Three Hooded Men

As the intrusion activities intensified, someone compiled a table summarizing the situation.

The number of intrusion events in each area was indicated by different colors.

After using the Blood-Red Eyeball Orb, intruders will prioritize targeting nearby enemies.

The first area to be affected is the Gourmet Area, which is white with red spots. The area within the Milk River is an absolutely safe zone. Only by crossing the Milk River is there a chance of encountering a Soul-Sucking Ghost, and even that chance is lower than in other areas.

Next is the light red graveyard area, which is the most difficult overall. The initial volley of archers is enough to deter a group of people, and intruders who enter here may be shot into a pincushion! Intruders will not be attacked by monsters, but they will still take damage from them.

The place with the most intrusions is Farron Keep, which has turned a shocking crimson!

More than 70% of the map here has been explored. Monsters, terrain, traps, debuffs, etc. are already familiar to people, and all sorts of incomplete guides are circulating outside.

With a guide available, people with lower strength will naturally come in to explore. Although they will inevitably suffer and die, following the guide should make things easier.

These people naturally became easy prey for the invaders, targets to be plundered.

Intruders can obtain the accumulated souls of the World Master after killing him, but Soul-Sucking Ghost Oath can not only steal the souls of others, but also obtain an additional amount. The amount of these extra souls depends on the strength of the World Master. If the Weapon Skill [Dark Hand] is successfully used on the World Master, the extra souls will increase.

Incidentally, the [Dark Hand] is a gift given when signing the Soul-Sucking Ghost Oath, and everyone can obtain it, although its strength is subject to some limitations.

The oath item obtained from the victory against the Soul Eater invasion is called "Humanity." By offering enough Humanity, you can obtain the truly powerful Dark Hand.

Little by little, you can accumulate wealth; small acts of violence can build a great empire. Killing and stealing souls is much faster than killing monsters one by one—provided that the intruders are skilled enough not to be killed in return.

Fortunately, the Zane Dungeon matches intruders based on their strength, selecting those with similar abilities to invade. If no one with matching strength can be found, the number of intruders will be increased.

The forces that invaded and were invaded within the Farron Keep were roughly equal in strength.

However, there are occasional players who try to blast fish. Once they invade, they may encounter teams of five or more, which will lower their chances of winning.

The man codenamed "Lao Ma" was one of the people who came to blast fish.

He was hired by the New Strategy Team to invade Leon, but he wanted to relax today because he couldn't win against the Strategy Team anyway; he was just cannon fodder.

"Hehehe, let me teach those naive adventurers a lesson they won't forget."

Lao Ma gripped the Blood-Red Eyeball Orb tightly and launched the invasion.

[Invading another person's system]

How did the intrusion happen so quickly today? Did it succeed right at the beginning?

Lao Ma was somewhat surprised, but then he smiled, licked his lips with a Wetlands, and put on the animal headgear.

He will definitely, absolutely will, bring people painful memories!

[Intrusion successful!]

Lao Ma, transformed into Red Spirit, appeared in the Farron Keep. The scene was familiar; it was near the hill where beacon towers were set up.

He skillfully searched for adventurers, eager to see which lucky one he would encounter.

But just then, he felt himself being watched, a feeling that made him uneasy, and he looked around.

Finally, he spotted a figure on the hill; the person had been crouching there watching him.

When he got a clear look at the other person, Lao Ma frowned because the guy's taste in clothing was really weird.

His lower body was covered in ordinary cloth trousers, while his upper body was bare, revealing his strong muscles. He wore a dirty, pointed hood, which made him look somewhat comical.

There's not much to say about the weapons: a black straight sword and a black shield, an ordinary combination.

But the moment he saw the weapon, Lao Ma suddenly felt a sense of crisis, as if the thing was very powerful. It wasn't just the weapon that made him feel uneasy; just looking at the hooded man, it seemed as if the other party had been lying in wait there all along.

Strange, could it be that he knew he would be hacked?

"Hey, come down here if you dare!" Lao Ma taunted. What if there were traps on the hill? He didn't want to rush up there rashly.

The Mysterious Hooded Man didn't speak, but pointed his finger downwards at him.

"What do you mean? Watch your step?" Lao Ma looked at the ground; there was nothing there but Swamp. Wait...

He then realized that the other person was mocking him!

"I think you're tired of living!"

Sanctions are necessary! Sanctions must be imposed!

Lao Ma was furious, but he wasn't foolish enough to throw himself into their arms. Instead, he shouted loudly, trying to attract the nearby monsters.

However, after shouting like Tarzan for a long time, he didn't see even a single monster. Just as he was wondering, he saw the hooded man's eyes looking at him as if he were an idiot.

Enraged, he lost all restraint and charged straight up the hill.

His weapon was a spear, but it could split into a three-section staff, which he could use to disarm his opponent if they tried to block with a shield.

My weapon counters his weapon, how could I possibly lose!?

