Chapter 86: Joining the Team Battle

“So, as long as the major frontline supply points remain, we basically can’t lose, right?” Huang Yunshuo asked, his intuition sharp.

“As long as we hold them, there’s a seventy to eighty percent chance of victory—as long as the NPC troops aren’t utterly routed,” Chenlu Qingshuang affirmed his guess.

From the edge of Baishi Plaza, grassy hills unfolded in every direction, thickly clustered, with a few even roads laid out for the marching armies. From this vantage, just a few dozen meters outside the plaza, the first wave of wild monsters had already appeared—a pack of fierce-looking black dogs. Eager players charged toward them without hesitation.

“Let’s hurry!” Huang Yunshuo urged, growing impatient.

“No rush. Let’s trail behind the NPC army. The competition for monsters among players is fierce. Anywhere in plain sight is already mobbed, so the real action with wild monsters happens in the neutral zone. It’s safer to remain behind the NPC forces,” Chenlu Qingshuang replied.

At that moment—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Three dazzling bursts of light lit up, and from within them strode squads of NPC soldiers in shining blue armor—infantry with round shields and curved blades, archers making up a sixth of their number, all emerging in tight formation. The archers were clustered at the center, protected on all sides. At a shout from the leading general, the whole force—six hundred strong—marched forward in unison, their armored boots thundering on the ground.

“They’re not splitting up?” Huang Yunshuo asked, puzzled. “In MOBA-style instances like this, aren’t you supposed to divide the lanes?”

“They don’t split. It’s just this central road—endless skirmishing back and forth. Every five minutes, a new wave of NPC troops respawns. If our NPCs get wiped out, we have to hold the line ourselves, or the enemy’s troops will push right to our base,” Chenlu Qingshuang explained.

So Huang Yunshuo and Chenlu Qingshuang joined about a thousand other players drifting near the NPC army—not necessarily marching directly behind, but staying close.

“How about those big black dogs? They look nasty,” Huang Yunshuo asked, watching dozens of players swarm three of the beasts at a respawn point.

“Their attack isn’t high, but they’re tanks—too much health for solo players to handle early on,” Chenlu Qingshuang replied.

Huang Yunshuo observed one—defense of 10. With roughly sixty players attacking at once, they managed about 600 damage per cycle, dropping its health by more than a tenth. Judging by that, the dog had around 5,000 HP—ridiculously high. If he tried fighting it alone, he’d only cause 80 bleeding damage with each rocket shot, needing more than sixty rounds to bring it down. The thought was daunting. He’d probably overheat his cannon before finishing one off; the cooldown matrix wouldn’t keep up.

“Wait, let me try something,” he said, shaking his head. Suddenly struck by an idea, he dashed over to one of the low-health black dogs, rocket launcher in hand.

Bang.

He fired, the rocket shell exploding on the dog, a bright -52 damage popping up, and the beast began to bleed.

One second later, an extra rocket shell appeared in Huang Yunshuo’s inventory, making him grin with delight.

As dozens of players poured attacks into the black dog, its health plummeted—down to less than 100. A few others waiting to snipe the kill made their move, driving its HP down to a sliver.

Bang.

Another rocket struck, and with a pitiful yelp, the black dog collapsed, spilling a pile of materials and a full fifty copper coins—triggering a wild scramble among the players.

A white flash enveloped Huang Yunshuo as a new buff settled onto him.

He quickly checked his status.

[You have gained a Life Buff x1. Max HP increased by 1%.]

His health rose from 200 to 202—not a massive boost, but still satisfying.

“Just call me the King of Kill-Steal!” Huang Yunshuo joked as he returned to the rear of the NPC troops.

Chenlu Qingshuang remarked, “Buffs can stack up to fifty times. That’s terrifying! If enough players protected you—let you land the last hit every time—with your stats, you’d crush the enemy players.”

“So a full 50% boost to all stats? That would feel pretty amazing,” Huang Yunshuo mused, tempted by the idea. But he knew no one would hand him last hits for free—these were all strangers, and he wasn’t some celebrity player. He’d have to rely on his own cunning.

The first small supply point appeared—a round stone altar shielded by a glowing barrier, steps at its sides, a spring at the center trickling green liquid. Once enough liquid accumulated, a small healing spray would be produced—quite rapidly, in fact. There were already about twenty bottles on the altar, all snatched up in an instant by passing players.

Beside the altar stood a ballista tower, manned by ten vigilant NPC crossbowmen, though they weren’t equipped with heavy crossbows.

From Baishi Plaza to the neutral zone was a 500-meter stretch; the neutral map itself was 200 meters wide, its length vanishing into the distance.

When Huang Yunshuo arrived with the NPC troops, he saw that the opposing side had fewer players with their NPCs—fewer than 800. Across the 200-meter neutral zone, both sides eyed one another warily, with the braver players already trading taunts and jeers from afar.

In the wild zones nearby—dens of black dogs, wild boars, and white cats—crowds of players were furiously grinding monsters, everyone left wounded and desperate for the fallen loot and copper coins.

“The battle hasn’t even started and half of them are already low on health. Is that really okay?” Huang Yunshuo asked, worried.

“Most players don’t know what they’re doing. It doesn’t matter,” Chenlu Qingshuang replied calmly.

Huang Yunshuo squeezed past the NPCs guarding the archers, slipping into the midst of the archer formation. Chenlu Qingshuang, less strong, stayed nearby, flitting along with her hand crossbow ready.

The enemy NPCs wore red armor. Blue and red armies advanced without pause. In a breath, the distance shrank to fifty meters, and both sides’ archers unleashed a volley.

“They’re firing from this far?” Huang Yunshuo fretted—his own range was nowhere near enough.

But the troops didn’t stop. Even as arrows flew, the NPC soldiers marched forward, shields raised, closing the gap. Within moments, only thirty meters separated them, the air thick with arrows.

Suddenly, Huang Yunshuo took a hit.

-33.

Sixty attack power—not too high.

Twenty meters!

Huang Yunshuo aimed at a shield-bearing enemy infantryman and fired.

Bang.

The rocket shell slammed into the shield, sending the soldier staggering back several steps, disrupting the formation behind him.

-42!

-3-3-3-3…

Twenty defense, then. If not for the shield absorbing part of the impact, those red-armored NPCs would have been blown away.

In the world of Reforged Era, shields were interesting equipment. Once equipped, you received the defense bonus, so whether you blocked with the shield or not, the damage taken was about the same. However, shields could mitigate certain negative effects—like knockback or increased damage—so players with shields would always try to block attacks.