Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!

Chapter 378 - 370: Launching a New Quest

However, he wouldn’t provide unconditional help, only secretly assisting occasionally. As for other brothers and sisters hoping to gain benefits or take shortcuts here, that is absolutely impossible.

Zhao Laosan remembered well the lessons and stern warnings from his benefactor, and would never act foolishly again, letting his wife and daughter suffer.

Completing a task yielded excellent results, and the double rewards were indeed enticing, especially watching the reward values constantly leap and roll, making her balance increasingly full, instantly boosting her motivation.

The System Coin reward was five thousand, double that would be ten thousand, and the Energy Value was also substantial, reaching 158. Doubling it made it comparable to any task she had done before.

Cheng Xiaoxiao was in a great mood, opened the virtual map, and continued the task.

Earning money is good; making money brings happiness. At the same time, it boosts fighting strength. She was definitely fighting monsters to level up now... hmm hmm, completing tasks to level up.

Satisfying!

She initially planned to head towards a nearby city but was surprised to see a red dot flashing in the distance very rapidly.

"Wow! The situation here seems really urgent, so let’s check it out first!" Cheng Xiaoxiao casually changed the task location, leaping eagerly with anticipation.

The map showed this place as the junction between Tianqi Country and the Western Grassland Tribe.

Qiao Town is located at the westernmost edge of Tianqi, a borderland with stormy sand dust and scorching sun all year round, and outside the town lie vast grassland tribes.

"Leave none alive."

Outside the city walls, a team of a hundred well-covered cavalry urged their horses, brandishing weapons aggressively, charging forward fiercely, breaking through the barricades, and rushing wildly.

Today, Qiao Town’s weather was exceptionally clear; the sparse falling snowflakes contrasted with several plumes of smoke rising in the city. Soon, flames soared to the sky, the blazing fires seemingly wanting to engulf the whole town.

Many soldiers guarding the city gates went back to douse the fires. Meanwhile, a sneaky person approached the gate quietly, and despite the soldiers on the walls sounding the horn for enemy attack, the charging cavalry outside showed no signs of stopping, easily entering through the suddenly opened gates.

"Grassland cavalry are here, grassland cavalry are here to steal grain."

The calling townspeople were killed in an instant by the riders.

Their loud cries were swallowed by the fire, without causing any ripple.

Cries for help echoed from all directions.

No one had noticed the invading cavalry until they started cutting down anyone they saw with their swords.

Only then did the frantic firefighters realize, stopped their activities, and grabbed weapons to face the enemy.

The past few years, the weather on the grasslands has been bizarrely changeable, with high temperatures and little rain, growing hotter each year. Coupled with overgrazing, the grasslands underwent large-scale desertification, even those splendid lakes have rapidly shrunk or vanished.

Without water sources, neither humans nor livestock could survive. The Grassland People wanted to head west to find new water sources, needing to pass through Qiao Town to enter Tianqi’s territory.

They continuously harassed the border, began looting, killing, and frequently invaded.

Especially this year, no rain fell for three months, extreme heat persisted, water sources were scarce, and almost every family’s heated kang became useless.

The abnormal weather did not bring the rainy season; instead, the cold air dropped sharply, making the soldiers guarding the city walls who had worn thin clothes yesterday, start running noses today, and putting on old cotton-padded jackets by the third day, still feeling the bone-chilling cold.

Soon after, snow began to fall; though it added inconvenience to travel, it alleviated the drought problem greatly, delighting the townspeople. They hoped the rain and snow would turn into crops next year, preventing drought death, and giving them hope for life.

Unexpectedly, just over a month later, extreme cold suddenly struck, temperatures plummeted to minus twenty to thirty degrees, killing many, and those without a hint of skill dared not go out, huddled in the kang at home, consuming their already scarce grain reserves. Days passed, yet the temperature showed no sign of rising, only getting colder, leaving many townsfolk struggling to eat even coarse meals twice a day.

This situation gave Cheng Duhu significant headaches.

The soldiers defending the city lacked charcoals for the fire and had to chop wood to sustain themselves, but wood was limited, so only night-duty soldiers could warm themselves; during the day, they had to endure the cold, often training while guarding the city.

Soldiers with weaker health still fell sick, causing manpower shortages to worsen for the city defense team.

Moreover, even more Grassland People froze to death. Their predominant use of tent dwellings exposed the shortcomings of such structures during severe cold, quickly freezing many elderly and children.

The grasslands host hundreds of tribes of varying sizes.

In previous years, small tribes would occasionally disturb things, engaging in petty thefts, causing endless troubles.

Yet, the disaster was severe this time, and half a month ago, the Protector General dispatched spies to the grasslands discreetly to investigate the situation.

The news returned was dreadful: Grassland Tribes were fighting fiercely over survival resources, either merging or devouring each other, or seizing territories and resources.

As a result, the victorious tribes grew stronger, likely not as gentle as before with them.

Sure enough, not long after, the newly formed team from the Grassland Tribes set their sights on them.

They were not entirely unprepared; the Protector General had laid out plans early, but didn’t expect an insider to leak the information, allowing the enemy to avoid the ambush area. The enemy silently entered the city and is now rampaging inside.

Leading to the earlier scene witnessed.

To the Grassland Tribe, plundering food and women was an inherent trait. To them, looting others’ possessions was a form of honor, a symbol of ability, deserving pride and boasting.

Awful, for townspeople it spelled total disaster.

Most residents of the town were soldiers’ families and some retired veterans unable to return home, or disabled soldiers retired from injuries.

Many couldn’t go back to their homeland, chose to marry and have children here, creating a thriving town within the monotonous fortress walls, and attracting traders frequently, significantly enriching lives, allowing for the trade of sorghum and wheat for some rice.

Many soldiers’ families possessed some martial skills, some even quite agile, with children as young as a few years old able to wield knives to kill sheep; no choice, this is a military outpost, learning to fight and train is essential for everyone, regardless of age or gender.

However, these skills were no match for the cavalry charging into the town.

Therefore, the streets within the city were extremely chaotic, with soldiers’ families mainly handling the cavalry.

Though disadvantaged, they leveraged their numerical superiority, fiercely resisting.

Additionally, the Grassland Tribe brought in their fierce native Aoguan dogs.

Once in the city, they sprinted with open limbs, rushing forward swiftly, clashing with soldiers within seconds, their robust bodies, agile movements, sharp claws and teeth breaking through the defense line instantly. The soldiers knocked to the ground were soon torn into bloody figures.