Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Red Streaked with Black

Three sharp gusts of wind whistled past Mo Tan's side, arriving at their destination with lightning speed that was nearly impossible to track with the naked eye—the rears of three orc warriors who had just turned around to assist their comrades in countering Ned.

Heart-wrenching screams proved that Yinna was truly ruthless in her attacks. This volley of arrows, fired without any interference, was executed to near perfection, reaching the peak of her performance since the battle began in terms of force, speed, and accuracy.

"Startled bow, plucked feather, lightly pierces the sky," Mo Tan, whose mindset had nearly crumbled earlier, had now fully recovered, even joking as he casually made up a line: "Chrysanthemums dyed red, the heavens awry~"

Yinna blinked at him in confusion. "What are you saying?"

"Pfft!" Futaba couldn't help but burst out laughing, but then she frowned slightly and muttered, "Why do I feel like I've heard this kind of crooked poem somewhere before..."

Mo Tan immediately recalled how he had teased this girl in messages when he was Tan Mo. Silently cursing his carelessness, he forced a chuckle and said, "I saw it online earlier. Anyway, let's not talk about that. Yinna, please suppress those guys on the right! It doesn't have to be too precise!"

Because Klab and Salazar, in the coordinated effort Mo Tan had just guided, had knocked back the enemy closest to the three of them, opening up a firing angle for Yinna while reducing potential interference she might face. So, at least for these few seconds, the elven ranger, who had been constantly harassed by enemies, was temporarily freed.

"Got it!" Yinna, finally able to attack freely, immediately drew six arrows from her quiver and nocked them all at once, pursing her lips into a smile. "How exactly did you manage that?"

Her slender fingers loosened slightly, and a small-scale rain of arrows sprayed out, pinning down the several orc soldiers who had been preparing to flank Salazar.

The rhythm... somehow, it had started to change...

All because of a few words from this little priest beside her!

Just a few simple instructions had given her, who had been running for her life, a chance to catch her breath, created a one-on-one environment for Ned, who had been bearing the brunt of the attacks, and nearly resolved the predicament of Salazar and Klab being caught between two fronts.

Yinna could hardly believe it, yet she had no choice but to accept it.

"Captain!" Mo Tan, however, had no time to answer her question. He called out to Ned from a distance, "Can you finish off your current opponent in ten seconds?"

Ned had just executed a cross-shaped sword flourish, followed by two diagonal slashes—one horizontal, one vertical—that slammed into the bone heavy shield in front of him. His reply was concise: "Enough!"

No way—he had been holding his own against three or four enemies with ease. How could he not take down this slow-moving turtle shell in ten seconds?

Besides, the orc warrior behind the heavy shield was already starting to look pale. The continuous attacks from the Frost Enchantment weapon had begun to slow him down, and Ned's powerful, heavy strikes had nearly knocked the shield out of his hands several times...

The shield warrior, originally responsible for aggressive advancement and cover, was now nearly frozen into a sluggish warrior, yet he had no solution whatsoever. Logically, the teammates best positioned to support him were all lying on the ground, each with an arrow stuck right in the center of their rear ends, howling in pain—just watching it hurt!

"Klab, try to hold on a bit longer where you are. Salazar, move toward us now!" Mo Tan said as he cast a Holy Decree: Shield on Klab. His casting pace had already slowed since earlier, partly because the frequency of his teammates getting injured had started to decrease, and partly because he had begun consciously conserving Mana and Faith Points.

If he wanted to seize the best opportunity to break out, the time left to stay still and enjoy the effects of his talent was running out...

Klab nodded vigorously and let out a roar. His already overly muscular body swelled another size, and he slammed the weapon he had snatched from an enemy hard into the ground, sending two foes, one in front and one behind, tumbling to the earth with a thunderous crash.

Meanwhile, Salazar took the chance to sweep his leg, knocking down the orc warrior wielding an iron spear in front of him, and then immediately charged toward Mo Tan and the others.

"Hey!" Futaba suddenly turned to Mo Tan and asked, "What about me? What should I do now?"

"Recover your mana," Mo Tan said, glancing at her. "Your mana should be nearly depleted by now, so you won't be of much use for the moment."

