Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

"Dong! Dong dong!"

Accompanied by the rumbling of war drums in the distance, Beidi barbarian troops, like dark clouds pressing down on the city, began their attack.

When Zhao Haiping first witnessed this massive war scene, he was somewhat terrified, but now he had completely adapted, even feeling somewhat indifferent.

After all, he had seen such scenes countless times and had also died countless times—his mentality was as steady as an old dog.

Drawing the bow, nocking the arrow.

Upon the General's command, the feathered arrow flew out!

This arrow accurately struck a barbarian below the city, piercing deeply into his right chest and even toppling him over, struggling briefly before ultimately failing to rise again.

Zhao Haiping's expression remained unchanged as he nocked a second arrow.

Haiping had also deliberately honed his archery skills earlier using a simple method—initially relying on the "Expert in Archery" skill, repeatedly experiencing the sensation of shooting arrows to turn it into muscle memory.

He would commit suicide and restart as soon as the barbarians reached the top of the walls, thus repeatedly honing his proficiency.

So now, even without relying on the "Expert in Archery" innate skill, Haiping's archery could no longer be taken lightly.

Another arrow, another Beidi barbarian fell in response.

On his third draw of the bow, Haiping aimed at a cavalry leader charging at the front.

This time, the arrow struck the leader's shoulder at a tricky angle; regrettably, the leader was armored, so although the arrowhead penetrated through a gap in his armor, it did not go deep.

Nevertheless, three consecutive hits—even if somewhat lucky—still marked Haiping's best performance.

Someone nearby cheered, "Good shooting!"

Haiping remained impassive and continued nocking arrows.

He had experienced this before—when he performed well, such as hitting enemies with consecutive shots or overcoming multiple opponents in close combat, other Great Chu soldiers would also cheer.

This would obviously enhance his reputation in the army, which was beneficial for the battles to come.

Soon, the Beidi barbarians began their assault on the city.

Haiping immediately discarded his bow and arrows to the side, pulled out the sword from his waist, and directly charged at the first Beidi barbarian to climb atop the city wall!

The barbarian had a fierce appearance, with muscles that seemed quite developed, clearly one of the elite who dared to lead the charge in this kind of siege warfare, usually called something like 'vanguard brave'.

In contrast, Haiping, with his smaller stature, appeared far weaker among the Great Chu soldiers, and his forward charge seemed like a death wish.

However, just when the other soldiers thought he was a goner, Haiping suddenly dodged with a swift movement, perfectly evading the barbarian's curved sword, and with a sweep of his sword from below, cut directly through the opening on the barbarian's right side, slicing across his throat!

Then, as more barbarians clambered onto the city walls, Haiping didn't stop for a moment—he fought while advancing toward General Geng Zhong's position.

Partly to reinforce the General, preventing a domino-like defeat if the General were killed, and on the other hand, to make himself more visible to the General.

Being visible was the only way to have a chance of being promoted to Deputy General!

To others, Haiping seemed to face grave dangers along the way, his fighting style was reckless, often charging into groups of three or four barbarians, yet he always managed to escape by the skin of his teeth, even managing to kill one or two in return.

Haiping had not yet reached General Geng Zhong when he caught the General's attention.

"Could there be such a brave warrior in my army?" General Geng Zhong's face inevitably showed a look of pleasant surprise.

The first stage of the battle ended quickly, with the Beidi retreating.

Haiping was covered in blood, his sword notched from use, and he had several new wounds.

But to him, this was nothing—the game's pain sensation was turned down, and besides, having died countless times before and seen all sorts of grand scenes, such minor injuries hardly affected his judgment.

There was an element of luck in this pass through the level; after all, the "Blood-Licking" talent wasn't invincible, it just made it easier for him to perform above his level in close combat with blades when death was still inevitable.

But in terms of results, Haiping had left an impression on these Great Chu soldiers as nothing short of heroic!

One man slaughtering enemies left and right on the city walls, often facing multiple opponents, seemingly on the verge of collapse multiple times, and yet always turning the tide, exchanging a minor wound on his body for the life of a Beidi barbarian.

Perhaps this was what legends called "Bravest of the Brave"!

