Chapter 136: Hiring City Guards

Huang Yunshuo sent a private message to the forum poster known as "Melody of Oblivion." Seeing that the private chat fee was 10,000 credits, he didn't give it a second thought and paid it instantly.

"Great master, it really is you!"

Before two seconds had passed, and before Huang Yunshuo could even close the post, he saw a reply from Melody of Oblivion.

"Add me as a friend so we can talk in detail."

Huang Yunshuo sent a friend request; the forum’s private messaging system was truly a pain to use, and many things were difficult to explain clearly there.

"The base reward is 5 million credits, regardless of whether the defense succeeds! If we successfully hold the city, you get 10% of all loot, 50% of the loot from the boss 'Gegelu,' and you get priority pick on everything."

"Our legion has tons of powerful priests. A brother with a 'Kiss of the Two-Headed Dog' staff is ready to serve as your dedicated healer and buffer. Master, please, you have to agree! We’re about to collapse!"

Melody of Oblivion urged him desperately.

"Wait for me, I’m teleporting over now!"

With conditions this favorable, Huang Yunshuo couldn't even bother to hide his secret joy; he grabbed his helmet and put it on immediately.

Yingtai Town.

With the massive influx of members from the "Resonant Hymn" guild, the population of Yingtai Town, which originally had about 3 million players, had now exceeded 4 million. The addition of a million female priests completely shattered the gender balance of the town; it would be no exaggeration to call it a man’s paradise.

Yet, the arrival of so many players hadn't provided much actual combat utility.

In this era where magic-based classes were in decline, priest players were stingy with their "Holy Word" and "Spring Rain" skills. Under the brutal onslaught of the animal army, the main forces of Resonant Hymn had already collapsed several times, and most mainstream players had died at least four or five times each. The losses were nothing short of catastrophic.

At this very moment, countless mega-chats and public forums within the Resonant Hymn guild received news that Huang Yunshuo was coming to assist at Yingtai Town, and the activity in the member chats skyrocketed.

Several exclusive streamers from the Resonant Hymn legion simultaneously went live on the Starlight Platform to broadcast the final defense of Yingtai Town.

Huang Yunshuo tore three "Space-Time Travel" scrolls simultaneously, and his body began to fade into a translucent state.

He appeared at the resurrection point in the heart of Yingtai Town.

*Whoosh!*

Hundreds, then thousands of female players holding magic staves appeared around him, moving in droves toward the south of the town. The resurrected players formed a spectacular, never-ending line.

Total player deaths: 8.23 million!

Seeing the battle notification, Huang Yunshuo gasped.

He had felt that the defense of Shitai Town was arduous, with deaths reaching 100,000 per minute before they started using the universal recovery potions. Looking at it now, Shitai Town had actually been lucky; at least they were using human lives to steadily wear down the animal army.

In Yingtai Town, however, player deaths were piling up even faster, yet the number of small animals being killed was increasing very slowly.

It was clearly a massacre.

Just then, a group of female players all wearing white robes rushed toward him against the flow of the crowd, each holding a "Kiss of the Two-Headed Dog" staff.

The tall, long-haired beauty leading them, who went by the name "Voice of the Sea," brightened up: "Master Retard, look over here! We're here to pick you up."

"Hello there."

Huang Yunshuo suppressed his amazement. Resonant Hymn was indeed a man’s paradise. These elite players weren't just great healers; they were all stunningly beautiful. The line of women before him made his head spin.

"What’s the situation in your town?" Huang Yunshuo asked, slowing his pace.

"Situation... well, we can't hold out. Maybe in one or two minutes, maybe ten, the first floor of the castle will be completely overrun." Voice of the Sea smiled bitterly. She had a tall, mature, and sexy figure, but her voice was surprisingly like that of a child.

The number of animals pouring into the castle fluctuated—sometimes dropping below 1,000, sometimes surging to seven or eight thousand. Huang Yunshuo watched with a racing heart. There was no doubt about it; these girls hadn't opened the city gates at all, allowing the animal army to spread out and attack from all sides. How could they possibly hold up against this!

"Tell your people to get down there and open the city gates immediately, otherwise I’m afraid the mission will fail before I even reach the south wall!" Huang Yunshuo roared at Voice of the Sea.

"Oh... okay, got it."

Voice of the Sea was startled by Huang Yunshuo’s outburst. She froze for two seconds before hurriedly relaying the order.

Huang Yunshuo sprinted at full speed toward the south of the town. The group of beauties with their "Kiss of the Two-Headed Dog" staves vanished from sight in the blink of an eye, but he felt relieved rather than surprised.

Using movement skills continuously, he reached the player castle. Flying directly to the north wall, he gasped.

Countless little hornets were swarming like a sandstorm, wreaking havoc among the players. White geese were jumping about arrogantly, charging onto the ramparts in droves—either being wiped out or surging deep into the crowd of players.

Countless walnuts rained down onto the walls. As the wall's durability plummeted, players were being killed instantly by the dozens every second.

With a million more players than Shitai Town, the scene inside the castle was even more spectacular.

If the player castle at Shitai Town was like a tin of sardines, this one was a super-sized can. Bodies were crammed against bodies; even with the game’s collision settings, players could barely move. It felt as if the entire castle was about to burst.

Running along the ramparts, he bypassed the east wall and arrived at the eastern section of the south wall.

Seeing that the massive city gate had been opened by the combined efforts of countless players, the animals began to crowd into the city tunnel. The animals that had already climbed the wall began to retreat, which significantly eased the pressure on the players. Huang Yunshuo breathed a sigh of relief.

*BOOM!*

A rocket slammed into a dense swarm of little hornets.

-110! -113! -222! -56! -58! ...

Massive red damage numbers erupted like fireworks. The hornets hit directly took over a hundred damage, while those in the splash radius took at least 50+ damage.

Level 4 little hornets only had 50 HP in total.

The white light of the dying hornets flickered like stars; every one caught in the blast died instantly. A section of the swarm was cleared out on the spot—at least fifty or sixty hornets eliminated.

"Holy shit..."

The archer players standing on the fifth level were dumbstruck, staring at Huang Yunshuo as if he were a ghost. Aside from a stunned curse, they couldn't find the words.

They had no idea how to fight these tiny things; they couldn't even lock onto them, and it often took three arrows to kill just one.

Were they even playing the same game?

Huang Yunshuo understood clearly that the hornets were the biggest threat—high attack, high mobility, and massive numbers. Wherever they swarmed, players died in droves. His top priority was to drastically reduce their numbers.

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!*

For the first time, the sound of rocket artillery echoed across Yingtai Town, and once it started, it did not stop.