Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 217 - 188: The Special Conductor_3

Chapter 217: Chapter 188: The Special Conductor_3

Emperor Taizu of Sheng possessed not merely the common grand righteousness but its limited enhanced version, akin to an aura of kingship or the luck of a dynasty.

It was much more difficult to alter than ordinary historical figures.

Thus, the demon could only manipulate the environment surrounding Emperor Taizu of Sheng to create some confusing aspects.

Besides, this aura of kingship had a special effect, where the luck of the entire dynasty would naturally converge around him.

By making use of this, Meng Yuan could directly deploy players endowed with the power of the Return Order Expedition around Emperor Taizu’s aura of kingship as an anchor point, without prying open the whole historical defense!

Of course, the Return Order Expedition fortress was a different story.

Since the fortress was currently on a separate slice of history and the barriers of this slice had not been fully breached, the two historical slices could not connect.

The players had to rely on their own combat strength to eliminate the demons within this historical slice.

This was inherently risky, for if they failed, although it would not mean all their previous efforts were in vain and they had a chance to try again, the waste and consumption of the Return Order’s power was hard to bear.

But if successful...

They could move the progress of the Return Order in the river of history a great leap forward!

...

Beams of light touched down.

The players looked at each other, feeling quite unfamiliar with the scene before them.

Because the majority of teams had not reached this point yet.

Players assuming other roles had never been to the Desert North, and even those playing the "commander" role had not reached this point due to the high difficulty of the emperor personally leading the campaign.

Some were still stuck in the great battle before leaving the pass, some were eating dust on the way, still unable to locate Mahari’s hiding place.

And now, they stood on the Wulan Tula Mountain, on the very land where Emperor Taizu of Sheng had once crushed the Northern Barbarians led by Mahari.

"So we’re starting the Return Order Expedition just like that? That’s too quick, I’m not prepared at all!

"Yeah, although I knew they canceled the ultimate trial, this is still too fast..."

"Fast is good! No more messing around with small skirmishes, we go straight into a brawl with the demons!"

"Wait, what about the Return Order fortress? It doesn’t seem to be here?"

"There’s no defensible terrain here? No walls?"

"Look over there... How many Northern Barbarian Cavalry are there..."

Players just summoned had been fairly relaxed, thinking this expedition would be a simple walk-through like the previous ones. But a closer look at the surrounding situation made them realize they had oversimplified things.

This situation was completely different from previous Return Order Expeditions!

During the last expedition, players had already learned how terrifying the Northern Barbarian Cavalry could be.

If not for the strategic location of the Return Order fortress blocking the way, and they had been placed in the open plains against the Northern Barbarian Cavalry, a few encounters would probably have been enough to leave them scattered and routed.

And now, the players didn’t have such strategic terrain like the Return Order fortress— they didn’t even have a section of wall!

All they had were the swirling sandstorms and the dry yellow grass.

This was the Northern Barbarians’ home field!

Chuge and Zhao Haiping, who had been acting as commanders, exchanged glances, both slightly panicked.

Under the darkening sky in the distance, the Northern Barbarian Cavalry had already appeared.

Covering the mountains and fields, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Previously, the elite armored cavalry led by Mahari numbered thirty thousand men, with a total force of around a hundred thousand, which had already caused immense difficulty for both the players and Emperor Taizu of Sheng, with victory hanging by a thread.

Now, the Northern Barbarian Cavalry controlled by the demons, though fewer in number, were no less formidable in combat!

For the demon-controlled cavalry inherently possessed great fighting spirit and resilience. In terms of combat strength, compared to the historical Northern Barbarian Cavalry, their individual combat abilities were incomparably stronger.

The strength of our side was far from that of Emperor Taizu of Sheng’s elite army of a hundred thousand, boasting merely near sixty thousand players.

Even when counting each person’s single opportunity for revival, the balance of power between the two sides was, at best, even.

The players had already experienced the terror of the Northern Barbarian heavy cavalry, and naturally, they were filled with trepidation about how to fight this battle.

Chuge quickly shouted, "How many players have passed the Cavalry Trial? Mount up!"

At that command, many players took out their acquired whip props and mounted their horses.

Out of nearly sixty thousand players, about ten thousand had passed the trial.

Their steeds appeared out of nowhere, summonable as long as there were no other players or obstructive objects nearby.

The horses varied in color, depending on the players’ preferences, who could change their appearance at will.

Both riders and horses were clad in armor, while essential gear such as the high-fronted saddle and stirrups were all in place.

The other players looked on with envy in their eyes.

They have horses, wow!

Quite a few players even went over to carefully touch the horses, feeling the robust muscles and fine hair on their necks, and found it amusing.

Others remarked that the Cavalry Trial was really something; after clearing the instance, they not only received a horse but a full set of mounted equipment as well. It reinforced their determination to pass the Cavalry Trial later on.

Seeing this ratio, Chuge felt somewhat relieved.

Better than he had imagined!

It was good news indeed that approximately one out of six players had passed the Cavalry Trial within eight or nine days.

Zhao Haiping was the first to clear it, taking just over seven days. But in those seven days, the other players hadn’t been idle either; they were all toughing it out in the trial instance, so after the clearing video came out, many of them quickly had their breakthroughs.

In the wilderness facing the Northern Barbarian cavalry, if they couldn’t even gather ten thousand heavy cavalry, they’d probably be doomed.

But now, with these ten thousand heavy cavalry, there was still a fight to be had.

Of course, it would still be exceedingly difficult.

Both Chuge and Zhao Haiping felt tremendous pressure.

But it was at that moment, a voice rose from among the crowd.

"Where is this? Who are you? ...Where has my grand army gone?"

The players all turned back and discovered that Emperor Taizu of Sheng, who had been frozen in place like a history snapshot highlighted with special effects, had suddenly come to life.

He was still on horseback, clad in golden armor and wielding a long spear, his gaze sweeping over the crowd of players, revealing a puzzled expression.

The "highlight" effect of royal aura still clung to Emperor Taizu of Sheng but was gradually dissipating and diluting, eventually and naturally spreading to each and every player.

Clearly, Emperor Taizu of Sheng was bewildered.

He appeared inexplicably in the Desert North, and his soldiers had vanished, replaced by a bunch of chattering, oddly behaving people, and to make matters worse, the Northern Barbarian cavalry was gathering like a dark cloud looming over a city in the distance.

As for the players, they were equally puzzled.

"...We have NPC assistance this time?"

"I remember they enabled a feature to summon legendary heroes."

"But last time, General Deng Yuanjing was unlocked at the end of the battle, right? Can we summon General Deng Yuanjing now to help us?"

Chuge and Zhao Haiping exchanged glances, simultaneously harboring the same guess.

"Could it be... that for this Return Order Expedition, we don’t need to command anymore?

"Isn’t that...

"Fantastic!"