zhao Haiping touched his neck, still frightened.

"It's not right, the skill 'Proficient in Archery and Horseback Riding' doesn't seem to add any bonuses to melee Swordsmanship," he muttered.

Zhao Haiping realized he seemed to have been fooled by his talent skill again. 'Proficient in Archery and Horseback Riding' did make his initial shooting thrilling, but he was at a loss when it came to close combat.

Moreover, being skilled in archery was indeed useful, but being skilled in horseback riding was utterly useless!

He was merely a city-guarding archer and never even had the chance to ride a horse!

He decided to change his talent skill and start over.

As for the historical background of this instance, Zhao Haiping could identify the approximate dynasty, but he couldn't guess the specific events.

The soldiers all donned black armor and proclaimed themselves from Great Chu, definitely the second grand unifying dynasty after Great Yan.

As for the location, amid the vast sands, defending Yellow Earth City, it should be some stage of resisting the Beidi Barbarians.

Based on his limited knowledge of history, at the end of Yan and the beginning of Chu, the Beidi Barbarians had unified the Great Desert and the grasslands to the north and then began to encroach on the northwestern border of Great Chu. Great Chu launched several campaigns, but the Beidi Barbarians always fled to the north of the desert, and they were not completely exterminated.

Later, due to Great Chu's internal strife and weakening national power, the Beidi Barbarians surged back.

However, Zhao Haiping had no idea exactly when the battle he was experiencing took place.

Yet, on second thought, even knowing wouldn't be very meaningful. He was just an expendable soldier on the city walls. He couldn't possibly play a decisive role in the entire war. Surviving was all he could hope for.

After thinking it through, Zhao Haiping chose to keep the skills 'Mountains of Corpses and Seas of Blood' and 'Enduring Hunger,' replacing 'Proficient in Archery and Horseback Riding.'

A blue light flashed.

[Ren Level·Licking the Blade (Blue): In close-quarters life-and-death combat, it's easier to stay calm and disable an enemy with a single move.]

Zhao Haiping's spirits lifted.

What a treasure!

Pure combat talent, and a Ren Level blue skill at that.

With this, those Barbarian soldiers were easy to chop down. Not taking it would be insane!

Zhao Haiping didn't hesitate and immediately selected it.

Time in the Illusion Realm started to flow again.

The scene ahead was somewhat similar. The Barbarian soldiers attacked fiercely, and the soldiers of Great Chu also used every method possible to kill the enemy.

This time, without the skill 'Proficient in Archery and Horseback Riding,' the few arrows Zhao Haiping shot mostly missed their marks. It was only when Barbarian soldiers climbed up close that he managed to luckily hit a Barbarian's shoulder from above.

He had actually aimed for the head.

But obviously, that wasn't a big issue. After all, the battlefield situation was ever-changing, everyone's focus was on the enemy, and the hit rate of arrows wasn't very high anyway. Zhao Haiping's few careless shots didn't attract much attention.

In the blink of an eye, Barbarian soldiers were upon him again.

But this time, the Barbarian soldier wasn't the same one as before. It seemed that only the initial state of the Illusion Realm was fixed, and afterwards, there would be significant randomness. Zhao Haiping noticed that the actions of his fellow soldiers also varied each time. These variations added up to make each battle different from the last.

Seeing the curved blade of a Barbarian strike forward, Zhao Haiping hurriedly parried.

This time it felt distinctly different!

The Barbarian soldier seemed slower, and Zhao Haiping felt his mind was much clearer, able to respond calmly and spot flaws in the enemy's movements to counterattack.

In this type of close-quarters bladed combat, catching a flaw could mean the difference between life and death.

"Puh!"

His long sword pierced into the chest of the Barbarian soldier, and Zhao Haiping couldn't help but rejoice, finding victory easier than he had imagined.

Indeed, a Ren Level blue talent was truly effective!

However, before he could celebrate, the Barbarian soldier, already fatally stabbed, made a fearsome face, bit down hard, and knocked him to the ground!

Zhao Haiping had thought the man already dead and didn't react in time. After being knocked down, it was hard to escape, and he was quickly hacked to death by two other Barbarian soldiers who followed up.

...

"Damn it!

"I won't accept this, let's go again!"

Zhao Haiping chose the 'Licking the Blade' talent once more and started the trial anew.

Clearly, he had overestimated his own combat ability and underestimated the ferocity of those Barbarian soldiers.

In the previous instance, he had controlled Nie Rang's body and, after obtaining the mastery of swordsmanship, could usually kill with one strike. Although the Red-armored Guards also swarmed him, Zhao Haiping could still handle them rather comfortably at the beginning.

But this time, he was just an ordinary soldier, with no significant skills in Swordsmanship, and even if he struck the enemy, he couldn't deliver a fatal blow. Even with the support of a Ren Level blue talent, it was still easy to slip up.

Therefore, he needed to be cautious and stable!

