Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

At 10 p.m., Li Hongyun entered the game world of "Dark Sand" on time.

First, following the method previously shared by Chu Ge, he briefly played as Zheng Tian, cleared the first stage, and saw the portal to the second stage.

It must be said that "Lord Qin's Array Breaking Melody" was like a key, a meticulously arranged key by the designer.

Without this key, players would flounder in this chaotic world, and it would probably take quite an effort to defeat Huang Xianzhi.

But with this key, one could effortlessly follow the historical trajectory, step through the portal, and behold the elegance of the "Heavenly Khan."

Li Hongyun did consider whether to stay in the first stage to see if there would be an even more exciting development.

But on second thought, he decided against it.

No matter how thrilling the ending of Liang might be, how could it compare to the thrill of using public funds to chase after Emperor Taizong of Liang?

So, Li Hongyun stepped through the portal and arrived at the second stage of the instance.

After crossing over, he found himself in a god's-eye view high above.

His vision pierced through the layers of mist, and the land of Huaxia before him seemed to be a vast sandbox where various forces interlaced, with their territories marked in different colors.

In the Central Plains, the various separatist forces bit and fought each other, with Da Liang already occupying a third, or even more, of the map. Other forces, by comparison, were lacking.

And on various borders, there were a great many other forces, such as the Eastern and Western Turkic, Korea, Tuguhun, Tibet, and so on.

Especially the Northern Turkic, like a vast mountain, weighed heavily on the entire dynasty of the Central Plains.

This scene was quite similar to the pressure of the Jin Country on the Qi Dynasty in later history.

On the map, the vast influence of the Turkic was by no means weaker than that of the Jin Country.

Above the vast map, Li Hongyun could see a large, multi-layered sphere of light.

Its structure was somewhat similar to an onion, except there was a cut surface that allowed a glimpse at the brilliant core within, surrounded by layers of darkness.

The darkness was vague and unclear; he could only vaguely discern about three to five layers, but the exact number was indeterminable.

And in Li Hongyun's heart, there was a faint feeling: this core was the destination he was trying to reach.

"This sphere of light, is it the core of this historical fragment?

"According to the game's plot, the leap from the Qi Dynasty directly to the Liang Dynasty relied on the heroic spirit of Emperor Taizong of Liang as the anchor point.

"So, does that mean that this central point of light is Emperor Taizong of Liang?

"The layers of dark energy wrapped around him are probably the barriers set up by demons.

"Before, the power of the Restorers broke open this historical fragment, so the cutaway on this sphere of light must be the trace of the Restorers' power piercing the demons' barrier, locking onto the core.

"It's just that this passage is clearly not sufficient for the Restorers to pass through, so, we still have to break through the dark energy layer by layer.

"Good, it's time to really make a move!"

Li Hongyun couldn't help but feel invigorated.

The thought of breaking through to that core to see the long-desired Emperor Taizong of Liang filled him with power.

"It's just that I'm not sure how to break through these layers of barriers left by the demons.

"Perhaps it should be like the instance of Emperor Taizu of Sheng?"

Although he had yet to engage with the specifics of the second stage, Li Hongyun had already made some conjectures based on the instance of Emperor Taizu of Sheng.

The influence of such an emperor on history, changing and molding it, was unimaginable.

Just like Emperor Taizu of Sheng used his great talents and strategy to mend the nearly shattered crisis of Huaxia, Emperor Taizong of Liang also remodeled the spirit of the whole of Huaxia with his "dragon and phoenix presence, a reflection of sun and heaven."

The tune of Lord Qin breaking the formation even, two hundred years later, at the end of the road for the Liang Dynasty, still ultimately graced the people, extending the dynasty's lifespan by decades.

Such ultimate strong figures could inevitably support the entire content of a historical fragment.

Thus, Emperor Taizu's fragment was divided into four identities:

Beggar, Rebel Army, Commander, Emperor.

Four players, each playing a different identity, and only when combined did they truly represent Emperor Taizu.

For a single player to play all four identities was almost impossible.

The achievements of Emperor Taizong were equally legendary, and even Emperor Taizu admired him thoroughly. Among all the emperors through the ages, Emperor Taizong of Liang was undoubtedly the foremost military genius.

Such a roaring figure, how would this historical fragment be portrayed?

Filled with anticipation, Li Hongyun reached out to touch the core surrounded by layers of dark energy.

The moment he touched the first layer of dark energy, his consciousness was immediately sucked in.

...

Moments later, Li Hongyun regained consciousness.

And now, he had finally arrived at a very specific scene.

Ahead stood a very majestic gate.

To its south lay an extending mountain range, and to the north was a river beach formed by the Yellow River's surge.

On one side were towering mountains, while on the other, the torrential river flowed.

This formidable pass spanned the narrowest point between the intersecting mountains, creating a natural barrier.

Above the gate, two large characters were engraved.

"Hulaoguan"!

Li Hongyun couldn't help but feel a surge of spirit.

He didn't expect that the second stage would start with a headline act!

Hulaoguan Pass, existing since ancient times, was named after an emperor once kept a ferocious tiger offered to him there.

With Mount Song in the south and the Yellow River in the north, amidst the crisscrossing mountains, it formed a natural barrier, the only thoroughfare nearby.

