Chapter 154: Sparring

Having hunted Petrified Frogs for three days, Zhuguli felt that life in the Military Camp was truly too boring; for a Tana City without Barbarian invasions, combat-oriented players could be said to be quite bored.

Although the game gave them some new experiences, such as going to hunt for those materials around Tana City, and the materials could also be sold for a decent price, the one-day resurrection cooldown that occurred at every turn made many players cry out that they couldn't stand it.

Most people couldn't accept the "grind" and "pay-to-win," and while this game didn't look like it required grinding or paying, if players couldn't adapt to the lack of auto-pathing and the need to run the map on their own two legs, they would still find it very dull.

Fortunately, the surrounding scenery was nice, and if one's eyesight was good and their focus was improved, they could still gather quite a few cash crops on the mountains.

Seeing the discussions on the forum, Zhuguli had some interest in Haigang Cheng.

It was just that how to ask for leave from the War Church had become a problem.

During the last server update, everyone collectively took half a month of vacation, but as for him, because he happened to die during the War, he had resurrected once and had no vacation at all.

In the records of the War Church, he did not participate in the last battle, so there was no subsequent vacation.

"Brother Guli, are you there?" Outside the tent, a rough voice sounded like thunder, making Zhuguli jump.

"Siluowannuo, you've come too early; it's not training time yet." Zhuguli's tone was muffled; mainly, he still wasn't learning as fast as other players, and for him, Tana Language was indeed not as simple as using gestures.

These past few days, Zhuguli had been busy catching Petrified Frogs and had truly neglected his training, so it was normal for the vice-captain to come looking for him.

Siluowannuo discontentedly lifted the curtain of the tent. "Where have you been these past few days? To tell you the truth, if you are short on money, we can all help you, but there is no need for you to run all over the world. I know you Xiahui People have many ways to do business, but don't forget, you have already awakened."

"I know, so..." Zhuguli also knew that since he had asked for leave for so many days, he should give the other party a reason. He took two pairs of Petrified Frog eyes directly from under his pillow and said, "I have been catching Petrified Frogs these past few days. I have to say, these little things are really too hard to catch."

"My god, you actually went to... It's really great that you didn't die." Siluowannuo was stunned for a moment, then said, "You can actually catch Petrified Frogs? You didn't wait for the Petrified Frogs to die?"

"Of course not. You just have to cover their eyes, then constantly lure them with bait, and once they fall into the trap, you just cover it with a lid." Zhuguli described the method for catching Petrified Frogs; this method was something players had only figured out after several total wipes.

Petrified Frogs like to live in cold pools and are very sensitive to humans and heat, so they usually won't go near places with fire sources. Therefore, the trap must be dug very deep, with freshly extinguished charcoal placed at the bottom, and then the Petrified Frogs are attracted over using bait. Once they fall into the trap and the lid is covered, the Petrified Frogs can be roasted to death.

This method allowed Zhuguli to catch more than thirty Petrified Frogs, and other players also caught quite a few, totaling no less than a hundred.

Of course, the attacks of the Petrified Frogs were quite powerful, but for Zhuguli, who was a Warrior, this bit of attack was not worth mentioning.

"You really aren't afraid of death." Siluowannuo looked at the other party in shock. When dealing with Barbarians, most Warriors could ensure they left the battlefield alive, but when dealing with things like Petrified Frogs, Warriors couldn't necessarily all come back alive.

Those strange and miraculous creatures would make Siluowannuo panic if he encountered them rashly; this was also the reason why the War Church needed a large amount of cannon fodder. Even Barbarians who didn't understand anything would sometimes use some bizarre creatures to attack. Of course, this method sometimes had the opposite effect.

Zhuguli scratched his head. "I think this is also a way of training, isn't it?"

"What you say also makes sense. I think you should be digesting it better now." Siluowannuo said with a bit of envy, "You know, every time you are in a desperate situation, it is possible to make your body adapt better to the Magic Potion."