Zhao Haiping thought that he should have quickly drawn his sword and disengaged, never giving the enemy a chance to counterattack.

Furthermore, this was a battlefield. Surviving was the primary goal, so sometimes he couldn't push too far forward. Once surrounded, it was over. He had to make more use of his fellow soldiers and appropriately retreat when necessary.

This wasn't cowardice; this was tactical withdrawal.

The Illusion Realm started again, quickly returning to the stage of close combat on the city walls.

This time, Zhao Haiping was smarter. With the effect of 'Licking the Blade,' he managed to exchange blows with the Barbarian soldiers, but even so, he still ended up being suddenly attacked from behind by a Barbarian soldier, restarting from scratch.

Zhao Haiping was furious, the Barbarian soldiers had no sense of honor in combat!

Often, when he was fully focused on a Barbarian soldier in front of him, another would suddenly burst out from the side and chop him down.

However, despite the constant deaths, Zhao Haiping persevered, choosing not to switch to another trial instance.

The instance of a "military recruit" bore some resemblance to other action games he had played before.

Although it was also a struggle, at least he could find ways to improve himself; each death made him feel as though he was making progress.

And the repeated deaths continuously enhanced Zhao Haiping's close combat skills.

...

Finally, after countless battles,

Zhao Haiping began to handle himself with ease.

Although there were several times when it was extremely close, feeling like death was just 0.01 centimeters away, he fortunately made it through.

Of course, retreating while fighting and letting his comrades take over when things went south was also a crucial reason for his survival.

Dying multiple times naturally made him aware of where dangers lurked, where some tough Barbarian soldiers might suddenly appear; deliberately avoiding these dangers and tactfully hiding behind his brothers, he managed to survive.

Zhao Haiping didn't know exactly how long the battle lasted, but it probably wasn't too long—perhaps about half an hour by his sense—the number of Barbarian soldiers climbing the city walls gradually decreased, and then the Barbarians retreated.

"Did I... pass?

"That simple?

"Strange, I died more than a dozen times, why does it feel so easy...

"Maybe it's just because it feels easier compared to the previous instance."

Zhao Haiping felt somewhat unreal. Compared to the previous instance called "Assassinate the King," this "Military Recruit" instance was too easy, wasn't it?

Although the number of deaths was also high, could he really pass by solely relying on honing his Swordsmanship and hiding?

That's much easier than refining acting skills and eloquence.

But he quickly discovered, he had celebrated too soon.

Because after a thick fog enveloped his field of vision, he noticed the scenery around him had changed!

It was only the first stage just now, now moving into the second stage!

It was still the same city wall, but the timeline was clearly different.

There seemed to be many collapses on the walls of the earthen city, many of the siege weapons had been reduced significantly, and those that remained showed signs of disrepair from age.

What shocked Zhao Haiping the most was the age of the soldiers next to him!

These soldiers were about the same age as Zhao Haiping, probably around twenty years old, but now, their faces had wrinkles, and they appeared to be over forty.

He looked down at himself.

There were several notches on the sword in his hands.

There were only a few arrows left in his quiver.

His armor bore many signs of repair, and many parts were not mended at all and were somewhat tattered.

Even his arms bore several scars from cuts, probably more so beneath his armor.

Worse yet, after a bout of dizziness, he suddenly realized he was incredibly empty inside, both hungry and thirsty!

This game apparently weakened negative feelings, probably only about 20% of reality, otherwise players would probably die of pain in repeated deaths.

But even in a weakened state, it still put a troublesome negative status on Zhao Haiping, making him feel unspeakably miserable.

Below the city walls were still Beidi Barbarians.

But at this moment, these Barbarians were not attacking, but were watching the situation inside the city from a distance beyond reach from bows and catapults.

Like vultures circling over dying beasts.

"What's going on? Why am I so hungry and thirsty?

"It seems my body has also become much weaker."

Zhao Haiping felt that this instance definitely wasn't going to be easy to pass through, but the ways he had thought of to increase difficulty were just more Barbarian soldiers or a change in the battle locations; he didn't expect the game to be so shameless to impose such absurd negative statuses on players.

With the increase in age and hunger, how much of his previous combat ability could still be utilized?

What made it even more unbearable was that the battle didn't start immediately, those Beidi Barbarians seemed to know their current state and deliberately dragged on without attacking.

Just then, the soldier next to Zhao Haiping nudged him and passed over a tattered cloth bag.

The bag was only the size of a palm, and it looked like it was made by tying a piece of cloth, uncertain of what was inside.

Zhao Haiping was about to ask when he smelled a foul odor.

He hadn't had a chance to ask what it was when the soldier on his right already snatched the ragged bag, lifted it over his head, and squeezed.

Dark, stinking water flowed down from the cloth bag, which he caught in his mouth.

Immediately after, the soldier retched, but even so, he clenched his teeth and endured.

Zhao Haiping was stunned.

Damn, this instance was even more brutal than the last one!