Gao Changgong was also shocked by the current scene of the camp in chaos. Just as he was at a loss, he suddenly heard a young woman’s voice by his ear.
[Huh? Why doesn’t this game have an interface? How do you play this?]
Gao Changgong was stunned. How could a woman’s voice appear in this military camp? He looked around strangely but found no suspicious person—the closest to him was Han Ye.
[Tsk, this won’t stump me. Could it be a motion control system like the Wii?]
Before Gao Changgong could figure out where this woman’s voice was coming from, he found his body was no longer under his control, turning to walk toward the white horse tethered in front of the tent.
“Your Highness?” Han Ye was also startled by Gao Changgong’s actions, watching helplessly as his prince mounted the horse with an incredibly graceful movement, cut the reins with one stroke, and using only his legs to grip, drove the white horse toward the place with the loudest battle cries.
Han Ye broke out in a cold sweat and quickly grabbed a nearby horse to chase after him.
Gao Changgong’s inner horror was no less than his guard’s, especially when he realized his body was completely disobedient, watching helplessly as he charged toward the battlefield. After seeing the battle situation clearly, he discovered that Northern Zhou soldiers had already taken advantage of the chaos to break through Hangu Pass and were about to seize this easily defended, hard-to-attack strategic point.
“Can’t lose…” Gao Changgong couldn’t help gritting his teeth and muttering to himself. “If Hangu Pass is lost, then Luoyang will be in immediate danger.”
[Oh, I get it. The mission for this level is to defend the pass.] The young woman’s voice was light, obviously not taking the tragic battle before her seriously.
Before Gao Changgong could investigate who was speaking, a Northern Zhou warrior spotted him, turned around, and swung his blade toward him. Having never experienced such peril, Gao Changgong felt his entire body stiffen, almost causing his soul to leave his body.
“Your Highness—”
Han Ye’s scream from behind made the Zhou warrior even more delighted. If he could kill a Northern Qi prince, he would definitely be promoted two ranks.
My life is over.
Just as this thought arose, Gao Changgong, who had closed his eyes waiting for death, saw his right hand casually swing out. The bright blade reflected the nearby torches, tracing a brilliant arc as it cleanly struck the Northern Zhou soldier from his horse, blood scattering like rain in star-like spatters on his head and face. Though the golden demon mask protected his skin, a heavy smell of blood hit him, nauseating.
Han Ye’s drawn-out “Your Highness—” behind him stopped abruptly, obviously unable to believe this person who easily killed enemies was his gentle, refined prince.
[The special effects aren’t great, but the scenery is too realistic! Whatever, since there’s not even a health bar, this really must be a beta version.] The woman’s voice carried a trace of contempt and disdain, but more excitement and eagerness to try.
“You… who are you?” Even as slow as Gao Changgong was, he sensed something was wrong. Ever since he put on the mask, things had started developing in a bizarre direction.
[Me? Huh? This game requires self-introductions with NPCs? Well, yeah, makes sense—this game has no interface, no way to input a player name.]
Gao Changgong listened to the woman chattering a string of words he completely didn’t understand, not knowing how to interject.
[Well, that guy, let me finish this level first before we chat.] The woman dropped this line and fell silent.
Gao Changgong watched with tingling scalp as his body was controlled by someone else, charging invincibly into the thick of enemy battle, wielding the steel blade to harvest one fresh life after another.
His body seemed to possess infinite strength. Having lived nearly twenty years, Gao Changgong never knew he could cut down people as easily as chopping vegetables.
He must be possessed by a demon. Gao Changgong thought of stories described in Southern Dynasty novels and couldn’t help shivering all over.
But the surrounding Northern Qi warriors, inspired by his brave charge, became greatly boosted in morale and actually resisted this round of Northern Zhou attacks, gradually pushing the enemy back outside Hangu Pass.
This battle continued until dawn before ending. Gao Changgong sat on horseback, looking down at Northern Zhou banners trampled underfoot, corpses scattered everywhere. His armor was already dyed red with fresh blood, uncoagulated blood dripping from his blade’s tip onto the ground, seeping into the sand and leaving deep red marks.
The eastern sky brightened. Gao Changgong looked bewilderedly at the hellish scene around him. Had he caused all this? No! The demon had caused this through his hands!
“Why such… disregard for human life?” Gao Changgong couldn’t help voicing his inner thoughts.
[Hm? Isn’t this just a game?] the woman replied.
Gao Changgong shivered violently. Treating killing as a game?
What was inside this golden demon mask was indeed a devil!
Xiao Li turned the pen in her hand, her gaze uncontrollably falling on the golden demon mask she’d set aside.
Yesterday’s discovery had made her ecstatic—she never expected this mask to be a holographic gaming terminal. This was probably still a single-player game with only her as a player, and it should be in trial stage. After completing yesterday’s defense mission, that NPC inexplicably said something, then reached out to remove the mask. The scene before her eyes returned to normal—her familiar room came into view. No matter how she wore the mask afterward or felt around all its protrusions, she couldn’t find a button to restart the game.
This was indeed just a trial stage, with only one level to play. Thinking of this, Xiao Li felt incredibly regretful—if she’d known there was only one level before the game ended, she would have deliberately lost to play multiple times.
