Chapter 23 On the Eve of the Storm We won't let you lose.
When news of another arrival of outsiders came, East was learning to weave with Butterfly, using crumpled vines to make baskets. East's hands paused for a moment, but he didn't react any further.
Twenty days have passed since the new player first arrived on the continent of Luomanjier. The arrival of the outsider was later than Ister had imagined. He thought it would take no more than ten days at most. It seems that either he is not important, or the situation does not allow them to spare any attention.
"Your Majesty, this step is a mistake."
A small black hand came into Easter's view, and then his gaze moved to the basket he was weaving halfway. "Sorry, I was distracted." Easter took apart the part he had weaved incorrectly.
Butterfly Bean's eyes conveyed worry. "Your Majesty, has something happened that is troubling you?"
Easter was surprised by Butterfly's keen observation and touched by his concern. "It's alright," Easter said, extending his thumb and forefinger to show a distance barely noticeable unless you looked closely, despite Butterfly's disbelief. "Just a tiny bit of trouble." After living an easy and comfortable life for too long, no one can remain indifferent when faced with a whole host of problems.
He thought of a vivid analogy: students' holidays are about to end, but they find that their homework is still untouched, which is not exactly the same as his current situation, but it is not far off.
————
[Ding! Important key task triggered [related to a phase of the main storyline]]
Mission objective: The hostile outsiders have returned. Little Fireman Warriors, defeat them and capture them all (Number of outsiders: fifty, consisting of five novice swordsmen, one apprentice mage, ten swordsman apprentices, and thirty-four strong soldiers).
Mission completion criteria: Bring all the prisoners to the king.
Task completion reward: Experience is calculated based on the degree of task completion, and each Little Fireman Warrior can receive a maximum of 500 experience points.
Little Fireman Warriors, please remain as cautious as ever. This mission is dangerous and important, so do not take it lightly! The location of the mission objective has been displayed on the minimap.
Fellow little fire warriors, fight bravely for our king!
————
Butterfly looked directly at East, "Your Majesty, is it really just a little bit of a trouble?"
Easter avoided Cai Die's gaze. "Ahem, indeed." Easter didn't understand why he felt guilty. These were his players, right? Just his players, right? Why did they all seem to be thinking of becoming his mothers? Regardless of gender.
“Don’t worry,” said Butterfly, “we won’t lose.” They were players, after all. Games can’t make players lose, unless it’s an unavoidable plot twist. But his intuition told him that this game was different from any game he had ever played. It didn’t run according to a rigid program. It was like a real world. A real world means that what is within human reach can be achieved; what is beyond human reach can be hoped for as a “miracle.” And the “miracle” would definitely be on their side. That was how confident they were.
“I never thought you would lose,” Easter said, his gaze shifting back to you. “You are all exceptionally brave and outstanding warriors. Someone as exceptional as you will never lose.”
Butterfly felt both nauseous and inexplicably touched. She thought of roasting sweet potatoes instead. No wonder that guy was "devoted" to the little king after only half a day. It's not that he was weak-willed; anyone could resist that.
“Your Majesty, there was something wrong with what I said earlier,” Butterfly said, under East’s questioning gaze. “We will not lose. It is us, without distinction between you and me.”
“We won’t let you lose; you are our king.” A lively voice interrupted.
East and Butterfly turned their heads together in response to the sound. Black and white stripes, like a barcode, indicated it was a husky.
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation," the husky scratched its head. "It was just a coincidence."
“But Your Majesty, your words are truly delightful,” she said, having shaken off her unease and becoming as lively and energetic as a husky, gesturing wildly. “It’s a pity I had to stay here today, otherwise, just for Your Majesty’s words, I would have been willing to give my life for you.”
"You and Guagua must have a lot to talk about." Butterfly was too lazy to pay attention to this overly familiar person.
East looked at the husky and said, "No rush, there will be plenty of opportunities. I'll thank you in advance."
"It's nothing, it's nothing." The husky waved its paws, using its nonchalant manner to feign unease.
East couldn't suppress the smile on his lips. "Alright, go have fun."
The husky seemed to want to say something but couldn't get it out. It jumped around a couple of times, then said, "I'm a straight man," and ran off.
East was both amused and exasperated.
"What a silly goose," Cai Die commented aptly.
It's hard for East to disagree.
“Your Majesty, please don’t mind,” said Butterfly with a laugh, “It’s just that your charm is too great.”
East, "..."
"It is my honor to receive praise from such a handsome gentleman."
The silence was replaced by a colorful butterfly. "Haha, there's no need for us to flatter each other, it's too awkward." The whispered voice behind her was very soft.