It's a guaranteed win!

Lao Ma charged at him with his Charge, but the hooded man didn't raise his shield; instead, he walked over with a straight sword.

Heh heh, instead of running away, it's walking towards me? Just what I wanted!

Lao Ma thrust forward with a stab, determined to deliver a devastating blow to his opponent.

The next second.

"Huh?"

Lao Ma's body froze for a moment, unable to move. His spear was not only deflected but also cracked.

What? What's going on? What did that guy do? Why didn't I see it clearly?

No, why is my body so stiff that I can't move?

He vaguely remembered that the Mysterious Hooded Man swung his sword once, then raised his shield, and then what? He didn't see anything clearly.

Once his body recovered from its stiffness, he hesitated and chose to thrust forward again.

"When!"

The sound of weapons clashing rang out, and his body stiffened again.

Lao Ma started to question the meaning of life.

Could the other person actually be a mage? But wait, how could he cast spells without a magic wand?

"You," he stammered, "I'm not afraid of your tricks!"

The third confrontation was when the hooded man rushed forward, and at that moment, Lao Ma finally saw what the other man was doing.

He canceled the after-swing animation of his sword swing!

"Ah?"

Lao Ma was stunned.

What kind of martial art is this? Should it be called Weapon Skill? Or perhaps magic? No, it could also be Unique Talent!

He didn't have time to think too much, because his omen of death was shining.

The next moment, the Mysterious Hooded Man swung dozens of swords in an instant, and Lao Ma's spear broke in the blink of an eye, along with his arm and torso!

The soul-devouring ghost "Lao Ma" is dead.

"Oh my!"

Lao Ma, who revived at the campfire, was completely bewildered. It was the first time he had witnessed the circumvention technique, and his worldview was greatly shaken.

He stood there for a while, not only to process the shock of the procedure, but also to wait for the headache to subside.

Once his headache subsided, he headed to the Farron Keep with his spare weapon, not to seek revenge on the Mysterious Hooded Man, but to wash away his shame with the next victory.

A short while later, Lao Ma reappeared by the campfire.

At this moment, he was no longer just bewildered, but questioning the meaning of life.

"How come I've run into that guy wearing a hood again?"

He hesitated, wondering whether he should launch another invasion of Farron Keep.

There's a limit to how often something can happen; he can't possibly run into that guy a third time, can he?

A few minutes later.

When Lao Ma, now in his Red Spirit form, saw the Mysterious Hooded Man again, he almost screamed.

"You, you, you!" Lao Ma pointed at the other person, rambling incoherently. He began to doubt whether the other person was even human.

He was no match for the hooded man. What was the point of such a one-sided fight? He, who always found pleasure in blasting fish, experienced what it felt like to be blasted, and was in immense pain.

Fortunately, there is always a way out. Just when he was about to die under the influence of the ring, he found a way out.

[Invaded by the soul-sucking lizard]

[Invaded by the soul-sucking demon "Asuka"]

Great, they're a helper! I'm saved!

Lao Ma immediately perked up, saying, "No matter how exquisite and invincible your technique is, you can't fight against four hands with two fists. We can drown you with just one spit from each of us."

He made a provocative gesture at the hooded man, but the man turned and ran without hesitation.

"Ah?"

Lao Ma had lost count of how many times this had happened today; the surprises this hooded guy brought were just too much—

Before he could react, a Dung Pie smashed into his face.

"Chase him down! Tear him to pieces!"

The hooded man was running ahead, while three intruders with excrement on their faces were chasing after him. They were going to rape him once they caught up.

"Running away is pointless!" Lao Ma shouted angrily, "Come here and face your death!"

The opponent was as slippery as an eel, and used the terrain quite skillfully, making it impossible to catch up.

But what's the point of running away? A real man should fight fair and square!

Just as Lao Ma was lost in thought, a whooshing sound suddenly came from beside him.

"Ah!"

With a scream, the intruder beside him was struck by a large arrow and pinned to the tree trunk.

What?! An ambush?

Arrows rained down relentlessly. First, a wounded intruder was shot in the head, then another was shot in the knee and fell into the Swamp. Arrow Rain rained down from the sky, riddling him with holes in the blink of an eye.

Lao Ma was fleeing in panic. He hadn't expected the hooded man to have teammates, and even more unexpectedly, that one of them was a hidden archer.

His shoulder was grazed by a large arrow, and he could no longer lift his weapon. To hell with victory, all he wanted now was to escape, at least to avoid being killed by arrows that came from who-knows-where.

Arrows followed him relentlessly, as if toying with him. Whenever he relaxed his guard and thought he was safe, an arrow would whiz past him, forcing him to flee.

This is extremely taxing on both mental and physical strength.

The shooting stopped at some point, and the hooded man disappeared without a trace. Lao Ma was lost in the Farron Keep.

That's alright, as long as we escaped, I'll find a chance to ambush them!

That's what he thought, however—

"Pfft!"