But the game was quite interesting. Usually player-controlled characters were completely under player control, but the NPC she controlled seemed to have its own consciousness, even delivering that final line.
Or could it be that her inappropriate response had caused the game to terminate?
Today Xiao Li had specifically gone to the library to research Prince of Lanling. This beautiful and valiant Northern Qi prince had only stirred a small ripple in China’s vast historical river before being overwhelmed by towering waves. The Northern and Southern Dynasties were already an extremely chaotic era. Though troubled times produce heroes, in this period of great ethnic integration, Prince of Lanling was obviously not the protagonist.
Historical records showed that Prince of Lanling’s father was Emperor Gao Cheng, eldest son of Northern Qi’s founding emperor Gao Huan, but his mother didn’t even leave behind a surname. Historians speculated his mother was likely a lowly palace maid. The Wei, Jin, and Northern-Southern Dynasties period was an aristocratic age that greatly emphasized bloodline and family status, so though Prince of Lanling was considered imperial offspring, his situation was very awkward.
This explained why Prince of Lanling was sent to the army—his imperial brother definitely wouldn’t actively want his elder brother controlling military power. More likely, he wanted this eyesore of a brother to die quietly on the battlefield.
Prince of Lanling was said to have too gentle features to intimidate enemies, so he always wore fierce masks in battle, becoming invincible and renowned on battlefields.
Xiao Li touched the golden demon mask on the table, then looked up at the extraordinarily handsome man in the poster, thinking that even she, who was used to defeating bosses, would probably soften facing such a face. Too bad in the game, since this Prince of Lanling seemed to be the protagonist, she couldn’t see this handsome man from her perspective, and the game was still in trial stage without even CG effects.
But even so, she really wanted to continue playing! Xiao Li felt incredibly itchy and knew she couldn’t continue writing practice tests in this state. She simply grabbed the golden demon mask, put it on her face, then lowered her head to continue homework.
Gao Changgong knew his attitude yesterday had been somewhat biased, but as a young prince raised in deep palace chambers, suddenly facing such a bloody hellish battlefield where many lives were killed by his own hands—the fact that he could still sit straight on horseback showed his admirable years of cultivation and composure.
But after saying those accusatory words and hearing that female demon treat killing as a game, he had immediately removed the mask from his face, regardless of consequences. Fortunately, he could no longer hear the woman’s voice, and his body no longer felt controlled.
But was this the end?
From the corner of his eye, Gao Changgong saw the golden demon mask he’d casually placed on the table. Han Ye didn’t dare touch it—dried blood clung to it, adding even more fierce malevolence to the demon face.
“Your Highness? Feeling better?” Han Ye’s voice interrupted Gao Changgong’s contemplation.
Gao Changgong took the hot water Han Ye offered and drank several sips, enduring aches throughout his body. Yesterday he’d collapsed immediately upon returning to his tent. Having never engaged in such intense combat since childhood, every muscle and bone silently protested. Even after sleeping a full day, he hadn’t recovered.
Han Ye had served Gao Changgong for years—he could guess the reason with just a frown. He immediately took medicinal wine and began massaging his prince’s legs. When helping the prince remove armor and change clothes, he’d already checked—despite last night’s perilous fighting, the prince had only a few bruises without even a scratch. It was truly miraculous.
Now even generals who usually looked down on the prince had visited several times. Though Han Ye gruffly blocked them outside the tent, they showed no anger, personally bringing fine medicinal wine and medicine.
Including Han Ye, all soldiers who witnessed that tragic night wouldn’t believe that person wearing the golden demon mask, harvesting lives like a demon crawled from hell, was the same gentle, harmless Gao Changgong.
But that morning, they watched as the blood-soaked demon mask was removed, slowly revealing that extraordinarily handsome face in the dawn light. The strong contrast left everyone present dazzled for a long time.
This scene would remain unforgettable for many.
Unlike other soldiers who blindly worshipped their prince, Han Ye knew the truth. His prince’s bravery was definitely related to that golden demon mask. What worried Han Ye now was whether his prince had other aftereffects, so he inquired in low voices.
Gao Changgong had long considered Han Ye his trusted confidant, more open with him than his real family. Since Han Ye had given him this golden demon mask, he recounted everything that happened last night.
Han Ye was shocked, never expecting this supposedly invincible golden demon mask to harbor an evil spirit—a female ghost at that!
“Your Highness… this demon mask… I was worried about problems before, so I wore it too, but there was nothing…” Han Ye regretted deeply. If that evil spirit possessed the prince’s body for rebirth, wouldn’t he have harmed the prince?
“It’s not your fault.” Gao Changgong shook his head with a bitter smile. “I was being pretentious. On battlefields it’s kill or be killed—being soft-hearted toward enemies is cruel to oneself. Without the golden demon mask last night, we’d probably all be dead here.”
Han Ye lowered his head, knowing that with things at this point, there was nothing he could say. The person he served was a prince with his own position and principles—a world this small person couldn’t participate in.
Gao Changgong said nothing more. After Han Ye finished massaging his aching muscles, he stared fixedly at the golden demon mask, suddenly noticing that what had been covered in blood was now clean as new, without a trace of bloodstains.
Han Ye must have cleaned it before leaving.
Gao Changgong didn’t think much of it. After long hesitation, he finally reached toward the mask.