Mo Tan never intended to follow Tairo’s command from the start, because he knew that the big-bearded Paladin, whose thinking was not too rigid but certainly a bit inflexible, would surely have everyone cover the villagers’ retreat at this point, while he himself would take the other three to stay behind and cover their rear. Finally, after Mo Tan and the villagers had more or less left the danger zone, he would either unleash a big move or self-destruct, either perishing with the Mutants or attempting to perish with them. His dying words would likely be to tell the remaining three Knights to run quickly. If time permitted, he might even reminisce about the past and, in a daze, see his childhood sweetheart/youthful crush before closing his eyes contentedly…
If it followed such a trope, it could at least fill about one and a half chapters.
However, unfortunately, although Tairo did indeed plan to follow the aforementioned plot, Mo Tan apparently had no intention of letting those scenes become reality.
So, he turned hostile without warning. Not only did he fail to fully obey Tairo’s command and organize a retreat as previously agreed, but he even had the guys he brought out join the battle!
This squad consisted of two Shamans, two Rangers, one Thief, one Druid, two Warriors, and two Mages. They were all low-level professionals who had previously helped defend Mida City, led by the Elven Druid Emang Blackleaf. Everyone had a good relationship with Mo Tan.
The reason these individuals were willing to obey Mo Tan instead of Tairo’s command was related to the two previous training battles…
Lord Sol had only issued a recruitment notice and had no intention of interfering too much afterwards. Therefore, apart from the civilians being drilled by Paladins in the city, the remaining low-level professionals, along with Captain Kahn’s guard Team, were temporarily put under Mo Tan’s charge, which the latter had actively requested.
If the situation did indeed become extremely grim, then these low-level professionals, who had not been integrated into the blockade, might become one of Misha County’s main forces for a period in the future. Based on this idea, Mo Tan wanted to understand these people as much as possible before Xia Lian returned.
And so, even though most of his online time each day was spent as a training dummy, Mo Tan still carved out some time to conduct an investigation at the newly established camp outside Mida City. Simply put, he randomly found a group of people and had them fight each other to observe their strength, and he temporarily joined one side in two training sessions…
With his powerful observation and analytical abilities, he quickly grasped the average strength of this group. They were slightly weaker than the former Fenrir Squad, but each person could handle one or two Mutants without much trouble.
In addition, Mo Tan also incidentally helped the side he joined easily crush the other, and then in turn helped the other side crush them back.
With confidence in his current self and no psychological burden whatsoever, Mo Tan utilized his characteristics to the fullest, making everyone on his side perform with almost two hundred percent effectiveness as if by instinct, while at the same time unraveling all of the opponent’s offensives like peeling silk from a cocoon, which sounded particularly fantastical.
But he could indeed do this: make up for any potential shortcomings, leverage the advantages and strengths of everyone around him, interpret the current situation at the fastest speed, and devise countermeasures. This kind of thing was simply an instinct for Mo Tan, who was currently ‘Black Vatican’.
This was something he couldn't do under his other two personalities.
And all Mo Tan needed to do was apply this instinct in appropriate situations, just as he had done before with the Fenrir Squad…
The ten people around him were all participants in his previous training battles. They had a trust in Mo Tan that, while not absolute, was at least sufficient.
“That’s enough!”
Mo Tan looked at the group of Mutants in the distance, at least half of whom were drenched by the torrents and sudden rain, and softly snapped his fingers: “Mircha, Tirio, give them a shock~”
“Yes, Mr. Black Vatican!” The Wild Boar People Shaman from a minority group summoned a dark purple totem pole and loudly shouted: “Spirit of Thunder, slumbering above the clouds, please heed my call, descend~”
The totem pole on the ground immediately transformed into a bolt of electricity and shot towards the sky, vanishing in an instant into the dark clouds that had hung over the sky for more than half a month.
