NOVEL NEXT Chapter 61 - The Blessings of the Ancestors!
Chapter 61 – The Blessings of the Ancestors!
Ren Suo was right.
In the winter of the year 265, even though Ren Suo had not sent any of the Ren family members on expeditions, the Evil Souls of Shu Han found their way to the Ren family house.
Ren Han was now the head of the sixth generation of the Ren family. He was the grandchild of the extraordinarily-skilled “Ren Ying” (Ren Ying and the extraordinarily-skilled Ren Ying were considered two generations).
In a short span of 76 years, the Eastern Han dynasty was left behind in history. 76 years was merely the lifetime of ordinary, long-living humans, and yet the Three Kingdoms, which only emerged in the final years of the Han dynasty, was also about to be unified as one. Most of the war heroes during those final years of the Han dynasty were now merely memories of the past.
It started with the fall of Shu Han, followed by Cao Huan’s abdication of the throne in the summer of the year 265. Cao Wei was killed in the same year, leaving behind Sun Wu to guard the eastern region of the Yangtze River. However, Sun Hao, the eldest son of Sun Wu, was weak and powerless, and it was only a matter of time before the large army of the Western Jin empire would cross the natural barrier of the Yangtze River and take over the land.
The establishment of the Western Jin dynasty would mark the cessation of war between the Three Kingdoms in the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty, which was the end of the era of the Three Kingdoms.
Finally, that also marked the completion of the first chapter of [Over My Dead Body].
In the short span of 76 years, the number of Ren family Practitioners grew from the initial three to a total of over 50, across six generations. Each generation of Practitioners of the Ren family fought and killed countless numbers of monsters in endless battles, putting their lives at risk to protect and continue their bloodline.
All of them enjoyed the fleeting years of glory during the peak of their lives. Not once could they afford to think about love or hope for an impossible future. They could only focus on their solemn responsibilities.
There was currently a total of 14 Practitioners in the Ren family, eight of which could engage in battle. The extraordinary Ren Ying had done wonders in the population of the Ren family.
However, during the winter of the year 265, even though Ren Suo was unwilling, he still had to fight against the monsters.
Just outside of the prosperous village of the Ren family were structured agricultural terraces which should be bare except for roaming hares in the winter. However, on the screen, there were countless troops clad in black-colored armor standing on the terraces, surrounding the entire Ren village.
Dark, gloomy clouds descended over the village, threatening to overwhelm it.
In front of the troops clad in black-colored armor stood a Silver General clad in white-colored armor, people with warrior masks, peaceful-looking warriors, as well as ministers from Shu Han.
An amiable old man with long arms that extended beyond his knees and wore ancient Chinese clothing was standing right at the front.
The old man said, “I am Liu Bei, the Prince of the Han dynasty, Provincial Governor of Zhang Wu Province.”
Ren Han, the sixth generation head of the Ren family, said, “I have met you before, Emperor Zhao Lie. Your Majesty, you are already dead, what do you seek in returning to the human world and seeking bloodshed again?”
Liu Bei turned his head and looked at the tall mountains in the distance, almost joining seamlessly with the vast blue skies above. He said, “It’s just that…it’s out of my reach, but I can’t let go so easily either.”
“Over the last 800 years and more, the majestic Han dynasty prospered, but now it has crumbled into nothing…”
“Perhaps this is what we call history, and what we call fate. We are just ancient people left behind in the forgotten world of history, lifeless souls which live on longing to be alive again.”
“If only the world was pure and simple, then perhaps we could still live on in the memories of the living, but slowly forgotten as memories fade…”
Ren Han, the sixth generation head of the Ren family, said, “Your Majesty, that will not be the case. The people of the future will definitely remember your contributions as well as that of the other heroes. They will continue to remember your legacies and as time passes, they will honor your glorious achievements even more. Historical records will gladly contain your honorable conquests and the people will sing praises of your achievements. All of you will live on in people’s hearts and minds longer than any other Emperors of the other dynasties.”
Ren Suo felt as if every generation of Ren family Practitioners seemed to have read the novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms before…
Liu Bei sighed and said, “So what if that is so? In any case, we have fallen and nothing can change that.”
Ren Han coaxed, “Since nothing can be changed, would it not be better to just let it go and rest peacefully?”
Liu Bei said, “No, even though we have been turned into ashes, but there is still hope for ashes to be reignited. Indeed, the Han dynasty has fallen, and I have been defeated…but that is only true in the world of the living.”
Ren Han was stunned momentarily. He turned to look at the person behind Liu Bei and said, “Prime Minister, could it be…”
Zhuge Liang nodded and said, “Head of the Ren family, as you would imagine, before my death, I found a way to ensure that the souls of the dead remained sane and reasoned. I had set up the Light of the Seven Stars in the Zhangyuan Plains, in hopes of setting the souls free so that they can continue to fight for the prosperity of the Han dynasty, but unfortunately…”
Zhuge Liang continued, “Nonetheless, Jiang Wei has already learned the magical method I utilized and set up the necessary in Jiange and Chengdu City. All that is left is his death, which would complete the entire set up.”
