My Players Are So Fierce

To find a sense of participation, while other little players were resisting ghouls and wraiths in the sewers and city, they were also frantically typing on the forum to offer “encouragement”, led by Meow King and his group.

Theoretically, this six-person squad was already the top-tier team among the current players. Even if they encountered a dangerous elite raid, it wouldn’t be so easy for them to die. But the problem was that these guys, led by Heaven’s Chosen Grayman, blasted open the rock wall of the underground cavern from a weak point in the sewer.

Such a violent action caused them to directly face thousands of ghouls rushing at them. In this situation, there was naturally no hope of escape.

Even if the Avalon boss was watching over them, it was impossible to keep them alive in this desperate situation.

But the most darkly humorous thing was that while the six strongest fighters all died, Heaven’s Chosen Grayman and Bricklayer, the two weak administrative professionals, ironically survived by a stroke of luck.

This was mainly because the four veterans protecting them were vigilant enough and capable enough.

When they realized something was wrong, they forcibly dragged Heaven’s Chosen Grayman and Bricklayer out of the sewer at the fastest speed, while the little players’ suicidal nature made Meow King’s group want to see what exactly was hidden in the tunnel below. As a result, this few minutes’ delay cost them their lives.

But it’s okay.

One life every three days is like a “consumable” for little players.

Meow King: 【Damn it, this was my first death! Lost it for no reason, so heartbreaking! All my good equipment was left there! The deed was in my bag too, this is a huge loss!】

Black Stockings Under the Keyboard: 【It’s fine, I died last, I took off all your spirit bags and hid them in a rock crevice. We can go get them after we revive, or ask Joy Stick to help us retrieve them.

Don’t worry about the equipment either!

Those ghouls won’t steal your equipment, we can just go pick them up after the random event is over.

What I want to know now is, did anyone see the specific situation in the tunnel below when we died?

I only saw a hive-like large cavern, with corpses, ghouls, and wraiths moving around everywhere, it was like a damn bee demon lair.】

Day One No Fap: 【There were people down there! Quite a lot of them, I saw it clearly! Those guys were working in those caves in tattered clothes like slaves, and some were moving corpses. @Electronic Succubus Old Tune, Old Tune, you have the highest perception, did you see anything else?】

Electronic Succubus Old Tune: 【When I was overwhelmed by ghouls, I think I saw Civilian Protection Officer Kudel crash down from a waterfall on the other side, but I’m not sure if I was seeing things.

By the way, is this a new dungeon?

I feel like even though it’s not as OP as the Blood Vulture Halls, it’s more than enough for a heroic five-man dungeon. I guess this should be a five-man dungeon specially made for Black Iron players by the dev team.

The difficulty has skyrocketed!】

East River Lion’s Roar: 【You weren’t seeing things, the Civilian Protection Officer did go down there. We were recruited by him, and after you guys died, we rescued more than 20 children. We wanted to go down to help, but there were too many damn ghouls, we were surrounded and couldn’t escape.

But it’s okay, Lord Murphy and Guildmaster Natalie have already brought people over.

By the way, the Black-Hearted Witch Hunter is so badass!

That big sword of hers bursts into flames and instantly kills ghouls on contact. I know it’s an old church relic, but isn’t this attack power a bit too ridiculous?】

Led More Than Three to Five Pecks: 【You call this ridiculous? You came in late and didn’t see the power of that sword in old knight Finoch’s hands. 60 elite vampires were all cremated in less than 5 minutes. This is just a drizzle now. After all, that thing is a super weapon in the game’s story background, this performance isn’t excessive.

But why are you guys also on the forum?

Did you get killed too?】

North Forest Dog’s Paddle: 【We fought too hard, although we’re still alive, it shows ‘character exhausted and unconscious’, need to wait at least 4 hours before we can log in again.

Damn, I feel like I took down at least 40 or 50 ghouls, just swinging the sword without thinking about anything else. This is probably the legendary situation of ‘can’t survive without fighting’. Anyway, I’m completely numb!

My brain feels wooden after logging off. No good, I need to go sleep for a while, I’m mentally exhausted.】

Heaven’s Chosen Grayman: 【See, I told you Old Chen is still amazing. He could find the underground cavern just by looking at the map. He previously judged that in this situation, the cavern’s interior would likely have a honeycomb-like structure formed by water erosion, and he was right about this too!

I told you this game is awesome, even the terrain modeling is based on real-world logic.】

Meow King: 【Indeed awesome! But didn’t the old professor say if there’s an exit to that cave below from the outside? With the current ghostly terrain, if a group of elite ghouls blocks it, the main force can’t get down at all.】

Bricklayer: 【Old Chen is a master, not a psychic. It’s already incredible that he could deduce there was a cavern hidden there. Without on-site investigation, how could he possibly know if that thing has a second exit?

However, according to conventional geological logic, since there’s an underground river in the cavern, maybe this thing is connected to the largest local river, the Kadman River.

Perhaps it’s an underground tributary?

