When the Snake-Men's rescue operation failed, the assault outside the wooden walls abruptly and swiftly subsided like an ebbing tide.
The deafening hisses, the Snake-Men's growls, the clash of weapons... all those sounds receded and vanished in a matter of moments.
Only the crackle of fires inside the camp, the groans of the wounded, and the players' heavy, bewildered breathing remained.
This sudden, deathly silence was even more unsettling than the ferocious assault before it.
"What's going on?"
A player braced himself against the battered wooden wall, watching the serpentine silhouettes rapidly retreat into the darkness outside.
"Why are they running?"
Not Playing If I'm Not Having Fun did not freeze. Instead, he turned toward the center of the camp... about a minute ago, he thought he had heard gunshots coming from that direction.
Was I imagining things?
Not Playing If I'm Not Having Fun fell silent for a moment as a possibility occurred to him... had that story-related Snake-Man they had just captured been rescued?!
Hmm...
The thought immediately made Not Playing If I'm Not Having Fun nervous. He hurriedly turned and called out, then led several players toward the center of the camp.
Not Playing If I'm Not Having Fun rushed toward the center of the camp with several players, frantic with worry.
The closer they got, the more noticeable the faint smell of blood and gunpowder became, and his heart sank little by little.
Had he really been rescued?
Then wouldn't all tonight's sacrifices and perseverance have been for nothing?
But when he flung aside the entrance flap of the tent serving as a temporary prison, the sight inside left him and the players behind him stunned.
The tent was a complete mess. Five Snake-Man Assassins of various shapes lay dead on the ground, their green and