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Chapter 4: The Spread of Darkness
Su Fei's plan was as follows.
If his memory served him right, at this time, the chief commander of Buchi's guard should be that famous veteran—Marden, the same veteran who experienced the November War just like Brandon's grandfather.
Su Fei knew him because this NPC in the game would teach travelers the "Reconnaissance" skill.
But this veteran became truly famous because of a massive mistake he made as Buchi's local guard chief during the First Black Rose War. He misjudged the intentions of Madara's army.
He thought the enemy was just invading the border as usual, so he began to evacuate Buchi's villagers from the start. He had the opportunity to counterattack and repel the vanguard of the Undead Army, then retreat calmly.
Unfortunately, he missed this opportunity.
He should have become a hero of the kingdom, but in the end, he took a different, dimmer path. For such a person, Su Fei felt both admiration and curiosity.
He admired the latter half of the veteran's life, but he was curious about how the veteran managed to discover Madara's Undead Army early on. After all, this was the only variable in the entire Goran-Elsun region.
"Could it be because of me?" A ridiculous idea suddenly popped into Su Fei's mind.
But he quickly dismissed this absurd thought.
Now he needed to change history; he needed to find a way to remind the veteran. Fire, symbolizing warning and invasion in military regulations, made Su Fei hope that the veteran would be alert enough—
Outside the door, there were banging sounds, and every passing second felt like being immersed in a tense atmosphere.
"Brandon, they're coming in!" Roma gripped the stonemason's hammer tightly, her brows furrowed as she stared intently at the kitchen door, afraid it would be pushed open in the next moment.
Su Fei didn't have time to think about this. Once the skeleton soldiers rushed in, they were doomed. But upon hearing the cries of the merchant girl, he couldn't help but glance back at the door:
The kitchen door emitted ominous cracking sounds as Madara's swords relentlessly pierced in and out, their gleam reminiscent of the fangs of a savage beast. Suddenly, a powerful force slammed against the door with a resounding bang, shaking loose a layer of dust from the ceiling.
The wooden door groaned, and the cracks widened—
Calm down, treat it as if it's just a game. Su Fei, think about the quests you've completed; this is just another one... He tried to calm himself down, wrapping an oil-soaked cloth around a bundle of straw and firewood, securing it with a rubber band. He did this skillfully; crafting torches in the game was about as fundamental as it got, even though it was hardly considered basic craftsmanship.
This was relatively well-equipped. He also knew how to make torches that would burn for only five minutes. He remembered trying it once in the underground tunnel of Nokan and Hain, using dry lichen and shrubs.
But time was running short. Soon, the door shook violently once more, its frame emitting a creaking sound as if about to fracture, lime splattering, and then cascading down in abundance.
"Brandon—!" Roma felt her heart was about to leap out of her throat as she widened her bright eyes.
"I'm here, don't worry, hold on for a moment." Su Fei was sweating profusely himself, he sawed the flint with an iron rod several times, sparks flying, but he just couldn't ignite the torch—
After all, reality was a bit different from the game.
The immense force of the skeleton soldier caused the door latch to give way first, with a resounding crack as it snapped apart. The wooden door tilted, but it still held, refusing to yield entirely.
A bare bone hand reached in from the outside, intending to break the latch from inside.
The merchant girl was startled, she immediately raised the hammer and swung it over, but with a bang, the hammer hit the skeleton only creating a crack—Madara's skeleton soldiers didn't feel any pain, it just paused for a moment before continuing to pull the latch.
Seeing this scene, Roma was momentarily stunned, even forgetting the hammer in her hand.
"Brandon, Brandon, what should we do...?" She asked nervously.
At this moment, the fire finally lit up.
And at the same time, the latch fell to the ground with a thud.
The door swung open, creaking ominously as the skeletal soldier, wielding a sword, pushed it wide. Stepping inside, it turned, its empty eye sockets ablaze with flickering red flames, fixing upon two pale-faced youths with an eerie intensity.
What was that young man doing?
Before it could react, something black had already grown larger in its dim vision, and with a sharp sound, a machete pierced its forehead.
"...This is your last move. When you throw the sword, remember to keep your hand steady, keep your balance low, don't hesitate, and try to form a straight line between you and your target..."
"...If your enemy is a skeleton soldier, their weakest points are the joints of the shoulders and arms, the base of the thighs, or the spine; unless you are certain of a killing blow to the skull, it is not necessarily its greatest vulnerability..."
"Damn it—!" Su Fei cursed as he watched the skeleton soldier fall backward.
In military swordsmanship, the throwing technique was difficult to execute, but for a seasoned warrior like him, it was usually not a problem—except that as the machete was thrown, Su Fei suddenly remembered that he wasn't the seasoned warrior he used to be.
In the game, with his strength, throwing that machete would likely have split the skeleton's skull directly in half, but now, just as Brandon had learned in militia training, the most he could achieve was to slightly hinder it—the machete inserted into its forehead was no harm to the overall structure of a skeleton soldier.
"Miss Roma, watch out!" Seeing that it was about to stand up again, he immediately pulled the dazed merchant girl towards him.
