Chapter 98: Escorting Liu Ye

“The ‘Battle of Guandu’ Special Mission: Escort Liu Ye!”

“Mission Introduction: Since Yuan Shao piled dirt into mountains outside the Cao Camp at Guandu and built watchtowers to fire crossbow bolts down into the Cao Camp, Liu Ye learned of this and immediately went to the Cao Camp to offer the ‘Book of Thunder Vehicle Construction’ to Cao Cao.”

“Mission Goal: Please escort Liu Ye safely to the Guandu Main Camp.”

“Mission Pickup: Canghai Department Clerk · Liu Ye (Xudu)”

“Mission Completion: Guandu Main Camp!”

“Mission Reward: 50 Merit Value.”

…

“There is a mission notification.”

“Darn it, 50 Merit as a reward!”

“Such a generous hand, this is much better than transporting grain.”

“It seems that so far, no Player from our Cao Cao Faction has earned over 20 Merit.”

“Does that mean if we complete this mission smoothly, we can reach the very top of the leaderboard?”

Upon entering the Special Mission corridor, the Players all gasped in amazement.

This reward is too generous!

“50 Merit, that is indeed very stingy.” Unlike the other Players, Mo Xiaobai was not too surprised after seeing the Intellect Brain notification.

Just 50 Merit was really too little compared to his expected return from this mission.

“But it doesn’t matter. With so many Players participating, I suppose the Intellect Brain won’t let me down.” Glancing at the excited Players around him, Mo Xiaobai felt no guilt about using them.

For ordinary Players, 50 Merit was not a small amount.

They marched all the way from high noon until evening, and the entire road seemed calm. At first, some Players volunteered to act as Scouts, but after several trips back and forth without spotting anything, fewer and fewer were willing to go through the trouble.

“Great God, this mission is too easy; we haven’t seen a single enemy in half a day. Getting to the Guandu Main Camp is simply too easy.”

“Yes, thanks to the Great God for letting us many of us pick up 50 Merit for free.”

“I wonder if there are any other hidden missions like this. If a few more come along, won’t we be able to leave all other Players far behind?”

Still surrounded by a crowd, Mo Xiaobai felt little pride, only responding occasionally.

The saying goes that the final part of a hundred-li journey is as difficult as the first ninety; they were not even close to the ninety mark yet, so it was not a time for celebration.

However, Mo Xiaobai only pondered these thoughts in his heart and did not express them directly.

First, what he said now had no proof; second, exaggerating the mission’s difficulty would affect the Players’ spirits.

Instead of worrying all the way from now on, it was better to let the newbies jump right in when the time came.

They walked for another half an hour, and the sky gradually grew dim.

A crescent moon hung high in the sky. Liu Ye, who had been silent along the way, pointed with his right hand at a stream not far away. “Let’s camp in this wilderness for tonight and continue our journey early tomorrow morning.”

“We have been traveling for so long that everyone is tired; it is indeed not suitable to continue on the dark road. We all listen to Ziyang; find places to rest.” Mo Xiaobai nodded in agreement. Although he did not have to push a cart, he had walked for so long that his feet felt like they would break if he did not rest soon.

Hundreds of people gathered around the stream to fetch water and quench their thirst. Each person had some food, so even if they did not get full, they would not starve.

There was still some wolf meat inside Mo Xiaobai’s Xumi Ring. He returned with Liu Ye, Li Ji, and others to the forest, found a spot to sit down, and soon built a small bonfire.

While roasting the wolf meat, Mo Xiaobai spoke. “Ziyang, if you successfully present the ‘Book of Thunder Vehicle Construction’ to the Minister of Works this time, I suppose you will be given great importance.”

“What is great importance? It is simply clearing up the chaotic world for the Emperor as soon as possible.” Liu Ye shook his head. He was very clear about his status in the Cao Camp. Under the Minister of Works, there were talented people everywhere. Getting great importance and trust was by no means easy.

