The moonlight was hazy, casting a silvery glow.
“It hurts so much…”
Wu Ming sat up halfway, looking at the wooden spear in his hand and the wound on his chest that was still bleeding. He felt quite speechless: “Am I already dead?”
Frowning, he concentrated the last bit of strength he had on the wound.
Soon after, the final bit of energy was exhausted, and his wound healed visibly fast, leaving behind smooth, unblemished skin.
Luckily, there was no one else around at that moment; otherwise, witnessing this scene would surely lead them to associate him immediately with devils from the ninth circle of hell.
“After using up this bit of strength, I’ll really become an ordinary person…”
Wu Ming gave a bitter smile, gazing at the battlefield around him.
Moonlit night, corpses, and crows…
A cool breeze occasionally brought the howls of wolves from the wilderness, sending chills down one’s spine.
“This body… seems to belong to a mere foot soldier…”
He tried to piece together the fragmented memories in his mind caused by death.
The original owner of the body was clearly not someone of noble blood. Those people were knights, and even if defeated, their bright armor and clear family crests would make enemy mercenaries and retainers eager to capture them for ransom from their families.
Only someone like him, who had been a tenant farmer just days ago and had only received minimal militia training, would be given a pitchfork at the lord’s conscription and sent straight to the battlefield, only to be pierced by a wooden spear shortly after.
“William…”
Wu Ming murmured softly, calling out the original owner’s name in this world’s language.
In his mind, the life of the other man appeared in the form of a short film, mostly filled with confusion, knowing only farming and harvesting, which greatly disappointed Wu Ming.
What kind of world is this? Does supernatural power exist? Are the legends of gods, priests and mages, elves and other races true or false… Unfortunately, poor William didn’t know any of that!
At most, during major festivals, he had heard traveling bards casually singing a few legends from afar, without knowing whether they were true or not.
In William’s original consciousness, knights and noble lords were all formidable figures.
Not only them, even the town tax collector, or the shepherds and cowherds who specifically watched over livestock, were already lifelong dreams to aspire to.
“Alright… I knew I shouldn’t have expected too much from you!”
Wu Ming stood up. After using up his last bit of energy, he was now just an ordinary, thin young man.
Looking at the tents and camps in the distance, and the campfires, he licked his lips but resolutely walked in the opposite direction.
“I was on the defeated side…”
The battlefield was vast, and it seemed it would take several days just to clean it up, but Wu Ming wasn’t foolish enough to hand himself over to the enemy.
Most of the metal weapons had already been collected, but there were always leftovers. Wu Ming soon gathered for himself a relatively clean short linen shirt and a broken iron sword, half of which was missing.
The sword’s tip was already broken, with numerous jagged edges around the break. The hilt was wrapped tightly with linen rope to increase grip. Wu Ming tested it and found it somewhat usable.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A gentle breeze blew, not very cold, but bringing with it a lot of information.
Like an experienced hunter, Wu Ming skillfully evaded several not-very-tight patrols and quickly left the battlefield, fleeing swiftly.
…
Splash!
Beside a small stream, Wu Ming took off his blood-stained clothes and had a good wash, then under the bright moonlight, examined his reflection in the water.
Before him appeared a young man of about twenty, with curly flaxen hair, emerald-green eyes, a high nose bridge, fair skin, and a sharply defined face full of youth and vitality.
“Good… it’s not too different from the Xian Wu universe… at least it’s still a world dominated by humanoid beings…”
Wu Ming exhaled in relief.
In different universes and dimensions, humans are not the only intelligent beings. He wouldn’t be surprised at all if some universe was ruled by beasts or even ghosts.
Wasn’t the reason he created the “Great Zhou’s Records of the Western Regions” world also to attract coordinate points of similar universes?
“Anyway, I’ve successfully descended at last. What should I do next?”
Wu Ming closed his eyes, his expression suddenly becoming extremely serious: “The rules of conflict are completely incompatible with cultivation techniques… and martial arts…”
He looked at his own body again, somewhat bitterly: “Although the appearance is similar, the internal structure is completely different. Except for some techniques that don’t require inner force, I can’t improve for now…”
Even within the same universe, the world’s rules exert suppression.
And in a different universe, it almost sealed Wu Ming completely, turning him into a thoroughly ordinary person.
“Now, I’m not much different from an ordinary person, except for more experience and more sensitive perception… I still need water and food, can still be injured and bleed, even die!”
