Chapter 91: Rescue Operation and the Clue about Zhou Cang!
Under Hang Yu’s gaze.
The rescue operation spontaneously organized by the players had begun!
This ti, a total of fifty-eight people participated, including seven Level 8 players, thirteen Level 7 players, sixteen Level 6 players, and twenty-two Level 5 players—a lineup that could be called luxurious.
Their goal was to liberate the enslaved native villagers, then bring these native people back to the territory, making them loyal subjects of the Lord, just like the villagers of Hexi, thus contributing to the prosperity of the territory.
Because the operation was broadcasted publicly on the forum.
Tens of thousands of cloud players were watching and offering strategies.
Among the players, there were hidden talents—corporate executives, academic prodigies, psychology masters, special operations experts, and elites from various fields.
The Calamity Legion, relying on the intelligence gathered by Rui Ge, had made thorough preparations for this operation, not only in terms of assembling personnel and arranging tactics, but also by preparing contingency plans for various possible scenarios, even drafting speeches to persuade the villagers.
Hang Yu said with satisfaction, “These players are truly proactive!”
Xiao Ba said, “Master’s territory urgently lacks labor. If these local refugees can be relocated to Shangyang Township or Heting Township to rebuild towns, it can also increase the population recruitnt cap of the territory.”
Indeed.
For a Lord.
Territory and population were extrely important.
Hang Yu slightly nodded, “There are fewer than ten Draconid guards in this camp. With the players’ strength, capturing it shouldn’t be a problem. The real difficulty lies in bringing the civilians back.”
Xiao Ba said, “Master’s Luoshui base camp is currently under the protection of the Will of the Stars, and will not be invaded by the Abyss or Starsea forces for now. The act of transferring refugees does not count as an invasion, so there is no restriction. However, enemy Lords will not sit idly by.”
In other words.
Rescuing the enslaved villagers would not be difficult.
The difficulty was how to safely escort these villagers back.
Hang Yu usually did not directly intervene in players’ spontaneous actions, but since this operation would also help the territory, he decided to make so deploynts, summoning several Level 10 personal guards in front of him.
【Essence -20000!】
【Your “Abyss Warrior: Zhang San” has leveled up to 11!】
【Essence -20000!】
【Your “Abyss Warrior: Li Si” has leveled up to 11!】
【Essence -20000!】
【Your “Abyss Warlock: Wang Wu” has leveled up to 11!】
【Essence -20000!】
【Your “Abyss Monk: Zhao Liu” has leveled up to 11!】
After so thought, Hang Yu spent 80,000 Abyssal Essence to upgrade the four soldiers to Level 11. Once breaking through the bottleneck from Tier One to Tier Two, each soldier had undergone a complete transformation, with their strength improving drastically.
“Zhang San!”
“At your service!”
“Imdiately lead your squad to support near the Abyss Mist Gate. If the players are almost wiped out or if the civilians start suffering heavy casualties, you may intervene based on the situation—but the priority is preserving yourselves.”
“Understood!”
This arrangent allowed Hang Yu to feel a bit more at ease.
Of course, cultivating a high-level soldier was extrely costly, so Hang Yu did not wish for any personal guards to be lost. If they encountered enemies beyond their capability, preserving themselves would take priority.
……
Draconid Main Camp.
The Lord Chi Lin remained furious.
“re lowly humans! How dare they actively ambush my soldiers!”
Not long ago, Ye Li ng, Artist Faction Chief, and others had taken advantage of a small squad grinding monsters in the Stone Monster Valley and launched a sudden assault, resulting in the loss of five soldiers.
Although losing just five soldiers ant little to Chi Lin, who commanded over a thousand troops, it undoubtedly made him feel that his dignity had been provoked.
“Why must the Lord be so angry?”
At this ti, a Draconid general holding a black spear comforted him, “It is extrely difficult for humans to cultivate high-level soldiers. Although the Lord lost a few soldiers, it is basically insignificant to you, while the opponent’s losses are likely several tis or even ten tis greater.”
This Draconid was nad Black Fang.
He was not a retainer soldier of the Lord.
Like Chi Lin, he was a citizen of the Starsea.
Black Fang appeared in Chi Lin’s territory because he was a hired general unit.
A Lord could hire not only craftsn like Forgers or Alchemists from the Land of the Stars, but also recruit combat-functional employees after constructing specific buildings—although such employees usually could only be of the sa race.
“This human truly has no self-awareness!”
Black Fang sneered, “A human cannot possibly win. The only correct and smart choice is to lay down their arms and surrender on the spot. Perhaps then they could win the Lord’s magnanimity. After handing over the territory and ransom for their lives, they might be allowed to crawl back to the Starsea alive.”
Before Chi Lin could reply.
He received a prompt from the Will of the Stars.
