"Damn, we're surrounded!" Loves White Silk cursed, "This game is crazy, even the wild monsters use tactics! Looks like we can't break away from the fight! The more of them there are, the more we get beat up. Come on, fight me one-on-one! I'll show them what I've got! I can parry!"
"It's hard to fight against overwhelming numbers," Moon Slash Blade commented, feeling the situation made sense, "But the wild monsters in this outpost are too alert. I bet there are Stealth Skills we can learn in the game, otherwise, they couldn't have spotted us the moment we got close."
The other three nodded. They didn't treat the wild monsters like normal people; on the contrary, it was because they lacked Skills and attempted to sneak around that they were spotted at first glance.
Although no numerical values appeared in the game, as players, they knew they existed, just not displayed, everything that should be there, was there.
Their cheerful exchange of information, and their fearless attacking stance, took the wanderers by surprise.
They must be crazy.
With the Black Tortoise Shield blocking dark arrows with its body, the Dragon Scale Sword didn't hesitate to rush forward and finish off the overturned wild monster.
The sword sliced into the back of its neck, its enormous force not only chopped off the head but also buried the sword in the ground.
"Holy crap, that's a lot of experience!" Dragon Scale Sword exclaimed loudly, "Way more than from hyenas! And the head really turned into cabbage! Can't say it isn't interesting."
With that, he kicked the "cabbage" head away.
The exciting news of the experience bar rising greatly lifted Dragon Scale Sword's spirits.
The other three, hearing the good news, also became exhilarated.
Even if "Assassin's Creed" had become "Assassin's Warriors," gaining experience was still thrilling!
"Who's close to leveling up?"
"We're all about the same, I guess,"
"Let the Black Tortoise Shield go first; he'll recover from his injuries when he levels up, helping to tank the damage!"
They quickly decided on a plan of action with few words exchanged.
The folks at Wanderer's Camp had no clue what they were talking about. If they knew that these four players were arranging them like cutting up vegetables, they'd swarm over in a heartbeat; after all, there were many of them and only four adversaries. It was too disrespectful!
But the more the wanderers wanted to rush forward, the less they dared to do so.
Have you ever seen someone kill with laughter?
They killed without remorse, and they were even chopping off heads.
The severed head was kicked away with a sinister smile.
Blood scattered, but they didn't care.
You've been shot in the kidney, why are you still smiling?
The four fighters looked like Calamity climbing out from a crack in the Abyss, nearly scaring the wits out of everyone.
The players, however, had no idea what the wanderers were thinking.
This is the game, after all. It doesn't hurt, you can't die, it's not even frightening. Just hack away!
So, the scene turned into four people not only not running away but actually charging into the densest part of the crowd. The level of ridiculousness not only stunned the wanderers but even the women and children in the cages thought it was absurd.
What the heck?
"I've leveled up!"
"Awesome!"
Who has ever seen someone nearly carve a bloody path through a crowd while being continuously shot by hidden arrows?
The forces of the wanderers were forced to retreat continuously.
As they watched the blood-soaked and wounded group of four, a boundless horror rose in their hearts.
The wanderers had merely banded together temporarily for warmth. They banded when there were benefits and scattered without them; that was the way things were done in the borderlands.
As for trustworthiness, the sincerity of cooperation, or the possibility of betrayal, it all came down to a gamble.
Being able to gamble was better than having nothing to bet at all.
But they had never imagined that such a crazed bunch would appear on this land.
A wanderer with a crossbow aimed at the shadow behind the shield; the shield and the sluggish brute behind it filled him with despair.
No matter how he shot with his crossbow, the brute would block with the shield or even his body.
Even bleeding profusely and stumbling, he never fell.
Finally, the wanderer crossbowman seized the opportunity. The bolt sneaked past the shield and accurately struck Dragon Scale Sword, who was in the midst of a killing spree, in the knee.
"Damn it!"
Dragon Scale Sword "thudded" to the ground, yelling at the top of his lungs, "It's over; I got hit with a leg injury and a movement speed debuff!"
