Wuwan Liu looked at this Sword and Shield Hand and said, "Go out and call Rokou in. You'll split your reward with him evenly. Is that okay?"
The Sword and Shield Hand nodded, "No problem."
Only to see the Sword and Shield Hand return the way he came, and before long, another new Sword and Shield Hand came in. Yan Qing then understood why Wuwan Liu had selected a batch of reserves—if someone in the Warrior Team couldn't hold on, they could immediately go out and replace them.
During this break, Yan Qing pretended to wander around, letting 'Yan San' cling to the edges of the servant corpses to collect all the drops. Not mentioning the food materials, he also got 500 Spiritual Jade. Yan Qing was quite excited; if he could gather 9000 Spiritual Jade in the next few days, even if the theft failed four days later, he could still pay the fine and get through!
Probably because many warriors were injured, the team's morale was somewhat low. Wuwan Liu realized it couldn't go on like this and proactively talked to 'Yan San': "Yesterday at the city gate, even though you stabbed me, it had no effect. Do you know why?"
Yan San: "Why?"
Wuwan Liu: "Because I have this mask, the Body-Protecting Token—Evil Ghost Mask."
Wuwan Liu took off the mask and held it high. This mask, which looked like it was made of iron, suddenly emitted a pitch-black aura, catching everyone's attention.
The game also popped up the information:
"Evil Ghost Mask"
"Grade: First Transition"
"Equipment Condition: 5 points Qi Blood, 5 points Spirit (unable to perform at maximum capacity without meeting this condition)"
"Effect - Evil Ghost Protection: At the moment of being attacked, summon an evil ghost to help you fend off damage. Each point of Spiritual Power can offset 25 points of damage, with a minimum of 1 point and a maximum of 4 points of Spiritual Power consumed per activation."
"Effect - Cursed by Evil Ghost: By continuously wearing the Evil Ghost Mask, your Qi Blood will gradually increase, and your sense of pain will be gradually dulled, but your appearance and figure will also gradually become ghost-like."
"Evaluation: To survive, you always have to give something."
Wuwan Liu said loudly, "As long as you have enough strength to transition into a Messenger and enough merits, any of you can exchange for this Evil Ghost Mask, becoming an Evil Ghost Knight with power far beyond ordinary men, and mortal bows and weapons can no longer harm you!"
"And to enhance your strength, there's no better way than actual combat, blood battles, fierce fights! Other than the Secret Realm, is there any other place where you can fight without any worries? No, there isn't!"
"Back then, I also followed General Duan into the Secret Realm for battles, barely survived, and honed the Yanyue Saber Technique to perfection, only then able to transition into a Martial Arts Messenger. As long as you have enough experience, honing your skills to perfection, you can also transition to a Messenger!"
Wuwan Liu's words noticeably boosted the team's morale.
However, Yan Qing, looking at Wuwan Liu's words about 'honing skills to perfection' and 'Martial Arts Messenger', had a thought pop into his head—
Could it be that practitioners in this world who can transition are all relying on brute strength to achieve miracles?
Although Yan Qing hadn't played "Messenger", he knew one of the game's highlights that allowed it to top MMORPGs was transitioning once every ten levels.
The system would provide players with three transition professions to choose from every ten levels based on their combat style, weapon choices, and even mission experiences in the game. Undoubtedly, players focused on high difficulty would plan well for maximizing the benefits of each transition, while other casual players not fond of high difficulty would also experience new gameplay fun every ten levels.
Generally speaking, players transition as soon as they reach level ten, but if the player simply doesn't transition, the system won't force them.
To attract new players, "Messenger" doesn't charge for the first transition for new accounts, but only after transitioning does one need to purchase a monthly card. If a player never transitions, they can keep playing for free, thoroughly milking "Messenger".
But there's one exception.
That is when a player's certain skill is honed to perfection, such as level 10 Basic Spear Technique, level 10 Basic Saber Technique, level 10 Basic Calligraphy, level 10 Basic Instrument, and the character level is ≥ 10. At this point, the system will force the player to transition into a 'hidden profession'—Martial Arts Messenger or Cultivator of the Path of Literature.
At this time, freeloading players might mistakenly think they've discovered a hidden profession in the game and immediately purchase a monthly card to continue playing...
Then they quickly find out: Hey? Why does this hidden profession of mine not seem particularly powerful?
It's simple because all this is a ploy by "Messenger" to attract new players.
Martial Arts Messenger and Cultivator of the Path of Literature are indeed hidden professions. As long as an untransitioned player hones any basic skills to full level, they automatically transition. But these two hidden professions' strengths are just mediocre, not worth wasting time for transitioning intentionally.
But the transition system belongs to the players, and obviously, people in this world don't have this 'transition choice at level ten' privilege. From this, Yan Qing can easily conclude: people in this world who want to make their first transition probably have to hone their basic skills to full level to achieve miracles through sheer strength.
