Chapter 226: Godlike Teammates

“Must destroy!”

“Must destroy!”

“Must destroy!”

When the cries of countless Han Army soldiers echoed endlessly across the vast sandy Gobi desert in the Western Regions, the Vice-King of the Kushan, now captured by Mo Xiaobai, saw his expression change from unwillingness to fear.

He did not understand the meaning of the words “Must destroy,” but he could read the expressions on the faces of every Han warrior.

It was a confidence and an inner pride that Kushan soldiers had never truly possessed.

The Great Han!

The mighty lion that often slept.

Once it opened its eyes and woke up, even a Kushan Empire as fierce as wolves and jackals could not move it an inch.

He should not have challenged the Great Han!

Vice-King Xie regretted his decision and had finally felt the true power of the Han Army. They could build a formidable fortress in the Gobi and fight against enemies several times their size with fewer than ten thousand troops.

This was only the Han Army in the Western Regions, while the heartland of the Great Han was tens of thousands of li away from the Western Regions.

Such a massive empire could not be defeated by force alone.

“Han People, you have won this war. I am willing to pay the price for my actions,” Vice-King Xie said. He no longer had thoughts of fighting the Great Han for the Western Regions. Following Kushan custom, the loser must pay compensation to the winner. In the case of the Great Han, this meant paying tribute to seek reconciliation.

“That is easy. For now, just stay put quietly. I will grant you one last shred of dignity and will not have my officers tie you up like the rest.”

Mo Xiaobai nodded slightly, then raised his eyebrows and looked at Li Guang beside him. “Flying General has achieved great merit again. The Vice-King’s steed must be a fine horse. I decide to gift it to the Flying General.”

“Thank you, My Lord!”

Li Guang was a straightforward man who always accepted rewards with a smile and a fist clasp. It seemed Mo Xiaobai had guessed correctly; the Vice-King’s horse was indeed a worthy steed.

Mo Xiaobai did not care much about this. As a Lord, he would likely not go to the battlefield often in the future. If there was a precious horse, it was better to give it to his great generals. After all, for daily travel, a regular Dayuan Horse was already luxurious enough.

“Let’s go. Take this Vice-King with us and let him help us persuade the fleeing Kushan armies along the way to surrender.”

Holding onto the supreme commander of the Kushan, Mo Xiaobai was no longer worried that the remaining Kushan soldiers could cause any trouble in the Western Regions.

Continuing north, they managed to suppress and accept the surrender of nearly thirty thousand Kushan deserters in less than half a day.

As evening slowly approached, Mo Xiaobai finally spotted the first Shule Han Army unit. The commander leading them was also just a Commandant. As soon as he saw Mo Xiaobai, he dismounted and bowed. “Your subordinate is Cui Yun. I pay my respects to the Baron.”

“Commandant Cui need not be so polite. May I ask, where is the Old General now?”

“Informant to the Baron, the General is currently in a small Shule city twenty li to the rear.”

“Good. Lead the way ahead.”

Mo Xiaobai nodded with a smile, while marveling inside.

Master Ban Chao was already over fifty years old. It was amazing that he could also chase fleeing armies for several days just like Mo Xiaobai. His health was truly impressive.

A distance of thirty li took only one hour for marching Han Soldiers.

The sky had not yet completely darkened when Mo Xiaobai successfully entered the city and met Ban Chao, who still wore his full battle armor.

Unlike the first time they met, when Ban Chao wore casual clothes and a civil minister’s robe, the old general now wore scale armor and had a solemn battlefield expression, which suited his decades of life as a warrior in the Western Regions.

“Old General, this subordinate has brought you a great gift.”

Mo Xiaobai dismounted and bowed to Ban Chao. He gestured with his right hand, ordering Li Guang to drag the Kushan Vice-King over. “Take a look. Who is this person?”

“Hmm?”

