Volume 1: The Beginner's First Cry Chapter 28: Lion Slaughter
We were all waiting quietly. Little Pepper was so excited that she clenched the bow and arrow in her hand, looking up from time to time. She looked like she couldn't wait to fight. She didn't show any fear at all. This little girl was really brave. Didn't she consider the fate of failing to kill the lion and being killed by the lion instead?
I was also a little nervous. I hoped to meet him soon and end this painful wait, but I also hoped not to meet him and not have to face such a powerful enemy. I was just a rookie who had just started playing the game, not a seasoned fighter.
Xue Wuxia came back, looking very excited. We finally won the jackpot. It turned out to be the tailless lion king at the bottom of the hill. Everyone was immediately excited and started to act according to the pre-arranged plan. Yun Wuying and Nan Feiyan, the fastest, launched a tentative attack. They split into two groups and covered each other, gradually luring the lion group to the hillside. Xue Wuxia and her group ambushed at the top of the hill and concentrated their attacks to kill the closest lion as quickly as possible. Afeng and Xin Zhishou ambushed in front of them to cover them. Once a lion got too close, the two of them would fight to protect the magician and the archer. They were the key to the success of the mission. I was given the role of "observer", which meant monitoring the surrounding movements and issuing an alarm to remind them in time if anything happened. This was also considered taking care of me. Otherwise, if a low-level thief like me faced the lion head-on, I would definitely die. I am a big man, but I have to be taken care of and protected by a group of girls everywhere. It was really a bit pathetic.
There are eight enemies in total, all of them are adult lions with strong fighting power. Even if we act according to our plan, we may not win. Everything depends on luck.
Nan Feiyan quietly approached the patrolling lion, and as soon as she came within the range of the bow and arrow, she quickly shot two arrows and hit the lion. The lion reacted instinctively, roared, sounded the alarm, and rushed towards Nan Feiyan.
Nan Feiyan didn't dare to stop after shooting, and had already retreated to the hillside. The lion followed closely, and it was very fast. In a blink of an eye, it was close to Nan Feiyan. Fortunately, Xue Wuxia and her team were relatively forward, and they just arrived in time to provide support. The first-level magic "Lightning Arrow", "Ice Bullet" and "Wind Blade" plus two "Critical Hit" hit the lion chasing Nan Feiyan. It was caught off guard and let out a miserable howl, and fell to the ground, but then stood up again and rushed over with a roar. At this time, the lion group also moved and began to quickly gather here.
After several rounds of concentrated attacks, the lion was severely injured. Nan Feiyan dodged to the side without any danger, let it pass, and turned back to cooperate with Yun Wuying to delay the lion group's actions. A Feng and the Guardian of the Heart also rushed out from the side and gave the lion the final blow. Xue Wuxia and the others quickly retreated to the top of the slope, ready to welcome the arrival of the lion group.
The seriously injured lion was quickly dealt with by Afeng and the others, but it fought back before dying and bit Afeng. The lion, which was fully armored and had three stars' innate life force, was killed by one third in one bite, which made Afeng feel a little scared when he talked about it. Even Xue Wuxia changed color. The attack power of this lion was really amazing. If it had been a magician or an archer, two bites would probably have been enough to kill him.
Everyone was on high alert, staring at the approaching lions. Success or failure depended on this one move. I didn't dare to neglect it either, and secretly put on the badge of the necromancer. Fortunately, everyone was looking at the lions, and no one noticed me for the time being. Although the 5% faster recovery of health points was not much, it could be extremely useful at a critical moment. Under such circumstances, I thought it would be impossible to conceal my identity, unless I could watch others sacrifice themselves.
The lions arrived faster than expected. Yun Wuying and Nan Feiyan did not dare to get too close to them, so the degree of harassment was limited. Moreover, their speed was beyond our estimation. Their formation was relatively dense, so we could not get rid of them before we got close. Casualties were inevitable. Someone had to sacrifice to cover the retreat of others and prepare for the second wave of attack. Otherwise, the whole army might be wiped out. This was also a supplementary measure we agreed upon in advance.
