Chapter 100 - 96 Monster Attacks the Village—It Begins

Chapter 100: Chapter 96 Monster Attacks the Village—It Begins"Quick, the BOSS can’t hold out much longer!" "Go, go, go! Everyone get in there!" "I’ll deliver the final wave of damage!" Seeing the hundreds of meters tall Ghost General about to fall, everyone rushed forward in a frenzy, vying for the kill. "Let me do it!" Xiao Jie leapt into the air like a roc spreading its wings, soaring into the sky and reaching the same height as the Ghost General. He spun his Dual Blades, and with a single strike, the Ghost General’s head tumbled down. Upon landing, he didn’t forget to strike a pose. Equipment burst out all over, filling the ground with orange and purple glows. Xiao Jie turned around, and the Ghost General’s head just happened to land in front of him. He couldn’t help but smile slightly, just a Ghost General after all... But the next second, the Ghost General’s eyes suddenly snapped open, its blood-red pupils staring fixedly at him, and it bit towards him. Xiao Jie instinctively backed away, but the bite landed on his arm, rendering it completely numb in an instant. The huge head began to devour him bit by bit, swallowing him into its mouth. "No, I can’t—die!" Xiao Jie yelled. With a scream, he jolted awake from the dream, only to realize it had all been just a nightmare. His right hand had somehow been trapped underneath his body, numb with pins and needles. He moved his numbed arm and let out a long sigh of relief. What you think about during the day, you dream about at night—that dream was truly a mix of joy and anxiety. He checked the time, and it was exactly 6:30 am. Xiao Jie laughed at himself. Ever since he started playing the "Old Soil" game, his daily routine had become much more regulated—early to bed and early to rise. If he didn’t die in the game, he might even live a few years longer. After getting out of bed and washing up, today was the day of the decisive battle. He had to prepare thoroughly and enter the fight in top form. Breakfast was ’Garden Roasted Cake’ and soy milk. After finishing breakfast, Xiao Jie took a bottle of apple sparkling wine from the cabinet and put it in the fridge. In past years when he led a team to tackle copies, he always made a habit of preparing a bottle like this. After completing the copy and taking down the BOSS, he would pour himself a drink in celebration. To reward himself with the cold, sweet apple wine. Hopefully, today would be no different. Having eaten and drunk his fill, Xiao Jie then entered the game. The early morning Ginkgo Village possessed a unique serene beauty. Xiao Jie made his way to the village wall, where rolling logs and stones had been piled up. The players had indeed been preparing for battle with all their might these past two days, and the NPCs had been busy as well. The gates had been fortified, with the Durability increasing from 1,000 to 2,000 points. He looked off into the distance. The forest was silent, with no hint of the forthcoming danger. However, the danger was real. Xiao Jie glanced at the countdown timer in the upper left corner of the screen—there were only four hours left until the monster attack on the village began. The arrival of the Militia broke the tranquility of the early morning, and soon the village wall was lined with fully-armed Militia members. Succeeding this, several other players began to log on one after the other. The first to arrive at the village wall was Dongfang Sheng, who had reached level 4 in just two days. It seemed he had been busy hunting monsters. Clad in leather armor, carrying a long spear, and also holding a crossbow, he must have had Wang Kai help him upgrade. The advantage of a crossbow is higher damage and base precision, allowing accurate shots without needing Bow Skill. Its downside is slower firing rate, no bonus damage from Strength, and the inability to use Combat Skills—meaning the damage is fixed, making it very suitable for beginners. "Morning, Sui Feng," Dongfang Sheng greeted, his voice tinged with both nervousness and anticipation. Xiao Jie wasn’t surprised; he felt the same way. "Morning, Brother Dongfang." I Want to Be Immortal had also logged in, clad in iron armor and wielding a Giant Axe, looking awe-inspiring. "Morning, Feng." "Morning, Cheng Xian." The third to arrive was Wang Kai. "I thought you wouldn’t dare to come," Xiao Jie teased as he saw Wang Kai ascend the village wall. "Haha, it hasn’t started yet. Don’t worry, I’ll be the first to log off once the monster siege really begins. Oh, where’s Ye Luo?" "I haven’t seen her for two days—oh, there she comes." Ye Luo’s figure emerged from the village in the distance, donned in a new set of black leather armor. As she approached the wall, she suddenly leaped into the air, flipping nimbly onto the three-meter-high village wall. Xiao Jie was taken aback and, upon looking at her avatar, noticed an extra white energy bar beneath her health bar. "You’ve learned Inner Strength and Qinggong?" "That’s right, pretty cool, huh? Plus, it’ll make it easier to run away if we can’t win." Xiao Jie inwardly lamented her demoralizing talk of running away already. "It is pretty cool. Oh, I made some glutinous rice cakes. Everyone take two pieces." After a brief exchange of pleasantries, there was movement among the NPCs. Master Huang, leading a group of Ginkgo Village villagers, arrived beneath the village wall. For the first time, Xiao Jie noticed that the small Ginkgo Village was home to so many people. Master Huang looked around and began to speak in an aged but emotive voice. Master Huang (Ginkgo Village village chief): "Fathers and gentlemen of Ginkgo Village, dear neighbors, and returnees from afar, today our Ginkgo