And the Half-Orc Shaman named Tirio Windfury chuckled, clapped his hands together forcefully, and in the next second, drew several dazzling blue electric lights between his palms, vigorously waving them towards the Mutants: “Taste my Yang Jiao Shou’s Fiery Lips!”
“Yang Jiao what’s-his-name’s what lips?”
Mo Tan looked at Tirio in surprise, but didn’t say much, because the constantly flickering blue lightning chain had already touched the first Mutant, and at the same time, a bright purple bolt of thunder also crashed down from the clouds, directly striking the monster that Mo Tan had singled out!
Shuang Ye had once told Mo Tan via friend message that lightning summoned by supernatural powers was stronger than ordinary lightning. Similarly, water elements summoned by magic were naturally purer than ordinary water, and also had an incredibly almost undiminished conductivity.
That clever girl seemed to have already started researching mixed magic…
“Although they have lost their sanity, pain, and even souls, and their vitality is many times stronger than before,” Mo Tan said softly, looking at the Mutants who were stiffly paralyzed in place not far away, “these Mutants are still human after all. Even if they won’t be struck dead, frozen to death, or burned to death, they will still be paralyzed by lightning, slowed by cold, and of course, burned by flames.”
An Elven female warrior with a greatsword on her shoulder stepped forward, standing gallantly in front of Mo Tan: “Hey, when can I charge in and cut people?”
“Not yet.” Mo Tan shook his head, silently calculated the time in his mind, then opened his holy book, casting an enhanced Holy Healing on a heavily wounded Paladin at the extreme casting range, and shouted to Tairo: “After the next round of electric shocks, you’ll have about five seconds to run over. Get ready.”
Most of the Mutants were twitching all over from the electric shock. Although they had completely lost their sense of pain, it didn't mean they were immune to various abnormal statuses. As a result, the pressure on the four Paladins deep within the enemy lines suddenly decreased, finally giving them a moment to catch their breath.
Tairo alone might be able to take down a dozen Mutants, and the other three Paladins could each comfortably deal with two or three. However, this did not mean that together they could simultaneously take down thirty or forty Mutants. The complete numerical disadvantage would greatly negate individual strength, and these Knights were fighting on foot!
Innocent World is different from the settings of many games. Although it sounds strange, it is indeed closer to reality.
In this game, Knights, no matter what kind of Knight, would absolutely never have a setting where they are stronger off their mount than on it. This can be seen from Mo Tan’s gaming experience as ‘Mo’. As a Knight, even if he only had a sheep to ride, it was still much stronger than fighting on foot!
There was even less to say for Tairo and his companions. Fighting on foot, they were currently unable to use any Knight skills, and the heavy plate armor they wore was drastically accelerating their stamina consumption. Coupled with the limited maneuvering space due to facing a large number of enemies simultaneously, the situation had deteriorated to its extreme.
But that didn't mean Tairo believed Mo Tan and the others could turn the tide.
Mo Tan also knew this, so he added loudly: “There are sixty-three Mutants in total. You won’t last until everyone is out of danger. Trust me, Lord Tairo, I have a way! In the Goddess’s name!”
“Alright.” Tairo forcefully cut off a Mutant’s head, hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said to the three beside him: “Brothers, get ready, we’re charging back.”
He had now discovered the same problem as Mo Tan, realizing that even if he and the other three Paladins fought with all their might, they wouldn't be able to hold out until everyone was out of danger. Coupled with the effectiveness of the opponent’s recent electrical attack, he finally made up his mind.
Mo Tan smiled slightly, then turned to the two Shamans in the team and said, “Those guys are almost recovered. Shock them again.”
“Spirits of the Ancestors~”
“Yang Jiao Shou’s Fiery Lips!”
Crackling sounds!!
The Mutants, whose paralysis had not yet fully faded, immediately began to twitch again!
And Tairo and the other three desperately swung their greatswords, fighting their way back from one flank of the Mutant horde.
“Rangers, Mages, prepare to assist! The second paralysis effect won’t be as good as before!” Mo Tan shouted, then asked the Elven girl who had just run back from a distance, “Are the villagers all settled?”