"Brandon..." The merchant girl was frightened.
"Don't worry, I'm here." Su Fei said so, but he wasn't sure himself, especially when he saw a swarm of skeleton soldiers ready to rush in from behind.
In such a desperate situation, he couldn't care too much anymore. Looking around, there was really nothing useful. But the skeleton soldier was about to stand up. What should he do? Should he just give up like this?
Su Fei shook his head. He swore that never before had he experienced a moment where life and death seemed so inconsequential—excluding, of course, those experiences in games. His heart felt only emptiness, filled solely with a determination to fight; to either succeed or meet his end trying!
He rushed forward, gritting his teeth, grabbing the arm holding the sword almost instinctively, and then almost subconsciously, he violently flipped the skeleton soldier backward.
In times of crisis, people often exerted all their strength instinctively, and the skeleton soldier, in a state of imbalance, was powerless to resist. It made a cracking sound as it fell backward, causing the skeletal soldiers behind it to retreat.
The surge of Madara's undead into the room momentarily faltered, but that fleeting pause was all it needed.
Su Fei couldn't help but feel surprised, he almost couldn't believe that he had succeeded. Was this really reality? Wasn’t he just a useless gaming nerd in reality?
He subconsciously threw the torch in his other hand towards the dry straw, leather goods, and firewood piled up in the corner.
The flames surged up—
"Let's run, Brandon!" The merchant girl caught up from behind, her hand clasping his; never in her life had she felt so nervous.
Recalling their initial encounter more than a year ago, she could only discern a slight hint of shyness and approachability in the young man who lived next door. Yet, in this moment of crisis, he exhibited an extraordinary composure and courage that surpassed her previous impressions. Could this seemingly ordinary individual be the embodiment of the "reliable man" her aunt often spoke of?
Such a strange feeling—
The girl couldn't help but have some inexplicable thoughts, she noticed her heart pounding when she grabbed his wrist.
"Brandon?"
The smoke had already begun to spread, filling the kitchen with an acrid, choking smell.
It was only then that Su Fei suddenly woke up with a start, realizing that he had actually set fire to his grandfather's old house.
"Oh, Marsha!" he exclaimed inwardly. "Brandon definitely won’t be able to get away with it this time…” Even though he was Brandon now.
His mind was in turmoil, but amidst the chaos, Brandon's memories still dominated.
However, a hoarse, low voice came from behind the smoke: "Faster, undead soldiers. Put out the fire, and drag out that damn bug, we only have a minute—"
This voice reminded Su Fei that he was still in danger and needed to find a way to escape. However, Su Fei knew that the lower-level undead driven by soul fire instinctively feared flames. It would be difficult for the skeletal wizard to make his skeleton subordinates overcome this fear in a short time, so now was the perfect opportunity to escape.
But fire was a double-edged sword, and he had to act quickly.
"Miss Roma, follow me." Su Fei casually tore down a roll of sausages from the ceiling, then led the merchant girl towards the back door. This wasn't because he was hungry, but because stocking up on basic food before fleeing had become almost an instinctive habit for players in "Amber Sword."
As the fire grew larger and larger, enveloping them in a sea of flames, the smoke thickened, and the temperature rose rapidly. Despite the escalating chaos, Su Fei swiftly located the small food delivery door he remembered—but as he pushed it, he discovered it was locked.
The dense smoke in the air began to elicit coughs from Su Fei, and he soon noticed that the merchant girl behind him was already coughing severely. Despite the growing discomfort, he focused his mind and continued to search downwards, eventually locating the metal latch he remembered. However, as he extended his hand toward it, a moment of hesitation gripped him.
He suddenly remembered something else.
…
"Freya!"
Perhaps for the residents living in the Elsun-Goran mountainous area, the difference between the starry sky in April and May's night sky was not significant. It was just that from the end of May onwards, the temperature had been steadily climbing. Looking down from the gentle slopes of the Usson Mountains, the landscape unfolded as a sea of red and white flowers since early summer. In this era of peace, it stood as the most serene and tranquil countryside in all of Eruin. However, for centuries, it had borne the scars of war.
On this summer night, the sky was as clear as crystal—from west to east, a bright band of light traversed the entire night sky, passing through many constellations representing various myths and legends.
Standing at the village entrance and gazing up at the mountainside, Freya couldn't shake off a sense of unease, especially after the unsettling loud noise earlier.
Hadn't there been reports of undead movements in the vicinity recently? Could it be… The young girl couldn’t help thinking to herself.
Turning at the sound of the shout, she was surprised to see a boy with an innocent face running out from the village entrance, panting heavily as he ran to her side.
"What's wrong, little Phineas? Did something happen?" The girl's voice was gentle and clear.
"Did you hear that sound just now?"
"Yeah, that's why I came out to check," her gaze involuntarily drifted towards the direction of the hillside, "I'm really worried about Roma. Her aunt just went to the nearby town... I heard it's not very safe lately. I asked her to stay at my place for a couple of days, but she declined."
