After dinner, I had some tea and re-entered the game. Murong Shanshan was still online, and the snow in the city was still falling. I wondered if that girl was still enjoying the snow, so I immediately sent her a message: "Shanshan, what are you doing now? You're not still watching the snow, are you?"
Not long after, Murong Shanshan replied: "I'm leveling up in the Elf Forest to the east and I've taken on a quest. The reward is a blue-grade item, hehe. Don't bother me yet, I'm currently fighting for quest items. I'll spend time with you tonight ~"
Spend time with me tonight?
I couldn't help but let my imagination run wild, but I also didn't have the nerve to shamelessly ask her how she would spend time with me. I repaired my equipment and headed towards Wild Horse Plains, ignoring the level 20+ Skeleton Warriors along the way and crossing the suspension bridge directly. At the Lumber Mill, there were already many players forming groups to level up. They looked to be in their early twenties, yet they needed a group to gang up on a level 27 Skeleton Warrior, and even then, they were struggling. Before crossing the bridge, I looked back and even witnessed a touching scene of life and death: several streaks of white light rose in succession. No wonder, they barely had any green-grade equipment, so how could they withstand the Skeleton Warrior's abnormally high attack?
Arriving at Captain Roger's dilapidated camp, I still saw him squatting by the bonfire, talking to a knight: "It's been snowing recently, and the soldiers' cotton clothes are all in tatters. If this continues, even if the Golden Knights Order doesn't attack, it will be difficult for us to survive this winter."
I quickly walked up to Roger and said, "Captain, I've completed the quest and returned!"
"What? You really did what I asked?" Roger looked disbelieving, then continued, "Proof? Where is your trial proof?"
I immediately pulled out the 100 Golden Knight Badges, and the quest completion notification followed—
System Notification: You have completed the quest "Captain Roger's Commission", gaining 240,000 experience, 12 gold coins, +1400 reputation, and receiving the reward: War God's Power!
War God's Power: Increases the attack of teammates within a certain range. The increase scales with skill level. Passive skill. Applicable class: Archer. Required level: 24.
I was a bit depressed. After all that effort, I got an Archer skill book, and I didn't even know the magnitude of the increase. Given moons constant company's stinginess, an increase of 2% would probably be good, which isn't much different from no increase at all.
Let's see if there are any follow-up quests. Considering the relationship between the Golden Knight and the Kingdom, it shouldn't be so easy to resolve. This kind of plot design is probably meant to immerse players fully in the storyline.
"Um, Captain, I've met their adjutant, Lin He."
Roger was slightly surprised, then said disdainfully, "What's there to mention about that despicable scoundrel who ambushed our main camp? If he hadn't led people to ambush us from behind, our commander wouldn't have died in battle for the country!"
Roger became more and more agitated as he spoke, and I quickly explained, "This situation is not good for either of us. The Undead Legion is eyeing us from the west, and our army is severely understaffed, especially lacking experienced cavalry. Why can't we let the Golden Knights Order return to the Kingdom?"
"Impossible!" Roger cut me off decisively, then added, "If the Golden Knights Order were to return to the Imperial Army, wouldn't our commander have died in vain? Who would be held accountable for this?"
I paused, then said, "Are you blaming Dack? He took a risk for the woman he loved, what's wrong with that? The fault lies with the Old King for being too muddled, even ordering a campaign against such a capable general. What truly led to this continuous war was the Old King's stubbornness!"
"What did you say? How could the King be wrong?" Roger was greatly alarmed, and several knights around him had already drawn their swords.
I broke out in a cold sweat, barely managed to calm myself, and continued, "You've been trapped for three years. Has the Kingdom ever sent a single soldier to rescue you? Don't say that the Lumber Mill behind you was occupied; even if it wasn't, the Old King wouldn't have sent troops to rescue you. When he received news of your defeat, he had already decided to abandon the Flying Knights, because in his eyes, you had lost all value!"
Roger's expression was extremely grim. Although my words were somewhat extreme, they weren't entirely without reason. In fact, some parts were precisely on point, clarifying years of Roger's doubts.
After a long hesitation, Roger finally said to me, "I don't believe the Kingdom would forget about our bravely fighting army. Perhaps some of what you said is very true; the Golden Knights Order is indeed the strongest force against the Undead Scourge. But our commander's death cannot be so unclear. I hope you can obtain Dack's token and bring it back to the Old King, so he can rescue the remaining 3,000 cavalry of our Flying Knights!"
System Notification: Accept Captain Roger's commission, obtain the token of Dack of the Golden Knights Order, return it to the King in the royal palace, fulfill Roger's wish, and lead the remnants of the Golden Knights Order and the Flying Knights back to the Imperial Army!
This quest is mandatory and unique. Presumably, after I take away the Golden Knights Order and the Flying Knights, Wild Horse Plains will return to its former tranquility, and new monsters should spawn.
The only thing I need to worry about now is how to obtain Dack's token. With my current strength, charging into the Golden Knights Order's camp is clearly a pipe dream. It's hard to say if I can even get past the first checkpoint!
That's right, when I left Lin He's camp, his soldiers didn't seem to be hostile to me anymore. Maybe it would be better to ask him for help with this!
Thinking of it, I packed my gear, bid farewell to Roger, and headed towards Lin He's camp. There were still many cavalry patrolling on the way. I dealt with a few groups, collected some potions, and then went directly into the forest. Lin He's camp still seemed very quiet. The cavalry really didn't seem to treat me as an intruder at all. No one came out to stop me until I entered Lin He's camp. I quickly brought up my attribute panel, and sure enough, the Golden Knights Order was displayed under Diplomacy, with a green "Neutral" next to it. No wonder they weren't attacking me... Lin He quickly recognized me and asked, "You're back again. What's the matter?"
"I was hoping you could help me meet Commander Dack."