"It's Master Duffi!"
On the east side of the town, at the edge of a cliff, lies a terrace lower than the surrounding land.
Pazu, Sheeta, and Dola leaned against the railing, their eyes fixed on the chaotic scene at the crossroads in the distance.
Behind the terrace, there is a staircase carved along the cliff face.
It was built more than a decade ago to facilitate workers' travel between the town and the factory at the bottom of the valley.
The other five air pirates lagged behind, panting heavily, still struggling to move up the steps below.
"Mom, Mom—wait for us—"
"I'm... I'm about to die..."
Having climbed up from the depths of the mine and then traversed hundreds of meters along steep cliff steps, they were already exhausted.
But the three people above were breathing steadily, and there wasn't even much sweat on their foreheads.
The physical enhancement of the Blessed is fully manifested at this time.
Pazu saw that the soldiers completely ignored the miners and continued to ransack the place like robbers.
He clenched his fist, his nails digging into his palm.
"Those bastards—I need to help!"
He turned around and was about to rush up the steps.
A strong, thick hand suddenly grabbed the boy by the back of his collar and yanked him back.
"You idiot, are you out of your mind? Look closely, that's a whole company of soldiers, over a hundred guns!"
Dola's feelings are complicated right now.
Just hours before, she was thinking about capturing Sheeta and going to find the treasure.
But now, the deity within that golden stone has made her and these two children "colleagues."
Given that crushing her would be as easy as crushing an ant for the other party, she has suppressed most of her ulterior motives and temporarily considers Pazu and Sheeta as her own people.
Unexpectedly, they ran into the soldiers as soon as they returned to town, and this hothead insisted on charging forward.
"But they're bullying the townspeople! Master Duffi and the others need help!"
"How can I help? Are you planning to use your fists to block bullets?"
Their reputation was earned by plundering merchant ships and evading capture, not by fighting with people.
Having played cat and mouse for years, she had long since experienced the ruthlessness of the army firsthand.
Dola touched the hand cannon at her waist, which only had two shells left, and an image flashed through her mind.
He had barely rushed into the block and fired a shot when bullets rained down on them, turning them into sieves.
She didn't dare go, but someone else did.
In the distance, Duffi, dressed in overalls and a blue shirt, strode towards the soldiers and agents.
He slammed the shovel into the ground and roared, "Get out of our house right now! Valley Town isn't afraid of you!"
A black-clad agent stepped forward, still wearing that cold, fake smile.
"Mr. Miner, you and your neighbors are suspected of harboring spies wanted by the kingdom. If you continue to obstruct the search, you will be making an enemy of the Northern Kingdom."
He continued walking up to Duffi, looking up at the burly man who was two heads taller than him.
"You don't want to be driven out of this town forever, do you?"
Duffi, dressed in a rough and rugged manner, looked down at the "respectable man" before him.
That wide smile and those round sunglasses that pretended to be refined made him feel nauseous.
"I see, it's the Queen's people doing this. Then we have no choice but to—"
Beneath his thick mustache, Duffi flashed a bright and honest smile.
Just when the agent thought he was about to back down, he yelled, "Go to hell!"
99
Bang!
Duffi's fist, bigger than his face, brimming with the strength he'd honed through years of battling steam engines, struck the agent squarely in the face!
The black sunglasses were smashed to pieces, and the agent fell backward to the ground, groaning in pain as he curled up.
Duffi shook his hand, turned to face the miners behind him, and raised his shovel. "Everyone, let's go! Let's show these dog-skinned bastards the power of the workers of Valley Town!"
"Ooooooo!!!"
The roar was like a flash flood, and more than 300 miners formed a black tide, wielding picks, shovels and pipe wrenches as they rushed into the street.
The soldiers were stunned.
They didn't expect these miners to actually take action.
Most people were still indoors "earning extra money," and only a few were maintaining order on the street. By the time they realized what was happening, the miners had already rushed in front of them.
A soldier instinctively tried to fire, but was stopped by a veteran next to him.
"Don't fire! Firing at civilians within the kingdom's borders—do you want to face a court-martial?!"
"But they—"
"Fight them with rifle butts and bayonets!"
The soldiers hastily engaged in battle, but the workers' tools were more convenient to use than rifle butts, and their physical fitness was no less than that of ordinary soldiers. With their numerical advantage, they quickly gained the upper hand.
Pazu watched with great excitement from the terrace.
"Great! Master and the others have the upper hand!"
Pazu stood up, ready to go and offer his support.
This time, he didn't ask Mu En for help; he wanted to rely on his own strength and, together with the workers, personally drive these bullies out of town.
Mu En called out to this "passionate young man".
Although the remaining energy was insufficient to directly suppress the entire army, Mu En still had other "weapons" to give them.
Sending the Blessed into battle empty-handed is something only a useless person would do when challenging a player.
"These people will all become my followers," Mu En declared calmly. "Now, I bestow upon you swords and shields capable of withstanding firearms, and the power of protection, to save them."
A golden glow emanated from the surface of the Golden Seed that Sheeta held in her hands.
Mu En marked the three with the Erdtree Mark and bestowed upon them three of the most basic, low-cost combat Incantations.
[ Order's Blade ] is a sword that condenses one's power into a sharp blade of light, capable of changing shape and cutting through iron like mud.
[ Shield of Immutability ] - Constructs a shield of law to resist physical and energy impacts.
[ Erdtree's Protection ] - Also a mutated version of Incantations, in addition to increasing elemental resistance, it also has the ability to increase strength and defense from the " Erdtree Vow ".
With Incantations and the help of the workers, Mu En believed that Pazu and his men could defeat the soldiers.
"Is this the shield that can stop bullets?" Pazu subconsciously crossed his hands and raised them to his forehead, following the information flooding into his mind.
A faint golden film emerged from his skin, like a layer of golden amber covering his entire body.
The light was still striking in the afternoon sun, even somewhat dazzling.
Half-believing, Pazu took out a knife from his bag and tried to slash his arm, but found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't penetrate the thin membrane.
The boy excitedly cast the Erdtree's Protection again, and the dazzling golden light flashed once more. He clearly felt his power increase.
"Amazing! Truly a power bestowed by the gods!"
However, he soon discovered the flaws in the Golden Order.
The Golden Order is great in every way, the only problem is that it's a bit too conspicuous to use.
Every move he makes is dazzling with golden light, exuding righteousness and awe; he's truly impressive when charging head-on.
But when it comes to stealth or ambush----
"It's that girl! She's there!"
The golden light attracted the attention of several soldiers on the outskirts of the battle who had not yet been drawn into the street fight.
Colonel Muska had personally promised that whoever could capture the target would be promoted and receive a large reward.
ransacking homes? Suppressing miners? None of that matters anymore.
The time for promotion and wealth has come!
"Grab her!"