Rudi hadn't expected to encounter other players so soon, and he definitely didn't expect them to be this close.
A sense of instinctive unease surged in Rudi's heart. "When someone is beside your pillow, how can you sleep soundly?"—as long as there were others around, it was always a security risk.
However, on the surface, Rudi remained calm. He looked at the Barbarian King and said, "In that case, it's getting late. Tomorrow morning, you can take me to see them."
Rudi also wanted to confirm for himself whether they were truly players or just other locals, so that he wouldn't make a big fuss over nothing.
"Understood, my lord," the Barbarian King replied, and after reporting, he withdrew.
By this time, the sun had already set, signaling the end of the day.
"Since we have the buff from the blessings of the gods, the soldiers should no longer feel hunger, so they probably don't need to eat tonight," Rudi mused, rubbing his chin. "Once it gets dark, I'll have the soldiers return to the Barracks to rest."
Just then, a deafening announcement suddenly rang in the ears of all the players, including Rudi.
[Warning: In one hour, monsters will begin to spawn near everyone's territory! If you wish to avoid injury, please seek shelter in advance!]
[First wave of monsters: 30 Goblins]
Rudi's expression changed. He remembered that during his earlier transition into this world, the system had issued an announcement saying that monsters would attack on the first night.
He quickly sprang into action, instructing the Barbarian King and Excelsior, "Tell all the soldiers to stop working and gather immediately."
Soon, all the soldiers were assembled. Rudi now had a total of 40 soldiers, including the Barbarian King, Excelsior, and ten builders.
After Rudi explained the situation, the Barbarian King immediately spoke up: "Monsters? Leave them to us! We will make sure not a single one survives!"
As he spoke, a group of Barbarians behind him raised their axes in agreement, signaling their readiness for battle.
Excelsior was equally eager to contribute. "Our archers are just as ready," she declared. "Our combat strength is even greater. No matter how many enemies come, we will slay them all!"
A chorus of agreement followed from the archers behind her.
Rudi smiled at the healthy competition among his subordinates—this was a good thing. However, he didn't plan to let his soldiers fight directly just yet.
"Don't worry, we will fight, but I need to make some preparations first," Rudi said.
The announcement had been very clear: the first wave of monsters would consist of 30 Goblins. Rudi planned to use the Arrow Towers in conjunction with his soldiers to deal with them.
"The strategy for the upcoming battle is simple," Rudi ordered with a serious tone. "I will construct multiple Arrow Towers, and the archers will take cover behind them, shooting at the enemy. As for the Barbarians, they will handle any stragglers and look for any enemies attempting to sneak in from blind spots."
All the soldiers immediately responded, "Understood, my lord!"
The ten Barbarians in charge of construction had already upgraded both Barracks. Rudi directed them to build two Arrow Towers every 40 meters in all directions within a 100-meter radius of the territory.
The rest of the soldiers stood by, while Rudi made his way to the newly upgraded Barracks.
[Level 2 Barracks]
[Capacity: 20/50]
[Available to recruit: Barbarian (3 bread), Archer (1 bread), Knight (10 bread)]
Rudi was surprised to see that not only had the capacity of the Barracks increased from 20 to 50.
But there was also a new unit available for recruitment: the Knight!
"Great! Now I have two Barracks, which means I can have up to 100 soldiers! And a new unit type as well," Rudi thought. He pondered for a moment about what to recruit next.
He wasn't aiming to recruit as many soldiers as possible. In fact, Rudi felt his current number of soldiers was sufficient for now. Recruiting too many might result in an unsustainable food demand.
Although his food supply was still plentiful, he wasn't ready to take on a heavy burden just yet.
"Let's recruit 10 Barbarians, 10 Archers, and 10 Knights!" Rudi clicked on the screen.
The recruitment time for Knights was longer than that for Barbarians and Archers—it took 1 minute to produce one Knight.
