Chapter 270:
The little players suffered heavy casualties in their previous counterattack against the Wolfsbane Clan’s sudden assault, but they entered the resurrection countdown the moment they died.
Murphy had planned the decapitation strategy based on this timing.
As mentioned in the previous online update announcement, preparations for testing the second raid dungeon 《Decisive Battle at Anderma Hills》 have also been put on the agenda.
The dog developer Murphy, adhering to the principle of emphasizing realism, has arranged an extremely cool boss fight and very intense dungeon mob setup for players about to enter the second dungeon.
The final boss is already prepared.
That Gnoll warlord called Kenport Gnawbone has been written into Murphy’s script. No matter the process, he must die at the hands of the little players to enhance the storyline’s immersion.
Of course, as a humanoid monster, its drops will certainly be much more generous.
This time Murphy also played a “trick”.
While the little players were waiting for resurrection, he opened a thread on the forum in the name of Alpha, releasing some real materials for the second raid dungeon obtained from his high-level agent “Pangolin”, along with a CG cutscene!
It was a reconnaissance report on the Gnoll camp from Revnor’s aerial perspective, but its immersive and one-shot feeling still made the spoiler-hungry players exclaim “Holy shit!”.However, veteran players with actual raid dungeon experience were already cringing and sucking their teeth.
Onboard Joy Stick: 【Just looking at the monster density in this CG clip makes my scalp tingle. These damn developers clearly haven’t learned their lesson from the Blood Vulture Halls last time!
They must have come up with another so-called ‘heroic epic’ raid design this time. Last time only three of us survived, I estimate it might be about the same this time.】
Precipitation Niuniu Is Not Afraid of Difficulties: 【Brother Stick, we’ve already received two raid dungeon quests from Lady Adele and Lord Maxim at the Blood Vulture Halls.
Both can be shared.
Lady Adele requires us to burn down several key buildings in the Gnoll camp, while Maxim wants us to bring back the heads of 10 Silver-rank Gnoll commanders.
There’s also bad news, the Quest Reward for this dungeon is still opening boxes. Meow King cried about it. I just saw it with my own eyes, a 30-something-year-old adult crying like a man baby.】
Like A Tiger Can Edge Wood: 【I also have a raid dungeon quest issued by Lord Kudel. He requires us to bring back Warlord Kenport’s insignia.
However, the reward here isn’t opening boxes, but skill manuals and selection rights for Lord Kudel’s weapon collection. But I can only share this quest with vampire players.】
Meow King: 【No worries, I also received a similar raid dungeon quest from Guildmaster Natalie, with the same rewards. My quest can only be shared with Avalon Church faction players.
It looks like it’s a faction quest. And by the way, you were spreading rumors about me earlier, right? Niuniu, you naughty student! I’ll have a bunch of gay men corner you one day!】
Life Is Pretty Good: 【What about us players who haven’t joined any factions? Won’t we just miss out on a reward?】
Bulldozer Man Charging: 【What kind of eyesight do you have? It’s posted at the Administrative Council’s entrance. Baroness Miriam has also issued a quest with similar rewards.
Don’t worry, there’s a share for everyone.】
Master Broken Blade: 【Damn! How come even us manufacturing players have raid dungeon quests? Professor Malcolm requires us to collect Gnoll forging tools and materials from the Gnoll camp, and study their weapon forging methods. Isn’t this forcing the manufacturing industry to go to the battlefield too?】
Khaki Tony Tai: 【Brother! You’re a player! Choosing manufacturing and administrative professions doesn’t change your player identity, right? The combat segment can be less but not non-existent, right?
Besides, you can bring guards to the battlefield, which is much better than us combat professions.
We have to tank monsters with our own bodies.】
Master Ziwei: 【Enough talk! If you don’t want to go, I’m willing! Give me a helmet now, and I’ll fight those Gnolls to the end!
By the way, we’re about to go to war, doesn’t anyone want me to do a divination?
Maybe I could divine your fortune, like where valuable treasures are located and such.】
Frostfang Claw: 【Guys, I have a very strange quest here. Can you take a look?】
The not-so-talkative Fangfang directly posted the Hidden Quest he received from Lady Dorothy. That quest was quite bizarre.
Its name was “Find the Pangolin!”
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The quest content was even more explosive. According to Lady Dorothy, the Blood Rat Gang leader under Lady Adele’s intelligence system’s “new nobility”, Murphy had secretly dispatched a high-level agent codenamed “Pangolin” to infiltrate the Gnoll camp before the war against the Gnolls began.
Now that the decisive battle is about to begin, the Blood Rat Gang where Lady Dorothy belongs has also received an important task. They need to find the Pangolin in the chaos and help it complete its final mission.
Border Town Wanderer: 【’Pangolin’? Is it the pangolin I’m thinking of? This codename is actually an Easter egg, right? Is the development team planting Easter eggs so bluntly?】
Meow King: 【This is good localization. I guess it’s a translation issue. This game actually has quite a few Easter eggs. For example, you can see a strange wooden carving in Murphy’s office.
