Section 076: The Knight Who Ran Into the Wall

The forum comments section has been impossible to moderate lately because real-name verification has been required, and Old Wu still cannot get through it.

What’s strange is that Old Wu clearly filled everything in according to the information on his ID card, so why does it keep saying, "This is not real information"? Could it be that the ID card the public security bureau issued to Old Wu has always been fake? Report them to the consumer rights association!

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"Li... Town Chief? I didn’t expect you to be here after the battle and leveled up so quickly. I’m the Wall-Bashing Knight, chieftain of the Wall-Bashing Tribe in Jiuxian County."

The Wall-Bashing Knight introduced himself to Li Zhan first.

Li Zhan gave a quiet "oh" and nodded, sizing him up a few times before asking with some suspicion, "What do you want with me?"

At the moment, the two of them stood outside the north gate of the town. Apart from an NPC militia guard standing by the gate, there was no one around. Even so, the Wall-Bashing Knight still glanced left and right before lowering his voice to say, "It’s like this. I want to work with Town Chief Li in attacking the Sincere Tribe."

Ever since Li Zhan learned that this man was the chieftain of a tribe in Jiuxian County, he had been harboring some doubt. Now, seeing that the other man had not bothered to explain his purpose and had immediately come to offer help in attacking the Sincere Tribe, his suspicion only grew. He said flatly, "Oh? Why are you so certain I’ll attack the Sincere Tribe?"

The Wall-Bashing Knight froze. He had never expected Li Zhan to say something like that, and he asked in surprise, "Town Chief Li, don’t you want to strike back?"

Li Zhan merely shook his head indifferently. The Wall-Bashing Knight could not help but say anxiously, "Town Chief Li, your tribe—no, your settlement—around Danyang County has developed quite well. And I’ve heard that you’ve allied seventeen tribes in Danyang County, with you yourself as one of the alliance leaders. After being ambushed like that, can you really swallow this insult?"

Li Zhan said, "You can see for yourself that my settlement has only just upgraded, and our resources are nearly depleted. If we want to attack the Sincere Tribe, we’ll need to plan it carefully."

Hearing this, the Wall-Bashing Knight opened and closed his mouth several times, and half his heart turned cold at once. Since leaving the Sincere Tribe that day, he had been keeping a close eye on its movements. This morning, when he learned that Trueheart Lover and the chieftains of his two brother tribes had raided the Yanhuang Tribe at night and suffered a crushing defeat, he immediately realized it was the perfect opportunity to join forces with the Yanhuang Tribe for revenge. The enemy of one’s enemy is one’s friend—his mind made up, he had set out early from his tribe in a fishing boat and come straight to the Yanhuang Tribe. He had never expected that after rushing all the way there in a cloud of dust, what he would hear from Li Zhan was that Li Zhan did not want to strike back.

After weighing it over, the Wall-Bashing Knight said to Li Zhan, "Town Chief Li, you mean your settlement is short on resources, right? That’s easy. My Wall-Bashing Tribe isn’t wealthy in resources, but for the sake of attacking the Sincere Tribe, I’m willing to provide five hundred units of grain to the Yanhuang settlement. As for gold, if the Yanhuang Tribe needs it, I can log off right now and exchange some on the official site. What do you think, Town Chief Li?"

Li Zhan did not answer the Wall-Bashing Knight’s question. Instead, he asked, "I’m curious—why are you so eager to attack the Sincere Tribe?"

The Wall-Bashing Knight snorted and cursed, "Damn it, Trueheart Lover is just a bastard. I once swore I’d wipe out his Sincere Tribe."

Although there was not the slightest hint of falsehood in the Wall-Bashing Knight’s expression or tone, Li Zhan still could not trust him completely. After all, he knew nothing about this chieftain; he had appeared out of nowhere. If anything went wrong, it would ruin his entire plan.

Li Zhan said, "Let’s leave it at that. If I feel the need, I’ll contact you again."

The implication was clear: he was already seeing the Wall-Bashing Knight off.

The Wall-Bashing Knight was not stupid. He understood that Li Zhan must have some reservations about him, but he had not expected those reservations to run so deep. Not only was Li Zhan unwilling to join forces with him, but it also seemed as though he suspected him of being a spy sent to probe for intelligence.

