Chapter 4: First Simulation Reward

The simulation ended, and many memories were transmitted into Zhang Yun's mind. He suddenly reached for his left chest where he was stabbed to death with a sword belonging to a professional knight from the Ice Kingdom. 

'Hiss!'

It hurt!

This group of d*mn professionals from the kingdom!

Being outnumbered in a fight was really unfair. Couldn't they just wait for Zhang Yun to develop and summon thousands of Shadow Soldiers in a year?

After a pause, the pain disappeared. Zhang Yun put down his right hand that was covering his heart and sighed.

No!

This wouldn't do.

The Shadow Soldiers alone would not be able to defeat the professionals of the Ice Kingdom.

Because...

There was no difference if the person whom Brother Shadow killed was a professional, an ordinary mortal, or a knight with rich combat experience.

In the end, the Shadow Soldiers that were transformed were all of the same strength and did not have a class.

Even if someone with a class was killed, the resulting Shadow Hero would not inherit the class. 

Zhang Yun wanted a Shadow Hero. He could only rely on the "Shadow Contract".

At least, that was the case for now.

This was akin to a necromancer that Milano had mentioned. This nefarious class was notorious in other games and literary works. However, the Ice Kingdom found it fair to let the necromancers roam the streets openly. 

It was because no matter whose body they used, the necromancers would only summon undead creatures of the same strength, and there was a certain limit to the number.

This meant...

The necromancers did not need to go around killing people. They only needed to spend some money to buy the bones of their relatives from the poor, and they would be able to get enough undead soldiers to fight for them.

At first, Milano, the Silver Wolf, did not hate Zhang Yun because of his ability to extract the shadow of the dead.

It was only practical.

In the end, it was revealed that Zhang Yun's Shadow Lord had no upper limit when it came to the number of recruitable Shadow Soldiers. 

As long as enough people died, there would be more Shadow Soldiers, which were hundreds of times stronger than the necromancers in that world.

Moreover, Zhang Yun had to kill the person himself or get the Shadow Soldiers to do so in order for the corpse to turn into a Shadow Soldier. Zhang Yun could not let others do it for him, nor could he use corpses that died of natural causes.

Zhang Yun could bring about doomsday with great potential.

However, Milano had known Zhang Yun's Brother Shadow for a long time. He knew Brother Shadow's personality and the way he handled things.

Milano was well aware that Brother Shadow would not launch a "Shadow Disaster" to destroy the entire world like the Demon King. 

Hence, Milano continued to trust Brother Shadow and even gave him the position of leader. The stronger Brother Shadow ended up leading the entire team...

Of course, this was not the main point.

The main point was…

Possessing a class was not a foreign concept. The professionals with a class, particularly those who had leveled up, could completely beat the Shadow Soldiers without a class.

It was just like the game called "XXXXX Unparalleled" that Zhang Yun had played in his previous life.

In the said game, there was a vast difference between a hero fighting a minion and a minion fighting a hero. A hero could cut through a bunch of minions like grass in just one slash. On the other hand, a minion could barely scratch a hero. 

So…

If he wanted to get rid of the Ice Kingdom's army with numerous professionals in the simulation, Zhang Yun would have to kill them.

Zhang Yun had to find enough professionals to form an army.

Otherwise...

It was pointless to just rely on the Silver Wolf Bandits and the Shadow Soldiers selected by Brother Shadow. Even if Zhang Yun used the "Backtrack" ability several times, he would still be surrounded and annihilated by the Ice Kingdom's army. Zhang Yun would not be able to live and reach the major event. 

Or perhaps...

Zhang Yun could also choose another path.

As the saying went, if you couldn't beat the enemies, then you must join them. 

Zhang Yun could try selling out the Silver Wolf Bandits to gain the trust of the Ice Kingdom's army. Once Zhang Yun had found a way to join the opposing force, he could look for a hero soul that met the conditions of the contract from the corrupt nobles.