As the main damage dealer, Dragon Scale Sword's injury impacted the entire team significantly.
"White Silk, get in there quick!"
Just when the Wanderers thought that the strongest among them had been injured and that the fearless four-person squad was surely finished, a monstrous figure with green hair and a troll-like appearance burst forth.
Not only were they shocked by its fierce appearance, but its dare-to-fight spirit was no less than that of the one who had just fallen.
Wait, something's not right!
The one from before, you took an arrow to the knee, why are you still charging forward?
"…"
They broke through!
Four players actually broke through the small stronghold of more than a dozen Wanderers and made the remaining Wanderers howl in panic as they fled.
The momentum was gone.
"They ran off?" Moon Slash Blade scratched the back of his head, very surprised. This wasn't what they had expected at all; they had only killed six or seven people, and the vast majority had run away.
They themselves were severely wounded. If the enemy really had pressed on with the attack, sacrificing three or four more might have won them the battle.
But what he didn't know was that "sacrificing three or four more" was something the remaining Wanderers couldn't accept.
People fought and plundered to stay alive, not for a one-for-one exchange.
This wasn't a math problem.
"What now?"
"Let's rescue these people and take them back to the outpost. The Lord might reward us handsomely."
"I think that's a good idea."
The four men, dragging their heavily injured bodies, approached the cage. The women and children trapped inside trembled with fear.
Loves White Silk was the first to approach; after all, he had to record a video for uploading and making a living. Interacting with rescued NPCs meant nothing to ordinary players, but it was very important for a vlogger like him.
"Big sister, don't be afraid, we're the good guys!"
The woman was pale, and the child she was holding in her arms burst into "waah" with loud crying.
Loves White Silk, looking far too frightening!
"Don't cry!" the woman hastily covered the child's mouth, fearing the monster before her would act.
"That's enough, you scared the child into crying," Moon Slash Blade pulled Loves White Silk back and stepped forward, "Don't cry, little brother, it's all over now."
His dashing looks, coupled with a face meticulously crafted for top-tier handsomeness, calmed the bawling child in an instant.
The child even blushed.
"NPCs do indeed care about looks!"
"Hey, don't just say that, you really shouldn't say that!"
"I used to regret it, but now I'm sure. This face will definitely come in handy when I play in the evil and chaotic factions!"
"Alright, guys, let's get the people out first, and then… pillage!"
Defeating monsters provided experience which was important but not as critical as scavenging and looting after a battle, which was extremely important!
"The equipment we stripped off can actually be worn!"
"Damn, this piece of equipment is nice, but it's a bit too heavy; can't even walk in it."
"How are we going to split the loot?"
"Divide it evenly or roll for it?"
"Let's take what we need first, guys. We're all too poor. At least let Black Tortoise Shield cover his ass."
"Hahaha!"
After taking over an outpost together, especially considering the Wanderer's Camp didn't have much good stuff, mostly junk, so the dynamics between them were quite amicable, without disputes.
Lind and the nine soldiers at Star Dragon Ridge might look down on these ragged pieces of equipment, but it depends on what you compare them to. They wore Rand's first regular infantry standard armor, top-tier stuff that money couldn't buy. The weapons in the hands of the players could at best produce sparks when striking it and would be better off smashed with a war hammer, which might cause internal bleeding from the shock.
The armor considered junk by Lind was still pretty decent.
In contrast, the group of Wanderers were barely better off than naked, at most wearing a piece of leather armor.
If it wasn't for their overwhelming equipment and their genuine fearlessness in the face of death, as well as healing upon leveling up, the idea of four people defeating more than a dozen would be sheer folly.
"It's up to you guys to take the people back," Black Tortoise Shield was the first to collapse, his body exploding into ashes.
The remaining three were very calm about their companion's death, or rather, they didn't even bother to look.
But the captured women and children were not calm at all. The group seemed intimate, ready to take a blade for one another, but they didn't blink an eye when a friend died.
A bunch of madmen.
They had to wonder if they had just escaped the tiger's den only to enter the wolf's lair.