Chapter 20: Hidden Threat

How could they fight?

There was no way they could fight.

The abilities of the two parties didn’t exist on the same level.

A few of the players came to their senses. They wanted to escape, but they couldn’t run too far.

Soon, they all suffered the same fate as the first player.

All there was left on the ground were two lonely steel swords.

Qin Shujian didn’t even break a sweat when he killed the players.

With his abilities at Martial Entry-Level Six, it was too easy for him to deal with the players who hadn’t even stepped into Martial Entry-Level One.

Qin Shujian picked up the steel swords and continued searching for other players.

The massacre only stopped when night fell.

Liangshan Stronghold, in the Zhongyi Hall.

Zheng Fang and the rest of the group, who had just joined the Liangshan Stronghold, were gathered there.

“How much did we lose in this battle?” Qin Shujian asked.

The rest of the people looked at each other. Finally, Zheng Fang spoke, “Reporting to the Stronghold Chieftain. This time, a total of 32 people from the Liangshan Stronghold died at the hands of the Outlanders.”

“What about our brothers who managed to level up?”

“17 people advanced to Martial Entry-Level Two. Two people reached Martial Entry-Level Three,” Zheng Fang answered honestly.

Qin Shujian knew which two of his men reached Martial Entry-Level Three.

They were Wang Tiezhu and Zhang Tieniu.

The two of them were originally leaders from the Liangshan Stronghold and were not weak. Now that they had killed a large number of players, it was natural that their stage would level up to Martial Entry-Level Three.

It was just that he received too many system notifications during the later stages of the battle, and he was too lazy to read through them all.

He might as well consolidate all of the information after the battle had come to a close.

The Liangshan Stronghold originally had 70 Mountain Bandits, which increased to 133 after the refugees’ addition.

They had lost 32 men this time around, which meant that the Liangshan Stronghold only had 101 Mountain Bandits before the dead bandits respawned.

However, out of the remaining 101 Mountain Bandits, a quarter of them were Martial Entry-Level Two.

Since that was the case, not only did the overall strength of the Liangshan Stronghold not decrease, but it was considerably strengthened.

But there was a hidden threat.

Without waiting for Qin Shujian to think too deeply about the matter, Zheng Fang spoke once again from beside him, “Stronghold Chieftain, there are just too many Outlanders. Compared to our men, the difference between the two camps is at least tenfold.”

“Furthermore, the respawn rate of the Outlanders is too fast. We encountered the same Outlander three times today. Moreover, even though there is a considerable difference between every level of a fighter under Martial Entry-Level Five, it is not to the point where the difference is insurmountable.”

“A dozen Outlanders would be able to crush a Martial Entry-Level One fighter, while 20 to 30 of them could surround and kill a Martial Entry-Level Two fighter.”

“It would be extremely troublesome if we do not deal with this situation well,”

Zheng Fang said, seeing the threat the Outlanders posed.

Their massive numbers and high respawn rate was not something the Liangshan Stronghold could emulate.

“However, I did notice something. The Outlanders who respawned have considerably weaker abilities when they return,” Zheng Fang said, making Qin Shujian slip into silence.

Zheng Fang’s words made him realize that his previous conjecture had been too naive.

Qin Shujian was right. The Mountain Bandits of the Liangshan Stronghold were indeed stronger than the average player.

However, no matter how strong they were, their numbers just didn’t compare to the players.

A Mountain Bandit required three days to respawn. However, the players didn’t need such a long time to respawn.

As long as the players attacked the bandits without regard for their lives, they would sooner or later crush all of the Mountain Bandits of the Liangshan Stronghold.

When that time comes, there wouldn’t be time for the dead Mountain Bandits to respawn before countless players swarmed the foot of the mountain.

Even though Qin Shujian was extremely powerful, he didn’t think he could hold off thousands of players alone.