【Your “Abyss Warrior” has died!】
【Your “Abyss Mage” has died!】
【……】
【Your building “Tower of Enslavent” has been destroyed!】
Chi Lin roared, erupting with an intense killing intent that made the entire hall tremble slightly. All present, including Black Fang, felt trendous pressure.
“My mining camp is under attack!”
“These lowly humans are courting death!”
Through the Lord’s perspective, Chi Lin noticed that one of his slave camps located at the southernmost tip of Wo Niu Mountain was under attack. The seven soldiers stationed there were outnumbered and were being wiped out by humans.
Despite his anger.
Chi Lin also felt puzzled.
What was wrong with this human Lord? Why waste troops on a resource camp of no strategic value? Such actions would only anger him and would do nothing to affect the territorial competition.
Chi Lin speculated that this human Lord must be a rookie with no strategic vision, who perhaps had used so thod to survive sneakily for a few years in the initial map, thus managing to assemble a barely decent army.
But no matter how sneakily one developed on the initial map, there were limits.
With this kind of playstyle, the troops would soon be exhausted.
How utterly foolish.
“Black Fang!” Chi Lin said coldly, “You go take care of it.”
Black Fang imdiately accepted the order, “Yes, my Lord. Please rest assured, none of them will escape from !”
The Draconid general promptly led his troops through the Lord Core, teleporting to the nearest Blessing Point to Wo Niu Mountain, and quickly entered the region.
The Draconid Lord had been operating in Wo Niu Mountain for a year or two, activating Blessing Points in all directions. It would not take long for Black Fang’s group to reach the target area.
These humans had no chance of escape!
……
anwhile.
Inside the slave camp.
The players gathered together for a eting.
Behind them, the Tower of Enslavent was burning.
This Starsea building was not sturdy. With a dozen mages casting Fire Arrows in turns, it had been set afla like a torch, losing its ability to forcibly restrain the native villagers.
The seven Draconid guards stationed there had all been killed.
In one go, players had obtained a total of 210 Abyssal Magic Crystals, over 35,000 Essence Points, and thirty to forty pieces of Draconid equipnt. In addition, there was extra Contribution Points reward. Just from the gains alone, the trip was worth it.
Of course.
The losses were not light.
Fifteen players had been killed.
They were rushing across the map to regroup as quickly as possible.
"We succeeded!"
"Hurry up and take a group photo! Hurry up and take a group photo!"
"Hahaha, this mission doesn't seem as difficult as we imagined."
"……"
For most players, this battle was a very novel experience, and its significance was not just about defeating monsters and leveling up, but about rescuing their fellow villagers from the hands of a demon lord.
Compared to ordinary monster fights,
Could the sense of achievent be the sa?
Black-Eyed Rui Ge said seriously, "Everyone, don't let your guard down. This mission isn't that simple to complete. The real challenge is only just beginning!"
Everyone was stunned upon hearing this.
Midnight Pig Slayer said, "I just realized, why hasn't the task completion prompt appeared yet?"
Black-Eyed Rui Ge explained, "Because this mission has two phases. The first phase is successfully rescuing the indigenous villagers. The second phase is persuading and helping these villagers to pledge allegiance to the territory."
Niu Shisan said, "Chira Wraith, Chenxi, Little Bell, and the others have already gone to communicate with the villagers. Since we all have human identities, and these villagers have nowhere else to go, I think persuading them shouldn't be too difficult."
Rui Ge nodded, "So the key to the mission is how to bring them back!"
Salted Fish Thrust spoke solemnly, "The distance from here to the Luoshui base camp is more than ten li. For us, that's nothing, but if we have to escort seven or eight hundred civilians, it won't be an easy task."
"That's exactly the problem!"
Rui Ge said, "The evaluation standard for this mission is mostly based on the survival rate of the villagers. The more villagers we bring back, the higher the evaluation. Conversely, the more casualties there are, the lower the evaluation, and the mission might even fail!"
"That's going to be tricky!"
Little Brother Ma said, "The Twisted Three Kingdoms is full of monsters and dangerous traps. Even we players can't guarantee a hundred percent survival rate in the wild, let alone escorting several hundred people."
Artist Pie General said, "Actually, if it's just wild monsters or natural threats, that would be manageable!"
Black-Eyed Rui Ge said, "Exactly. What's scary is if the Dragon Lizard Lord sends troops to hunt us down. If that happens, it'll be very dangerous. After all, with our current strength, we have no advantage in a direct confrontation, especially when we also have to protect so many civilians."
"We can't waste any more ti!"
"Right now, ti is life!"
"We must race against the clock and leave imdiately!"
"……"
At this mont, Chira Wraith, Chenxi, Little Bell, Blue-Clothed Fox, and the other eight female players responsible for communication returned, followed by four elders and a young man, presumably the representatives of the villagers.
Among them, the young man, who had a sturdy build and an honest face, seed quite capable.
