Urgent Reinforcements

Seeing Sun Busong walk alone toward the Mossy People Tribe, the captain of the Seventh Squad quietly retreated to a safe spot—where, surprisingly, another man was already waiting: Sultan!

"You're really letting him take on the entire Mossy People Tribe by himself?"

"What's so strange about that? Haven't you seen the mad way he kills? That kid's a born commander. Why else would I go to such lengths to train him?"

"But there's a Silver Elite monster in there too. Can he make it out unscathed?"

"That poor chieftain's been killed by you lot thousands of times already. Monsters like that, respawning every week, have long been weakened to the point of being useless. Shouldn't be a problem for Busong. Besides, the two of us are right here—what could happen to him?"

"Fair point, haha. Then let's sit back and watch!"

By now, Sun Busong had crept close to the Mossy People Tribe. Scanning the area, he counted at least two hundred Mossy People.

Monsters above level ten had some basic attack methods. Some of these Mossy People carried bows, others blades—and they even had scouts!

The moment Sun Busong entered the tribe's alert range, he sensed a blurry shadow flickering nearby. Having killed thousands of monsters, he had enough awareness for this.

The enemy clearly realized Sun Busong had spotted them, so when he stopped, they froze too.

"Heh, trying that on me? I've played rogues before."

Before crossing over, he'd dabbled in every melee class except casters—even druids and shamans across all three specs.

Plus, one of his racial traits boosted detection of stealthed units.

Right now, several transparent figures stood still not far behind him. Three in total—the closest within ten yards, the farthest at forty.

Heh heh!

With a cold smirk, Sun Busong spun his axe a few times in a flashy flourish, then leaped straight onto the head of the nearest Mossy Person.

This axe was a blue-quality piece he'd recently crafted from materials others gave him, with a damage per second of 15.

Sersama Battle Axe (Blue)

Item Level 20.

One-Hand, One-Hand Axe. 25-48 Damage. Speed 2.1 (Damage Per Second 15.2)

+7 Strength.

+5 Stamina.

+4 Intelligence!

Durability 42/42

Required Level 14.

Before the enemy could react, Sun Busong had already landed two consecutive chops on its head, blood gushing like a waterfall.

By the time he finished it off, the other two finally caught on. They dropped stealth—one pulled a dagger and charged, while the other raised a bow and took aim.

Charging took time, but the arrow loosed in under a second, flying straight at Sun Busong's face.

Parry!

Whoa!

A level 6 Bronze Broadsword and a level 14 blue battle axe—two different weapon types—worked together flawlessly, clamping the incoming arrow between them!

Even Sun Busong was stunned by the move. Wasn't parry usually for blocking melee weapons? How could it stop arrows?

But now wasn't the time to dwell. The first Mossy Person he'd killed had already revealed its identity: Mossy Scout!

What did scouts do? Recon, alert, sneak attack—and calling for backup!

Calling for backup was the most critical. Sure, Sun Busong had over ten thousand HP, but with over two hundred Mossy People here, one hit each and he'd be down.

After parrying the arrow, the dagger-wielding scout reached him. A flash of white light—then Sun Busong dodged it, haha.

Using the broadsword like a shield, he slammed its flat side hard into the enemy's face. A pitiful dog-like yelp rang out as the scout crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Leaving the downed one behind, Sun Busong hurled his axe—Flying Axe!

The distant Mossy Scout had already nocked a second arrow. Though Sun Busong's HP bar was over ten thousand and he didn't fear the few dozen or hundred points of damage, pain was still pain.

Just as the enemy sidestepped to dodge the Flying Axe, Sun Busong was already on it. One hand grabbed the hand pulling the bowstring; the other brought the broadsword down on its head.

With that one dead, Sun Busong turned back to the stunned Mossy Scout. Raising the broadsword again, he brought it down hard!

In under a minute, all three level 15 Mossy People were done for.

But Sun Busong didn't rush to loot. Instead, he hid behind a big tree. The one he'd stunned with the broadsword had let out two howls before collapsing. To avoid alerting the enemy, he chose to wait.

After a long pause with no reaction from the tribe, Sun Busong finally relaxed.

These respawning monsters had no intelligence. They attacked humans purely on instinct. If they'd been smarter, they'd have swarmed him already.

Based on his observations over the past few days, Sun Busong had summed up the rules for wild respawning monsters.

First, beast-type, elemental-type, low-level demons, mechanical-type, and similar monsters respawned weekly—whether they were Elite Level or Silver Elite.

Humanoid monsters, dragons, and other intelligent beings, however, didn't necessarily respawn after death—especially those hostile to the Human Alliance, along with certain specific targets.

Sure the enemy hadn't noticed him, Sun Busong began his revenge grind!

Five hours later, the only ones left in the entire tribe were the Silver Elite Wiseclaw Chieftain and his two underlings, Mossy Smasher.