Futaba pouted in dissatisfaction. "So you think you can turn things around?"

Still, despite her words, she had no real objection to Mo Tan's decision.

Futaba was very smart—otherwise, she couldn't have rivaled Mo Tan in the real world as the legendary hacker known as 'Black Sun.' But high intelligence didn't mean she was proficient at everything. Even though she could single-handedly complete the artificial intelligence called 'NAVI,' it didn't mean she could excel at commanding in battle. Far from excelling, with her mild social anxiety, just being able to talk normally with everyone was already a huge effort for her.

That last remark wasn't so much a complaint to Mo Tan as it was her hoping to get a confident answer from him.

"I don't know," Mo Tan said, seeing Ned not far away successfully cut down that sluggish... shield warrior with his sword. He calmly raised his hands and cast a Holy Healing on Klab...

"But I'll do my best!"

Salazar had already reached the trio and moved into a spot Mo Tan had deliberately left open. Together with Yinna and Futaba, the four of them now formed a diamond formation.

The lizardman monk stood at the front, with Mo Tan and Futaba on the left and right respectively, while Yinna was at the back, facing away from everyone, drawing her bow to hold off several approaching enemies.

Ned was the farthest away, but he also had the fewest enemies around him. Klab was positioned between Ned and the diamond formation formed by the others, facing the most enemies and taking the most attacks. Yet, thanks to Mo Tan's full support during this short period, he still hadn't completely fallen into a disadvantage.

"Excellent!" Mo Tan stared intently at the enemies approaching Klab from the four o'clock direction, murmuring under his breath, "Just a little more..."

Another Tough Prayer was cast on Klab, and at the same time, the 'Bloodthirsty Rage' he had already used twice before once again reached its limit, causing his body, which had been noticeably bulkier than usual, to instantly shrink back to its original size.

"Captain, fall back to Klab and give him a hand!" Mo Tan shouted. "Yinna, suppress those few behind for a moment."

Ned reversed his longsword, leaping and spinning sideways mid-air to land beside Klab, delivering a heavy slash that directly knocked down the orc warrior who had been about to swing a hammer.

Yinna's slender fingers were already marked with several bloody cuts from the bowstring, but her arrows, fired at tricky angles, still kept the enemies behind from advancing an inch.

The next second...

"Salazar! Charge to the front and knock back the nearest one among those idiots in the front row!"

Bang! The monk's unique explosive power allowed Salazar to punch his target in the waist in less than a second. The orc warrior, sent flying, directly knocked over two companions on his side who had been trying to flank Klab, and the three muscle-bound brutes tumbled into a heap.

"Futaba, move parallel with me and use your instant-cast spells to stop those guys on the right who just got up with their asses in the air!"

"OK!"

Mo Tan followed closely behind Salazar. Before his words faded, he saw several fireballs streaking past his body, tracing scorching arcs through the air before curving to land behind the three enemies who had just scrambled to their feet clutching their backsides.

Well, actually, it was still their backsides...

"Yinna, forget about those behind!" Mo Tan cast the newly cooled Holy Healing on Yinna and called out, "Harass the guy on Futaba's right and keep him from getting close."

Five seconds later, all members of the Fenrir Squad had regrouped, and the surrounding encirclement, though not particularly tight, had been torn apart into chaos.

"Mind if I overstep my bounds again?" Mo Tan smiled at Ned.

The latter rolled his eyes. "Get on with it. Who knows, maybe today we'll actually get you out of here alive!"

"No problem~" Under the setting sun, Mo Tan turned on the spot, a faint golden holy radiance emanating from his fingertips. His expression was calm and gentle, a smile in his eyes. "With everyone here, I can do it!"

The talent effect 'Devout' state activated again.

[Of course I can do it~]

"Klab! Fall back. You have less than a minute to rest!"

[Even if I'm just a mediocre, lazy, run-of-the-mill, utterly ordinary...]

"Captain, switch positions with Yinna. Don't charge in; wait for them to come!"

[Ordinary person!]

"Futaba, sweep the ground with Fireball! Watch your mana! Fine, fine, I know you've got it calculated..."

