Adventure World Online (AWO)

Ten days passed, just as Chang Long had told the Dark Elf warriors. She led the newly reborn to the Castle of Death to travel through the Mirror and return to the Dark Forest. Everyone marched in line behind Chang Long, passing through the mirror, and they emerged the Mirror of Truth. The Judgment awaited her and congratulated her on the first batch of the army, which seemed to be quite strong.

During the ten days of waiting, Chang Long also placed the twin pagodas she bought from the Spirit Shop on the hill behind the training hall. These pagodas were for leveling up and changing classes. Soon after placing both pagodas down, they expanded to a massive size, standing tens of meters tall.

Since the pagodas were things Chang Long had already purchased, there was no need to wait for the engineer of the Land of the Dead to build them. Cidrick was so delighted he almost wanted to jump up to hug and kiss Chang Long, but he restrained himself because she was his superior. The pagodas would serve as excellent training grounds for the newly reborn, who spent most of their time in the Land of the Dead.

Cidrick also told Chang Long that the pagodas had a special feature: upon entrance, it would not feel like being inside a cramped pagoda, but more like stepping into a world where the beasts actually lived. This would make training inside more engaging, and they would encounter different worlds in each level of the pagoda.

At the Cursed cleft, the fork between the Mirror's location and the path to the special territory, the old man guarding the entrance was stunned when he saw Chang Long lead the newly reborn army out from the Mirror of Truth. The old man rubbed his eyes repeatedly, thinking he must have been seeing an illusion. But no matter how many times he rubbed his eyes, the image remained the same.

The army of the dead from the Land of the Dead was marching past him with majestic grace. Every one of them had a face set for battle, and one of them was someone he recognized very well—the one who had caused great damage to a certain city before dying. The vile sorcerer of the era, known as Ackeran.

"Ah... Oh, oh. Has the army of the Reaper King set off!"

At the rear of the procession, Killer and Murder turned to smile at the old man, causing him to be even more shocked. It was believed that the army of the dead would never care about anyone other than following their master's orders—the Reaper King. If anyone drew their attention, that person would be doomed. And now they had even sent a smile his way. The old man was sure that death was inevitable for him very soon. He sat back down, stunned and quickly resigned to his fate.

"Alas, the life of a man can never escape death."

Murder looked at the old man in confusion. Did a mere friendly smile cause him to collapse with fear? He was sure he loved fighting to the point of madness, but surely his smile was not capable of killing anyone, right? Or maybe he and his twin were so psychotically happy that their smiles scared the old man?

Murder rolled his eyes, feeling frustrated. If his smile could kill people, then fighting would not be as satisfying anymore—because whenever he smiled, the opponent would already be dead before he could even land a hit.

"Mur... What are you spacing out for? Our master has already led the army into the Dark Forest."

Killer turned and shouted at his twin brother.

"Sorry, I'll be there now."

When called, Murder quickly ran after his brother to join the army of the dead once more.

The Dark Elf community in Dark Forest prepared themselves for battle. They sent people to scout the area and analyze the best strategies for an assault. They were waiting for Chang Long to return as promised. Not long after, a guard at the entrance to the city reported that Chang Long had brought her army to join them.

For the first time in Dark Forest, a joint meeting was held between the Dark Elf army and the army of the dead. Herod, the commander of the Dark Elves, stated that the city Chang Long planned to conquer was difficult to attack. It had steep cliffs as natural fortifications, and the path was filled with obstacles like winding routes, sharp stone formations, and the desolate wilderness.

This terrain was a challenge for the Dark Elves' agility. However, the city, seemingly hidden in the cliffs, also made it hard for the defenders inside the city to spot incoming intruders. The most favorable path for a direct assault seemed to be the beach area, which stretched all the way to the base of the cliffs where the main city was located.

"It seems that attacking here won't be as easy as we thought."

Killer mumbled to himself after hearing Herod's detailed analysis.

"We can't attack head-on, because our numbers are smaller. Meanwhile, the AI soldiers can keep joining in, so they'll never run out."