I sighed and stood up. Even if others didn't say anything, a thief like me who was the most useless so far would have to make sacrifices to cover their main force's retreat, if I didn't have a second identity. Afeng guessed what I was going to do, and stood up beside me to protect me.
Under the surprised gazes of Xue Wuxia and the others, my whole body flashed with black light. Fortunately, I did not lose face in front of the beauties. The third-level magic "Summoning of the Undead" was lucky to be successful. I felt a little vain. Ninety-three skeleton warriors suddenly appeared on the hillside, blocking us from the lion group.
The sudden appearance of the undead army caused the lions that were charging forward in such great momentum to panic and slow down. Xue Wuxia seized the opportunity and joined forces with everyone to attack with all their strength, using magic bows and arrows to quickly kill the one in the front.
The tailless lion king is worthy of being the king of beasts. He has some knowledge. He roared a few times, restrained the lion group, and rushed towards the skeleton warriors. I just asked them to be responsible for defense, delay time, and try not to let the lion group pass through, creating opportunities for Xue Wuxia and the others to kill the enemy.
Although the skeleton warriors were no match for the six lions, they were brave and fearless and had a large number of people. They fully utilized the characteristics of the human wave tactics, and fought one after another, using swords and shields to hold back the six lions. Yun Wuying and Nan Feiyan saw that the situation had changed, so they quickly rushed back and cooperated with Xue Wuxia and the others to attack and eliminate the lions one by one.
The battle was very brutal. As soon as they came into contact, more than a dozen skeleton warriors turned into scattered bones. The speed and attack power of the lions were not comparable to them. If there were not enough of them, they would not pose a threat to the lions. Of course, they could not be used as the main force in the war, but now they were used to slow down the rhythm of the lions' attacks. A few bone knives chopped down, and the lions had to be cautious and spent time dealing with them. Alas, these little brothers I caught with great effort have become victims again.
The unexpected reinforcements beyond Xue Wuxia's plan bought them precious time. They adopted the tactic of concentrating superior forces to defeat the enemy one by one. The magic weapons were fired without missing a beat, and my "fire phosphorus bombs" also joined in the fun, which laid the foundation for the lion group's demise. When the tailless lion king unwillingly died with my last little brother, the war ended dramatically. Everything went unexpectedly smoothly. We completed the first public mission of this absolutely perverted Eastern Continent without any casualties.
While Xue Wuxia, Xiao Lajiao and the others were excited about the "Ten-Man Order" in their hands, I hid aside and mourned for my undead brothers. This was the result of twelve hours of labor, but it was wiped out in just a few minutes. It was not easy to come by, but it was lost too quickly. Not even one was left for me. Doesn't this mean that I have to start all over again? What a perverted task, what a damn lion group.
The noise stopped, Xue Wuxia walked in front of me, and everyone else looked at me. I can say that I contributed a lot to the successful completion of the mission this time. If I hadn't stepped forward at the critical moment, even if the mission could be completed, several people would have to sacrifice with me. I was fine, so I went to the "Dead Space" to continue the game. They might have to face the wall and reflect on their mistakes. But after all, we all came to complete the mission together. If someone sacrificed because of my selfishness and inability to contribute, my conscience would not be justified. I am a useless rookie thief. No matter whether they accepted me because of Xiao La Jiao or for some other reason, they still took good care of me. It was worth it to expose my identity for them.
Seeing that Afeng, Xiao Lajiao and Nan Feiyan also had some surprised looks, I am afraid that even they who knew my background did not expect things to develop like this, and they actually passed the test without any danger. In fact, not only them, but even I did not expect that I could really summon all the ninety-three skeleton warriors. After all, I am just an apprentice necromancer. I only summoned a dozen last time, and the summoning in the "dead space" does not consume mental energy because of the "soul contract". And the role of the undead army was beyond my imagination. It completely restrained the attack of the lion group, and used their sacrifice in exchange for the fruits of our victory. It can be said that life may not be great, but death is glorious enough!