Seeing Mo Xiaobai’s eager expression, Ban Chao became interested. He turned his head to look at the disheveled middle-aged man, studied him for a long moment, and then laughed loudly. “Excellent, excellent, excellent! I searched everywhere within a hundred li but could not find the commander of Da Yuezhi. Who would have thought the Baron would catch him red-handed? Very good, haha~”

“Guards, bring this enemy commander to my tent. I want to question him properly. Who defeated whom? Who dared to speak so arrogantly and attempt to harm the Emperor’s daughter?”

For Ban Chao, this battle could only be called a total victory if the entire Kushan army, from the Vice-King and commander down to the common soldiers, was subdued.

Previously, most Kushan soldiers had already surrendered. He was waiting for this Vice-King Xie. Only by capturing him could Ban Chao have a proper conversation with this Kushan Vice-King who dared to seek trouble with him.

…

When Mo Xiaobai witnessed the Kushan Vice-King kneeling on the ground and bowing his head to the Emperor represented by Ban Chao to beg for surrender, an announcement from the Intellect Brain immediately rang in his ears:

“Great Han Dynasty Announcement~ Congratulations to Player ‘Daydreaming’ for assisting Ban Chao in thoroughly defeating the Kushan Empire’s Western Regions Expeditionary Force and capturing the Kushan commander and Vice-King Xie. The entire Kushan Expeditionary Force has collapsed, and Vice-King Xie has surrendered to the Great Han. Specifically, ‘Daydreaming’ is rewarded 2,000 Merit, and all Players in the Western Regions are rewarded 500 Merit.”

“Great Han Dynasty Announcement~ The Great Han Western Regions Legion has thoroughly defeated the Kushan Empire Expeditionary Force, causing shock and submission among all states in the Western Regions, prompting the Great Han to re-establish the Western Regions Protectorate and appointing Ban Chao as the new Protector. All Players in the Western Regions are specifically rewarded 500 Merit.”

The two announcements spread one after another. Mo Xiaobai’s personal Merit Value surged by 2,500 points, bringing his total Merit Value to 8,743.

Mo Xiaobai’s personal Merit Value increased significantly, while Fatty and A-Dai did not lag behind either.

Luyu and A-Dai had either missed the chance to earn Merit in the first Instance or had no opportunity to enter it at all. However, just based on the Merit earned from this second Instance, the two of them had already forcefully entered the top ten ranking for Merit Value in the Great Han Dynasty Instance.

Moreover, they followed right behind Mo Xiaobai.

Luyu ranked second, and A-Dai ranked third.

“Look quickly, the Merit ranking has changed again.”

“I saw it too. Players named ‘I Love Eating Perch’ and ‘A-Dai’ must have followed the Great God to complete the Western Regions missions.”

“The Great God truly brings fortune to his friends. No one had heard of these two before.”

“Isn’t that right? If I had such good luck to follow the Great God, I could have easily earned over a thousand Merit.”

“Over a thousand Merit would place one in the top 30 of the Huaxia Region leaderboard.”

“I checked the Region leaderboard. Luyu is at 18th, and A-Dai is at 23rd.”

“The Great God is about to defy the heavens, personally training two high-level Instance players.”

Since the Instance announcement was broadcast to the entire Dynasty, Han Players who were still chasing the Chanyu of the Xiongnu were once again forced by Mo Xiaobai to shake their heads in admiration.

The Great God flying solo to the skies was already beyond everyone’s reach, and now he was even bringing others to fly with him.

Godlike teammates must be people like the Great God.

While other Great Han players could only express envy, Mo Xiaobai, who had just received his Merit Value, was not satisfied with these achievements at all.

In the previous Guandu Instance, Mo Xiaobai had taken many Civil Ministers and Generals with him, and figures like Guo Jia had become key talents in Daming Town. Since this Instance involved doing tasks in the Western Regions, he did not expect to recruit more historical celebrities. However, this did not mean he would return empty-handed.

In Mo Xiaobai’s eyes, the Western Regions was also a golden mountain of treasures!