At midnight, [ Howling Pothos ] led his assistant [ Easily Soluble in Water ] to the vicinity of a sandcastle.
Under the cover of the sand dunes, they did not reveal their whereabouts, at least not on the surface.
As for the remaining eight teammates, they were now lying in ambush behind another sand dune they had come from, waiting for a signal before taking further action.
The two lay obediently behind the sand dune. [ Easily Soluble in Water ], upon receiving the captain's order, used a Alienation telescope made of wood to monitor the distant lookout skeleton soldiers.
Players didn't actually know whether skeletons needed to sleep, but after some time, they learned that these creatures did need rest.
Sometimes they doze off, sometimes they're distracted; in short, the skeleton soldiers aren't some nuclear-powered donkeys that can run 24/7 (but the player can).
However, it is undeniable that the skeleton soldiers do not need to eat; currently, it seems they do indeed survive solely on Psionic Energy.
Several players, led by [ Haide ], who enjoy studying monsters and building assembly lines, are currently conducting in-depth research on this issue.
As a real-life biology expert and a "genius of electricity" in the game, [ Haide ] has a very strong interest in bizarre creatures such as Blood Corpse and skeletons.
Blood Corpse are frenzied and excited, and skeletons are excited and frenzied; in theory, they would be good materials for manufacturing assembly lines.
But here's the problem --
The Blood Corpse are strong and can actually work, but they need to be fed; otherwise, they won't have any strength.
The most formidable members of the " High-Quality Charcoal Processing Plant " are not actually the Stained Ones work two shifts day and night, but rather the Blood Corpse who use mechanical structures to keep the assembly line running.
They consume high-quality, healthy vegetable juice daily, ensuring stable output power, which can be almost quantified after debugging and calibration.
While skeleton soldiers don't need to eat, they do seem to need to rest to replenish their stamina, which sounds a bit like a new energy form of undead.
This is, of course, a significant drawback, because in an assembly line, the flow cannot be stopped!
Moreover, the skeletons possess their own reason. Although their loyalty to the Skeleton Alliance is almost fanatical, their existence of reason is beyond doubt.
Using rational beings to build an assembly line is something Haide's current moral standards wouldn't allow him to do.
However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, Blood Corpse and skeletons each have their own drawbacks. If this researcher using the ID "Dr. Incarnation " were to truly abandon morality, he could easily discover that the most cost-effective nuclear-powered donkey in this World of Disorder is actually the player himself...
[ Howling Pothos ] also came with a small task entrusted to it by [ Haide ].
Just like those fur traders in JRPGs who can't hunt, doctors who never gather herbs, and blacksmiths without stable ore supplies—
As the least combat-savvy adventurer in the village, [ Haide ] naturally posted a bounty in the " Adventurers' Guild," which was actually run by the official Pure Ones of the Theocracy and specifically for serving players, ultimately outsourcing the task to [ Howling Pothos ].
The mission description is simple, just one sentence: "Bring back as many skull fragments as possible," and [ Haide ] even thoughtfully added a hidden condition—"Capture them alive if possible!"
[ Howling Pothos ] and [ Easily Soluble in Water ] buried most of their bodies in sand, then one observed while the other was ready to signal at any time.
After monitoring for more than ten minutes, [ Easily Soluble in Water ] made a few subtle movements with his hands behind his back, indicating that the direction of the sandcastle had changed.
[ Howling Pothos ] immediately perked up and carefully poked half of its head out from the top ridge of the dune.
He moved very carefully, and tonight's moon was a standard crescent, almost invisible, making him difficult to spot as long as he didn't move around too much.
After watching the skeleton soldiers for a while, [ Easily Soluble in Water ] asked in a low voice:
What are they doing?
"It must be a night patrol. Look, there's even a Kuruma (Armored Armored Horse)."
At that moment, the gate of the sandcastle on the other side of the dune opened, and a small troop of cavalry slowly walked out.
In late autumn, the desert night was already a bit chilly, but the gusts of cool wind were just enough to lift the robes draped over the cavalrymen, revealing their clearly defined bones.
"Judging from the degree of crystallization, it seems to be Low Tier..."
"That should make things easier."
After observing the enemy's formation and rank, the atmosphere between the two gradually relaxed, and they started chatting more.
"It really is! Captain, do you think they really are undead creatures?"
"Not necessarily. Besides, so what if it's an undead creature? This game doesn't have Holy Enchantment, and even Blood Corpse only get weakened when exposed to sunlight, they don't spontaneously combust."
"That's true... Wait, boss, why are there only five of them? The sandcastle gates are all closed. I thought there would be at least a dozen..."
"With a dozen or so cavalrymen scattered, it's difficult for us to guarantee their complete annihilation."
"Boss, you're right, but we have ten men, and not enough horses to go around!"
Upon hearing the question about [ Easily Soluble in Water ], [ Howling Pothos ] thought for a moment and said:
"It's alright, we'll just follow the 'script' when the time comes, and everyone will have something to do."
"Oh, Captain, you can write screenplays now?"
"It's only the first time. If we get caught, we'll just go for it."
"Clear."
"Keep a close eye on them!"
[ Howling Pothos ] left a message, then used the ball of light formed from [ Fluorescent Velvet Grass ] in its hand to wave a few times towards another sand dune in the distance, conveying a pre-set signal.
The distant [ Xiexie Huigu ] immediately caught sight of the already faint light.
There's some distance between here and the target sandcastle. Here, everyone can even communicate in normal voices, as long as they don't shout.
"Everyone, get ready!"
The seven Soul Returner who were casually browsing posts and chatting nearby immediately began checking their own equipment, looking rather flustered.
But that doesn't matter.
As players who are just there to have fun in the game, they naturally can't have the same professionalism as soldiers; they just need to make sure they don't mess things up in battle.
At other times, it's perfectly normal for people to relax and browse forums.
What did the captain say?
One player was the first to organize his various weapons and throwables, and then asked [ Xiexie Huigu ].
This expert, after confirming the signal from [ Howling Pothos ] once more, whispered to the others:
"Cavalry squad, proceed as planned: ambush them en route."
"Okay!"
Everyone responded in unison, and then dispersed in twos and threes to set up in the surrounding areas.