From A Stronghold NPC To The Final BOSS - Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Refugees
The Liangshan Stronghold was not too far away from Starter Village #10021.
Qin Shujian arrived back at the Liangshan Stronghold without spending too much time getting there.
He had just set foot on the bottom of the mountain when he saw a group of people dressed in ragged clothes. Their skins were jaundiced. They looked like a group of refugees.
In the group, there were both men and women, young and old.
A few of the more muscular people from the group were holding wooden rods as weapons.
At the same time, a dozen Mountain Bandits from the Liangshan Stronghold surrounded the group.
The person leading the Mountain Bandits was one of the leaders of the Liangshan Stronghold, Zhang Tieniu.
The two parties seemed engaged in confrontation. Both parties did not act recklessly, but the atmosphere felt a little tense.
Zhang Tieniu seemed to receive a boost of confidence when he saw Qin Shujian return. He walked toward Qin Shujian, “Stronghold Chieftain!”
“What’s the matter here?” Qin Shujian knitted his brows when he witnessed the scene.
“Stronghold Chieftain…” Zhang Tieniu had been prepared to speak when an elder from the refugee-like group cut him off.
“Might I ask if you are the chief of this territory? I haven’t asked how best to address you.”
Qin Shujian looked toward the source of the sound when he heard the elder.
The elder was also dressed in simple clothes. His complexion was withered, dull, and yellow. However, his eyes were not murky like other elderly men. Instead, they looked extremely bright.
He had a faint elegance even though he was down and out.
He possessed a kind demeanor that couldn’t be easily changed by external circumstances.
Qin Shujian stared deeply at the other party, then said calmly, “I am the Chieftain of the Liangshan Stronghold. Who are you?”
“My name is Zheng Fang. I pay my respects to you, Stronghold Chieftain!”
The elder Zheng Fang first bowed to pay his respects, then said with a dull tone, “Today, my group and I hope that you can take us in and give us something to eat. We are willing to join the Liangshan Stronghold and work for you, Stronghold Chieftain.”
Zheng Fang had just finished his sentence when Qiin Shujian received a system notification.
“Refugees wish to join the Liangshan Stronghold. Do you agree?”
Refugees!
Qin Shujian did not agree immediately when he saw the notification. Instead, he said calmly, “I will not reject you if you are willing to join the Liangshan Stronghold. However, do you all know just what kind of place the Liangshan Stronghold is?”
“Don’t worry, Stronghold Chieftain. Your stronghold is notorious within the forest. Our group has heard many things about you during our journey here,” Zheng Fang had a grave expression as he said, “We sincerely plead with you to take us in. Please accept our request.”
Zheng Fang stared at Qin Shujian after he said that. There was a wave of pity in his heart. He had fallen so far that he needed to band together with Mountain Bandits.
But people couldn’t triumph over their circumstances.
Human life was worthless in this era ravaged by war. The innocent townsfolk no longer had a choice.
They had already lost the larger half of their 100-man group on their journey to the Liangshan Stronghold.
Zheng Fang had a premonition if they still could not find a place to settle down, it wouldn’t be long before the entire group died.
After Zheng Fang said his piece, the refugees behind him looked at Qin Shujian with hopeful eyes. They seemed to show no fear of the Mountain Bandits.
There was already no separation of good and evil in their eyes.
All they wished for was a full meal and a place to stay. That was their greatest wish.
Qin Shujian looked at the refugees but did not give an immediate reply.
There were roughly 60 to 70 refugees in front of him. Most of them were scrawny young men with a bit of muscle. There were about a dozen children and elderly people.
Even though the young men had become scrawny from starvation, Qin Shujian could still see the strength they had as farmers.
These people were all effective workers.
When he thought about this, Qin Shujian finally lowered his head slowly, “Since you are so sincere in joining the Liangshan Stronghold, I will naturally not reject your request.”
“But there is one thing that I hope you will understand. Once you enter the Liangshan Stronghold, you’ll forever be a member of the Liangshan Stronghold. Don’t blame me for being merciless if you wish to exit the stronghold in the future!”
Qin Shujian’s gaze was filled with spirit as he spoke.
A threatening aura erupted from around his body.
It was as if a black tiger was glaring at the refugees with an ice-cold gaze, ready to pounce.
“We understand!” Zheng Fang felt his heart tremble. He then bowed in respect.
The refugees behind him also lowered their heads in unison.
There was a lingering fear in many of their eyes.
Seeing this, Qin Shujian retracted his aura and nodded with satisfaction, “From today on, you are all men of the Liangshan Stronghold.”
“You have acceded to the request of the refugees!”
“63 refugees have joined the Liangshan Stronghold!”
Two notifications appeared in his mind. The other party’s attributes were now revealed to him when Qin Shujian looked toward Zheng Fang.
Name: Zheng Fang
Identity: Mountain Bandit
Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold
Stage: Martial Entry-Level Four
Techniques: Eternal Youth Technique Level Four, Seven-Flower Leaf Penetrating Palm (Adept), Five Elements Eight Trigram Move (Adept)
Qin Shujian’s expression involuntarily froze when he saw this.
Martial Entry-Level Four.
He cultivated three techniques. One of them was the main technique tied to his stage, while the other two were supportive techniques.
Qin Shujian didn’t expect the scrawny elder in front of him to be such an expert who was hiding his strength.
However, Qin Shujian quickly came to his senses.
The way he looked at Zheng Fang was like he was looking at a sweet pastry.
He profited too much!
He profited too much this time around.
There were only two Martial Entry-Level Two Mountain Bandits, Zhang Tieniu and Wang Tiezhu, in the Liangshan Stronghold. The only person stronger than them was him, the Stronghold Chieftain at Martial Entry-Level Six.
There was a huge gap in power in the Liangshan Stronghold.
He had to personally fight against any opponent who was Martial Entry-Level Three or greater.
Once he left the Liangshan Stronghold, there would be an awkward situation where there was no powerful fighter defending Liangshan.
Furthermore, there were no powerful fighters he could use even if he wanted to send someone out to do something for him.
Qin Shujian saw hope that the problem could be solved now that he saw Zheng Fang.
A Martial Entry-Level Four fighter had delivered himself to Qin Shujian’s doorstep. This was not a trivial matter. Zheng Fang was a powerful fighter, and Qin Shujian believed he could never have enough strong warriors.
After all, the previous Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain, Wu Sheng, was only at Martial Entry-Level Three without the boost he got from being in the territory. He was weaker than Zheng Fang in terms of ability.
Qin Shujian’s line of sight stayed on Zheng Fang for a while before he turned to look at the other refugees.
Name: Zhao Shanlin
Identity: Mountain Bandit
Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold
Stage: Martial Entry-Level Two
Techniques: Eternal Youth Technique Level Two, Seven-Flower Leaf Penetrating Palm (Beginner), Five Elements Eight Trigram Move (Enlightened)
…
Name: Wang Hu
Identity: Mountain Bandit
Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold
Stage: Martial Entry-Level Two
Techniques: Eternal Youth Technique Level Two, Seven-Flower Leaf Penetrating Palm (Enlightened), Five Elements Eight Trigram Move (Enlightened)
Martial Entry-Level Two!
Qin Shujian obtained two more Martial Entry-Level Two fighters.
However, when Qin Shujian saw the two Martial Entry-Level Two fighters, he saw the gem that was Zheng Fang at Martial Entry-Level Four. Even though he was still happy, he was not as excited as he was at the start.
