Chapter 82 – Eleven People
by Salted FishIt was a rare occasion for all nine members of the Ghost Server to gather, and they were tackling a new mission. The Legion Leader, Milk is Mom, was determined to overcome his embarrassment and log into YY, even if it meant risking his life.
“Legion Leader, you finally made it! No need to be shy. It’s perfectly normal for someone your age to be in a relationship!”
438’s gentle reassurance somehow came across as a massive aggro magnet.
Fang Zheng stayed silent for a moment before suddenly saying, “This mission was attempted by War Banner this afternoon. Seven people went in, and they nearly wiped. So we need to be careful~~~”
The team was speechless. Legion Leader, your attempt to pretend you didn’t hear that was way too obvious =_=
“2B, lure the nearest minion first. Try to take it out without alerting the others,” Birdy began laying out the battle plan. “Same for the ones after, but I suspect there are more inside the tents. We’ll have to play it by ear.”
2B Fighter Jet acknowledged: “Leave it to me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Blood Warrior stealthily circled behind the nearest minion, approaching cautiously.
The entire team held their breath, waiting—until the Legion Leader suddenly received a whisper from the Deputy:
[Whisper] Polly: How did you know War Banner almost wiped?
[Whisper] Milk is Mom: I saw it.
[Whisper] Polly: You were watching while chatting with me?
Uh-oh. The Legion Leader felt an inexplicable pressure.
If he said, “Yeah, Laozi can multitask just fine,” would the Deputy chop him up and feed him to the water monsters in Heavenly Lake?
But the truth—”Laozi was so nervous I kept looking around subconsciously”—was too bloody to admit =_=
[Whisper] Polly: Never mind. We’ll let this one go for now.
[Whisper] Polly: Let’s enjoy the mission ^_^
Who the hell could enjoy it like this?! TAT
While they exchanged whispers, 2B had already lured the minion toward the team. The private chat hadn’t slowed down the Deputy’s god-tier reflexes—in the blink of an eye, the little zombie was already closing in on the minion and attacking.
2B held aggro steadily, so the team didn’t have to wait long before unleashing their skills.
Nine people ganging up on a single mob was like chopping vegetables—the minion’s HP dropped in chunks, quickly hitting zero.
As soon as the minion collapsed, 2B immediately turned to lure the next one. But the downed minion suddenly pulled out an enormous horn1It looks like the author changed the instrument—the the lackey in the previous attack had a Chinese flat gong.. While most of the team had game sound effects turned off, a few—like 438, who couldn’t game without sound, and Your Sister, who didn’t know how to adjust settings and just let the sound effects run wild—heard the deep, resonant blast that carried far and wide.
Before the Ghost Server team could react, countless minions poured out of the clustered yurts—countless, like the five hundred mobs flung off the Bull Demon King’s back, flooding the screen, filling every inch of space!
Sister Blood Bull, being the closest, instinctively unleashed Bloody Sandstorm, her AoE attack!
The visual effects faded quickly, but the dozen or so minions hit barely lost any HP!
Jiang Yang refused to believe it. He targeted the nearest minion and struck with Heartstab!
His results were even worse than Sister Blood Bull’s—at least hers had shaved off a tiny bit of health (though the change was barely visible). This time, the minion dodged the Assassin’s attack entirely—MISS!
Jiang Yang was speechless. The rest of the team was even more stunned. This combination of mob numbers + super-boss-level combat power was clearly designed to torture players!!! Game company, you sadists!!!
Cursing wouldn’t change the fact that the Ghost Server team was being swarmed. Soon, countless minions surrounded them layer upon layer. The screen was nothing but a sea of enemies. Moments later, nine souls flew back to the respawn point in succession.
[Local] Diamond Seller: Yo, what’s going on? Group trip to the respawn point?
Diamond Seller, who was vending nearby, witnessed this spectacle with great amusement.
