บท 24: Moment of War
บรรณาธิการ: EndlessFantasy Translation
The moment the warning bells sounded on the wall, Meng Yang's expression became serious. He leaped to the position on the high platform of the wall at once.
Since he knew that the gnolls might have been launching an attack tonight, he had paid particular attention to it. There were more than fifty old and weak women and children in the camp, but he did not choose to evacuate them. Instead, he wanted to face the enemy head-on. This placed a lot of pressure on everyone.
Just as he had ascended to the top of the wall, Meng Yang felt his throat go dry as he abruptly swallowed his saliva.
Since coming over to this Other World, he had escaped from the pig-headed monster, saw the flower-backed spider and the saw-toothed tiger one after another, and had even faced the jackals head-on. However, Meng Yang still felt fear and trepidation in the face of a disaster.
With the light from the torches on the fence, he could make out dozens of tall black shadows appearing in the dilapidated street from a distance.
In the shadow of the flickering flame, each one of the faces resembled a wolf with bared fangs, each with a malevolent expression.
"There should be around 20 to 30 jackals. There… There are many more than what Phoenix had said…"
Meng Yang's expression was extremely solemn upon seeing these black shadows appearing outside the city wall.
The number of gnolls who came to attack the camp was much more than he had expected, and they all had weapons such as axes and swords in their hands. Many of them were even wearing poorly fitted leather and armor.
Besides, other than these dozens of gnolls, there were also more than a dozen hunting jackals accompanying them at the front. Each bared their teeth as they howled and advanced toward the wall's fences.
"F*ck, isn't the suspense too much?"
The corners of Meng Yang's mouth twitched, and his eyes could not help but look at the players who were climbing the wall. In terms of numbers, they were not necessarily outnumbered at the moment.
Although he was still confident that these players still had some innate fighting capability, when he looked at the numerous monsters that had now formed a dense mass rushing forward toward them, he was worried.
…
"Gnolls!"
In a dark and dilapidated alley, two figures were cautiously lying on the roof of an abandoned building. They were watching from a distance as more and more jackals filled the gritty streets.
"Be careful, those hunting jackals have a keen sense of smell!" The older man gently stretched out his hand to lower the head of the boy next to him.
"We're downwind," The young man shrank his neck and whispered in a low voice. "Are the gnolls attacking that camp, Uncle Gussa?"
"That's probably the case," The older man's face appeared resolute. Then, his thick eyebrows furrowed. "The survivors from the City of Despair have been disturbed by monsters that besieged the various camps. I once met a soldier named Buff, and according to him, most of the people here are elderly, women, and children. They don't have much fighting ability."
"Then… then wouldn't they be unable to withstand the attack of the jackals." The young man's tone changed slightly when he heard these words. The City of Despair was big. Since its fall, people from various neighborhoods that had failed to escape gathered together. Even so, they had always been somewhat scattered because of the numerous monsters roaming about. They were also afraid of attracting the attention of powerful beings, so many camps were fearful of taking in too many people.
If the camp ahead were truly filled by older people, women, and children, then when faced with the onslaught of dozens of gnolls, even if there was some fortification on the wall, they would struggle to survive.
"We can't help them, Sheridan." The middle-aged man named Gussa sighed softly. "It's a whole group of gnolls and there's only two of us now. Even if we go back and ask for help, the leader might not agree to save a bunch of old folk, women, and children. Furthermore, even if they agreed, I'm afraid there won't be enough time. You're also well aware that there are not only saw-toothed tigers and goat-headed monsters around our camp, but also a group of scavengers. If our movement is too noticeable, it might disturb them and our camp will face an attack."
"But… we can't just watch them like this… Didn't you used to say that surviving humans should reunite?" Young Sheridan asked irreconcilably.
"Remember our mission, Sheridan." Gussa saw the young man's struggling expression and reassured him. "What we need to find now is the magic crystal. The magic crystal mine is very important to the camp now."
Sheridan heard the word mission and remembered the purpose of their trip. He wanted to plead again but could not say anything anymore.
"The most we could do now is wait for the gnolls to launch the attack. Then, we'll find an opportunity to sneak attack from the rear. Hopefully, it'll lead away a few of the jackals," Gussa sighed again.
"Wait, this… this camp…"
…
The creaking draw bridge was lowered from above the fence. Following Phoenix's order, fifty players, each armed with rusty swords, spears, and other weapons, clattered out of the camp's fortress. When they saw the numerous gnolls standing in front of them, they could not help but scream.
"Damn, this battle's so awesome!"
"These monsters are very lifelike, just looking at them makes my skin crawl!"
"Are those dogs? These monsters know how to raise dogs!"
"They're probably hunters since they have babies!"
"Other than being too realistic, I think the game is starting to get a bit more interesting."
"Right, right. Fighting monsters is always cool!"
"Oh, f*ck. The weapons in these monsters' hands look stronger than our broken iron spears!"
"Snatch it!"
"Yes, kill the males, kill… kill the females too. Well, the dogs can stay."
However, not all the players were excited. Among them, some of the less courageous male players instantly turned pale after they boarded the wall, and several female players screamed until they looked like faded flowers.
After all, what lay before them appeared no different from reality at the moment. One by one, the gnolls who were 1.8 to 2 meters in height stood in front of them, preparing to attack as they gripped their weapons with a fierce and frightening appearance.
Even if they knew that it was a game, it was inevitable for some people to be fearful.
"Don't panic everyone. The biggest male player in each squad will stand in front as a meat shield, whilst the spearmen will stay behind them."
Xu Zhe hurriedly shouted as he watched the noisy and disorganized players walking out of the perimeter wall. This was a genuine team fight. Some of them might not be able to adapt, but others were burning with excitement.
"Pain level, pain level, everyone, turn them down! Otherwise, 100% pain level will make you wish you were dead." The compass-legged Liu Chuanfeng walked ahead as he carried onto his large bone cleaver. He shouted one after another as these were indeed experiences gained from his own blood and tears. The last time he forgot to adjust the pain level, it almost made him quit the game.
"Ma Xiaoling, where's Ma Xiaoling?"
Sun Shuai stood in front of the team and looked left and right at the teams beside him. Ma Xiaoling, who had been appointed the role of the temporary captain, had gone missing.
"Forget it. Team five, you male players, come to the front and get ready!"
"Everyone, when you see a gnoll, wreck it. Do not scatter around. I'm not so sure if these gnolls are difficult to deal with. However, their an*s just so happens to be one of their major weak points. I have a lot of meat on me, so I'll be going ahead to block the attacks. The others should hold onto their hands and feet while the remaining soldiers should aim their attacks straight at their an*s.'
Zhuang Dafa shook his belly with a flushed face as he was equally exhilarated. This was much more enjoyable than 5v5 or 40-man team battles. The battle was densely packed and looked invigorating.
"You've made quite a lot of progress, Dafa. Please don't make a small fist and start beating your chest again!" Liu Chuanfeng's teasing voice could be heard from the side.
"Get lost, scram, screw it. Mommy, no wait, daddy had been turned into bait for the pig-headed monster before. I was a genuine frontal meat shield, so do you think I'd be afraid of this little scene? Brothers, f*ck them up and make them pay!"
As Zhuang Dafa was yelling, Li Yuncheng, who was in another team, suddenly showed a surprised expression. He suspiciously glanced at Zhuang Dafa, who stood at the helm of the next group, and felt that the other party's voice sounded somewhat familiar.
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