Initially, he wanted to surround Starter Village #10021 and use it as an experience pack. However, now that he had come to his senses, he realized that he didn’t consider how dangerous his plans were.

He also knew roughly what Zheng Fang meant by his last statement.

The players couldn’t respawn without a price. It should be the same for them as the Mountain Bandits, where they would drop a level every time they died and respawned.

“I already knew about this. Elder Zheng, since you were the master of a training hall and a private teacher, why not get back into your old occupation here at the Liangshan Stronghold and teach the brothers in the stronghold?” Qin Shujian asked and looked toward Zheng Fang.

“If you are willing, Elder Zheng, I am willing to open up the position of a military advisor in the stronghold. You can become our military advisor. Your status would be equivalent to that of a leader.”

Qin Shujian wanted to have a military leader for a long time, but he didn’t think it would be possible until he met Zheng Fang.

After all, all of the Mountain Bandits in the Liangshan Stronghold only knew the Bodyforge Manual. Their abilities were too linear.

Zheng Fang clearly knew different techniques. Those techniques would directly enhance the strength of the Mountain Bandits if Zheng Fang taught the techniques to them.

Besides, from Qin Shujian’s perspective, it would be good for the Mountain Bandits to learn more things and know a few words.

Even though Qin Shujian didn’t think the ordinary Mountain Bandits of Liangshan Stronghold would learn much based on their intellect, there were ill effects in trying.

The people that Qin Shujian truly wanted to nurture were the ordinary Mountain Bandits like Wang Tiezhu and Zhang Tieniu.

It would be too tiring for him if he needed to attend to every matter in the large Liangshan.

Nurturing a few talented individuals, was preparation for the future.

Zheng Fang didn’t refuse Qin Shujian’s suggestion. Instead, he stood up and said with a look of gratitude, “I will listen to your orders, Stronghold Chieftain!”

“You guys can leave first. I need some time alone,” Qin Shujian said, giving the bandits a few instructions, then chasing them from the hall.

Zheng Fang and the rest of the group stood up and left when they heard Qin Shujian.

Instantly, only Qin Shujian was left in the Zhongyi Hall.

He admired Zheng Fang.

Both Zheng Fang’s background and strength paled only in comparison to him in the Liangshan Stronghold. There was no reason to bury such a genius.

However, Zheng Fang had only joined the Liangshan Stronghold a short time ago. Qin Shujian couldn’t impart him with too much authority.

He said that the military advisor’s position would be equivalent to a leader and would make sure that that was the case.

He only needed to say a word to make the position more influential than that of a leader.

Before Qin Shujian took over as the Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain, the Liangshan Stronghold only had two positions–Stronghold Chieftain and leader.

Currently, Qin Shujian was not prepared to change the rank structure too much.

He was going to take one step at a time. He wanted to first deal with the players’ problems before he slowly dealt with the other matters.

Thinking about this, Qin Shujian checked the rewards he received today.

Name: Qin Shujian

Identity: Liangshan Stronghold Chieftain

Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold

Stage: Martial Entry-Level Six (You are within the Liangshan Stronghold’s territory, Stage +1)

Cultivated Techniques: Bodyforge Manual Perfected (+) (Will-Directed Power) (Mortal Tier Low Grade), Black Tiger Blade Technique (+) (Pinnacle) (Mortal Tier Mid Grade)

Life Value: 267

Equipment: Ninth-grade Lethal Weapon Tiger Head Blade, Ninth-grade Armor Tiger Hide Clothing Set (Tiger Hide Coat, Tiger Hide Trousers, Tiger Hide Belt, Tiger Hide Boots)

His Life Value had ballooned from 22 points to 267 points, more than 200 points!

The increase caused Qin Shujian to gasp involuntarily.

It was the first time he felt that the players could contribute so many points of Life Value.

Moreover, this was what he gained in just half a day.

Then, Qin Shujian discovered something that shocked him. There was now a plus sign behind the Bodyforge Manual that should have already been perfected.