Huo Qubing couldn’t spare another word with Su Fu. He spun around sharply, facing the northern sky where smoke of war rolled.
His expression changed instantly as he barked orders:
“All troops, hear me! Smoke signal warns of an enemy attack!”
“Scout camp! Immediately recon enemy strength and position!”
“Archery camp! Man the wall! Nock arrows! Prepare to defend!”
“Infantry camp! All captains, centurions, squad leaders, fall in! Report to your assigned sectors and take up positions on the wall!”
“Cavalry camp! Follow me! Charge!”
Almost instantly, the entire camp snapped into orderly motion. Centurions and squad leaders shouted commands. Soldiers drew weapons, checked their armor, and raced toward the towering Great Wall. Arrows were nocked, rolling stones set in place, boiling oil poured, and iron shields raised.
Su Fu followed Meng Erya, grabbing a longbow and quiver before rushing back up the wall. Atop the battlements, the biting wind whipped their armor and clothes.
She drew the bowstring, aiming the arrowhead at the land beyond the wall—a land steadily being swallowed by darkness. Their mission was to weaken the anomalies with arrows before they reached the wall.
Then the anomalies came.
It was an indescribable, surging mass of dense black mist that writhed like a living thing, sweeping toward the Great Wall’s defenses.
Su Fu had seen this before. Outside the academy’s protective barrier, those twisted shadows devoured even the light wherever they passed. Endless, blotting out the sky and sun.
“Damn, this number is terrifying, isn’t it?”
No one knew where anomalies came from. They only knew that once they descended, they would silently erode and corrupt all matter and laws within an area, then madly devour, replicate, and spread like a virus. From replacing ordinary beasts, to replacing humans, and even replacing the exalted gods themselves. Some who lost control—or took the wrong evolutionary path—became monsters that governed concepts within the Dark Realm.
‘This is troublesome,’ Su Fu thought. ‘These are primitive anomalies that haven’t completed replication and substitution. So their goal right now is probably to completely corrupt this section of the Great Wall.’
“Boom! Boom! Boom-boom-boom!”
The stirring, heroic war drums suddenly rang out, shaking the skies. Su Fu felt her own heartbeat sync with the drumbeats.
At that moment, Huo Qubing vaulted onto his horse. Silver armor glinted in the beacon fire, and his spear pointed straight ahead.
“Everyone! Follow me—kill the enemy!”
He personally led an elite cavalry unit, charging directly into the overwhelming black tide! Iron hooves thundered, warhorses neighed. Yet humans seemed so small before that wave.
But every time Huo Qubing swung his spear, he tore and scattered a huge swath of the surging black mist. The cavalry behind him, fearless of death, followed closely. The entire cavalry unit plunged into the anomalies like a sharp blade.
Su Fu watched in awe. This was the young War God who had hunted the Xiongnu at Langjuxu, along with his men. Will as hard as iron, without fear or hesitation.
She gradually noticed that those with stronger will seemed to deal more damage to the anomalies.
‘Why? Is it because they can better resist the corruption? Or perhaps… willpower itself is a weapon of humanity?’
Su Fu’s heart stirred. She seemed to understand why the Great Wall Garrison Army could still hold the anomalies at bay in an age when gods had not yet descended en masse.
But human bravery could only so much against the vast gap in physical power. War was brutal. Soldiers were constantly being corrupted and devoured in the fight. Some fast-moving, bizarre anomalies broke through the line, howling as they charged the high wall.
“Loose arrows!”
Countless arrows rained down, continuously slowing them.
“Kill!”
More garrison soldiers raised spears and blades, engaging the anomalies directly in close combat! The clash of weapons, war drums, and killing cries filled the air.
The newly repaired wall was shattered again. Bricks and stones collapsed, dust flew, and the damage was worse than before. Countless streams of black mist poured in through the broken gaps like clinging bone gangrene. The defenders threw themselves forward to seal the breaches, stabbing again and again at the endless black monsters with their spears.
“We must not retreat!”
“Defend to the death!”
“Sigh…” Su Fu sighed. She couldn’t stand by and watch. Without hesitation—
“[SIX DING DIVINE FIRE]!”
“Boom—!”
Countless fireballs fell from the sky like falling stars, precisely crashing into the anomalies trying to surge through the wall’s gaps! The anomalies let out piercing shrieks as their black mist was rapidly evaporated and dispersed.