Seizing the moment of high morale, Wuwan Liu immediately led them to continue pushing forward. Arriving at the central courtyard garden of the mansion, they didn't see anyone. But Wuwan Liu went straight to the rockery behind it and opened a hidden trap door, revealing a passage leading underground.
Although Yan Qing hadn't fought this quest before, he guessed that one would normally have to search other rooms for clues to discover the underground passage. However, Wuwan Liu and his team had already thoroughly researched this quest, naturally heading directly to the correct path.
Walking down the tunnel, they entered an arena where the weapon racks were filled with steel knives and guns. Inside, eight fully armed armored servants were sparring, their names above their heads reading "Elite Servant." As Wuwan Liu stepped into the arena, they immediately charged forward, triggering a battle.
At that moment, Wuwan Liu grabbed 'Yan San' and pulled him to his side, "You and I will block the staircase entrance. Retreat and you die! Survive, and you'll become a Baibao Knight!"
With eight servants, it's impossible for five warriors to hold them back, but using the advantage of the staircase's narrow terrain, just two people could block the servants while the archers behind them could shoot from above, delivering a perfect strategy.
But the problem was, who would block the staircase?
The previous waves of ordinary servants were already tricky enough, and the "Elite Servants" here seemed stronger both in appearance and name. Additionally, the staircase left almost no room for dodging, making it necessary to confront them head-on!
Wuwan Liu, equipped with the Body-Protecting Token as the Martial Arts Messenger, naturally feared nothing, but other Baibao Knights were merely mortal, and going against this group of elite monsters would leave them wounded even if they won.
At this point, Yan Qing finally understood why Wuwan Liu treated 'Yan San' so well, even bringing him into the Baibao Military Camp without any audit. Even though 'Yan San' had high Qi Blood and strong combat power, it seemed overly lenient... Little did he know, it was just to fill in at this staircase entrance!
It's foreseeably the place with the highest casualty rate in this quest, and the injuries would likely be sustained by Baibao elite soldiers. Without them, one couldn't possibly hold off the elite servants. So when Wuwan Liu discovered 'Yan San' had the combat ability of a Baibao Knight during his stroll, he was undoubtedly very pleased—an ordinary person yet so perfect for filling gaps!
Even now, Wuwan Liu didn't forget to paint a perfect picture, hoping 'Yan San' would fight desperately.
Luckily, I'm just using a side character, so dying doesn't matter, and...
If 'Yan San' really survives and completes this quest, who would call the shots then?
However, after one round of confrontation, Yan Qing felt something was wrong.
The elite servant lost 10% of their blood, while 'Yan San' was down by 7%. Although there are archers behind, they prioritize attacking the servants not engaged in battle, so 'Yan San' faces the enemy alone.
It seems like there's still a blood advantage, but the issue is when one elite servant dies, another will take its place, unless 'Yan San' can kill all six remaining servants before then, but judging by the blood changes, the archery team's output hasn't reached that level.
This can't continue... but retreat is also impossible, as the Sword and Shield Hands are blocking the way... Sword and Shield Hand?
Yan Qing had a flash of insight, tossing away his spear and turning to punch the Sword and Shield Hand behind him!
"You bastard!"
"How dare you—"
Just as Wuwan Liu and the others thought 'Yan San' had turned traitor, 'Yan San' picked up the sword and shield from the warrior behind him, during which he received two cuts from the elite servants. But once he held the sword and shield in line, his blood level immediately stabilized.
"You have comprehended 'Basic Saber Technique,' currently level 1"
"You have comprehended 'Basic Shield Skill,' currently level 1"
"You have comprehended..."
The saber and shield skills kept leveling up. The elite servants who initially could deal 3% damage to him eventually couldn't break through his shield defense.
When all eight elite servants fell, 'Yan San's saber and shield skills leveled up to 5, also increasing his overall level to nine, just one step away from a job change!
However, 'Yan San's act of attacking his comrades clearly discontented everyone; they were held back during the battle, but now that the battle was over, the warrior who had been robbed of his sword and shield immediately approached him, raising a fist to hit 'Yan San': "You filthy—"
Yan Qing executed a perfect dodge, triggering a slowed state, then knocked him down again with two punches, even acquiring a new skill.
"You have comprehended 'Basic Fist Technique,' currently level 1"
Seeing 'Yan San' dare to fight back, someone in the archery team behind drew their bows targeting him, yet 'Yan San' just glanced around without a hint of fear, picked up a spear, and sneered at the fallen warrior, "If I had died, would it not be your turn to hold the line? I held out till the end, didn't I save your life? And yet you repay me with treachery?"
The warrior's eyes were wide with rage, seemingly ready to pounce violently, but Yan Qing felt no fear—being safe away from the scene.
"I blocked the enemy, and you're aiming your arrows at me?" 'Yan San' took out a meat bun, eating it while sneering, "Alright, alright, so this is Baibao Knight. If you dare, wait till I finish eating this bun, and let's see who dies here!"