Gargoyle Q Edition was naturally something Mu Yuan had already told the Undead Bone General about. It was also the only being in the entire territory he could communicate with normally.
His idea was simple: as long as Deathbone felt confident they could subjugate them, the risk was probably within acceptable limits.
Now that Deathbone possessed the Undead Rebirth skill, the subjugation would indeed be much more secure.
For one thing, they could have Bone Two serve as bait and draw the enemy's fire... Even if he accidentally died, it wouldn't matter. They could revive him afterward.
Of course, Mu Yuan wasn't some kind of devil. If he had the ability, he still wanted to save Bone Two.
Half an hour later, after making thorough preparations, Mu Yuan had brought Deathbone, Bone Two, nine other Skeleton Soldiers, and several Great Slimes that had just evolved and were intended to serve as meat shields at critical moments to within several hundred meters of the Ruined Tower.
Within the dense jungle, Mu Yuan constantly switched perspectives through one old and one newly acquired war falcon, observing carefully.
The Gargoyles appeared to be sleeping soundly.
However, most likely, as soon as any one of them was attacked, all the others would wake up at the same time.
As he pondered this, Mu Yuan slowly crept forward under Deathbone's protection. Before launching the subjugation, he still had to make one final confirmation.
He had to confirm the Gargoyles' levels.
He used the player's innate appraisal ability.
Even though he was ninety-nine percent certain that these Gargoyles were nowhere near Professional Grade.
The monster appraisal that came with being a player provided great convenience during early exploration.
However, it seemed unable to appraise creatures with energy levels that were too high—in other words, monsters with excessively high levels. It also couldn't appraise troops under another player's command.
It was only useful in the early stages.
It helped players judge an enemy's strength, preventing them from charging straight at an obviously stronger opponent.
Later on, they would have to use paid items.
As he thought about this, Mu Yuan finally crept close enough. Looking at the sleeping Gargoyles, he narrowed his eyes slightly.
Select. Observe!
In an instant,
"Gargoyle (Rare ★): Level 6, Tier 0."
"Gargoyle (Rare ★): Level 5, Tier 0."
"Note: Originally a ??-level Gargoyle, it exhausted its energy over the long years. Its level continuously declined, and it degenerated into a Gargoyle Q Edition."
That's it? That's it?
At least half of the Gargoyles were lower-level than Deathbone!
Having grown accustomed to fighting enemies above his level, Mu Yuan felt somewhat unaccustomed to facing enemies whose levels and ranks were both lower than Deathbone's.
Of course, even when facing a weaker enemy, he couldn't act recklessly. Besides, the eight Gargoyles before him were not weak.
They were Rare Troop Types.
They could also fly.
If they encountered the Goblin Camp ahead, they could slaughter dozens of Goblins in moments without leaving a single one standing.
It wasn't that they were weak. They simply weren't as strong as Deathbone.
However, aside from Deathbone, only Bone Two could win in a one-on-one fight among the rest of the troops.
"The Gargoyles' strengths are their extremely powerful defenses, especially their magic resistance. They can also fly."
"Fortunately, both Deathbone and Bone Two possess ranged attacks, while the Gargoyles are melee troops. If it comes down to a real fight, even Bone Three, Bone Four, and the other Skeleton Soldiers can rush up and land a few blows."
Before the battle began, Mu Yuan slowly retreated again, withdrawing to a place a thousand meters away where he couldn't even see the Ruined Tower.
Beside him were two Skeleton Soldiers and the great meat shield, Duolai.
The latter in particular, with his enormous, round body, gave Mu Yuan an exceptionally solid sense of security.
Even though he couldn't see the battlefield, Mu Yuan wasn't worried. Two war falcons were lying in wait in the distance, livestreaming the battle situation to him at all times.
He didn't need to worry about giving orders, either.
Although Mu Yuan possessed exquisite micromanagement skills and was good at moving a Skeleton Soldier thirty centimeters to the left, he was ultimately limited by the computer medium and the Skeleton Soldiers' intelligence. When it came to actual battlefield command, he was still slightly inferior to Deathbone, who was personally present on the battlefield.
So he left everything to Deathbone.
In the distance, Deathbone and Bone Two were gesturing to each other.
Bone Two: GOGOGO, charge!
Deathbone: Charge your bones! Stay put!
Deathbone didn't call anyone else. He crept alone to within a hundred meters of the Ruined Tower.