But the Kadman River runs through half of Transia, it would be too difficult to find the specific source upstream and downstream.】

Master Ziwei: 【Is it really that awesome? Even the terrain modeling refers to the real world? Not to be a downer, guys, but doesn’t this seem a bit too exaggerated? If they really achieved this level of detail on the technical level, how many people must be on Alpha Company’s design team?】

Meow King: 【Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t. Wait until you get into the game yourself and you’ll see.】

Night Phantom Bat Puppet: 【So, when are you going to release more invitation codes? Listening to you guys brag here really makes me itch!】

Medical Insurance Warrior Great Sion: 【Hehe, I cut a video clip and posted it on the forum, brothers who haven’t entered the game can go satisfy their cravings. Too bad this helmet can’t adjust the viewing angle, otherwise with this video quality it could be used to make CG movies without any problem.】

Sword Saint Ashina: 【Latest news! Latest news! The matriarch’s guards have arrived, Lord Murphy has issued a dungeon quest, all Black Iron rank players can accept it. He will personally lead us in a battlefield ‘airdrop’!

Jump directly into the center of the target surrounded by ghouls, execute the decapitation plan!

This is too awesome.】

Like A Tiger Can Edge Wood: 【Decapitation plan? So, you already know who’s behind all this?】

Sword Saint Ashina: 【Mm-hmm, it’s a guy called the ‘Plague Rat King’ and a force called the ‘Rat Gang’ who did it. Lord Murphy said there must be characters like ‘undead manipulators’ among them, controlling all the ghouls in the entire sewer.

Miss Miriam also found out about this gang’s background from the camp’s chef Shovan. It’s said that they were previously just a small gang operating a few underground black markets, with some business dealings with the smuggling chef.

They probably took advantage of the Astral Realm rift to grow and expand, and even imprisoned a group of civilians who fled into the sewers. Using dark arts to plot the overthrow of Crimson Citadel, wanting to destroy the foundation we’ve worked so hard to establish, they really deserve to die!】

Don’t Need Hands to Show Off: 【I knew there had to be a background to such a big event, but what kind of snake and rat den was this Kadman City before? How could there even be cultists? Don’t these vampires manage anything?

How bad must the public security be?】

Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry: 【Damn, brothers, I died! Why can I be ambushed by ghouls even while walking on the road? This isn’t scientific.】

Meow King: 【? You were ambushed on the city surface?】

Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry: 【Yeah, I had just retreated from the sewer and accepted a message delivery quest to the camp. I took a shortcut and was attacked by an elite ghoul in an alley. Those stinky things seem to have crawled out already.】

Meow King: 【Damn! There must be other sewer entrances we haven’t discovered. Quick, report your location, where were you attacked? Do you remember the exact coordinates?

@Onboard Joy Stick, Joy Stick, quickly send someone to find the leak point!

It would be terrible if ghouls rush into the camp, those stinky things have poisoned claws, ordinary NPCs can’t withstand them at all!】

Onboard Joy Stick: 【Leave it to me, @Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry, private chat.】

Border Town Wanderer: 【You guys are making this sound like a war. Is it really necessary?】

Meow King: 【Brother, this is a war! There are thousands of NPCs in the camp relying on our protection. We rescued them all with great effort, they’re all needed for future plot progression. It hurts to lose even one or two now.】

Border Town Wanderer: 【Cut the crap, give me a helmet and I’ll believe you! I can go up immediately and be a suicide truck, no questions asked!】

——

At the underground tunnel entrance blasted open by Meow King’s group in the Crimson Citadel sewer, Maxim’s matriarch guards have all arrived.

A group of elite vampires, along with the captain of Tris’s personal guards, and the crazy Lady Bonnie, have all prepared for the hunt.

The Black Iron rank little players who received the quest have all rushed over. Along with Murphy and Natalie, as well as Lady Lainnia who came to support, this is already the most elite force that can be gathered in the current territory.

“We’ll go down from here! Straight to the core of that honeycomb-like ghoul nest below,” Murphy said to the others:

“Blood Vulture Civilian Protection Officer Kudel has already pinned down the mastermind behind this incident. It’s that guy called the ‘Plague Rat King’ who’s manipulating these crazed ghouls and trying to break out of the sewers to slaughter our people on the surface.

We must be quick!”

“There are still some civilians down there?”

Natalie asked, leaning on the Watcher’s greatsword while applying anti-evil sword oil to the relic:

“What about them?”

“My warriors will be responsible for getting them out. Your Witch Hunters need to receive them.”

Murphy had already given the players their quests.

Although it was the escort quest that players hated the most, it was still very attractive with reputation rewards plus the dungeon clear achievement and dungeon snapshot as rewards.

“Master Eugene has already led several of his disciples into the sewers. They’ll handle the reception work,” Natalie replied.

No one had any more questions. Murphy turned to look at the large hole blasted below. In the dim environment, he could clearly see the scene of ghouls and wraiths constantly rushing out from the densely packed rock walls in the large pit below.

