I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 305 The mission continues
"Damn it, the mission failed?"

In a tavern run by a player in Voltradnoy, Ye Ao was drinking alone, feeling depressed, for most of the day.

"No way, Cowboy, I saw Old Ma throw a knife that hit the target before I died, and it even made that old man fall down. How come he's still alive?"

The player nicknamed "Cowboy" laughed, picked up his glass, and downed the rum in one gulp.

"Stop talking, stop talking. Something must have gone wrong. Since you're so sure that the knife Old Ma threw definitely hit him, and that it hit his throat..."

"Why did the mission fail?"

"How should I know?"

The cowboy spread his hands.

"He only threw a kitchen knife, not Old Ma's special throwing knife. The fact that it accurately hit his neck shows that Old Ma's throwing knife was already performing exceptionally well at that time. Moreover, the knife was not coated with poison, so it is quite normal that he was saved."

Ye Ao also thought it made a lot of sense. He scratched his head in distress, and a clump of dandruff flew up from his hair, which hadn't been washed for three or four days.

"Things weren't done well, so what are you planning to do now?"

The cowboy asked.

"What else can we do? Let's get ready and go to Minicia again. That old bastard has to die!!!"

Ye Ao gritted his teeth and slammed the wooden wine cup in his hand, making a loud noise that drew the attention of nearby players.

"Damn it, if I don't complete the mission, I'll be at a huge loss. Because of this mission, I've even changed my name."

"Ah, what's going on?"

The cowboy suddenly became curious and looked at the top of Ye Ao's head... Ye Ao was helpless.

Ah, what can I do? I'll just drink milk!

"Pu...cough cough cough, bro, why did you change your name all of a sudden?"

"You think I do."

"I'm so proud," Ye Ao replied irritably.

"When I revived, the system told me that my character was invalid and I needed to create a new character... Damn it, this means I can't use my old handsome face and name anymore."

"No wonder I felt your face looked different than before; I thought it was just my imagination."

The cowboy suddenly realized, but Ye Ao asked with great distress.

Why does reviving a character now require destroying the character?

"I died once while fighting bandits a few days ago, but it didn't ruin my character..."

The cowboy pondered for a moment, then speculated.

"It's probably some kind of high reputation, or an invisible penalty for failing a main quest... But dude, you're being way too blunt."

"What do you mean by 'upright'?"

Grandpa was puzzled, so the cowboy gestured behind him.

"Take a look at the seat by the window, Lin Ruoyu, can you see his name?"

Ye Ao He Nai glanced back.

"The name is fine... Wait, Lin Ruoyu, doesn't he need to change his name since he's dead?"

"It's been changed."

"Then why is he still called Lin Ruoyu?"

"Because when he recreated the character, he left a space after the name, so his name is Lin Ruoyu with a space. But it's okay if you continue to call him Lin Ruoyu."

"grass!"

Ye Ao slapped his thigh hard, full of frustration.

"I'm so honest."

Just as Ye Ao was sighing in despair, a man entered the tavern. He walked straight towards Ye Ao's location and plopped down opposite him.

Ye Ao took a closer look and realized it was Alibaba... Damn, this kid's name hasn't changed, there must be a space in it.

"You little rascal, you discovered that leaving a space in your name can prevent you from changing it, why didn't you tell me!"

"what!?"

Just as Alibaba was about to speak, he was stunned by what Ye Aohe said. He stood there for several seconds before he came to his senses and realized what the latter was talking about.

"Are you stupid? This was mentioned in a pinned post on the forum, didn't you see it?!"

"Huh? This..."

"Forget about that, let's get down to business. I just went to the logistics department to submit the mission, but the mission officer told me again that we didn't kill the mission target."

Then, I went back and carefully watched the video we recorded, several times, and I finally realized something was wrong..."

Alibaba's face was serious, and Ye Ao's eyes widened.

"What went wrong?"

“We killed the wrong person. The first old man with chestnut hair who came in through the main entrance was actually Chris’s scumbag father, named Oakland. The one who came in through the Rose Hall was the King of Minicia, named Albert.”

At the time, we all overlooked the announcement of names at the banquet.

"grass!"

Ye Ao slapped his thigh hard, feeling extremely annoyed.

"What do we do now?"

"What else can we do? Gather the brothers and go again, damn it, this is the main quest! How can we progress in the game if we don't kill the old man?"

"Main quest?"

The cowboy who was watching the spectacle got excited as soon as he heard the word.

"Dude, count me in! The main quest is definitely not going to be easy. Count me in too. There's strength in numbers. If we have a lot of people, even if we can't assassinate, we can still launch a strong attack and fight our way through!" Ah, that makes sense.

……

If a side quest fails, that's it. But if a main quest fails, the game's plot can't progress, subsequent quests can't be completed, and nobody can play.

In their desperation, Ye Ao and his companions didn't care about anything else. They shared the quest with more players, hoping to make a big difference in numbers and take down Auckland, who was still in Tavitsky City in the Minissia Border Province.

Ye Ao and his group had a clear strategy: if the five-person team failed, they would form a twenty-person team to complete the mission as a group. It didn't matter if the rewards were divided too much or too little; the most important thing was to complete the mission as quickly as possible.

Chris sent the player to kill his father, probably so he could become king himself. With the former king dead, the next king could rightfully ascend to the throne.

Furthermore, the old king is currently in Minicia. The old man died on someone else's land, which will surely allow him to smear the Kingdom of Minicia. He can then use this as an excuse to launch a just war of revenge.

Actually, some players feel that it doesn't matter if there's no excuse, because the country of Minicia really did invade Bagnia recently, so there's no need to look for a reason to fight back; it's right here.