Liu Bei said, “While I was still alive, I did not manage to emerge victorious as the champion, but becoming the hero in the realm of the ghosts is an acceptable compromise.”
A stunned Ren Han replied, “So… you intend to conquer the world as members of the dead?”
Liu Bei said, “Why can’t we do so? Unlike the inheritance of the throne over generations of the living, the dead never die. The loss of intellect as one becomes a member of the dead is no longer a problem, so we can conquer and control the world for thousands and millions of years to come.”
“The people are afraid of fatuous emperors ascending to the throne, afraid of powerful yet tyrannical ministers, and afraid of unlawful armies. But these are all no longer problems in the realm of the dead,” he continued.
Zhuge Liang added, “We have no descendants, no desires, and no weaknesses.”
“We have nothing left, except…to cleanse the world and restore the Han dynasty according to our ideals!”
“We will establish a prosperous world that lives on forever!” exclaimed Zhuge Liang.
Liu Bei said, “However, in this world, there is still you, the Ren family.”
He continued, “The Ren family that exterminates all monsters, that tames all ghosts, that protects the world…You are not influenced by any political forces, but quietly protects and maintains the peace in the world by killing all demons and monsters possible.”
“You possess limitless possibilities of heavenly abilities and are extremely well-versed in them. None of the Practitioners from all the different empires stand a chance against you. Highly-skilled Practitioner Cao Zhen from the Wei empire was once defeated completely right here, and the Practitioner Lu Xun from the Wu empire did not dare to come any closer as he watched from afar. My ministers have also crossed paths with you before, and all of them bow down to you in respect.”
“However, it was only as I was reawakened as a ghost that I saw clearly how great the Ren family was.”
Liu Bei looked at the Ren family village and continued, “Where the Ren family lives is the root of all Reiki sources. Over many generations, the Ren family Practitioners protected this place, and countless numbers of Practitioners died here in their prime. Their will and determination of ‘killing and subduing all monsters’ became infused within the source of Reiki.”
“It was precisely due to your sacrifice that more monsters do not appear in the world.”
Ren Suo blinked as he pondered over what Liu Bei had said. He was slightly shocked as he muttered to himself, “Could it be that the game would decrease slightly in difficulty if more Practitioners of the Ren family died?”
Ren Suo recalled that indeed, there were slight differences in the number of monsters that spawned in the fixed scenarios in the later years of the game, such as at the Red Cliff and Xiaoyao Ford. However, he was unsure if that was due to a random setting of the game or truly influenced by the number of Ren family Practitioners that died.
Liu Bei said, “Nonetheless, to us, ghosts, the Ren family remains a hindrance that is stopping us from what we set out to achieve. As long as you exist, even if we, the Shu Han ghost souls, regain control over the world, the determination that flows with the Reiki can still suppress us, and the heavens and the earth will continue to restrict us!”
“Furthermore, the Ren family Practitioners will never allow us to regain control over the world so easily!”
That would be hard to say, Ren Suo thought. All he wanted was to survive two more years in the game and was neutral in the war between the Han Empire and the Western Jin Empire. Furthermore, Ren Suo had no interest in the Western Jin Empire. The young of the Sima family who took over the throne looked down on widows and that did not bode well with Ren Suo from the beginning. The subsequent progress of the Western Jin dynasty, as well as its judicial system and culture, did not give Ren Suo much to like either.
But of course, based on the game rules, the Ren family of Practitioners had to eliminate all monsters.
All of Ren Suo’s thoughts seemed to be reflected in the head of the Ren family character in the game.
Ren Han remained speechless, “…”
Liu Bei said, “I know that we, ghost souls, will never be able to defeat the Ren family Practitioners in skill and ability, so we have no choice but to…win in numbers.”
Zhuge Liang said, “Please allow us to fulfill our dreams, or perhaps, allow us to continue living our dreams…”
“The Ren family…is a mountain that we must conquer!”
Entering battle!
All eight Practitioners of the Ren family have entered the battlefield!
[Enemies: “Emperor Zhao Lie of Han”, “Zhuge Liang, Marquis Zhongwu of Han”, “Zhao Yun, Marquis Shunping of Han”, “Zhang Fei, Marquis of Xi District of Han”, “Fa Zheng, Marquis Yi of Han”, “General Jiang Wei of Han”, “Huang Zhong, Marquis Gang of Han”, “Ma Chao, Marquis Wei of Han”, “Chen Dao, Village Marquis of Han”…”Elite Bai Er Troops”…]
Ren Suo looked at the list of enemies and their details. He was speechless.
[Elite Bai Er Troops]
[Attack 20, Defense 20, Movement 10]
[Bai Er: 15% chance of dealing 2x damage during an attack; 15% chance of gaining a 20 point Defense buff when being attacked (buff applies only for one turn).]
[Elite: They had been a part of the Elite Forces when they were alive. After their death, they retain their military might as an elite. When there are more than 5 allies within a 5 tile radius, they gain an Attack boost +5 and Defense boost +5.]