Like a group of industrious worker bees, leaving the nest to find “food” sufficient to fill their stomachs at the command of the malicious “queen bee”.

“No wonder the number of corpses in the first level of the sewer doesn’t match up,” Murphy thought to himself:

“Most of the bodies that died from the Astral Realm tear have probably been moved underground by this group as materials for necromancy. There must be a large passage connecting to the upper level, otherwise their activities wouldn’t be so easy.

The only question is, how long have they been hiding here?”

With this question in mind, the vampire lord grasped the core orb on his chest, activating a frequency that hadn’t been used before.

He asked the other side:

“Lord Kudel, I need your position as the gathering point for the airdrop operation. How far are you from the main culprit?”

“They’ve built a fortress in this tunnel,” the Civilian Protection Officer’s cold voice came from the orb. He said:

“That bastard who wantonly harmed the innocents I’m supposed to protect has created a guard legion for himself. He’s a coward, but I’m sure he’s hiding right in front of me!”

“Just one person?” Murphy said in surprise:

“Not a team?”

“Not even human,” Kudel responded:

“The ‘Plague Rat King’ is a vampire. He has an evil ritual below the lair, something terrible is being born inside. You must stop it from appearing. I’ve never seen this vampire before, but he bears the Blood Vulture emblem.

Also, Murphy.

He might be your ‘brother’.”

This answer completely baffled Murphy.

The vampire lord was stunned for several seconds before he realized what Kudel meant. He narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice:

“You mean, that’s Tris’s other descendant?”

“I just smelled a bloodline scent similar to Lady Tris and you,” the Civilian Protection Officer briefly responded:

“So, you’d better come alone.”

“Understood.”

Murphy put away the orb with a normal expression, turned back to the others who were already prepared for the raid and said:

“The valiant Civilian Protection Officer has confirmed the location of the main culprit! But that bastard seems to have created an evil ritual in the large cave below the lair, very likely to summon or create some horrific monsters.

Change of plans!

You all go there to destroy that thing, I’ll go join up with the Civilian Protection Officer.”

“My lord! You alone—”

Maxim immediately wanted to say something, but Murphy shook his head at him. The loyal servant immediately realized that there were probably some “small details” in this matter that others shouldn’t know, so he said no more.

A minute later, the “airdrop” operation began.

The vampires who could fly and glide carried the warriors who couldn’t fly and leapt down from the blasted tunnel, landing on the honeycomb rock walls of the large space below amidst the roars of tens of thousands of ghouls and wraiths.

As soon as they landed, the great sacred blade in Natalie’s hand spontaneously ignited with Purifying Flame, which made the Adventurer’s Guild Master’s eyes widen. She exclaimed:

“Great evil! The sacred blade has detected great evil below! It’s yearning for a purification in the name of the gods!”

“Proceed according to the plan!”

Murphy waved his hand, spread his wings alone and flew off again towards the upper cave where Kudel was located. The others also immediately began their respective tasks.

The little players, with the cooperation of several clan leader guards, had to cut a path through the ghoul horde below to rescue the survivors who were imprisoned as slave laborers, while the powerful NPCs were to go to the cave below to deal with that “great evil”.

Natalie, wielding the sacred blade, took the lead.

She almost didn’t need to scout, she just had to charge in the direction indicated by the sacred blade that was “cursing eloquently and broadcasting heavenly voices” in her mind.

She formed a three-person battle squad with Maxim and Lainnia, charging into the lower cave where the great evil was located in a blaze of fire and lightning. As soon as they entered, they were almost caught off guard by a stench of green miasma that could be called “substantial plague”.

Looking forward through the colorful, foul-smelling plague, there was a large pit in the depths of the cave. Thousands of corpses were strewn about in it, and in the large blood pool formed by the flow of decaying blood, something with a strange and enormous shape, covered in pale bone spikes, was roaring and stumbling about, in a dazed state.

Upon seeing this thing, the well-informed Blood Pact bow knight exclaimed:

“Is this a Plague Ghoul Overlord?! A Gold rank Underworld creature? I always thought it was just a legend. Is your daily life in Transia this exciting? How can there be such a legendary thing under your city?”

“It hasn’t fully formed yet, it’s even dazed in mind. Probably just recently shaped. Otherwise, we would have been infected with the plague as soon as we entered the cave,” Natalie cast a purification divine spell on the three of them. She gripped the constantly humming sacred blade and said:

“The ghouls in the sewer are being controlled by this thing. It needs more unclean blood, which means it can still be destroyed! Hmm, I suddenly realize that fate may not have been unkind to me—”

“How so?”

Maxim drew a patriarch guard shield to protect himself. He glanced at Natalie, who shrugged and said:

“After rediscovering my faith in Avalon, I’ve been looking for a purification target that could help me pass the Silver Trial and change class to White Knight. This evil that must be purified before us is the perfect starting point for fulfilling the ‘Divine Guardian’ oath.

Of course, that’s assuming we survive.”