Chapter Eighty: Changing Professions

Page (1/3)

Lok'tar Ogar, from the Orcish language in Warcraft, means "Victory or death!"

For the soldiers under Xu Kang's command, these words represented courage and the unshakable belief in victory; but for their enemies, it was practically a death sentence.

So, when Xu Kang led over a thousand men in a charge, the Yellow Turban followers—already terrified by the cannons—immediately turned and fled without the slightest hesitation.

Some even began to shout loudly.

"The Fire God is here!"

"The Fire God is coming—run!"

"Fire God, please don't kill me..."

They didn't know Xu Kang's name, but they could never forget that night three months ago when the flames devoured the land, and Xu Kang, wielding the blazing Demon Hammer, shouted "Let the fire purify all!" as he cut a path through the chaos.

Thus, "Fire God" became their name for Xu Kang.

After all, if he wasn't the Fire God, how could he wield red-hot iron hammers unscathed and defeat the Grand Teacher?

Even though Zhang Jiao repeatedly tried to dispel the rumors, it was all in vain. This was why, whenever Xu Kang appeared, the Yellow Turban followers would lose all morale.

By contrast, Xu Kang’s soldiers grew ever more spirited with each battle. Having never known defeat, they had developed a unique faith—one might call it the "soul of the army."

On one side stood true soldiers with the soul of an army; on the other, rabble with no will to fight. The moment they clashed, the outcome was plain for all to see!

Even though Zhang Jiao still had over thirty thousand followers, while Xu Kang led just over a thousand in his charge, the battle was completely one-sided.

In less than five minutes, over a thousand Yellow Turban followers had fallen to the artillery troops under Xu Kang, and hundreds more were trampled to death or badly injured in their desperate flight.

The collapse was total—a defeat like an avalanche. Not even Zhang Jiao could turn the tide. Yet, in his despair, he did not choose to flee with the crowd. Instead, he drew his bow and shot an arrow at Xu Kang!

With a whistle, the arrow struck Xu Kang squarely in the chest—but thanks to his armor, only the tip embedded itself in his flesh.

As Zhang Jiao readied another arrow, he saw his opponent flash before him like lightning—already upon him, raising the flaming Demon Hammer high!

At the same time, Xu Kang’s voice, tinged with anger, rang in his ears.

"Charge and execute!"

Hearing this, Zhang Jiao hastily tried to raise his bow to block.

But before he could lift his hands, a spiked hammer filled his entire vision—and then, consciousness left him utterly.

With a heavy thud, a corpse with a head completely deformed crashed to the ground. The fleeing Yellow Turbans wore expressions of absolute terror as they cried out even louder.

Page (2/3)

"The Grand Teacher is dead!"

"The Grand Teacher was killed by the Fire God!"

"Run for your lives..."

Hearing these shouts, Xu Kang—who had just slain his foe—was momentarily dazed. "Zhang Jiao is dead? Who killed him? Where?"

But when he saw the body on the ground, its head a bloody ruin, limbs still twitching faintly, realization struck him.

"This guy... was Zhang Jiao?"

Understanding this, Xu Kang immediately cast a Healing spell on Zhang Jiao’s body, but it was unfortunately useless.

With his skull crushed, Zhang Jiao was already dead; the slight twitching of his limbs was only a nervous reflex. Soon, his heart would stop completely, and death would claim him in truth.

"Damn, this is a loss!"

Gritting his teeth, Xu Kang pulled the arrow from his chest and cast another Healing spell on himself before gazing at Zhang Jiao with a complicated expression.

"If I’d known this was Zhang Jiao, I wouldn’t have killed him—even if he shot me again! Now I’ve lost at least a County Marquis!"

With this thought, Xu Kang felt as if he'd missed out on a fortune.

But what he hadn't expected was that, at the very moment Zhang Jiao’s limbs ceased twitching, a new power surged within him.

Under its influence, his twin Demon Hammers felt suddenly much lighter, and his mind grew remarkably clear.

At the same time, a message appeared in his mind—

Character Name: Xu Kang

Class: Apprentice

Possesses basic mage skills: [Create Food and Water], [Heal Disease], [Animal Transformation], [Pain of Despair].

Possesses basic physical skills: [Charge and Execute], [Beast Master], [Unstoppable Rider], [Stealth Search].

Class Advancement Requirement: Kill an apprentice [Achieved]

Note: Choosing an advancement type will grant more powerful advanced class skills, but after choosing, all basic skills of the other path will be lost.

Options: [Physical Path] [Magical Path!]

Xu Kang: "???"

What’s going on? Did I just level up?

The abrupt message left him stunned for over ten seconds before he understood.

"No, it’s not a level up—I must have met the class change requirement by killing Zhang Jiao. So, the question now is, which do I choose? Physical or magical? Or just stay a jack-of-all-trades?"

Page (3/3)

Shaking his head, he quickly dismissed the thought.

"No, after finally meeting the conditions, choosing nothing means giving up advanced skills—that’s just a waste. I have to choose, and it must be the magical path!"

Xu Kang knew very well that, for him, all other skills were expendable—except [Create Food and Water]. That was the key to survival, and he could never give it up!

So, without hesitation, he made his choice. "I choose the magical class!"

As soon as he decided, his armored warhorse vanished beneath him. All memory of [Charge and Execute], [Beast Master], [Unstoppable Rider], and [Stealth Search] faded from his mind.

In their place, a flood of new information poured into his mind—

Character Name: Xu Kang

Class: Junior Mage

Possesses advanced magical skills:

[Create Food and Water]: Upon use, creates magical bread and magical fresh water. These magical creations provide all the nutrients of normal food, offer some healing and energy-restoring effects, and never spoil.

Advanced effect: Each use produces ten loaves of magical bread and ten pouches of magical water.

[Heal Disease]: Heals injuries and cures illnesses.

Advanced effect: Can simultaneously heal up to ten people at once.

[Animal Transformation]: Transform into a bear, eagle, tiger, or seal, gaining their abilities and moving freely through all terrains.

Advanced effect: Freely switch between adult and juvenile forms; each form can be fierce or adorable, offensive or defensive.

[Pain of Despair]: Inflicts intense mental agony on the target for 15 seconds.

Advanced effect: Pain is doubled, duration increased to 150 seconds.

Xu Kang: "(づ￣3￣)づ"

Damn, this advancement is powerful—I really struck it rich!

Feeling the new knowledge settling into his mind, Xu Kang grinned so hard his eyes narrowed to slits. It was as if his bank account had suddenly grown by a hundred million!

How exhilarating! Three Kingdoms: The Great Scholar