6: Chapter 6 You Can't Die

After all the Calamity Demons on this side of the Torrent Bridge were wiped out, that teenager, whom Xiao Zhenghong did not recognize, walked to the edge of the bridge and seemed to be engraving something onto it?

"Why engrave something?"

"Did the [Strategist] have us clear out the Calamity Demons here just to engrave something?"

"Is there something seriously wrong with that new [Strategist]'s brain?"

"What's the point of engraving something on the bridge?"

The teenager returned to Xiao Zhenghong's side.

"Of course it's not just for engraving."

"Wait, you'll soon know what the [Strategist] is trying to do."

Xiao Zhenghong looked at the teenager suspiciously, feeling more and more that something was wrong the more he thought about it.

"The previous [Strategist] was framed, violated the rules of this Game of National Destiny multiple times in a row, and was executed by the rules."

"It wasn't his fault."

"The Dragon Kingdom had no Heroic Spirits of its own, and the authorization for foreign Heroic Spirits was suddenly cut off. It was extremely difficult to move on the chessboard, and there was simply no time to investigate the rules of this Game of National Destiny one by one. The previous [Strategist] had already done very well to maintain the Dragon Kingdom's chessboard without it completely collapsing."

"Before being executed by the rules, the previous [Strategist] said that there were five [Roleplayers] left for the Dragon Kingdom."

"I and Zhao Ning'er are [Roleplayers] of the General class, and the remaining three [Roleplayers] are playing the roles of Prime Minister, Scholar, and Architect, respectively."

"I know the person playing the Prime Minister is that guy Old Li, and I can probably guess who the [Roleplayers] for the Scholar and Architect are... You aren't among them. Where did you pop out from?"

Was the teenager in front of him not from the Dragon Kingdom?

An imposter? Or a spy planted by another country using the rules?

But if he were a spy, why would he have a Huaxia [Heroic Spirit Manifestation] on him?

"Wait, a General-type [Heroic Spirit Manifestation]." Xiao Zhenghong shifted his gaze back to the manifestation behind the teenager. [Roleplayers] could use the rules to impersonate, but Heroic Spirits couldn't. The [Heroic Spirit Manifestation] behind the teenager exuded a rich Huaxia aura, originating from the same source as the [General Zhang Fei] manifestation on his own body; it was indeed a Huaxia Heroic Spirit. No problem there.

"You aren't among the [Roleplayers], yet you have a Huaxia Heroic Spirit behind you, and it's a General-type Heroic Spirit at that."

"Damn, could you possibly be..."

Chen Aoyun grinned, "Don't say it out loud; it's easy for other countries' [Strategists] to notice if you do."

Xiao Zhenghong was startled and quickly shut his mouth.

In the absence of a [Roleplayer], a [Strategist] could enter the field themselves and become a vessel for a Heroic Spirit.

But doing so would, on one hand, distract the [Strategist] on the chessboard. A bigger problem was that if the [Strategist] entered the field and was multi-tasking, and if they were targeted and killed within the world of the chessboard, then the [Strategist] on the chessboard would also die.

He couldn't reveal Chen Aoyun's identity. The Game of National Destiny was already in its second half, and [Strategists] from other countries might possess all sorts of strange abilities. If Chen Aoyun's identity were revealed and discovered, it would be a huge problem.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" After figuring out Chen Aoyun's identity, Xiao Zhenghong became anxious instead.

"It's one thing that you transferred me to the front line, but why did you come yourself?"

"Do you even understand the basic rules of the Game of National Destiny!"

"The rankings in the Game of National Destiny are divided into three tiers: Upper, Middle, and Lower."

"The Lower tier is for the bottom-ranked countries. When a Game of National Destiny ends, all [Roleplayers] and [Strategists] from countries in this tier will be executed by the rules once the game concludes, regardless of whether they died during the game or not."

"For countries in the Middle tier, [Roleplayers] and [Strategists] will not die as long as they are still alive."

"Only for countries in the Upper tier can everyone be resurrected after the Game of National Destiny ends."

"Now that our Dragon Kingdom has two T0-level Heroic Spirits, if we work hard, we might be able to enter the 'Middle tier'."

"As long as we enter the Middle tier, you have a chance to live, but the prerequisite is that you don't court death yourself and don't throw yourself into a pit of fire."

"If you rashly enter the field now, what if you die in the world of the chessboard..."