Is that so?

Zhuguli thought of the post on the forum and then asked, "Then can I master more skills?"

"You should have already had a breakthrough in speed and strength. If you find that you have some skills or the like in your mind, then you should have already digested it to the next stage. Never mind that, go to the trial grounds and let me see if you have made progress. If not, then you can't go out to catch any frogs during this time, but must train yourself well." Siluowannuo reacted quickly and pulled Zhuguli onto the trial grounds.

At this time, there were quite a few players in training, and the Warriors here were teaching these players very seriously; after all, when the players had difficulties, they really dared to charge, and their training was diligent.

Although tired, most players enjoyed this process. On one hand, the character bodies that Chen Zhi molded were quite good, and on the other hand, Zhuguli's awakening was also their motivation.

As long as they could awaken and be appreciated by the War Church, they could make more money when catching miraculous creatures.

Zhuguli would usually introduce to players how much money he had made in the game, and most players would be a bit jealous after hearing it.

Of course, there were also players who tried to change jobs; as long as they died once, they could completely get rid of the War Church and become free people again.

It only required paying a 1-day cooldown.

However, most people still didn't want to change professions; not only was there a fixed salary in the Guard Team, but they could also learn quite a few combat techniques.

These muscle memories would also turn into soul memories and be brought back to the players' bodies. It must be said that after training, most War Church players had slightly faster physical reaction speeds in real life.

Seeing Zhuguli come, many players focused their attention over.

Siluowannuo also shouted a few times, letting everyone come over to take a look.

"Guli hasn't been to the training ground for three days. According to him, he has been doing other training recently. Do any of you plan to come over and challenge him?"

Several players were eager to try; everyone wanted to see what it was like to compete with a formally awakened Warrior.

It was just that the Warriors here didn't look down on those unawakened players, but Zhuguli was different—he was one of their own, so it was perfectly fine to go up and challenge him.

Zhuguli, however, had black lines on his forehead; he hadn't trained for three days, and some skills were indeed not as well-mastered as before.

It would be better to let himself train with the vice-captain first before coming.

Soon, two players actively raised their hands. "The two of us fighting one, that should be okay, right?"

"Of course." Siluowannuo also knew that he needed to let Zhuguli build up confidence, so he specifically allowed two Xiahui People to come and compete with Zhuguli.

"Why not let him directly compete with an awakened Warrior?" Liande frowned. "There is no need to indulge these Xiahui People; they are sometimes just too slack."

"But they are much better than the previous Guard Team, aren't they? And I want to see his training results. You wouldn't know, he has actually been catching Petrified Frogs recently; if it were me, I wouldn't touch that kind of thing."

Hearing Siluowannuo's words, Liande was also startled. The potion for Warrior awakening was not cheap, and although the materials from Petrified Frogs were also very valuable, it wasn't worth paying with one's life for that kind of thing.

And if one wanted to recover the awakening materials on him, one would also have to face those Petrified Frogs. If they were really that easy to catch, the War Church would have long since caught all those things; where would it be the turn of those Hunters?

As the two were talking, Zhuguli had already finished the competition with the two players.

It must be said that an awakened Warrior is indeed different; Zhuguli used at most ten seconds to knock the two players to the ground.

Seeing that Zhuguli was still so energetic after resting for three days, soon a few other Warriors went up to challenge him.

Zhuguli felt that he easily knocked these few Warriors to the ground as well.

Although he hadn't followed along to train during this time, catching Petrified Frogs did indeed make his Magic Potion digest better.

At first, he would die when catching Petrified Frogs, but later, after having experience, his efficiency became higher and higher.

The last dozen or so pairs of eyes were all caught by him yesterday; it was hard to say if it was because the Magic Potion was digested better.

"Okay, it seems he has digested it well, so this matter can be handed to him to try." Liande looked at Zhuguli as if he were looking at some novel creature, walked over, and said, "Let me spar with you."