It’s said to be a vampire friend Murphy knew in his early years, but that guy wears a red eye patch and has a pair of demon wings, and carries dual swords.
That’s clearly a tribute to my Egg Brother.】
Invincible Tyrannosaurus Cheche: 【Yes, yes, yes! When you go to learn Spirit abilities from Lady Tris, if you chat about otherworldly topics, Lady Tris has a certain probability of telling you a little story. She says that when she was young, a friend of hers summoned an otherworldly creature but ended up being eaten by the fire demon they summoned.
The funniest part is that the man-eating fire demon was named Burning Salas.】
Fatal Orchid Huahua: 【What’s that compared to mine? I overheard a farmer in the camp bragging earlier that he had killed several Witch Hunters with a rake, and said that Witch Hunters would die if they jumped from high places.】
Feel You Poor: 【There’s a dirty horn hanging in the Adventurer’s Guild tent. If you ask Guildmaster Natalie, she’ll tell you it’s called the ‘Abyss Horn’.
It was seized when the White Oak Battalion previously eliminated a lich named Sandru on an island in the Misty Coast.】
Sword Saint Ashina: 【I know one too! I know one!
When I go to Grandma Marianne to repair my gun, I often hear her mumbling that the Halfling gunsmiths have a grand plan to build a Spirit gun that can shatter the earth.
And the codename for that awesome gun-making plan is ‘BFG9000’!】
Lumina Yanghen: 【Aton’s Spear! It’s said to be the nickname given by a certain Dwarf general to the legendary Sanghai sun boat during the 4th Black Disaster.】
Sister Pomegranate Uproots The Weeping Willows: 【Let me tell you one, have you noticed Maxim’s surname? His last name is ‘Vlad’~
And his ideal is to become a powerful vampire.
I’ve noticed that Maxim really likes to impale enemies when using spear weapons.】
Dump Truck Iaido: 【When Miss Miriam was still in the survivor camp, she told me that during a certain period in Transia’s past, locals would reverently refer to Salrokdar as ‘Dracon’, and that Count of White Mountain from the Thorn Clan would occasionally mutter about the legend of the ‘Daywalker’.
Also, I saw in some storybooks from who knows where that the border defense line of the eastern Ancient Calum Kingdom was called the Ten Thousand Li Dragon Ridge, their emperor was called the Dragon Emperor, the capital was called Tiandu, and their faith was the mysterious Astral Realm Dragon Ao.】
Frostfang Claw: 【Wait! Weren’t we talking about these Easter eggs at first? Who exactly is this Pangolin in my quest?】
Lumina Yanghen: 【Don’t worry, Fangfang, just follow us when the time comes. We know who the Pangolin is, hehe, there’s still a lot more plot about it later.】
Meow King: 【!!!So it was you guys! The last announcement already said there would be a mysterious force appearing, so that was you guys who made it happen, right?
I’m not saying anything!
How can you still keep it all to yourselves?】
Lumina Yanghen: 【Of course, for Hidden Quests like this, it’s all about individual ability, Meow King. Your words are unreasonable. This is a side quest that we painstakingly dug up, why should we share it with you?
Aren’t you also hiding and holding back the few Hidden Quests in your hands?】
Onboard Joy Stick: 【What’s all this arguing about! If you want to argue, make your own group chat to do it. We’re discussing tactics here, be serious! We can’t rush in all at once and get wiped out like last time. This time there’s no NPC assistance, you can imagine how difficult a real 100-player raid dungeon will be!
Pay attention, all of you!】
Leading Pigeon: 【Attention? Where’s the attention?】
(‘Leading Pigeon’ has been muted for 30 minutes by administrator ‘Onboard Joy Stick’.)
Onboard Joy Stick: 【Look at the mute hammer in my hand! Tell me who else? We’ll resurrect the day after tomorrow, and there won’t be much time to discuss then. We must come up with a strategy in these two days!
This dungeon is so big, we need to split up. We must coordinate well who is responsible for which aspect. I know everyone wants to have it easy and fun.
But since we’re playing a game, let’s play it well!
Now let’s start officially discussing tactics, beginning with task assignment.】
——
“Achoo!”
Hog sneezed hard. For a moment, this skinny Gnoll felt as if something very scary was targeting him.
He looked around vigilantly but didn’t find any Gnolls other than those from his own Blood Claw Clan. This finally put him at ease a bit.
Thanks to being reassigned to the elite area by Kenport earlier, he didn’t have to cross the Kadman River with those Gnoll vanguards to attack Crimson Citadel.
But this doesn’t mean Hog could escape the “duty” he shouldered in this battle.
He knew his identity.
On the Gnoll side, he was an insignificant small clan leader, dispatched to patrol the outskirts of the camp. But in the Crimson Citadel faction, he was the “secret vanguard” sent by the Governor of Transia!
As long as he completed this last task, he would get everything promised to him. Although he didn’t know if the vampires would fulfill their promise, Hog tried not to think about that.
He knew that once Kenport gained power, life for “mongrels” like him would only get harder.