[Local] Diamond Seller: Since you’re here anyway, don’t miss the chance—the stall selling potions next to me is also mine. Welcome, welcome~~~~~~
[Local] Milk is Mom: Screw off. Keep talking and I’ll report you to your boss for moonlighting.
[Whisper] Diamond Seller: Pfft~ Worst case, I’ll quit and work for you~~ [winks]
[Whisper] Milk is Mom: If you’re so bold, say it in public =_=
[Whisper] Diamond Seller: Ruining the fun like that is so uncute!
[Whisper] Diamond Seller: By the way, someone wants to buy a Staff of Radiance. The offer’s decent. Want to form a mercenary team to farm it?
[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Do you really think now—when my team just got wiped and revived—is the time to talk business?
[Whisper] Diamond Seller: Are those two things related?
[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Mood! Mood matters, got it?!
[Whisper] Diamond Seller: Sweetheart, you’re getting more and more dramatic…
[Ghost Server YY]
438: “Legion Leader, you’re amazing! One sentence and Diamond Seller shut right up!”
Your Sister: “Legion Leader, you’re on good terms with merchant alts like that?”
Your Uncle: “Legion Leader, can I check out his potions? If they’re cheap…”
[Whisper] Polly: That’s enough chatting. Focus on the mission.
[Whisper] Milk is Mom: How do you always know…
[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Fine, I get it. My keyboard gave me away.
[Whisper] Milk is Mom: But why are you the only one who noticed?
[Whisper] Milk is Mom: …Never mind. The team’s IQ is the real issue.
[Whisper] Polly: Any other problem?
[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Nope TAT
[Whisper] Polly: [pats head]
Two minutes later, the fully restored Ghost Server team returned to the Bandit Hideout.
“This time, don’t lure the closest one. Too risky,” 2B Fighter Jet said, still traumatized. “How about the one further away with the waist saber?”
The team thought for a moment. “Sure.”
Because there weren’t any other options =_=
Less than thirty seconds later, the waist-saber minion was led to the team by 2B. This time, their attacks were even sharper—within two rounds, the minion’s HP bar hit zero. Then, the minion quickly drew its saber and pressed it to its own neck as if to commit suicide!
But—you give me trust, I give you a miracle.
One second later, the saber transformed into a horn ^_^
Marketplace Respawn Point
Nine warriors sat cross-legged on the ground, meditating in perfect sync.
Diamond Seller marveled at the team’s efficiency but, out of the tiniest shred of sympathy, refrained from further “comforting” remarks.
In the YY channel, 438—like the honest child in The Emperor’s New Clothes—tremblingly pointed out the truth no one wanted to face:
Refined Into a Demon: “That horn… seems to be standard issue…”
Your Sister clung to a sliver of hope: “Maybe… we should try one more time?”
Crossplayer: “Your Sister, can you at least wait until I hit level 65…” Only the Legion Leader got the luxury of leveling 1.2 times after a nap. Commoners like him had to grind the hard way TAT
“Let’s split our efforts,” Fang Zheng suggested after some thought. “2B lures the mob, but the rest of us don’t attack. Let 2B whittle it down solo. If it summons more minions after dying, the aggro will be on 2B—he’ll lead them away while the rest of us rush into the yurts. I’m guessing the big boss is inside. As long as we take it down—”
“My spirit in the afterlife will rest in peace.” 2B Fighter Jet wept.
“One person might not last long,” Sister Blood Bull pointed out. “If the boss isn’t down by the time he dies, the minions will just come back.”
2B Fighter Jet: “Wifey, can’t you have a little faith in me…?”
Sister Blood Bull: “I have more faith in the minions.”
2B Fighter Jet: “I’m wounded…”
Sister Blood Bull: “Which is why I’ll go with him to lure. We can hold out longer.”
2B Fighter Jet: “For you, I’d gladly die, let alone get hurt!”
With the plan settled, the team restored their HP and MP and set off again.
On the way, Your Uncle mused: “The Deputy usually comes up with the battle plans. Today, suddenly it’s the Legion Leader. Feels kinda surreal…”
Your Sister: “That’s marriage for you. Mutual growth, shared progress.”
