Chapter 1 Quiet Night

The night fell silently.

On the desolate plain, a team of riders sped toward the Great Wall.

As their figures appeared on the blurred horizon in the moonlight, the group of thirty-odd people dismounted and released their horses to return in the opposite direction.

Then, they took out the thick cloths they had prepared in advance, wrapped them around their feet, and slowly waded through the snow-covered wilderness.

The deepening night provided them with excellent cover, and this team of elite warriors quietly arrived at the foot of the Great Wall.

They were here on a mission...

These thirty-seven men were the most outstanding warriors from the Great Jin (referring here to the Later Jin). They were under the direct orders of the Khan to enter the Central Plains and carry out a secret mission.

This mission might take a long time, so long that it could be measured by the rest of their lives.

This mission was also extremely dangerous, so dangerous that they would immediately lose their lives if they were exposed.

However, they didn't care. They had already made up their minds to dedicate everything to this mission.

Because their success might change the entire fate of the Great Jin.

Of course, in this plan, the Great Ming naturally played the role of the villain and sacrificial lamb…

"Ba-ye, I've checked. There's really no one on the nearby beacon towers."

The middle-aged man who spoke was wearing a very common padded jacket, dressed no differently from the people of the Central Plains.

And the "Ba-ye" who received his report was of a similar age and dressed in the same way.

Obviously, these people were planning to "lie dormant" in the Central Plains for a long time. Before setting off, they had undergone rigorous training. Not only could they speak fluent Chinese, but they could also provide a detailed explanation of their background and origins... with practically no loopholes.

"Hmm..." Ba-ye pondered for a moment and then continued, "Natan, you take the lead and go up first. After confirming that there are no abnormalities above, give us the signal."

"Yes." After receiving the order, Natan immediately acted. He retreated a few meters away from the city wall, stomped his foot (they had already removed the cloths from their feet at this point), and leaped up.

Then, he used the wall to gain some leverage a few times in mid-air, and in this way, he climbed up the wall with ease and arrived on the Great Wall.

Before long, his companions below saw him poking his head out and giving a "follow me" gesture.

Thus, the remaining thirty-odd people, led by Ba-ye, climbed onto the city wall in a similar fashion. For experts like them, jumping onto the city wall was a piece of cake.

"Good… all accounted for." When the last person climbed over the crenellation, Ba-ye, who had been silently counting, said in a low voice.

In the next second, he was about to order them to jump down the wall and "enter the pass."

Unexpectedly, suddenly…

"Everyone, hold your horses." A man's voice came from above.

This one sentence made the thirty-seven people present shudder. They almost simultaneously reacted defensively in the direction of the voice.

"Did you forget something?" Then, the man said another sentence.

At the same time, a dark object was thrown down from the beacon tower.

Relying on the moonlight and their excellent eyesight, the Jurchen warriors saw what it was before it even landed—a human head.

The head landed and rolled to Natan's feet. Although the hair was scattered and covered half of the face, Natan immediately recognized it as the "captain" he had bribed in advance. It was this person... who had removed the soldiers who were supposed to be stationed at this beacon tower tonight.

"Ba-ye, this is..." Natan immediately turned his head, wanting to remind Ba-ye.

But Ba-ye didn't seem to need his reminder, and just raised a hand, signaling him not to continue.

"Who… is it?" After a moment, Ba-ye looked up at the beacon tower and asked this question word by word.

He didn't intend to hide anything anymore, because the moment he saw the head, he knew that what he was about to face would be a battle to the death.

"Hehe..." After hearing this question, the person on the beacon tower chuckled and raised his voice, reciting loudly, "The first pass of the Great Wall…"

After saying the first sentence, his figure had appeared at the edge of the beacon tower.

"Millennial winds and rains forge desolation…"

As the second sentence fell, the cold moonlight happened to shine on the weapon in the man's hand… It was a long spear.

"A million soldiers are no more…"

As the third sentence came out, this person jumped down, spear in hand, after somersaulting in the air.

