Colin stood behind the [ Ginseng Rooster ].
He volunteered to come – as the commander of the Broken Sword Legion, he felt it necessary to know just how many people this strategist could bring.
[ Ginseng Rooster ] didn't answer the question directly before, only saying, "You'll just have to wait and see."
Colin felt he needed to keep a close eye on things; after all, without pay, supplies, or provisions, how many people would actually participate in this war?
As a seed landed on the nutrients that the players' bodies had transformed into, an ugly tree miraculously grew deep in the desert.
This tree has no leaves; it is entirely composed of seven or eight vine-like branches of similar thickness, each of which is made up of even more and finer branches, like a hemp rope that gradually thickens and contracts.
Between every two fibers, it seems as if an eye is constantly peering in, and bright red, blood-like sap is constantly flowing out from the folds of the bark (skin effect).
What a strange thing.
Colin was astonished. Then he saw the gaps in the vines widen, and one after another, cocoon-like spindle-shaped things were expelled as if giving birth, their surfaces even covered with some sticky tree sap.
"Sizzle~"
A tearing sound rang out, and the "cocoon" was violently ripped open from the inside, revealing a human head that began to look around.
Upon seeing the Ginseng Rooster, the man immediately pulled his entire body out of the cocoon and crawled towards it on all fours.
Colin took a step back at the sight, thinking it was some kind of monster in human skin.
When the player first emerged from the "cocoon," he crawled on his hands and feet. As he crawled, he gradually stood up, lifting his hands off the ground. Then, his body slowly stretched out, and his back became straighter and straighter. Finally, when he reached the two people, he looked like a human.
Are you putting on an evolutionary show?
[ Ginseng Rooster ] felt like he had seen a similar picture in his middle school textbook, and said with a smile as he looked at the player in front of him.
"I forced you to log in. This is an optimization that wasn't mentioned in the update announcement—you can log in even if your body isn't fully healed, but you'll be very weak when you first come out, like a premature birth."
The visitor explained earnestly:
"When it was first born, its spine wasn't fully intact, but it has healed now."
"I really don't know that."
[ Ginseng Rooster ] raised an eyebrow, then took a half step back to show off Colin behind him.
The first player to emerge immediately bowed down in worship.
"You must be Lord Broken Sword?"
"Yes, it's me."
Although Colin couldn't actually smile, he still tried to soften his tone.
"Great! When do we launch our attack?"
"Um?"
Colin paused for a moment.
The player was also taken aback for a moment.
"Oh, we haven't reached Sand Capital yet, have you broken camp?"
"Forehead..."
Colin stared in astonishment at the Soul Returner before him:
"I only decided to send troops an hour ago..."
"It's been an hour!"
The player immediately pounded his chest in frustration:
"Speed is of the essence, sir! Please set off quickly, I'm in a hurry to offer my birthday greetings."
"Big... big what?"
"I'm in a hurry to meet with the [ Crown ] congressman and reason with him."
[ Ginseng Rooster ] explained from the side.
"I see."
Colin nodded slightly, and began to make plans in his mind:
Although only one reinforcement arrived, he seemed very enthusiastic.
If all the Soul Returner are like this, then they can be organized into an elite force to be used in critical moments.
The number of people seems a bit...
"Mwah~"
Before they could even decide on forming the " Fang Soldiers Commando Team," strange sounds came from the giant tree not far away.
One after another, "cocoons" covered in slime were "sprayed" out by the Resurrection Tree.
These spindle-shaped objects were scattered all over the ground nearby, looking just like wriggling silkworm cocoons.
Ten, twenty, fifty...
Once the number exceeded one hundred, Colin stopped counting.
Because he knew his previous idea was completely wrong.
The number of people arriving wasn't in the tens or hundreds, but rather rapidly approaching four figures.
This isn't a commando unit at all; it's reached the point where it could be used as a vanguard...
Ten minutes later, the exhausted temporary Teleportation Tree finally died as it had wished.
Looking at the densely packed Soul Returner before him, Colin was completely numb.
The Soul Returner stared at him with disbelief, uttering strange phrases like, "Hurry up, I've been waiting forever," "Pour Colin a cappuccino," and "Begin your grand birthday celebration."
[ Ginseng Rooster ] watched from the sidelines, feeling that if Colin didn't do something soon, he might be forcibly captured by the players and embarked on the road to the Sand Capital.
"Cough cough."
He cleared his throat and said in a very formal tone:
"[ Broken Sword ] Lord! The first batch of Fang Soldiers, totaling one thousand men, has arrived. Please give your orders!"
The numb Colin keenly caught a very crucial word:
"The first batch?"
"That's right, sir."
[ Ginseng Rooster ] explained in a very serious tone:
"I previously sent those Fang Soldiers to commit suicide to report back. I made an agreement with them that we would teleport together every thousand people at a time."
So there will still be a thousand people?
"Perhaps more than that, sir."
[ Ginseng Rooster ] said:
" The Soul Returner' Fang Soldiers Unit is at your service!"
"Lead us to drink our fill of blood!"
As the primary beneficiary of the Soul Returner' outsourced mercenary system, Colin knew best how capable these guys were in combat.
Even without further support, just with these thousand men, he felt his back straighten out considerably.
After all, in any world, most soldiers are only good at fighting when they have the upper hand.
Under these circumstances, the vanguard is extremely important. As long as the vanguard is fierce enough, there's nothing that can't be won if everyone rushes in.
Conversely, if even the vanguard team can't win, then everyone should pack up and prepare for the next game.
At this moment, looking at the many Soul Returner before him, Colin understood the meaning of [ Ginseng Rooster ]'s words not long ago, "The odds of winning are very high."
"Good!"
He shouted to the Soul Returner:
"Since everyone is so eager for a fight, I won't spoil your fun—"
"There's no time to lose. You one thousand men will immediately be organized into the [ Broken Sword ] Assault Team. The captain will be..."
Colin looked around, but couldn't find a single trusted confidant.
He then realized that he hadn't taken these new Soul Returner seriously at all, so he had only come with [ Ginseng Rooster ] to watch, without bringing any other trusted confidants.
But since things had come to this, Colin gritted his teeth and stamped his foot:
"I will personally lead this commando team, setting off immediately towards the Sand Capital!"
He turned his head to look at the [ Ginseng Rooster ]:
"Send my arrangements to all the commanders of the Broken Sword Legion. The entire army must immediately break camp and follow me. There is no time to lose; we must travel day and night!"
"Yes!"
[ The Ginseng Rooster ] stood tall and proud, then pushed through the crowd and turned to head towards the legion.
Meanwhile, Colin, who was being roasted over a fire, could only follow the Soul Returner who had surrounded him, and in an extremely chaotic formation, they immediately began to head south towards the Sand Capital at the edge of their sight.