2: Invaders

Having just arrived in this other world, Avilan knew nothing about its power rankings and was completely in the dark about this world. Now that invaders had appeared, he could not help feeling tense.

"Raise Despair Fortress's alert level to the highest. Don't make a move yet. I'll be there soon," Avilan said after some thought.

Since the invaders had already reached their doorstep, whether it was fortune or disaster, there was no avoiding it.

All they could do now was face the enemy. It would be best if they could wipe out every invader and see whether they could extract some information about this world.

"Yes, my honored master." Although Arthur was only communicating with Avilan through telepathy, he still respectfully assumed a bowing posture.

The notion of rank and hierarchy had been ingrained in Arthur's bones. In his eyes, Avilan was their supreme being, the highest god.

One mercenary squad after another, active on the outskirts of Messiah Forest, rushed over as quickly as possible. Such a powerful civilized city held a fatal attraction for mercenaries. Who knew how much unseen wealth lay within?

They passed through the ruined city walls and entered the eastern district of Despair Fortress, where they saw corpses strewn across the ground and shattered, decaying weapons.

"Oh, gods! This shield is made of nothing but top-grade Fine Iron, yet it's incredibly sturdy. It could even block a mage's spell attacks." Agonsi picked up a shield with a deep dent smashed into its center and spoke excitedly.

As soon as he finished speaking, he replaced his equipped oak shield. The Fine Iron shield was rather heavy, though, and his movement speed dropped slightly.

It was not just him. The others had all picked up quite a few good pieces of equipment, and each of them was thrilled. Whenever they even turned up a few gold coins, they were overjoyed.

As adventurers, they earned only a handful of silver coins each month.

Yet a casual find here was worth an entire year of their income.

Looking at the ruins before him, Allen could not help saying, "How is this a ruin? This is practically a treasure trove."

There were more than a dozen squads like Allen's. Overjoyed, they soon all turned their attention toward the castle at the very center of the district—a Gothic castle with a sinister appearance. Sharp barbs and black doorframes surrounded it, giving off an indescribably eerie feeling.

Anyone normal could tell that those places were dangerous.

But everyone present was an adventurer, people who lived on the edge between life and death. The treasures they had found in the ruins had long since made them forget what danger even was.

Golden light gleamed in every one of their eyes.

"Let's go in and take a look. There are already so many gold coins and pieces of equipment made from top-grade materials outside. The castle must hold even more precious treasures," Allen said decisively.

Even Eddie, who had always been cautious and meticulous, did not object. The temptation of wealth was even more intoxicating than the temptation of demons.

Avilan and Arthur stood together, watching the dozen or so teams swarm toward them, and both secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

With so many people, if they all entered the castle, the fortress's remaining defensive system should be able to keep every last one of them here.

At first, the two of them had worried that if any escaped, stronger people would come after them.

The dozen or so teams entered Despair Fortress from different directions. No one knew exactly how many entrances and exits Despair Fortress had. Raising their weapons high, they charged into Despair Fortress with loud howls.

They looted Despair Fortress recklessly, leaving behind nothing they could carry away.

When they all entered a dark hall, rumbling sounds echoed continuously as every passage that had previously been unobstructed closed off. Some instinctively wanted to light torches, but lights soon came on in the hall instead. It was a kind of light unlike torchlight, a soft white glow like morning sunlight that brought an indescribable sense of comfort.

When they saw their surroundings clearly, madness filled their eyes.

This was a lavish and noble hall. Every piece of furniture had been meticulously crafted from exceptionally precious materials, while every ornament displayed on the cabinets was something nobles regarded as rare treasure.

The nearly crazed mercenaries almost forgot that the road behind them had been sealed off as they rushed forward in a frenzy.

When Avilan saw them, surprise appeared on his face.

These invaders were nothing but poor wretches. Seeing them carry a pile of junk on their backs, he could not help relaxing.

No matter the world, the poor were always the disadvantaged group.

"Look! There are two statues over there. Judging by their armor, they must be worth a fortune." An adventurer stared greedily at the two "statues" standing in the center of the hall.

Avilan subconsciously lowered his head and looked himself over. He had once been covered head to toe in Divine equipment, but now only this suit of armor remained. Gu Tianzhen had made the rest drop, and the level-one-hundred spear in his hand was merely a gold-quality weapon he had casually found in the guild warehouse.

In Myth, equipment was divided into six tiers: Bronze, silver, gold, Legendary, Epic, and Divine.

Bronze, silver, and gold equipment only provided attribute bonuses, while Legendary, Epic, and Divine equipment possessed additional attributes and magical attack power. Unfortunately, after the guild had been breached, the entire guild warehouse had essentially been looted clean. The equipment left behind was all below Legendary. Since even beginners would not bother with such equipment, it had escaped disaster.

"Undead, carry out my will." Arthur, who had been standing beside Avilan, suddenly spoke.

Although it was Arthur the Death Knight's most iconic line from Honor of Kings, what happened next nearly made Avilan's jaw drop.

When Arthur had been designed back then, he had been modeled after a Death Knight. He wore a full suit of black armor, with faint blue light seeping from its gaps. He held a black shield engraved with a vicious skull, its teeth bared as ghostly fire flickered faintly from its mouth.

At Arthur's classic line, more than a hundred skeleton soldiers wielding battered weapons and wearing ruined armor actually crawled out around him.

Unlike the humans of this other world, whose levels could not be seen, the skeleton soldiers Arthur summoned were all between levels twenty and thirty.

The ghostly flames in the dense mass of skeleton soldiers' eyes instantly shook these greedy people back to their senses. They kept looking around, and before long, they found themselves surrounded by the skeleton soldiers.

Some formed circles, intending to set up defensive formations. Others wanted to fight their way out.

The nearly hundred adventurers from more than a dozen squads fought fiercely against over a hundred skeleton soldiers. Avilan could only shake his head. With strength like this, they had been nervous for so long.

The battle was incredibly brutal. Unlike in a game, it was not merely flashing blades and clashing weapons. Flesh and blood flew everywhere, and severed limbs occasionally flew through the air amid agonized wails, terrified cries, and desperate shouts.

Everything before him was so real, yet Avilan did not react in the slightest. Instead, at the sight of blood, a restless heat rose in his heart, carrying a faint trace of excitement.