Wiseclaw Chieftain was clearly a caster-type monster, while its two underlings were physical attackers. Sun Busong had no practical skills to speak of at the moment, so taking them down required a certain strategy.

"Looks like I'll have to pick them off one by one. Lure the minions over first, kill them, then slowly drain the Chieftain's mana!"

With that thought, he got straight to work.

He first moved to within 35 yards of one of the minions, pulled a throwing weapon from his pack, aimed, and hurled it.

Basic Ranged Attack—he'd practiced it plenty of times, so it hit true. Just as he expected the monster to chase him, something unexpected happened.

This Mossy Smasher didn't immediately come after Sun Busong. Instead, it let out a few fierce barks, alerting the Chieftain and the other minion!

At the alarm, all three monsters charged toward his position.

Looks like splitting them up wasn't an option. Luckily, his health pool was enormous, so he'd have to tough it out.

Ten minutes ago, he'd hit level 15, matching the monsters' level. His health had increased again. The two minions reached him first, while the Chieftain hurled spells from a distance.

Sun Busong's defense was no joke. The minions' clubs slammed into his plate armor, dealing only a little over thirty damage each, though it still stung.

He faced one of them, parrying its attack with both weapons. Just as he readied a counterstrike with his axe, pain flared in his back—the other minion's attack had landed.

In the clash of strength, Sun Busong's body barely swayed. He spun around and buried his axe in the attacker's head. One swing cleaved through half its health bar.

At that moment, the Chieftain's magic struck, instantly taking 88 health. A jolt of electricity numbed his arm.

Silver Elite monsters hit hard. Combined with the minions' damage, Sun Busong had lost one percent of his health in under two seconds.

Gritting through the pain, he finished off the other minion. Another magic bolt from the Chieftain hit his back—another 88 health.

The two Captains, hiding in the distance and ready to provide cover, were stunned speechless!

They'd both killed Silver Elites before. Under normal circumstances, even the Seventh Squad Captain with his high defense and thick health would have lost nearly a fifth of his health by now. But Sun Busong's health bar had barely budged!

"Is he an ordinary soldier? How does his health bar look longer than mine? Or did these three monsters eat something bad today and lose their attack power?"

The Seventh Squad Captain couldn't help turning to ask Sultan.

"Save your brainpower! Those three monsters have already taken at least three hundred health off him. I know his gear—all green equipment with decent defense, but there's no way it adds that much Stamina."

"This kid's not normal! And his damage output is no joke. Didn't you see him kill a same-level monster in three axe swings?"

"I'm not blind. And it wasn't three swings—it was two!"

By then, Sun Busong had closed in, axe raised, charging at the Chieftain. Against a caster, getting up close was the only way to go.

Two more swings!

Chieftain down!

Both Captains' eyes nearly popped out.

They knew the kid was strong, but not this strong! A level 15 Silver Elite killed in two seconds—who would believe that?

After taking down the Chieftain, Sun Busong rested to recover his stamina and health, then started looting.

The two minions dropped some linen cloth. But the Chieftain's loot left Sun Busong ecstatic.

Two pieces of Blue Gear!

Mage Shoulder Pad (Blue):

Item Level 35.

Shoulder Cloth Armor.

4 Armor.

+4 Stamina.

+8 Intelligence.

Durability 35/35.

Required Level 20.

Keller's Belt (Blue):

Item Level 23.

Belt Cloth Armor.

2 Armor.

+8 Intelligence.

+7 Stamina.

Durability 40/40.

Required Level 18.

Sun Busong stood over the corpse, clutching the two items, grinning from ear to ear.

The two Captains had sharp eyes. They clearly saw the blue glow in Sun Busong's hands.

"This kid's luck is insane. The last time the Chieftain dropped Blue Gear was two years ago. No way—I've got to talk to him."

With that, the Seventh Squad Captain burst out of hiding and sprinted toward Sun Busong.

"Huh?"

Sultan only reacted long after the guy had already run off.

"Busong, don't you dare give him the gear, run!"

Without skills, Sun Busong stood no chance against an Elite Warrior. In no time, both pieces of equipment were confiscated by the Seventh Squad's captain, who then bolted away with them.

Sultan was so furious he stood there hopping and cursing.

Afterward, the Seventh Squad captain felt he'd gone too far, so he promised Sultan and Sun Busong that he wouldn't take any more Blue Gear that dropped in the future—but Sun Busong's promise to craft gear for his own squad members still had to be fulfilled.

Another half year passed, and Sun Busong was about to turn 11. His level was now 19!

"Sigh! This week, killing the Chieftain dropped another level 20 Green Gear, and the stats on those pieces can't even compare to what I craft."

"That's a given. You've been killing it for half a year now—it'd be weird if it still dropped Blue Gear!"