A deep sense of helplessness surged through him. The Wall-Bashing Knight stamped his foot, let out a heavy sigh, and said, "Town Chief Li, if you don’t trust me, there’s nothing I can do. It’s all right, I’ll leave now. I’m very sorry to have come so rashly and disturbed you... farewell."

With that, the Wall-Bashing Knight turned and strode off without looking back toward the small boat moored by the riverbank.

Watching his retreating figure, Li Zhan frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly called out, "Wait!"

The Wall-Bashing Knight was startled and stopped in place. Turning around, he looked at Li Zhan in confusion, only to see Li Zhan walk up a few steps and say, "I said I’d contact you if there was a need. At the very least, we should add each other as friends first, shouldn’t we?"

The Wall-Bashing Knight nodded in realization and exchanged friend requests with Li Zhan face to face. Though it was only a small gesture, it still brought the Wall-Bashing Knight a trace of comfort. At the very least, it meant this trip to Danyang had not been for nothing.

After walking a few steps away, the Wall-Bashing Knight turned back again and said to Li Zhan, "Town Chief Li, whether or not you plan to counterattack the Sincere Tribe, I have two pieces of intelligence to tell you. First, the two brother chieftains of Trueheart Lover have already returned to their respective tribes. Together, those two chieftains left behind sixteen militia in the Sincere Tribe, all for guarding against your counterattack. On top of that, the Sincere Tribe has recruited several more militia, bringing their total militia strength back up to twenty. Second, the northern side of the Sincere Tribe, along the banks of the Yangtze, is a key defensive zone. There are two layers of wooden palisades there, with four watchtowers built between them. It’s easy to defend and hard to assault. However, the southern side of the Sincere Tribe is a large area of brush. The wooden palisade there is built right against the undergrowth, making it the best place for an ambush."

After speaking, the Wall-Bashing Knight clasped his hands toward Li Zhan, boarded the boat, and departed.

Watching him sail away, Li Zhan thought it over and brought up the friend function, sending a message to the player merchant, the One Who Says "Pig" in Reverse:

Li Zhan: Are you there?

The One Who Says "Pig" in Reverse: Yes. What do you need, Brother Li?

Li Zhan: Are you familiar with the tribes in Jiuxian County?

The One Who Says "Pig" in Reverse: Not especially, but I have a merchant friend in Jiuxian County who often travels between the tribes and knows a lot of inside information. What do you want to know? I’ll ask him.

Li Zhan: All right. Help me ask what relationship the Wall-Bashing Knight has with Trueheart Lover, and whether there is any grudge between them.

The One Who Says "Pig" in Reverse: Sure, Brother Li. Wait a moment.

After a while...

The One Who Says "Pig" in Reverse: I asked him. He said this is really not something ordinary people would know; he only found out by chance. The Wall-Bashing Knight and Trueheart Lover had a fight in the Sincere Tribe two days ago. Trueheart Lover slapped the Wall-Bashing Knight in front of everyone, and the scene turned very ugly.

After reading this, Li Zhan nodded to himself. No wonder the Wall-Bashing Knight had ground his teeth in hatred every time Trueheart Lover was mentioned. So that was the little incident between them. In that case, the intelligence provided by the Wall-Bashing Knight could not be trusted completely, but it could at least be used for reference.

Li Zhan: Good, I understand. Thanks, Brother Pig.

The One Who Says "Pig" in Reverse: You’re too polite, Brother Li. If you need anything, just say the word.

Li Zhan: All right, let’s leave it at that for now. We’ll talk later.

The One Who Says "Pig" in Reverse: Fine. Talk later.

...

Soon, night fell.

The Crooked Radish Strip had hired a total of five cargo ships from Danyang County. For each ship, he first paid the owner fifty copper coins and agreed to use them for an entire night, shuttling back and forth between Danyang County and Jiuxian County, with another one hundred coins to be paid at dawn. As for what exactly they were being used for, that remained confidential for the time being.

Cargo ship, civilian:
Passengers: 25
Cargo: 1200

At last, everything that needed to be explained had been explained. The focus of this depiction of the tribe’s attack was, beyond the eventual counterattack itself, more about the attitudes of the various chieftains toward Li Zhan. One could regard it as a clarification of the relationship between friend and foe surrounding Li Zhan.