"Ding! Congratulations, Player. You have successfully recruited a second-rate historical general. Do you wish to make an anonymous server-wide announcement?"
"Yes!"
The system notification sounded in his ear.
Xiao Jing was overjoyed. He quickly helped Zhou Cang to his feet and said with delight,
"Having recruited you, Zhou Cang, is like a fierce tiger growing wings or a fish finding water. This is my greatest fortune!!!"
Hearing this, Zhou Cang felt the sincerity in Xiao Jing's words and was deeply moved. A rare smile appeared on his brawny face.
"You praise me too highly, my Lord!"
...
"Ding! A player has successfully recruited the second-rate historical general 'Zhou Cang.' Reward: 20 Prestige!"
The system announcement rang in the ears of every player.
At that moment, players everywhere, no matter what they were doing, stopped dead in their tracks, stunned.
"Oh my god, did I hear that right?! Are we even playing the same game?"
"Someone builds a village on day one, and on day two, someone recruits a historical general? They're using cheats, right? They've definitely got to be using cheats!"
"...I'm shocked speechless. I look at this village Yong leader I worked my ass off to recruit, and suddenly... he doesn't seem so special anymore."
"I'm tilted! Damn lucky bastard!"
"Holy shit, someone recruited a historical general?!! How insane is that?!!"
"Zhou Cang?! Is he even famous? He's just a second-rate historical general. Just watch, I'll go recruit Guan Yu!!!"
"Confirmed: the poster above is a moron. Have you never had a reality check? We're just players. We have no reputation, no status, and no money. Why would someone like that even give you the time of day?"
"Seriously, what a total moron. I went through hell and back—spent over a hundred silver!—to save the life of a county garrison commander, and my chances of recruiting him are still a distant dream..."
"Sigh... to recruit a second-rate general this early in the game... doesn't that make them practically invincible?"
"Hey, poster above, ever heard of not saying the quiet part out loud?!!!"
...
Xiao Jing, of course, paid no mind to the commotion the announcement had caused.
Now that Zhou Cang had agreed to join Wasteland Mountain Village, Xiao Jing could finally view his status panel.
[Name]: Zhou Cang
[Profession]: General
[Title]: Commander of Wasteland Mountain Village
[Level]: 66 (4769/13300)
[Loyalty]: 61
[Talent]: Bones of Steel (Damage taken -50%)
[Potential]: Second-Rate (Blue)
[Attributes]: Force: 70, Martial Intent: 9, Tactics: 0
[Experience-Based Abilities]: Command: 61, Strategy: 52, Politics: 34, Prestige: 5
[Martial Arts]: Eighteen Forms of the Horizontal Blade (Blue, Proficient, Force +4)
[General Skills]: Farming (Proficient), Intermediate Command (Proficient), Basic Leadership (Beginner), Basic Square Formation (Beginner)
[Equipment]: Rusted Bronze Greatsaber (Gray)
[Skills]: Blood Soul (Cost: 5 Martial Intent; attacks are imbued with blood energy, slowing the enemy), Godspeed (Cost: 3 Martial Intent; consumes a large amount of stamina, Speed +200%), Blood Slash (Cost: 8 Martial Intent; high probability of a one-hit kill against enemies with lower Force)
[Treasures]: None
[Personal Traits]:
1. Fierce General of Guanxi (Purple): When in a duel, personal combat effectiveness +30%. When leading soldiers, Troop Morale +1.
2. Blood Rage (Exclusive Soul Trait for Historical Generals, Purple): The lower your HP, the higher your power. When critically injured (HP & Stamina below 30%), the 'Blood Soul' skill awakens: damage dealt to enemies is converted into an equal amount of healing and recovery.
3. Armed Guard (Blue): When serving as a Guard, high probability of detecting sources of danger; Force receives a minor boost.
4. Rally (Blue): When commanding troops in battle, stamina recovery for all soldiers under your command +20%. After being routed, the speed at which you rally scattered troops is slightly increased.