Captain Sultan laughed as he comforted him.

Over these six months, Sun Busong's forging skill had climbed higher and higher. Whether it was a perk of being a transmigrator or not, any gear he crafted always had extra bonus stats beyond the blueprint's specs, sometimes even an extra attribute line.

Now, he was a big shot in Sersama Fortress. Even Lieutenant Knight Drey was all smiles and courtesy around him—after all, the guy's forging was just that insane.

Plus, Sun Busong was the only Cooking Master here. Even the fortress's head chef came to him daily for advice, and in return, his meals always had three extra dishes compared to everyone else.

Mealtime was about to start. Sultan and Sun Busong sat at the same table.

"Hey, Captain, can you stop stealing food from my plate every time? There are plenty of tables here—you can sit anywhere. And you're a Magic Professional, you've got special privileges here."

Sultan grinned and slung an arm around Sun Busong's waist. "Busong, my privileges don't hold a candle to your treatment. Every meal you get is personally cooked by the head chef, and he always fries up three extra dishes just for you."

"I've treated you pretty well, Captain—don't go forgetting me now that you've got good food. From now on, I'm mooching off your meals every day."

What else could Sun Busong do? Luckily, he'd made a pact with the chef not to tell anyone he was a Cooking Master, or else he wouldn't even have time to grind levels by killing monsters.

Just as the food was almost ready and everyone was sitting at the tables getting impatient, the bugle outside suddenly blared in urgent bursts!

"Something's happened! Hurry! Everyone into combat mode, gear up and stand by at full speed!"

Lieutenant Knight Drey's voice rang through the fortress. The moment the bugle sounded, Sultan grabbed Sun Busong and dashed out of the dining hall.

"We just got a report from the Patrol Team. The Silver Spring Mine, 300 kilometers from our fortress, was ambushed. The attackers are a bunch of Ratmen—about a thousand of them—and they've got magic-using Ratmen too, more than we expected."

"The Patrol Team was hit as well. The Fourth Squad lost everyone except the Vice-Captain, who escaped to report back. We don't know the situation inside the mine yet—how many dwarves are still alive, or how many enemies are in there."

"But! They can't have died in vain! Listen up, everyone! Except for logistics staff, all soldiers and professionals, Full Plate up! Get to the Silver Spring Mine as fast as you can, rescue our kin, and slaughter every invader!"

"Do you all hear me?!"

"Yes!"

"Then move out now!"

"Sir!!!"

Soon, everyone in Sersama Fortress except the logistics staff was mobilized, and four Griffon Riders were dispatched to call for reinforcements from nearby forts and strongholds.

"Elma, teleport back to Ironforge now. Report the situation to Commander Lei Mao, and tell him this Ratmen attack was definitely premeditated—have the dwarves in other regions prepare defenses."

Elma was the Normal Mage in Sun Busong's squad. His level wasn't high, but he was a magic prodigy who'd mastered skills even some Elite Mages hadn't grasped, like Teleportation!

"Yes, Lieutenant! I'll relay your words to Commander Lei Mao!"

Sultan quickly gathered the rest of his squad together.

"Let me start by saying this: this sudden incident is serious. The enemy outnumbers us two to one, and they have more magic users. Everyone be careful. I hope that when we win, every one of you here makes it back alive."

"For this counterattack on the Silver Spring Mine, I'm putting Leibraide and Busong in command of the squad. Everyone must follow their orders—including me!"

The captain's sudden announcement caught everyone off guard. The captain was a Magic Professional, specializing in intelligence—a brainy guy, in common terms.

But now he wanted Busong to lead the fight? Sure, everyone in the squad acknowledged Sun Busong's skills, but when it came to commanding, wasn't he lacking in smarts?

"Captain, I disagree with your decision. I can charge at the front, but I'm definitely not the one to command the whole squad. Let everyone follow behind me—as long as I'm alive, no one will die."

Sun Busong was the first to oppose the captain's call.

The others in the squad fell silent. They felt Sun Busong had already said everything they wanted to.

Seeing the captain about to speak again, Sun Busong quickly added, "Captain, you're an Elite Priest. Only you can oversee the whole battlefield from the rear. Our lives are in your hands. Please, as long as you keep our health up from the back, this battle is a sure win!"

Sultan thought it over again and again and finally agreed to Sun Busong's request. Soon, they arrived near the Silver Spring Mine.

Since Sun Busong didn't have a mount yet, Lieutenant Knight Drey had given him a ride—turns out he had a Mammoth Mount that could carry three people!

"Everyone, stick close behind Busong. Don't run around blindly. The mine's full of pits and holes—one wrong step and you'll get separated from the group. In short: if you want to live, follow Busong!"

Thanks to the big brothers for the recommendation tickets and collections!

Begging for collections, begging for votes, begging for everything!!!