"Damn it, we're surrounded!" White Stockings Enthusiast cursed. "This game is a real pain. The mobs even use tactics! Looks like we can't disengage! When there are too many of them, we'll just get mobbed. Come on, one-on-one! I'll definitely show him up! I know how to parry!"
"One fist can't beat four hands," Crescent Moon Blade said, finding the current situation reasonable. "But the mobs' alertness in this small camp is too high. I bet there are stealth-type skills to learn in the game. Otherwise, there's no way we'd be spotted as soon as we got close."
The other three nodded. They wouldn't treat the mobs like normal people. Instead, they thought that they were the ones lacking skills and trying to sneak around, which is why they were spotted immediately.
Although no stats appeared in the game, as players, they all knew that the stats were just hidden. Everything was there, just not displayed.
The way the four of them cheerfully exchanged information and their fearless offensive stance startled the wanderers.
They must be crazy.
With Tortoise Shell Shield having just helped by using his body to block the hidden arrow, Dragon Scale Sword didn't hold back. He quickly rushed forward and finished off the mob he had kicked over.
The sword cut into the back of its neck, and the massive force not only chopped off the head, but also buried the sword in the dirt.
"Whoa, so much experience!" Dragon Scale Sword exclaimed loudly. "Much higher than the jackals! And the head really turned into a cabbage! Not gonna lie, it's pretty fun."
As he said this, he kicked the "cabbage" away.
The great news of the experience bar skyrocketing made Dragon Scale Sword feel ecstatic.
The other three, hearing the good news, also became energized.
Even though "Assassin's Creed" had turned into "Assassin's Dynasty Warriors" (a reference to the Dynasty Warriors series, known for its large-scale battles), getting experience was still great!
"Who's close to leveling up?"
"We're all about the same, probably."
"Let Tortoise Shell Shield go first. After he levels up, he'll recover his injuries and help tank damage!"
The four of them spoke in turn, quickly formulating an action plan.
The wanderer camp had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. If they knew the four players were planning their demise like dividing up food, they would have swarmed them. A whole group of them against just four players? How insulting!
But when it came to actually charging forward, the wanderers hesitated.
Have you ever seen people laughing maniacally while killing?
It wasn't enough to just kill, they had to chop the heads completely off.
And then they grinned and kicked the severed heads away.
They were covered in blood, but didn't seem to care at all.
You've got an arrow in your kidney, why are you still laughing?
The four of them looked like horrors crawled out of a fissure in hell, almost scaring people to death.
The players, on the other hand, had no idea what the wanderers were thinking.
This is just a game! It doesn't hurt, you can't die, and it's not even scary. Just keep slashing!
So the scene turned into the four not only not running away, but charging towards the densest part of the crowd. Even the women and children in the cages thought it was ridiculous.
What the heck is going on?
"I leveled up!"
"Sweet!"
Who had ever seen four people almost carve a path of blood and carnage through a crowd, under constant crossbow fire?
The wanderer faction was actually being forced to retreat.
They looked at the four bloodied, battered figures and felt an overwhelming sense of dread.
The wanderers were just a temporary gathering, huddling together for warmth. They merged for mutual benefit and separated when that benefit disappeared. That's how it was in the borderlands now.
Whether it was worth trusting someone, whether they could genuinely cooperate, whether they would betray you, it was all a gamble.
Having a chance to gamble was better than having no chance at all.
But they never expected such a crazy breed of people to appear in this land.
A wanderer wielding a bow aimed at a figure behind a shield. That shield and the lumbering, sluggish brute holding it were filling him with an overwhelming sense of despair.
No matter how he shot with his crossbow, the brute would block it with his shield, or even with his body.
Even though they were covered in blood and staggering, they never fell.
Finally, the wanderer archer found an opening. The crossbow bolt weaved through the gaps in the shield and accurately struck Dragon Scale Sword's knee, who was gleefully hacking away.
"Holy crap!"
