Chapter 40: Defend Hexi Village
Half an hour later.
Hexi Village carried out a scorched earth defense.
Hang Yu and eight personal guards arrived at the scene.
All fifty Players were online without a single absence.
Although the Players assembled and prepared to fight to the death, none of them showed any nervousness about facing a life-or-death trial; the ten new Players laughed and chatted with each other, their faces full of excitement and anticipation.
Level 1 Warrior Human Cannon: "Exciting! I didn’t expect it! I just entered the game and already encountered a monster siege event!"
Level 1 Warlock Glorious Years: "I feel like I'm dreaming! Is this place really a game?"
Level 1 Ranger Greywood: "Brother Rui! Brother Salted Fish! Please take good care of us newcomers!"
...
The other forty Players were relatively calm.
Although also full of anticipation, their attitudes were much more serious.
Zha Jiang Mian: "That was too sudden, I had to log in halfway through my meal."
Brother Xiao Ma: "Heh, that's nothing, I had already booked a young model at the clubhouse."
A Sword Comes from the West: "The game rewards for this event are very generous, I hope to earn more Contribution Points."
"Actually, compared to Contribution Points,"
"I think protecting the village is even more important!"
"Brother Salted Fish also said that the game’s storyline is irreversible, and the Players’ performance and actions will permanently affect the fate of the NPCs and even the main storyline, so we must shoulder the responsibility of the Fourth Calamity Army!"
"Yeah, Players can resurrect, but if NPCs die, they’re gone for good!"
"Protecting the territory’s citizens! The Fourth Calamity Army must not shrink from this duty!"
"......"
Black-Eyed Rui Ge, Ye Li Meng, Midnight Pig Slayer, Lone Boat, and others discussed for a while and decided that they needed to learn from past mistakes and should avoid letting NPCs intervene, not only to reduce territory losses but also to earn more rewards.
After some discussion.
The Players came before Hang Yu.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge respectfully saluted and said: "Great Lord, please entrust the task of defending Hexi Village to our Fourth Calamity Army!"
Hang Yu had originally planned to let the Players handle this crisis.
After all, Players had a tenfold drop rate; killing enemies would yield more rewards, and besides, it was a good opportunity to create casualties en masse — now that they volunteered, it was even better.
He pretended to hesitate: "The Abyssal Corrupted are attacking this time. With your current strength, it might still be a bit difficult."
Black-Eyed Rui Ge immediately dropped to one knee and shouted loudly: "Precisely because the enemy is dangerous, we must not let others risk themselves! We have the immortal bodies granted by our Lord, making us the perfect candidates to handle such enemies! Please give the Fourth Calamity Army a chance to prove itself!"
The other Players saw this.
Their blood and sense of honor were also ignited.
Everyone followed Black-Eyed Rui Ge’s example, saluting and shouting loudly: "We earnestly request the Lord to give the Fourth Calamity Army a chance to prove itself!"
Oh ho.
They were fired up now!
Hang Yu nodded: "Alright, since that’s the case, I’ll leave it to you. As long as the enemies don’t threaten the core, I will not personally intervene."
"That's great!"
"Thank you, Lord!"
"We will fight to the death!"
The Players immediately cheered loudly, their faces full of joy, and quickly sprang into action.
"That's great!"
"As long as the Lord doesn't intervene!"
"We’re not afraid of missing out on Contribution Points!"
"I'm new here. Why is it that if the Lord intervenes, we can’t get enough Contribution?"
"Heh heh, rookie, you have no idea how powerful our Lord is. If he steps in, what chance would you have to do anything?"
"……"
Hang Yu sat near the Core Tower of Hexi Village, with Zhang San and Li Si leading eight personal guards standing by his side, plus Wei Ji, Li Niu, and a dozen other Hexi Village fighters.
"Is it really appropriate to let only the Fourth Calamity Army defend?" Wei Ji was visibly worried.
Although he had seen Players resurrect before, he wasn’t fully convinced they truly possessed immortal bodies; even creatures fallen into the Abyss could revive, but every resurrection twisted their soul and body further, and the more they died, the deeper the Abyss’ corruption.
Logically speaking.
True immortality was impossible.
Any form of resurrection had to come with a price.
Li Niu said: "As members of Hexi Village, we should join the battle!"
Hang Yu said calmly: "You don’t have to worry about this. I trust that the Fourth Calamity Army can handle this threat. Even if they can’t, we can still form a second line of defense."
Since the Lord had said so.
The people of Hexi Village could only watch and wait.
