Chapter 254: That Day, the Players Set Foot on the Ground

As a front‑line combatant among the players, Da Han naturally also has his own enchanted weapon.

The intricately carved great bow in his hand bears a rare effective enchantment; after firing, it creates a small formation around it that boosts allied arrows' penetration.

Although the price is that each arrow it releases comes with a toy‑like intense flash and sound, sometimes that isn't a bad thing.

So in the next second, a dozen arrows chased the ringing bolts, shrouding the area and kicking the few lucky survivors back to the underworld gate.

As a medium‑sized predator that lives in the forest year‑round, the demon wolf feels right at home in these ruins, leaping and running, constantly hunting the surviving mercenaries for finishing blows.

As for the fish that slipped through, it doesn't matter; after the wolf ride comes the heavily‑footed, copper‑wall‑iron‑shield, mountain‑crushing armored minotaur.

Already massive, they don heavy armor and have been taught the "wall charge" tactic by the players.

Be it structures or defenses, mercenaries or attendants, everything blocking the way is shoved down by the brute force of their giant shields and then trampled mercilessly.

Even a good battle formation advances too slowly over complex terrain.

Seeing a few mercenaries still trying to slip away under the chaotic cover, the melee players who have been sharpening their blades finally strike.

With two crisp crackles of firearms, they rush onto the battlefield with a jumble of weapons, trying to earn their own share of "battle merit."

"Damn it, they want to kill us all; brothers, let's fight them!"

Yet the mercenary who shouted those words is already collapsed on the ground like mush, so what effective defense can the others muster?

Any mercenary who tries to raise a blade is cut down by stray gunfire, and the hard‑won counter‑team is shattered on the spot.

Guilds such as 【Spearblade】, 【Hero】, and 【Legend】 each sent a vanguard; before any tactical interleaving could occur, they easily slaughtered all resistance.

Of course, killing aside, the loot that must be collected still needs to be secured; even in the charred ruins you can still scavenge some scrap copper and iron, right?

So they constantly disperse people along the way to act as human signposts, urging the excited, steam‑breathing minotaur brothers to calm down and not trample the midnight snack.

And even killing is selective; those who drop to their knees and bang their heads without a word can often survive a scrap, provided luck isn't too bad.

"Pull up your pants, or I'll really stab you!"

The reprimand halted a small mercenary's absurd hesitation, and the gunner was so frightened he almost cut the broadcast on the spot.

He flicked the fresh blood off the gun's tip, about to say a couple of comforting words, when his senior brother shouted urgently.

"Quick, quick, quick, second junior brother, look over there—that one's definitely a high official!"

As a fundamentally bandit‑like, internally exploitative black‑evil organization, judging a mercenary's rank by appearance is still quite easy.

The fat ones are definitely officials, because only the robust can snatch more wealth.

An De Lu and his comrades are exceptions, because the mercenary troupe is small only because its leadership has that extremely short‑sighted vision.

Those with smiling faces are definitely officials, because only the fierce can seize more wealth.

Fei En and his group are exceptions; being military‑trained yet sent here as mercenary leaders is essentially exile, so resentment naturally builds.

Those without armor aren't necessarily officials, but anyone decked out in gaudy garb certainly is.

…Hmm, there are no exceptions.

And the figure not far away, shifting its body and flailing its flab, stumbling and twisting hard in the opposite direction, happened to satisfy all three criteria, so…

Wait, a high official?

The gunner only then realized he hadn't seen anyone on the public screen signal that they'd captured Xie Er Dun and other mercenary leaders.

No, not just the leaders; all mercenaries confirmed to belong to the Mountain People's Iron Hammer line seem absent!

Could it be…

Thus, amid suspicion, the players didn't hack the fat guy to death with a random blade; instead they tied him up tightly and tossed him into the dust.

"Sir, sir, don't kill me! I'm the commander of the Mountain People's Thunder Mercenary Corps, I've never done anything wrong, I'll say everything!"

He didn't even need GreatMemoryRestorationTechnique; this commander, as agile and slender as his corps' name, blurted out everything the players wanted to know and everything they didn't.

