In this realistic war game, only I understand the course of the battle.

[Classic of Mountains and Seas - Taotie]: "On a side note, have you ever heard of someone... who dies and can't be recreated?"

Lone Wolf responded quickly this time, clearly indicating that this was an insignificant issue for him.

[Lone Wolf]: "You were banned by the game system? I've rarely heard of that. It's only possible for someone to exploit a game bug."

[Classic of Mountains and Seas - Taotie]: "That's not what I meant. I meant, can death in a game affect the real world?"

The lone wolf paused for a second, perhaps feeling at a loss for words.

Lone Wolf: "That's not the case, but..."

There's been a rumor circulating among veteran gamers.

It's said that there's an item in this game called the "Soul Blade." The conditions for exchanging it are extremely demanding, and the reputation points required to unlock it are astronomical. However, it only has one effect: players killed by it will also die in real life.

However, the official explanation is that brain death was caused by prolonged overtime work and high levels of nervous excitement.

This news was secretly leaked from a veteran player who had fought his way through the closed beta.

The difficulty of the dungeons during the closed beta was said to be hellish, with all sorts of things inside.

If this is true, Brother Taotie, you really need to be careful.

【Classic of Mountains and Seas - Taotie】: "Thank you, brother. The journey of life is long. We'll meet again someday."

Shen Du has already gained a basic understanding of this world, and he has decided to strengthen everything he can as soon as possible.

Shen Du remembered that he still had a title that he hadn't unlocked yet. Looking at the reputation points required to unlock the title, he saw that it was 300 points.

I killed nineteen Ming soldiers at Baigou River and luckily got an S-level achievement. I've been saving up for so long and I only have 312 reputation points left.

Unlocking this title cost me most of my money in one go.

Where there is life, there is hope.

Shen Du tapped lightly, and a light blue upgrade notification appeared, indicating that the upgrade was successful.

But the following text made Shen Du feel that the 300 points were a bit of a waste.

【——Title Unlocked——】

Title: Pawn Who Crossed the River

[Quality: S-grade (Upgradeable)]

Current Level: LV1

[Effect Description: Once a pawn has crossed the river, it can only advance, not retreat. It can only talk about fighting, not retreating.]

[When you advance towards the enemy in combat, you gain a boost to Strength, Agility, and Constitution. The boost increases with level. Current LV1 boost: +15% to each of the three attributes.]

When you retreat away from enemies in combat, your Strength, Agility, and Constitution are each weakened. The degree of weakening decreases with level. Current LV1 weakening: -30% for each of the three attributes.

[Upgrade Requirements: Kill a total of 50 enemies while advancing in battle. Current Progress: 0/50.]

+15% and -30%. This isn't a balanced design; it forces players on the battlefield to charge forward. Advancing makes you stronger, retreating makes you weaker. This isn't a choice; it's a path of no return. Not even a single step.

But the fact that you can only advance and not retreat when attacking Texas is too frustrating, isn't it?

And when will it take fifty people to chop knives?

Shen Du silently complained to himself. His original plan was to secretly hide, but now it seemed that the plan had changed.

It seems that the so-called S-rank title gives you very weak rewards, and those two free attribute points are probably not very useful either.

However, the skills granted by this title do indeed match the title's origin.

He silently wondered if there was any way to remove the title skill.

The next day, Shen Du spent the entire day preparing, while Gu Zhang continued training with his men as usual.

On the third day, at the fourth watch of the night.

All the stoves in the camp were lit at the same time. The cooks took out all the meat they had stored for several days, cut it into large chunks, and threw it into the pot to cook, with a thick layer of oil floating on the soup.

Every soldier's bowl was overflowing, and some were even stuffing dry biscuits into their arms. The veterans in the mess hall saw this but didn't stop them. No one knew if this meal would be their last.

Shen Du finished the meat in his bowl and drank all the soup. He put the bowl on the ground and stood up to check the equipment.

"Set off!"

The bugle call to assemble echoed throughout the entire camp.

The infantrymen of the five guards—Yanshan Left Guard, Yanshan Right Guard, Yanshan Central Guard, Daxing Left Guard, and Daxing Right Guard—emerged from their respective camps, flowing into the drill ground like five gray torrents.

Shen Du stood in the ranks of Team C, his gaze passing over the layers of heads in front of him and looking towards the rear of the army.

There was a team lined up there.

They weren't infantry. They were all cavalry.

Their armor differed from that of the Yan cavalry; their iron helmets were adorned with white tassels, and they wore fur vests over their armor. The scimitars hanging from their saddles were shorter than the Yan army's goose-feather sabers, but with wider blades. Their warhorses were also shorter than the Yan army's horses, but had broad chests, thick legs, and bushy manes, clearly indicating they were steppe breeds.

Zhao Laoliu followed Shen Du's gaze and whispered, "The Three Guards of Duoyan."

Shen Du's heart skipped a beat.

The Three Guards of Doyan. Mongol cavalry. Zhu Di's sharpest weapon in the Jingnan Campaign.

These three Mongol cavalry units were originally from the Doyan tribe, which had submitted to the Ming dynasty during the Hongwu era. They were incorporated into the border defense garrison and stationed in the northern frontier.

After Zhu Di raised his army, he used a large sum of money and promises to borrow them from Prince Ning.

This cavalry unit was renowned for its mounted archery; during a charge, they could fire three arrows in quick succession from horseback, and in close combat, they wielded scimitars. They hadn't arrived during the Battle of Baigou River, but now they had finally come.

"I heard there are two or three thousand of them." Old Zhao clicked his tongue. "They all grew up eating raw meat, and they're more stable on horseback than on the ground."

Shen Du remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the ranks of the Duoyan Three Guards.

A command was given from the front, and the column began to move.

The army set off.

The Yan army's vanguard cavalry had already advanced ahead, their mission being to clear out Ming army outposts and scattered strongholds along the way.

The infantry battalion followed closely behind, with the supply train trailing behind. The grain wagons, ladder wagons, muskets, and general's cannons left deep ruts on the dirt road.

Shen Du's battalion, the Pocheng Battalion, was positioned in the center of the army.

Zhu Neng rode his horse at the head of the group, still without armor, wearing only a faded robe with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

A wide, thick dagger with a ghost head hanging beside his saddle was set with three copper rings embedded in its back, which jingled as he walked.

After traveling for about two hours, news came from the front that Hejian had been captured.

The vanguard cavalry of the Yan army marched eighty li last night and breached the city gate of Hejian at dawn, whereupon the defending troops surrendered. The road to Dezhou is now half-cleared.

As Shen Du listened to the messenger's report, he mentally calculated the time.

From Hejian to Dezhou, it's less than a hundred li. At the current marching speed, the army should reach the outskirts of Twelve Linked Cities around noon tomorrow.

Although the walls of the Twelve Linked Cities were made of rammed earth and were not high, they were thick enough.

Deer antlers and trenches can be dealt with using long-handled axes and sacks, while camp gates can be blown open with gunpowder.

But the real problem lies not outside the city, but inside it.

If the adjacent camps cannot be suppressed at the same time, the breaching camp will be surrounded and annihilated even if it manages to break in.