Chapter 184: Reinforcements
Preparations were swift, taking less than fifteen minutes for 480 Holy Knights to assemble in front of the chapel.
These devout and solemn warriors were elites who had recently traveled from the Light Capital with Xia Lian.
Despite coming from different sects, they harbored no animosity, as they had a God-blessed one as their supreme Commander.
The differences in their beliefs actually made the team more well-rounded, and their combat strength was even slightly superior to a force of the same size composed entirely of a single sect.
Given that there were also many Mid-Tier and Low-Tier priests and clerics from various sects in Mida City, no other clergy members accompanied Xia Lian, Yu Cheng, Mo Tan, and High Priest Furman on this trip.
The entire team consisted of exactly 484 people, no more, no less, and all were ready to depart except for Xia Lian, who was still praying.
“You didn’t even finish breakfast, you don’t have to hide in the prayer room to eat it,” Yu Cheng complained softly to Mo Tan beside her, leaning against a carriage emblazoned with the Dawn Sect’s holy emblem. “Holy Maiden is really something…”
She didn't think it was embarrassing for Xia Lian to carry half a jin of steamed buns into the prayer room; she just felt bad about making so many people wait.
“Actually, twenty minutes should be enough for her to finish breakfast,” Mo Tan glanced at the neat formation of knights, like a military parade, not far away, and shrugged. “It’s just that these Holy Knights assembled a bit too quickly.”
Yu Cheng nodded gently, then tilted her small head and stared blankly at the sky for a while before letting out a soft sigh: “It’s been so clear here since yesterday.”
Mo Tan subconsciously looked up and saw that the sky over Hofur City was indeed bright with sunshine, and occasionally, the chirping of birds, which Black Vatican hadn't heard for a long time, echoed under the blue sky.
Such a peaceful and harmonious scene had not appeared in Misha County for a long time, and it seemed even more precious when compared to the gloomy and dark sky in the distance.
This world is like that; only when everything turns bad do the scenery and daily routines, which people always overlook, become lovely.
And when a peaceful life continues for a long time, people complain about why too many things always remain the same.
Of course, we never intended to make things worse, but most ‘changes’ often do not bring anything good, after all, the probability of Lin Daiyu falling from the sky is much smaller than being hit by a meteorite.
Hofur City, having become a God-blessed one land, was undoubtedly fortunate, but a glimmer of light in the darkness, in most cases, only makes other places appear even darker.
“Thinking about Mida City?” Mo Tan blinked at Yu Cheng. He couldn’t read minds; he just had the same thought as her at the moment he looked up at the sky.
Yu Cheng looked at him with some surprise, then smiled softly: “A little.”
“Try to look on the bright side. After all, no one can save everyone, and that principle applies everywhere, so just do your best,” Mo Tan made a funny face and spread his hands. “Anyway, I did my best. Curse those 15th-century fashion designers who worked at Versailles; none of them were any good!”
Yu Cheng tilted her head curiously: “Why?”
“Because they are suspected of inventing high heels,” Mo Tan rolled his eyes and said grumpily.
“Pfft~ Ha, hahaha, stop it, Mo Tan Tong Xue, I had already forgotten~” The girl immediately thought of the scene of someone cross-dressing yesterday and couldn't help but burst out laughing, and the inexplicable gloom she felt earlier dissipated quite a bit.
Seeing Yu Cheng’s mood improve, Mo Tan quickly changed the subject: “Hmm, speaking of that brother named Gareths, where is he? I remember he was your follower, isn’t he coming with us this time?”
“Wen Qiu is sick, so I asked him to stay and take care of the child,” Yu Cheng shook her head and said softly. “Manpower is tight right now, and we’re taking most of the Holy Knights with us this time. The remaining clergy not only have to maintain order but also comfort the populace, so I asked Gareths to stay. Wen Qiu seems to like him a lot too.”
Mo Tan scratched his cheek: “Wen Qiu is a player, right? What’s the situation with her being sick?”
Then Yu Cheng told him what happened after Mo Tan went offline yesterday, thoughtfully omitting the detail of Xia Lian carrying him back on a crucifix.
…
“I think I understand,” Mo Tan nodded thoughtfully after listening, then, after a moment of silence, suddenly asked, “Is Gareths a player or an NPC?”
