The Concerns of the Neighboring Village (2)

A delightful surprise—over one thousand votes! Here’s an extra chapter as promised. Everyone, keep it up! The more votes, the more updates—I’ll never break my word.

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Many village chiefs prefer to build their settlements along rivers, as the lands nearby are more fertile, the view broader, and transportation more convenient.

The two villages closest to Little White Village are only a few miles away: one lies six or seven miles upstream, called Great Qi Village; the other, seven or eight miles downstream, is named Wutong Village. Yet the pace of development varies among the villages. Little White Village already boasts numerous basic facilities and grows stronger by the day. In contrast, these two small villages have built only a handful of thatched cottages for residences, and few players linger there.

Upon learning that both neighboring villages had suffered devastating attacks, Sword Overlord immediately advocated for decisive action—expanding their influence into these two villages.

Zhan Xiaobai hesitated. “Sword Overlord, do you really think we should take this opportunity to expand our power into the neighboring villages?”

Sword Overlord smiled. “Of course. Businessmen always care about timing. Normally, it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to interfere, but now that they’re in trouble, as neighbors we naturally ought to lend a ‘helping hand.’ After providing aid, it’s only reasonable to ask for a little reward in return.”

Zhan Xiaobai chuckled inwardly. Sword Overlord truly lived up to his reputation as a real estate shark—he had a knack for profiting from others’ misfortune.

Most importantly, Zhan Xiaobai himself had long harbored intentions of expanding his power outward. Seizing the right moment was crucial.

Great Qi Village, Chief Great Qi.

Today, Great Qi was in the foulest of moods. Since founding his village, he’d never suffered such heavy losses. First, five sand wolves attacked, killing two of his precious farmers. The morale of the remaining three NPC farmers plummeted, and they threatened to leave. He was forced to promise them better treatment just to keep them from abandoning the village.

The sand wolves wreaked havoc, and two hundred players of Great Qi Village died before the five wolves were finally slain. No sooner had that calamity passed than a few mounted bandits arrived, slaughtering players like they were nothing, terrifying everyone into believing the village was doomed. Fortunately, after a short rampage, the bandits departed as mysteriously as they had appeared.

In the end, the real issue was the village’s weak defenses. If only they had the manpower and resources of Little White Village...

Great Qi envied his neighbor’s strength and worried deeply.

One of his trusted lieutenants, reading his mood, said, “Boss, the players here are losing heart—some have already left. What if the bandits come back?”

Great Qi snapped, “What if? How should I know? I’ve always told you to build relationships with more players, win people over. But now, when trouble comes, everyone just runs to another village! What have you all been doing?”

His lieutenants looked sheepish. “We’ve tried our best, but our funds are limited... We’ve managed to attract two or three hundred players, which isn’t bad. But Little White Village is rich...”

“Enough,” Great Qi waved a hand, exasperated. “It’s too late to talk about this. We need to come up with a plan.”

Another lieutenant suggested, “Boss, surely we’re not the only village under attack. Why don’t we go to Little White Village and gather some intelligence—see how they’re handling the bandits?”

Great Qi brightened. “Excellent idea! Send someone at once—no, I’ll lead a team myself and pay Little White a visit. I’ve heard he’s generous and easy to get along with, though I’ve never met him. If I make the trip in person, perhaps I can earn some benefits and help our village through this crisis.”

His lieutenants were delighted. If Great Qi Village could ally itself with Little White Village, life would be much easier from now on.

Wutong Village, Chief Wutong.

Wutong Village was all but unknown in the area. The chief, Wutong, was a quiet, low-profile young man. On the seventh day of the open beta, by chance, he acquired a blueprint for a small village. Rather than let it go to waste, he decided to found a settlement by the river.

A few players soon arrived and Wutong recruited them, and together they began building the village enthusiastically. They were all inexperienced, and in their excitement, they used up all their wood building thatched huts, recruiting NPC farmers and spending extravagantly. Within five or six days, their funds and timber were exhausted, and construction ground to a halt. Only then did they realize their mistake—having no reserve supplies is fatal for a village.

Wutong sighed, “Let’s take it slow, there’s no rush.”

That single “no rush” left the villagers idle for over twenty days. Wutong Village became a gathering place for casual players, who would stop by to rest while leveling up, but never stayed long. The number of permanent players never exceeded a hundred or two, and there were only four NPC farmers.

“Wolves are coming!”

Chaos erupted in Wutong Village. Players fled, and the sand wolves treated the place like their den.

Wutong and over fifty core players holed up in the administrative courtyard.

A companion asked, “Brother Wu, what do we do?”

Wutong rolled his eyes, helpless. “Let them be. It’s just a few worthless thatched huts. As long as they don’t tear down this courtyard, it’s fine.”

The mounted bandits arrived, loosing a hail of arrows that killed the sand wolves.

The players, thinking rescue had come, rushed out—only to be shot down as well, reviving directly inside the courtyard. Everyone shrank back, not daring to make a sound.

The bandits prowled around Wutong Village but found no farmland. (The bandit chief cursed under his breath: “Damn, they didn’t even plant any fields—lazy to the core. What a waste of time.”)

The village was in ruins, the cottages flattened, and the players were left dispirited.

“Brother Wu, what now?”

Wutong surveyed the four or five dozen players still by his side, helpless. “I don’t know. All the farmers are dead. Anyone got any ideas?”

“Brother Wu, it’s not safe here. We should leave, lay low for a while. When the bandits are gone, we can come back.”

“In this state, where can we even go?”

“Let’s take shelter in a neighboring village. Little White Village has a lot of people; the bandits probably can’t break through there. Once the danger passes, we can return.”

Wutong, seeing no other option, led his remaining players, dodging the roving bandits as they hurried toward Little White Village.

...

Zhan Xiaobai, Autumn Water, Sword Overlord, and others were inspecting their trap placements when a player hurried over to report: the chiefs of both neighboring villages had arrived with their people, seeking an audience with Chief Little White himself.

Zhan Xiaobai was momentarily taken aback, then exchanged a glance with Sword Overlord. Both burst out laughing. They had been wondering how to approach the neighboring villages without causing misunderstanding—now that the others had come of their own accord, things would be much simpler.

“Hurry, invite them in!”