Seeing that it was a young woman, Ninth Uncle put the Thunder Talisman back in his bag.
What surprised him most was that she was actually from the Dragon Kingdom!
Still, he didn't lower his guard. Qin Feng had taught him that here, you couldn't trust anyone but your teammates.
"Need water? Go get it yourself," Ninth Uncle said, pointing to the lake.
The woman asked timidly, "How much is the water?"
Ninth Uncle was stunned.
"Selling it?"
"No, it's free. Take as much as you need."
The woman couldn't believe her ears. "Free? But this is the National Fortune Battlefield. Everything here costs something."
Ninth Uncle smiled. "Just a jar of water. It's truly free."
He sighed inwardly.
*A simple housewife, forced onto this battlefield by circumstances, now burdened with the hopes of an entire nation... How unfortunate.*
*If someone like her dies to a monster's claws, her countrymen won't resurrect her, will they?*
*I wonder how she survived the first two assaults...*
Ninth Uncle's thoughts wandered.
"Really free? Thank you so much!" The woman nodded gratefully at Ninth Uncle before hurrying to the lake.
*Gurgle, gurgle*—the water filled the container in just a few moments.
"Can... can I come back to get water tomorrow?" the woman asked Ninth Uncle as she prepared to leave.
"Of course," Ninth Uncle replied. "But aren't you afraid to travel alone so late at night? Where's your national gate? Aren't your teammates coming to meet you?"
Asking someone their national gate location on the National Fortune Battlefield is considered extremely rude. Revealing one's own gate location is also highly unwise.
Yet, not only was Ninth Uncle speaking carelessly, but the woman also showed no caution. She pointed south and said, "My national gate is just over there, only a few kilometers away."
Meeting another Eastern-faced guardian seemed to excite the woman.
Ninth Uncle understood. "Ah, so you're from a neighboring country. Our Dragon Kingdom's gate is ten kilometers to the east."
If any other guardians had been present to hear these two naive fools, they would have been speechless.
No other guardians were nearby, but Blue Star netizens were watching the live stream.
*...What's going on? This woman doesn't know the rules, and Ninth Uncle is completely unguarded. He just revealed his gate location like that?*
*Ugh, they're both so naive.*
"Exactly, I agree. Ninth Uncle saw she was pitiful and had no ulterior motives, so he didn't guard against her."
"But this is the National Fortune Battlefield!"
"Perhaps because they're both from the Dragon Kingdom, it made them both lower their guard."
"Can Dragon Kingdom citizens even become guardians for other countries? My friends, I have a bold idea."
"She's probably just part of the Chinese diaspora. She has family abroad, after all. The Dragon Kingdom is just her homeland to her."
While the netizens debated, Ninth Uncle and the woman continued their conversation.
When the woman heard the words "Dragon Kingdom," she was so happy she could barely contain herself.
Could it be she had really met a fellow countryman?!
"So you're truly from the Dragon Kingdom? Are you Qin Feng from the Dragon Kingdom? Hello, I'm Suri, a guardian of the Niel Kingdom."
Suri introduced herself.
Ninth Uncle was puzzled. This woman was clearly from the Dragon Kingdom, so why had she become a guardian of another country?
It turned out that centuries ago, Suri's ancestors were from Jiangnan. To escape persecution by the imperial court at the time, they had settled in the Niel Kingdom.
Hearing this, Ninth Uncle nodded in understanding.
Then, he smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm not Qin Feng. Qin Feng is my teammate."
But what country was the Niel Kingdom?
Ninth Uncle knew little about foreign countries and had never even heard of some of the smaller nations.
"Oh," Suri said, her voice tinged with disappointment. "My teammates and I know of you. Thank you for protecting our weak nation and providing us with water.
It's just... we can't afford the water."
Ninth Uncle was slightly surprised. "Didn't Brother Qin manage to lower the price significantly?"
Suri smiled awkwardly. "Well, exchanging one unit of Profound Iron for 40 liters of water is still too expensive. We don't have a single unit of Profound Iron. For the past few days, my teammates and I haven't dared to leave the gate to explore."