A rapier pierced his heart from behind. The sword was even invisible; it was only recognizable as a rapier because it was stained with his blood.

Was there an invisible person following him? When did they arrive?!

In the last second before his consciousness went dark, he saw several intrusion notifications; a new wave of intruders had arrived.

Run! This is a rip-off!

A rip-off!

Although Lao Ma really wanted to shout it out loud, he died immediately.

His death was gruesome; although he was killed instantly by a pierced heart, his expression was extremely distorted, as if he had witnessed something horrific.

I'm afraid Lao Ma will never want to invade again in his lifetime.

Whenever he picks up the Blood-Red Eyeball Orb, he always recalls the dirty hood and the dashing figure running under the setting sun.

In October of New Calendar 2174, the group known as "Hood Three" officially debuted.

For some unknown reason, the intruders always seem to encounter these three people, and the price of their encounters is being mercilessly tortured and killed.

The Hood One used, cancels the after-swing sword technique, making it extremely powerful.

The Hood Two shot arrows with unparalleled skill, killing people without them even realizing it.

With his Hood Three man is unmatched. If his invisibility is broken, he can also use magic.

These three are not overwhelmingly strong; their strength lies in their ability to cooperate.

Each person made a pledge to be Sun Warrior, drew a summoning mark in a pre-designed place, and set a secret code in the summoning mark so that those who did not know the code could not see the mark.

When the number of invaders they face reaches their limit, Hood Three will start parkour and summon allies to fight alongside them.

Their teamwork is superb, and so far, the small fry who like to invade are completely unable to deal with them. If you encounter them during an invasion, you should commit suicide.

Not long after, propelled by an unseen force, the trio rose to fame and were regarded as the guardians of adventurers.

Although their fashion sense is a bit eccentric, strong people are always right no matter what they do.

The ghosts have developed a phobia of hoods; they become afraid whenever they see someone wearing a hood.

Meanwhile, people in Bede City began selling these hoods in large quantities and named them the "Slave Headscarf".

Every Sun Warrior wears this hood to serve as a warning to intruders, and some adventurers also put on the hood when they encounter intruders.

For a time, Slave Headscarf became the new trend in Bede City.

With the release of an Image Stone recording the battle scenes of Hood Three, people began to learn its fighting style. Whether they were innocent PvE adventurers or evil PvP adventurers, everyone was working hard to improve their skills, starting an arms race.

The quality of adventurers in Bede City is gradually improving, and the amount of Spirit Power that can be gained in dungeons is also increasing.

The Sparkfire Church has launched a service to help aspiring individuals become Sun Warrior. This service involves guiding Sun Warrior trainees through Forest Area to the Sun Altar and providing them with basic training in combat skills.

Both the Adventurers' Guild and the Bede Family strongly condemned this heinous act of invasion, with the latter even issuing a decree prohibiting it.

Amid the nationwide anti-invasion movement, those soul-devouring ghosts who blindly followed the trend and sought thrills broke their oaths and no longer participated in the invasion.

Those who remain are those who have thought things through and believe that the invasion mechanism can bring them benefits. They will diligently hone their combat skills against people, and perhaps in the future they will be able to understand every nook and cranny of the map and become a generation of PvP masters.

The wave of invaders came quickly, but receded just as quickly under the control of an invisible hand.

Upon closer examination, its greatest impact is that it has deeply ingrained the helper and invader mechanics into the minds of every adventurer in Bede City. Dungeon exploration is no longer simply about fighting monsters; there are more diverse external factors to consider, which can even be said to enhance the game's playability.

The benefits of the dungeon are simple and straightforward—Sion's ability to gain Spirit Power is increasing.

Invasion and counter-invasion activities sometimes generate more emotional stimulation than encountering monsters or traps, and the dissipated Spirit Power is naturally absorbed by the dungeon.

And some people who had heard of this unheard-of mechanism were also drawn to it.

Such a dramatic change occurred in just a few days, but the people of Bede City adapted quickly. After all, they had already experienced a rampage, so these were just mere invaders.

But some people reacted very strongly.

As one of the initial promoters, Lu Lu Wo didn't understand, nor did the strong man.

What happened?

How come everyone is acting as if the invaders and their accomplices have existed for hundreds of years after only a few days?

The desired effect did not materialize at all; no more people came to help her thwart the Strategy Team, and the Strategy Team members even became stronger due to the repeated harassment from the intruders.

The New Strategy Team slowed down their exploration progress due to the reduced number of team members, and it seemed that Leon and his group were catching up with them, and their original lead was about to disappear.

Lu Lu Wo made another mistake in choosing the shortcut, and the consequences were severe because—

[Invaded by the Mysterious Hooded Man, Sun Warrior!]

Standing in the cemetery, Lu Lu Wo looked at the mysterious figure that appeared in front of her, at a loss for words.

So, even Sun Warrior can infiltrate other people's worlds?!