Moreover, his willingness to confess was overly strong; the players had to use force and verbal threats to steer his statements back to the point.

"Wait, you said An De Lu only took part of the Iron Hammer mercenaries out of the camp?"

It being a matter of life and death, the cautious fat guy thought for a moment before replying.

"Yes, I remember seeing Xie Er Dun this afternoon, absolutely certain!"

So the gunner shook his head at Fan Taozhu, Fan Taozhu shook his head at Howard, and all the players began shaking their heads.

—Damn, the core group of enemies fled early; now the mission's outcome is unpredictable.

Someone regrets.

"So there was a hidden time limit? I knew the troops must move fast and not delay!"

Someone sighs.

"We said they could be rescued; now how do we explain this to Da Huang?"

Amid regret and outrage, the fat guy finally realized.

"What does that mean? Where are the Iron Hammer people? Could they have known trouble was coming and slipped away, leaving us behind?"

The most infuriating thing for a lost soul is these damn bastards; a single raised hand lands a punch that sends him flying, knocking out three teeth.

"Otherwise…?"

An De Lu, leveraging the prestige of "Mountain People Mercenary Vice‑Alliance Leader," the credibility of "An De Lu Hospital Director," and the value of "Rock Dragon Treasure," coaxed dozens of uninformed mercenary groups into the dungeon.

Even though the vast majority died in the chaotic battle, the survivors still number a few hundred, and include high‑ranking officials.

Upon learning the truth, the captives' morale surged, directing their anger and insults at the treacherous An De Lu.

What they completely forgot was that it was the Pioneers' underground united legion that had battered them into this state.

But the enemy of an enemy is a friend, even if they were enemies until just now.

Thus, before escorting them to the mine for labor re‑education, Cang Lang led a team to interrogate them systematically, gathering a lot of useful intel.

"These mercenaries come from a city called 'Sunlight City'; just turn right off the underground plain and head west to find it."

"If they plan to flee to avoid battle, the most suitable and safest destination would be there!"

So the direction for continuing the mission is set, but the suddenly‑emerged city target still puts the players in a dilemma.

As the largest and perhaps only "city" in Heisen Territory, Sunlight City has towering walls and at least two organizations that can match mercenaries.

The current players are not lacking heavy firepower, but a few thousand people trying to assault such a fortified city is still too reckless.

Back in the day, Li Yunlong bombarded Ping'an County and even mobilized ten thousand troops, indirectly affecting allied forces in many places, turning the whole northwest Jin into a mess before barely achieving the strategic goal.

Nowadays…

【What to do, should we take a reckless risk and send someone in to launch a surprise attack and assassination?】

【It could be done, but assassinating a thousand people in one go is still a bit difficult】

【Damn, we still have ten days left before the closed beta ends, why not gear up for a full‑scale war, bring more heavy artillery and take it!】

Watching the players' wildly barbaric strategies on the public screen, Ji Ming couldn't help but complain.

"Why don't you guys say…"

【If it were me, I'd just push the tech tree straight to Katyusha and let them see the power of the Stalin Organ!】

……

Actually it's fine; we didn't jump straight to Soviet Fury, so we're still conservative.

Yet the players, after such a blow, didn't lose morale; on the contrary they became more excited, meaning that after repeatedly being hammered by this stumbling block, they have developed a certain resilience.

Even if the public release later eases the restrictions and guidance on them, they should be able to walk the path of orderly salvation on their own.

Since that's the case, this arrow nocked on the string should aim its force at a sufficiently hefty… head!

Consequently, in the next instant, a red notice refreshed in the lower‑right corner of every player's screen.

【Tip: Because the players eliminated all resistance within half an hour after the battle began, the scouting party sent by the Mountain People's Iron Hammer never clarified the situation here】

【Therefore their main force remains stationed near the ground, so rush there at maximum speed before they react, and launch a devastating strike!】

After sending that string of messages, Ji Ming marked on the map the mercenary garrison location he had previously inquired about and that Xi Er Wei Ya had double‑checked, and thoughtfully provided several shortcuts to get there.

