Entering the Village

"Clang!" The sound of metal striking metal rang through the air. Fang Bie and Yinsen finally reached the village, where they saw what the Zombies were attacking.

"The Iron Golem really did spawn. Otherwise, these Zombies wouldn't be coming so eagerly!" Fang Bie said without surprise. A massive Golem stood in front of the village, surrounded by countless Zombies.

The Zombies had to be coming in endless waves because something in the village posed a threat to them. If there were only a few Villagers, they would've been turned into Zombies long ago.

If that were the case, the Zombies would've stayed here instead of continuing to spawn in endless waves.

[Iron Golem]: Health: 25.

Fang Bie could see their remaining health through the Biological System. This Iron Golem had only 25 health left, even though its maximum health was a whopping 100.

"Fang, should we help them?" Yinsen asked beside him.

"Of course. While the Zombies are attacking the Iron Golem, we'll kill those Skeletons shooting arrows. You stay here and pick off the Zombies. Be careful not to hit any of the nearby Villagers, or the Iron Golem will attack you."

"Sure. You can count on my archery," Yinsen replied confidently. Fang Bie nodded, then quietly crept toward the woods.

There was a reason the Zombies had chosen to attack today. It was overcast, with no sun in sight, which meant the monsters wouldn't burn in the sunlight.

It wasn't surprising that these monsters, with their basic intelligence, had chosen today to attack.

Fang Bie moved slowly through the forest, drawing very close to the Skeletons. He remembered the first time he'd encountered them, when he'd been so terrified he'd practically taken cowardice to its limits, hoping he could drown the monsters with water.

But now, even if dozens of Skeletons fired at him all at once, at worst he'd have to run for it. They wouldn't be able to take his life.

That was why Fang Bie was so bold. When he crept up beside the Skeletons, several of them were still mechanically firing arrows, unaware that death had come for them.

"Clack!" Bones clattered as Fang Bie's sword struck a lone Skeleton, cutting its already low health in half.

Fang Bie didn't attack again. He ducked behind a tree, and just as he disappeared from view, several arrows thudded into the trunk.

As the arrows whistled through the air, the four remaining Skeletons began shooting at one another, leaving only the one Fang Bie had attacked still under his assault.

Fang Bie was taking advantage of a trait shared by Skeletons in MC—or, more accurately, by hostile mobs.

Skeletons and Zombies would attack whoever or whatever hit them first, and keep going until their target was defeated.

The monsters had no advanced intelligence. They prioritized attacking whatever had attacked them, and Fang Bie had chosen just the right angle to make them turn on each other.

After he finished off the Skeleton he'd struck, the other four continued shooting at one another.

Fang Bie leaned against the tree and waited for the four Skeletons to settle their fight. Then he slashed down the two left with barely a sliver of health. The five Skeletons that would've been more than enough to give them a hard time died miserably in the woods.

Meanwhile, Yinsen had quietly climbed onto the roof of a building and was picking off the Zombies below.

He hadn't even used up one bundle of arrows before every Zombie was lying on the ground. When Fang Bie returned, he couldn't help admiring Yinsen's accuracy.

"I've cleared out the Zombies nearby. Shall we go down?" Yinsen suggested.

Fang Bie had already put his sword back in his Backpack. He couldn't be sure whether the Iron Golem would attack as soon as it saw them readying their weapons, or only once they actually attacked a Villager.

To keep them both safe, he decided to stow his weapon first.

At Fang Bie's urging, Yinsen put away his bow too. After all, they could take out their weapons with a mere thought, so it wouldn't slow them down much.

"The Iron Golem is the strongest attacker known in this world. It can deal up to 31 damage and will knock you into the air. Unless you have extremely high damage reduction, two hits from one will almost certainly kill you."

Fang Bie explained the combat power of the seemingly clumsy Iron Golem in detail. The two of them carefully skirted around it. Even though they were strong enough to put up a fight, they weren't about to recklessly pick one right now.

They also gathered up the Rotten Flesh dropped by the Zombies. Since the two groups weren't even the same species, handling it didn't make them feel particularly disgusted.

If the Zombies looked human, Fang Bie would've felt queasy even picking up what they dropped.

"Fang, this place really is great!" Yinsen exclaimed. "We could make use of it next time. All these houses are empty—it's practically a natural place to live!"

"These houses technically belong to the Villagers, but they don't have real intelligence. Aside from following simple routines, they don't really react to anything else. We could build a pen and keep them inside; that'd also protect them from monsters."

Fang Bie stroked his chin as he thought it over. He couldn't bring himself to regard these square-headed fellows as his own kind. They couldn't communicate. They might be able to talk and trade, but that was just how the world was designed.

After spending some time trying to talk with them, the two of them had given up completely. Not only could they not communicate, they couldn't even understand simple speech. The only time they reacted was when Fang Bie took out an item suited to the profession indicated by their clothes. Then a window would appear in front of him.

"Twenty wheat for one Emerald? That's way too expensive!" Fang Bie shook his head. Even if he had wheat, he wouldn't trade it for one. Besides, they didn't have any.

They'd only just managed to feed themselves. They had no automated farming setup and no large mineral reserves, so every resource had to be put to good use. Trading with the Villagers would have to wait until much later.

They gave up on trading and started wandering around the village instead. It was rare to find such a well-equipped village, with not just a library, a tower, a Blacksmith, and a Well, but also seven or eight houses of various styles.

Fang Bie had come here specifically for these buildings, particularly the library, the Blacksmith, and the Well. According to the world's rules, all three kinds of buildings were likely to contain various treasures.

Following the principle of never leaving empty-handed, Fang Bie strode into the Blacksmith to look for the chest that was always in the same spot.