The night had grown deep, and the silver moon hung high, casting its clear radiance across the land.
The ease of the night's first half failed to bring any sense of peace; the closer it got to four in the morning, the more stifling the atmosphere became.
Compared to the Minecraft monsters and Object-types—who currently possessed low intelligence, a collective weakness to water, and poor mobility—the existing obstacles, moats, walls, and the archers atop them were no longer much of a threat.
The real targets to be wary of were the Tacet Discords. They possessed animal-level intelligence, powerful mobility, and many among them were even flying creatures.
Of course, Tacet Discords had appeared during the first half of the night as well, but in small numbers. According to Mo Shao's analysis, they had likely drifted in from outside the school.
Specifically, the Phantom Realm that generated Tacet Discords had overlapped slightly with the Real Realm where the school was located, causing monsters to spawn within the campus as well. However, some parts of that Phantom Realm's territory lay outside the perimeter, and the Tacet Discords there hadn't been cleared during their morning expedition.
...
However, there was now a change, and it wasn't a pleasant one.
According to those from the cafeteria side who had participated in last night's battle, the number of monsters tonight was actually higher than yesterday.
Despite the multiple obstacles, the monsters' slowed progress, and the absence of larger Tacet Discords... various factors had given the archers defending the wall an illusion—they felt as if the number of monsters they had to deal with had decreased.
But some keen-eyed scouts quickly discovered through their records that the overall number of monsters had increased significantly.
As for the reason... it was because the population of this stronghold had increased, and its combat power had drastically improved. Naturally, it received more "attention," and the range and quantity of monsters attracted to the area had likely grown alongside it.
If so... would it attract other types of monsters?
For instance, the Witchcraft Colossus. Although it moved very slowly, if it actually made its way here, it would be quite a headache. Still, that one was manageable; being heavy and lacking ranged attacks, they could deal with it simply by setting up specific traps.
But if Pompeii was also lured over—that was a multi-target ranged Boss whose attacks could ignite targets!
Therefore, after Mo Shao briefly described the nearby monsters, everyone remained on high alert for such an event.
...
Still, some expected surprises appeared nonetheless. Several new types of monsters joined the battlefield tonight.
The first were the Skin-Stealers from The Backrooms. They moved rapidly and could strip the skin off a living person to disguise themselves. They came from the east, making the situation in the eastern wheat plain clear... it was a grassland of Skin-Stealers. The wheat plain was just a small part of it.
However, their danger level was acceptable. Since they had vehicles, they could simply drive out and send the Skin-Stealers flying.
The second were Hilichurls from Genshin Impact. They charged from Dragonspine not far to the west, bringing several Slimes with them. Their drops were quite trashy—nothing good—though Slime Secretions might have some use later on. Fortunately, no major monsters had appeared yet; there were no Ruin Graders, Lawachurls, or Abyss Mages.
The third were Zombies from the north, though these weren't Minecraft Zombies. They were Zombies from Journey to the West II. Alongside the Zombies came a bunch of Pathfinding Lanterns. Even things from the Underworld were coming out now... things were truly becoming more and more hellish.
Yet, their drops were quite decent, providing basic white gear, blue bottles for energy restoration, and radishes for health recovery.
As for the south—that was the direction Mo Shao had come from. Back then, she had walked toward the right to return; converted to cardinal directions, that was north.
The variety of demons and monsters was only increasing...
...
Amidst the watch, time finally crossed the threshold of four in the morning—one Tacet Discord after another began to appear within the campus!
It was as if they were precipitating out of the very air!
“Archers, fire! Combat teams, cover each other! If you're heavily injured, rotate back immediately to recover!”
Wu Yingzhe, standing at a high point, shouted out various orderly arrangements, looking quite the part of a leader.
In the process, the monsters launched their assault!
Tambourists drifted over, Gulpuffs leaped across the moat as if flying, and Cruisewings flew directly toward them!
Various humanoid Tacet Discords, such as Glacio Bladedancers and Vanguard Knights, charged forward with great leaps or sudden lunges!
It was a stroke of luck that they didn't yet have the intelligence to coordinate. Otherwise, these walls wouldn't have held them back for a second!
If, for example, a Gulpuff simply threw a Creeper over—wouldn't the wall be blown to bits instantly?
Even so, many Tacet Discords had already breached the top of the wall. These monsters' mobility was simply too high.
Fortunately, after another wave of monster farming in the first half of the night, people who weren't Dead-binders were becoming increasingly rare. Moreover, they were all equipped with Minecraft armaments. The combat wasn't overly dangerous; they could still manage.
Fighting in a group was much easier than fighting alone!
Ultimately, the number of Tacet Discords was still less than the number of people; in fact, there was a significant numerical disparity. This was one of the reasons why the cafeteria crowd had managed to survive a night here before.
...
However, this "order" lasted only until the anticipated powerful enemies truly arrived—and the situation was even more severe than imagined.
A Frostarm Lawachurl, a Witchcraft Colossus, and Pompeii appeared in succession. But the enemy that required the most attention was the Golem.
It was precisely the stage boss of the third level of Journey to the West II, a boss that had stuck countless people for who knows how long in their childhood. Or rather, it was a pseudo-boss; the real boss was King Qinguang, who controlled the Golem from behind. One had to defeat him to clear the stage.
But Mo Shao's wariness of this figure wasn't because of the Golem's strength, but because of King Qinguang's intelligence.
For a creature of this caliber to join the fight at this stage meant the strength of this stronghold had indeed exceeded the average.
“Prioritize taking down that Golem!” Mo Shao shouted immediately.
She didn't hesitate for a single moment. The instant the Golem entered her line of sight, she leaped down, rushing straight for its face!
Because if the one behind it observed the situation, there was a high probability he would immediately move to create a path across the moat. He could let a massive number of monsters, currently restricted outside, cross the water!
The Golem certainly had the ability—the chains on its body would suffice. It could even create a bridge to let monsters onto the wall!
With intelligence involved, one had to consider even worse possibilities—the tactic of using Creepers to blow up the walls would be simple for him to devise!
Therefore, these variables had to be nipped in the bud! If the moat and walls failed, casualties would skyrocket instantly!
The moment Mo Shao leaped out with her sword, Little Ka followed without the slightest hesitation, drawing her own sword and charging after her.
It was an action taken without any thought—or in a sense, she had already treated Mo Shao as her external brain!
Her current logic was roughly: as long as I do what Mo Shao says, it'll definitely be fine! Thinking is too much work!
This kind of behavior seemed to be a common trait among those who suddenly possessed super-strength.
Rate on N.U.
