Chapter 42.2: Combat Might of Players
"The monster's movements are slowing down! Warriors, charge!" Ji Tang issued another command.
"Coming!" Yang Ying and Tang Jia immediately activated their Basic Battle Roar and charged straight on at the mutated toad.
Wanderers, upon reaching their first advancement, could only learn two melee weapon skills (including daggers, knives, and swords) and two bow skills. Since players temporarily didn't have access to ranged weapons, and melee weapon skills had short cooldowns and consumed less mental energy, even players like Jia Luo, who was dedicated to becoming a ranger, temporarily adopted a melee combat style.
The four skills of knights leaned more toward defense, although they still weren't good at enduring charges. However, when dealing with lighter-weight creatures like spiders, their Shield Strike and Shock abilities could briefly immobilize the spiders, reducing damage toward themselves.
Warriors were different. All four of their skills were offensive and berserk.
Yang Ying and Tang Jia simultaneously charged with a left-right approach. With a weight of at least three to four tons and a low center of gravity, the giant toad was still visibly shaken by the impact.
The two girls, who already cooperated very well in monster hunting, simultaneously unleashed Sword Storm.
This "windmill" technique invented in traditional online games back on Earth, where one spun in place while wielding a weapon, inflicting significant damage to surrounding enemies, didn't exist in this world. After all, normal fighters wouldn't be foolish enough to transform into a spinning top during battles where the enemy would just run away. And how stupid was it to leave one's back open and be a punching bag?
But Yang Qiu still imitated the traditional warrior skill from Earth's online games and created Sword Storm. The reason being, firstly, this skill was simple, direct, and could quickly deal a substantial amount of damage. Secondly, players usually engaged in group fights while farming monsters and knights would be at the forefront, so briefly exposing vulnerabilities wasn't a big deal.
With an apt understanding of the weaknesses of the warrior profession, Ji Tang allowed his two teammates to join the fight against the weakened demonized toad, making the creature "bleed." As the two warrior sisters spun in a whirlwind of swords on each side, toxic body fluids and bits of skin were sent flying. Players using "Identify" observed the "health bar" (damage assessment) of the demonized toad decreasing rapidly.
"Damn, that's so cool!" Many players that had yet to advance jobs were worked up at the sight. "I'm not going to play as a wanderer anymore, I want to be a warrior too!"
The Sword Storm skill of the two warrior sisters ended, and in perfect synchronization, they activated Blade Dance, a skill that existed in this world. It involved swiftly swinging one's weapons and continuously attacking within a 30-degree angle in front of them. Top-tier warriors could even use dual-wielding techniques to create an impenetrable wall of blades with this skill.
Yang Ying and Tang Jia had only reached their first advancements and had only been focusing on practicing with a single weapon during their monster farming efforts. They were still far away from even touching dual-wielding.
However, even with a single weapon, their graceful sword movements were enough to make non-advanced players envious and catch the attention of those who had done the advancement to wanderers and knights.
"Unfortunately, warriors have weak survival abilities. They can't endure attacks like knights, nor can they escape like wanderers. Otherwise, I would have also played as a warrior," Brother Lahong lamented as he watched on with envy.
When Brother Lahong spotted Vanilla Pudding (Qin Guan) next to him with his mouth agape, he couldn't help but blurt out, "Vanilla, aren't you also a warrior? Why don't you join in and practice?"
"Uh…"
If not because he knew Brother Lahong had a solid character despite being a competitor, Qin Guan would have suspected the former was looking for an opportunity to mock him.
Although Qin Guan was also a warrior and had completed his first job advancement, he usually focused on commanding and rarely engaged in combat personally. He wasn't all that skilled in his abilities, so wouldn't he make a fool of himself if he joined the fight?
After Yang Ying and Tang Jia used their skills, Ji Tang recalled them and personally took to the field again to adjust the monster's position, creating a favorable situation for wanderers to unleash their damage.
Once Yang Ying's and Tang Jia's Rage Meter (the mental energy required to use rune skills) naturally returned to full, Ji Tang let the two warriors out again.
Skilled players indeed had greater combat ability than most ordinary people.
However, having skills didn't necessarily mean one knew how to use them. It was like modern weapons on Earth, which were completely different in the hands of soldiers trained in industrialized countries compared to militiamen from tribal or makeshift national armies. It wasn't unheard of for thousands of several thousand militiamen of less developed countries scattered in panic after clashing with a few hundred well-trained mercenaries.
Yang Qiu needed the players to develop a certain level of combat ability, but he couldn't force players to train collectively. Therefore, he provided monster hunting grounds, allowing players to gradually develop synergy and teamwork, while he manipulated dynamic plot quests behind the scenes.
Elevating Ji Tang, a disciplined soldier, to the position of commander made perfect sense.
The players didn't know that Ji Tang, who had undergone systematic training and had practical experience in executing military missions in the real world, would definitely find a way to organize their combat power and do everything possible to preserve lives, given the premise that they were rescuing real people.
Take, for example, the situation with this demonized toad. If it weren't for Ji Tang's excellent arrangements and efforts to create a safe environment for players to deal damage, having a number of casualties on their side would be normal, given the player's chaotic style of fighting…
After about 20 minutes of intense battle, the severely injured toad let out a mournful cry and collapsed to the ground. There was no need for players to "loot the corpse" as its battered belly peeled off, revealing a large pile of dangerous glossy green crystals.