Not just her—the other test takers also joined in, displaying their own abilities. In an instant, sword qi crisscrossed, lightning flashed, and golden light wove a net. The precarious wall defense instantly turned around!
The anomalies seemed to finally realize something was wrong. In the past, their invasions met stubborn resistance, but nothing this absurd. Where did all these tough fighters come from this time?
A garbled roar came from the black tide, and the remaining anomalies reluctantly retreated. They moved with practiced ease, and in the blink of an eye, the sky returned to normal as if nothing had happened. Only a scene of devastation remained.
The newly repaired wall was once again battered, corroded, reduced to ruins. Garrison soldiers collapsed on the ground; some clutched bleeding arms, others silently collected their comrades’ bodies. The standard still flapped in the wind.
In the chat channel, the test takers who had just experienced the anomaly battle were now in a complex mood.
[What’s going on? In the end, the Great Wall was completely useless?!]
[Right, if it weren’t for us, the losses would have been severe!]
[I’m completely disappointed in this wall now!]
[What use are these broken stones? Why do we have to build a wall that looks utterly pointless?]
[Without Huo Qubing and us, we couldn’t have stopped those monsters!]
[If you ask me, we should save the effort of building walls and help General Huo upgrade their weapons instead.]
[Lin Zhao is right. Get a few high-tech cannons and just blast them all to smithereens!]
[Or better yet, unite and request the gods’ descent to wipe them out with divine power!]
[Exactly, isn’t that better than us breaking our backs here?]
Su Fu skimmed the messages. Most were filled with disappointment, doubt, and resentment.
Was the Great Wall special? Just looking at this wall of bricks and mortar, in the face of those unfathomable anomalies that could twist rules, it was indeed no stronger than paper.
She guessed that the special nature lay perhaps in the meaning behind it. The Great Wall was the embodiment of Chinese civilization’s will. It bound everyone’s will together through the shared goal of building it, forming a powerful collective human consciousness to resist the erosion and corruption of this area’s rules by anomalies. It was more like a clear, solid “conceptual anchor” against the chaos and distortion brought by anomalies. Willpower outweighed physical significance.
Just then, Meng Erya came running up. “Changying! Don’t just stand there! General Huo wants to see you!”
Su Fu’s spirits lifted. Here it comes. The First Emperor’s buff was activated. She wondered what special dialogue would trigger and what extra support she might gain.
She followed Meng Erya to the command tent. Outside, guards stood solemnly holding halberds, their expressions alert. After being announced, Su Fu lifted the heavy felt curtain and entered.
Inside the large tent, the light was dim. Huo Qubing had already removed his silver armor, wearing only a plain tunic, which made his upright posture even more striking. Hearing footsteps, he turned.
A sword-like brow and starry eyes; youthful arrogance lingered on his face.
“Greetings, General!” Su Fu clasped her fist in military salute.
“No need for formalities.” Huo Qubing waved his hand.
He paused for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts, then slowly began: “I called you here because of… your father. When I was young, I once followed the army on campaign and was severely wounded, nearly dying. It was your father who stayed up day and night and pulled me back from the gates of hell.”
Su Fu’s heart stirred. She recalled the information on her character card: Basic medical skills (family tradition). So that’s it. Her father in this dungeon was a military doctor who saved Huo Qubing. Good, good, good. This buff was excellent.
“General, you flatter me,” Su Fu replied. “My father often says that healing the wounded and saving the dying is a doctor’s duty—not something to take credit for. General, after that battle, are you feeling any discomfort?”
Huo Qubing shook his head. “I’m fine.”
“…”
Su Fu thought, ‘Then why do you look so troubled?’
She probed, “General, this great victory was aided by heaven, but your expression suggests… there’s another worry?”
Huo Qubing paused for a moment.
“The scouts just reported that the Great Wall has been damaged by more than half after this anomaly assault.”
“Given the current frequency and intensity of invasions, I’m afraid… it won’t hold for many more times.”
Su Fu: “!”
‘So sudden?’
‘That means, in no time, the anomalies will launch a large-scale invasion to break through.’
‘Perhaps this will be the final battle.’
This was undoubtedly critical information — perhaps the key to ending the entire dungeon cycle.
