Hardcore Machine Translation

The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder. The first to act was the Goblin King, Goblin Emperor Jane Raji Cide. It leaped down from the stands with its elite troops, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The drilling army came to an abrupt halt, straightened their backs, and formed ranks under the Goblin King's command.

The Goblin King's name was filled with profound meaning.

First, Cide was the surname of the Ancient Goblin Emperor. As one who claimed to be a descendant of the Goblin Emperor, it naturally had to inherit that surname. Second, Raji was the name of the first human it had hunted, making it highly commemorative. And Jane carried an even deeper meaning.

As the saying went, the greatest path was the simplest. Resorting to strategy precisely showed that one's own abilities were lacking. If one possessed power equal to that of the gods, there would be no need for schemes; all complexity would be reduced to simplicity. That was the ultimate goal pursued by the Goblin King, Goblin Emperor Jane Raji Cide.

Originally, there was nothing wrong with writing that name in this world's language. However, Yang Yu's system translated meaningful names, such as Bai Jin and Iron Wall, while names without meaning or those based on ancient languages were generally transliterated directly, such as Seka Mens and Andeno.

Thus, the name Yang Yu saw for the Goblin King—"Picking Up Trash to Eat"—was the result of hardcore machine translation.

Fortunately, when Yang Yu first saw that name, he had held back his laughter. Otherwise, the Goblin King would not have deployed its troops like this, grabbed its long staff, charged straight into the enemy formation, and singled Yang Yu out to ask what exactly he was laughing at.

Having inexplicably gained more time, Yang Yu assigned numbers, organized the group, and formed a defensive formation.

Perhaps fighting an overwhelming army alone while leading a group of NPCs capable of any shocking stunt would have been despairing.

But controlling nearly a hundred people and turning a great battle into a strategy game with tower-defense elements was much easier. It was like turning Super Mario into a pure parkour game—who cared about collecting mushrooms or stomping monsters? None of that mattered.

If there was anything to worry about,

it was that all command had to be given verbally; combat happened in real time, requiring him to predict the enemy's movements in advance and issue orders; and no point could be fully controlled. Once several points collapsed uncontrollably, the entire battle could easily be lost.

Other than that, there really were no problems at all.

"Andeno, the battle is about to begin. You'll be responsible for holding back the Goblin King. The longer you stall it, the greater our advantage will be."

"Don't worry. Even if I have to risk this old life of mine, I'll hold it back."

Andeno showed off his impressive muscles, brimming with confidence.

"There's one more thing. I want to learn [Shield Counter]. Could I receive the reward in advance?"

"If it helps the battle, I can teach it to you early. It's just that the time—"

"Don't worry about the time. I'll learn it quickly."

This game had an exceptionally high degree of freedom. Yang Yu had only wanted to see whether he could claim a reward in advance, but he had never expected it to actually work.

At that moment, the quest on the system changed as well.

[Emergency Quest: Rapid Rescue.

No one knew what had happened deep within the forest. The disappearance of several adventuring parties had left the Adventurers' Guild vaguely uneasy. For humanitarian reasons, and to prevent the situation from worsening and some unforeseeable horror from occurring, the Adventurers' Guild was preparing to organize an adventuring party to investigate the depths of the forest and rescue the trapped.

Quest Requirement: Join the adventuring party and, under Andeno's leadership, help rescue more than 10 missing adventurers.

Reward: Skill [Shield Counter] (selected), 8,000 experience, three lottery draws.

Advance Reward Penalty: Experience gained -50% (until this quest ends; if the quest is abandoned, this becomes permanent)

Failure or Abandonment Penalty: All attributes decrease by 10%.]

Although rewards could be claimed in advance, the system apparently detested such opportunistic behavior. The penalty was far too harsh.

This was probably meant to prevent players from accepting quests and then failing to complete them.

Yang Yu handed his shield to Andeno. Andeno swiftly strapped it onto his forearm, and a spike-like red glow covered the entire shield for nearly five seconds.

"Can you really learn it just from watching me demonstrate it like this?"

"Of course." Yang Yu took back the shield, fitted it onto his left arm again, and immediately used [Shield Counter] as well.

Andeno grinned and slapped Yang Yu hard on the back. "You really are incredible. A lot of people say this move is difficult to learn, and they often give up halfway through. I never thought you'd master it the moment you learned it. Hahaha."

Was casually learning a difficult skill really that strange in the eyes of NPCs?

After arriving in this world, Yang Yu had gradually become curious about what kind of existence a player like him was in the eyes of NPCs.

Understanding the game world from every angle, remaining rational while investing some emotion into it—perhaps that was the key to truly playing a game well.

He had cleared too many difficult games, and had lost sight of his original intentions to some extent. Yet this game had helped him recover a little of that initial feeling.

According to the four existing types of players—killer, explorer, achiever, and socializer—he now leaned more toward the achiever type.

Therefore, if NPCs truly invested their emotions in him, he would respond to their expectations to a certain extent.

"Perhaps it looks like I learn quickly, but in truth, I've spent quite a bit of time and energy on it—earning skill points. Not every skill can be mastered as soon as I learn it."

"I spoke carelessly. There's still some time. Let me prepare a little more. It's been a long time since I last felt this tense. I need to relax completely before I can give it my all."

Andeno began doing calisthenics on the spot, loosening his muscles. Just then, a black shadow shot through the forest.

"Watch out."

Yang Yu deployed Phantom Shield, stepped in front of Andeno, and intercepted the flying dart.

While Yang Yu had been learning the skill, the Goblin Elite Assassination Unit had begun circling around behind them, surrounding them from every angle.

This battle, which had begun without any signal, finally erupted.

"Warrior One, Warrior Three, watch your front right! Be careful of the Goblin Elite Assassination Unit! Everyone else, stay alert too."

In an instant, a tense atmosphere spread through the adventuring party.

The Goblin King curled its lips in a defiant smile and swung its long staff. The great battle was about to begin. The goblin army let out an earthshaking roar and charged at Yang Yu's group in orderly ranks.

"Priest Four, Priest Five, get ready. On my command, buff Andeno. Four, [Power Word: Shield]. Five, [Klass's Blessing]. Then Four, [Stamina Enhancement]."

"Understood!"

Yang Yu immediately began directing the entire party. He spoke quickly, yet his voice was clear and bright, accurately delivering orders to every member of the adventuring party. He had them wait in place for the goblins' attack and prepare for defense.

Soon, the two sides clashed at close range.

The Goblin King swung its long staff, and flames ignited at the tip of the wooden weapon, immediately enveloping the Goblin King's fist and the entire staff.

They were not real flames, but magic that enhanced its attacks.

With 400 Intelligence, 300 Strength, and that strange buff, Yang Yu knew the Goblin King was a melee mage dealing hybrid damage.

The arrow was already on the string; it had to be fired. Yang Yu had no idea how long Andeno could hold the Goblin King back. He only wanted to use the time Andeno bought to secure an advantage for the party.

"Priests Four and Five. Begin!"