บท 10: Two Villages in Alliance
บรรณาธิการ: Dragon Boat Translation
Xia Village currently had four war horses, all of which were trophies obtained from destroying a small group of Yellow Turban soldiers.
When Chu Tian ambitiously went on horseback to Langya City to buy supplies, he was hit by a very cruel reality: he didn't know how to ride.
Chu Tian, who wasn't a star equestrian to begin with, fell off of his horse.
The local soldiers, who were nearby, looked around, pretending not to see their lord's terrible performance.
"D*mn, another skill that I don't have: riding a horse!"
Chu Tian was a little mad, as his skill column was empty, and he had no riding skills.
This was like having a Rolls-Royce... No, a normal horse was equivalent to a Chevrolet Enjoy. It was like having a Chevrolet Enjoy right in front of you but not having a driver's license.
Did he have to walk to Langya City? He'd be slowed down if that was the case.
Seeing that Chu Tian was suffering, Hua Mulan spoke up, "Lord, don't worry."
"Do you have a good idea..."
"Ding! The king-level special hero Hua Mulan offers to teach you 'Super Riding Skill.' Accept?"
"Accept."
Chu Tian was pleasantly surprised. Special heroes could teach players skills? There were probably strict restrictions…
Regardless, since "Super Riding Skill" was right there, he might as well learn it.
Hua Mulan spent half a day doing hands-on teaching, building Chu Tian's riding skills.
"Ding! Player, you have learned 'Super Riding Skill,' you are at Level 1."
Chu Tian inspected the first skill he had earned.
[Name]: Special Riding Skill (Level 1)
[Skill Level]: 0/100
[Effect]: You can ride horses below the diamond level; when riding a horse in battle, the attack power will increase greatly. The higher the level, the greater the increase.
Cavalry magic!
Chu Tian couldn't believe that this skill was not an offensive or defensive skill, just a general skill. Yet, its effect was comparable to a magical skill.
"Ding! The friendship between you and the hero Hua Mulan has deepened. Her Loyalty rose to 88 points, and her Level of Favor rose to 52 points."
The system prompt stunned Chu Tian a little. He hadn't expected learning skills from commanders to improve their friendship.
This was a hidden system, similar to "Impediments."
After learning how to ride, Chu Tian could finally leave Xia Village on a war horse. There were four war horses in Xia Village, so he brought Hua Mulan and two local soldiers along with him to Langya City. With his reinforcements, Chu Tian didn't have to worry about being attacked by bandits or beasts during the trip.
Langya City was about 60 kilometers away from Xia Village. With war horses as their mode of transport, they had a pretty decent speed.
Chu Tian and his team saw a village five kilometers north of Xia Village, which was most likely another player's village.
Chu Tian had discovered this village when he went hunting with the village hunters.
When the villagers there saw the arrival of four strangers on war horses, they reacted frantically. A group of local soldiers holding sickles, pickaxes, and spears came to the gate of the village, warily watching Chu Tian and his party.
A regular war horse was worth 20,000 yuan, and most ordinary people couldn't afford it. So if four war horses appeared together, they most likely belonged to strong men.
"Don't be mistaken. I'm the village chief of Xia Village, about five kilometers south. Where is your village chief?" Chu Tian informed the neighboring village while holding the reins of his horse.
"Xia Village? There is a Xia Village south of us?"
"Village chief, a nearby chief has asked to see you."
The villagers noisily went to report the situation to their village chief.
Soon, surrounded by the villagers, a village chief emerged from behind the wooden fence. She observed Chu Tian through the fence with cautious eyes, obviously not fully believing what Chu Tian had said.
The neighboring village chief was actually a female player.
Although the players and the NPCs' appearances were almost the same, Chu Tian could easily distinguish the players from their behavior.
The female player wore a rapier around her waist. She asked, "Who are you? Why are you at Xiaozhu village?"
"I'm Chu Tian, Chief of Xia Village. Xia Village is only five kilometers away from Xiaozhu Village. The establishment of diplomatic relations between our two villages could promote trade and increase prosperity for both of our people."
Since Chu Tian was finished upgrading Xia Village to a Level 2 village, he wanted to upgrade it to Level 3.
The Level of Prosperity requirement for a Level 3 village was 200 points, but the prosperity brought by Hua Mulan was not enough to reach that amount.
Establishment of diplomatic relations with other villages led to the circulation of commodities. That meant that Xia Village's specialty, [Rough Celadon], could be sold to neighboring villages, increasing its economic prosperity and income.
"Trading is not a zero-sum game. It is mutually beneficial and a win-win for everyone involved. Surely you must know this?" Chu Tian tried to persuade the village chief of Xiaozhu Village. If the other person was a player, she should be able to understand this truth.
"Of course, I do. But how can I trust you? You have war horses; you might attack our village."
"The war horses are spoils we seized from Yellow Turban soldiers. If you are worried about letting us into your village, you can send your people to Xia Village to form an alliance. I remember that if an alliance is formed, Xia Village cannot easily attack Xiaozhu Village. Does that put your mind at ease?"
The female player bit her lip. Then Chu Tian received a system prompt.
"Xia Tianliang, the Chief of Xiaozhu Village, has sent you a friend invitation. Accept?"
"Accept."
"Xiaozhu Village sent a 12-month alliance negotiation to Xia Village. Accept? Reminder: Once the two parties reach an alliance, if one party voluntarily breaks diplomatic relations during the alliance, that party's Public Sentiment, Security, Value of Blessings, Loyalty, and Lord's Reputation will drop drastically. Also, in the first month of the alliance, diplomatic relations cannot be broken."
"Accept."
The chief of Xiaozhu Village was a straight-forward person, asking for an alliance with Xia Village.
In the early stages, alliances were necessary to cope with bandits, promote village trade, and even build roads together. After an alliance was built, diplomatic relations could be severed, although there would be a certain price to pay.
"I just want to farm?"
When Xia Tianliang, the chief of Xiaozhu Village, saw Chu Tian's ID, she chuckled.
No wonder this strange guy proposed forming an alliance and initiating trade after visiting Xiaozhu Village for the first time. He was obsessed with farming too.
An alliance was second only to marriage, with certain restrictions on both sides of the alliance. It could not be broken in the first month, so during this initial month, both parties could trust each other unconditionally.
"You can come in now."
When the wooden fence at the village entrance opened, Chu Tian visited another player's village for the first time.
'Our Xiaozhu Village was just promoted to a Level 2 village today... If Xia Village defeated a small group of Yellow Turban soldiers, it's probably already Level 2, right?' Xia Tianliang wondered.
She looked at Chu Tian and his party's war horses with envy. An ordinary war horse was worth 20 taels of silver. They were very fortunate to have these spoils.
Then she looked at Hua Mulan, assuming she was also a player, and sent out a friend invitation.
"Strange," Xia Tianliang remarked, noting that she couldn't send out a friend invitation.
"She's a hero," Chu Tian explained.
"Xia Village's heroes seem to be very… powerful." Xia Tianliang looked Hua Mulan up and down. She couldn't see Hua Mulan's information since she wasn't Hua Mulan's lord.
"You didn't come just to visit our village?"
"We are going to Langya City to buy supplies. We just passed by on the way there."
"Oh?" There was suddenly a shrewd look in Xia Tianliang's eyes. "It just so happens that Xiaozhu Village also needs a batch of supplies to become a Level 3 village. There may be stray bandits on the way to Langya City. I have a silver-level commander under my command. If we work together, we should arrive safely in Langya City."
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