As the Guard Captain, Liande's strength was obvious to all.

It could be said that he was the strongest person in the Military Camp down the mountain.

If he came to the field, it meant that he attached great importance to the person he was sparring with; many guards would even feel a bit jealous.

There weren't many people who could trade blows with Captain Liande!

Zhuguli also became nervous; the other party was the highest combat power he had seen so far.

Sure enough, as expected, the other party didn't even use the heavy sword he carried with him, but instead kicked over directly; when he was blocking, the other party used his right hand to forcefully twist his shoulder, and Zhuguli flew out.

However, he was still able to rely on his good reaction ability to stand within the training range, and then take out his greatsword again to attack.

"Very good, you have more spirit than I imagined." Liande received the other party's attack, felt the force of the attack, and then kicked Zhuguli away.

The gap in strength cannot be made up for by technique, let alone that Zhuguli's technique is far from being comparable to Liande's.

"You did well; it seems you have already digested half of the Magic Potion. I think I can find something for you to do." Liande patted Zhuguli on the shoulder, "Aren't you Xiahui People planning to reopen the pier? I think this matter can just be handed over to you: escort that guy who bought the pier. Oh right, by the way, go to Haigang Cheng and see if the mutated creatures there need our help. I think the Storm Church over there will be very happy that we went to help."

Zhuguli saw some ill intent in the other party's smile, but felt there was no problem.

In the forum, the renovation of the pier area had already been under discussion for a long time.

Because Andrew had invested all the money in his hands a while ago and did not have enough money to invest, the pier area had been abandoned ever since it was purchased.

Currently, it is a place where players stack and store supplies.

However, later some players made money; the Red-tailed Dragonfly allowed the players to earn a large sum, and almost every newbie who participated intended to invest this money to earn more.

Thus, You'eryuan became the representative of these players, investing this portion of money to Andrew, letting Andrew act as the agent to get the pier area operating again.

The former Tana City pier belonged entirely to the Municipal Building; this pier was built with funding from the Wealth Church to supply the transport of incoming and outgoing materials.

Later, with the suspension of Gannaer's shipping routes, plus some other reasons, the pier area completely ceased operations.

Now that someone is willing to take over, whether it is the nobles or the people from the Municipal Building, they all feel it is not a bad thing.

Especially when the people from the Wealth Church are constantly causing trouble for the nobles, if there is a way to bypass the railway for transportation, and the price is cheap, what does it matter even if it takes longer?

Anyway, those Grain won't sprout immediately just by being on the road; besides, finding a warehouse in the Royal Capital is also a troublesome matter, so it is better to take advantage of this time to finalize the sales contract first.

In short, apart from the Wealth Church not being optimistic about the pier, all other churches in Tana City are willing to provide some help.

For example, the Wisdom Church is willing to sell Andrew some decommissioned cargo Ship.

For another example, the War Church is willing to provide help with security patrols.

Even the Police Station is willing to set up a new police station specifically for the pier.

At this time, it is not a problem for someone to take on such a job.

Zhuguli never expected that he would actually be sent out by the War Church to escort players to Port City to discuss the operation of the port...

And he could also bring two lackeys along to go on a business trip at public expense.

This money was not even provided by Andrew, but was voluntarily provided by the War Church.

It is hard to say whether this is the War Church targeting the Wealth Church; in any case, being able to avoid training and go outside to take a look, Zhuguli was still quite satisfied.

Besides Zhuguli, those accompanying him included Yaohuanghuang, Shurima Dalu, as well as You'eryuan and Tuorsuo.

The first two represented the War Church, while the latter two represented the investing Andrew.

As for Andrew, he had no time at all to run to Port City; it was not a question of distance, but that the church affairs and business in Tana City could not leave Andrew.

Without Evans, Saina was even less able to pick up the various matters of Tana City, not to mention that Andrew would not hand these things over to a young person like Saina to do.

(End of this chapter)