Chang Long looked troubled.

"If that's the case, we'll have to recruit more forces. But I'm at a loss as to where to find more, because our Dark Elf tribe is small. The warriors here are all we have left, sir."

Herod spoke up, his face showing deep concern.

"No! There's no need to recruit more. We all have enough strength already. If we just strategize well, we still have a chance to win, even with such a small force."

Chang Long turned and spoke with firm resolve.

"I believe in everyone's ability just as much as you do, but the enemy can keep bringing in reinforcements without limit. How can we win with this? I can hardly see a way."

Herod spoke, and everyone seemed to agree with his doubts.

"There are two options: destroy the barracks, or kill the commander of the fortress as quickly as possible. I have some experience with. I'll be the one to face him. Meanwhile, the army should focus on destroying key strategic points and keeping the soldiers away from my fight with the commander. If we can follow this plan, we can take the city with minimal losses. The Dark Elves' expertise in assassination is second to none. They should help support and guard the army of the dead, who are more skilled in direct combat, focusing on brute strength and aggressive attacks."

Chang Long proposed this attack strategy to everyone, which seemed to be quite interesting.

"In that case, what do we do about the difficult path to the fortress before we even get there, sir?"

Herod asked again, feeling the need to test her intelligence and knowledge.

"You mentioned the fortress is situated in a ravine. If we look at the path from the Cursed Cleft, then traveling stealthily by splitting the forces into smaller groups would likely draw less attention and make for faster movement. Afterward, we can gather at the entrance. Of course, we'll send in the Dark Elf warriors who are the best at stealth to open the city gates. Because if we reveal ourselves and attack while the gates are still closed, we'll be relentlessly shot at by archers on the fortress walls."

Herod listened in silence, nodding in approval without interrupting. Chang Long then continued.

"Once we get in, we cannot gather at the entrance. The front line must head straight into battle, attack soldiers blocking the way. Those opening the gates should eliminate the archers on the walls. The remaining forces will split up to destroy key strategic points. This task should be entrusted to mages with high destructive power and wide coverage, who will act as the main force, while the other warriors provide protection. The barracks and the weapons vault should be our first targets, because the barracks produce soldiers every minute. I'm not sure how many barracks there are in the fortress, but there must be more than one. Once the city suffers enough damage, the commander will appear. We must be careful of this one, because they would be very high-level and have strong combat skills. Their attack power is fierce, and they're extremely tough. But if we can eliminate them, the battle will be over, and the city will be ours."

"You've explained it in quite a lot of detail. Have you fought like this before?"

Herod asked,

"Yes, I've once helped a friend fight in a place like this."

"Then, we will follow the plan you laid out. We've already surveyed all the routes, and here is the map. But is it wise for us to charge into a single point? We have too few forces. If we don't spread out, we could easily be wiped out in the blink of an eye."

Herod handed the map of the route to the fortress to the leader of each group, then asked Chang Long about his concerns.

"We are too few to split up. That's why I said we need to focus on speed and not hesitate at all. Once we have assigned tasks to each group in the meeting, we must not miss even the smallest detail."

Chang Long responded.

"That's going to be quite difficult."

Herod observed.

"Yes, it would be difficult—if it weren't for the experts like you all here."

Chang Long spoke with a resonant voice. Everyone echoed with loud responses. With that, Herod realized that the hybrid army had fully entrusted themselves to Chang Long.

"Then, let's go ahead and plan the route and the tasks of each group."

Herod bowed his head respectfully to Chang Long before beginning to plan the next steps.

.....

"Now that I think about it, we rushed here as soon as we heard you were coming for this quest. We almost didn't make it in time before you entered the dungeon."

Draco spoke as everyone walked closely together into the Wolf Den Dungeon, which was quite dark, stinking, and surprisingly vast.

"That's true. We left Rafael to guard the city and rushed straight here. I wonder how much he's praising us by now."

Lidded Wet Trash Can chuckled.

