Chapter 245:

Words : 2069 Updated : Oct 7th, 2025

Chapter 245: As night fell, when little players were most active, a ghostly Blood Vulture Spirit was silently gliding over the land of the Count of Kadman. From its high vantage point, the darkness of night couldn’t obscure its spectral vision. At the edge of its sight, it could see figures running wildly in the night, chaotic like a startled herd as if fleeing from unseen dangers, though there were no visible threats pursuing them. This was a group of gnolls, quite numerous with about 50-60, accompanied by an equal number of kobolds. It was clearly a tribe in rapid migration. The gnoll chieftain, riding a dire wolf, led his clansmen westward from the Baron of Leim’s domain. Their destination was already clear. “Another gnoll clan migrating towards the Anderma Hills, that’s the 4th one observed tonight.” In the office of the Blood Vulture Halls, Murphy, who was reviewing documents sent by Miriam, switched to Revnor’s perspective. He wasn’t at all surprised by the scene before him. Though savage, the gnolls had their own loose social system and information channels. The large-scale official actions in the Baroness of Shadows’ domain by the Crimson Citadel and the Witch Hunters’ killings in the Morland baron’s domain couldn’t be hidden from these creatures. Although their brains weren’t bigger than walnuts, some astute leaders had already sensed the approaching danger. Additionally, the warlord Kenport in the Anderma Hills was constantly sending envoys to gnoll clans elsewhere. Weighing these factors, it wasn’t surprising that more and more gnolls were fleeing to join the Great Beast Den. In the minds of these savage creatures, becoming part of the Great Beast Den seemed to mean they no longer had to fear those fierce hunters who appeared to have spawned overnight. This was also the direction Murphy hoped things would take. There were too many wandering gnolls on Transia’s lands. Although the players’ actions were very decisive, cruel, and swift, if they had to uproot one stronghold after another, the hope of ending this bandit suppression operation within 30-40 days would be impossible to achieve. He needed an opportunity! An opportunity to completely crush the spirit of the gnolls on this land, making them flee at the sight of humans. Murphy didn’t expect to kill all the gnolls, he just needed to reduce the number of gnolls in Transia to below a certain threshold. This way, the gnolls fleeing to surrounding areas could give the “neighbors” a taste of the intensity, letting them truly feel the threat of the “Black Disaster approaching.” Incidentally, it would serve as a reminder for them to be more generous when aiding Transia. This was a plan that achieved three goals at once. If you add in military training and the level increases of little players, it would be achieving four goals at once. Of course, to realize Murphy’s scheme, he couldn’t just wait for opportunities to fall from the sky. He knew he had to actively promote factors favorable to him. “Adele, come to me.” The vampire lord called out through the blood connection between elders and descendants. Soon, Lady Adele pushed open the door and entered, her hands crossed over her abdomen, waiting for her master’s instructions. “How’s the situation with Hog?” He raised his head and asked. “That gnoll has exchanged 15 gladiators from Dorothy in the past 7 days. It has instilled the idea of ‘rescuing their brethren’ in its members, making them follow it to constantly clear out ghouls near the 3rd level of the sewers. As of this morning, according to Dorothy’s report, this gnoll strike team, with the help of combustibles provided by the Blood Rat Gang, has killed hundreds of ghouls.” Adele reported in the manner of the most excellent intelligence officer: “In terms of results alone, this is already very impressive, but compared to the killing efficiency of your warriors, they are still far behind. After all, no matter how savage gnolls are, they still fear injury and death, and they need rest and recovery from injuries. All these seriously slow down their combat efficiency. However, according to the secret observations of several of my subordinates, although Hog is small in stature, its cunning wisdom is definitely first-class among gnolls. It manages its clan very well and knows to actively learn from the structure and action patterns of the Blood Rat Gang. They are trying to adopt action patterns similar to assassins. Decisive, swift, and quite destructive, striking and retreating without lingering in battle.” “It seems you have a high opinion of it.” A smile appeared on Murphy’s handsome face as he played with the broken pocket watch in his hand, saying: “My spirit vulture tells me that many gnoll clans in the Baron of Leim’s domain have heard the news and are starting to flee towards the Anderma Hills. This is a good opportunity! Perhaps you can activate the plan we’ve already prepared. The key is to ensure that Hog and its clansmen escape from the Crimson Citadel in a way that’s within reason but beyond expectation. At the very least, they can’t escape flamboyantly under the attention of a group of vampires, otherwise, not just other gnolls, even Hog’s own clansmen wouldn’t believe it. Gnolls may be stupid, but they still have brains.” “You don’t need to worry about that, master.” Adele took out a hand-drawn map from her sleeve and placed it before Murphy. She pointed to the winding terrain of the 3rd level of the sewers marked on the map, saying: “Dorothy said she heard from Zweig that in the river channels of the underground caverns, there’s a hidden waterway that leads directly to a secret underground cave upstream of the Kadman River. Professor Chen also confirmed this with his knowledge. The newly recruited riffraff of the Blood Rat Gang have been searching there for the past few days, and they’ve really found it. I sent Deanna, the best swimmer among my descendants, to personally