[Special Units]: None
After reviewing Zhou Cang's stats, Xiao Jing had only one thought left in his mind.
'He's invincible!!!'
'As expected of a named, albeit second-rate, historical general from the Three Kingdoms!'
A Force of 70 put him at Tier 7. In these early days of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, before the great heroes and champions had truly emerged, he was strong enough to serve as a top general. 'Who in this entire region can stand in his way?'
With a ridiculously stacked status panel like Zhou Cang's, where couldn't he succeed?
If Xiao Jing hadn't, in a flash of inspiration, used the promise of fertile land to tempt the villagers and sway Zhou Cang's resolve, he never would have been able to recruit such a capable general.
Xiao Jing suppressed his inner excitement.
He called over Guo Yun and the others and introduced Zhou Cang.
"This is Zhou Cang. He is an exceptionally skilled and powerful warrior. From this day forward, he will be your comrade."
"The name's Zhou Cang. A pleasure to meet you all." Zhou Cang greeted them with a cupped-fist salute.
Guo Yun was old and shrewd. Sensing how highly Xiao Jing regarded the newcomer, he offered a cheerful welcome.
But Li Ye, the young warrior who had also recently joined, seemed to feel threatened by Zhou Cang. He stood ramrod straight, his expression severe. While trying to prove his own worth to Xiao Jing, he shot a hostile glare at the newcomer.
Xiao Jing paid them no mind and turned to Guo Yun. "How much meat do we have in storage?"
Guo Yun did a quick mental calculation before answering.
"Right now, most of our food comes from your hunts, Village Chief. I'd estimate we have about 2,000 units of meat."
"How long will that last?"
At this, Guo Yun's brow furrowed slightly before he quickly replied.
"Counting Commander Zhou and his people, the village population is now 253. But more refugees are constantly arriving. To be conservative, I'd estimate our current supply will only last three days!"
As he said this, a worried expression crossed Guo Yun's face.
"Village Chief, our fields haven't been tilled yet. Hunting for food isn't a long-term solution. In my opinion, we need to send people to scout the area as soon as possible and establish trade with nearby villages for grain."
Xiao Jing nodded. "I agree completely."
He then glanced at the sallow, emaciated faces of the refugees around him. After a moment of consideration, he decided it was a good time to win their hearts.
He waved his hand grandly and announced with a laugh,
"Recruiting Commander Zhou is a joyous occasion! Let's not dwell on such depressing matters. To welcome Commander Zhou and all our new villagers to Wasteland Mountain Village, tonight we'll hold a feast of roasted beasts! Everyone, eat your fill!"
When the refugees heard there would be food—and meat at that—the eyes of these long-starving villagers lit up. Their faces filled with gratitude as they began to loudly praise Xiao Jing.
"Long live the Village Chief!"
Popular Support +1, +1, +2...
Zhou Cang Loyalty +3, Guo Yun Loyalty +1, Li Ye Loyalty +5...
Wasteland Mountain Village has gained the temporary status: 'Stable Popular Support'
Hearing the string of system notifications, Xiao Jing was overjoyed. 'I definitely made the right call!' he thought.
"Zhou Cang, our village's conditions are simple, and we have no fine wine. I'm afraid the feast will be a humble one."
Xiao Jing patted Zhou Cang on the shoulder, his tone apologetic.
Then, his tone shifted, becoming passionate.
"But I believe this is only temporary! With Commander Zhou on our side, our village is sure to develop at lightning speed!"
Zhou Cang was moved. He quickly cupped his fists and said in his rough voice,
"My Lord, how can you say that? I should be the one thanking you for taking us refugees in. If you hadn't, I don't know how I would have kept these villagers alive. I'm afraid by now..."
Xiao Jing waved his hand dismissively. "Let's not talk about that. For now, we eat and drink to our hearts' content!"
...