East smiled and bent down to work on the basket he was weaving, which was only halfway done. The thin vines were tightly woven together.
The topic of their conversation had long since strayed from the main point of their discussion. Was it a natural progression or a deliberate act? Only Easter himself knew the answer.
But at this moment, what is truly important is not the village itself, but the place where the war is about to unfold.
There were about seven or eight little firemen left to guard the village, not entirely for Ister alone, but also to guard the twelve soldiers captured last time, and also because they were not good at fighting and did not like fighting.
The remaining hundred or so little firemen, upon receiving the mission, all unanimously headed towards the direction the red dot was moving.
The quack quack stopped halfway through its journey, and Yunmu, who hadn't had time to pull back, bumped into it with a "plop." "Why did you suddenly stop?" Yunmu asked, pulling away from the quack and rubbing its little chubby cheeks.
Meimei and the others also stopped and helped the new players get familiar with the game process. The team was still made up of the ten of them. In their opinion, it was better to do it now than to learn the habits and ways of strangers all over again.
"Shall we do it the same way as last time?" Guagua asked.
"What do you want to say?" Liang Jingjing asked back.
Guagua curled up the corner of its left lip, grinning maliciously. The little black-purple fireman exuded an aura of "evil." "I have a good idea. I reviewed the last battle and found it too exhausting."
"What we want are all the prisoners," Roasted Sweet Potato reminded him.
“This task was not properly assigned,” said Guagua. “Accidents are unpredictable. What if someone is unlucky enough to slip and fall to their death?”
————
[Ding! Dear Little Fireman Warriors, as reminded by the [Quack Quack Quack] Little Fireman Warriors, the system has detected a vulnerability. Therefore, it is hereby added that players must not kill, torture, or harm NPCs with improper malice for any reason (including those marked in red). Violators will be banned.]
Exceptions: 1. If the main party at fault is an NPC, the player will receive certain in-game compensation for any damage or death, depending on the circumstances;
2. If an NPC dies due to a player's unintentional (accidental) death, and the system confirms it as an accident after analysis and evaluation, the player will not be punished.
3. To ensure the game's playability, NPCs will not die easily, only during player-NPC battles.
Little Fireman Warriors, in this game, NPCs, even those belonging to a single faction, are gone forever upon death; there is no possibility of resurrection. Please maintain reverence and respect for life.
————
Players had varying feelings after hearing the system notification. "I don't know what to say?" Guaguagua's tone was complicated. He was a game enthusiast and a streamer who made a living from games, which meant he had played countless games, but he had never seen a game like this before. It was so... so real.
Leaving aside mobile games and keyboard games, the sense of immersion may not be as strong as that of "holographic online games". However, since the rise of "holographic online games" in the past two years, other games are not without restrictions, but they are different. First, the intensity of the restrictions is different, and second, there is the aspect of whether NPCs can be brought back to life.
I still remember what happened a year ago. An NPC in a game died in the storyline, but because of the overwhelming demand from the players, the character was brought back to life. It was from that moment that I completely woke up from my obsession with games. Games are just games.
He wasn't sure if the game he was currently playing could really deliver on what the hints suggested, but he wasn't worried. This was just the beginning; he'd find out as he played. The gaming experience so far had been quite good. There were no restrictions on the area you could explore; it was all about whether you could get out of there. The monsters had all sorts of abilities, allowing you to come up with countless different strategies for defeating them. You could also farm, relax, and chat with the king... In short, the game offered a high degree of freedom; you could play however you wanted and do whatever you wanted, all according to your own ideas.
“It’s quite surprising,” Meimei remarked, “but it doesn’t seem bad.”
"Isn't this the case in other games?" Roasted Sweet Potato seems a bit out of place.
“I’ve forgotten that this is the first time Sweet Potato Bro has played a game,” Guagua said, having calmed down, and was now in the mood to tease people. “Rise of Kings is different from other games. You can try playing other games and you’ll make people realize the differences much more clearly than me just talking about it.”
We continued on our way, which didn't stop us from communicating verbally.
"Do you know how I felt when I heard that system notification?" said Matsuue Yuki, who never speaks at such times. Without waiting for others to answer, she gave her own answer: "Shocked, truly shocked. It may sound like an exaggeration, but the last sentence struck a chord with me: we should always have reverence for life."
"Mmm-hmm," they all nodded in response.
“That’s right…” Yun Mu weakly raised her hand. You can’t blame her for being spineless; for a moment, she saw the shadow of her old teacher in Song Shangxue.
"What's wrong?" Matsukami Yuki asked, puzzled. Was she scary? Or was there something wrong with what she said?
