Chapter 1: First Kill of the Tartars, Attributes Unlocked!

May, the 20th year of Hongwu!

Daning Prefecture!

In a gloomy forest.

Over a hundred soldiers, clad in red armor and wielding sabers and long spears, spread out, cautiously approaching the depths of the woods.

"Everyone, be careful."

"Veterans in the front, recruits in the back."

"This group of mountain bandits is no easy lot."

The hundred-man commander (Baihu) leading the troops, dressed in armor and holding a saber, said in a low voice while walking in the middle.

"Yes."

The soldiers responded one after another.

The veterans held their sabers in the front.

The recruits held their bows and arrows in the back.

"Zhu Ying."

"Everyone has a first time."

"When you see the bandits later, don't worry about anything else; just raise your bow and shoot at their foreheads."

"Every one you shoot dead is a military merit."

A veteran kindly reminded a recruit.

"Old Zhang, don't you worry."

"I'm not afraid."

A somewhat youthful recruit replied immediately.

He was not old, looking only fourteen or fifteen, still a boy, with a rather handsome but somewhat scholarly and frail appearance.

Although he spoke calmly.

His expression was still somewhat tense.

After all, he had been enlisted for less than two months, and this was his first time on a battlefield to suppress bandits.

Although the laws of the Great Ming were strict and had significant constraints on bandits and evildoers, the vastness of the Ming Empire meant that no matter what kind of empire it was, there would never be a shortage of people committing crimes.

Turning to banditry was even more common.

"Damn it."

"Shen, you just wait."

"If I can make it back, you'll be the first one I finish off."

Looking at the murderous and eerie atmosphere permeating the forest, Zhu Ying cursed inwardly.

Enlisting in the army?

This was not something Zhu Ying wanted; he had been set up by someone.

In the current Hongwu era of the Great Ming, military service was hereditary; there were military households, and soldiers were only recruited when there was a shortage.

Zhu Ying was not from a military household and originally did not need to enlist. However, it was a coincidence that Daning Prefecture, in order to pacify banditry, recruited new soldiers with a requirement of being at least sixteen years old. Zhu Ying was logically set up and brought in. More importantly, Zhu Ying was not even sixteen; his information had been completely forged, and he had been entered into the military register.

However.

At this moment, besides cursing inwardly, Zhu Ying had no other choice.

He could only stare ahead, holding his bow and arrow, cautiously following the veteran in front of him as they advanced.

Deep in the forest.

As Zhu Ying drew closer.

He could see a dozen thatched huts scattered inside, along with caltrops and wooden fences.

Clearly, this was the lair of this group of bandits.

When these hundred Ming soldiers approached.

"The imperial troops are here!"

"Brothers, grab your weapons and slaughter these bastards!"

"Kill!"

"Kill these Ming dog-scum!"

"Kill..."

At this moment!

A series of angry roars erupted from the thatched huts.

First, a dozen arrows were fired from inside at the imperial troops outside.

Head-on.

Several imperial soldiers were wounded before they could react, their arms and thighs pierced by arrows, blood flowing freely.

Wails immediately rang out in the forest.

"Damn it."

Zhu Ying cursed inwardly, knowing full well that this kind of bandit suppression was life-threatening.

"Archers!"

The hundred-man commander shouted.

The thirty archers in the back, including Zhu Ying, immediately drew their bows and nocked their arrows.

Aiming at the bandits inside the fence.

A volley of arrows was released.

"Ah... ah..."

Screams also rang out from inside.

Several of the bandits' archers fell head-on.

"Archers, provide cover!"

"Spearmen, follow me and kill!"

"Spread out and surround them!"

"Leave no bandit alive!"

The commander shouted, drawing his saber and pointing it forward.

"Kill!"

"Kill!!"

Over a hundred imperial soldiers roared.

Seventy of them, holding long spears, immediately charged out toward the bandits.

In this kind of battle.

Weapons are strong in proportion to their length.

"The imperial troops have surrounded us!"

"Fight them to the death!"

The bandit leader shouted, waving his long saber.

Forty or fifty bandits around him immediately rushed out, engaging the imperial troops in close-quarters combat.

However.

The imperial troops had the advantage of long spears and were protected by armor; the moment they collided, it became a bloody slaughter.

Zhu Ying held his bow, his eyes locked on a bandit.

He pulled the bow with all his might.

*Whoosh.*

The arrow accurately struck a bandit, piercing his throat. He fell to the ground, struggled for a moment, and then stopped moving.

"Killed one Tartar, gained 20 points of strength."

Suddenly, a prompt sounded in Zhu Ying's ear.

Following that.

Zhu Ying could clearly feel his strength increase slightly.

"Is this... my golden finger?"

Zhu Ying was stunned, then his heart began to race, his face filled with ecstasy.

He had been reborn into this Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty for six years.

When he first arrived.

Zhu Ying had fantasized about whether he had a golden finger, so that in this Hongwu era, he wouldn't just be wealthy, but live very comfortably.

As for becoming an official, Zhu Ying had never thought about it.

This was the Hongwu era.

The Ming Taizu, Zhu Yuanzhang, was still alive.

Being an official was no different from seeking death; not only was the salary extremely low, but if something wasn't done right, Zhu Yuanzhang wouldn't be polite.

Killing officials.

For Zhu Yuanzhang, that was a daily occurrence.

Later generations said that being an official in the Hongwu era was like having your head hanging from your belt.

So Zhu Ying never thought about being an official.

Even joining the army was a setup, intended to kill him.

But now.

Kill enemies and pick up attributes?

This made Zhu Ying's heart race with excitement; he finally had something to rely on for his survival, and even for his revenge.

With this, Zhu Ying could not only quickly pick up attributes to become stronger, but also gain power and climb the ranks in the army. One day, when he returned to the Shen family, Zhu Ying would definitely make them pay the price.

Calming down.

The nervousness Zhu Ying felt during his first time on the battlefield suppressing bandits also subsided. He looked at the bandits—or Tartars—waving their swords and fighting the imperial troops.

In this Daning Prefecture, they bordered the Jianzhou Tartars.

These bandits were inevitably a part of their plundering of the Great Ming.

Killing Tartars.

That was even more satisfying.

"Kill!"

Zhu Ying roared, drawing an arrow from the quiver on his back.

His eyes locked onto another bandit again.

He drew his bow.

Having gained 20 points of strength, drawing the bow seemed much easier for Zhu Ying now.

He released the arrow.

*Whoosh.*

The arrow pierced through another bandit.

"Killed one Tartar, gained 20 points of strength." The prompt appeared again.

Zhu Ying felt his strength increase once more.

"Shen family."

"You set me up to join the army, hoping I'd die at the hands of bandits, but this time, I should actually thank you." Zhu Ying sneered inwardly.

The danger of enlisting had now become an opportunity for Zhu Ying.

"Brothers!"

"Break out!"

"The imperial leader is over there, follow me and kill him!" The bandit leader roared.

He waved his saber and charged, the bandits around him following suit.

A bloody, chaotic battle ensued.

The bandit leader swung his saber and cut down an imperial soldier.

With a flick of his wrist, another soldier was killed.

He was extremely fierce.

"Dog official, die!"

The bandit leader roared.

He charged straight toward the hundred-man commander.

...

PS: New book, seeking support.

(End of chapter)