However, this method was too presumptuous.

There would have been no problem if it was a pure simulation.

Zhang Yun would not hesitate to go through the sub-plot of a game with multiple endings.

Unfortunately, this kind of simulation would transmit the process of the event into his mind in the form of memory. It would be as though Zhang Yun personally entered that world and interacted with its people.

Could people actually sell out their comrades who went through the same life-and-death experience?

Much worse, sell them out to a group of scum?

Zhang Yun could not. Therefore, he immediately rejected this idea.

This entailed becoming a merciless killing machine, murdering everyone just to launch a "Shadow Disaster", crushing quality with quantity, and defeating the Royal Army.

This was something Zhang Yun could not tolerate.

"Forget it," Zhang Yun said, "There's no hurry. I have countless chances. Let's see what the rewards for this simulation are."

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[Experience Summary]

[You descended on the border of the kingdom. In order to help the people who were suffering, you joined a group of chivalrous bandits. You wanted to rebel and overthrow the ruler of the kingdom. However, due to your lack of experience, you failed in just a few months and died a tragic death at the border. You were unable to experience the major event of the era that would happen five years later.]

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[Contact with Hero Soul]

[Name: Milano (Silver Wolf)]

[Level: Level 1 (D-level Experience Conversion Rate)]

[Class: Warrior (a profession with more balanced abilities)]

[Attributes: Strength (D+), Constitution (D), Spirit (D-), Agility (D)]

[Skills: Charge, Axe Chop]

[Specialty: None]

[Overall Evaluation: D+ (This represents the upper limit of the four-dimensional attribute growth rate when it increases naturally. The four-dimensional attribute growth rate will not increase naturally if it exceeds this limit.)]

[Description: The first-generation leader who founded the Silver Wolf Bandits. His talent is average, and he has reached a bottleneck. He needs the help of acquired items to improve his strength.]

[Remaining Contracts: 5]

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[SIMULATION REWARD (1)]

[Random Equipment]

[Name: Healing Ring]

[Quality: 1-star Bronze]

[Level: Level 1 (The highest smithing level is Level 5.)]

[Equipment Position: Hand Accessory]

[Equipment Requirements: Limited to "Priest" class.]

[Equipment Effect: Increase all healing effects by 10%]

[Description: A beautiful white ring. Other than saving the dying and healing the wounded, you can also use it as a proposal ring.]

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[SIMULATION REWARD (2)]

[Random buff of the shadow plane – Only limited to the Ice Kingdom]

[Shadow Soldier Enhancement (LV1): Increases the combat power of all Shadow Soldiers in the shadow plane, making their physical strength comparable to that of a Level 1 Professional.]

******

F*ck!

It turned out that a hero's soul could be contracted even if Zhang Yun had not lived through the major events of the era?!

Wasn't this a little cool?

There was more!

The ring equipment and the exclusive buff of the shadow plane were also incredible!

Although the former was only a '1-star Bronze' ring, its effect was the most practical for priests. The effect of the healing ability could be improved! Normally exploring the underground and dungeon for a few months would not yield the same results. 

Naturally, the value of the reward was also higher than the average bronze equipment.

The latter solved Zhang Yun's biggest problem, which was getting rid of the numerous professionals of the Ice Kingdom's army.

Although the enhancement only made the Shadow Soldiers comparable to a Level 1 Professional, Zhan Yun's army didn't have the ability to continuously level up, become stronger, improve physical strength, and learn powerful skills like real professionals.

However, since Zhang Yun could collect a buff after one simulation, then there might be a chance to accumulate countless buffs and strengthen the Shadow Soldiers of Brother Shadow!

Hmmm...

How should Zhang Yun put it?

The simulation had an element of reincarnating as a pigeon.

Zhang Yun increasingly became stronger each time he replayed the simulation.

Then...

The scums of the Ice Kingdom should better be prepared!

Zhang Yun would return. Prepare to die!