Village faces an unprecedented calamity. "In such peril, we can only survive by standing together with a common purpose. Behind you is your homeland, your loved ones. For all this, fight bravely, warriors." The militia cheered passionately, and the morale of the villagers was high. Mixed in were also the sobs of women and the sighs of the elderly. Xiao Jie’s thoughts drifted, recalling the dream from last night. He felt the Ghost General’s appearance from the dream seemed familiar. "Tie Qianli, Yang Baichuan, as well as several returnees, we are counting on you all today." "Village chief, rest assured, Tie Mou will not fail in his mission." "I, old Yang, have nothing else to say, my life is on the line today." "Elder, rest assured, I once said when I first came here that I would slay demons and bring peace to this chaotic world. Today is the day I fulfill my promise." "Old man, just wait and see our might." "Village chief, rest assured, I, Dongfang Sheng, will not retreat one step!" "..." "Good, I’ll wait at the ancestral shrine for your good news. All the non-combatants, the old, the weak, women, and children, come with me." Master Huang said, leading a group of people with little combat capability away. Those left were either militia or NPCs with some fighting ability. The butcher waved his meat cleavers, Zhou Tong carried a huge sledgehammer, the woodcutter who first taught Xiao Jie chopping wood carried a Firewood Axe, and a woodworker shouldered an iron axe, while the food shop’s owner held a wooden barrel filled with steamed buns... such a group indeed felt like there were crouching tigers and hidden dragons among them. Even Tian Bao came to join the battle, carrying a wooden spear. Wang Kai watched with relish, "The morale is good. It looks like we can win today. Everyone, time is almost up, and I’ve seen enough excitement. I won’t stay much longer. I haven’t been idle these past few days; I’ve made some Equipment Items. Though I dare not fight alongside you, consider these things as a token of my sentiment." With that, Wang Kai traded the items he had prepared to everyone in turn. He gave Ye Luo twenty Cold Iron Flying Daggers. For I Want to Be Immortal, he provided a Steel Shield with a Durability of a full 500 points, more than double the durability of the Iron Inlaid Shield. He gave Dongfang Sheng twenty fine steel crossbow bolts. What he gifted to Xiao Jie, however, were three Sharpening Stones. [Fine Sharpening Stone (Consumable) Use: Increase the sharpness value of your bladed weapon by +10 for 30 minutes. Item Introduction: Made from Azure Stone, this sharpening stone can temporarily increase the sharpness value of a weapon, thereby increasing the chance to trigger special effects like Vital Strike, bleeding, Limb Cutting, etc.] That’s some good stuff. When fighting a Boss, the more buffs, the better. "Thanks, Brother Wang." "Don’t mention it. Remember to message me once the fight is over. Alright, everyone, I’ll take my leave now, wishing you all the best." Having said that, he ran off to a deserted corner to log off. Time passed by, minute by minute, and it soon reached half-past eleven. "Cheng Xian, it’s time for the final preparations." Xiao Jie said to I Want to Be Immortal. The two immediately descended from the village wall and began moving materials from the storage. The two had already planned the layout of Weng City, and now they quickly began piling up materials on the inside of the gate like stacking blocks. They used wood as the frame, dry firewood as kindling, and wheat straw as a fire starter. Ye Luo was amazed by what he saw, but Dongfang Sheng was somewhat shocked. Damn, can it really be done like this? He wondered if his own plans could still take the lead. Soon, a U-shaped wall surrounded the inside of the gate. The wall wasn’t sturdy because there were no construction skills involved; it was merely stacked up. But it was sufficient to slow down the Corpse Group. The base of the U-shaped wall had an exit wide enough for one person to let the village Militia defending the gate pass through so as not to burn them along with the Corpses. By the time Xiao Jie and I Want to Be Immortal returned to the village wall, the time had finally reached 12 o’clock. As the countdown ended, shadows flickered in the distant forest, and numerous figures began to emerge slowly. Taking their slow strides, they gradually revealed themselves from the woods. A dark mass with no end in sight, hundreds, thousands scattered. "Damn, this is like Resident Evil!" I Want to Be Immortal exclaimed. Indeed, looking at the throng of soulless zombies, with their withered faces and shambling gaits, moving slowly in groups, making meaningless moans, it truly felt like a zombie siege. Behind the army of Walking Corpses, there were many Corpse-eating Dogs, wandering in packs around the zombies, emitting strange roars, adding an eerie atmosphere to the scene. The robust zombies were gathered together, hundreds of them formed a disorganized black mass, likely the main force of this siege attack. Further back were several grey-robed Corpse Chasers, ringing bells, herding the zombie groups. However, Xiao Jie’s real concern was the Boss; a black-robed man wearing a bamboo hat appeared at the end of the procession, too far away to see his features clearly. Beside him stood a tall Ghost General, exuding a grim aura of death. He wore an Evil Ghost mask, black Armor decorated with skeletal motifs, wielded an iron spear, and looked incredibly majestic. But it wasn’t clear which of the two was the Boss-level Boss. Wu wu wu wu! The militia atop the watchtower blew their horns, and all of Ginkgo Village went on alert. The Monster attack on the village—had begun!