Chapter 4

In the early autumn of the year of the misty flowers, in the northern part of the Adria Kingdom, there was the Laidan military town.

In the northern defense line against the Ossu savages, Laidan military town was not as important as other military towns. It seemed to exist merely as a common support point for other military towns. Each time the Ossu savages invaded, the danger faced by Laidan military town was far less than that of other military towns. Even during the Ossu savages' invasion of the Adria Kingdom's northern defense line in the year of the autumn frost, Laidan military town did not encounter a single Ossu savage. Therefore, in other military towns, there was a sarcastic saying that if you wanted to get rich and promoted on the front lines, you should go to Laidan.

Recently, a batch of new sergeants had been assigned to Laidan military town, all of whom were said to be noble sons from the capital city, coming to "gild" themselves. In Laidan military town, any news spread quickly. Most of the people living there were the families of the soldiers and officers stationed there, and over the years, they had become familiar with each other.

At the end of each summer, the Ossu savages were accustomed to raiding the Adria Kingdom from the south. The scale of the invasion depended on whether any changes had occurred among their enemies. According to reports from merchants and spies returning from the northern Ossu, no significant changes had occurred this year. The Ossu savages had not yet recovered from the incident on the northern grasslands two years ago, so the northern defense line was not expected to face a serious invasion this time.

Perhaps this news stirred the nobles in the capital, leading them to send a batch of noble sons to replace some of the sergeants in the northern defense line military towns before the Ossu savages invaded. This was especially true for Laidan military town, which had been safe for a long time. Apart from the steady and cautious legion commander, most of the other sergeants were replaced. For all this, the legion commander of Laidan military town, Nefal, was helpless. If a well-trained Ossu army invaded, Laidan would fall in no time. Nefal had seen too many noble sons who were only good at talking and cowardly in battle. He could only hope that this year would be as safe as the previous years.

All these changes in Laidan military town seemed to have little impact on the lives of the people there. When they gathered to chat, they only treated these changes as a topic for ridicule. Living in a peaceful and safe environment for a long time, people had relaxed, as if the Ossu savages had forgotten about this place.

Young Xalan was practicing the kingdom's standard military swordsmanship in the courtyard of his residence, repeatedly practicing the techniques taught by his Uncle Aubur. A little girl was swinging on a swing under a big tree, watching Xalan's movements with boredom. When Xalan finished his practice, the little girl immediately jumped off the swing like a rabbit, bounding over to grab Xalan's sleeve, dancing and laughing as she spoke.

Xalan's mother had died early, and his father was killed in battle with the Ossu savages five years ago. After a serious illness, Xalan was adopted by Aubur, a close colleague of his father. Perhaps the shock of his father's death by the Ossu savages was too great, and after recovering, Xalan began to beg Aubur to teach him swordsmanship. Aubur did not refuse, as a soldier, he was happy that his friend's descendant could carry on his legacy.

What Aubur might never know was that the Xalan who called him Uncle Aubur had already become a different person, and his purpose for learning swordsmanship was not as simple as Aubur thought.

In the years since coming to this world, Xalan had adapted to his current identity, gradually understanding the world around him. What amazed him was that he had been to this world before.

*The Sky of Eldran*

In his previous life, it was a popular single-player virtual game worldwide. In the game, you could choose various character classes, and due to its high degree of freedom and realism, it felt like another self adventuring in a different world. "Xalan" had also played this game in his previous life, but unlike most people who nurtured a single character for adventure, he would delete the character and choose a new one whenever the chosen class started to improve. He would travel to different countries, experience the culture and society of each nation, and live the brief lives of different characters.

This unique way of playing also made him lose the joy of the specific process of character development, but he gained a broad understanding of the different customs and cultures of the world and the brief lives of each character. Before his death, he had heard that the game was about to launch a multiplayer online version.

In the Adria Kingdom, "Xalan" had briefly visited this country as a merchant in the game, even losing a large amount of property when the Ossu savages briefly broke through the northern defense line of the Adria Kingdom.

Xalan was not clear about the specific details, which was one of the drawbacks of his superficial way of playing. He had a general understanding of the important events that occurred in each kingdom but lacked detailed knowledge.