[But that's okay...]

"Yinna, open up your attack angle! Shoot anyone who gets within five meters of the captain. Uh, stand on Klab's shoulders? Fine, if you insist..."

【Special enough, yet ordinary enough.】

"Salazar! Guard Futaba's right side! Huh? Why not say east, south, west, north? Because I can't find north!"

【That's fine too!】

"Don't worry about that sneaky bastard trying to circle around from behind—I noticed him long ago!"

【I can do it!】

"Let them in, and in a moment, the captain and Salazar will switch targets! Yeah, that means focus on the one at the back!"

【Even this most ordinary 'me' right now can handle it!】

"Futaba, step back two paces to leave room for Klab—those guys are already falling apart!"

【Or rather, some things...】

"Charge through and cut them apart!"

【Only I can do well!!】

...

【You have voluntarily disconnected. Please choose whether to reconnect.】

"Don't reconnect."

【Execute wake-up procedure?】

"Yes."

【Acknowledged. It is now 1:30 AM on January 3, 2049. You will awaken in one minute.】

After waking up, Mo Tan didn't leave the game pod. Instead, he let out a satisfied long sigh, then quickly closed his eyes, only regaining full awareness ten minutes later.

A familiar headache struck, making him frown uncomfortably...

"This kind of pain really doesn't bring me any joy~" He hummed softly, but then a hint of pleased smile appeared on his face: "But come to think of it, I really am impressive..."

Stretching his body slightly, he reactivated the game pod that had just entered standby mode, lay back in a more comfortable position, murmured 'timing's just right,' and under the effect of the simulation system, entered a deep sleep state suitable for logging into the game.

...

【Your mental connection has been detected. Synchronizing personal information...】

【Connection complete. Loading character data.】

【Welcome back, Chaotic Neutral Tan Mo. About to load into Innocent Realm. Good night.】

When Mo Tan regained consciousness, his vision was still pitch black, but he showed no panic. He subtly shifted his position and saw a glimmer of light.

The light came through a small hole in front of him, originating from a magic crystal lamp capable of long-term operation.

This was a modest-sized reception room, and Mo Tan was currently hidden in a wardrobe in the corner.

Sweet Orange Walk, No. 107—inside Dave Sager's wardrobe.

"Looks like he's not back yet." Mo Tan murmured to himself: "I never thought my first experience hiding in a wardrobe would be in a place like this, and in a single man's wardrobe at that. Life really is full of wonder and absurdity."

For the next five minutes, Mo Tan idled in the wardrobe, occasionally peeking through the hole he had made before logging out, muttering constructively to himself.

Until...

A creaking sound of a door opening reached Mo Tan's ears...

The owner of this house had returned.

This was the first time Mo Tan had seen Dave "in the flesh." He wore a simple, plain-colored long robe, his complexion quite pale. Though not exactly handsome, his thick eyebrows and big eyes were enough to leave a good first impression on others. If one ignored the hint of malice that often flickered in his eyes when he was alone, this honest-looking appearance alone would have earned Dave extra points in the knight assessment...

A square face paired with thick eyebrows and big eyes had always been the standard for knights. As for Saint Seiya, it was a bit more troublesome—at the very least, one needed to bring their own BGM...

Mo Tan had activated the Hide skill the moment he logged in, minimizing his presence to the utmost. Coupled with the fact that he was hiding in the corner wardrobe, Dave naturally had no idea that an uninvited guest had already entered his home.

A very... very... very troublesome uninvited guest.

So, as soon as Dave locked the door, he immediately let himself go. The specific manifestation was that he tore off his shirt in one swift motion, and just as Mo Tan was beginning to entertain some erroneous assumptions and was contemplating gouging out his own eyes...

Dave ripped off the dense, bloodstained bandages wrapped around his body.

Yes, his upper body was almost entirely covered in these things. When he first took off his clothes, he looked like a mummy...

From Mo Tan's angle, he could clearly see that although those bandages were stained with dark red blood, Dave's body bore not a single wound.

Not only that, but his skin even showed white tinged with red...

Red, tinged with black...

Chapter 31: The End