34: Chapter 34 Story World

The intense sensation of weightlessness and spacetime distortion vanished abruptly, and Chen Aoyun's feet landed firmly on a hard, slightly bumpy ancient official road.

The sounds reaching his ears were the clanking of armor, the clip-clop of horse hooves, and the steady breathing of soldiers.

This time it was not a clone, but his actual body.

An army was patrolling the official road; this unit was small in number but well-equipped.

The generals commanding this army were none other than Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong.

After the three of them exchanged glances, Zhao Hongxiu spoke first,

"This is a plot world. It seems that Xiao Zhenghong and I have directly inherited our identities from the previous stage; we are both generals."

In the depths of his consciousness, Chen Aoyun also sensed something. His situation was special; as a [Strategist], he hadn't used any identity in the previous stage.

"I don't have a fixed identity; my identity depends on whoever I am following.

At the start, I was assigned as Hongxiu's subordinate, so I am currently a soldier under your command.

Of course, because of my special [Strategist] identity, I can also choose an identity of the same rank as you two.

But since the plot has just begun, I will hold off on using that authority for now. It won't be too late to choose after we figure out exactly what kind of situation this dungeon is."

Chen Aoyun looked down to inspect himself. He was wearing dark, cold-forged lamellar armor, exquisitely crafted, with a chest protector so polished it could reflect a person's image.

He subconsciously gripped the hilt at his waist and drew the blade three inches from its scabbard.

A cold gleam appeared. The blade was long, narrow, and straight, with a sharp, streamlined edge and a subtle curve near the tip, combining both sharpness and elegance!

"Is this... a Xiuchun Dao?" Chen Aoyun blurted out.

Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong also drew their blades, surprise flashing in their eyes as well.

Zhao Hongxiu stroked the cold blade, her tone complex:

"In the past, whenever we entered a plot dungeon, regardless of the plot type, the background environment and our own appearances were either typical Western-style or modeled after the Sakura Country. This is the first time I've seen this kind of blade. Is it because of your appearance?"

Chen Aoyun was confused, so Zhao Hongxiu continued to explain,

"Whether it's a [Strategist] actively moving a [Roleplayer]'s chess piece to enter a 'plot grid' on the board, or passively encountering an event.

After a [Roleplayer] enters a plot world, generally speaking, their appearance and the surrounding environment will align with the [Roleplayer]'s own civilization, especially in individual dungeons.

But because the Dragon Country has been at the bottom for a long time, elements of the Dragon Country rarely appear in the plot worlds of the Game of National Destiny.

Perhaps because you performed brilliantly enough in the previous stage, in this current plot dungeon, the armor and weapons of everyone—from the soldiers around us to generals like Xiao Zhenghong and me—have been overlaid with a layer of Dragon Country elements.

It's just an overlay; in essence, the plot content hasn't changed at all."

Recalling the chaotic elements on the High-level Demon from before, Zhao Hongxiu's words helped Chen Aoyun understand the reason behind it.

This was the first time Dragon Country elements had appeared during a roleplay, and both Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong couldn't help but curiously examine the Xiuchun Dao in their hands.

The blade was long, narrow, and straight, with a sharp, thin edge, combining the fierce strength of a saber with the elegance of a sword. It held the dignity of an official weapon; when at rest, it was like a stern law, and when drawn, it gleamed with a cold light.

"Is this the weapon of Huaxia Civilization? Isn't this ten thousand times cooler than Western broadswords or the katanas of the Sakura Country?

After this Game of National Destiny ends, I'm going to have such a blade forged in reality to display at home!"

Xiao Zhenghong toyed with the Xiuchun Dao in his hand, unable to put it down.

Just at this moment. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Several arrows suddenly shot out from the hidden grass!

"Enemy attack! Defend!"

Zhao Hongxiu's sharp cry and the sound of arrows piercing the air rang out almost simultaneously!

With a flick of her wrist, her Xiuchun Dao transformed into a screen of silver light. With a few crisp clanging sounds, the incoming crossbow bolts were precisely deflected!

Dozens of black shadows suddenly lunged out from the grass on both sides of the road!

They were actually wearing armor similar to the standard issue worn by Zhao Hongxiu's subordinates, but their eyes were numb, their movements carried an uncoordinated stiffness, and their bodies were faintly wrapped in traces of elusive black mist!

Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong exchanged a look; no words were needed, and they both exploded into motion!

Zhao Hongxiu's movement was like a rainbow, and the Xiuchun Dao seemed to have a life of its own in her hands. With stabbing, chopping, wiping, and lifting motions, wherever the blade light passed, enemies fell like harvested wheat. Her movements were clean and efficient, carrying the simple aesthetics of battlefield combat techniques.