The Players hurried to complete their battle preparations.
"Brother Rui! Brother Ye Li Meng! Look, the enemy is coming!"
A dense forest lay in front of the village stockade, and now a large group of shadowy figures emerged, each wrapped in Abyssal aura.
"So many?"
"They’re all humanoid monsters!"
"Quick, find out what these things are!"
The hundreds of figures drew closer, their steps stiff like puppets; outwardly they looked almost the same as ordinary people — men, women, old, and young — but their eyes had no whites, only solid black, and their bodies were wrapped in dense Abyssal aura.
【Abyss Undead Citizens】，Level 4 Common Units……Description: Originally ordinary citizens, they fell into the Abyss and were transformed into undead beings.
"What’s going on with these people?" Ye Li Meng was puzzled.
Chenxi said: "They are probably villagers from nearby settlements. Because their death process was tainted by the Abyss, they became what you see now."
Undying and immortal might sound like a good thing.
But in the world of Twisted Three Kingdoms, it was anything but — it was a curse.
Being unable to die properly meant endless cycles within the Abyssal nightmare.
No matter how many times they were killed, they would revive.
Each resurrection or cycle would cause their bodies and souls to become increasingly distorted.
The people standing before them now were just ordinary folks who had been polluted; while their appearance wasn’t too different from normal, their inner beings and souls were already twisted beyond recognition.
Unlike the Abyssal Corrupted.
The Abyssal Corrupted, though fully demonized, still retained their memories and even parts of their original personality.
These Abyss Undead Citizens lacked such strong will and fortune; during the pollution process, they lost all memories and had become mindless, zombie-like husks.
"Kill!"
"Charge together!"
"Don't let them get close!"
There were fifty Players, with levels ranging from 1 to 5.
Over a hundred Undead Citizens, all uniformly at level 4.
In terms of overall strength, the Undead Citizens were slightly stronger than the Players, but because they lacked intelligence, coordination, and had simple fighting methods, the Players still held the advantage.
"Fire arrows!"
Lone Boat, Black-Eyed Rui Ge, Ye Li Meng, Salty Fish Thrust, and at least a dozen Warriors or Rangers equipped with bows unleashed the first volley of arrows, shooting down several Undead Citizens.
The Undead Citizens didn’t flinch at all.
Their expressions were blank as they pressed forward, ignoring the rain of arrows.
Chimera Wraith, Little Bell, Glorious Years, and nine other Warlock Players cast spells simultaneously, fiery magic arrows slicing through the air and igniting several Undead Citizens.
Before the Undead Citizens could get close.
Almost a tenth of their number had already been wiped out.
"Rangers guard the flanks! Warriors activate Iron Armor! Follow me and push forward!" Ye Li Meng shouted, immediately dropping his bow and drawing his flaming broadsword, charging ahead and slashing down an Undead Citizen in one blow.
"Kill!"
"For the territory!"
"Long live the Fourth Calamity Army!"
Street Slayer charged in after him, waving his broadsword like a mad dog, engaging several Undead Citizens at once.
Mad Blade Old Wang, Salty Fish Thrust, and the other Warriors quickly followed, all activating their Iron Armor Skills.
Though they were outnumbered, they could endure the Undead Citizens’ assault for a while.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge and Lone Boat each led a Ranger squad to activate Gale Steps, flanking from both sides, penetrating the Undead ranks and causing chaos and casualties through constant backstabbing.
Midnight Pig Slayer, Chenxi, and the other Monk Players stayed at the rear, continuously healing wounded Players who fell back.
"Not bad at all!"
Hang Yu observed that the Players truly had some skill.
If it was just these hundred or so Undead Citizens, although they could inflict some casualties, they posed no real threat.
Of course.
This attack would not be so simple.
These Undead Citizens were likely just a probing force.
Hang Yu opened his Lord’s Vision and scanned the woods beyond Hexi Village; there were at least dozens more powerful presences hidden within, most of them Yellow Turban Headless Fiend Soldiers, along with several even stronger elite monsters.
Leading them was a familiar face dressed as an eunuch, holding a three-foot-long sword, his skin cracked like dried earth.
Xu Feng had been closely monitoring the battle.
Although the human Lord’s army was competent, it wasn’t beyond expectations or beyond the range of their countermeasures.
Even this probing attack had already caused notable Player casualties.
Such strength.
Was not worth fearing.
Perhaps they wouldn’t even have to wait for the Day of Utter Darkness.
Xu Feng might be able to destroy this Lord himself!