Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 148 - 143: Ultimate Trial Cleared! (Extra Release with Monthly Votes)

Chapter 148: Chapter 143: Ultimate Trial Cleared! (Extra Release with Monthly Votes)

Dark Sand was fighting the bandits while focusing on Lu Heng’s performance.

It must be said, Lu Heng’s fighting style completely subverted Dark Sand’s understanding of the identity of scholars.

Is it even possible to fight like this?

Dark Sand had always thought that being a scholar was just a job about talking.

Scholars like Chu Ge usually behaved this way; their moral integrity had broad applications, capable of buffing allies while debuffing enemies, and it was extremely lethal against demons.

However, the problem with scholars like Chu Ge was that they had almost zero close-combat ability. Once bandits got close, they had no choice but to run.

Thus, up until now, scholar players had developed the skill of fleeing as soon as the situation went south, whether it was the speed of turning to run, the short burst of speed, or the endurance, all had seen significant improvement.

Every scholar should have excellent running capabilities; this had become a consensus among players.

But today, Lu Heng’s performance displayed another possibility for scholars.

That is... what if scholars themselves also possess certain combat abilities?

The reason scholar players always hid in the rear was mainly due to the selection effect of the initial trial.

The other three instances required a certain level of basic combat ability, while the scholar instance did not. Therefore, players who liked combat generally chose the other three professions.

Those who truly obtained the identity of a scholar were mostly people who, in reality, had no understanding of combat skills.

Moreover, since the unique talent of scholars was moral integrity, which didn’t inherently involve direct combat, scholar players had grown accustomed to the fighting style of buffing and fleeing.

But in "Dark Sand," there had never been any restrictions on the physical capabilities of scholar players, nor had there ever been a rule that scholar players couldn’t grab a sword and join the fray.

Scholar players could also choose combat-oriented talents.

Moreover, "Dark Sand" had always hinted that scholars could join in the melee.

For example, County Magistrate Tang in "The Case Is Closed Only with the Coffin Sealed," as well as Wang Zongchang in this instance.

Lu Heng’s fighting style undeniably opened a new world for scholar players.

He would begin his combat against the bandits by shouting loudly, initiating his moral integrity to intimidate the enemies, achieving a preemptive effect.

Especially when facing bandits amplified by demonic powers, this shout was particularly useful.

Then, taking advantage of the opponent’s stunned state and slow reaction, he would immediately draw his sword and launch a fierce attack.

If it were an ordinary bandit, they would have already been chopped down by now.

But if it was a stronger bandit and the slash was blocked, Lu Heng also had other tactics.

He would either shout loudly again and activate his moral integrity to distract, or fiercely kick the opponent’s groin, or stomp on their toes, or even spit in their eyes...

In short, he tried everything to divert the enemy’s attention and then deliver a decisive strike.

Even if he couldn’t overcome them, he could still buy time for his teammates to strike a killing blow.

This fighting style indeed lacked the grace of a scholar and wasn’t in line with the code of martial conduct, but... it was effective!

Strictly speaking, Lu Heng’s moral integrity was still an auxiliary skill, but unlike other scholars who supported other players, he supported himself.

Adding in the unrestricted combat skills from the real world, Lu Heng had become a very unique existence.

He was the strongest fighter among scholars and among those strong in combat, he also possessed the spiritual attack effect of his moral integrity.

With Wang Zongchang himself being a formidable person from the start, with strong physical fitness, once Lu Heng abandoned the constraints of martial ethics, these bandits stood no chance against him.

Finally, the battle at Nanhe City was drawing to a close.

Although the three players performed extraordinarily well, the Sheng Army garrison in Nanhe City was ultimately insufficient, and with the bandits’ superior numbers, they surrounded the city walls after a fierce battle.

But it didn’t matter, as reinforcements from the Sheng Army had finally arrived!

From afar, under General Deng’s command, the Sheng Army had already breached Puning Port, leaving only a few soldiers to clean up the battlefield, while the rest rushed to support Nanhe City.

Fan Cun was leading the charge, running faster than anyone else.

The bandits had no chance to escape; they were encircled by the arriving Sheng Army, trapped within Nanhe City and in a dire situation, forced to resist desperately until they were completely annihilated!

...

Fan Cun quickly reached the city wall.

"How’s it going?"