But no matter what, you have to do the main quest; otherwise, you won't get to see the later cutscenes.

With this in mind, the size of Ye Ao's assassination squad began to expand. Even though from the beginning, their strategy was clear: they only wanted experts, not novices or intermediate-level experts.

However, in just two or three days, the number of people was increased from twenty to more than two hundred.

What?

Let's make do. There's strength in numbers. If assassination fails, we can launch a full-scale attack. Everyone else is bringing their own food to help. Can you refuse?
Besides, even if someone refuses, will they just set off on their own?
Because Ye Ao He Nai thought the mission was already complete, he smugly wrote down the process and location of the mission on the forum. Then, Alibaba let slip in the tavern that this assassination mission was part of the main storyline.

Let's go, get to work. Kill the old man, and that'll be the end of it. Don't do anything stupid like that again.

……

After a quick packing, the group of over two hundred people set off, riding horses and leading donkeys, making a racket like a small nomadic tribe migrating.

There was no other way. Traveling two hundred people was not as easy as it was for five people. In addition, they had a plan to launch a strong attack, which required armor, muskets, and cannons. In addition, there were people's needs for food, water, and sanitation, so each person had to bring an animal.

Even so, the two hundred or so players traveled very quickly, arriving at the border between Bagnia and Minicia in just two days.

However, when Ye Ao and the other four passed through this area, the region occupied by the Minisians had changed a little... A mixed Bagnian infantry unit appeared here.

"Boom...boom...boom..."

The roar of six-pound and twelve-pound field guns rose and fell, and smoke filled the air above the border. The players reined in their horses, climbed the hill by the roadside, and looked through their binoculars. In front of the castle occupied by the Minieses, they saw a large group of soldiers in green uniforms building siege positions.

Then, ahead of them, a large group of player warbands with various banners were digging trenches under the castle or launching small-scale charges to test the reaction of the castle's guards, having a great time fighting.

Behind these Bagnian soldiers, a military camp made of wood and tents stood, and flags depicting Chinese characters and wild beasts fluttered in the wind.

After observing for a while, Ye Ao determined the numbers of the two corps.

"These are the newly formed 4th and 5th Defense Army infantry regiments. What are they doing here?"

"Who cares about all that..."

"What do you mean by 'don't care'? If there's a war on the border, our group of two hundred or so people would be too conspicuous!"

Oh, right.

Before the war, although a group of two hundred people crossing the border was conspicuous, it was not a problem at all as long as they found a remote place.

However, that won't work now. When the sound of artillery fire echoes along the border between the two countries, border patrols and scouts from both sides will inevitably be deployed densely at the junction.

Bagnia is fine. As Chris's trusted bodyguards, the players have always had special privileges. They can go wherever they want, and no one will stop them.

The situation is different in Minicia. If the two sides meet, they will definitely fight. Not to mention how many people will die, players are afraid that it will alert the mission target not far away, causing him to run away or hide.

If you were to ask players what kind of tasks they hate the most, hide-and-seek would definitely be among them, as it's time-consuming and exhausting.

But since things have come to this, let's make the best of it. It's getting late, so let's go to the military camp to sleep for the night and set off again tomorrow.

And so, Ye Ao and his two hundred or so men headed straight toward the Bagnia military camp. They had actually been spotted by the corps' scouts long ago, and the scouts had reported the matter to the corps' commander, Major General Marlo.

Major General Marlowe's reply was...

"Leave them alone."

Major General Marlowe, now under Prince Chris's command, is arguably a promising young general. Given his background in the Republic, he has been quite cautious in his political conduct since his promotion to major general.

This caution is mainly reflected in not associating with family members and not meddling in the affairs of other players.

Through long-term observation, Marlowe discovered the peculiarities of these barbarian guards known as Chris. Although they sometimes acted rudely and aggressively, they were actually very knowledgeable, and their barbarity was just a facade.

In addition, these people acted recklessly, killing indiscriminately and disregarding the law and morality, yet they maintained an inexplicable loyalty to Prince Chris.

Whatever tasks or instructions Prince Chris gives them, they will complete them without fail and at any cost. They will never set foot in any place where the prince forbids them from being.

Correspondingly, Prince Chris also maintained a high level of respect and tolerance towards these people. Major General Marlowe sometimes even saw some of them verbally abusing Prince Chris over trivial matters.

Prince Chris, however, didn't seem to care at all. Instead, he laughed along with them, as if the insults were just a form of affection for him.

Prince Chris showed no mercy whatsoever when a judge systematically slaughtered the old nobles of Bagnia and the villages that refused his enforcement.

Such behavior made Major General Marlowe realize that Prince Chris's relationship with these barbarian guards was far closer and stranger than outsiders imagined.

So when Major General Marlowe learned that a force of two hundred prince's guards, not under his command, was heading this way, he knew they must be coming on the prince's orders.

As for what mission Prince Chris gave them, Major General Marlowe didn't want to know; often, the more you know, the more trouble you get.

So when Ye Ao and the other two hundred people entered the military camp, they found that everything was in good order. Although there was a lot of cannon fire outside, the camp was unusually quiet, and no one paid any attention to them, letting the players find open spaces to set up camp on their own.

The military camp has all the supplies that can meet any player's needs, and it is also a safe haven. They rested for a night here, exchanged some military merits for military supplies, and set off the next morning.

"Don't go any further."

At the entrance to the military camp, a player, disheveled and looking exhausted, kindly reminded them.

“There’s a huge group of Miniese outside, chasing us like mad dogs. If so many of you go over there, you’ll definitely be discovered, and then a huge wave of cavalry will charge over. It’s disgusting.”

"Thanks for the reminder, but we really have to go there; we have a mission."

"Good luck to you then."

(End of this chapter)