After confirming his choices, Rudi turned to supervise the preparations of his other soldiers.
Several dozen minutes later, the sky had completely darkened, and Rudi and all his soldiers were ready.
The builders had constructed a total of eight Level 1 Arrow Towers in all four directions: north, south, east, and west. These were completed within an hour—something other players could hardly imagine achieving at such a pace.
However, Rudi was still somewhat dissatisfied. "If only there was more time, I would have upgraded all the Arrow Towers to Level 2."
But for now, this would suffice. He could always upgrade them later when there was more time.
The sky was pitch black, and clouds gathered incessantly. The moonlight peeked through the dark clouds, flickering in and out of sight.
A tense atmosphere hung in the air.
[The first wave of monsters is about to arrive!]
As the announcement echoed, Rudi took a deep breath. From all around, he could hear rustling sounds, as if something had already set foot on his island.
Behind one of the Arrow Towers, Excelsior was quietly guarding with a few archers, waiting for the enemy to appear. Suddenly, she heard a sound near her ear.
"Enemies!" Excelsior suddenly spotted several small, green-skinned creatures emerging from the nearby woods.
They wore lecherous grins as they steadily approached Rudi's territory. Upon seeing Excelsior, their eyes immediately widened.
"A woman! A human woman! Capture her and take her back to have children!" The group of Goblins let out sinister, evil laughter.
Excelsior's anger flared instantly. She commanded the archers behind her, "Kill all the enemies!"
With that, she and the archers drew their bows and fired. At the same time, the two nearby Arrow Towers, detecting the presence of enemies, immediately activated!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
In less than five seconds, the battle on Excelsior's side was over. Everything happened so fast that it was almost unbelievable, but it was no surprise given how thoroughly Rudi had prepared.
The first wave consisted of 30 Goblins, and scattered Goblins had appeared at various points around Rudi's territory.
These isolated Goblins, facing Rudi's prepared Arrow Towers and soldiers, were clearly walking to their own demise. They were struck by a barrage of arrows and quickly decimated.
[Congratulations to player Rudi, the first in the world to defeat the first wave of monsters. Time taken: 0:0:5 seconds]
[Reward: Blacksmith Shop ×1]
Standing beneath one of the Arrow Towers, Rudi felt both surprised and somewhat amused. "That was too easy!"
He even began to wonder if he had over-prepared. These weak Goblins didn't seem like they required such caution at all.
Just then, a voice echoed in Rudi's ear.
[You have defeated the first wave of monsters. Do you wish to challenge the second wave? Defeating it will reward you with even greater rewards.]
[Next wave of monsters: Goblins ×100]
Rudi's face changed instantly. There was a second wave, and the number had increased to 100!
He found himself hesitating. "100 Goblins, huh? Should I try it?"
Meanwhile, other players were cursing in frustration.
[What? Damn it, it only took him 5 seconds to repel the first wave of monsters. Is he even human?]
[I knew it! That bastard Rudi would be fast, but I didn't think it would be this fast!]
At that moment, most of the other players, some of whom hadn't developed very well, immediately opted not to take the challenge. As soon as night fell, they hid inside their buildings.
According to the system prompt, as long as they stayed hidden and made no noise, the Goblins would leave once daylight broke. However, the cost of such a decision was living in fear all through the night.
About half of the players chose to take on the challenge, figuring they could handle 30 Goblins, but some of them, unprepared, suffered significant losses—some even perished.
The remaining players, after Rudi's lead, managed to eliminate the first wave of 30 Goblins as well.
[That was close! Thankfully, my soldiers are strong enough. Though we suffered some casualties, we managed to hold them off.]
[But 100 Goblins in the second wave? Who's crazy enough to take that on? I'm scared.]
[I still don't get it. How did Rudi clear the first wave in just 5 seconds? What is his power level right now?]
Just as these thoughts were swirling, everyone suddenly heard another announcement.
[Player Rudi, challenging the second wave of monsters!]