Listening to Liu Ye, Mo Xiaobai thought for a moment before speaking. “If the Minister of Works wins this battle with a huge victory, the Yuan Clan in Jizhou will not be able to limp on for many days. At that time, the only enemies of the Minister of Works in the entire North, besides Ma Teng, Han Sui, and Gongsun Du, will be gone.”

“If it is really like that, the eight commanderies of Jingxiang and the seven commanderies of Jiangdong will also surrender at the first sight. Perhaps the Great Han can hope for a revival.” What Liu Ye said was a judgment that seventy percent of the people in that era believed was a fact.

The Battle between Yuan and Cao was a battle that would decide the future of the Great Han.

But the facts of the later world gave this group a loud slap in the face. Cao Cao’s great victory at Guandu did not mean the restoration of the Han House, and the areas in Jingxiang were not so easy to subdue.

Mo Xiaobai and the Players around him knew all this, but he did not plan to say it directly. Instead, he changed his words and asked, “In Ziyang’s heart, how do Yi Yin and Huo Guang compare?”

“They can be called heroes of one generation.” Liu Ye gave the answer without much thought.

“And how does the Minister of Works compare to the two of them?”

“If the Minister of Works can restore order from chaos, perhaps he might be slightly stronger than Great General Huo Guang.” Liu Ye’s answer was straightforward; he had clearly thought about similar questions many times before.

In fact, since arriving in Xudu, with Liu Ye’s talent, he had already realized that the Minister of Works was walking further and further down a certain path. This path might have been taken by the Minister of Works himself, but it was also many Civil Ministers and Generals of the Great Han who pushed him to that position.

Walking this path is difficult, but turning back is even harder.

On some future day, what the Cao Family would become like, he, Liu Ye, had no idea.

“Instead of working yourself to exhaustion, Ziyang, why not try to jump out of this Great Han chessboard? The world right now is very large.” Smiling after saying this, Mo Xiaobai stopped talking and turned his attention to the freshly cooked food.

This was still in the middle of the mission, so even if he wanted to recruit Liu Ye, it was impossible. He could only hint at it and leave him some hesitation.

The Battle of Guandu had only just begun, and Mo Xiaobai felt he still had plenty of time.

After eating some meat in a hurry, Mo Xiaobai soon fell asleep leaning against a tree trunk. Although they were in the wild mountains and forests, he slept very comfortably.

Until the sky began to brighten, feeling someone shaking his arm, Mo Xiaobai blinked and turned his head. “Flying General, is there something wrong?”

“My Lord, someone has come.”

Li Guang said this in one sentence, and Mo Xiaobai’s entire body instantly sat upright. “People have come? How many?”

“The sound of hooves and footsteps is mixed; there are at least 50 people.”

Fifty people!

“As expected, it is different from my previous life.”

Hearing Li Guang report the number, Mo Xiaobai’s entire spirit instantly perked up. “Go wake those people up immediately. Tell them not to panic. We will retreat to the back of the woods.”

“Yes.”

Li Guang bowed his fist and left in a low voice, and Mo Xiaobai also woke up Liu Ye beside him.

In this life, the escort mission was already vastly different from the mission done by the Crystal Little Wolf in his previous life because he had meddled in it.

In his previous life, the Crystal Little Wolf had gone to Han Meng, a Great General under Yuan Shao, to ensure mission success. Han Meng only sent a Lieutenant General and ten Soldiers to accompany the Crystal Little Wolf.

If this time Mo Xiaobai only went to Guandu with Liu Ye, based on his understanding of the Intellect Brain, nine out of ten times the one who came would still be that unknown Lieutenant General.

Killing a Lieutenant General in an Instance was not worth more Merit than the mission reward itself.

To maximize the mission’s benefits, Mo Xiaobai would “sell” the mission to the Players around him.

With more than two hundred Cao Cao Faction Players escorting Liu Ye, Mo Xiaobai had an 80 percent chance that Han Meng himself would come this time.

And the Mission Reward Mo Xiaobai truly wanted had to be taken from Han Meng.