Yu Cheng paused, then said unsurely in a low voice: “He should be an NPC, I guess. After all, if he were a player, he probably wouldn’t care so much about the ‘Holy Maiden’ identity, but he’s genuinely devout. Uh, but I haven’t specifically asked, so I can’t be sure.”
“I also lean towards the NPC guess,” Mo Tan nodded, then casually analyzed: “You just mentioned that Wen Qiu fainted once in front of him. I feel like that situation is a bit like disconnecting. Given that, if Gareths is an NPC, it makes sense. Otherwise, a player inexplicably fainting in the game would be a bit strange. But there are still many unanswered questions, like Wen Qiu saying ‘getting used to dozens of places hurting’ or something like that. I just feel like something isn’t quite right…”
Yu Cheng smiled: “Mo Tan Tong Xue is a very serious person.”
“Am I?” Mo Tan scratched his hair awkwardly, laughing sheepishly: “I actually think I’m quite flippant.”
The girl gently shook her index finger: “No, I don’t think ordinary people would think so much, and even if they did, they wouldn’t care much~”
“Maybe it’s because I’m in the late stages of chuunibyou and can no longer treat Innocent World as just a game,” Mo Tan was silent for a while, then pulled out four dog tags from his satchel, smiling with a rather complex expression: “Although theoretically they’re all fake, I always feel like I’ve experienced a lot of incredible things.”
Although Mo Tan was not a particularly sentimental person in most situations, at least now he still found it difficult to let go of certain things.
“A boy with a story is indeed very handsome.”
Yu Cheng suddenly blurted out this sentence.
Mo Tan turned his head stiffly: “You’re kidding, right?”
“Yes, just kidding,” the girl smiled, then whispered, “But it’s hard for me to treat this as a purely game world now too. Maybe before, I was just simply ‘playing,’ but ever since coming to Misha County, it’s been hard to think that way anymore.”
Mo Tan nodded: “I can understand.”
“Then Mo Tan Tong Xue isn’t chuunibyou either,” Yu Cheng said seriously.
Mo Tan laughed dumbfounded: “So?”
Yu Cheng thought for a moment: “So he’s really a very serious person~”
“Alright, being a serious person is much better than being a good person…”
“He’s a good person too!”
“Hey…”
“Just kidding.”
“Not counting friend messages, you’ve been joking more and more often.”
“Hmm, have I?”
“This is possible.”
…
Five minutes later, Xia Lian, having finished eating, appeared in the chapel square and announced their immediate departure.
“Although it’s a bit crowded, are you sure you don’t want to take the carriage with us?” Xia Lian asked Mo Tan with a frown. “Even though we’re both in the north of the county, it’s not exactly close to Mida City, and everyone else has horses.”
High Priest Furman immediately declared: “I can run!”
“No need, I have a mount too,” Mo Tan quickly shook his head, then blew a wolf whistle. A few seconds later, Little White’s figure darted out from around the corner behind the chapel.
If he summoned Little White in front of an NPC, she would appear from somewhere in a logical manner rather than out of thin air; Mo Tan had subtly experimented with this before.
Xia Lian was stunned: “When did you get a mount?”
“I helped the chief of Fire Claw Territory a little while I was in the Violet Empire,” Mo Tan smiled, then turned and winked at Yu Cheng: “I rode Little White to bring Wen Qiu over, right?”
The latter immediately nodded vigorously: “That’s right, that’s right.”
“Is that so? Why don’t I remember seeing this wolf before?” Xia Lian looked at Little White suspiciously, but didn’t delve into it much, just patted Mo Tan’s shoulder and said, “Alright, then you take care, don’t collapse halfway because you’re weak or something.”
Then she pulled Yu Cheng into the carriage.
High Priest Furman hesitated for a moment, then stealthily slipped a potion to Mo Tan, whispering: “Traveling is quite physically demanding. If you really don’t want to lose face in front of Wang Yu, just take a swig of this.”
Then he also got into the carriage.
Mo Tan looked down…
【Lion King’s Pride Potion】
Quality: Excellent
Category: Consumable
Use: Restores 30% of your maximum Stamina within ten seconds. Cannot stack with other consumables of the same effect. Cannot be used again within sixty minutes after consumption.
