Upon receiving the order, the novice bishop left the cathedral and immediately went to the garrison of the Holy Crusaders to begin gathering the remaining soldiers.
The selection process for the Holy Crusaders is already quite rigorous. Even the 20% of soldiers who are eliminated are not without fighting ability. They just failed the internal assessment this time and may fall behind during the forced march.
Soon, the novice bishop gathered a group of soldiers with considerable combat experience, forming the Holy Crusaders First Knights. They then quickly marched towards the western district of Fir City.
As for whether this new knightly order would take over the designation of the original First Knight Order, Antiya Lisi had already anticipated this.
Having witnessed the methods these rebels had employed in recent months, he had long since lost any expectations of the Motley Knights. He simply assumed that they and the entire order of knights had perished on some unknown battlefield, killed by some insidious and despicable means.
In the Fir City, within an unremarkable residential house, lies the exit of the Soul Returner's tunnel.
This tunnel, dug jointly by [ Zhong Lele ], [ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ], and [ Dark Archmage ], has now become a key factor in determining the outcome of this battle.
As for the original owner of this house, he had long been hoisted out of the city by the Soldier Bee under the cover of night. With the financial subsidies, he may have even bought a house in Valhalla by now.
The sound of hurried footsteps continued as players emerged from the tunnel, standing in the living room of the house, brushing the dust off their bodies.
Just as they were about to push open the door and go out, causing chaos in the city like the Thorn Rat that had been thrown in, a player suddenly reached out and stopped them.
[ Mules and Horses Drive the Sun ] stood in front of the gate, solemnly blocking the players in front of him, and said in a deep voice:
"Everyone, please don't go out yet."
"What? Is there another explanation?"
One person asked with a puzzled look, not because they were resistant to the other person's suggestion, but simply because they were curious.
Such opportunities are fleeting; if we miss this chance, there may never be another one.
[ The Mules and Horses Drive the Sun ] also has a similar understanding, but there is a slight difference in his perspective. He said earnestly:
"Have you ever considered that while we can come up with something new every time, the Holy Crusaders in the city are also constantly learning and improving?"
" The Fir City Operation is now in its final stage. This may be our only chance to enter the city unimpeded through the tunnels. Once the NPCs realize this, not only will this tunnel be destroyed, but the next tunnel may never even appear."
"At that point, we might only have one option left: a forced siege. The losses would be even greater than they are now."
He looked around at the players and continued:
"When you come in, you can temporarily ignore the enemy's suppressive fire, because we are just passing through that area. Our main objective is to enter the tunnel."
"But here, if any one of you attracts a squad of Holy Crusaders..."
"Then let's explode against them!"
One player shouted, and someone immediately retorted:
"The terrain is unsuitable. If the Holy Crusaders discover this tunnel exit, this place will quickly become a food delivery point."
[ Mules and Horses Drive the Sun ] nodded in agreement upon hearing this:
"That's right, remember the Bloody Night? Just like back then, we absolutely couldn't let the Blood Corpse surround the Teleportation Tree, this time we absolutely cannot let the enemy discover this place easily until our scale is sufficient to initially contend with the Holy Crusaders, otherwise this place will only become a place for them to farm merits."
After hearing the explanation of [ Mules and Horses Drive the Sun ], the players present nodded in agreement.
The main thing is that the opponent's last sentence is indeed thought-provoking. It's always been these players who take credit for others' achievements, but now the Holy Crusaders dare to turn against the Heavenly Gang. They have no shame at all. It seems that [ Mules and Horses Drive the Sun ] was right. We should wait for our companions to arrive and launch an attack only when we have a certain number of troops.
This Fir City event is completely different from those of the past. Although the enemy NPCs in the Reclaim White Wax Town are intelligent, there are fewer than fifty of them in total, leaving them with absolutely no room for counterattack.
While there are enough NPCs in Bloody Night, their intelligence is utterly appalling. They're just a bunch of monsters; if they had even a shred of intelligence, they wouldn't be constantly being led around and eaten by players.
Fir City Operation, on the other hand, combined the enemy advantages from the first and second large-scale long-running missions, creating an enemy force with a large number of intelligent NPCs.
If it weren't for the fact that the opponent's activity area was limited to this small area within the city, the players probably wouldn't know how to deal with it.
So what are your plans? When would be a good time for us to leave?
A player asked about [ the Mules and Horses Drive the Sun ].
"Everyone, stay inside and don't go out. We'll leave together once we have enough people to prevent being picked off one by one by the Stained Ones."
"Good idea."
Some players agreed with his idea, so they turned around and sat on the chairs and beds that were covered in dust, just like players in a multiplayer game waiting for their friends to log on and team up in the main city.
However, as a private residence that can only accommodate four people, the seating area inside is very limited.
Within minutes, the later players could no longer find a place to rest, so they all went up the stairs to the second floor.
More and more players emerged from the tunnel, and the room became increasingly cramped. The population density in the house was shifting from a party venue to that of a subway during rush hour...
In search of more space, more and more players headed upstairs and quickly disappeared at the top of the stairs. A commotion came from upstairs, as if the players were moving furniture to make room for others to stand.
Amidst their chaotic footsteps, [ Mules and Horses Drive the Sun ] raised an eyebrow and looked up, seemingly noticing a slight curve appearing on the wooden ceiling.
The two-story wooden house seemed to accommodate slightly more people than allowed, but the players didn't care. Those who wanted to crawl out of the tunnels continued to do so, and those who wanted to go upstairs continued to go upstairs.
Finally, a few seconds after one of the players disappeared around the corner of the stairs, he suddenly turned around and went back downstairs, saying to the people behind him:
"No, there's really no room left up there."
"How can there not be room? If everyone squeezes in, there will always be room."