One after another, savage and hideous Gargoyles, each possessing nine thousand nine hundred reasons to be Certain Death, clearly appeared within his eye sockets.
Slowly, Deathbone drew three silver javelins from his back. Energy surged along the bones of his arms, pouring into the three hard and incomparably sharp bone spears.
The bone spears, perfectly suited to his body, began to hum and tremble.
A terrifying aura, one that seemed intent on dragging every enemy into the abyss, erupted from Deathbone. The surrounding world itself seemed to sink into darkness.
At the same time, perhaps intimidated by the aura, the eyes of the Gargoyles in the distance gradually lit up.
Dust rustled down from their bodies as they began to tremble. The ground shook along with them, as though they would awaken in the next moment.
But!
However!
The silver bone spear shot out violently. Like a cannon shell leaving the barrel, it tore through the air, blasting apart rings of white shock waves and emitting a sharp, ripping howl. In a thousandth of an instant, it slammed into a Gargoyle that was about to awaken.
Piercing through it... and pulverizing it!
Boom—
The entire stone statue exploded. Gray-black fragments flew everywhere. A stone wing, broken until only half remained, rolled through the dust before finally snapping apart with a crack.
This wasn't the end. It was merely the beginning.
Deathbone didn't pause after throwing that terrifying spear. He immediately unleashed two more bursts.
Bone Spear Triple Throw!
The eight Gargoyles had only just awakened from their slumber when three of them exploded, leaving not even intact remains behind.
Their entire stone heads were somewhat dazed.
Where are my companions? Where did all my companions go? Why did they disappear the moment I opened my eyes?!
Only then did the deafening roar finally spread into the distance, startling a flock of birds into the air.
A moment earlier,
Somewhere south of the Ruined Tower, several thousand meters away, several players were riding Dire Wolves through the mountain forest. Around them, Spearmen, Archers, sentries, Skeleton Soldiers, Great Goblins, and other troops provided protection, killing the monsters that darted out from the woods one after another.
"We've already gone fairly deep into the wilderness. Are we there yet, Boss?"
"Almost, almost. According to the map marker, the target Mage Tower is just ahead... Although after all these years, the Mage Tower might not still exist. We might come up empty-handed, but..."
"But as long as there's even the slightest possibility, it's worth taking a shot."
"If we don't take the chance, we'll just waste half our lives like the other players. Are you really willing to catch a glimpse of the extraordinary world, only to be unable to enter its gates?"
"If we don't take a shot, when will we ever reach Professional Grade? When will we ever personally experience the scenery of the Eternal World?"
"Players like us who come from ordinary backgrounds have no choice but to take a shot. And this ancient map we obtained by chance is our best—and possibly only—chance to leap over the dragon gate!"
As long as they didn't die, they would fight to the death!
A fiery light burned in the eyes of the several players.
They were veteran players who had been playing for half a year. Yet among all the players, they were still insignificant nobodies. They couldn't even afford a single breakthrough material.
They didn't want to live like this anymore.
They wanted to advance step by step, step by step, until they reached...
Boom—!!!
A tremendous roar came from the distance, shaking the leaves with a rustling sound.
The several veteran players were startled and panicked. They had already left the bounds of human civilization and ventured deep into the wilderness. What they feared most was encountering some monster they could not possibly defeat.
And now...
"It's the Rare Troop Type, Gargoyle!"
A player who had inherited the Archer class and possessed outstanding eyesight shouted, "And that direction seems to be our destination!"
The moment he finished speaking, a silver-gray figure suddenly vaulted into the air. A giant sword dragged several meters of pitch-black sword light behind it as it swept past the waist of a Gargoyle flying nearby.
The hard stone body cracked! Broke! Then shattered!
Beneath that pitch-black sword light symbolizing death, it was cut in two with a single stroke!
Boom—
Another explosion came from the distance, battering the fragile hearts of the several players.
They looked at one another, their gazes meeting. They wanted to speak but didn't dare, trembling all over.
In the end, the Archer player still opened his mouth. "Boss, are we still taking the chance?"
"Hmph! Today, your Boss will teach you the fourth lesson. When ordinary players like us encounter an unexpected situation like this..."
"We still have to run when we should."
"This is called rationality."
Beep beep beep. Starting tomorrow, I'll be changing the update time. I'll post at eleven-thirty in the morning, then release two chapters together. That's tentatively the plan~
Before you continue