【Note: Tired? Sometimes after excessive exertion, feeling your stamina~ drained? Want to replenish what’s been overdrawn~? Look for Lion King’s Pride Potion, it’s good for them, and good for you too!】
“Good my ass!” Mo Tan angrily raised the potion in his hand, then immediately put it into his satchel.
He climbed onto the wolf with a troubled expression, letting out a particularly realistic sigh: “Ugh, for practicality’s sake…”
After all, he was ‘Black Vatican’ now, not ‘Tan Mo’, and didn’t have a huge amount of money to squander, so he couldn’t bring himself to throw away such a good item that replenished stamina.
One minute later, he rode Little White, galloping alongside the carriages, leaving Hofur City and heading west towards Mida City with 480 Holy Knights.
…
Game Time AM 11:27
A cold notification rang in Yu Ying’s ear…
【Survivor count -1, current survivor count 72】
“I’m not blind, I can see!” The girl complained angrily, then, panting, she inverted her scimitar and charged again towards a ‘Mutant’ not far away.
Just a second ago, that ragged monster had bitten off half of Captain Hansen’s head; he was the last survivor of the former B尼斯镇 guard squad.
Of course, he was now the last casualty of the guard squad…
Yu Ying couldn’t save the golden-haired uncle who bravely stayed behind with her. Her current HP was only 43%, and her Stamina and Agility were less than 20%.
Although she still had a few healing potions, their effectiveness had diminished to almost nothing due to repeated use in a short period.
The needles and crossbow bolts in her satchel were completely used up, meaning she had completely lost her ranged attack capability.
If it hadn’t been for Captain Hansen’s desperate cover just now, the physically and mentally exhausted Yu Ying wouldn’t even have been able to escape…
“Ah ah ah ah ah!!”
Annoying howls came from all directions, and Yu Ying’s footsteps were stalled.
Her previous sweeping slash had failed to break through the opponent’s defense, or rather, even though it broke through, it got stuck in the monster’s shriveled and stiff muscles.
Six ‘Mutants’ stumbled towards her like zombies, but their speed was not slow at all, and in an instant, they had sealed off all the gaps Yu Ying could use to break through and dodge.
【Those townsfolk haven’t escaped these things’ detection range yet, and those three monsters with broken legs behind probably won’t catch up so easily, which means as long as I deal with these six…】
Yu Ying quickly calculated in her mind, and in the next second, she let go of the stuck scimitar, reached into her satchel for a long dagger, and then suddenly leaped up, dodging several withered hands that came tearing through the air.
“If this move doesn’t work, I’m out of options!” She gritted her teeth, and her entire body suddenly became eerily still in mid-air for one second.
【Falling Petals】
Cunning School Active Skill
Mastery Requirement: Cunning School Level 7, 20 Dexterity
Cost/Restriction: 50% current Agility, 50% current Stamina, at least 1 meter above ground
Effect: Stay airborne for 1 second, and increase the damage of your next Cunning School active skill by 100%. Cooldown 120 minutes.
【Note: There once was a silly person who sent me flying, and then he died.】
Yu Ying used this one-second airborne effect to dodge the monsters’ instinctive scratches, and in the next instant, she appeared without warning behind one of the monsters, which the system called a ‘Mutant’.
【Instant—】
Two blurry phantoms flashed, and a hideous head flew into the sky, accompanied by a torrent of black blood.
【Shadow—】
The hearts of two Mutants were simultaneously pierced, and they stumbled and fell to the ground, roaring and wildly waving their arms, but only grasping half of a red scarf.
【Remaining—】
Crack!
Two slender arms appeared without warning at the neck of a Mutant, then effortlessly twisted it 720 degrees.
The dagger and scimitar, slowly falling in mid-air, disappeared with their owner before hitting the ground, and then…
【Mark】
A flash of crimson blood pierced through the last two Mutants, simultaneously splitting them in half at the waist.
Yu Ying, who had suddenly appeared in the center of the four monster sections, had blood flowing from the tiger’s mouth of both hands, and her arms dropped limply.
In the next second, she fell straight to the ground.
“All my trump cards are used up; now there’s only one last move left…” She gave a bitter laugh, enduring the nauseating stench around her, rolled over, and laboriously raised her hands to her mouth, took a deep breath, and then…
“Is anyone there! Help me!!!!!”
Chapter 181: End
