Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 59 - 55 Fast Knife!

Chapter 59: Chapter 55 Fast Knife!

Zhao Haiping, like other freeloading listeners, stood outside the theater, pretending to be absorbed in the play as he nodded and swayed to the music.

Sure enough, after a while, two members of the freeloading aficionados struck up a conversation.

"It’s so melodious! This Su Xianjun truly lives up to his reputation as a famous actor renowned throughout Jiangnan Road. Such a singing voice—so delicate and plaintively beautiful that the echoes linger on!"

"Isn’t it just? It’s like listening to heavenly music altogether beyond compare with ordinary actors."

"It’s a pity we can’t be inside to experience it fully; we can only catch a gist from out here, which is hardly satisfying. By the way, why has Boss Su’s troupe come to our small county town?"

"Don’t you know? You’re really out of the loop. Mr. Wang Jinhui personally invited them because of his private connection to the troupe."

"No wonder! To have a talent like Mr. Wang in our small county town is truly our good fortune. We too get to bask in his glory."

"All right, enough talk. We’re getting to the exciting part!"

The two exchanged a few brief words then immediately pricked up their ears and leaned in closer, listening attentively to the play.

In the game’s basic settings, the player character, as a Reclaimer, could automatically adapt to any era’s language system, ensuring unimpeded everyday communication--a mechanism already established in the beginner’s instance.

Zhao Haiping hadn’t chosen the talent that granted acute observational skills, so he didn’t hear very clearly, but he remembered some basic information.

"Two key figures with names: one is the famous actor Su Xianjun, and the other is Mr. Wang Jinhui, a talented individual whose hometown is in this small county town.

"The name Wang Jinhui rings a slight bell, as if I’ve heard of it before, but I can’t quite recall.

"I can look it up after leaving the game."

Zhao Haiping listened at the entrance of the theater for a while longer but didn’t glean any more useful information. Seeing it was getting late and the sky growing dark, he knew he had urgent matters to attend to, so he quickly left and continued toward the direction of the county government office.

On his way, Zhao Haiping thought up many excuses.

If the County Magistrate were to ask, how would he know about the Eastern Barbarian invaders? Where did he hear such news? How many Eastern Barbarians were there and from which direction would they come?

He needed to think about his answers in advance.

Of course, even if Zhao Haiping’s story was watertight, the County Magistrate might still not believe him. But regardless, it was worth a try.

When he finally arrived at the entrance to the county office, Zhao Haiping realized he had thought too much.

While he was worrying about how to meet with the County Magistrate, a runner had already rushed over, shouting loudly, "The Eastern Barbarian troops are coming! Quick, report to Mr. Tang!"

It appeared that the instance had set his entry time to the eve of the Eastern Barbarian invasion, and given his lowly status, there indeed was no need for him to deliver the news.

News of the Eastern Barbarian invasion spread rapidly within the small county town, and what had been a peaceful place was now thrown into panic.

Zhao Haiping found, however, that the County Magistrate, known as Mr. Tang, seemed quite reliable. Upon learning of the imminent Eastern Barbarian invasion, he sent for reinforcements from the garrison while organizing the village braves and militia, managing these tasks swiftly and efficiently.

In a very short time, they had successfully gathered a force of over two hundred.

Among them were fifty or sixty of Mr. Tang’s personal troops, along with over a hundred ordinary soldiers led by Households Commander Xu. The rest were made up of the hardiest from the county town, village braves, and militia.

Zhao Haiping knew very well that he couldn’t defeat these Eastern Barbarian soldiers on his own, so naturally, he joined the force and received a long knife.

These weapons, although rather basic and rusty, were taken from the town’s armory, but they were still better than being unarmed.

Shortly after, the group of over two hundred men swiftly headed towards the town’s east gate, from where, according to the intelligence, the Eastern Barbarian troops were expected to attack.

However, before even reaching the east gate, they heard commotion ahead and unexpectedly ran into the Eastern Barbarian forces!

The militiamen marching with Zhao Haiping were all thrown into a panic, clearly not expecting the invaders to arrive so quickly!

The town was supposed to have guards, and though few in number, with the help of the town walls, they should have been able to hold out until the reinforcements arrived, right?

It was unthinkable that the defenses had already been breached so swiftly!

Caught in a tight spot, and with no time for lengthy speeches, County Magistrate Tang, in his urgency, simply waved his sword high on horseback, shouting loudly, "Kill the enemy! Kill the enemy!"

A brutal street battle immediately erupted in chaos!

Even Zhao Haiping was taken aback, let alone the other soldiers and militiamen.