The apprentice Thief Elsa Lightwind nodded: “Everyone has gathered at the village entrance. I checked, and there are no other Mutants lurking nearby besides here.”
Mo Tan nodded slightly: “Thank you for your hard work. You and Tirio, go to the path on the right, set up some slowing traps and Earth Binding Totems, then come back as soon as possible.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Mutants, who had completely shaken off their paralysis, had already turned around and charged over. The previous two rounds of attacks had not caused too many casualties among these monsters. They roared and chased Tairo and the other three on all fours, with the first few closing the distance to within two meters in an instant.
“Go quickly.” Mo Tan softly urged Elsa and the two Shamans, then shouted loudly: “Rangers continue to hold them, Mages and the others follow me, Warriors take the rear, Lord Tairo, this way!”
Then he led the way, turning into a small path beside the Alchemy Workshop. Luna and the others followed closely…
“Luna?” Mo Tan looked at the girl jogging beside him in surprise, exclaiming: “Why didn’t you go with the other villagers just now!?”
She glanced at him and calmly replied, “Hmm, I forgot…”
“Alright, then you can follow along.” Mo Tan smiled wryly and shrugged, then stopped at the end of the small path. Behind them, the two warriors in the team, along with the Paladins, had already engaged the monsters.
However, this time they weren't struggling as much, for no other reason than that the narrow path, flanked by houses on both sides, was really quite tight. It was already the limit to accommodate three adult men standing shoulder to shoulder. If it were someone as large as Cordova, at most two could stand abreast. Of course, if he transformed into a Dog-Headed Kobold, about five might fit…
In any case, this was the first stop!
About half a minute later, the four Paladins finally reunited with everyone at the end of the small path.
Under Mo Tan’s arrangement, Tairo and the two well-conditioned warriors from the squad blocked the path, fighting the foremost Mutants. The Rangers, who had climbed onto the rooftops on both sides, continuously rained down fire, while the two Mages, also ranged professionals, used water magic to help Mo Tan restore the injuries of the other three Paladins.
The situation seemed to have stabilized…
“But this is only temporary, and this place can’t hold out for too long.”
Mo Tan looked at the wooden houses on both sides, which were gradually beginning to totter under the Mutants’ assault, frowned slightly, cast a Law Decree Shield on Tairo, and then began to look around.
Detailed command was not very effective in this situation, so he needed more similar terrain to reduce the number of Mutants, but there were few such narrow paths in this village, and the buildings were also few and far between.
“Miss Luna.” Mo Tan, who had circled around to no avail, scratched his hair and asked the ‘local’ who was squatting beside him in a daze: “Are there any other narrow spaces like this in the village?”
Luna looked up at him, slowly shaking her head: “I don’t remember, but probably not… because there are many places where everyone can build houses… Hmm, or maybe there are, but I definitely forgot.”
“Uh, alright, thanks.” Mo Tan shrugged, then looked back at Tairo, whose physical condition seemed rather grim, cast several newly cooled healing spells on the other three Paladins, and then asked loudly: “How many have you dealt with?”
The Elven female warrior from before fiercely swung her greatsword, severing a Mutant’s claw: “Two! Soon to be three! These zombies are even tougher than my son!”
“You’ve worked hard, but absolutely do not retreat! Please, you must hold out until the two houses next to you collapse.” Mo Tan said in a deep voice, then re-examined the surrounding environment, considering if there were any other locations that could be used for terrain kills.
Emang, who had transformed back into human form at some point, leaned down to apply some medicine to a Paladin, then turned and whispered to Mo Tan: “Let Mr. Tairo retreat to recover, I’ll take his place.”
“Tairo?” Mo Tan looked at Tairo, who was covered in blood and had at least a dozen bite marks from the previous melee, and shook his head seriously…
“No.”
“Ah?”
“Yes, just no.”
Chapter 198: End