The boy looked up at her, unable to help but widen his eyes—
The girl's light brown hair was neatly tied into a long ponytail behind her head, complementing her spirited figure. She was wearing a snug gray and white leather armor with a thick cotton shirt underneath, with a sleeve badge on her left shoulder—painted with black paint, an abstract pine leaf.
She also wore a short sword at her waist, a medieval Western European shortsword, with a flame emblem on the iron plate of the sword guard.
Su Fei could immediately recognize her attire—if he were here—Buchi's militia. The Black Pine of Goran was the most common tree species in the Elsun-Goran mountainous area and also the emblem of Buchi's local forces.
However, the well-equipped guard would have a battle robe, while only the local militia would wear this gray and white leather armor made from the hide of gray-maned bulls.
In Eruin, every young person in the locality received regular militia training, usually starting from the age of fourteen and lasting from October to March each year until they were nineteen. Trained youths or even adults could act as militiamen at any time during peacetime, becoming the most important reserve manpower during wartime. Therefore, since the promulgation of this law in the Year of Thunder, militia training had become one of the most important military measures in Eruin.
"Doesn't that guy live over there too? I heard he served as a militiaman in Braggs," the boy asked somewhat puzzled.
"Hmph, city folks aren't trustworthy," the girl flicked her long ponytail behind her, furrowing her brows, "It's precisely because of that guy that I'm worried!"
"You're biased, big sis Freya."
"You don't understand... Forget it," the girl scolded without looking back, "Alright, what's the matter? Speak up, boys shouldn't be as nosy as girls!"
"You know, Chief Marden has already ordered the guards to gather." Little Phineas said, nervously tucking in his neck.
Freya's bright eyes flashed with surprise. "Chief Marden? How do you know?"
"Breyson told me," Phineas blinked and replied, "When I came out, he had already ridden off on horseback to report to the guard."
"Do you know what happened?"
"I don't know," the boy shook his head.
The girl turned her head, looking worriedly in the direction of the hillside. In the darkness, she could vaguely see the silhouette of the estate.
"Get everyone up, we're going too."
"Freya, it's so late, Aunt Syl will kill us!" The boy widened his eyes in disbelief, "Shouldn't we wait for news tomorrow?"
"So timid!" The girl couldn't help but glare at him, but she also knew that what Phineas said was true. Thinking about the intimidating presence of her aunt—despite her being just a militia chief in Buchi, she dared not act recklessly.
"You're no different..." The boy muttered, but before he finished speaking, he saw the girl turn back with a serious expression and gestured for him to be quiet.
"Freya?"
"Shh—" The girl turned her head sideways, making a 'listen' gesture. In the darkness, there was a faint whooshing sound.
"What's that sound?"
The whooshing sound grew closer rapidly, from a distance to directly overhead, moving swiftly.
The girl's face changed. She looked up, intending to dodge, but it was too late. A black shadow suddenly plunged from above, piercing into her shoulder, causing her to scream and fall backward.
"Big sis—!"
"Run, Phineas, run!" The girl with the ponytail shouted in pain.
Arrows rained down.
...
Su Fei paused.
"What's wrong, Brandon... cough, cough?" The future female merchant seemed to sense something amiss and couldn't help but ask.
Su Fei fell into a pensive silence as a realization struck him.
Back when Madara launched their raid in the game, they couldn't just bypass players like they could with NPCs. Players didn't stick to a rigid schedule of resting at dusk and rising at dawn like non-player characters did. In fact, a good number of players could be considered creatures of the night, much like Su Fei himself.
He remembered vividly that when Madara began their maneuvers, they faced interference from other players elsewhere—players just like him. Yet, despite this obstacle, Madara's operations still managed to be largely successful.
Why could they still succeed? As he pondered this question, he finally remembered such an era, when the ancient kingdom of Eruin was approaching its twilight, its neighboring kingdoms were ushering in a new era, a tumultuous era.
"Sigh… So many incredible commanders.” Su Fei couldn't help but sigh. In this era, Madara boasted not only a multitude of legendary commanders who would later dominate the continent with their fame, but also owed their success to the military reforms of seven years prior (Year 368, the Black Rose Reform). These reforms not only provided a solid foundation but also nurtured a continuous stream of exceptional apprentices who were gradually bolstering the nation's military strength from the grassroots level up.
And this strength would eventually be demonstrated in such a war.
In the First Black Rose War, the formidable execution and judgment displayed by Madara's army were enough to make everyone take notice. Unfortunately, until the demise of Eruin, no one was truly vigilant.
It was because of that, the kingdom in the darkness was rising and soon would be at its zenith.
"Those guys are no ordinary."
As longstanding adversaries, Su Fei had a particularly deep impression of Madara's outstanding junior officers. Only those who had fought them for a long time would truly understand their cunning.
Su Fei's hand rested on the cold latch. His heart gradually sank. By the time he closed the door, Madara should have already launched an attack on Buchi—it wouldn't give him time to raise the alarm in the village, even if it was just a possibility.
And behind this door, there might also be Madara's skeletal soldiers.
What should he do now?
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