This was the world he had once visited. So bizarre and strange yet incredibly real. In the game, he was always a third-party observer, and the dangers faced were not as severe as one could imagine. Game characters could be revived through save/load, but in this real world, if you died...

After mysteriously arriving in this world after death, the next death might result in the permanent disappearance of his consciousness. Having experienced death once, he knew its taste.

His consciousness gradually faded, unable to see, hear, or feel anything. The memory of this experience was so vivid that he did not want to die.

Lacking a sense of security, Xalan began to learn ways to protect himself. Learning swordsmanship was just the beginning. He wanted to leave this place and go to a wealthy and safe city to find his future in this world.

The little girl pulling on Xalan's sleeve was named Lona, the daughter of Uncle Aubur. She was five years younger than Xalan. When Xalan was brought back by Aubur to be raised, the young and innocent Lona was delighted to have an older brother to play with every day. Over the years, Xalan had become accustomed to having this little girl around, calling him "big brother" and making a fuss. In this familiar yet strange world, the loneliness in Xalan's heart was somewhat alleviated by Lona's presence.

Aubur was now a squad leader in Laidan military town. During the frequent changes in the higher-ranking sergeants, Aubur not only had to say goodbye to his former superiors but also had to build good relationships with the new sergeants. Although he despised these noble sons who came to "gild" themselves, for the sake of his future, he had to do certain things.

When early autumn arrived, the guards in Laidan military town became slightly stricter, a situation that would last until the first snowfall of winter. The people in the town began to restrict their children's running around to prevent any accidents. Although Laidan military town had been safe for years, people were not worried about whether the Ossu savages would invade. The vigilance that had been passed down from their ancestors continued to this generation.

After some time, a rumor spread that the Ossu savages had suddenly and unusually launched a large-scale invasion of the northern defense line. The northern defense line of the kingdom was caught off guard and was forced into a defensive position, with a tense and precarious situation.

Laidan military town still had not seen any Ossu savages. The oppressive atmosphere in the town seemed to ease, and optimists believed that the Ossu savages might have forgotten about this place again. However, most people maintained a neutral stance, observing the situation. They knew that the northern defense line was a matter of shared prosperity and shared adversity. If other military towns suffered, Laidan would not be spared.

At this moment, the legion commander of Laidan military town, Nefal, was the most uncertain. The scouts he had sent to other military towns days ago had not returned with any news. The worst-case scenario in Nefal's mind was that these scouts had encountered some misfortune. Worried, he sent out another group of scouts.

At this point, the only thing he could do was to order his subordinates to lead the soldiers to be on high alert and prepare for battle. The inevitable would come, but the noble sons who had been assigned as sergeants were a significant problem. Without this change, he might have had a chance to win the upcoming battle. Nefal sighed helplessly.

Recently, Aubur had been coming home less and less often. Each time he returned, he would pull Xalan aside and give him instructions to protect Lona and her mother. Aubur's serious demeanor made Xalan realize the seriousness of the situation. The Ossu savages' invasions in previous years had not made Aubur so serious, and this time, Xalan began to feel uneasy, as he remembered a particular event.

In the game, when he was a merchant, the Ossu savages had once briefly broken through the northern defense line of the Adria Kingdom. It took the kingdom's reinforcements five months to recapture and secure the northern defense line.

Could this event happen now? The thought of the Ossu savages ravaging this place made Xalan shudder. He had wandered through Ossu in the game and knew the savages' brutality and ferocity. He might die!

Thinking about this, Xalan began to fear each day. He had thought about running away, but how could he abandon the Aubur family, who had shown him such kindness and loyalty? They were not NPCs in a game but real, flesh-and-blood people with thoughts and feelings. Since coming to this world, his bond with them had become unbreakable.

From that day on, Xalan always carried the standard military sword given to him by Aubur, practicing the military swordsmanship with unprecedented diligence. When Lona and her mother asked about his unusual behavior, Xalan would use the excuse of wanting to protect them to cover it up. Only he knew the bitterness in his heart, hoping that his premonitions would not come true.

When the horn of Laidan military town sounded, signaling the highest level of military alert, Xalan knew that the gates of hell had opened.