Xiao Zhenghong was even more domineering. He let out a low roar, his muscles bulging. In his hands, the Xiuchun Dao seemed to weigh a thousand jun; often, with a single downswing, both the enemy and their armor were cleaved apart! It was powerful and heavy, full of a sense of strength!

The first essential point of a plot mission: When you are roleplaying an unfamiliar character and encounter an enemy attack, do not hesitate—meet the enemy with full force. Because you don't know how powerful the enemy is, only by giving your all can you avoid casualties. As for what the plot is or why you were attacked, those are things to consider only after defeating the opponent and surviving.

Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong joined forces to defend, and the surrounding soldiers also clashed with the enemy troops.

Chen Aoyun watched, dumbfounded.

It was hard to imagine that without the support of Heroic Spirit Manifestation, Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong could still unleash such fierce combat power!

The way the Xiuchun Dao was wielded in their hands was just like experts in fantasy novels, with gale-force winds scattering in all directions.

However, the leading enemy general seemed even stronger. Eerie black energy swirled around his body, and with a casual slash, he actually unleashed a bolt of black lightning that struck straight toward the two of them!

"Hold the Line!"

Facing the sudden black lightning, Zhao Hongxiu shouted loudly.

Countless white feathers formed from pure power fluttered about. This skill, Hold the Line, bestowed a 'Holy Shield' capable of blocking any attack upon all allies within Zhao Hongxiu's area!

The 'Holy Shield' blocked the lightning's damage. Xiao Zhenghong caught the recovery animation after the enemy used their skill, took a savage step forward, channeled all the strength from his entire body into his arm, swung it with force, and after the Xiuchun Dao struck the enemy general, he pressed down hard.

"Judgment!"

Holy light exploded from the Xiuchun Dao, and the power of Judgment surged at the blade's edge. This strike broke through the black mist on the enemy general.

Having lost the protection of the black mist, the enemy general was quickly left covered in wounds under the exquisite combined attack of Zhao and Xiao, and was finally pierced through the throat by a tricky thrust from Zhao Hongxiu, collapsing with a loud thud.

Without their general, the other miscellaneous soldiers were also quickly cut down.

After the battle ended, the three of them gathered together.

Xiao Zhenghong shook the blood droplets off his blade.

"We haven't even figured out the general outline of the plot yet, and we're already under attack? This mission's pacing is quite compact!"

Chen Aoyun crouched beside the enemy general's corpse, his pupils slightly constricting. Above the corpse, several lines of text composed of faint light were slowly emerging:

[Bring the corpse back to the military tent, Subjugation Value + 50%]

[Obtain 'glory fragments' × 3]

Two lines of text formed from congealed blood appeared on the corpse. He called over Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong, and the two of them could also see these two lines of text.

Zhao Hongxiu said: "These are hints that only [Roleplayer]s and [Strategist]s can see.

Since 'glory fragments' have appeared in the plot dungeon, it means that Construction Power is ineffective here. If we want to use the power of Heroic Spirits, we must collect enough 'glory fragments'.

Isn't your Construction Power running low? Using 'glory fragments' to summon Heroic Spirits—this rule is advantageous for us!"

Seeing the confusion on Chen Aoyun's face, Zhao Hongxiu didn't explain further, but instead began searching around the enemy general's corpse.

"Since there are plot hints, there might also be rule hints. Let's all look; if there are any, they should be near the corpse."

Although confused, Chen Aoyun still followed Zhao Hongxiu's words and searched around the corpse.

Soon, while moving the corpse, Chen Aoyun saw several lines of rule text on the soil underneath it, as if written in blood yet emitting a faint light:

[Plot Rule 1: When 'Subjugation Value' reaches 100%, you can mobilize the army to head straight for the royal palace and clear out the villains (anomalies) beside the emperor]

[Plot Rule 2: Construction Power is unusable in the plot. For the Strategist to summon Heroic Spirits, they need to collect ten 'glory fragments'. Use glory fragments to summon Heroic Spirits and turn the tide of the disadvantage]

[Plot Rule 3: Any rude, strange, or non-compliant behavior will increase suspicion toward you. When a character's suspicion value toward you reaches 100, they will view you as a serious threat and will proceed to eliminate you]

Chen Aoyun's gaze swept over these rules, and a look of realization flashed in his eyes.

Collecting fragments to summon Heroic Spirits, accumulating Subjugation Value to gain the qualification to march, and at the same time being mindful of words and actions to avoid "contamination"... The gameplay of this dungeon instantly became much clearer.