GOR

The Tidal Fighter flew southwest for a while, moving far away from Cao Cao’s camp. Then, Chen Xiaolian had Roddy land the fighter atop a small hill before sending out Adam, the counterfeit Wall-E made using the mining androids’ components. Adam flew back toward Cao Cao’s camp [1].

Roddy had spent the past few days installing flight components and various other sensors onto Adam. He had also supplemented it with a cloaking function. Unless someone was deliberately scanning for Adam, it would be very difficult to detect such a small object hovering through the sky. Adam was thus the most suitable choice for reconnaissance.

It did not take Adam long to reach the sky above Cao Cao’s camp.

Adam’s reconnaissance components include night vision and its system was remotely connected to the Tidal Fighter’s main control panel. Even if Cao Cao’s soldiers had not activated their combat energy, they would still be able to clearly see what was going on in the battlefield below. Pushing Adam up to a sufficient level of height, Chen Xiaolian was finally able to get a clear picture of the whole battlefield.

Cao Cao’s camp was set up upon a slightly elevated mountain. The west side of the camp was connected to a stretch of forest. Judging by the size of the camp, there were at least 50,000 soldiers in the camp.

Liu Bei’s horse riders had seemingly started their attack from the forest area, ploughing their way directly east, like a sharp blade piercing right into the centre of the camp. At that very moment, they had made it halfway there.

There weren’t many of the horse riders. Additionally, they had split up into three teams. In the beginning, the lack of preparations on the Cao army side had led to a high number of casualties on their side. In the end, however, the horse riders were incapable of doing more. By then, Cao Cao’s soldiers had more or less recovered from the chaos. They had already begun organizing effective means of counter-attacking to stop the horse riders from advancing.

The Awakened ones who were interspersed among the soldiers were also secretly attacking with their weapons.

Despite that, the strength of the horse riders was truly dreadful. Even with the absolute disadvantage in numbers, they could still continue to inflict terrible damage upon the Cao army.

Observing the monitor, Chen Xiaolian watched as a melee-type Awakened, his bared upper body revealing his bulging muscles, brandishing a large axe in each hand. Like a whirlwind, he charged at one of the horse riders.

Behind him, an Awakened in mage-like attire, complete with the pointed hat on his head and a withered-looking staff, finished his chant and fired out a series of ice cones.

The horse rider who was surrounded by over tens of Cao Cao’s soldiers, brandished the spear in his hands rapidly to deflect the swords hacking toward him. Although he was in a disadvantageous position, it would appear that he was capable of holding on for a while longer.

The melee-type Awakened arrived behind the horse rider. With a howl, he leapt up high and his two large axes hacked down from the sky together. At the same time, the series of ice cones had also reached the horse rider’s back.

When the ice cones struck the horse rider, they abruptly exploded and ice spread out upon the horse rider’s body. His dextrous movements were immediately slowed. The two large axes then descended upon his head.

Yet, the horse rider did not appear flustered at all. Using his spear, he unleashed a wave of combat energy, repelling Cao Cao’s soldiers while his left hand pulled out a blade from his waist. The blade was swung upward, hacking toward the two axes.

The two giant axes used by the melee-type Awakened weighed over 1,000 juns (1 jun = 18.15 kg). Additionally, he had performed his attack while descending from the sky, putting the momentum of his descent behind his attack. Unexpectedly, the horse rider’s upward slash succeeded in stopping the melee Awakened’s attack.

After having his attack stopped, the melee Awakened did not jump backward. Instead, he performed half a flip in the middle of the air and the axe in his right hand swung horizontally toward the horse rider’s waist.

The horse rider used his spear to knock away the melee Awakened’s axe. However, the impact caused him to fall off his horse.

The melee Awakened was just about continue with a swing of the axe on his left hand when he suddenly froze in the middle of the air.

A sword blade slid out from his back, causing blood to burst out as a result. Then, with a horizontal swing, the sword nearly cut him in half from the waist down.

“What a strong level of determination…”

Roddy, who was observing the monitor from behind Chen Xiaolian, gave praise even as he grimaced.

It looked as though the muscular melee Awakened was following the same path as Lun Tai, the path of strength. Although his muscles appear inferior compared to Lun Tai’s, he was certainly no rookie. And yet, even with the support of the magus team mate and the surrounding Cao army soldiers, he was still killed by the horse rider.

The magus began chanting another spell.

The horse rider pushed the melee Awakened’s corpse aside and made to rush at the magus when the ground beneath him suddenly became soft and muddy. His figure fell into the muddy ground while the many Cao army soldiers besieged him.

The horse rider did his best to break free. However, as he also needed to stave off the incoming attacks, he was incapable of extricating himself. Rather, his body gradually sank deeper.

When he was waist deep within the muddy ground, a well-aimed beam of light suddenly struck his forehead, incinerating his head. His body then slumped down.

The magus who was in the middle of preparing a third spell stopped his actions after seeing what happened to the horse rider. Moments later, a look of joy flashed across his face and he clenched his fists in a frantic manner.

Chen Xiaolian quickly took control of the console to adjust Adam’s line of sight. He fiddled with the controls to find the spot where the beam of light had come from.

Behind a pile of miscellaneous supplies, a man was holding onto a laser-powered sniper rifle. At that moment, he was shifting his eyes away from the scope of the rifle.

Likewise, his face was also filled with mad-like excitement.

“Why are they so happy? It sure doesn’t look like they just lost a companion.” Roddy tutted a few times. “Is there no friendship among their team?”

“Although there are no clear-cut prompts, killing those horse riders will likely give them a generous reward.” Chen Xiaolian smiled and said, “The system is being really generous here.”