"The enemy is not far from us. What is the battle plan?" Yunmu said. After fighting together for so long, she had completely forgotten about her past self who liked to act alone.
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot what we were going to do." Guagua slapped his head, let's just call it his head for now, since they can't distinguish between head and body.
"What do you want to do?" Meimei asked. "Should we contact other players first?"
The ratio of players to enemies is two to one, but in terms of strength, it's not easy for the players to win. Most players are around level five or six, while their team is about two levels higher, still a long way from level nine, let alone level ten.
Now, their awakened magic is no different from their unawakened magic; they have no magic, no sword skills, only increased health, higher damage, and greater agility... These basic aspects have been improved.
The enemy side is different; they have six people who are a whole level higher than them, not counting the rest.
"Quack quack quack," the voice said. "After making contact, it seems like a fight is inevitable if they coordinate their attacks. Even if they're all together, they might not be able to win, let alone if they're scattered."
“Weren’t you just about to come up with some crazy idea?” Liang Jingjing said.
Guagua Guagua recalled the notification the system had just sent, wondering if her idea was still feasible. "I'll go first, and everyone can see if it's usable. When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits."
"Sparkling, don't be mysterious."
"Alright, let's lure the monster over there," said Guagua.
“It should be fine,” said Ruobu Kaodigua. “They’re not so weak that they can’t even handle monsters.” They are higher level and more experienced than them, and they can still win by sheer numbers and skill. He doesn’t believe that the enemy is weaker than them. “Or we can just wait on the sidelines to come to the rescue at any time.”
A preliminary plan has been finalized.
Then, once everyone had gathered at a suitable ambush location, they discovered that the players were not lacking in clever individuals, but rather in those with exceptionally strong practical skills.
They had dug a large pit in the ground, half a person deep, and initially intended to put spikes inside, but after a system notification, the spikes were removed. In addition, there were trigger-activated vine cages; anyone who stepped on them would be hoisted into a tree. There was also dust mixed with chili powder; the chili powder here was the spicy ingredient that Cai Cai had discovered that day, a kind of small golden fruit... There were many other arrangements that I won't list one by one. It can only be said that this place has been laid out with an inescapable net, just waiting for the enemy to walk right into it.
"Didn't Butterfly come today?" Guagua hesitated, looking at the decorations, he couldn't help but think of Butterfly.
No one responded to the babbling nonsense; everyone started communicating with other players, and face-to-face communication was undoubtedly better.
Feeling embarrassed, Guagua Guagua chatted with some people. After wandering around the crowd, he was immediately filled with respect. Most of the things he had prepared were in advance, to prevent this kind of thing from happening. What's that saying again? Prevention is better than cure.
To prevent the fifty people from straying from the route they were preparing to set into the trap, the players did not all gather in one place. Some of them dispersed to help "guide" the way, but this was actually a form of intimidation and coercion.
Some players had already embarked on the path of luring monsters before that. One monster was definitely not enough, and the potential losses that players might incur while luring monsters had to be taken into account.
Only about thirty little firemen remained. These thirty little firemen weren't the highest level, as the highest level ones had gone to lure monsters, but they were all relatively stable and could control the situation in case of unexpected or uncontrollable events.
The players' plan was progressing smoothly, to an unbelievable degree. Distracted by what was happening, East was so surprised that he couldn't control the change in his expression. Were the enemies really that stupid, or were they just really that lucky? He attributed it to some vague luck, or he was more inclined to believe that the enemies were just too stupid and his players were too capable.
The battle was chaotic, and injuries and deaths were inevitable. The fifty enemies were injured, and the players died. Yes, that's right. In such a chaotic scene, not a single enemy died; only players whose health bars were depleted logged off.
After the final headcount, only twenty players remained as survivors. Fortunately, the enemies were either wounded or maimed and had little strength or energy left to resist; otherwise, it would have been too difficult to bring so many people back.
"Is the King in a good mood?" Butterfly asked. The young king's mood could only be described as unpredictable. Just a moment ago, he looked unhappy and absent-minded, but now the gloomy atmosphere around him has become bright and lively.
Because of his cheerful mood, Easter's movements became more skillful. This was the second basketball hoop he had woven. The first one was crooked and misshapen, but the second one looked much better. When he heard Butterfly's question, Easter hummed twice, clearly very happy.
"What happened that makes you so happy?" Cai Die asked curiously.
"You'll find out soon enough," Easter said, deliberately keeping things mysterious.
Butterfly, “…” This is her own little king, she can’t beat him.