"A lone spear, a single courage… weary dreams return!" (Juan Menghuan)

As the last three words were spoken, Juan Menghuan stood proudly, planting his spear on the ground.

Although his poem wasn't particularly refined, the domineering aura in his words was genuine.

The warriors fixed their eyes on him, and saw a white-faced (compared to most men of that time, most players looked fair and clean) youth, clad in a bizarre black armor, standing solemnly with a spear.

Although the moonlight wasn't bright tonight, his armor still emitted a clear halo, and the long spear in his hand also exuded a sense of indescribable chill.

"Hmph…" Ba-ye, upon seeing this person, first snorted coldly, and then praised, "Good!" He paused. "Good, a 'lone spear, a single courage'!"

Speaking of this, he simply raised his voice and shouted to his companions behind him, "Brothers! This kid is a decent man… give him a quick death!"

At his command, the dozens of Jurchen warriors charged out almost simultaneously.

The space on the city wall was very narrow, and it should have been difficult for so many people to attack the same target…

But these Jurchen warriors could do it.

Their coordination was very tacit, so tacit that it was seamless without words…

In less than a second, the thirty-six men had neatly dispersed, dividing themselves into the center, the air, and the two flanks… and all attacked Juan Menghuan; this was undoubtedly their first time fighting on the Great Wall, but they performed as if they were doing something they had practiced countless times.

Fast!

This was Juan Menghuan's first impression.

Even as a player whose physical attributes had long surpassed human limits, he couldn't help but be secretly amazed by the speed of these enemies before him.

But the most terrifying thing wasn't speed, but these people's mode of action…

They weren't individuals, but more like one.

This group of Jurchen warriors was like a whole made up of thirty-six bodies, each part serving the whole, completely disregarding their own safety and lives…

Their attacks advanced in layers like raging waves, surging and continuous. Even if the people at the front were pierced by spears, swept away, or even blasted into mincemeat by energy… the people behind them wouldn't hesitate in the slightest—they would continue to attack until they achieved their goal.

Faced with such a team, without enough determination or the use of ranged means such as bows and arrows, even if you sent ten times their number to meet them, it would be difficult to say who would win or lose…

And right now, Juan Menghuan was "a lone spear, a single courage," truly "one man guarding the pass…"

In the eyes of others, this was simply a desperate situation.

However, Juan Menghuan… remained calm, and wielded his spear in a flurry.

In an instant, blood blossomed.

Gleaming cold light took lives, and heavy spear shadows snatched souls.

Before long, the thirty-six elite experts had been utterly defeated by him, none spared.

And the thirty-seventh person… the last one, was staring at the scene before him with bloodshot eyes and disbelief.

He really couldn't believe that his brothers, who were so close and dependent on each other… those who were capable of fighting ten enemies alone in the tribe, would be killed by this mere man from the Central Plains in an instant, and… without any ability to fight back.

"You… are also decent men." Juan Menghuan returned his spear, holding it diagonally with the tip pointing down, letting the blood on the spear drip slowly, "So, I will also give you a quick death."

Ba-ye gritted his teeth and stood in place, trembling with hatred.

His current mood was something only he could understand.

Ba-ye and his sworn brothers had decided to dedicate everything to this mission; death or failure, they could accept.

But he couldn't accept an ending like this.

"Kill me too." Ba-ye didn't think for too long before making this request, "I have no face to go back and face the Khan, and I don't want to abandon my brothers… and live alone in this world."

His request was reasonable. Since the mission was hopeless and resistance was futile, it was better to let the other party fulfill his wish.

"No, it's not your time to die yet." Unexpectedly, Juan Menghuan refused.

"What?" Ba-ye looked surprised and a little agitated, "What do you mean by this? Are you insulting me!"

Juan Menghuan shook his head, "I'm not killing you because… before you die, there's one more thing you must accomplish."

Ba-ye snorted, "Hmph… Don't tell me you think I would betray…"

"Wrong." Juan Menghuan interrupted him directly before he could say his erroneous speculation, "I just want you to go back, back to your Khan's side, and tell him everything that happened here tonight… in detail."

