O43novel Chapter 267: Surround the Village, Force an Assault
Chapter 267: Surround the Village, Force an Assault
Red Moon Plaza.
Someone hurriedly rushed to Zhou Maoming.
“Director Zhou!”
“Something has happened!”
“Our team in Huishui County failed to take down the Warring States Game Studio’s Land-Clearing Team Two.”
“They fled into Blackstone Village! Somehow, a group of Martial Artists appeared inside the village. When Scar Boss tried to slaughter the village, he ran into heavy resistance. Many of our men were injured.”
Zhou Maoming frowned slightly and snorted.
“Useless trash.”
“You cannot even handle such a small matter, and you expect me to personally step in.”
He gave a cold order.“Immediately notify the brothers at the Coal Mountain in Rong County. Assemble at once! We are entering Huishui County!”
“We attack Blackstone Village!”
Zhou Maoming had no intention of letting this matter end here.
Today was the day they had officially declared war on the three major studios.
The first battle had to be won!
No matter the cost!!
At Coal Mountain, the call was answered instantly. More than two hundred Quasi-Martial Artists, led by over thirty Martial Artists, set out in a vast formation, holding torches as they marched toward Huishui County.
Along the official road, the torches formed a winding dragon of fire.
Everyone carried sabers and swords, moving swiftly in tight combat attire.
Among the crowd, many players wore solemn expressions, while some looked nervous and uneasy.
At the very front of the formation stood Zhou Maoming himself.
As the chief supervisor of Red Moon Studio, he was personally leading this operation. That alone showed how seriously the studio regarded this battle.
When the group entered the territory of Huishui County, they saw the scar-faced brute waiting there.
A number of Martial Artists gathered around him. Most carried the smell of blood and were visibly bandaged. Only eleven remained completely uninjured.
“Director Zhou!”
“I’m sorry.”
“I messed it up.”
The scar-faced brute lowered his head in apology, clearly wary of Zhou Maoming.
Zhou Maoming gave a cold command.
“Everyone—injured or not—get up and lead the way.”
“Redeem your failure with merit!”
“Yes.”
No one dared delay. The group quickly scrambled to their feet.
Several of them limped as they forced themselves forward, afraid of falling behind.
The large force marched rapidly for more than twenty minutes before finally seeing a brightly lit village ahead.
The scar-faced brute said, “Director Zhou, we’ve reached Blackstone Village.”
“There are at least a hundred villagers inside. About sixty or seventy players. Counting the Martial Artists and the Warring States Land-Clearing Team, there should be around two hundred people in total.”
Zhou Maoming snorted and studied the village for a moment before saying:
“Out of those two hundred, the only ones with real combat strength are the militiamen and Martial Artists. That number will not exceed a hundred.”
“Launch three rounds of arcing volley fire into the village to cover the brothers’ charge. Scatter them first.”
Zhou Maoming did not begin by surrounding the village.
Instead, he chose a direct assault.
More than two hundred people stood with torches blazing.
“Archers, step forward!”
At that moment…
Powerful arrows suddenly shot out from inside Blackstone Village.
“Ah!”
“AHH!!”
Several Quasi-Martial Artists were caught completely off guard and screamed as arrows struck them.
Zhou Maoming looked over.
Four people had been hit.
All of them were struck by Armor-Piercing Arrows.
“Well now.”
“I did not expect such a small village to contain a master of Second-Rank Archery.”
Zhou Maoming frowned slightly.
Another rain of arrows shot out from the village.
Many people in the crowd waved their sabers and swords to block or dodge, but several were still struck and injured.
The enemy was clearly shooting from rooftops at higher ground.
Under the torchlight, the attackers had become living targets.
The flickering flames illuminated everything.
The precise archery of the Martial Artists inside the village slowly gnawed away at the morale of the Red Moon Studio players.
At this point, Zhou Maoming could no longer hold back.
“Loose arrows! Return fire!!”
“Everyone else—charge!!”
At his command, waves of arrows were launched into the village.
The Red Moon Studio players surged forward, rushing toward Blackstone Village.
