To the tune of a cheerful medieval tavern melody, players arrive at the first fork in the road.
Looking at the scene before them, many people realized one thing: the internal structure of the church must have been altered; there was no such strangely shaped obstacle when they broke in that morning.
Is this the designer's thought process?
That's way too easy.
Player [ Second-Class Biscuit ] said:
"Watch me, everyone."
With that, he rolled and disappeared behind the obstacle, drawing his dagger and preparing to stab repeatedly.
There was nothing in front of him.
"Guys, there's nothing here."
He turned around to indicate that the search was complete, but saw a hint of fear on his companions' faces.
The tune of the wind instruments suddenly became urgent, and [ Second-Class Biscuit ] turned his head and saw a Tree Worship Church priest launching a jumping attack at him.
"You son of a bitch..."
The slash was aimed directly at the center of his forehead; if he didn't take any action, he would soon be split in two.
[ Second-Class Biscuit ] immediately dodged to the right, but a long strip of flesh was still slashed off his shoulder.
Although the enemy's sneak attack succeeded, the players' confidence in outnumbering the enemy was still ignited by the sight of only one enemy:
"Brothers, kill him!"
[ Xiexie Huigu ] is now channeling the spirit of a gangster boss, leading a truckload of bread-bread men to start a fight.
However, the music played by the four musicians changed again at this moment, with some melodies similar to " Ambush from Ten Sides " coming from the harp and lute.
Generally speaking, background music is just an added element to enhance the atmosphere. Coupled with the immersive experience of " World of Disorder ", no player noticed this hint that the designer deliberately left.
As the players swarmed towards the enemy, three Tree Worship Church archers emerged from the corner in front of them, from a blind spot behind them, and from the second-floor corridor.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
On the second floor and around the corner, the archers of the Tree Worship Church drew their longbows and fired three arrows simultaneously. Within two breaths, five or six arrows were stuck in front of [Xiexie Huigu], who was charging at the forefront.
"There's an ambush!"
Seeing his health bar plummeting, [Xiexie Huigu] ducked and rolled to dodge the rain of arrows while shouting.
"Ah!"
The player running at the back suddenly cried out in alarm; three or four wooden arrows, the kind commonly used by the Tree Worship Church, without fletching or metal tips, were stuck in his back.
"We're surrounded! Watch out behind you!"
[Xiexie Huigu] hid in that blind spot he thought was where enemies were lying in ambush, shouting wherever he felt like it.
However, such haphazard command is destined to be ineffective...
The sound of bowstrings rang out incessantly from three directions, and the players, who had not yet learned ranged attacks, had no effective means to counter it.
To make matters worse, the battle here attracted the attention of the Tree Worship Church priests who were guarding other areas.
Doesn't this game have a designated aggro range?
While many players were thinking this, the number of archers had increased from three to six, one of whom had no face or eyes, and another whose lower body was still connected to the body.
"What the hell? Blind firing is allowed?"
Amidst the players' shouts and curses, the priest who initiated the leaping attack had already begun to cut down the opponents one by one under the cover of his own ranged units.
The four musicians' playing styles have subtly shifted from suspense to melancholy.
Finally, with a tearing sound like a snapped string, the long blade pierced [Xiexie Huigu]'s chest.
In a daze, he saw a large, blood-red "vegetable" character in front of him, and in this resentment, he closed his eyes.
After the last challenger lost consciousness, all the priests who participated in the battle, along with the four musicians, also instantly lost consciousness.
Guided by vines and strings, they returned to their original positions and entered standby mode, like livestock waiting to be slaughtered on an assembly line.
The players' shattered bodies were not tortured by the priests; they were simply gradually enveloped by Boston Ivy, their clothes and weapons sinking into the ground.
This is the rule Ed set for the Dungeon: neither players nor priests can be completely killed. Once the "defeated" condition is detected, the vines will initiate a mandatory protective action.
This was originally intended to prevent players from desecrating the corpse of a priest, which could lead to the priest's actual death and arouse suspicion in the Holy City.
But now... this rule seems to have become a form of protection for players.
Another bell rang, startling some players who had been waiting outside the Dungeon out of curiosity.
"If I remember correctly, it hasn't even been three minutes since the last time the clock rang, right? You've already cleared the game?"
"I guess they chose the easy difficulty, so I'm relieved. I could do that too."
"Hey, do you guys think it's possible...?"
Just as the third person was about to express his thoughts, the second Aberration plant on the left side of the church door suddenly began to wriggle violently.
"What is this plant for again?"
One person asked.
"The one on the far left is a vending machine, the one on the far right is for entry Dungeon, and the one in the middle is... a resurrection machine..."
"No way?!"
During their discussion, the plant writhed again, and it spat out a humanoid creature wrapped in vines.
The players waiting outside immediately stepped forward and parted the vines, then saw [Xiexie Huigu]'s tearful face.
What exactly happened?
One player asked, "[ Xiexie Huigu ] makes my face feel a little hot."
"No... we didn't win, we got wiped out."
"Ah?"
Amidst the gasps of surprise from the other players, the mutated plant began to continuously spew out humanoid vine bundles.
Soon, all fifteen players were identified, their faces ashen, and the group began to reconstruct the events of their lightning-fast annihilation.
"You mean, your group of fifteen was wiped out by about ten people, including four musicians who didn't even participate in the fight?"
The players waiting outside were stunned. Was this Dungeon really meant for them?
[ Xiexie Huigu ] was already blushing with embarrassment, and he stammered:
"We were playing on... hard mode. Since everyone was inexperienced and didn't search carefully, we got ambushed from the front."
"Damn it, they stole the front line! Noob's noob, they've got no shame!"
"We were surrounded, there was really nothing we could do."
"If you're so capable, why don't you try driving it? You'll get numb if you stomp on it."
"The priest's rapid-fire was just like a submachine gun, turning [ Xiexie Huigu ] into a hedgehog!"
"What can I do? I'm desperate too!"
Just as the onlookers and the extermination party were about to start arguing, someone suddenly said:
"I think that's quite reasonable."
Everyone immediately looked at the player who had expressed this opinion, only to find that it was [ Do Some Farm Work ].
"Dude, didn't you go back to the castle?"
"No, I've taken in a few natives here, teaching them how to cultivate the land, and also taking the opportunity to observe these new plants."
"Wow, that's reliable, buddy. It's completely different from your name."