Chapter 4: then translation of chapter title

Zhang Lei's soldiers quickly unlocked the new recruits' chains, drew their swords, and stood behind Zhang Lei, ready to die.

Shen Tianxing turned his head and told Mingyue:

"You go back with them to the village, hide in the mountains; if we win this battle, I'll come back to find you, and if I don't return, you stay hidden in the mountains or live in my house in the village, and return to Da Wu when you get the chance."

Shen Tianxing spoke solemnly, at the same time grabbing Mingyue's hand, stuffing ten taels of silver into it, and then holding her hand tightly around the silver.

Hearing Shen Tianxing's instructions and receiving the silver, Mingyue felt deeply moved in her heart; she clearly understood the impending danger, and Shen Tianxing might not come back.

Thinking of this, Mingyue vigorously wiped her face, and the soot covering her face fell away, revealing a delicate, beautiful face still smudged with a bit of soot.

"I'll wait for you to come back, remember what I look like, and don't mistake the person when the time comes!"

After saying that, Mingyue actively reached out and hugged Shen Tianxing, then let go, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and turned to leave.

Shen Tianxing's mouth curled up; Mingyue was indeed a little beauty, having such a lovely young wife, he would definitely come back, and besides, he had a Zongshi Peak experience card, so he could not possibly die.

"Brothers, this time we go to a near-certain death, but the men of our Great Zhou fear neither life nor death; follow me to support and kill the enemy!"

Seeing everyone's resolve to face death, Zhang Lei raised his sword and roared, leading Shen Tianxing and his subordinate soldiers toward the South City Gate camp of Humen Pass!

Inside Humen Pass, the Great Zhou city-defense vanguard troops kept retreating, the city-defense middle troops covered the vanguard's withdrawal, and they fought the Great Wu vanguard to an indecisive stalemate.

The wounded Yang Hongyue kept waving her long spear, retreating swiftly toward the South City Gate under the cover of the vanguard troops, her heroic and spirited face full of reluctance.

The fall of Humen Pass was also beyond her expectations; the reason this happened was ultimately that her governance was lax, allowing her subordinates to have dissatisfied generals who defected and opened the gate, leading to the fall of Humen Pass.

"Halt, which unit are you from?"

Zhang Lei brought Shen Tianxing and his group quickly to the Rear Army camp gate, where they were stopped by the soldiers guarding the camp entrance.

"I am Zhang Lei, Ten-Soldier Captain of the Seventh Battalion, Eighth Formation, Ninth Row, Third Corps of the Rear Army; ordered to conscript troops, I encountered a small Wu force on the road, annihilated them completely, and now return to camp to report; I volunteer to lead a unit to support General Yang's withdrawal."

The gate guard, hearing this, did not delay, sending one person at top speed to report and inquire.

Shortly after, the Eighth Formation's Hundred-Soldier Captain Wu Haibo arrived at the camp gate, took one look at Zhang Lei and confirmed his identity.

"Zhang Lei, having this intention is good, but there's no time to arrange things now; the entire Seventh Battalion is awaiting the Commander of Ten Thousand's order, so bring your people and follow me!"

"This One receives the order!"

Zhang Lei acknowledged, then brought Shen Tianxing and his group to follow Wu Haibo back to the Seventh Battalion, found their positions, and took formation to wait.

"System, embed the Second-Grade Red Gem into the Dragon-Slaying Blade, open the lottery wheel, I want to draw a prize."

While forming ranks, Shen Tianxing mobilized the system, seizing the moment to increase his strength.

"Congratulations, Host, for successfully embedding the Second-Grade Red Gem into the Dragon-Slaying Blade; the Dragon-Slaying Blade's martial power increases by 100!"

"The system lottery opens; detecting the Host's first lottery draw, it awards 50 Luck Points—when Luck reaches 100, you can guarantee the ultimate prize."

With the system prompt sounding, the Dragon-Slaying Blade's martial power rose to 100+ (100), Shen Tianxing's martial strength already approaching a Third-Rank martial artist, and simultaneously the lottery panel appeared before him.

On a large round disk there are twenty slots; in the center is a golden question mark, beneath which the words "Ultimate Prize" are written; the twenty slots contain weapons, armor, and secret manuals, each emitting a faint white, green, blue, purple, orange, or red light.

Time was pressing, so Shen Tianxing didn't examine each item closely, but he did notice that one slot displayed a bottle of Thunder Jade, which also emitted an orange glow.

"System, what's the deal with Thunder Jade? Is it a counterfeit shoddy product from my original world? Or could it be poison?"

"No, Thunder Jade is a special item generated from the Host's original world memories; it tastes the same, and drinking a sip boosts the Host's speed by 100% for a short time, lasting a quarter of an hour, with a dosage of one mouthful."

The system's explanation made Shen Tianxing's eyes light up; this is great stuff, essential for home and travel.

"In other words, the system will produce some items generated from my original world memories, but with added effects."

"Yes, as long as the Host remembers an item, it could possibly be generated!"

Shen Tianxing unconsciously stroked his chin; if that's the case, airplanes, cannons, and machine guns could also be generated—though it's unclear whether they'd retain their original function or have their power greatly increased.

"Draw!"

"Consuming one Beginner Lottery, the lottery begins!"

Shen Tianxing issued the lottery command in his mind; the lottery wheel began to flash light, after being spun seventy-seven forty-nine times, the wheel shone with golden light emanating from the big question mark, and the system prompt sounded as well.

"Congratulations, Host, for winning the Ultimate Prize Special Item Grand Gift Package; the reward has been sent to your System Package, please check it."

"I just won the ultimate prize—did I just activate a cheat?"

Shen Tianxing felt somewhat incredulous, but he still quickly opened the System Package and found the glittering golden Special Item Grand Gift Package.

"Open the Special Item Grand Gift Package!"

Congratulations, Host, for opening the Special Item Grand Gift Package and obtaining one bottle of Thunder Jade, one bottle of Delight, a large pack of Wangwang Snow Cake, a stick of Hard Hua Zi cigarettes, and one token for randomly summoning ordinary permanent second-rank troops!

Seeing the five special items that had appeared in the package, Shen Tianxing immediately examined that summoning token.

"Ordinary permanent second-rank troop random summoning token, a special item; it can be used to permanently summon fifty absolutely loyal second-rank troops, Martial Dao Realm First-Rank sixth level, the troops kill enemies, and the Host likewise gains Killing Value."

"Good stuff, truly good stuff; in war, numbers count. If later I can obtain summons of more troop types, more summoning tokens, accumulate Killing Value by killing enemies and earning merit, I won't need to lift a finger to complete missions."

Shen Tianxing felt ecstatic; even if he himself became formidable, his power would still be limited, but if his subordinates could have thousands of troops, that would be true strength— the key is that he could slack off.

With a pleased mood, Shen Tianxing continued to examine the other special items, and the smile on his face grew ever brighter.

"Thunder Jade, a special item; drinking a sip boosts one's own speed by 100% for a quarter of an hour. Delight, a special item; drinking a sip boosts one's own defense by 100% for a quarter of an hour."

"Wangwang Snow Cake, a special item; eating a piece restores all stamina. Hard Hua Zi cigarette, a special item; lit and held in the mouth, exhaling clouds and mist, it boosts one's own martial power by 100% for the duration of smoking one cigarette."