Chapter 22:

On the evening of August 21st, Year 1111, at the entrance to the Foul Swamp in the southern border region of Transia. Sixty Midnight Hunters led by Lady Femis, and twenty fully armed Blood Servants, had already left the camp and headed towards the edge of the swamp to set up an ambush. At the same time, Murphy and his two servants, along with sixteen small players, were also lying in ambush at the predetermined meeting point in the Smuggler’s Woods on the edge of the swamp. They were hiding in a small section of a pre-dug trench, peeking out and looking at the unsettling forest shrouded in darkness before them. Even the most carefree small players had stopped fooling around at this moment. The dorm six-person group and athlete Bull were arranged in the forward foxholes. They held hand crossbows and hunting crossbows acquired from the Witch Hunters, with various handy cold weapons beside them. They were the first wave of assault troops. The dorm six expressed dissatisfaction with this, but this tactical arrangement was the result of drawing lots, and no matter how unhappy they were, they could only blame their own bad luck. Up in the high branches of the trees, Lumina Yanghen, who had been chosen as the sniper, imitated a scene from the war movie she had watched and put a wreath of grass on her head. She was lying on a wooden board set up at the fork of the branches, searching for targets. She had no idea how many people she could hit in this pitch-black night. But she knew this was the gentlemanly courtesy and favor from the men, the position she was in was basically the safest spot in this tactical arrangement. “Wish I had some gum to chew.” In the crooked trench, Meow King muttered a complaint, and Dump Truck Iaido next to him handed him a blade of grass, suggesting he put it in his mouth to help ease the tension a bit. But because of yesterday’s accidental ingestion incident where he almost became the first player to log out in the wilderness, Meow King had developed a psychological aversion to these wild things. “Don’t worry, I asked an NPC. It’s not poisonous. By the way, did you rush to the bathroom after logging off yesterday? I’m really curious if that mental anguish would actually transfer to the physical body.” Dump Truck Iaido grinned as he chewed on the grass, but Meow King, with a grumpy face, punched him. Dump Truck Iaido then stopped smiling, adjusted the brim of his leather armor helmet, and said with a look of longing: “Our NPC said there’s an Adventurer’s Association of halflings on this continent that goes on adventures everywhere. They have a lot of survival experts, each as skilled as a wild Bear Grylls. We definitely have to go and experience it if we get the chance in the future.” “When would that be?” As the overall action commander, Onboard Joy Stick crawled over from behind, gripping a dwarven hunting rifle and complaining to Meow King: “We don’t even have any reconnaissance means and can only wait passively. It’s so annoying. Ah, if only I had a flare right now.” “What would you want that for?” Bulldozer Man Charging, next to Dump Truck Iaido, asked curiously, “Use it as a signal flare?” “Bullshit!” Joy Stick made a motion of shooting towards the sky and said with a grim expression, “I’d fire that thing into the air above the ‘friendly’ camp, then we wouldn’t have to wait around miserably like this. We were too hasty in our preparations this time. We need to seize the initiative in the future! Seriously, we can’t always be so passive in fighting. Look at this great virtual reality, this great backdrop of war, it would be a waste of technology if we didn’t make a career out of it here.” Then he went on with a bunch of incomprehensible talk about “leveling artillery” and “neutron extermination” that left the nearby small players bewildered and chilled to the bone. After Joy Stick walked away muttering, one of Meow King’s “Four Heavenly Kings” subordinates, Led More Than Three to Five Pecks, tapped his boss on the shoulder and said softly: “Meow King, what does this guy do in reality? He seems kind of scary.” “Works with sandboxes, likes to play Paradox games.” Meow King was also a bit regretful. Was it a good or bad thing to bring this war maniac into the group? “Oh, so he’s a Paradox war criminal! That makes sense then.” The others suddenly realized it. It seemed Joy Stick’s abnormal behavior had a reasonable explanation. Though Joy Stick spoke with confidence in front of others, after inspecting the battle deployment arrangements, he gasped heavily when he was alone at the back. He looked at the notebook filled with various detailed plans, taking deep breaths to psych himself up. All the arrangements tonight were his doing, but in reality, he was absolutely the most nervous one in the group. Whether he truly had skill or was just talking big would likely be revealed soon. “Swish” A shadowy figure landed silently behind him and patted Joy Stick’s