Chen Aoyun was certainly aware of what Xiao Zhenghong was saying. He patted Xiao Zhenghong on the shoulder and said:

"It is precisely because I want to live that I must take a gamble, for the Dragon Kingdom, and for myself."

"From the time the previous [Strategist] died until now, too much time has been wasted, and too few resources have been obtained."

"Although the Dragon Kingdom now has T0-level Heroic Spirits on the field, if we just turtle up and defend, our ranking will only struggle between the 'Lower tier' and 'Middle tier'."

"I cannot pin the outcome of this Game of National Destiny on luck, and I certainly cannot hand my life over to probability. What if we turtle up and defend, only for our ranking to still end up in the bottom tier?"

"So we must fight for it!"

"My destiny should be in my own hands!"

Xiao Zhenghong looked at Chen Aoyun,

"Fight for it? How do you plan to fight for it? The Game of National Destiny is already in its second half. The resources that could be taken on the chessboard have long been taken by others during the time the Dragon Kingdom had no [Strategist]. The only things left are..."

Xiao Zhenghong suddenly thought of something,

"Your target wouldn't be the 'tree of morning light' or the 'tree of dark twilight', would it?"

"You... you... you're crazy!"

"Whether it's the 'tree of morning light' or the 'tree of dark twilight', both are super resources in this Game of National Destiny!"

"It's hard enough to grab such super resources at the start of the game. Now that it's already the second half of the Game of National Destiny, the power of the Calamity is incomparably strong. How dare you set your sights on these two items?"

Xiao Zhenghong grabbed Chen Aoyun's hand in turn and said very seriously:

"Young man, it's good to have fighting spirit, but you can't act recklessly!"

"Take my advice and leave here."

"As long as you don't die directly in this Game of National Destiny, you have a glimmer of hope to survive if the Dragon Kingdom gets a Middle tier ranking."

"You cannot die, you are..."

Before Xiao Zhenghong could finish speaking, Chen Aoyun, whose gaze had been fixed on the opposite bank, suddenly said: "It's here!"

It's here? What's here?

Xiao Zhenghong followed Chen Aoyun's gaze. On the opposite bank of the Torrent River, a small tree emitting a special aura was slowly moving.

This small tree was none other than the 'tree of dark twilight', one of the 'important resources' Xiao Zhenghong had mentioned!

"My calculations were correct; this 'tree of dark twilight' really is going to pass by here!"

Chen Aoyun's eyes lit up. Xiao Zhenghong felt a great sense of foreboding; the way he addressed him had even changed,

"Big brother, did you even hear what I just said?!"

"If you didn't hear it, you can at least see it, right!"

"That 'tree of dark twilight' only moves in the Calamity-corrupted areas and won't cross the river."

"Do you see it!? It's the second half of the Game of National Destiny now. There are many [High-level Demons] in the corrupted area on the other side of the river, and even the demons guarding the 'tree of dark twilight' have now evolved to the High-level!"

"Forget about snatching the 'tree of dark twilight' from right under the noses of those [High-level Demon] guards; you won't even be able to get close to the 'tree of dark twilight'!"

Chen Aoyun saw those [High-level Demons]. Even after seeing those terrifying [High-level Demons], Chen Aoyun still made no effort to conceal his eagerness to try. He turned his head to look at Xiao Zhenghong,

"Charge to the other side of the bridge."

"I'll go grab the tree, and you cross the bridge and continue to hold the bridge. Can you hold it?"

It was still holding the bridge, but crossing to the other side meant entering the Calamity-corrupted pollution zone, which would be much more difficult.

"As long as it's not for too long, before the [High-level Demons] are attracted over, I think I can hold the bridgehead for a while with the blessing of the Heroic Spirit [General Zhang Fei]... Hey, no, you didn't listen to a word I said."

"Don't be silly. Even if I can hold the bridge, you won't be able to snatch the 'tree of morning light' at all."

Chen Aoyun, however, said:

"How will I know if I don't try?"

"You just guard the bridge well. Even if I can't snatch it, I have a way to retreat."

"Alright, it's settled then!"

A way to retreat? Bullshit way to retreat!

The 'tree of dark twilight' is surrounded by [High-level Demons]. If you charge over there, is there any chance of coming back?

Honestly, Xiao Zhenghong had the urge to forcibly drag this naive teenager back to the [Home Base].

But unfortunately, the other party was the [Strategist], the leader of the Dragon Kingdom in this Game of National Destiny, and he could not refuse his orders.