novelraw Chapter 33
Chapter 33
“Captain Zhao!”
“Wangchuan!”
Wang Dalang carried over a basket of steaming wolf meat jerky and began distributing food to the village heroes after the fierce battle.
“Come on, everyone worked hard. Eat some meat, warm yourselves up, and shake off the exhaustion.”
“Thank you, Uncle Wang.”
Su Wangchuan took the wolf meat.
Wang Dalang replied with a cheerful smile, “No need to thank me. You’re the ones who truly worked hard. Eat more.” He then moved on to distribute food to the others.
The village chief came wobbling over, his emotions mixed with joy and worry, and said to Zhao Heiniu:
“We lost a capable man, Old Liu, this time. Seven others were injured, and the earthen wall suffered serious damage. First thing tomorrow morning, we must repair the wall as quickly as possible.”
Zhao Heiniu shook his head, worry visible in his eyes. “It’s too early to talk about that. There’s still plenty of night left. I’m worried that more beasts will follow the smell of blood and come to our village… If they only drag away the wild boar corpses, that’s fine. What I’m afraid of is…”As he spoke, he glanced around.
Nearly a third of the village guards were now wounded.
The earthen wall was barely holding together.
Hearing this, Su Wangchuan immediately became alert.
Captain Zhao was right.
The earthen wall was in a very dangerous state.
Moreover, the accumulated snow outside the village was thick and compact, rising more than half a meter above ground level. Many beasts could leap straight in.
Tsk.
A headache.
It looked like no one would be sleeping peacefully tonight.
The village chief’s deeply wrinkled face grew even more etched with lines. “Does Captain Zhao have any solution?”
“Light more braziers, keep everyone alert, and take turns standing guard. Let’s hope tonight passes quietly.” Zhao Heiniu’s tone made it clear he had little confidence.
“Right.”
“How many armor-piercing arrows do we have left?”
After Zhao Heiniu gave the order, someone quickly counted and reported:
“Six quivers, plus twelve loose armor-piercing arrows.”
“They’re all here.”
The armor-piercing arrows were piled at Zhao Heiniu’s feet.
He pulled out three quivers and handed them to Su Wangchuan. “These are yours. Stay sharp tonight. If a second wave of beasts really shows up, don’t hold back. Go all out. Kill as many as you can. The earthen wall won’t hold forever, and we can’t afford to lose more people.”
He knew that by himself, he could not inflict massive casualties quickly.
Su Wangchuan was the only comrade whose Archery had advanced beyond Entry-Level to Minor Mastery. He had no choice but to rely on him.
Su Wangchuan nodded firmly. “I’ll do my best.”
…
Warring States Game Studio.
Instructor Yu knew that heavy snow had fallen across Huishui County and was concerned about the surrounding villages.
He made a round of phone calls, and on a whim tried to contact Su Wangchuan as well. No one answered.
A bad feeling rose in his chest.
Normally, at this hour, Wangchuan would have already logged off to rest.
“Nothing happened… right?”
After several unanswered calls, Instructor Yu finally thought to call Lin Dahai.
Lin Dahai answered groggily, irritation heavy in his voice. “Who is it?! At this hour!”
“It’s me.”
Hearing Instructor Yu’s voice, Lin Dahai instantly woke up. His eyes cleared, and his tone softened. “Instructor Yu, what’s wrong? Something urgent?”
“Log into the game immediately. Something may have happened in Blackstone Village.”
“Huh? Oh! Okay!”
Lin Dahai was completely awake now.
Blackstone Village had recently suffered a wolf pack night raid. Su Wangchuan had gained a boost in reputation from it, becoming close with all the village NPCs, something that made many players envious.
Heeding Instructor Yu’s warning, Lin Dahai hurriedly got dressed, grabbed his gaming helmet, and logged into the game.
As soon as he opened the door, icy air rushed in, making him shiver violently.
Before he could curse the damned weather, he caught a strong stench of blood in the air. The atmosphere in the village was heavy and oppressive.
“Damn!”
“What the hell!”
