Chapter 9: Combination Attack Skill, Chaos Across the Eight Directions!
Ma Chao’s expression turned solemn. With a low shout, he tightened the reins, and the treasured horse beneath him let out a shrill neigh.
Neighhh...
The horse stopped in its tracks.
Behind Ma Chao, two hundred militiamen stood in neat formation.
At this moment, they were still a thousand meters away from the Level 3 village, yet they could already see scouts and hidden sentries concealed in the surrounding shadows. The moment those scouts discovered their presence, they did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately retreated toward the rear, clearly intending to report the news.
Ma Chao noticed this and revealed a look of surprise.
When they attacked the Level 2 village before, his army had charged all the way to the village entrance before being discovered.
But now...
They had already been exposed from a thousand meters away.
It seems this place is far trickier than I imagined.
“General, are you afraid?” Xiao Wen suddenly asked.
“Not at all.”
“In that case, please prepare for battle, General. A Level 3 village activates the duel challenge mode. Their strength is not weak, so please do not underestimate them,” Xiao Wen said before opening Ma Chao’s attribute panel.
General: Ma Chao
Gender: Male
Grade: Legendary Famous General (Fifth Tier)
Level: 5
Talent Attributes: 55/50 (Base 50 + 5. Before Level 10, every level gained adds 1 point.)
Weapon: Profound Heaven Sky-Piercing Spear
Mount: Claw Yellow Flying Lightning
Hidden Talent: Combination Attack Skill (Activated)
Xiao Wen looked over Ma Chao’s attributes with a calm expression.
Although the general’s level was somewhat lower, his maximum starting talent and the support of two Heaven-tier pieces of equipment were enough to make up for the difference.
And if necessary, they could still use the Combination Attack Skill.
This duel challenge should not pose much of a problem.
As long as they won the duel challenge, capturing the Level 3 village and upgrading the territory remained possible.
At worst, they would lose some soldiers and spend more money recruiting replacements.
Thinking this, Xiao Wen glanced at Ma Chao and gave him a nod.
Understanding immediately, Ma Chao waved forward.
The army behind him instantly understood and advanced.
When they arrived within a hundred meters of the Level 3 village, they saw it already packed with bandits.
At the front stood two bandit leaders.
One carried a giant axe.
The other wielded a large saber.
Seeing this scene, Xiao Wen remained completely calm.
This situation was exactly as he expected.
The configuration of a Level 2 village was two hundred bandits and one minor bandit leader.
The configuration of a Level 3 village was five hundred bandits and two bandit leaders.
Judging from the forces alone, conquering a Level 3 village was several times more difficult.
However, there was still room for clever tactics.
A Level 3 village differed from a Level 2 village.
According to the game mechanics, attacking a Level 3 village would trigger the pre-battle duel challenge mode.
The so-called duel challenge meant that before the armies officially clashed, both sides would line up in formation and each send out a general to fight.
The losing side would suffer a major drop in morale, weakening the combat effectiveness of its soldiers.
If one could kill the enemy general during the duel instead of merely defeating him, the enemy troops would completely lose their will to fight.
At its core, the duel challenge was a system of status effects.
Victory meant stacking buffs.
Defeat meant stacking debuffs.
As for Xiao Wen’s strategy for conquering the Level 3 village, it was very simple.
Let Ma Chao take the field and fight one against two, directly killing both bandit leaders.
As long as those two died, the remaining five hundred soldiers would lose all morale, making them easy to eliminate.
With that thought in mind, Xiao Wen used the game’s inspection function to check the information of the two bandit leaders.
[Wang Duorou]
Gender: Male
Faction: Black Fiend Stronghold
Level: 14
Grade: Ordinary General (First Tier)
Talent Attributes: 56/10
Note: First-tier generals begin with 0–10 attributes. Before Level 10, each level grants 1 point. Between Levels 11–20, each level grants 10 points.