“Staying alive is more important,” Lun Tai said grimly. “Those horse riders are too strong. By your estimate, how many of them could our team defeat?”

Chen Xiaolian lowered his head and pondered the issue for a moment. Then, he looked up and said, “If we want zero casualties on our side, we should be able to defeat around 10 of them. However, if there are over 15, someone will likely die as a result. If we are to go all-out, risking it all to kill them… … at most, we can only deal with 50.”

“More or less the same as my estimate,” said Lun Tai as he nodded. “With Zero City destroyed, the once-powerful resident guilds have disappeared without a trace. Although there are many Awakened ones here, their levels of strength are all different. Given our present level of strength, our guild can be considered a first-rate guild. Yet, even our guild will be hard-pressed to deal with them. What could those other guilds do?”

“That is not something for us to worry about. Besides, they can also depend on the NPCs from Cao Cao’s army.” Chen Xiaolian waved his hand. “Look, the horse riders are already preparing to retreat.”

Adam rose back up into the sky to gain a high-altitude perspective of the battlefield. In the camp below, the horse riders who had split up into teams began retreating. Although a few of them would occasionally end up getting surrounded by Cao Cao’s soldiers, their numbers were few.

“If I am Jiang Long, I will definitely make use of this moment to organize a counter attack.” Chen Xiaolian stared at the monitor. “Look, Cao Cao’s soldiers are no longer fighting back on their own. They are assembling together under their various leaders. With such a large advantage in numbers, a counter attack will greatly favour Cao Cao’s side. Of course, complete annihilation of those horse riders is unlikely for them. However, they will at least be able to drastically reduce their strength.”

“Doing so… … will bring about a high number of casualties.” Lun Tai shook his head. “I do not doubt that Jiang Long will make such a decision. However, will the other guilds follow through?”

“Humans die for the sake of wealth, birds die for the sake of feed. Awakened ones die for the sake of points.” Chen Xiaolian smiled coolly and said, “If I am not mistaken, Jiang Long will soon make an announcement through their guild channel. Nightmare?”

“Boss… … you are absolutely right!” Nightmare hastily replied. “Jiang Long had already spoken up in my guild channel. Although those horse riders are not within the quest description, killing each of them gives 1,000 points. Several guilds have successfully killed the horse riders and acquired those points. They were the ones who shared out the information.”

“What?” Roddy cried out in shock. “One thousand per head? We had to work so hard, mine so much Star Sand, and only got 20,000 points! Is the system doing charity work here?”

“Considering the horse rider’s level of strength, that is not an impossible scenario.” Chen Xiaolian shrugged. “The system wants to make use of Awakened ones. Naturally, it needs to hand out some sweets.”

“My hands are starting to itch… … 1,000 per head! Argh! Easy money!” Roddy spouted non-stop. “Right, Xiaolian, didn’t we kill quite a bit of Cao Cao’s soldiers earlier? Why didn’t we get any points as reward?”

“Don’t even think about it.” Chen Xiaolian shook his head. “Those are part of the NPC force that the system gave us. The fact that we did not get punished for killing some of them is good enough. How could there be a reward?”

“What a pity… … what a pity…”

“As expected, it has begun!” As Chen Xiaolian and Roddy were conversing, Lun Tai, who was staring at the monitor, patted Chen Xiaolian’s shoulder. “The Awakened ones have begun moving.”

Under the orders from their officers, Cao Cao’s soldiers attempted to besiege and stop the horse riders who had gathered together. There were a considerable number of Awakened ones moving about amid Cao Cao’s soldiers, assisting in the fight.

“The situation does not look optimistic…” Roddy was looking at the monitor. “Although they are very strong, their number is too small.”

“Something is not right…” Chen Xiaolian looked at the screen for a while before slowly shaking his head.

There on the monitor, Cao Cao’s soldiers were gradually gathering to surround the horse riders. For Chen Xiaolian, the rate at which they were retreating – after gathering up – was much slower than expected. It was weird.

Given the strength and discipline that the horse riders had displayed earlier, as long as a few of them stepped forward to cover the rear, they would be capable of getting away from the battlefield before Cao Cao’s soldiers fully surround them. Yet, for some unknown reason, they had been slow in their movements. Even after Cao Cao’s soldiers successfully encircled them, they did not attempt to charge out from the encirclement. The speed at which they unleashed their surprise attack had suddenly dissipated.

After Cao Cao’s soldiers surrounded them, their formation gradually grew tighter. Generally speaking, once horse riders lose their speed, they would become lambs to the slaughter. However, the horse riders utilized their formidable individual strength to fight off Cao Cao’s soldiers without falling apart.

Cao Cao’s soldiers remained as the main attacking force. There were, however, Awakened ones dispersed throughout the besieging soldiers, waiting for the opportunity to attack. Whenever they notice a horse rider becoming seriously wounded, three to four of them would abruptly attack to instantly kill off that horse rider.

“They are quite the quick learners… in such a short period of time, they have learnt how to get cheap kills.” Roddy scratched his chin and gave a harrumph before saying, “Those guys are going to be rich. Still… … what should we do, Xiaolian?”

“Wait and observe…” Chen Xiaolian had only just spoken up when a meteor-like burst of light appeared from the corner of the screen. It shot toward the rear part of Cao Cao’s military camp, charging toward the biggest tent there.

“It’s here.” Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath and said in a serious tone, “Get a closer view. Just be careful not to move too close!”

“All right!” Roddy quickly controlled Adam, zooming in on the battlefield.

Within the burst of light was a human figure.

A figure clad in silver helmet and silver armour, riding a white horse.

1 Adam first appeared in Chapter 426.↩

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