At the table in the corner, the three of them sat opposite each other.
One of the burly guys carried a large sword on his back, while the other carried a shield. They were clearly different from the other customers who were watching the show. They had fierce expressions and robust figures. The wear and tear of the sword and shield on their back was enough to show that the two of them had been on the battlefield and had seen blood.
The three of them exchanged names.
The sword-wielding one was called Ralph, and the shield-wielding one was called Loga. As for Bai Xiaowen, he gave himself an appropriate name at the last minute—Dior Skelboom.
Bai Xiaowen looked at Ralph and Loga's stats with his Insight and was secretly shocked. Loga was a Level-3 Warrior with a total stats of close to 40, while Ralph was even stronger. There was actually an elite affix behind his name, and he was a Level-3 Champion Swordsman!
"Dior, what made you leave your hometown and come to this remote village? I remember that Walterlund is a rich city," Ralph said in a deep voice.
Bai Xiaowen continued to reply like a hothead. "The Northern Territory is waiting to be liberated! I left the warm Walterlund to participate in the battle to liberate the Northern Territory!"
"Well said!" beside Ralph, the younger Loga praised.
"That's right, my brother. The Northern Territory belongs to us Vikings. We're going to chase those damned supporters of the empire out!" Ralph said in a low voice. "If you want to join the Ursok Resistance, we're happy to open our arms to you—but the Resistance needs strong warriors."
Loga nodded. "You need to prove yourself. A fight in the tavern doesn't mean anything."
Hearing this, Bai Xiaowen deliberately revealed a look of shock. "You're members of the Ursok Resistance? Then why did you watch a contemptible person like him insult the great Vikings leader?"
"Shh…" Ralph said in a low voice, "We were sent here on a special mission by Lord Ursok. Even though Elu City doesn't have any prejudice against the Resistance Army, we still have to be careful. The dragon won't care about the barking of a wild dog. Likewise, Lord Ursok won't care about a down-and-out minstrel's comments about him. However, we are still very grateful for your righteous words. From you, we can see the hope of the Northern Territory."
Bai Xiaowen thought to himself.
"Tsk, I was aware long ago that you two are part of the Resistance Army! When you listened to the song 'Ursok the King Killer', the frequency of your drinking increased by 30%. The one holding the shield clenched his fist and unclenched it five times. It was as if his father had been insulted… The only possibility is that you two are rebels!"
However, on the surface, Bai Xiaowen still had an excited and agitated expression.
"I'm willing to join the Ursok Resistance. I've long wanted to kick the butts of those slaves to the empire!"
Ralph nodded in satisfaction. "Don't be anxious, brother. As long as you prove that you're a good warrior, I'll definitely bring you along when I return to Sharp Helmet City."
"How can I prove it?" Bai Xiaowen asked eagerly.
Ralph and Loga exchanged a glance with one another.
"Brother, there's a small stronghold of those empire supporters in the col 15 miles northwest of Elu City. As long as you bring back a name tag of theirs, we'll recognize you as a brave warrior."
-
Bai Xiaowen left the wild mare tavern and headed northwest of the Elu City.
While walking, Bai Xiaowen opened the quest log to check the status and details of all currently active quests.
[Subquest: Proof of Allegiance]
[Quest Objective: Kill an imperial soldier, bring back his nameplate, and hand it to Resistance Warrior Ralph.]
[Quest Reward: Unknown.]
[Quest Duration: 48 hours.]
[Quest Difficulty: C+]
Bai Xiaowen closed his quest log.
He thought, "If I want to do it, I have to do it big! This quest has to be completed successfully to gain Ralph's trust. Only then can I get back into the main story quest of the Northern Territory war and meet the upper echelons of the Northern Resistance as soon as possible."
Bai Xiaowen had chosen to join the Resistance camp after careful consideration. There were two main reasons for that.
On one hand, the imperial army could not accommodate him.
Everything that Bai Xiaowen did was to complete the class advancement quest: Black Soul Stone. The North County Monastery and the royal knights were all factions of the empire. With the soul stone in his possession, he would be courting death if he joined the empire's army.
On the other hand, the Resistance Army should be more friendly to newcomers with potential.
Think about it. Within the Northern Territory, the Resistance Army could still compete with the Empire Army. However, the entire Aaron Continent belonged to the Empire. Joining the Resistance Army meant fighting against the Lionheart Empire, a behemoth! The manpower and influence of the Lionheart Empire were almost ten times that of the Resistance Army in the Northern Territory.
With such a small capital, the leader of the Rebellion Army would definitely be in urgent need of talents. Be it the entry threshold or the speed of promotion, it was not something the old and rigid empire could compare to.
Ursok, the leader of the Resistance, was a lord after all. He should have capable people under him who could undo the seal of the Soul Stone. As long as he attained a certain status in the Resistance, there would be some progress in terms of the class advancement quest.
The only difficulty was the time limit.
The Class Advancement Quest had to be completed within 10 days. This meant that Bai Xiaowen could not use the usual method to advance. He had to think of a way for the higher-ups of the Resistance to notice him as soon as possible.
"There are so few people in this small stronghold."
An hour later, Bai Xiaowen arrived at the col Ralph had mentioned by taking Bus Service 11. He saw a small group of imperial soldiers. There were only a total of four people.
Bai Xiaowen recalled that in the medieval wars in Europe, the number of soldiers participating in the war was indeed not high. A battle involving dozens of people was considered a small scale, and a battle involving hundreds of people was considered a local war. In an all-out war between the two territories, the number of soldiers participating in the war on both sides might not even exceed a thousand.
Among the four imperial soldiers in front of him, three of them were wearing linen clothes and were relatively thin. They had been busy feeding the horses and chopping firewood. Clearly, they were auxiliary soldiers. The other person was much stronger and was wearing thin chain armor. He was sitting in a tent to rest. He should be the leader of a small team and part of the imperial standing army.
Bai Xiaowen used Insight to observe the strength of these people.
The total attributes of the three auxiliary soldiers were around 15 points respectively. Their combat strength was about the same as the minstrel in the tavern. They should be farmers who had just been recruited into the imperial army.
Bai Xiaowen's main focus was the attributes of the chain-armored leader.
[Bjorn/Challenge Level 2]
[Race: Humanoid/Human]
[Class: Giant Hammer Warrior Level 2]
[Attributes: Strength 9, Agility 6, Physique 10, Spirit 4]
[Skill 1: Heavy Strike: Raise the two-handed warhammer and strike the enemy, causing 150% actual damage.]
[Skill 2: Intimidation: Intimidate the enemy. The enemy must pass a Will test. Otherwise, they will turn around and escape. Duration: 3 seconds.]
Bai Xiaowen frowned. Putting aside the fact that his combat strength was only equivalent to that of an auxiliary soldier, even if he had the power of a normal quasi-Awakened, he would be doomed if he rushed forward rashly. As long as Bjorn used his Intimidation skill and he could not pass the Will test, he would be surrounded and beaten to death by three auxiliary soldiers.
"If I confront them head-on, I'll definitely be beaten!"
Bai Xiaowen pondered for a moment before turning around and quietly leaving his observation point. He found a river nearby.
"Indeed, it makes sense to read more… In a novel I read before, there's a scene where the weak protagonist kills enemies with a brilliant plan. I can use that plan…"
Bai Xiaowen hid among the branches of a tree located between the col and river.
Around two hours later, when Bai Xiaowen's legs were starting to feel numb, what Bai Xiaowen was waiting to see finally happened at the campsite.
An auxiliary soldier carrying a water bag staggered toward the river.