“This… something really happened!”
Lin Dahai immediately tried to log out to notify Instructor Yu, but a system prompt appeared:
“You have entered a temporary emergency forced event: Defend the village’s safety… This forced state cannot be lifted until dawn! You cannot log out or leave the game.”
He couldn’t log out!
How was he supposed to notify Instructor Yu? How was he supposed to notify the company?
Just as Lin Dahai stood there in a panic, he heard a shout:
“Brother Lin?”
“Why are you online?”
Su Wangchuan, fully armed, was rushing from one section of the earthen wall to reinforce another. With a sharp glance, he spotted Lin Dahai standing at the doorway like an idiot.
“Wangchuan!”
Lin Dahai’s eyes lit up as he hurried over to ask what had happened in the village.
Su Wangchuan explained everything in detail.
Lin Dahai was dumbfounded.
“First you run into a wolf pack attacking the village, and now a wild boar herd assault? What kind of luck is this?”
“The wild boars were repelled?”
“They’re all dead.”
“All of them? Damn it! I missed it again?” Lin Dahai clutched his head, as if he had just lost another fortune.
Su Wangchuan said seriously, “It’s actually not over yet. Captain Zhao is worried the blood from the boars will attract other beasts. Everyone in the village is on high alert tonight, ready to fight at any moment. Since you’re already here, you might as well join in. When tasks are settled tomorrow, your reputation should increase.”
“Sounds good.”
Since he had no way to leave the game anyway, Lin Dahai followed Su Wangchuan’s advice. He went to find Captain Zhao Heiniu, accepted a task, and was assigned to go outside the village to recover arrows.
The snow had already stopped.
With decent visibility and guards providing cover, it was not particularly dangerous.
Around two in the morning, a group of uninvited guests finally crept up outside the village.
Wild wolves.
A pack of wild wolves followed the scent of blood to the outskirts of Blackstone Village.
Their cunning, vicious gazes lingered in the distance before they slowly began to approach.
After receiving the alert, Su Wangchuan moved to join Captain Zhao Heiniu. One on each side, they drew their bows and fixed their sights on the shadows creeping closer.
“Armor-piercing arrows are powerful enough to deter wild wolves from thirty steps away,” Zhao Heiniu reminded him.
Su Wangchuan understood.
They could not allow the wolves to approach the earthen wall.
If the wolves discovered a weakness, the village would suffer disaster.
A few breaths later, Zhao Heiniu locked onto the first wild wolf that crossed the thirty-step line.
Its eyes gleamed brightly in the snow, easy to identify.
As Zhao Heiniu released his armor-piercing arrow, Su Wangchuan also locked onto a target.
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
The wolves sensed danger. Though they could not see the arrows, their bodies instinctively dodged. One arrow pierced straight through a wolf’s thigh.
AOOO!
A mournful howl rang out.
Su Wangchuan’s armor-piercing arrow drilled into another wolf’s body. It stumbled backward several steps before collapsing into the snow.
Archery experience +1.
One dead, one badly wounded—this instantly shocked the entire pack.
The wolves, who had only come to see if there was an opportunity, no longer dared approach the firelit village.
Even with the tempting scent of wild boar corpses and thick blood in the air, they did not dare cross the line.
Lin Dahai, who had returned behind the earthen wall earlier, watched in stunned silence. The newcomer who had joined the game a month later than him had already become one of Blackstone Village’s top fighters. His mouth hung open, unable to close for a long while.
The village grew tense once again.
Other militiamen and hunters monitored the remaining directions.
Whenever wolves were detected approaching, gongs were struck to signal Zhao Heiniu and Su Wangchuan. The two would rush over immediately, using armor-piercing arrows to intimidate the pack.
For more than two hours, the standoff continued.
More than a dozen wolf corpses were left behind.
The remaining wolves, unable to find an opening, grew fearful. In the end, they dragged away their fallen companions and retreated to feast elsewhere.
The sky gradually brightened.
The wolf pack slowly vanished into the wind and snow.
Blackstone Village was saved.