It was truly a "One man guards the pass, ten thousand are unable to open it" kind of place, and a strategic location that any army would vie for.

Hulaoguan Pass is the gateway on the eastern side of Luoyang; once Hulaoguan fell, Luoyang was likely to succumb as well. The relationship between Hulaoguan and Tong Pass and Chang'an was similar.

Of course, historically the location of Hulaoguan was not constant. This was mainly due to the constant erosion by the Yellow River, which caused significant changes in the terrain and landscape every hundred years or so. Therefore, sometimes Hulaoguan was an impregnable pass, while at other times it could be circumvented with great effort.

Successive dynasties had refurbished Hulaoguan several times.

But no matter what, the Hulaoguan that Li Hongyun saw at this time was the true "guarded by one man, impregnable to ten thousand."

And evidently, he was about to face a pivotal battle right here.

Back in the day, Emperor Taizong of Liang captured two kings here in one battle, defeating the combined forces of Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande. It was a battle that decided the fate of the dynasty, regarded as Emperor Taizong's most triumphant victory in his life.

There was no appearance of a character card selection interface, but instead, talent skills directly appeared.

[D-level·Deployment of Troops (Gold): You naturally grasp the basic strategies of troop deployment and reach the commanding level of a veteran general.]

[D-level·Keen Observation (Gold): Your power of detail observation and memory is enhanced.]

[D-level·Incredible Strength (Gold): The core strength of your upper body is significantly increased.]

The dazzling golden light almost blinded Li Hongyun.

Not to mention that "Memory Fragment," "Inspire Troop Morale," and "Escape from Desperation" were the three default golden talents, all of them D-level.

In other words...

This starting setup was the same four gold talents as in "Common Man Trial"!

It was truly astonishing.

Li Hongyun himself was not used to fighting with such riches.

"Wouldn't I be invincible then?

"The difficulty of this instance is too low, isn't it?

"Being originally in the role of the humanoid Gundam, Lord Qin, and now giving me four D-level golden talents... Wouldn't Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong immediately flee in terror?"

Li Hongyun even worried a bit that this magnificent battle would end without suspense.

For when it came to individual combat power, Emperor Taizong of Liang, who was still Lord Qin, was absolutely unparalleled among all the feudal monarchs of ancient times.

Emperors like Emperor Taizu of Sheng, though formidable, paled in comparison to Emperor Taizong of Liang.

Such an unreasonable physical condition, coupled with golden talents...

A moment of silence for his enemies in this battle, Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande.

Of course, Li Hongyun vaguely felt things would not be so simple.

Since this instance provided three golden talents, it also meant that certain aspects of it were extremely difficult.

But... even if it was difficult, it would still be in the body of Emperor Taizong, right?

As long as he could control this humanoid Gundam, Li Hongyun was fearless.

After a moment's consideration, Li Hongyun decisively chose the talent "Incredible Strength."

The reason was simple; among the three talents, although Deployment of Troops was also very attractive to him, he felt taking it would be somewhat of a loss; Keen Observation could not be directly applied to combat.

Only the talent "Incredible Strength" was the most practical for Li Hongyun.

In the historical snapshot of the Liang Dynasty, there were no firearms, but Li Hongyun could still use crossbows.

And the most impressive part of Emperor Taizong was that he could wield a tremendously large bow, firing from both sides, personally covering the rear, and shooting dead dozens of pursuers in succession.

The saying went, "Since ancient times, archers often die bravely," and Emperor Taizong was clearly among the bravest of those archers.

Li Hongyun figured that if he was in the role of Emperor Taizong, and with his already formidable physical condition, if he further enhanced it with the talent "Incredible Strength," and coupled that with his own luck...

He would be invincible!

The thought alone was exhilarating.

So, Li Hongyun selected his talent, and the entire historical snapshot began to operate.

Sure enough, just entering the new body, Li Hongyun could feel the tremendous strength contained within this physique.

This was undoubtedly the body of a warrior who had seen countless battles!

Looking down, he saw himself clad in resplendent armor, clearly of esteemed status.

However...

He reached out to touch the thick beard on his chin and inadvertently touched the deep wrinkles on his face.

Li Hongyun's brow furrowed involuntarily.

Looking around, it was apparent he was in a military tent.

Something wasn't right, something didn't add up!

Li Hongyun quickly realized what was off, he strode out of the military tent, looking up towards the west. As expected, in the distance, a majestic pass was faintly visible—what else could it be but Hulaoguan?

"Why am I not inside Hulaoguan, but camping east of it..."

Li Hongyun suddenly fell silent.

Various signs pointed to the fact that the person he was playing was definitely not Emperor Taizong of Liang.

At the time of the battle at Hulaoguan, Emperor Taizong had just turned a little over twenty years old.

But the person Li Hongyun was playing, with a thick beard and deep wrinkles, and looking at the weathered hands, seemed to be a man in his forties or fifties.

By that age, Emperor Taizong of Liang was nearly on his deathbed...

So, the answer seemed clear.

He was not playing Emperor Taizong, but he had taken on the role of Emperor Taizong's opponent—Lord Xia Dou Jiande of that time!

Li Hongyun stood frozen.

He thought he would be playing Emperor Taizong, rampaging and slaying wildly.

It turned out that he was only responsible for the rampaging—on the receiving end of Emperor Taizong's wild onslaught!