All fifty-eight NPCs were present.

Tiger Head Mountain.

When Zhan Xiaobai and his companions arrived at the foot of Tiger Head Mountain, nearly a thousand players had already gathered there. With so many people, the place was bustling, and the atmosphere was electric. When Spring and Autumn Young Hero inquired around, they learned that a detachment of Xiliang soldiers had come to besiege the mountain bandits entrenched on Tiger Head Mountain. The soldiers were now camped on a stretch of barren ground at the mountain’s base. Players could act as auxiliaries, accepting missions from the soldiers to help suppress the bandits.

This surprised Zhan Xiaobai greatly. He had come to wipe out the bandits himself—how unexpected that government troops would show up to do the same!

He led his group toward the soldiers' encampment. However, as soon as the bandit strategist caught sight of the distant banners of the soldiers, he was terrified. He collapsed to the ground, refusing to move, and pleaded, “I won’t go! Masters, please spare me. If the soldiers see me, they’ll kill me on the spot. I don’t want to die!”

Zhan Xiaobai considered this and realized there was no need to let the strategist die needlessly at the hands of the soldiers. He instructed the members of the Blood Wolf, Snow Leopard, and Shadow squads to stay behind and keep watch over the cowardly bandit, while he, Spring and Autumn Young Hero, and Wutong went to the soldiers’ camp to investigate.

The three of them reached the temporary camp, which was encircled by simple wooden barriers forming a modest enclosure with four gates, each guarded by soldiers. They approached the eastern main gate, where a squad of guards halted them with their spears, shouting, “What business do you have here? Unauthorized persons are not allowed near.”

Wutong was puzzled. “I thought this was where we could take on the bandit suppression mission—why won’t you let us in?”

The squad leader sized them up before lowering his spear and saying, “Only those above level 20 can enter the camp to receive missions. You two aren’t quite there yet... Of course, if you could spare a few copper coins so my brothers and I could have a drink, I might make an exception.”

Speechless. Such blatant bribery.

Zhan Xiaobai pulled out a few copper coins and slipped them into the squad leader’s hand. The squad leader glanced at them, shook his head disdainfully, and Zhan Xiaobai cursed to himself—still not enough? Greedy bastards. He quickly handed over ten more copper coins, which finally satisfied the squad leader, who nodded and allowed the three of them to pass. Then he barred the way for the next group of players—after all, those who had already reached level 20 were as rare as pandas. Not everyone had the resources to level up so quickly. If you didn’t meet the requirements, you had to pay.

As Zhan Xiaobai and his companions entered the camp, they saw that it consisted of only four medium-sized tents, each capable of holding about ten people. The camp was small; with one glance, Zhan Xiaobai took in the entire scene: twenty sentries, four or five patrolling soldiers, another handful on lookout, a dozen or so resting in the open tents. By his estimate, there were no more than fifty soldiers in total. With such a small force attempting to wipe out over two hundred bandits in the mountains, the task would be extremely difficult. No wonder the officers were issuing missions to enlist a large number of players to bolster their ranks. Clearly, the commanding officer wasn’t a fool.

Spring and Autumn Young Hero shot the gate guards a glare and muttered angrily, “What’s the meaning of this? We haven’t even started the mission and already shelled out more than ten copper coins. We don’t even know what the rewards for helping suppress the bandits are yet.”

Wutong shrugged. “Nothing to be done. They’re the soldiers, after all. If we had the titles of Captain or General, those lowly grunts wouldn’t dare utter a word.”

Zhan Xiaobai chuckled and headed toward the central tent. “No need to waste words with these NPCs. Let’s see if we can get the mission first. This is our first time encountering such a major quest—we might gain something worthwhile.”

Several players exited the central, largest tent, leaving the camp in high spirits as they prepared for battle. That central tent must be where the commanding officer issued missions. Zhan Xiaobai, Spring and Autumn Young Hero, and Wutong entered, lifting the curtain as they stepped inside.

There were seven people within. Seated at the head was a young NPC Captain in full armor, drinking gloomily. On either side sat four saber-wielding squad leaders. The remaining two were players, smiling obsequiously at the Captain, hoping for a mission.

The military hierarchy ran as follows: Squad of five, Platoon of ten, Company of fifty, Battalion of one hundred, Regiment of five hundred, Brigade of one thousand; the Company was led by a Captain, commanding fifty soldiers.

The player hierarchy was: Small team of five, Medium team of ten, Large team of fifty, then Battalion, Regiment, Brigade.

The NPC Captain seemed annoyed by the players’ chatter, refusing to speak and waving them off to the squad leaders. The two players didn’t dare irritate him further and quickly registered for their missions with a squad leader.

As Zhan Xiaobai and Wutong entered, the NPC Captain suddenly opened his eyes, set down his wine jug, and immediately recognized them as players of the Scholar class. Such players commanded respect from all NPCs, so he quickly saluted and said, “You two do not appear to be commoners. May I ask your names?”

The Scholar profession bestowed an inherent influence and respect among NPCs.

Zhan Xiaobai, unaware that the Captain had discerned his profession, stepped forward with a smile and replied, “I am Xiaobai, village chief of Xiaobai Village. This is Wutong, chief of Wutong Village, and this is the elder of Xiaobai Village, Spring and Autumn Young Hero.”

“Oh, greetings to the two village chiefs, and to the elder as well. I am Captain Zhang Feng of Wuwei City, sent by the authorities to suppress the bandits on Tiger Head Mountain. I am deeply grateful for your assistance. I shall register you immediately for the bandit-suppression mission.”

Captain Zhang Feng was very courteous to Zhan Xiaobai and Wutong, intending to issue the mission to them personally.

But Zhan Xiaobai was in no hurry to accept. Instead, he asked, “One moment, Lord Zhang. Could you explain how this bandit suppression mission works? What constitutes completion, and what is the reward?”

Zhang Feng smiled. “Don’t worry, it’s simple. Once the bandits’ stronghold atop this mountain is taken and all the bandits are slain, the mission is complete. Each player who registered for the mission will receive a reward of thirty copper coins—a rather generous sum.”

Zhan Xiaobai, Wutong, and Spring and Autumn Young Hero exchanged glances. Thirty copper coins? That was a paltry reward. To attack a mountain full of bandits—for so little—they wouldn’t even break even on medicine expenses.

Zhan Xiaobai pressed further. “Thirty copper coins? Is there anything else?”

Zhang Feng replied, “You will also receive the title of ‘Righteous Hero.’”

Zhan Xiaobai asked, “What benefits does the ‘Righteous Hero’ title confer?”

Zhang Feng hadn’t expected this question and hesitated. “Nothing special. If you enlist in the army, you’ll be given more consideration than a commoner.”

“Oh,” Zhan Xiaobai nodded, asking no more. So, that was all. They might as well take the mission.

Zhang Feng registered Wutong and Spring and Autumn Young Hero for the mission, but when it was Zhan Xiaobai’s turn, he was unable to register. There could only be one reason: he had already accepted a related mission.

Zhang Feng was surprised. “Village Chief Xiaobai, have you already taken the bandit suppression mission?”

Zhan Xiaobai thought for a moment, then produced the Ebony Bandit Suppression Token. “I haven’t taken the mission, but I do have this.”

Zhang Feng took the token and smiled. “Ah, that explains it. In that case, you don’t need to take my mission. The reward for the Ebony Bandit Suppression Token far exceeds what I can offer. You can simply join our bandit suppression operation directly.”