The corners of Sun Daniu's mouth curled up slightly. He remembered that night when the Lord crawled out of the river, soaked to the bone, yet their eyes shone brightly.

That brightness wasn't the reckless impulsiveness of a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, but a sharp, irrepressible spirit that emanated from deep within their bones.

Everything that happened afterward felt like a dream whenever he looked back on it.

During the night raid on the Black Wolf Den, he followed behind the squad, his legs trembling, but the battle ended before he could even finish shaking.

The Lord charged ahead alone, their spear striking like a dragon. The leader of the Black Wolf Den was considered skilled, but he was run through in just three strikes.

The night Beacon Fire Town leveled up, he stood on the ramparts and watched with his own eyes as the dilapidated wooden walls transformed into twenty-meter-high white walls, watched the village become a town, and watched the characters "Beacon Fire" light up on the city gate.

During the peak of the Level 2 Nightmare Tide, the Skeleton General led thousands of Skeleton Soldiers to besiege Beacon Fire Town.

He stood on the city wall, his hand gripping his sword trembling, convinced that this time, he was done for.

But then the Lord jumped off the wall alone, facing the army of skeletons single-handedly.

From the wall, he watched that figure darting back and forth through the sea of skeletons, watched those skeletons fall like harvested wheat, and watched the Skeleton General get its throat pierced by a few spear thrusts.

At that moment, he knew he had followed the right person.

The Level 3 Tide at Qingmu County was the only battle where he felt he had almost lost his life.

Five thousand Yellow Turban Army soldiers, two Rare Bosses, plus the support of an Army Formation—the fighting was incredibly difficult.

He was struck in the chest by the giant club of a Yellow Turban Strongman, breaking two ribs and leaving his health bar with only a sliver remaining.

Blessing of All Living Beings triggered, restoring one hundred and eighty health points, allowing him to crawl up from the battlement and continue fighting.

That was the closest he had ever come to death, and the only time he had thought, "This fight is truly a pain in the ass."

Later on, the Beacon Fire Territory grew larger and larger, the Night Whisper Legion was established, A Wang became the deputy battalion commander, and he naturally managed to snag a position as a squad leader.

Sometimes, Sun Daniu thought about how he had done less in these few months than he had in over a year at the Black Wind Camp, yet his status and treatment had increased by who knows how many times.

He smacked his lips in contemplation and silently summarized: working hard and suffering really isn't as good as following the right person. He thought of his brothers back in Heitie Town; some were better fighters and more resilient than him, but they hadn't followed the right Lord.

Some had died in the Nightmare Tide, while others were still common soldiers in some small territory, earning a dozen copper coins a day with no future in sight.

But him? From a private in Heitie Town to a drifter at the Black Wind Camp, from a soldier in Beacon Fire Town to a squad leader in the Night Whisper Legion—along the way, he hadn't suffered much, but his promotions had come quickly.

His equipment went from gray to white to green, his wages from ten copper coins a day to fixed monthly merit points. All of this wasn't because he was so capable, but because he stood behind the right person.

The squad leader beside him leaned in, lowered his voice, and said with a cheeky grin, "Captain Sun, can you tell the brothers about those legendary stories of you following the Lord? Patrolling is too boring; we've been walking all morning, my legs are thinning out."

Sun Daniu glanced at him, feeling secretly proud.

He puffed out his chest, cleared his throat, and was just about to brag about how heroic he was back then and how the Lord had shown him special favor.

For instance, there was one time the Lord walked past him and their gaze swept over him; at the time, he felt as if the Lord was saying, "This young man is pretty good."

Suddenly, a system notification exploded in his mind, the golden text flashing before his eyes, as clear as if it were etched onto his retinas.

【System Notification: You have obtained the qualification for the class transfer to "Weakened Great Qin Elite".】

【Please report to the Great Qin Elite Camp in Fenghuo County within three days. Failure to do so will be considered an automatic forfeiture of the qualification.】

【Class transfer traits are as follows:】

【Trait 1: Precision Shooting (Passive) — Crossbow bolt hit rate increased by 20%, agility +30%】

【Trait 2: Fearless of Pain (Passive) — constitution +30%, Strength +20%】

【Note: After the class transfer, you will automatically receive the Great Qin Army Soul bonus. The specific effects depend on the scale of the Army Formation.】

Sun Daniu froze on the spot, his eyes wide and round, his mouth half-open, unable to utter a single word.

He wasn't a newbie anymore; he had a good idea of what the bonuses for a first promotion class were like.

For an ordinary first promotion class, a 20-30% bonus on a single attribute was decent, and a total of 60-70% across three attributes was already considered good.

The Weakened Great Qin Elite, with a total of 80% across three attributes, plus the extra bonus of the Great Qin Army Soul—this was almost on par with a rare class.

His chest felt as if it had been struck hard by something, his nose tingled, and he almost couldn't hold it together. The Lord has treated me well.

He took a deep breath, struggled to steady his expression, and suppressed the urge to rush to Fenghuo County immediately.

Then he turned his head, put on a stern face, glared at the squad leader, and his voice was eight octaves sterner than usual: "Who told you to chat while on patrol? Take this seriously! Watch out, or I'll deduct your merit points!"

The squad leader was startled and quickly shrank back, straightening his back, looking straight ahead, and dared not say another word.

Internally, however, he was furiously complaining: What's going on? Usually, you're the one chatting the most, talking the whole way, from Heitie Town to Hangu Pass, from the Lord to Lord Jiang, your mouth never «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» stops. What's gotten into you today? Did you take the wrong medicine?

Behind him, the nine team members looked at each other, none daring to speak.

Sun Daniu didn't explain. He took large strides, walking at the very front of the squad, his back straighter than usual, his boots making crisp sounds as they stepped on the bluestone road.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, irrepressible.

He touched the long sword at his waist and looked at the half-worn leather boots on his feet.

Only one thought was in his mind: as soon as the shift ends, I'll go back, pack my bags, and head to Fenghuo County overnight.

Great Qin Elite Soldiers.

Damn it, this heaven-sent fortune has finally come to me.

As they were walking, a soldier next to him secretly tugged at the corner of his uniform, his voice extremely low: "Captain Sun, did you... receive some good news? Your mouth is stretched all the way to your ears."

Sun Daniu immediately pulled his mouth back and said expressionlessly, "No."

The soldier: "Then what were you smiling about just now?"

Sun Daniu: "I have a toothache."

The soldier: "..."

Another team member behind him whispered: "Can a toothache make you look like that? You look like a fox that stole a chicken."

Sun Daniu turned around sharply, his gaze like a torch: "Who said that?"

The squad instantly went quiet, all ten people looking up at the sky in unison, as if a flying boar had suddenly appeared in the air.

Sun Daniu snorted and turned back to continue walking.

But in his heart, he was calculating: after the class transfer, will I be able to wear that set of black armor?

Standing on the city wall in black armor with a halberd—the presence alone, just thinking about it, made him feel much more heroic.

He touched the sword at his waist again and suddenly felt that the large sword in his hand wasn't so appealing anymore.