By looking at the sun, I could tell we had about four hours until sunset. We had already explored the cave Bruce had found earlier, but it turned out to be a disappointment—no connections to mineshafts or deeper caves, just a dead end. We couldn't waste more time, so we decided to head towards the Taiga biome following Tatsumaki's directions. The other side was an ocean biome, and getting stuck in the middle of the sea at night wasn't something some of us wanted to experience.
"We should at least find something more useful in this biome," Bruce said, walking beside me, his eyes scanning the surroundings. "There's a chance for pillager outposts, right?"
I nodded, "Yeah. It's risky, but there could be loot there. If we run into one, it's worth checking out."
Peter jumped in, "It feels like we've been wandering for hours. Not even a single sign of life here."
"Relax," I replied, trying to sound calm. "These things aren't always obvious. We'll come across something eventually."
We continued trekking through the dense trees of the Taiga biome. The soft crunch of leaves underfoot and the occasional howl of wind were the only sounds accompanying us. After hours of searching, we still hadn't found any signs of a structure, outpost, or anything remotely useful. It was starting to get frustrating.
As the sun lowered on the horizon, casting an orange glow over the trees, Bruce spoke up again, "We're running out of daylight. We should set up camp here."
"Agreed," I replied. "Everyone, let's dig down. We'll create a temporary shelter underground. It'll keep us safe until morning."
Tatsumaki floated beside me, arms crossed. "You know, we could just float above the trees and avoid all of this, right?"
"I'd rather stay grounded for now and there's a risk of Phantoms " I answered, smirking. "It would be safer underground."
We dug down about seven blocks, clearing a small area big enough for all of us to fit inside. After placing torches to light the space, we set up a campfire to cook some chicken. We were trying to conserve our coal for emergencies, so the campfire was a good alternative.
As we settled in, the atmosphere grew quieter. The day's exhaustion started to weigh on us, and one by one, everyone began to lay on the beds we had crafted.
"Goodnight," Rose whispered as she curled up in her blanket, her wand close to her side.
"Yeah, sleep well," I mumbled, adjusting my bed to get more comfortable.
The fire crackled softly, casting shadows against the stone walls. Just as my eyes were starting to close, I heard something—faint but distinct. I wasn't the only one. My eyes snapped open, and I saw everyone else was awake too.
Tatsumaki's voice was the first to break the silence, "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah," I replied, getting out of bed. "That wasn't just the wind."
Bruce sat up, his hand instinctively moving to his sword. "Something's up there."
I quickly removed the dirt above the entrance, peeking through to see what was going on. My heart sank when I saw the problem. Zombies. And not just any zombies—there were baby zombies, skeletons, spiders, and creepers swarming the area.
"Well, shit," I muttered under my breath. "We've got a situation."
I scanned the surroundings further and noticed something that made my stomach drop. The zombies—some of them were wearing diamond and iron armor. This wasn't normal. It clicked.
"We're in Minecraft hardcore mode," I said, turning to the others as I climbed back down. "And those zombies up there. They're decked out in armor."
Peter raised an eyebrow, "Wait, hardcore mode? Like... one life, and we're dead?"
"Not just that," I continued, "But in Minecraft, a single block of diamond weighs about 3,519 kilograms. That means the zombies carrying that armor are handling thousands of kilograms of weight without breaking a sweat. If they hit any of you, it's going to hurt. A lot."
Tatsumaki frowned. "And here I thought zombies were supposed to be slow and dumb."
"They are," I said, "But with that much weight and force behind them, their attacks will be devastating."
"So, what's the plan?" Megumi asked, already summoning one of his shikigami.
"We have to clear them out," I replied. "And quickly, before more of them spawn. But even if we fight, they'll just keep coming until we light up the entire area with torches."
Bruce stood up, gripping his iron sword tightly. "I can handle the frontline. I'll need someone covering me from behind."
"I'll take the skies," Tatsumaki offered, her telekinesis already lifting her off the ground. "I can keep an eye on the whole area and keep some of them away from you."
"Rose, you handle ranged support with your magic," I said, glancing her way.
Rose nodded, already preparing her wand. "Magic should keep them at bay."
"Hinata, use your Byakugan to keep track of where the mobs are. We'll need your eyes for this," I added.
"Got it," Hinata agreed, activating her Byakugan.
"And Peter, with your strength and speed, you can help Bruce on the ground. Megumi, summon as many shikigami as you can to block off their path. I'll be using something I recently acquired. It's time I put it to the test."
"Sounds good to me," Peter said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's clean this up."
We all nodded in agreement and readied ourselves. I climbed back up first, Gae Bolg in hand, and took a deep breath. The monsters were still swarming above, and as soon as I emerged, a skeleton took aim. I dodged quickly, the arrow whizzing past my head. With a swift motion, I activated Gae Bolg, the spear glowing as it pierced through the first wave of zombies.
Bruce and Peter rushed up right after me, swinging their iron swords with precision. Every hit landed with brutal efficiency, but as I expected, the zombies in armor took more effort to bring down.
Tatsumaki floated above, flinging skeletons and creepers away from us with her telekinesis or outright crushing them. "This is too easy for me," she called out, sending a group of mobs flying into the distance.
"Don't get too cocky!" I shouted back, dodging a creeper's explosion. "We need to focus on placing torches. Otherwise, they'll keep coming."
Megumi summoned more shikigami, sending them to block off the incoming waves while Rose stood back, casting spells from a distance. Her Ancient magic was surprisingly effective, wiping out clusters of enemies in a single hit.
I moved swiftly through the battlefield, taking out the mobs one by one, but the sheer number of them was overwhelming. Every time we killed one, another would spawn in its place.
"We need to spread out the torches!" Bruce yelled, taking down another armored zombie. "We'll be at this all night if we don't!"
"On it!" Peter called, already placing torches as he sped around the area.
I followed his lead, lighting up the ground as fast as I could. Slowly but surely, the mobs began to dwindle. The more light we spread, the fewer monsters appeared.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the area was clear. The remaining zombies and skeletons burned under the sunlight as the sun rose on the horizon. I felt that this night we had killed more Mobs than the entire population of Japan.
"Well, that was... exhausting," Hinata said, catching her breath.
"At least we survived," Rose added, wiping sweat from her brow.
"Yeah, but we can't stay here for long," I said, glancing around at the damage. "We need to keep moving. There's no telling what else is out there."
Tatsumaki landed next to me, looking unbothered. "I could've handled that whole thing by myself, you know."
"Sure you could," I said, smirking. "But it's more fun when we work together, right?"
She rolled her eyes, but I could tell she enjoyed the challenge.
As we packed up and prepared to move on, I couldn't help but think about what lay ahead. This was just the beginning, and the dangers would only get worse from here.