Chapter 013: The Supreme Archer Cavalry

“Why did they leave?”

After a long while, when the five war wolves had completely vanished into the depths of the forest, Ruoyan could no longer contain her curiosity. She asked, her gaze still tinged with confusion as she looked toward the direction the wolves had gone.

“I don’t know. Only they themselves truly understand,” Li Zhan replied, his face full of bewilderment.

Behind them, the young man who had been treated by the priest’s healing magic was now out of danger. The larger wounds had shrunk, and most of the smaller ones had healed. Seeing that the war wolves had disappeared, he put down his bow and arrows and said to Li Zhan and the others, “Thank you for saving me. By the way, how did you suddenly appear here?”

Li Zhan was reminded by the question and only then remembered the person behind him. He quickly turned and said, “It was your cousin, that spearman Xiao Zhang, who told us. Xiao Zhang said you were... a mounted archer?”

The young man’s expression eased upon hearing Li Zhan’s words, but he replied with some sadness, “I used to be, but now I’m just a commoner.”

He sighed, raising the wooden bow to his eyes, looking at it over and over, his gaze full of desolation.

Li Zhan thought for a moment and asked, “What are your plans from now on?”

The young man lowered the bow, his distracted gaze drifting into the depths of the forest. He answered quietly, “What plans could I possibly have? I’ll take it one step at a time.”

“How about joining our Yanhuang Tribe? We’re in urgent need of people right now,” Li Zhan said, voicing his thoughts directly. Even he felt it was a bit abrupt.

Sure enough, the young man looked at him with a hint of surprise, then replied somewhat reservedly, “Hmm... You saved my life, so I should repay you with my own. But I really don’t have the mood to consider these things right now. I’m feeling terrible, you understand? What I mean is, I’ll always remember your kindness and will repay you with all my strength someday.”

Though his words were subtle, Li Zhan understood clearly: the young man did not wish to join his tribe. He refused directly, worried Li Zhan might think him ungrateful, thus he took a roundabout way to express his thoughts.

Li Zhan secretly lamented the missed opportunity but could do nothing. Though the young man spoke gently, his expression was resolute. No amount of persuasion would change his mind.

Disappointed, Li Zhan was about to lead everyone away from the forest when Ruoyan, who had been silent until now, spoke up:

“Are you planning to stay in this state of despair forever?”

The young man was startled, looked at Ruoyan, and his expression immediately became respectful. “Of course not, but I’m really feeling awful right now.”

Ruoyan said, “Falling down doesn’t matter, as long as you can get back up and keep moving forward. But the way you are now, I really doubt whether you still have the courage to stand up again.”

The young man looked at Ruoyan, opened his mouth, but couldn’t utter a word. Ruoyan continued, “Our Yanhuang Tribe may be small, but everyone works together with all their might. The resources around the tribe are plentiful, and the potential is great. I believe it won’t be long before we become the pride of all of Danyang County. As for the chief’s proposal, I think you really ought to consider it carefully.”

The young man lowered his head in deep thought.

At the same time, Li Zhan was pondering endlessly—

Ruoyan’s words to the young man were not gentle; in fact, there was a touch of reproach. Yet the young man was so moved by what she said. Li Zhan recalled seeing players argue on the forums about certain hidden attributes in the game that hadn’t been announced, and these hidden attributes varied greatly. One was “compatibility.” For example, in some Three Kingdoms games, generals like Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and Zhang He had high compatibility with Cao Cao, making it easier for him to persuade them; whereas persuading generals like Zhang Fei or Zhao Yun was much more difficult.

Could it be that Ruoyan and this young man share the same compatibility?

If so, it would mean that Li Zhan and Ruoyan have different compatibility, and could recruit different types of NPCs. At this moment, the young man finally raised his head, looked at Ruoyan, then at Li Zhan, and said with firm resolve, “Chief, if you will not despise me, I am willing to serve your tribe and repay your life-saving grace with my utmost loyalty!”

With that, he fell to his knees and performed a formal salute to Li Zhan. At the same time, a system prompt appeared—

“Ding-dong! Dear player, the system has detected your intention to recruit an NPC mounted archer, and the other party is deeply eager to join your tribe. Do you confirm your intention? Please click ‘Confirm’ or ‘Decline.’”

After clicking Confirm, Li Zhan quickly helped the young man up, his heart filled with joy. Recruiting a mounted archer was no small reward, and seeing his own experience bar, which had long surpassed the upgrade requirement, he immediately clicked “Upgrade,” raising his level to eight.

Since most of the gray wolves had been slain by this mounted archer, Li Zhan’s experience didn’t increase further after leveling up. With her lower level, Ruoyan leveled up twice in succession, reaching level seven.

Now that the mounted archer was a member of the Yanhuang Tribe, his attributes were fully open to Li Zhan—

Soldier [Male]
Name: Zhang Feng
Civilization: China [Yanhuang Tribe]
Title or Position: Mounted Archer
Level: 17
Training: 92
Morale: 80
Attributes—Potential: +8 Constitution: 154 [+12] Strength: 167 [+15] Intelligence: 135 [+7] Agility: 22 [+2] Loyalty: 92 Support: 75
——— Leadership: 8 Attack: 19+0 Defense: Armor 9+0 / Shield 0+0 Speed: 4
——— HP: 312 MP: 270
Skills—Basic Striking 47% Basic Riding 12% Basic Archery 15% Basic Focus 7%

Hmm, those attributes are impressive.

After reading Zhang Feng’s attributes, Li Zhan stared in astonishment for a long while, secretly pinching his thigh to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

Zhang Feng had already mastered all four occupational skills for mounted archers, and at only level 17. This meant that every time Zhang Feng leveled up, all four skills would receive attribute boosts until the cap at level 65. Riding and Focus required level 17 to learn (Archery at level 12), and NPCs don’t control their experience like players—once they meet the requirement, they automatically level up. To learn two skills in one level and reach the maximum potential of 8 attribute points—this was truly extraordinary.

Seeing the time was late, Li Zhan and the others hurried out of the forest, taking less than ten minutes to return to Danyang County.

At the dock, Xiao Zhang saw his cousin emerge unharmed and wept tears of joy, thanking Li Zhan profusely. He never once mentioned a quest reward, proving this trip wasn’t a quest. Li Zhan felt no disappointment, but instead was delighted to have recruited a top-tier mounted archer.

After bidding farewell to Xiao Zhang, Zhang Feng followed Li Zhan and the others into Danyang County.