[Mentality: They have a strong sense of self-will and are not affected by ordinary revenge mechanisms.]
Small pawns like the Elite Bai Er Troops were already so powerful, and the legendaries whose names were carved in history had even more outrageous statistics.
[Emperor Zhao Lie of Han]
[Attack 25, Defense 300, Movement 10]
[The Emperor of the Han Dynasty: He controls all ghost souls who have pledged allegiance to Han.]
[Zhao Lie: Liu Bei spent all his life trying to restore the Han Dynasty. After his death, he obtained approval from all the previous 29 generations of emperors of the Han Dynasty. Every round, 29 Defense points will be restored (but not exceeding the initial maximum Defense of 300).]
[Benevolence: Liu Bei is famous for his benevolence towards others. He can donate his Defense points to any of the Shu Han allies, limited to two characters each round. Each character can receive up to a maximum of 50 Defense points (which only lasts for one round).]
[Rally Cheer: All Han warriors respond with his one command. Liu Bei can select any enemy unit to which any attacks by any Shu Han unit will result in the selected enemy unit receiving 2 times critical damage in the same round (for example, if the original critical damage is 4 times, the critical damage will become 8 times).]
[Gender Double Sword: A single target melee attack; enables the character to attack twice each round.]
The other enemies like Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun had slightly less powerful statistics and abilities than Liu Bei although they were still very strong.
To be honest, even though those legendary heroes were powerful Practitioners while they were still alive, and they were strengthened and rejuvenated by Reiki after their death, they still could not compare, individually, to the Practitioners of the Ren family. To say the least, Ren Han, the sixth generation head of the family was able to suppress Liu Bei without much difficulty—
[Ren Han]
[Age: 15]
[Maximum Age: 23]
[Attack 50, Defense 200, Scout 20, Movement 24, Recovery 7, Management 17]
[Inherited Ability – Heat-Shivering Cross-Elemental Abundant Fury of the Holy Force: In combat, Attack +50%, Defense +50%, and enemies within an 8 tile radius can be forced to attack oneself. All attacks with Attack lower than one’s own Defense cause no effect. A single-target attack that deals 2x water damage and 2x fire damage (if the enemy is not one of the weaker elemental types, 4x Attack damage will be dealt on the single target).]
[Inheritance: The Holy Force (Ren Woxing), Fury of the Holy Force (Ren Nu), Abundant Fury of the Holy Force (Ren Ying), Cross-Elemental Abundant Fury of the Holy Force (Ren Pingsheng).]
It seemed that the Ren family would be able to win, as long as the Shu Han enemies did not have any abilities that would weaken their Defense armor.
But the problem still remained—the Shu Han army was huge.
With so many characters, they were bound to have many different types of abilities.
The moment the battle started, Ren Suo could not use the word “many” to describe the Shu Han army—”complete” was no exaggeration to describe their perfect combination!
The Shu Han leader gave the Elite Bai Er Troops limitless buffs, and the court officials changed the playing ground completely! There were so many rows in the list of abilities that Ren Suo could barely finish looking through them—
[Fiery Rattan Armor: Deals 2 damage to nearby enemies.]
[Borrowing the East Wind: Increases the range of ranged attacks of Shu Han units and decreases the range of ranged attacks of Ren family units.]
[Eight Trigram Formation: Reduces Movement of enemies by 5 and increases Movement of Shu Han ally units by 10.]
[Fog of War: Covers and protects the important Shu Han units at the last row.]
[Form of the White Horse: Increases Movement and Attack of Shu Han cavalry units by 30% each.]
…
The makeup of the Shu Han army was simply perfect!
They had abilities to weaken all short-ranged, intermediate-ranged, or long-ranged attacks!
This was a battle of overall ability. Ren Suo could already predict that once the sixth generation head of the family was weakened to his death by the Fiery Rattan Armor, the remaining Practitioners of the Ren family would also quickly succumb to the enemies’ attacks.
And this was indeed what happened. In the beginning, the sixth generation head of the Ren family managed to use his ability to badly mock and paralyze the enemy, and kill a good amount of enemies with the rest of the Practitioners of the Ren family. However, just as they were about to reach the heart of the Shu Han army, Liu Bei and the other important legendary characters retreated!
What a disgrace! How could they escape!
Ren Suo now fully understood where the Ren family stood.
You see, they had to gather the strength of all of their people, and attempt to win in numbers, doesn’t that mean that the Ren family was the BOSS instead?
Liu Bei and his army were fighting against the Ren family as if they were the BOSS instead!
The Ren family attacked as the Shu Han army ran each time until finally, the Defense of the sixth-generation head of the Ren family had depleted to a critical level. The next moment, Huang Zhong launched on a long-ranged attack on him and he fell right onto the verge of death immediately!
Then, the rest of the Shu Han army charged forward towards them, and killed the sixth generation head of the Ren family!
Ren Suo clutched his forehead and sighed, “This must be where I fall…Looks like this is where I have to start again…”
However, on the screen, an option appeared over the body of the dead Ren Han:
[Do you wish to be revived by using the Dead Souls of the Ancestors? Yes/No]