"Ah?" Ninth Uncle was even more astonished.
It turned out that the three guardians of the Niel Kingdom were all women. Since their arrival, they had been hiding behind the kingdom's gate.
All their defenses relied on fortifications they had built themselves: simple walls, barricades, dug traps, and handmade arrows.
They had done everything themselves.
Ninth Uncle was even more stunned.
How had they managed to withstand two waves of attacks?
The first wave, with only five Night Demons, was understandable.
But the second wave had fifty Pig-Headed Men!
Pig-Headed Men had thick hides, immense strength—he couldn't fathom how they had survived.
"Because of that, our defenses are almost in ruins. We have two days left to reinforce them, or else..."
As she spoke, Suri's eyes reddened.
Among the three female guards, only Suri possessed a red talent; the other two had gray or white talents.
If she were to die in battle, the Niel Kingdom would undoubtedly replace her.
Even if someone like Suri, who only knew how to farm and do manual labor, were to die, Ninth Uncle estimated she wouldn't even be revived.
What nation wouldn't want its guards to be powerful male warriors?
"I see..."
Ninth Uncle sighed inwardly again, feeling a pang of sympathy for Suri.
"Huh? Aren't they... aren't they Pig-Headed Men? Why are they standing here so quietly and obediently?"
Suri showed no fear of the terrifying-looking zombie Pig-Headed Men; instead, she seemed curious.
"What's this?"
She approached the Golden-Armored Corpse and reached out to touch the Corpse-Suppressing Talisman.
"Don't touch that!"
Ninth Uncle quickly stopped her.
Suri's hand froze in mid-air before the Golden-Armored Corpse.
"Tsk tsk tsk... this woman's got some nerve."
"Eek! She's not even scared? I can only peek through my fingers on the screen!"
"..."
Suri said timidly, "I-I'm sorry. I was just curious."
Ninth Uncle's tone softened slightly as he explained, "This is a Corpse-Suppressing Talisman. It can restrain these jiangshi."
"Jiangshi?" Suri's interest was piqued.
Seeing her lack of fear, Ninth Uncle began to educate her about these undead creatures.
After listening, Suri expressed her admiration: "Ninth Uncle, you're truly remarkable! To be able to command them to fight for you! If I could do that too, I wouldn't fear monsters anymore."
Unintentional words, but they struck a chord with the listener.
"Do you want to learn?" Ninth Uncle asked, observing her closely.
He noticed her peculiar bone structure, steady aura, and most importantly, her red-tier innate talent! Her complete lack of fear towards these dark creatures, and instead her keen interest, made her an ideal candidate for learning Maoshan Daoist Arts.
After inquiring about her birth date and time, he calculated the compatibility using his fingers. No conflict!
Ninth Uncle had taken two apprentices in his youth, but both were useless, wasting their days joking around and drifting through life.
Unfortunately, this promising candidate was a woman. As a man, teaching Daoist Arts to a woman always felt somewhat awkward. Moreover, although she was originally from the Dragon Kingdom, she now held Niel citizenship.
The Maoshan Daoist Arts were on the verge of extinction with him...
Ninth Uncle felt a pang of sorrow.
Miss Bao'er, while interested in Daoist Arts, was too playful—a fatal flaw for studying the arts.
More importantly, she was mysterious and her true strength likely surpassed his own!
Passing on the arts to her was out of the question.
What about Brother Qin?
Brother Qin was exceptionally talented, but seemed indifferent to Daoist Arts.
Moreover, his extraordinary aptitude for mechanics could lead him to heights beyond ordinary comprehension.
Perhaps the legendary "mechanical ascension" could be realized through him.
If that were the case, the notion of promoting the Maoshan Daoist Arts would pale in comparison!
He also considered the extreme dangers of the National Fortune Battlefield—he could die at any moment.
At that point, the Maoshan lineage would truly be extinguished with his death.
I, Lin Fengjiao, am the most unworthy descendant of the Maoshan lineage!
*Sigh...*
The more Ninth Uncle thought, the more pessimistic he became, unable to escape his sorrow.
-----------------------
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