"You…" The expression on Ba-ye's face was uncertain. After thinking for a moment, he sneered, "I understand. You think… the Khan will be afraid after hearing about what happened tonight, and will give up…"

"He can think whatever he wants." Juan Menghuan didn't let the other party finish his sentence again, "If he's really afraid, then it shows that the person you respect is nothing more than that…"

"Impudent!" Ba-ye's Chinese was excellent, and he could use all sorts of idioms without hesitation, "The winner is king, the loser is villain! You can insult me, but you cannot insult the ruler of my Great Jin!" He paused, and then snorted, "Hmph… You think, by killing our team… my Great Jin has no one left? I'm telling you… warriors ten or a hundred times stronger than us… are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges by the Khan's side."

"Oh… is that so." Faced with these words that even Ba-ye himself didn't believe, Juan Menghuan's reaction was naturally quite indifferent, "We probably don't have as many experts on our side as you do…" He continued in a calm tone, "There are only about a hundred characters who are about as strong as me, or slightly weaker…"

He wasn't lying. In the entire Thriller Paradise, there were definitely a hundred players with fighting power close to his level. There was no upper limit to the number of people in this script; who knew how many had come? Besides… he hadn't even included the NPC forces in this script.

"As for those who are stronger than me…" Juan Menghuan paused for two seconds, and then added, "Ah… maybe ten or so… possibly more, after all, I haven't had the chance to fight so many monsters one by one…"

As his voice fell, Ba-ye's worldview had already collapsed.

Fear and shock shattered his perception. He really wanted to tell himself that what he had just heard wasn't true; unfortunately, Juan Menghuan was a terrible liar. Whether his words were true or false, someone like Ba-ye… would never be unable to tell.

"You seem to understand." Juan Menghuan said, casually swinging his spear and carrying it handsomely on his shoulder, "If I were you… I think it's still very necessary to bring news like this back to your master so he can know… Hmm… I've said all I need to say."

He wasn't as eloquent as Feng Bujue; he was just a stubborn, strong-willed person who also knew his own limits.

But today, his appearance here was probably more suitable than anyone else's.

…………

The clouds parted, the moon was bright, and the night wasn't over yet.

Ba-ye had already returned. He had a way to come, so naturally he had a way to go back.

On the city wall, Juan Menghuan put his weapon back into his bag and breathed a long sigh of relief.

The spear wasn't his only weapon. He now had a halberd, a spear, and a staff… three kinds of weapons.

But tonight, in this place, he wanted to use a spear.

So he used it.

"Wow, impressive…" At this moment, another person's voice sounded behind Juan Menghuan, "Not only did you complete the side quest [Prevent Jurchen Elite Warriors from Sneaking into the Pass], but you even completed the hidden quest [Change the Future Dynastic History of this World]."

The person speaking was none other than Bi Laoshi from the "Trash Alliance Team" in S2.

"I thought we'd have to rush to the capital to kill the emperor of this world…" Bi Laoshi said as he climbed up the city wall, "I didn't expect that we could complete it by simply leaving a hand in this side quest."

"Heh… assassinating the emperor is indeed a feasible plan." Juan Menghuan, who had completed the quest, also breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "I just wanted to try and let him go, I didn't expect it to actually succeed…" He shrugged, "Thinking about it now… the fact that those two quests came out at the same time was actually a pretty obvious hint, right?"

Bi Laoshi nodded, "Then… should we go into town now?"

Juan Menghuan thought for a while, "Hmm… I think we can wait a little longer."

"Huh?" Bi Laoshi said, "We've cleared several side quests in one day, and you still don't want to go in?"

"Don't worry." Juan Menghuan replied confidently, "There's definitely more than one group of players who haven't entered the town yet… it's impossible that only the two of us noticed 'Order' and his buddy watching at the entrance of the town." He thought to himself, "Don't be misled by the synopsis. The main quest didn't say we had to 'enter Linlu Town'. Let's think about it another way… since we already know the time and place where the 'Sword Dance Grass Script' will appear, then before it appears, being further away from the core location of the event is actually an advantage…"