“If you could just be a little nicer to us Transia gnolls… Fool! Even just a tiny bit nicer would do.”
In his dirty shack, Hog gripped a chisel and cursed through gritted teeth:
“But you treat us as cannon fodder more worthless than dirt, to be consumed at will. Even if we take Crimson Citadel, so what? We’ll get a piece of meat at most, and then you’ll send us to fight the Wolfsbane vampires in the Cato region.
We’re going to die anyway, do you really think we won’t dare to resist at all?”
While cursing, the skinny fellow hollowed out a section of the wooden pole in his hand. Then he looked left and right, took out a blood-colored crystal from his pocket close to his body.
This thing was particularly exquisite.
You could even see Spirit symbols floating like water inside it. This was personally given to him by Lord Murphy before he left Crimson Citadel.
Hog wasn’t a Spirit Mage. He didn’t understand those complex theories, but he knew this thing could bring doomsday to Kenport.
Doomsday in the truest sense.
“Hehehe”
Hog let out the peculiar, grating, and cunning laugh unique to Gnolls, stuffed the crystal into the wooden pole he had hollowed out, and after securing it firmly, connected this pole to the double-bladed axe beside him.
This clan-style axe was something he got from Kenport’s quartermaster. Its Quality was a bit better than the weapons used by ordinary Gnolls, and there were strange sun patterns on the surface of the axe. Who knows which bored fellow put them there.
“Chief! Nash is here.”
A Blood Claw berserker called out in a muffled voice in front of Hog’s shack. Hog nodded and said:
“Let him come over, I have something to tell him.”
“Aow.”
The berserker responded, then walked away with large strides, carrying a flail on his back.
These clan members were all carefully selected by Hog. They weren’t many but all very clever. By constantly stealing dried meat and grain from the camp’s quartermaster, Hog’s Blood Claw Clan had been living quite comfortably lately.
For Gnolls, as long as they’re well-fed, loyalty naturally follows. A chief who can keep everyone fed is a qualified good chief!
If there were a few females for company, that would be even more perfect.
“Hog, I’m here.”
The Gnoll Nash strode in proudly. He had taken over Hog’s previous clan and was now in high spirits, walking with a spring in his step.
Unlike the skinny Hog, Nash was a standard Gnoll berserker, rough enough, fierce enough, and thus quickly mixed in with that group of Kenport’s lackeys.
He was even quite valued.
He had hardly initiated contact with Hog these past few days, the implications were self-evident.
“Here, this is a good axe I got from the quartermaster. It’s a powerful weapon. I heard you’ve been assigned to guard and patrol the King’s camp.
That’s a good job!
With this axe, you’ll definitely make other Gnolls fear you more.”
Hog handed the double-bladed great axe, taller than himself, to Nash. Although this thing wasn’t the flail that Gnolls liked to use most, it was indeed imposing enough. Nash took it and was very pleased.
Hog chuckled and said to him:
“You’re highly valued by King Kenport, that’s good. Don’t forget us old brothers when you make it big in the future. By the way, Nash, I’ve never asked you before, what are your plans for the future?”
“Huh?”
The future was always a rare commodity for Gnolls.
They were used to living day by day, thinking about tomorrow after getting through today. When suddenly asked by Hog, Nash was a bit confused, then answered:
“Of course it’s to follow King Kenport and dedicate everything to the cause of Gnolls conquering the continent! I heard the King is going to raid the Cato region next.
Don’t worry, Hog.”
Nash patted Hog’s shoulder casually, saying like a big brother comforting his little brother:
“I remember the kindness of you rescuing me from the arena. I’ll definitely take care of you.”
“That’s good.”
Hog sighed, saying in an envious tone:
“If only I were as strong as you. Sigh, I’ll be counting on you in the future, brother. Take your battle axe, obey King Kenport’s orders, and go embrace the glory of battle.
We old brothers will bless you.”
“Thanks.”
Nash laughed heartily, unceremoniously took the axe and turned to leave. Several Gnoll berserkers who had escaped from Crimson Citadel with him spat on the ground disdainfully.
Obviously, Nash’s petty official manner made everyone dislike him.
But not Hog.
Not only did he not show disgust, but a hint of relief appeared in his eyes.
To be honest, if this Nash had really remembered old friendships a bit, he might not have been able to harden his heart to do this.
“You, yes you, come here!”
Hog walked back to his shack.
On the way, he encountered a small Gnoll, as small as him, who was feeding earth wolves. He suddenly felt this small one was pleasing to the eye and called him over.
He looked the small Gnoll up and down and asked:
“What’s your name?”
“Ah, Chief, my name is Little Bone.”
That small Gnoll had a pair of eyes as cunning as Hog. When answering, his eyeballs kept rolling, probably racking his brains to think of some flattering words.
“No, your name is not Little Bone!”
Hog patted the small one’s shoulder. He imitated the manner of Lord Murphy giving him a new name back then, speaking in a tone so gentle it didn’t seem like a Gnoll.
He said in a low voice:
“From today on, your name is Nash. Remember that?”