"Anyway, the city is still under construction and we're still in a safe period. Staying idle like that for months is so boring."

Oliang, who was tired of guarding the city, spoke up.

"This place is quite far, even though we followed your path, and these guys (gesturing to the pets) helped us, it's still tough."

Peach Blossom complained in frustration.

"Luckily, we didn't run into the king of the desert like that Sand King, or we'd never have made it here in time to meet you, Mr. Siegfried."

Kimhant spoke with relief. It was well known among most players that the Sand King was one of the hardest beasts to defeat in the game.

They kept talking as they walked, as no beasts had attacked them yet. Despite the name Wolf Den, they should have been surrounded by wolves, but instead, it was eerily silent, which was surprising. Then, Lycanth, who was leading the group, signaled them to stop. Ahead of them, a group of glowing lights appeared in the darkness. Everyone immediately realized it was the reflection of animals' eyes in the night. From the reflected light, they could tell there were likely dozens of beasts waiting ahead.

"Well, well, it looks like we've really entered the real Wolf Den now."

Draco raised his weapon and prepared to fight, as did everyone else, their faces immediately tense. Though they did not know what kind of beasts were waiting ahead, how strong they were, or their level, the growling sounds from their throats were enough to send shivers down their spines.

"With this many gathered, there must be something up ahead."

Kimhant got into a fighting stance, just like Felon, his pet, who knew that fighting meant a meal afterward, so he was eager to show off his skills.

"That's true. Maybe we've reached the den of the first werewolf." Draco agreed. From what Siegfried had told them, they needed to find all fifty werewolves to recruit them as subordinates. If successful, his friend would likely have the most pets in the game.

"But you know, I never knew you could use a book to seal pets in the game. I thought there's only pet-sealing accessories."

Wet Trash Can observed. This seemed to surprise everyone just as much. But since no one had the answer to this, they decided to ask the NPC at the pet supply shop later.

"There's no use wondering about it. Let's focus on the matter at hand first."

Oliang teased, turning around.

"With them all clustered together like that, what can we do? If we rush in recklessly, we'll probably end up dead."

Peach Blossom looked worried. Magic users, if surrounded in close combat, often perish quickly.

"Peach Blossom, you're a mage, aren't you? Use a spell to scatter them. We'll clean up the rest. As for Kimhant, keep an eye on Peach Blossom. Now, nothing will slip past you."

Draco said, and Siegfried smiled, thinking that his little sister had probably forgotten how to cast spells after spending so much time taming her pets.

"I hope you're right!"

Peach Blossom grumbled and started casting a spell. Kimhant stepped back to take up a position close to Peach Blossom to protect her. In front of him was Felon, and on Peach Blossom's other side was her pet, which was growling in a low voice, its ears pinned back in discontent but ready to fight if anything came too close.

Boommm

Peach Blossom's fire spell landed perfectly in the middle of the wolf pack. They yelped in surprise and scattered in all directions. Siegfried and the others were stunned by the number of wolves—there were more than they had expected. But they could not understand why they were all packed together in one place. The answer to the question in everyone's mind became clear when they saw that nearly none of the wolves ran toward Lycanth, except for the one that was too panicked to notice where it was going.

"They're scared of Lycanth."

Oliang looked at Lycanth with astonishment.

"Well, if we let Lycanth lead, we won't even need to fight."

Wet Trash Can joked.

"Not really. If we don't fight these guys in each room, it looks like the werewolves won't appear. And letting Lycanth lead will just cause us to encounter a situation where the wolves all gather in one place like this again."

Siegfried opened the Book of Fifty, read it, and then spoke up.

"This is actually good. If they were spread out, we'd be fighting, more might show up at a crucial moment when we need to capture the werewolf, and that'd be bad. It's easier to deal with them all at once."

Draco said casually. Firetail had become so skilled that he hardly needed to fight the smaller beasts anymore. Plus, he could even take down the Beast King of a similar level without Draco needing to break a sweat.