The battle had officially begun.
However, Blackstone Village held the advantage of terrain. The defenders fired precise shots while using houses as cover. Only a few people inside the village were struck by arrows.
Outside the village, the attackers were struck down in groups of ten and more under the covering arrow rain.
Armor-Piercing Arrows posed a major threat even to Martial Artists.
Against Quasi-Martial Artists, a single arrow could remove them from the fight entirely.
Nevertheless, the attackers soon poured into the village.
Some entered through the main gate.
Others came through the collapsed gap in the Earthen Wall.
Some simply vaulted over the wall directly.
“Kill!”
The Caobang elites and members of the Warring States Land-Clearing Team all took the front line, creating opportunities for the militiamen behind them to continue firing arrows.
THUD!
THUD!!
Several Red Moon players rushed into the village only to be shot down immediately.
A few others were sent flying by a single staff strike from Monk Dalong.
Monk Dalong had recovered his health by circulating the 《Qingcheng Heart Method》 and taking Blood-Activating Pills. He had already escaped the Severe Injury Effect.
Although he was not at his peak condition, his combat strength still far exceeded that of ordinary First-Rank Martial Artists.
The other members of the Land-Clearing Team did not possess the 《Qingcheng Heart Method》, but the Blood-Activating Pills had still allowed them to escape the severe injury state.
They formed a defensive formation and guarded the village gate.
Zhao Heiniu stood behind them, continuously drawing and releasing the Iron-Reinforced Bow. Every time he used the Five-Finger Rapid Shot, several enemies fell.
The Caobang elites were experienced Martial Artists.
They successfully repelled the first fierce wave of attacks from the Red Moon players.
But as soon as the two Second-Rank Martial Artists on Zhou Maoming’s side entered the battle, two First-Rank Martial Artists were immediately forced back by their blades.
Zhao Heiniu quickly redirected his arrows, forcing Zhou Maoming and the scar-faced brute to retreat.
“This strength…”
“Second Rank!”
Zhou Maoming deflected Zhao Heiniu’s Armor-Piercing Arrow. His sword vibrated violently, and his expression changed instantly.
Aside from Monk Dalong, there was actually another Second-Rank Martial Artist in Blackstone Village!
“Damn it!”
“Why are there Caobang members here?!”
Zhou Maoming soon noticed another infuriating fact.
On the chests of those Martial Artists was embroidered a yellow character: “Caobang”.
They were Caobang disciples!
A flash of ferocity crossed his eyes as he looked toward Scar Boss.
The latter was also stunned.
During their first rush into Blackstone Village, they had been caught off guard and quickly retreated. They had not noticed the clothing or distinguishing features of these people at all.
Now that they had time to observe carefully, they finally realized that the opponents they had fought were actually Caobang Martial Artists.
Cold sweat broke out among the group.
Slaughtering a village outside the county…
Killing a group of players…
Those things did not frighten them.
But provoking the Caobang?
If even a single survivor escaped, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Zhou Maoming suddenly moved with greater ferocity.
His sword gleamed with a sharp, chilling light as it abruptly pierced into the body of a Caobang disciple directly in front of him. He then lifted the corpse to block an incoming Armor-Piercing Arrow before hurling the body aside, knocking two people to the ground.
He swiftly cut down a Warring States player and ignored Monk Dalong entirely, charging straight toward Zhao Heiniu.
Along the way, Blackstone Village militiamen thrust their spears to stop him, but his sword spun like a windmill, cutting several of them down as he rapidly closed the distance to Zhao Heiniu.
Seeing the danger, Monk Dalong immediately tried to rush over to help.
But the scar-faced brute blocked him with a single axe strike, forcing him back several steps.
“Your opponent is me!”
The brute grinned viciously, gripping his axe.
At that moment—
A shrill signal flare shot into the sky.
The dark red light exploded across the night sky and formed a massive character:
“Caobang”.
The sounds of fighting in Blackstone Village suddenly fell silent.
Zhou Maoming stopped.
He stared at the signal flare in the sky, his expression uncertain.
The Red Moon players all showed shocked expressions.