Chapter 124: Reinforcements from the Garrison Army

Deafening battle cries erupted at the city gates. It was truly absurd to see humans and small animals engaging in such a passionate brawl. The southern gate was over ten meters wide, yet it was densely packed with countless players. They employed a human-wave tactic to confront the tidal surge of small white geese pouring in with manic intensity.

Small in size and fast-moving, the geese surged through the gates by the hundreds. While enduring a terrifying, concentrated barrage of arrows and magic, they clashed head-on with the melee players. At the very front, aside from Warriors and Knights like Ye Piaoxue who possessed defensive skills, the ranks were filled with hot-headed young players who, fueled by pure adrenaline, acted as human sandbags. As soon as one fell, more rushed in to fill the gap.

The first level of the player fortress was as cramped as a sardine can; people were squeezed and pressed against one another. Those in the back were pushed forward whether they liked it or not, only to be slain within seconds. Despite the carnage, there was an inexplicably jubilant atmosphere to it all. After all, dying only cost twenty percent of one’s experience, and once they respawned at the north gate, they would be lucky to even find another chance to die so quickly.

"Honk! Honk! Honk..."

The white geese charged forward in a relentless frenzy. Sometimes, they would leap onto the players' heads, burrowing deep into the crowd before being beaten to death by a flurry of clubs. The geese behind them poured in like water through a sluice gate, seizing every opening. As soon as a lead goose fell, more rushed up to peck and scratch with savage ferocity.

Damage numbers of at least forty points erupted constantly from the players. Meanwhile, the archers and mages in the rear didn't even bother to aim; they simply poured their output toward the gate, bombarding the geese with countless spells and arrows every second. The gateway was like a giant meat grinder; the number of geese plummeted, but the players were dying at an equally rapid pace.

"What a passionate scene," Huang Yunshuo remarked, standing atop the city wall, feeling at a loss.

Gege Luo was heavily guarded. The prospect of dealing at least fifty percent of its health in damage while landing the killing blow felt like a fantasy. Could it be that the NPCs of Shitai Town were not coming to reinforce them after all this time?

*Clatter, clatter, clatter.*

A rhythmic, dense sound of hooves echoed from the direction of the eastern suburbs. Huang Yunshuo looked up. On the grassy plains of the eastern suburbs, where monsters were sparse, a cavalry unit of two hundred soldiers was charging toward them. By their attire, they were guards from Shitai Town. Clad in simple cloth armor and wielding steel blades, they hacked through the small animals blocking their path, each strike dealing 100 points of damage.

Huang Yunshuo recognized the leader of this cavalry detachment—a lieutenant from the Garrison Office who usually served as a bodyguard. He had no idea what their mission was, but he wondered if they intended to capture the ringleader and hunt down Gege Luo directly.

Huang Yunshuo leaped from the city wall, switched his Fengxiang boots to hover-jet mode, and landed right in front of the cavalry.

"Lieutenant Luo Liang, are you here to kill Gege Luo?" Huang Yunshuo asked.

"If it isn't our champion warrior, Mr. Zhizhi. Indeed, the Garrison Commander has ordered us to slay this rooster chieftain that has plagued our lands for far too long." The cavalry halted, and Luo Liang addressed Huang Yunshuo with relative courtesy.

"Excellent! I've finally got some heavy hitters to rely on," Huang Yunshuo thought, feeling quite excited.

NPC troops were characterized by low attack and defense but high health. Compared to the players in *Space-Time Wanderer*, where sixty attack power usually came with a thousand health, these NPCs—with their hundred-point attack power—must have at least fifteen hundred health and perhaps thirty points of defense. In any case, Huang Yunshuo felt that trailing behind these big shots might actually give him a chance to go toe-to-toe with Gege Luo.

Luo Liang led the cavalry along the edge of the battlefield, circling toward Gege Luo. Huang Yunshuo chased after them, using his charge and agility skills as soon as they cooled down, yet he still couldn't keep up; the distance between them grew wider.

Gege Luo, accompanied by over a hundred chicken bodyguards, was getting closer to the city wall and had already reached the edge of Sloth Forest. Huang Yunshuo finally caught a clear look at the names of those humanoid monsters: Level 10 Renegade Deserters.

*Wait, aren't they stuttering Liu or stuttering Song?* He rubbed his eyes and looked again. There were no extra characters after the names. They wore tattered leather armor and carried large blades, looking much like Stuttering Liu, and their stats were likely identical.

These two hundred-odd renegade deserters kept patrolling in front of Gege Luo, maintaining a distance of fifty to one hundred meters. Huang Yunshuo was deeply concerned that they might be linked to Gege Luo's aggro. That is to say, if he attacked Gege Luo, they might turn back without hesitation, which would be quite problematic.

"We are preparing to strike. Adventurer, look after yourself," Luo Liang said sternly as the cavalry silently entered the now-empty Sloth Forest.

"We're just going to charge in like that?" Huang Yunshuo asked, feeling conflicted.

In truth, Luo Liang wasn't doing a bad job; he wasn't foolishly charging head-on but was instead opting for a flanking maneuver. Yet, it wasn't nearly enough. Gege Luo had so many chicken bodyguards, and the two hundred deserters could turn back at any moment. If the large group of macaque knights followed suit, Lieutenant Luo would likely be done for.

"How about we lure it a bit further away? If it were just the boss and its small roosters, it would be much easier to handle," Huang Yunshuo suggested.

Luo Liang agreed wholeheartedly. "I understand the logic, but luring it away is easier said than done."

"Just stay hidden in Sloth Forest and don't move. Leave it to me!" Huang Yunshuo patted his chest. With his current ability to traverse land and sky, while his damage output was debatable, he was absolutely an expert at drawing aggro. He refused to believe Gege Luo wouldn't follow him obediently.

The number of casualties among the players in Shitai Town had reached a staggering 1.5 million. By the ten-meter-wide city wall, the white light of players and geese dying flashed in a spectacular display. Dozens, sometimes hundreds, of players fell every second, while those behind them pushed forward like a tide, forcing the front ranks into the incoming surge of geese to continue the slaughter.

This small area was completely littered with dropped loot. Players often lost their footing on the coins and materials, and if they tried to stoop down to pick anything up, they would often find themselves back at the respawn point before they could even finish crouching.

The number of monsters invading the castle fluctuated between 1,000 and 3,000. Sometimes, when players died rapidly, over a thousand geese would pour in at once; at other times, when the players held the line, the number of geese would be compressed to a thousand.

Huang Yunshuo hoisted his rocket launcher and sprinted out of Sloth Forest, charging toward the rooster, Gege Luo.

"Holy crap, this chicken must be two meters tall! Those wings could probably feed me for days!"

The closer he got to Gege Luo, the more horrified Huang Yunshuo felt. A two-meter-tall rooster! Just thinking about it was terrifying. If he got pecked or scratched, he didn't know if it would hurt enough to get kicked out of the game by the system.