More than thirty Soul Returner quickly climbed in along the vines. [ Gill's Cuisine ] was about to say something when [ Aluode ], the last to enter, whispered to the group:
"They said they'd look for other opportunities and told us to seal the windows to avoid revealing how we got in."
Everyone thought it was a good idea. Thirty-odd people were already the limit that this floor could handle; any more and they wouldn't even be able to stretch their arms and legs.
The group worked together to reinstall the window frame. [ Gill's Cuisine ] addressed the group:
"Brothers, should we attack upwards or downwards now?"
"Going up, we can blow the asses off these bastards; going down, we probably won't encounter many people, but we can see what good stuff is inside this fortress."
[ Aluode ], who hadn't offered any advice in a long time, suddenly laughed:
"Why can't we have them all? There are so many of us..."
[ Aluode ] was fully aware of his reputation, knowing that everyone's attention and expectations were now focused on him, so he confidently and boldly spoke his mind:
"I don't know if you've noticed, but the door connecting the Antasia to the upper deck is a one-way door. It can only be opened from the inside and cannot be operated from the outside. This is to prevent Blood Corpse from entering the fortress."
"If we sneak up to the upper deck and close this door, do you think those people up there will go crazy on the spot?"
Hahahaha!
Immediately, some players burst out laughing:
"That makes sense, that makes sense. So you plan to split the force into two groups, with half going up to close the gate and the other half exploring the fortress below."
"That's right."
At this moment, [ Aluode ] was full of confidence.
"Wait a minute, I remember there's an operating system on the top deck of the fortress, right? Even if we lock them all out, don't they have any means of countermeasures?"
[ Aluode ] nodded and explained:
There might be ways to retaliate, but it definitely won't have anything to do with that operating system.
"I once asked Gray, and he said that a typical fortress has two control systems. The one on the upper deck has slightly lower authority, while the control system in the cabin has the highest authority."
"The view from the upper deck is good, making it suitable for most relatively safe times, but if you encounter the enemy, you'll still have to use the internal controls."
"I think I understand now."
The players exchanged sly glances, each seeing a hint of madness in the other's eyes, and some even let out eerie "hehehe" laughs.
"So the plan is to rush uphill as quickly as possible, then close the one-way doors to prevent them from getting in."
[ Western Sharpshooter ] confirmed.
"That's right."
"Okay, then I'll apply to be the striker for this team."
He twirled the counterfeit revolver in his hand:
"Everyone, follow me!"
[ Gill's Cuisine ] also raised their hand:
"If you want to go down to the lower level, follow me!"
[ Aluode ] also flashed his signature mischievous grin:
"Want to try some wild drifting? Come with me!"
Above a dozen meters, the battle on the top floor of the large fortress entered a fierce stage.
Because both sides had a bottom line of not wanting to kill each other, their moves became increasingly elaborate and unconventional.
The commander of the large fortress discovered that the savages had incredibly high health bars; even with three cuts and six holes in their bodies, they wouldn't die in a short time. So, he began training his troops on the spot, personally directing a small squad of new recruits on how to withstand such an attack.
After the initial shock subsided, the veterans of the Corridor Guard began to demonstrate their high level of combat skill, skillfully switching between various mechanical weapons and tormenting the less experienced players.
The players' actions were in no way inferior to those of the Corridor Guard.
Having vented their initial anger, their fighting style had shifted from a fight to the death to a torturous one.
Some players used vines to frantically entangle the mechanical structures of the Corridor Guard warriors, causing their prosthetics to malfunction and become unresponsive.
Some players took out different weapons and used these free sparring partners to try out squad tactics learned from ancient books in another world.
Some even Alienation into weapons that could fire wooden arrows, but only fired projectiles the size of toothpicks. Each time an arrow struck a part of an enemy's flesh, a miserable howl could be heard, and with each miserable howl, they would let out a shrill, demonic laugh.
Two armies, neither afraid of death nor pain, engaged in a chilling battle under the constraint of not taking lives.
"Bang!"
[ Bread Knight ] was struck in the chest by a mechanical hammer, and his whole body was thrown into the air diagonally backward. The fence of the large fortress quickly came into view.
Feeling his body accelerating due to the fall, the Pixel Blue Dragon also displayed an information box in his field of vision:
[The player is in a near-death state. The current body is detected to be too far from the nearest respawn point. The player can choose to abandon their current body and respawn normally at another respawn point, or enter a dormant state and wait for others to heal them. Note: This option will not affect the final settlement of the escort mission.]
[ Bread Knight ] paused for a moment, intending to say a few words of encouragement to his three friends in the team communication channel, but after seeing this message, he forcibly swallowed it back and replaced it with:
"Brother, come down and pull me up, let's fight back together!"
At the same time, many players who were on the verge of death also saw similar prompts, only then realizing that although dying at this point would allow them to revive, it also meant saying goodbye to this event forever.
Fortunately, the group carried a large amount of medicine with them when they set off, and they could resupply once they returned to the Antasia.
Thinking of this, many players began a tactical retreat, while the players behind them had not yet arrived to take over the battlefield.
And so, in the eyes of the Corridor Guard, the enemy actually began to retreat little by little.
Many people's faces lit up with surprise and delight.
Without a doubt, the group of savages that appeared out of nowhere was clearly a powerful force.
Their fighting prowess is certainly more commendable, given that they are capable of confronting and even repelling it head-on.
With this in mind, the soldiers fought even more fiercely, like a group of valiant fishermen doing their utmost to drive back the sharks that had jumped onto their fishing boats for a buffet.
However, at that moment, a familiar, crisp sound suddenly entered everyone's ears—
"Click!"
That's... a one-way door!
All the members of the Corridor Guard who had thought of this looked toward the gate leading to the lower level, but the metal gate, made entirely of steel plates, was now completely closed.