【Chen Shi】, Level 5 Elite Unit……Description: Son of the village chief of Little Chen Village, captain of the militia.
"Thank you, righteous heroes, for your rescue!"
"Your great kindness and virtue!"
"We have no way to repay!"
"We have understood and discussed among ourselves."
"We are all willing to follow you and pledge allegiance to Lord Hang Yu!"
"……"
While the village representatives spoke,
Hundreds of other villagers knelt down to kowtow in gratitude.
This scene deeply moved the players, who quickly stepped forward to help the elders up.
"You must not!"
"You must not!"
"Old sir, please rise quickly!"
Black-Eyed Rui Ge hesitated for a mont before saying, "Although our Lord is benevolent and will surely take you in, the journey ahead is bound to be treacherous and dangerous. I hope everyone can be ntally prepared for the worst."
Chen Shi said, "Our village was destroyed by foreign races. We have long since had nowhere to go. We must seize even the slightest chance for survival!"
Another elder villager nodded and said, "You righteous heroes have no ties to us, yet you risked your own lives to save us from disaster. Even if we die on the way, we would have no complaints. We can only hope to repay your great kindness in our next life!"
Seeing these villagers who had suffered so much,
Especially facing the desperate survival instinct bursting from their eyes,
Every player felt a heavy sense of responsibility.
Even those who usually loved to joke and make s found it hard to laugh at this mont.
Though reason told them these people were just ultra-realistic art models wrapped around data, re NPCs in a ga, and that even if the rescue failed, there was no need to bear a heavy moral burden,
When faced with these faces full of suffering, when eting those eyes filled with sincere gratitude and hope, it was almost impossible to see them rely as ga characters. They just seed like real people, full of blood, flesh, and soul.
They must bring them back!
This action was no longer about the mission.
The players no longer cared how much reward the mission would bring.
Even without mission incentives, even if it ant suffering losses, it didn't matter. As long as they could bring these people back alive, it was worth it. Material rewards paled in comparison to the sense of accomplishnt.
"No ti to delay!"
"Let's get moving quickly!"
"The Dragon Lizard pursuers will be upon us soon!"
Dozens of players quickly organized the villagers and started advancing towards the Abyss Mist Gate.
Chira Wraith ca over and said to the others, "There are a total of seven hundred eighty-five villagers. Fortunately, the vast majority are young and strong. If all goes well, we should be able to return to the base camp in three hours."
Black-Eyed Rui Ge asked, "When will Old Ye and the others arrive?"
Ye Li ng was among the fifteen players who had just perished. He charged too aggressively and triggered a trap, thus sacrificing himself heroically.
A Sword Cos from the West said, "After their resurrection, Old Ye and the others rushed this way imdiately. They should be mapping around Woniu Mountain now. It shouldn't be long before they rejoin us."
Mad Blade Old Wang nodded, "Good, there's strength in numbers. Besides, Old Ye is one of our strongest fighters!"
Salted Fish Thrust asked, "Chira, did you get any important intelligence from talking with these villagers?"
Speaking of this,
Chira Wraith imdiately perked up.
She quickly said, "I found that the tiline indeed differs across regions. The historical period of the Luoshui Execution Ground occurred before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but the history of Woniu Mountain happened after the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Also, the Luoshui Execution Ground has been running for twenty years in the Abyss tiline, while here it has already developed for forty years."
"Forty years? That long!"
"Is it possible that the longer the pollution persists, the more severe the pollution becos?"
Chira Wraith said, "Right now, our sample size is too small. We can't confirm if there's a necessary connection between the two. We need more observations. It's too early to draw conclusions."
Chenxi said from the side, "With such a world background, I suddenly thought of many interesting possibilities."
Chira Wraith asked, "Like what?"
Chenxi said, "The longer a region develops under the Abyss tiline, the greater the deviation from its historical origin. If so areas have been polluted for hundreds or thousands of years, then theoretically, their technology, culture, and customs would have undergone earth-shattering changes compared to the late Han Dynasty."
Chira Wraith's eyes lit up, "That's true. In that case, the different regions of the Twisted Three Kingdoms could have vastly different styles. Depending on the environnt and character developnt, completely different ecologies could erge."
"What do you an?" Salted Fish Thrust scratched his head, "Steampunk Three Kingdoms? Cyberpunk Three Kingdoms?"
"Why not be even bolder?"
"Then I can't imagine it."
"Hehe, you'll see in the future!"
Black-Eyed Rui Ge asked at this mont, "Any other news?"
Chira Wraith changed the topic, "Yes, regarding this area, we gathered a bit of intelligence. It might be related to Zhou Cang, who is currently the biggest suspect for the boss."
Hearing the na Zhou Cang,
The other players imdiately beca interested.
Speculations about the world setting were still too distant,
But Zhou Cang might very well be the big boss they would face soon!
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