"I knew there'd be a second‑stage mission; these lousy mercenaries have no combat power, leave them there and they'll turn on each other—what's there to fight?"

"Great, I haven't even had a chance to try my new gun yet."

"Dammit, another classic elasticity difficulty; this clueless planner just keeps watering down everything!"

After habitually berating the planner, the players suddenly noticed a very big problem.

—The ground!

The closed beta took place in a ruin‑like dungeon, crude and barbaric, strictly speaking there was nothing really playable.

The open beta, however, is set on a dreamy underground plain, suddenly adding many magical elements, and the game's playability and interactive objects are constantly being upgraded and expanded.

Players who love to fill in the blanks attribute all this to the developers' effort to overcome various production difficulties; many things are still being diligently crafted and will only go live after gradual progress, including the ever‑missing premium‑currency system.

And the ground, or rather the "sky" it represents, is the major project they are pushing hard on but have never found a clear approach or solution for.

So after the closed beta was already "underground," they still forced themselves to create an absurdly extreme underground plain as the open‑beta map, continuing to avoid making the sky.

But now…

"Whoa, awesome, we can see the sky today?"

"Could it be an Easter egg that lets us experience the surface gameplay early?"

Anyway.

"Brothers, charge forward, break out of the underground!"

After the mercenary camp comes a long gentle slope; the players shout as they climb upward and soon spot the exit to the surface.

It may be factual or just psychological; breathing the winter's cold wind, they feel the air here unusually fresh.

Unfortunately, when they look up at the sky hoping to see the official's Easter‑egg moon and stars…

"Planner, you should take a look!"

There is nothing there, only a moon hiding behind dense clouds; if it weren't somewhat white, you wouldn't even recognize it as a moon!

Ji Ming: Why are you looking at me? This is Yang Month Dry.

Yang Month: Wronged, this is the 25th‑generation Savior's doing; he insisted on proving the traditional camp superior to the reformist camp, and…

"Using a divine body to perform a world‑spanning bridge, trying to fold his own influence into atmospheric and oceanic circulation, but his divine power went berserk, turning into endless dark clouds and dying… Is that even that ruthless?"

After Ji Ming finished listening to Yang Month's savior story, the chattering players dared not waste any more time.

They re‑formed into smaller units and encircled the Mountain People's Iron Hammer garrison from multiple directions.

Although under An De Lu's rule, the Mountain People's Iron Hammer's professionalism is certainly far above other peers, at least they won't drop the ball at critical moments.

But mercenaries are mercenaries; no matter how much training they get, these dirty‑origin guys will never have the combat bearing and pride of soldiers.

Thus, when An De Lu kept sending scouts to gather underground intel, thinking everything was under control,

in fact those scouts were intercepted by Xi Er Wei Ya halfway, and the reports brought back were all fabricated after hypnosis.

Moreover, the mercenaries, blissfully celebrating this morning's victory, are the same thieves as the Mountain People's Iron Hammer—how good can they be?

Even the people in charge are still people; when the self‑purge squad members can't help but raise a glass, the garrison's security level begins to drop uncontrollably.

Helpless, Ba Er Si could only coldly approach An De Lu, hoping the commander would step in and lecture, to intimidate these veteran freeloaders.

Little did he know that An De Lu, already living in someone else's dream, paid no attention, thinking his victory was assured while he merely twirled a goat's beard.

"Heh, actually I kept everyone here instead of sending them back to town to celebrate, that's already overly cautious; let them play a bit, nothing will go wrong."

Even the capricious leader said that, Ba Er Si could only silently leave the camp tent, conducting meticulous night watch alone.

It's not that he's truly that diligent, it's just…

Suddenly, a lone, mournful howl belonging to a demon wolf cut off his late‑night thoughts.

Logically it's nothing special; the darkest forest is full of wolf packs, they love to howl twice to declare sovereignty whenever they feel like it.

Yet after that howl, sounds rose from all directions, accompanied by torches igniting like scattered stars, a continuous blaze.

"Damned!"