“But I won’t let that day come,” the young general said with firm resolve.
“Guarding the Great Wall has been the Huo Clan’s duty for generations.”
“This line of defense will never fall in my hands.”
‘…Generations of duty?’
Wait, Su Fu’s expression tightened.
She suddenly recalled the unremarkable background description on her character card:
[Generations stationed at the Great Wall, guarding against anomaly invasions.]
Her scalp went numb.
‘Generations of station…’
‘The anomalies have been invading all along…’
‘Test takers can revive infinitely…’
‘That means if we can’t pass the dungeon, everyone will be trapped in this loop?’
‘Anomaly invasion, Great Wall collapse, rebuild, resist, die… over and over again?’
A chill ran down Su Fu’s spine.
She did not want to be forever trapped on this ancient battlefield engulfed in flames, experiencing this cycle of despair again and again.
According to Teacher Zhuge, the key to a looping dungeon lies in finding and breaking the catalyst point that causes the loop.
Now, where was the catalyst point for this [Great Wall Vigil] dungeon?
The answer seemed obvious.
The Great Wall.
The core goal of the dungeon had always been to repair the Great Wall.
Huo Qubing had also been emphasizing “defend the Great Wall” and “not yield an inch.”
But the Great Wall as the catalyst point probably didn’t just refer to the stone wall before them.
Rather, it was the cultural will that the Great Wall represented.
‘Hiss—this is tough.’
‘Torch, Torch… Do we really need to forge a Torch of the Inheritance to break through?’
Su Fu thought, if it were Chinese test takers, they’d understand each other tacitly without words.
But test takers from other pantheons? How could they get this?
It was sheer fantasy.
In their eyes, the Great Wall was just a dilapidated stone wall that could be breached at any moment.
Su Fu felt numb.
‘Isn’t this difficulty too high?’
Just then, Huo Qubing suddenly muttered to himself:
“What are anomalies, really?”
“Why… do they choose us?”
His voice was very soft, as if asking Su Fu or himself.
Su Fu’s heart stirred.
She looked up to meet Huo Qubing’s slightly confused gaze.
“Perhaps… they just chose the survival mode of humanity.”
“They believe this way, they can live forever.”
“So they want to replace humans, to substitute humanity.”
Huo Qubing glanced at her, as if he had never considered such an idea.
Novel, even somewhat unorthodox.
But Su Fu continued, “But this kind of substitution itself has a huge flaw.”
“They only imitate and copy, omitting the process of creation and evolution.”
“If they truly got their wish and replaced humanity, then they would also lose the object of imitation.”
“In the end… I’m afraid they would only head toward rigidity and destruction.”
Huo Qubing was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed: “Miss Su, we met too late.”
This abrupt remark made Su Fu’s heart lurch again.
Before she could press further, Huo Qubing had already returned to his usual composure: “Alright, back to business.”
“The reason I called you here is actually to assign you a special mission.”
He picked up a black wooden box that looked quite heavy from the desk and placed it in front of Su Fu.
“Now, after several brutal battles, our army’s soldiers have suffered heavy casualties, and many good men have been left forever on this battlefield.”
“But their families are still waiting for them.”
“This time, I want you, on behalf of me and everyone else, to deliver these death notifications and the government’s compensation to their families.”
“Tell them that these soldiers are heroes who guarded the Great Wall.”
Su Fu was surprised for a moment—did they even have to do this?
Was this dungeon really going to be this immersive?
She solemnly took the box; it was heavy in her hands.
Opening the box, she saw neatly arranged death notifications, each with the name, hometown, and other details of the fallen soldiers.
Beneath the notifications were heavy pouches of copper coins wrapped in linen.
As well as some land deeds or compensation certificates stamped with the official seal.
Su Fu scanned the list, and her eyes suddenly stopped.
There was a name she recognized but never expected to see:
Lin Zhao.
The test taker who had openly questioned the uselessness of repairing the Great Wall, damaged it, and was ultimately executed by Huo Qubing for disobeying military orders.
‘After a test taker dies, they are still treated as an NPC fallen soldier?!’
For a moment, Su Fu’s hands went numb.
Test takers indeed had role relations.
But she never expected that after death, they would have to notify their family in this dungeon world.
So, the question came.
If the battles continued until the final great war, the entire dungeon would probably restart the cycle.
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