Dragon Scale Sword "thudded" to his knees, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Crap, I'm injured! I took an arrow to the knee and got a movement speed debuff!" (Reference to the famous line from Skyrim)
As the main damage dealer, Dragon Scale Sword's injured leg significantly impacted the entire team's strength.
"White Stockings, cover for him!"
Just as the wanderers thought that the strongest one was injured and the fearless four-person team would surely fall apart, a freakish individual, looking like a troll with green hair, burst onto the scene.
Setting aside the fact that they were scared out of their wits by his hideous appearance, his willingness to kill and fight was no less than the one who had just fallen.
Wait, hold on!
The guy who took an arrow to the knee, why is he still charging forward?
"..."
They broke through!
The four players actually broke through a small camp of a dozen or so wanderers, directly causing the remaining wanderers to scream and run away.
Their momentum was completely gone.
"They ran?" Crescent Moon Blade scratched the back of his head, very surprised. It wasn't what he expected. They had only killed six or seven people, and the vast majority of the rest had run away.
They were seriously injured! If they had really pushed the attack, sacrificing another three or four people would have won them the fight.
But he didn't know that "sacrificing another three or four people" was something the remaining wanderers couldn't accept.
Everyone was fighting and looting to survive, not to trade their lives one-for-one.
This wasn't a math problem.
"What now?"
"Let's take these people back to the outpost. The lord might reward us handsomely."
"Sounds good to me."
The four, dragging their heavily injured bodies, approached the cages. The women and children trapped inside were trembling with fear.
White Stockings Enthusiast went over first. After all, he needed to film a video to upload and earn money. Interacting with rescued NPCs was meaningless for ordinary players, but it was very important for a streamer like him.
"Hey there, don't be afraid, we're the good guys!"
The woman's face was pale, and the child she was holding burst into a loud wail.
White Stockings Enthusiast was just too terrifying-looking!
"Don't cry!" The woman quickly covered the child's mouth, fearing that the monster in front of her would attack.
"Alright, you scared the kid," Crescent Moon Blade pulled White Stockings Enthusiast back and stepped forward. "Hey little buddy, don't cry. It's okay."
With her voluptuous figure and a meticulously crafted, top-tier beautiful face, Crescent Moon Blade instantly calmed the crying child. The child even blushed.
"NPCs really are all about looks!"
"Hey, seriously, you're right!"
"I regretted it before, but now I'm sure. My face will definitely be useful in the chaotic evil alignment in the future!"
"Alright, let's get these people out first, and then...loot!"
Killing monsters gives experience, which is important but not as important as scavenging for loot after the battle!
"We can even wear the stuff we strip off them!"
"Whoa, this piece of equipment is great, but the weight is a bit too much. I can't move if I wear it."
"How are we going to divide the loot?"
"Evenly, or roll for it?"
"Let's take what we need first. You guys are all too poor. At least let Tortoise Shell Shield cover his butt."
"Hahaha!"
They took the camp together, and the wanderer camp didn't really have anything good anyway. It was mostly junk, so they were quite harmonious and didn't argue.
Don't think that Linde and the nine soldiers in Star Dragon Outpost look down on those tattered equipment, it depends on who you compare the equipment with. They were wearing the first regular army infantry standard armor of Lande, top-notch things that money could not buy, the best they could do with the weapons in the players' hands was make some sparks, it was better to use a heavy hammer, maybe it could cause internal bleeding.
Even the armor that Linde considered trash and left behind was still pretty decent.
In contrast, this group of wanderers was barely better than naked, at most wearing a piece of leather armor.
If it wasn't for being overwhelmingly better equipped, truly not fearing death, and the ability to level up and recover health, four people defeating a dozen or so would have been a pipe dream.
"It's up to you guys to take them back," Tortoise Shell Shield was the first to give out. His body exploded, turning into ashes.
The remaining three were calm in the face of their companion's death, or rather, they didn't even bother to glance at him.
But the captured women and children were very uneasy. These people seemed to have a close relationship and were willing to take a blade for each other, but they didn't even bat an eye when their friend died.
A bunch of maniacs.
Could it be that they had just escaped from the frying pan and landed in the fire?