438: “But even their speech patterns are starting to sync.”
Fang Zheng: “This time, we must win! Everyone, stay sharp! Listen—the wind howls~~ the horses neigh~~ the Yellow River roars~~ the Yellow River roars~~~”
Crossplayer: “Are you guys… sure about this?”
Fang Zheng: “The western mountains rise ten thousand feet~~~ sorghum ripens east and north of the river~~ countless heroes fight in the hills~~~~~”
Amidst the booming singing, the team arrived at the hideout for the third time.
Polly: “Enough roaring, Legion Leader. 2B, go!”
Sister Blood Bull sighed: “Deputy, with you as the starter pistol, do I follow or not…”
Despite her words, she still followed Fighter Jet around to the back of the yurts. This time, Sister Blood Bull did the luring—her higher attack power made her more efficient at grinding down the mob solo. 2B Fighter Jet merely watched, not interfering. This was part of the strategy—if both of them had aggro while leading the mobs away, the enemies might split their attacks, potentially killing both at once. But if only one had aggro, the mobs would focus on taking that person down first, allowing the second to immediately pick up aggro and continue leading them away, buying time.
Even from a distance, the team could clearly see Sister Blood Bull quickly grinding the minion down. True to form, it blew the horn upon death, summoning a tidal wave of minions. 2B Fighter Jet, prepared, took off running first, with Sister Blood Bull right behind, dodging attacks from the massive horde as best she could.
Now was the moment!
The remaining seven team members scattered, rushing into the nearest yurts!
As expected, most were empty—except for Your Uncle, who ran face-first into the Bandit Leader.
Before Your Uncle could even say “hi,” he was slapped to death. The poor, squishy Spirit Master was one-shot.
“Legion Leader—!”
Your Uncle’s wail of despair reverberated through the cosmos, making the entire team’s hearts clench—even Sister Blood Bull’s hands nearly faltered mid-run.
This was when the leader’s extraordinary composure shone through—
“Stop howling!” The Legion Leader raised a hand—to an outsider, it might’ve looked like an attack, but it was Resurrection.
Your Uncle hadn’t even gotten up yet, but the Legion Leader had already drawn aggro from the spell. The Bandit Leader immediately drew its massive blade and swung down at him!
Fang Zheng dodged frantically but was still grazed—his HP dropped to half in an instant!
His heart pounded. Damn, that attack power!
Birdy was the third to rush into the tent. Seeing the Bandit Leader about to strike the half-HP Legion Leader again, he unleashed Netherworld Ghostly Claws + Specters and Ghouls in rapid succession, forcibly pulling aggro onto himself before darting out of the tent—leading the Bandit Leader outside with him.
Under the vast blue sky, four Ghost Server teammates grinned at him.
Fang Zheng and Your Uncle didn’t keep their four teammates (and Deputy) waiting long—the former healed the latter and himself to 80% HP before rushing out to join the fight.
The Bandit Leader had no special skills—just three traits: high attack, high defense, and massive HP.
This brutally simple yet deadly combination gave the seven of them hell. They died and revived repeatedly until Fang Zheng ran out of MP from spamming Resurrection, and Crossplayer was down to a third of his MP—yet the Bandit Leader was only at half health.
But that wasn’t the worst part.
The worst part was when Crossplayer’s MP also ran dry… and the minions returned.
Diamond Seller had watched the Ghost Server Legion’s countless round trips between the hideout and respawn point. His sympathy overflowed: “Hey, I’ll give you a 5% discount on HP and MP potions…”
The half-dead Ghost Server team had no patience for this—
2B Fighter Jet: “You guys were fighting bare-handed or what? That DPS is pathetic—half health after all that time!”
Mad Lad: “Easy for you to say. That thing’s defense is insane, and its attacks hit like a truck. Try it yourself if you don’t believe me.”
2B Fighter Jet: “I will try—as long as you handle the mobs!”