The last bit of power carried by his soul had been used in the previous healing, leaving nothing behind.
“When entering a different universe, it’s best to follow the rules of that universe…”
Wu Ming began to try hard to extract some useful information from William’s original memories, finally managing to sort out a line of thought.
“The knights are the strongest?”
To William, wizards and mages were just stories told by elders.
In his mind, knights fully clad in armor like a can, wielding long lances and charging like moving fortresses, were the embodiment of strength and power.
A charge by dozens of knights together was often the decisive force that ended a campaign, unstoppable except by a similar iron flood.
Not just knights, even their squires or those trained in martial skills could fight off two or three militiamen, their combat effectiveness being formidable.
After sorting out these thoughts, Wu Ming felt quite speechless: “The peak of humanity?”
In his previous life, a person who had undergone training and could fight off three to five strong men was already very impressive.
Once the number reached ten or more, especially if they were armed, even the most skilled martial artists would feel fear.
The feeling this world gave him was also a similar limitation.
“A world where supernatural abilities are not evident, similar to my previous world?”
Wu Ming pondered for a moment, then shook his head: “Although my soul is almost dormant, I can still barely sense the supernatural power in the void… although it’s very weak!”
He looked at his hands: “Training, growing stronger, gaining power… Then, expanding influence. Even though the universe is different, every world has its predetermined trajectory, or rather, the river of fate—disturbing it! That would be the greatest support for my true self!”
Having set this goal, Wu Ming quickly encountered a problem: “Right now, it seems I still can’t leave the group and become a lone wolf…”
Through William’s limited memories, he also knew that this world was extremely dangerous.
Beyond the sparse towns, there were wildernesses overrun by beasts, and even savage hill people. They were even more ferocious and cunning than wild animals.
Ordinary people, even lords, if they went out without a large escort, might be ambushed and killed, even ending up as someone’s meal.
But the most important thing was William’s identity!
He was just an ordinary farmer from the town of Nia, without the status of a freeman. If he left abruptly, it would mean abandoning all his rights. Without identification, even if he managed to reach other towns, he would find it difficult to take a single step, and might even be killed outright or captured as a slave!
“If only I still had the strength of a second or even a first-level reincarnator…”
Wu Ming sighed, identified his direction, and walked back toward his original hometown of Nia.
When his strength was insufficient, he needed to choose to lie low—he naturally understood this principle.
Besides, although Nia wasn’t particularly prosperous, it at least had walls and guards. In this era, that represented safety. Moreover, there were his predecessor’s belongings—though just a pile of junk, some interpersonal relationships were still intact, and he needed that.
…
The night was bright.
As Wu Ming walked under the moonlight, he recalled the course of the battle.
Based on the meager knowledge in William’s mind, he barely knew that this region was called the Firefly Plains, ruled by a group of noble lords.
The two most powerful among them were Earl Blue Mountain and Viscount Garcia.
These two nobles had apparently been competing fiercely for influence, and this time, for some unknown reason, they summoned their vassals and gathered thousands for a major battle.
The owner of Nia village, Baron Terry, similarly answered Earl Blue Mountain’s call, bringing his knights and conscripted militia to join the battle.
But the result surprised them all.
The more powerful faction, led by Earl Blue Mountain, who had more knights, actually suffered defeat!
Poor William, who had been a genuine farmer before picking up a pitchfork for training, barely managed to hold his weapon steady on the battlefield and was pierced by a spear in the first charge. In fact, he was already dead at that moment.
Then Wu Ming’s soul, following the most instinctive sense, attached itself to his body.
“Now, running back? Will I be considered a deserter?”
Wu Ming walked and thought about this issue: “But William did go to the battlefield, so there shouldn’t be this problem… Besides, there must be more than just him who fled!”
Obviously, a group of untrained laborers, even armed, wouldn’t immediately become warriors.
They would already be trembling with fear just standing on the battlefield, and when the enemy knights charged, more than just one or two would run away!
The reason William didn’t flee wasn’t due to his courage, but because his legs had already gone weak, and he couldn’t move at all!
“One cannot be punished for the majority! As long as I’m not the only one returning… I wonder how the unfortunate Baron Terry is doing now? He was the main target, after all…”
Wu Ming’s thoughts wandered.
“Awoooooo!”
Suddenly, a distant wolf howl came, making his face change instantly.
Just moments later, several pairs of emerald-green, glowing eyes appeared not far away.
There were wolves!!
…
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