"HAHAHA! What great loot!"
At this time, nobody minded getting the sticky toxic fluids of the giant told on themselves as they eagerly rushed forward to collect the drops.
Unceasing Entropy had logged off to sleep, and Ji Tang, despite not liking troublesome matters, had to take the lead in gathering the dropped materials and conducting an auction within the team while on the move and distributing the proceeds to the players who had participated in the battle.
While Ji Tang was busy calculating, about 200 kilometers away from the main player force, in the wilderness near the eastern body of the Duchy of Shiga, Yang Qiu, atop his undead horse, faced off with a spear-wielding knight clad in full body armor.
The temperatures in Taranthan were quite low at night, and more than three hundred Camore weavers, who were rushing through the night with Yang Qiu, were freezing. Their lips were pale, and they huddled together a short distance behind Yang Qiu.
Not a single of these people were in their prime. Even slightly younger boys and girls were absent. The people with Yang Qiu were all elderly, weak, sick, or disabled individuals who were no longer capable of weaving or cultivating cotton.
Initially, the heads of the Eugene and Bennett families that managed the local weaver unions had intended to send troublemakers that normally defied their authority to go with Yang Qiu too. But upon realizing the significant number of useless, elderly, weak, sick, and disabled individuals within the weaver community, they changed their minds.
Even unruly troublemakers would have to work if they wanted to survive, and they had to be paid for their work. In any case, Black Mage Yang hadn't explicitly stated that the two families had to provide healthy, able-bodied individuals, nor did he exclude the elderly, weak, or sick. So, why should they have any issues with doing what benefited them the most?
And so, these rejects who were despised even by their own families were handed over to Yang Qiu.
True to his word, Yang Qiu did not discriminate, and he forked out some money to purchase a few dilapidated carts to accommodate those who had lost their ability to care for themselves.
When Yang Qiu left Camore with this group of people, everyone, whether it was the lower-class weavers or the dignified upper-class onlookers in the main streets, all believed that this black mage couldn't be up to anything good by taking away these weak and disabled.
While Black Mage Yang was active in town, those people were walking on eggshells. Regardless of whether it was Viscount Lynn, whom Yang Qiu had visited, or the mayor, everyone treated him with respect and courtesy.
Only after Yang Qiu had traveled a sufficient distance away from Camore did those respectable citizens release the contingencies they had prepared…
"Black Mage Yang."
The silent standoff lasted for a while until the knight in full armor spoke again with his aged yet imposing voice, "Indeed, it is you."
"Good evening, my friend," Yang Qiu replied calmly. "It seems that we are acquainted. Shouldn't friends be more open with each other when they meet?"
The knight fell silent and raised his visor, revealing a face marked with deep wrinkles. He exuded a dignified and righteous aura.
"Pardon my tact, but I seem to have no recollection of you," Yang Qiu said.
"Of course, you wouldn't recognize me." The knight, despite his aged appearance, had a physique even stronger than young men, said in a deep voice, "When you intruded Sir Knight's manor and cruelly tortured him in front of everyone, I was just a squire, making my first entrance into social gatherings under my father's guidance. I—"
Yang Qiu interrupted the knight. "So you're a local from Camore, right? Typically, young individuals from respectable families are introduced to social occasions by their parents upon turning 18. It serves two purposes: inheriting the connections of their elders and seeking potential marriage partners. In other words, at that time, you should have been an adult capable of distinguishing between good and evil."
This seemed to ignite the knight's anger as he declared angrily, "Do you think my description of your 'cruel' actions is inadequate?"
"Yes," Yang Qiu asserted confidently.
The knight almost laughed out of frustration. "As expected of the Nightmare Butcher! Such wanton and heinous acts! And yet, there was never a trace of remorse for your evil deeds! The Radiant Sun Church should punish themselves for letting a demon like you roam freely!"
The helmet of the knight bore the Goddess of Prosperity's emblem, indicating that he belonged to the Goddess of Prosperity's faith. It was normal for them to disdain the Radiant Sun Church.
When Yang Qiu had gone to "visit" Viscount Lynn, he had said that the esteemed viscount could inform the Radiant Sun Church about his whereabouts should he wish. At that time, the viscount didn't turn hostile on the spot because of how they were seated in the garden reception room.
In short, Yang Qiu's provocative behavior was actually an attempt to enrage the followers of the Goddess of Prosperity, enticing them to take matters into their own hands and "eliminate the evil Black Mage Yang." After all, there were still many things yet to be accomplished in Exile Town, and Yang Qiu had to focus on its development. So, temporarily avoiding a direct confrontation with the fanatical members of the Radiant Sun Church was the best.
In response to the furious accusations from the knight of the Goddess of Prosperity's faith, Yang Qiu not only remained unbothered but even chuckled. "If my calculations are correct, you must be around 130 years old. Yet, you still can't distinguish right from wrong. These years have truly been wasted on you.
"You consider my actions towards Sir Hans as cruel and evil. But have you ever considered that if I hadn't broken the limbs of that scoundrel, leaving him bedridden for the rest of his life, how many innocent young boys would be harmed over the years given that he has the same proclivities as the bishops of the Radiant Sun Church?"
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