“Don’t make life harder for fellow sufferers,” Fang Zheng snapped. “The real issue is manpower. If we had two more people—three to handle the mobs, eight for DPS—we could buy enough time for both sides. That should do it.”
2B Fighter Jet: “Agreed.”
Sister Blood Bull: “+1.”
Your Sister: “Legion Leader, be honest—did the Deputy whisper all that to you, and you’re just repeating it?”
…Are you Birdy’s number one fan?!
“Still,” Sister Blood Bull pointed out, “where do we find two more people?”
The Ghost Server team sat in a circle at the Marketplace Respawn Point, deep in thought.
Finding two people wasn’t hard—the simplest way was to recruit mercenaries in World Chat. The problem was, first, mercenaries were unreliable. They might be Birdy-tier—great. Or they might be Your Uncle-tier—disastrous. More importantly, the method to break past level 65 was still a secret. Sure, secrets never stayed buried, but everyone wanted it to leak as little and as late as possible.
“What if…” Refined Into a Demon suddenly spoke up, “we ask War Banner?”
The entire team: “…”
The Demon Refiner felt the bone-deep disdain and didn’t dare make another sound.
At their wits’ end, Fang Zheng spotted a familiar name in World Chat:
[Huaxia] Fifth Brother’s Trading Post: Need materials? Fifth Brother! Need gear? Fifth Brother! Need gold? Fifth Brother! Fifth Brother helps you succeed!
This Fifth Brother was an old acquaintance of Fang Zheng’s—technically, they’d met a few months before he’d known the current Diamond Seller. Like Fang Zheng, Fifth Brother was self-employed, though his business was slightly bigger—enough to get by, but far from wealthy. Occasionally, he’d run dungeons or fight mobs, but compared to Diamond Seller (who worked for someone else), he was much more free-spirited. Fang Zheng had traded with him a few times and even exchanged gossip. If he remembered correctly, they’d run a dungeon together two years ago—Fifth Brother’s skills had been impressive. But since his passion for profit far outweighed his interest in gaming, the rare times he fought were either for mercenary runs or to try out new content for fun.
[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Old Five, you there?
[Whisper] Fifth Brother’s Trading Post: What’s up? Got goods to sell?
[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Want to merc?
[Whisper] Fifth Brother’s Trading Post: I haven’t been a merc in years.
[Whisper] Milk is Mom: I can help you break past level 65.
[Whisper] Fifth Brother’s Trading Post: I can do business fine at level 65.
[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Plus 1,000 Huaxia Coins.
[Whisper] Fifth Brother’s Trading Post: What dungeon? Gimme coords already, stop dragging your feet!
See? That’s the kind of straightforward guy he was…
[Whisper] Milk is Mom: If you can find me another decent DPS, I’ll throw in another 1,000.
[Whisper] Fifth Brother’s Trading Post: Damn, you’ve turned into a whale. What, giving up profits for charity now?
Fang Zheng paused. Now that someone pointed it out, he realized how casually he’d tossed out “1,000 here, 1,000 there”—very much like Comrade Jiang Yang. But Jiang Yang was a genuine tycoon. Fang Zheng? He just wanted the Legion to clear that mission quickly.
Since when had the Legion become his top priority?
He’d never truly taken the title of “Legion Commander” to heart, yet somehow, he’d started devoting himself to it. Was this the “Curse of the Legion Commander”?!
[Whisper] Fifth Brother’s Trading Post: Give me two minutes.
Fifth Brother had no patience to think about his client’s emotional journey. After those words, he vanished.
Two minutes later—
[Whisper] Fifth Brother’s Trading Post: Invite me to the party, then pass me lead. I’ll add someone.
Damn, professionals were efficient.
After adding Fifth Brother, Fang Zheng handed over party lead. Moments later, the ten-man team became eleven—
[Party] Diamond Seller: Since we’re comrades now, I’ll give you a 15% discount on HP and MP potions this time!
[Party] Diamond Seller: GOGOGO!!
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