traverse it. She reported that one only needs to hold their breath and swim along the current for a few minutes to enter the narrow underground waterway, after which it’s smooth sailing. Its final exit is near the river bay between the Baron of Leim’s domain and the Anderma Hills. There used to be a village there, but it’s now abandoned due to war. They can complete a spectacular prison break by taking this route. Of course, after they leave, I will immediately destroy this passage.” “Why destroy it? Such a good secret passage for infiltration and sabotage operations should definitely be kept.” Murphy shook his head. “Can’t I make a friend in the game? Don’t you often play with those little beans in the camp with Lumina? The NPCs in this game are so intelligent, isn’t making friends with them no different from reality?” “Are you pretending to be dumb or do you really not know?” Sister Pomegranate said with her hands on her hips: “Pay more attention! Niuniu, I don’t want to watch you become an ‘electronic waste person’. Find a girlfriend after graduation, go on blind dates if you have to.” “Oh, you’re so annoying, I’ve never seen you nag like this before.” Niuniu was extremely annoyed, but when he saw Brother Mao opposite him, his eyes suddenly rolled, and he chuckled a few times, saying to his elder sister: “Tell me, why did our route to visit uncles and aunts suddenly change in a few days? Why do we have to go to the southwest? What are we planning to do? Who are we going to meet? Do you need me to prepare some cosmetics or something for you? After all, meeting an online friend, you should dress up a bit. I’m not saying this for no reason, the family is almost dying of anxiety over your affairs, they’re all arranging blind dates for you. I guess they won’t need to worry anymore.” “Shut up!” Sister Pomegranate angrily kicked Niuniu and turned away. Although Niuniu was kicked, he finally got the peace he wanted. He snorted, flexing his body and waving again to Amber in the audience seats. The latter returned with a gesture of encouragement. But while they were preparing, there was a scene of gloom and despair in another contestant preparation area. The gnoll gladiators staying here all knew about the tragic situation of the great gladiatorial contest three days ago. Of the 15 gnoll gladiators sent up, only 3 survived in the end. The warriors under Vampire Murphy were so fierce that even these elite gnolls felt fear. How many of these guys would survive today? Just as they were most frustrated, a small hooded figure silently emerged from the shadows. Hog was still in his classic head-hidden-tail-exposed attire. He made a strange sound and said to the gnoll gladiators before him: “How have you considered? Tonight is the last chance. Last time we lost 13 comrades, those were the most elite warriors among the Transia gnolls. I guess you might not survive tonight either. So, do you want to escape with me? Give me a straight answer!” “You’re just a lackey of the vampires! Get lost.” A burly gnoll berserker roared and tried to pounce on Hog to fight, but was held back by several other gnolls. This guy had terrible wounds on his body. He was one of the 3 gnoll gladiators who survived three days ago. He extremely hated these vampires, but he hated the guy in front of him even more. “You dog, you can come and go freely in the Blood Rat Gang’s territory, you must have already knelt at Vampire Murphy’s feet and kissed his toes. You are a disgrace to our race!” The berserker cursed loudly, but the other gnolls didn’t respond. After these days of precipitation, Hog didn’t care about this ridiculous mockery at all. He let out the strange laugh of gnolls in the shadows. He said: “Say whatever you want, but the fact is I’ve saved many people! I’m just asking if you want to live? My clansmen and I have done our best for your lives. The best part is, in the process of hunting ghouls, we found a small path to escape. I’m not lying to you, this is destined to be a nine deaths, one life situation! But if you still want to return to the wilderness and be free, rather than being abused and killed for entertainment here like dogs, think about it yourselves. I’ll only wait for you in the 3rd underground level for 10 hourglasses! If you don’t come by midnight, I’ll run away with my clansmen. King Kenport is gathering a large army in the Anderma Hills, I’ll go back there. Then I’ll bring the army back and bite all these vampires to death!” After saying this, Hog didn’t say more, retreating and disappearing into the shadows. He was small in stature, and his spirit talent was quite ordinary, but his perception and use of shadows had progressed rapidly under Dorothy’s training. He was now a qualified gnoll thief and assassin. Hog moved forward silently in the shadows, soon arriving at Dorothy’s tent. He saw Lady Dorothy, clothes in disarray, covering her face and kneeling on the ground. In front of the Blood Rat Gang’s boss, Lady Adele was gracefully wiping her mouth with a handkerchief. An embrace had just been completed. Judging from their postures, Dorothy had resisted, but regrettably, her resistance didn’t serve much purpose. This scene made Hog’s hair stand on end. He was a sage among gnolls. He knew that this scene was deliberately shown to him by the vampire before him, to make him realize that the Blood Rat Gang that supported him was nothing but a toy to be manipulated at will in front of the Blood Vulture Clan. “Are you ready?” There was some weakness in Adele’s voice. Just as Murphy had bestowed blood essence upon her, she had injected Dorothy with the true blessing of midnight. Looking at Hog nodding frantically, trying hard to appear obedient, she said softly: “Very good, you can start now. For the secrecy of this operation, Lord Murphy has given you a code name. From tonight until Kenport’s demise, remember, your name is ‘Pangolin’.”

Chapter 245:

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