Chapter 23: The General in Black Armor

In the Spirit Realm, killing units with templates grants a chance to drop treasure chests. The drop rate is influenced by numerous factors, such as the power gap between the enemy and the player, the percentage of kill contribution, the importance of the enemy within the world, and their significance to the current mission.

In short, it is difficult to quantify.

Every enemy Ye Mingqiu killed possessed a template. Although ordinary soldiers hold very little importance in this world, they made up for it in sheer numbers, which was more than enough for a non-templated unit like Ye Mingqiu to handle. Furthermore, there were many elite template units that offered higher drop rates.

Consequently, Ye Mingqiu actually acquired quite a few treasure chests during the fighting.

However, the combat was too intense, exhausting, and mentally taxing for him to open chests mid-battle. A single moment of distraction could lead to an arrow through the head, ending everything. Thus, he simply enabled auto-loot and ignored them. (Auto-loot only collects chests where the player has 100% kill contribution.)

His current haul: 167 Black Iron chests and 26 Bronze chests.

Open all.

[Batch opening in progress...]
[Congratulations, you have obtained: 1583 Psionic Points]
[Congratulations, you have obtained: Bronze Ring]
[Congratulations, you have obtained: Wolf-Tooth Arrow]
[Congratulations, you have obtained: Blood Crystal]
...

A stream of various rewards flooded his screen. Too lazy to review them one by one, Ye Mingqiu filtered for equipment to see if anything could immediately boost his strength.

[Bronze Ring]
Rank: Tier 1
Quality: Bronze
Effect: Strength +2, Agility +1, Spirit +3

[Blood Crystal Necklace]
Rank: Tier 1
Quality: Bronze
Effect: Health +100

[Black Cloak]
Rank: Tier 1
Quality: Black Iron
Effect: Agility +2

These were the only usable pieces. Of course, he had found other items like armor, gauntlets, and boots, but his current Bronze armor was part of a set with powerful attributes. Replacing it with loose pieces was simply not worth it.

If nothing else, the +200 Max Health bonus was a peak that other loose pieces could never hope to reach, not to mention the +5 to all attributes. Its effectiveness was far superior to any Black Iron loose gear.

So... equip!

The Bronze Ring, Black Cloak, and Blood Crystal Necklace were equipped instantly. Ye Mingqiu felt a surge of newfound power within him and smiled.

The hardest part of the opening was over. Now, it was time to sweep the battlefield!

Reflecting on his performance, Ye Mingqiu realized that his success stemmed from his specialty in Spirit, which provided top-tier warrior talents and increased damage reduction. This made it difficult for enemy soldiers to break his defense, allowing him to charge through the fray.

In the same scenario, even a top-tier mage would fail. As long as enemy arrows could break their defense, a mage would be relentlessly hunted. If they didn't run, they would die under a hail of arrows; even if they survived, being struck by poisoned arrows would be agonizing.

Moreover, the sheer number of enemies meant a mage in the early stages would never have enough mana to kill them all. Ye Mingqiu relied on his talent to boost his Psionic recovery, allowing him to use low-cost Psionic enchantments to complement his overwhelming strength. Essentially, he was fighting with basic attacks, not skills.

...

Twilight bled across the sky. Ye Mingqiu held his bronze spear, catching the final rays of the setting sun, pointing it directly at the sea of Zhou troops. Waves of killing intent erupted naturally from him.

A general in black armor leaped from the enemy ranks, his copper battle-axe reflecting the blood-red sunset. He shouted, "Your time has run out! Why not surrender now?"

Hmm? This guy is no simple soldier!

Detection!

[Di (Level 1 Leader)]
Race: Human
Attributes: Strength 15, Agility 10, Constitution 14, Spirit 8

A Leader-tier boss! And he’s on horseback, leading a cavalry unit!

I’m just an infantryman!
Surrounded by cavalry!
And the leader is a boss!

How the hell am I supposed to fight this?

Ye Mingqiu felt a jolt of alarm. Then, the Zhou war drums began to thunder. Countless soldiers behind the black-armored general rhythmically struck the ground with their weapons, creating a deafening, thunderous roar that grew in intensity.

Detection!

[War Drum Thunder: After the war drums sound, allied soldiers' morale hits its peak, increasing all attributes by 10%.]

They even have a group buff?
This is on a completely different level than before!

Ye Mingqiu’s pride vanished. Few could remain calm when facing a Leader-tier boss leading a charge of elite cavalry.

If he guessed correctly, the sudden escalation in enemy intensity was because he had killed too many of them, leading the Zhou army to conclude that a formidable warrior was in the city and that reinforcements were required. The inhabitants of the Spirit Realm were not mindless, fixed NPCs; they possessed independent consciousness, could think, and made tactical decisions based on the situation.

"Damn it!"

Ye Mingqiu hunched over, staring intensely at the overwhelming army. His heart raced, and beads of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Kill!"

The black-armored general swung his copper axe. Behind him, the cavalry charged. However, their movements were noticeably unnatural—they were unable to fully harness the combat potential of a standard cavalry unit.

This is...

Ye Mingqiu quickly realized why: the Shang Dynasty lacked saddles, stirrups, and high-bridged bits. Riders could only grip the horse's belly with their legs, making it difficult to control weapons stably while moving at high speeds.

These cavalrymen could only manage to stabilize themselves on horseback through sheer force, and using weapons to attack was already their limit; pulling off complex maneuvers was nearly impossible.

I see.

Ye Mingqiu felt a little more secure. If this was the extent of the cavalry, he could still put up a fight.

But!

Such cavalry was still incredibly dangerous!

The thunderous drums echoed as the cavalry charged with unstoppable momentum, brandishing long weapons and striking down at Ye Mingqiu from their elevated positions.

The sound of clashing bronze rang out repeatedly. Despite his desperate attempts to dodge, Ye Mingqiu was struck by spears time and again, leaving gashes across his body.

These cavalrymen... they could break his defense!

"Die!!"

Ye Mingqiu let out a sudden roar. He braced his stance to tank a heavy blow, and his bronze spear, reinforced by [Psionic-Enchantment], pierced the air. With an upward strike, he impaled a rider through the chest, threw him to the ground, and slapped the warhorse’s flank with a heavy palm.

The riderless horse, stung by pain, neighed and bolted, crashing through the ranks and throwing the orderly formation into chaos.

Cavalry in this era was not yet a mature force; they relied purely on the speed and power of the horses, lacking a developed combat system.

"You scoundrel, pay with your life!!"

The black-armored general squeezed his horse's flank. The pitch-black steed lunged forward, rearing up in front of Ye Mingqiu. As the hooves slammed down, the copper axe descended in a crescent arc of light.