Butterfly glanced at Easter, the slightly willful king, who seemed not at all unpleasant. He was approachable and considerate, making him comfortable to be around, but there was always a sense of distance between him and the king. Easter, on the other hand, gave people a sense of realism, as if he were not an NPC made of data, but a real person just like them. This idea was too bold and unrealistic. "King, do you think you are real?"
East felt a chill run down his spine and tilted his head in confusion. "Little fire warrior, what is the meaning of your question? I am naturally real, otherwise what am I here?"
Cai Die shook her head. "I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous." Cai Die couldn't understand if she was bewitched by something. Otherwise, why would she ask such a crazy question?
A silence fell over the room. East carefully wove his basket, reminding himself not to be too careless. If people found out that this was a real world, he might have the system sever the subtle connection with Earth.
Wearing the guise of a game is indeed a form of deception; he harbors his own selfish motives. But if people knew this was a real world, he couldn't even imagine what would happen. However, he was certain of one thing: it would most likely not develop in a positive direction. Whether this world was real or not, it wouldn't bring any beneficial changes to Earth, but it would allow some selfish people to have inappropriate fantasies. So it could be a game world, but not a real world. After all, the allure of magic is still great, the mysteries of space are very attractive, and the thoughts of madmen are unpredictable.
East calmly and carefully finished finishing the basket. It was a very simple round basket, the kind commonly used to hold fruit, and it wasn't particularly large.
Easter breathed a sigh of relief, put the basket aside, and stood up.
Before Cai Die could ask any questions, he heard a faint commotion, mixed with the clatter of horses' hooves.
"Haha, we've returned in triumph!" Of course, it's the quack that's shamelessly boastful.
It wasn't just East and Butterfly who came out to watch the spectacle; everyone in the village came out. Seeing this magnificent scene, Erha wailed pitifully, "Waaah, I'm so jealous! I'm so jealous! I'm never staying behind again!" He'd been too tired lately and just wanted a day of rest. Who could have imagined such an interesting battle would take place on this day? We won't say who regretted it.
Erha's remark opened up a floodgate of conversation among the little fire people present, and they started chattering away.
Ru Bu Kao Di Gua and Song Shang Xue looked at each other helplessly and spread their hands. "Everyone, how about we find a place to imprison the prisoners first?" Ru Bu Kao Di Gua said. "What if we finally manage to capture all the prisoners, only to have them escape at our doorstep? That would be a huge mess."
With their forces severely depleted, controlling the situation was already difficult. Letting people escape was a minor issue; if the king were injured, that would be truly ridiculous.
"But where would be the best place to lock them up?" Yunmu asked. "There are some tough guys inside. If they weren't injured, these ropes might not be able to hold them up."
"Don't worry, they'll be fine after we give them some medicine," said Suibianla.
Everyone stared at Suibianla, who felt a chill run down her spine and was extremely uncomfortable. "What's wrong?"
"Dude, shouldn't we be asking you that?" Guaguagua voiced what everyone was thinking.
"I remember telling you guys that, right?" Whatever, she was completely confused.
"Aren't the attributes different? How did you find out that it can poison people? Are you sure it won't kill them?" This time it was Yun Mu who asked the question. She still remembered what happened on their first day online when they went to the mountains. She remembered it vividly because they were wiped out right after that.
“There’s research going on,” Suibianla blinked. “Even Caicai can find so many things to eat. Is it strange that I found some medicinal plants? It’s a kind of herb that can weaken people. I’ve tried it, and it only gives me a debuff, not a life-threatening one.”
“That’s great, let’s do it that way,” Meimei said. “But do we have enough herbs?”
"Don't worry, it's enough. Just a little bit of that herb is enough to weaken someone. I've collected and dried quite a lot." Suibianla was very confident in her area of expertise.
Ist didn't interrupt at all until the players' conversation came to an end. Then he half-squatted down and faced the little fireman with its many wounds. "Brave little fireman warriors, you have brought me peace. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to you."
"Little King, you're being too polite. We're your summoned creatures!" The first to speak was Quack Quack Quack.
“Yes, Your Majesty, this is what we should do,” Meimei said.
"My little king, don't be like this, boohoo~ Mommy's heart aches. You look like a poor little thing who has suffered a great injustice." Yunmu wanted to go forward and give Ister a hug, but she didn't actually go forward.
"King, you are our king. Without you, we would not have come to this world," said Roasted Sweet Potato.
...
Listening to the words around him, Easter stepped forward and hugged each of the little firemen, saying, "Thank you."
“It’s nothing,” Guagua changed the subject, “Let’s go lock these people up first.”
East smiled. It was a fine day with a gentle breeze and warm sunshine, but unfortunately the rainy season was approaching, and such good weather would probably be rare in the future.
A note from the author:
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