Overview: Skilled with a giant axe. A minor leader under Black Fiend Stronghold and a trusted subordinate of the Third Chief. Assigned to guard Feidu Village and possesses some strength.
[Zhang Caogen]
Gender: Male
Faction: Black Fiend Stronghold
Level: 14
Grade: Ordinary General (First Tier)
Talent Attributes: 58/10
Overview: Skilled with a large saber. A minor leader under Black Fiend Stronghold and a trusted subordinate of the Third Chief. Assigned to guard Feidu Village and possesses some strength.
Level 14?
A ten-level difference?
Still, their talent attributes were not that far apart.
Ma Chao’s chances of winning were quite high.
Xiao Wen muttered to himself.
At that moment, Ma Chao rode forward, leveled his spear, and shouted:
“Who dares come forth and battle this general?”
Wang Duorou’s expression turned cold as he looked toward Zhang Caogen.
The latter nodded.
Immediately afterward, Wang Duorou strode forward with his giant axe.
His gaze landed on Claw Yellow Flying Lightning beneath Ma Chao, and greed flashed through his eyes.
“What a magnificent horse! Once I chop off your dog head, I’ll present this horse to my chief!”
“Silence!”
Ma Chao’s face darkened.
His spear flicked forward.
The reins shook.
Claw Yellow Flying Lightning surged ahead, carrying Ma Chao toward Wang Duorou.
As he charged, Ma Chao lowered his body slightly.
Man and horse became one.
In an instant, he closed the distance.
When he reached striking range, the Profound Heaven Sky-Piercing Spear thrust out like a streak of white light toward Wang Duorou.
The strike was unbelievably fast and incredibly fierce.
The wind rushed forward.
The flesh on Wang Duorou’s face trembled violently.
Shock appeared in his eyes.
He raised his giant axe and hacked downward toward the spear.
Boom!
The two attacks collided.
A muffled explosion echoed out.
Wang Duorou’s expression changed.
His face flushed red.
A damage number floated above his head.
Blocked. HP -100.
A single spear strike had forced both him and his axe several steps backward.
This guy is strong!
“Brother Zhang, he’s got a horse helping him, while I don’t! Get over here, let’s fight him together! This one’s tough!” Wang Duorou shouted while gasping for breath.
Hearing that, Xiao Wen froze.
Two against one?
Wait!
According to the rules, wasn’t it supposed to be one-on-one?
Just because Ma Chao had a mount, the other side could send an extra person?
I never encountered this in my previous life!
Xiao Wen was greatly shocked.
At that moment, Zhang Caogen had already entered the battlefield.
Standing beside Wang Duorou, the two bandits charged forward together.
One wielded a saber.
The other carried an axe.
Facing their assault, Ma Chao remained completely fearless.
His Profound Heaven Sky-Piercing Spear danced in his hands, generating fierce gusts of wind as he fought both opponents simultaneously.
However, no matter how brave and powerful Ma Chao was, fighting two opponents at once was still difficult.
He could only maintain a stalemate.
Killing them?
Impossible.
And that was naturally not the outcome Xiao Wen wanted.
Still, it was not quite time to activate the Combination Attack Skill.
Watching Ma Chao battle continuously, Xiao Wen could sense his fighting spirit steadily rising.
The Combination Attack Skill required Ma Chao’s battle intent to reach a certain critical point before it could be activated.
“Excellent! Come, fight!”
“Again!”
“It has been a long time since this general enjoyed such a satisfying battle!”
...
The longer Ma Chao fought, the stronger he became.
From being slightly disadvantaged at the start...
To fighting evenly...
To now nearly suppressing both opponents by himself.
At this moment, Ma Chao’s battle intent had already risen to an entirely new height.
Xiao Wen smiled faintly.
The general panel appeared before him.
Looking at the Combination Attack Skill icon that was now sparkling with light, a thought flashed through his mind.
Combination Attack Skill, activate!
Chaos Across the Eight Directions!
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