Chapter 24: Experience Points, Let Me See What You Can Do!

"Su... Commander..."

The rider on his back spoke in a voice no louder than a gnat's hum. "Do not be sad... following you to slay the Hu... these past two days... have been the most exhilarating of my life..."

It is often said that when a man is nearing death, his words are sincere, and there was not a shred of falsehood in what the rider said. Though they had spent only two short days together, he had been deeply conquered by the martial prowess displayed by this young officer. In a chaotic age, the greatest fortune for a soldier is to follow a perpetually victorious leader, especially one who charges at the front and is invincible in battle. Only last night, while celebrating their victory, he had been dreaming of the future with his companions, imagining what great achievements they might accomplish under this commander.

"It is a pity... such is destiny... I only regret... that I can no longer follow you to win glory..."

Such is destiny?

Su Yao gripped the rider's icy palm tightly, his heart filled with frustration. Is it true that there are limits to human effort, and the way of heaven is fixed? Nonsense. Playing a game, and having to be taught a lesson by an NPC? How toxic is that?

"Fine."

Su Yao stomped his foot, turned around, and found a nearby patch of open ground to lay the wounded man down. "If you lot can't save him, I will do it myself. It's just first aid, how hard can it be?"

As long as your health bar hasn't hit zero, I am going to heal you back!

"You... you know medicine?" Lu Bu asked, stunned.

Su Yao did not reply. He closed his eyes, opened the system, navigated to the upgrade options, and selected First Aid and Bone-Setting. The upgrades were completed in one fluid motion. As his experience points were consumed in a massive surge and the system interface flashed its notifications, he felt a strange sensation in the lining of his chest—he knew it had worked!

【Skill Acquired: Basic First Aid, Basic Bone-Setting】
【Item Obtained: 5 Golden Sore Treasure Pills】

Along with the notifications, knowledge regarding first aid and bone-setting flooded his brain. To think that one day I would actually need to pick up support skills...

After a brief moment of distraction, Su Yao refocused on the immediate task. He understood the crux of the problem: debridement! The primary reason for the high mortality rate in ancient warfare was the lack of disinfection and hemostatic measures; more than half of the casualties did not die from direct trauma, but from blood loss and wound infection.

"I will not let you die."

"Commander..."

"Bring water! Bring several basins, and get salt and cloth—quickly!"

Though everyone was filled with confusion, not understanding why he needed salt, they acted immediately, working together with a sense of urgency. Of course, the salt was for disinfection. Su Yao's first thought had been to use spirits as a substitute for alcohol, but the knowledge now in his mind told him it was impossible. The wine of the Three Kingdoms period was of very low proof, and due to crude brewing techniques, it would likely harbor bacteria during fermentation, which could worsen an infection if used for cleaning. While the antiseptic effect of saline solution was weaker, it was the best option currently available.

With the support of Lu Bu and the village elder, Su Yao did not have to wait long. Once the supplies were ready, he immediately began the rescue. He ordered three soldiers to lift the wounded man, and Su Yao picked up a basin of water to begin clearing the wounds.

"I... I can help."

Hong'er, who had been unable to find an opportunity in the crowd, finally stepped forward.

"Hong'er?" Su Yao clearly remembered this NPC. Now that the swelling on her face had faded, the young girl's model looked even more delicate. "Do you know first aid?"

Hong'er hurriedly shook her hands. "I wouldn't say I know it, but I can help with minor scrapes when the young masters and misses get hurt..."

Su Yao nodded and directed her to help rinse the wound with clean water. After washing away the dirt and debris, he rinsed it with the saline solution, followed by another rinse with clean water. Once he confirmed it was thoroughly cleaned, he took the hemostatic medicine kept in the village and applied it.

After completing the debridement and dressing, Su Yao turned his attention to the arrow wound. Upon closer inspection, he realized these elite Hu riders were not using standard arrowheads, but barbed ones. If he didn't act quickly after pulling them out, the bleeding would soon become life-threatening. This time, Su Yao opted for cauterization to stop the bleeding; once the wound had begun to close, he ground one of the Golden Sore Treasure Pills into a powder and applied it.

Finally, treating the fracture of the forearm's ulna was relatively simple. He used his newly acquired bone-setting technique to reset the bone, bandaged and splinted it, and administered one of the pills for the patient to rest peacefully. With that, the severely wounded man's treatment was complete.

However, after such a major breakout battle, he was certainly not the only casualty.

"Those with light injuries, wash and treat yourselves using the method I just showed. The rest of you with arrow wounds, come over here and let me take a look."

"Thank you, Commander!"

"Phew—"

Su Yao wiped his forehead. This had been quite the ordeal; by the time he finished, the moon was already hanging high above.

"Saline debridement, cauterization for blood loss, and this skilled method of bone-setting—even at the medical office in Jinyang, I have never seen such brilliant techniques. Benefactor, you truly are full of hidden talents."

Wang Ling was thoroughly impressed. He already acknowledged Su Yao's combat ability, but he never expected this benefactor to be a skilled physician as well! Thinking back to the construction knowledge Su Yao had displayed earlier, he wondered exactly what kind of person this was; why had he never heard of him before?

Although they remained silent, the similar expressions on the faces of Lu Bu, the old village elder, and many others clearly revealed their shared thoughts. Su Yao, however, did not care about this at all. This was nothing.

"A mere smattering of knowledge, not worth mentioning."

Although he had saved the wounded man's life, seeing the 'Fracture' debuff on the status bar—which would take about 100 days to clear—he was in no mood to celebrate. He would make those Hu pay the price for injuring one of his key men!

"What is the situation with those Hu?"

"Surprisingly resilient. They’ve set up camp at the village entrance. But judging by how fiercely you fought this afternoon, I doubt they’ll stay for more than two days."

An army without morale cannot win a battle. Although the reinforcement of the city walls was not yet complete, Lu Bu was no longer worried about the defense.

Su Yao, however, hummed, a sharp glint in his eyes. "The best defense is a good offense!"

"What?" Lu Bu exclaimed. "You... what are you planning?"

"A night raid! We attack them tonight!"

"You cannot, Lord Tataro!"

Inside the Xiongnu camp, the chiliarch Tataro was in a heated argument with his subordinates. "Our troops are exhausted, our horses are worn out, and we have lost half our men. We can no longer fight! Furthermore, how can we launch a direct assault on a fortified stronghold without siege equipment?"

This was nothing short of suicide!

The five remaining centurions did not voice it, but they all believed their superior had lost his mind from the defeat. Tataro, however, did not think so. He felt his subordinates were simply terrified and failed to see the reality of the situation.

"First of all, there is no 'fortified stronghold'! Did you not see that the wall on the west side of the gate is just a fresh, flimsy piece of work? One push and it will crumble."

"Secondly, you are tired, but they are even more exhausted. I admit that Han commander has skills, but they clearly lack the manpower. Otherwise, if they had sent a hundred more men to charge with us at that time, how could we still be standing here?"

"So, pull yourselves together! Once we charge into that fort and kill that man, all the gold and women inside—I don't want a single one! They are all yours!"