A few arrows were still stuck in his body, but he didn’t bother to pull them out, as doing so could tear chunks of flesh and enlarge the wound. Instead, he simply chopped them off with his saber.

Anyway, after clearing the instance, these injuries would automatically disappear.

The city wall was strewn with bodies—bodies of Sheng Army soldiers, bandits, and civilians who had assisted in defending the city, piled up like mountains.

Lu Heng, Yun Ying, and Xia Ruoling, three players along with the remaining Sheng Army soldiers, leaned against the city wall, too exhausted to move.

Xia Ruoling was in the best condition, with only a few minor injuries; both Yun Ying and Lu Heng had multiple wounds, and their armor was severely cracked.

Compared to the others, Lu Heng was in a worse state.

After all, he was playing Wang Zongchang, the main defense general who was heavily targeted by the bandits.

According to official historical records, by this time, Wang Zongchang had already died a heroic death for his country, so Lu Heng being alive was already quite fortunate.

Yun Ying gasped in pain; a 100% pain sensation was really no joke.

At this moment, Lu Heng looked conflicted, "For a higher completion rate, should I maybe die? Otherwise it doesn’t quite match the original history."

Yun Ying and Fan Cun were shocked. What kind of extreme person were you, experiencing 100% pain and still considering experiencing suicide?

Yun Ying was curious, "I want to know, why can you still joke around after such severe injuries? What do you do in reality?"

Lu Heng, "Me? I am an actor.

"But actually, this has nothing to do with my profession. It’s because I acquired a special talent.

"’Xin-class Golden Skill: Iron Will.’"

Yun Ying suddenly realized.

No wonder!

Iron Will—it was that skill from the previous literary trial. When players played Yang Yan to pass through, this skill was almost mandatory to manage bone-scraping healing.

In the basic trials, players felt 20% of pain. However, bone-scraping healing, even at 20% pain sensation, was quite terrifying, which is why Iron Will was needed to withstand it.

Now, it was a 100% pain sensation in the ultimate trial, but knife wounds and bone scraping could not compare.

Since Lu Heng had obtained an upgraded version of Iron Will, the pain relief effect was naturally better.

Yun Ying could not help but feel that Lu Heng was quite smart!

He knew that playing Wang Zongchang was likely to be perilous and could result in severe injury or even death, so he preemptively took Iron Will to reduce the pain.

Now, it seemed to work quite effectively.

Lu Heng’s conflict did not last long, because soon, all his pain disappeared.

The scene in the historical slice quickly changed, coming to a sandy landscape beyond the Great Wall.

This time, it was simple. After finding Mr. Xu and conversing with General Deng, and as General Deng turned to mount his horse and left for the Great Wall, the players all separated from their bodies, floating above in spirit form, overlooking the entire world.

Everything in the historical slice began to rapidly reverse, and then moved forward again.

This time, what was displayed before everyone was true history.

They saw General Deng leading the frail garrison soldiers to shoot three arrows that set the universe right and repel the bandits;

saw the unsuccessful besiege of Puning Port, the final decision made after Lin Xiangmin consulted with Mr. Xu;

saw Lin Xiangmin presenting himself before the emperor;

saw General Deng training the new army and developing new military equipment, repeatedly defeating the bandits;

and they also saw on the city tower, Wang Zongchang took General Liu Ji to the city walls, fighting the enemy personally, refusing to retreat, and eventually sacrificing his life for the nation...

The real scenes of history, like scenes passing rapidly on a carousel, unfolded before everyone’s eyes.

Natural and real.

Finally, as General Deng’s figure disappeared into the sand, both lines of poetry emerged in everyone’s mind.

It was never my desire to be made a marquis.

But, may the seas be calm!

Deng Yuanjing, Lin Xiangmin, and Wang Zongchang, these three people used their lives to give meaning to these lines of poetry.

Line by line, system prompts appeared in everyone’s view.

[Ultimate Challenge: It was never my desire to be made a marquis]

[Cleared!]

[The historically slice corrupted by demons has been twisted back to its true state. With the efforts of the Reclaimers, history that was once shrouded in dust can finally see daylight again.]

[But the battle is not over yet.]

[The barrier of this historical slice has been broken, and the Reclaimers’ power can now penetrate deeper into the slice, but the demons will not hand over control of this historical slice so easily.]

[The Reclaimer’s stronghold has successfully connected with this historical slice.]

[Resist the demons’ attack, clear all the demons in this historical slice!]