Four Split Personalities

Soon, I set out as the Messenger with three teammates, all of whom were NPCs. Although I had not met them before, the atmosphere along the way was quite pleasant. We all chatted happily, and they took good care of me, the somewhat clumsy little Swordsman.

Truly, I could not tell any difference between them and "real" people like us.

We climbed up the slope and lingered behind a not-so-dense thicket sprinkled with Death Dust. We mainly used the Eye of the Mage to observe a group of monsters about a hundred meters away. Since I had to deliver a brief report every thirty seconds, I hardly had any time to pay attention to the movements of our targets. Most of the time, it was my teammates who took on the surveillance and alert duties. The first half hour was relatively easy, until the zombies in the distance abruptly left their positions.

A few minutes later, the previously relaxed atmosphere, which hadn’t hinted at a ’decisive battle’ at all, disappeared. A series of sudden commands from Hei Fan added immense pressure to our S17 special observation team. For nearly an hour that followed, we were constantly running around, crossing several unmonitored areas to set up Bright Powder, rushing to the nearest supplies point to undertake temporary guard duty, going to a designated spot to confirm that only a few dozen monsters were staying put, marking the path followed by the monster battalion, and inexplicably standing by and then just as inexplicably withdrawing. These bewildering tasks made me feel for a moment that Hei Fan was possibly messing with us. However, that was not the case. When I used my rare breaks to complain to a few friends via messages, I found out that almost all the dispatched teams were overwhelmed with tasks. Everyone was carrying a heavy load of duties, and compared to them, our S17 team seemed to have it slightly easier. Teams codenamed ’Eagle Eye,’ all composed of players, were almost running their legs off, receiving almost double the commands as us ordinary teams, each of them tired to the point of exhaustion.

I found it hard to imagine just how vigorous Hei Fan had to be to issue so many commands simultaneously, nor did I understand what effect our actions were supposed to have. It was undoubtedly a grand strategy, and although positioned as pawns unable to see the big picture, the eventual outcome proved that Hei Fan had won this strategic game. I clearly remember at ten forty-nine in the morning, His Highness Forget Language, along with the princess’s guard, successfully drew over twelve thousand Mutants away from a tributary of the Jin Hui River, heading directly towards the Hodir Mountain Path.

By then, the second stage had already been completed by over ninety percent, and we, who had just rushed back to our base, had less than an hour to rest and prepare.

I was assigned to the first combat sequence, cluelessly blown to the Alchemy Workshop, where from two pale-faced old fellows, I received five bottles of Life Potions and a suspiciously colored half vial of ’Physical Fitness Potion,’ then I went to the base to join up with the main force. Captain Raymond, who was in charge of leading about fifty people including me, was very friendly. He always carried a rusty sword that seemed to have many stories and was petit in personality, contrary to his build. To ease everyone’s tension, he even spontaneously borrowed a lute and played a couple of tunes. Perhaps because the musical system of the Realm of Innocence wasn’t quite compatible with reality, I found it rather unpleasant to listen to.

Among the fifty-plus people in my team, there were about ten players, but we did not interact much, just exchanged simple greetings. I was too nervous. If it weren’t for being in the game, I would probably have been suffering from stomach pains by now.

Looking back, that period passed so quickly, it felt like just a blink of an eye, merely the time to say a few words, when the roar from combat zone zero came from afar.

At eleven fifty-one in the morning, the third phase officially began. That was the last time I had a chance to check the system time.

The first line of basic defense, buried with a large number of explosives (referred to as the first line), was detonated. Almost simultaneously with the explosion, we received orders and, led by our captains, quickly rushed to the first combat zone, ready for combat. Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, prepared to die under the first onslaught. The sound of the Shamans’ war drums echoed through the mountain path, but they had little effect on us players; I was still shaking all over with tension.

One Shaman Priest after another hurriedly ran past us without turning back, heading towards combat zone zero. After what felt like ages, I faintly heard roars from a distance, then saw a grand Thunderstorm unfold.

I knew the Mage Group had taken action, and I knew it was almost our turn...

After the storm, Hei Fan casually appeared in front of us, spreading his hands to announce that the preliminary phase was over, then led the way to combat zone zero. We followed closely behind, each so nervous that we were at a loss for words. I noticed that Captain Raymond was shaking just like me, his blood probably boiling with professional fervor, whereas I was just apprehensive, not so much fearing ’death’ as fearing that all our efforts would come to naught.

Then, I no longer had time to be afraid...

I didn’t even know when those monsters had charged at us. By the time I came to my senses, I was already swinging my weapon, entangled with those creatures. Perhaps it’s not accurate to say entangled, more like mechanically slashing at the zombies that filled my field of vision. The dozens of comrades ahead of me were swallowed up in an instant. Captain Raymond woke the rest with his roar, but those creatures had almost overrun the first echelon. They crowded every space, tearing everything in front of them with their teeth and claws. Many didn’t even have the chance to react before they were knocked down. The Half-Dragon guy who was chatting with me sporadically half an hour ago was circled by at least a dozen mutants and turned into a pool of crimson fragments within a few breaths!

The shout from the Black Vatican Priest came from not far away, directing the second echelon to push forward—indeed, they were already doing so. We barely held back the first wave of assault. The Thief unit burst in from both sides to help kill the monsters mixed indiscriminately with the first echelon. The Spellcasters started to cover us, desperately hurling skills toward the distant monsters. That’s how abruptly the fight erupted.

It was like a full-powered meat grinder in action!

The War Old Trees, support sequences, and Knight Order successively joined the battle, spreading the war throughout the entire Hodir Mountain Path. We were pulled back, pushed forward, retreated with the army, pulled back again, shoved forward again, and retreated with the army once more. Each of the three combat sequences operated beyond capacity, with someone falling every second, and even more charging forward, until there was no room left to retreat.

Please forgive me for not being able to describe more precisely because I don’t even know how I survived that last charge. I can only tell you that when the last mutant fell, all my comrades around me were sprawled on the ground, some never to stand again. In just a few hours, half of the allied forces were dead.

Yet, the same amount of monsters were waiting for us at Twin Cities.

I dragged my exhausted body back to base, received some basic treatment, then found a place nearby to regain my strength, using the time desperately negotiated by Xia Lian and the Cordova big shot to adjust my condition, until Feather Song secretly called me to a place a few miles away from the mountain pass.

There, all the players of the allied forces who still had the strength to fight were gathered.

A moment later, Feather Song brought the Black Vatican big shot to us.

The big shot asked us if we were willing to be the suicide squad, to be the vanguard in the final phase.

For a rather absurd reason, I signed up without hesitation, because at that time I felt that the lives of those NPCs, who were merely intelligent data, were more valuable than ours.

I still feel the same way now.

So, I joined the suicide squad and died in the tenth minute after the final phase began.

Chapter 464: The End