Fortunately, Zhao Haiping, after all, was a battle-hardened veteran, and though he possessed only the body of an ordinary laborer, under the enhancement of his combat talents "Death-Seeking Bravery" and "Sea of Cadavers, Mountain of Blood," along with his military combat skills, he managed not to fall in the initial exchange of blows.

The crisp sounds of clashing weapons were incessant; shouts and screams rose and fell in succession.

Over two hundred volunteer warriors and around a hundred Eastern Barbarian bandits fought desperately to the death, quickly staining the ground red with fresh blood.

Amidst the chaotic battlefield, Zhao Haiping strained to assess the situation. He well knew that expecting to complete this instance in one life was utterly unrealistic. Fighting was important, but so was gathering intelligence. He needed to prepare for the next attempt.

His own side was mainly composed of three groups: the County Magistrate, leading about fifty to sixty personal soldiers and appearing to have the strongest combat power; Households Commander Xu with nearly a hundred soldiers, whose combat effectiveness was a large notch below; and finally the hastily assembled local militias and laborers, who basically had no real combat experience. Not giving away their heads or fleeing was already good, just enough to add to the momentum.

However, some individuals displayed combat abilities that exceeded Zhao Haiping’s expectations: one was a tall and strong man among the militias who could really fight; another was the County Magistrate, who, despite his civilian background, wielded a broadsword and personally cut down three or four Eastern Barbarian bandits, an act even more ferocious than Commander Xu.

Zhao Haiping himself, of course, did not hold back. He had specifically chosen the identity and talents best suited for combat for moments like this.

Yet, as the fight continued, the situation became increasingly dire.

The bandits’ forces were clearly stronger!

Although there were just over a hundred of them, slightly fewer in number, the battle tended toward a one-sided affair once the fighting truly commenced.

These Eastern Barbarian bandits were all equipped with broadswords, each one’s swordsmanship was exceptionally skilled, and they fought with extreme ferocity, clearly as desperados who gambled with their lives.

Even the County Magistrate’s personal guards, likely wouldn’t stand a chance one-on-one, let alone the even less combat-capable regular soldiers and militias.

Furthermore, among these Eastern Barbarian bandits was an Eastern Barbarian General, two shadow servants, and a Wandering Warrior, whose combat strength was absurdly high; even the warrior alone easily slaughtered seven or eight personal guards—utterly unstoppable!

Seeing the situation start to spiral out of control, some of the laborers in the back and the soldiers led by Commander Xu began to entertain thoughts of fleeing.

"No retreating!"

Commander Xu bellowed to restrain his subordinates, yet some soldiers utterly disobeyed and fled.

Commander Xu gritted his teeth in rage, but in a moment of distraction, a sharp barbarian sword hacked down upon his armor.

Commander Xu fell to the ground with a thud.

Witnessing Commander Xu going down, the County Magistrate shouted agonizingly, "For the loyalty to the emperor and the country! For the loyalty to the emperor and the country!"

He continued to wield his broadsword, fighting fiercely, but his personal soldiers fell one by one around him, and he himself was soon encircled by the Eastern Barbarian bandits.

Zhao Haiping grew increasingly anxious, for he was acutely aware that this County Magistrate was most likely the key figure in this instance, someone he absolutely needed to save if possible.

Immediately intercepting two broadswords, he labored to make his way toward the County Magistrate, trying desperately to rescue him.

However, just then, a streak of cold light flashed by.

Zhao Haiping sensed something was amiss and quickly dodged with all his might, but still felt a chill followed by intense pain on his body!

He was struck!

In a normal instance, the pain felt was still 20%, so it wasn’t particularly agonizing. However, based on past experiences, he judged that the injury was definitely serious.

Such a fast sword!

He dared not charge recklessly anymore, because the barbarian sword was hacking at him again.

He swung his sword with all his might to block, but in the next second, an intense onslaught unfolded like a violent storm, leaving him no chance to catch his breath.

"Thud!"

A broadsword pierced his chest—now Zhao Haiping finally saw his opponent clearly.

It was the Wandering Warrior who had just effortlessly killed seven or eight personal soldiers.

The warrior calmly pulled the broadsword from Zhao Haiping’s chest, flicking off the blood with ease, his gaze as cold as if devoid of any emotion.

Zhao Haiping collapsed to the ground and, before losing consciousness, heard the neighing of a warhorse not far away; the County Magistrate was thrown from his mount.

"Wait for me..."

Zhao Haiping glared at the Wandering Warrior, ending his first experience in this trial instance with immense reluctance.