shoulder, making him turn around to see Murphy staring at him in the darkness. “Lord Murphy.” Joy Stick tried to address Murphy the way others did, but Murphy shook his head to stop him. Murphy said to Joy Stick: “You’re the commander, you should be with your soldiers! Don’t be nervous, my brave one. You’ve all done your best, I’ve seen it. We’ve exhausted all our efforts, now let’s leave the rest to fate. I think fate is a b*tch, but she’ll still favor the brave tonight.” “Yes, my lord!” “Not a single one left behind! Either we go together or die together! Hurry! Set this ablaze, the bigger the fire, the better. The Goldflower Kingdom’s transport convoy is passing through the Smuggler’s Woods, and the vampires are going to ambush them! Give them a warning! The fire must be big for them to see! Do it!” The other three didn’t argue further, enduring the pain to gather kindling. Only the Witch Hunters’ exceptional physical fitness and natural affinity for spirit energy could accelerate their healing, otherwise normal people with such severe injuries would have died long ago. Soon, a blaze erupted at the entrance camp of the swamp. The flames licked the oil-soaked canopy, instantly rising into the air and illuminating the entire camp. The two vampires trapped inside the burning carriage let out shrill screams as they struggled to crawl out of the inferno, only to be kicked back in by the veteran outside. Old Norman watched in glee as these evil beings screamed in the fire, the flames lighting up his face covered in wounds. Behind him, the three Witch Hunters stood there, as if mourning their fallen comrades. The blaze was too conspicuous in the night. The instant it ignited, it made Lady Femis at the edge of the swamp whip her head around, a hint of bewilderment flashing across her loli doll-like face. She seemed confused about what was happening there, but in the next moment, she realized it was serious trouble. “Prepare for the assault!” With a grim command from the lady, the other Midnight Hunters rose from their hiding spots. The convoy had just passed through the swamp and had not yet entered the ambush zone Murphy had set up further ahead in the Smuggler’s Woods. But unless they were blind, it was impossible not to see the flames behind them. The original ambush plan had been foiled. They had no choice but to launch an all-out attack. “Adele!” The lady turned and yelled at her Blood Servant maid holding the Thorn spear: “Take the Blood Servants and find Murphy! Tell him to enter the battlefield from the rear to support us! Hurry!” “No! This is related to Murphy, this is his...Don’t go, my lady! Danger!” Adele had already figured everything out from the flames rising from the camp, but she couldn’t stop the lady and the hunters from charging into battle. She could only stamp her feet and rush towards the rear with a few Blood Servants. At the edge of the Smuggler’s Woods, the Goldflower convoy with hundreds of escorting soldiers that had just emerged from the Foul Swamp had also halted their advance. On the central carriage, a spirit mage from the Circle Tower cast a spell to survey the scene where the flames had ignited. But in the next moment, he saw the crimson bat wings rising from the darkness at the edge of the swamp. “Blood Vulture ambushers! At least sixty!” The spirit mage grabbed his battle staff and loudly warned: “There’s an ambush! Squad one, two, three! Prepare for battle! Squad four, escort the supplies away from the battlefield.” Several other spirit mages immediately stood up and cast spells, summoning dazzling sunlight spirit energy like daylight shining in the night to fend off the vampires’ assault. The leading and trailing carriages were unhitched, halting in place, with their massive fuel tanks connected to cold machinery. As the levers linked up and flywheels spun, the heavy steam-powered machine guns stored in the carriages were aimed towards the ambush. The roar of the steam boilers and the mechanical clanking created an atmosphere of solemn killing. Well-trained soldiers quickly formed ranks, rifles loaded, with the Witch Hunters among them drawing their blades in preparation to counterattack. The central black carriage carrying important supplies separated from the formation, continuing forward under the escort of twenty armored cuirassiers. “You have to protect these things!” The spirit mage who first spotted the Blood Vulture attack knocked on the carriage window, saying to the person inside: “You know these are General Loren’s private property. If anything is lost, your Patriarch will also be implicated.” “Tch, who are you trying to scare?” A disdainful voice replied from inside the carriage: “You should watch your own backs. Even from this distance, I can smell the stench of rot from those bald vultures. I hope you don’t get eaten as carrion by them. Happy hunting, sir. As for me, you don’t need to worry. A starving wolf bat like myself will always take care of itself.”