Zhao Haiping's performance not only tied up a large number of barbarian soldiers, allowing the other Great Chu soldiers to fight more comfortably, but most importantly, it also greatly boosted morale, making this battle even less uncertain.

However, Zhao Haiping knew the second stage was even more important.

Because in the first stage, as long as he could hold on without dying, he would basically be able to enter the second stage. But the second stage wouldn't be so simple.

The fog dispersed, and the surrounding scene changed.

The soldiers around him had all turned into appearances of men in their forties, and the equipment on the city walls also looked long neglected.

But just as Zhao Haiping had predicted, his identity indeed changed!

Previously, he was just a very ordinary soldier, but now he was wearing fine armor, clearly different from before.

Seeing Zhao Haiping, the soldiers saluted him one after another.

Clearly, his status was now that of a deputy general, thanks to his excellent performance in the first stage.

Zhao Haiping didn't want to delay for a moment and immediately walked quickly towards where General Geng Zhong was.

Two guards saw Zhao Haiping, but this time they didn't dare to stop him, instead saluting and letting him pass directly.

General Geng Zhong was looking down at a map when he saw Zhao Haiping approaching and asked, "What's the situation?"

Zhao Haiping decided to cut to the chase, "General, the soldiers are suffering from both hunger and thirst, and the barbarians will soon attack the city. We can't wait any longer. We must immediately dig the seventh well!"

General Geng Zhong was somewhat surprised and looked up at him, then looked down again.

"The attack by the barbarians is imminent, it is not appropriate to waste manpower digging wells now. Moreover, since the six wells have not yielded water, it is probably because heaven has abandoned us also…"

Zhao Haiping hurriedly stepped forward, his attitude resolute, "General, you must not think this way!

"In days past, when the former emperor campaigned against the Beidi and was trapped, he drew his sword to pierce the mountain and a spring surged forth. This shows that Great Chu is favored by heaven's mandate, how could it be 'heaven has abandoned us also'?

"General, the Beidi barbarians are at the gates, overwhelming in force. If we don't have a special strategy, this battle is almost certainly lost. In my humble opinion, we must dig this seventh well!"

When Zhao Haiping spoke these words, they were earnest and full of conviction.

Although there was a performative element, Zhao Haiping had already fought so many battles with these soldiers and died so many times, he had long since put himself into the role, hence his earnestness.

General Geng Zhong seemed somewhat moved by his words.

Zhao Haiping's speech had two key points: first, to cite the legend of the former emperor to build confidence, and second, to analyze the current battlefield situation, emphasizing that "digging the well" was the only possible way to turn the tide.

General Geng Zhong paced back and forth a couple of times, "Then, in your opinion, where should we dig this seventh well?"

Zhao Haiping glanced at the map in front of General Geng Zhong and saw that there were many locations already marked on it, which must be the locations of the previous six wells.

And these locations were almost all concentrated to the northwest side of the city.

Zhao Haiping had already done his homework ahead of time and pointed to a location near the south rampart, "General, dig here!"

Geng Zhong couldn't help but frown slightly, "Oh? But this place is far from the streams to the northwest. How can you be sure there is water?"

Zhao Haiping said, "General, there's nowhere else in the city suitable for well-digging, with things having come to this point, we can only try."

General Geng Zhong considered for a moment with his head down, "Alright, we'll do as you say."

Zhao Haiping quickly struck while the iron was hot, "Also, General, I hope you will order the slaughter of a few cavalry horses."

General Geng Zhong's brow furrowed, a cold light in his eyes, "Slaughter the horses?"

Zhao Haiping nodded, "Exactly."

He had anticipated the general's reaction, but to clear this level, he had to stick to his view.

These ancients had deep affection for their cavalry horses, and having horses meant that breakout was possible.

So, even though they were both hungry and thirsty, reduced to the point of squeezing juice from horse manure, these men had not thought of slaughtering the horses.

Because the cavalry horses were not only their comrades-in-arms, but also the last safeguard for breaking out.

There were already not many cavalry horses in the city; slaughtering them meant virtually cutting off the possibility of a breakout, equivalent to everyone being trapped in the lonely city.

But Zhao Haiping was very clear, the current predicament only had this one solution!