Everyone suddenly felt a sense of shock, a great admiration for the world-building.
With each accumulation of detail, the world was continually revealed, and this vast landscape, as if one were truly present, was the most awe-inspiring and aspiration-inducing, with an immersive sense almost giving a second life.
Just the various little details on the manor already seemed to show the entire world.
"Speaking of which, sunset is about to arrive, and if they attack while we're sleeping at night, that would be troublesome."
They began to worry a bit.
Although the boss's intelligence had been lowered, the pressure was greatly reduced, tonight posed another challenge.
Su Yuniang hadn't had a chance to speak when the command center began relaying a unified message:
"As dusk approaches, please exit the Defense Tower and gradually retreat underground."
"We will all head to the artificial pool underground, swim across to the other side, and return to the dormitory to sleep."
Everyone complied.
Before long, they slowly gathered their strength, retreating to a junction underground.
Caw caw caw!
The crows continued to attack.
Splash!
They took turns diving into the water, swimming through an underwater tunnel, the exit of which was at the dormitory.
"Everyone, you can start sleeping now."
Su Yuniang had been waiting there for a long time and instructed:
"Once everyone's back, we'll press down the large copper stone, and they won't be able to swim into the exit of the waterway, preventing entry into our dormitory."
No one was worried about the dormitory's safety.
Firstly, the dormitory was reinforced and very sturdy.
Secondly, those crows didn't know they had circled underground only to return to the completely enclosed building on the surface to sleep, a classic case of hiding in plain sight.
With their intelligence, they would only follow and attack along the last waterway they saw the group use.
But the end of that waterway was blocked by the copper stone. They couldn't hold their breath long enough to swim through, and it was extremely sturdy, not something they could easily break through.
Some were still worried:
"What if they can't get in and destroy our Defense Tower during the night?"
"Yeah, when we return to the Defense Tower during the day, we won't have a place to defend."
At this moment, Jiucai Rong, having swum back to the dormitory via the waterway, joined the gathered discussion and explained:
"Don't worry, if the Crow King were still alive, they would definitely destroy the Defense Tower in advance, but given the intelligence of the current crow swarm, they won't attack an unoccupied Defense Tower."
Like animals, they wouldn't attack earth and stones for no reason; they only attack humans.
If every single beast in a random low-level animal group were as smart as humans, this world would have long been overtaken by beasts.
As long as the taunt point isn't present, it's safe.
Of course, they might still attack out of spite because they have no other choice.
They can't defend at night and have to log off; the Defense Tower will be empty.
That's why it's crucial to kill the Crow King today!
A leader's role is so significant in war; if the leader survives, they might just see the retreat and lead a team to destroy the Defense Tower overnight, turning the manor into chaos.
"I'm back."
"Wait, there are three more coming, cover them a bit."
"Almost there now."
Soon all the personnel had returned, and a large copper stone blocked the entrance.
The crows that followed and dived into the water struggled, trying to peck at the large copper stone, but to no avail, and they had to quickly turn back and surface due to lack of air.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, feeling amazed at their success.
Intellectual superiority was immensely satisfying.
Playing the game with strategy, this is what real gaming feels like, more realistic than mindlessly fighting monsters in online games, respawning at Resurrection Points, and defending large sieges with their life. This made gaming truly immersive!
"Alright, it's safe now, everyone. We're already cooking, though there won't be a campfire banquet on the surface; everyone will have to rough it during wartime," Jiucai Rong began directing in the dormitory.
"The more than ten blacksmiths who have died are in the [queue for login], don't hurry to resurrect, the first resurrection costs a full ten Magic Coins, which most don't have enough of in personal savings, but we'll calculate with your battle loot later."
"Initially, resurrection is estimated to be at the entrance of the manor, and when you first emerge, you'll be attacked right away."
"Dizzy's four brothers, you all came to the same dormitory together, right? By drawing the Crow King with your lives, the manor will recognize your valor. I suggest waiting until this expansion pack ends to resurrect, as it's safer that way."
The four named brothers, indeed as [spectators logging in as tourists] after death, considered taking a break as they'd planned to be offline tomorrow. They thought about shopping around town and posting on Forum, uploading personal videos, and trying to gain some traffic.
As he comforted the sacrificed blacksmiths, Jiucai Rong continued,
"There's still some time before dinner. If you're feeling bored, everyone can head up to the blacksmith shop on the second floor of the dormitory to look around."
"But no forging, hammering rough billets would make a noise and alert the searching crows outside."
"Daojiu has already figured out the official crafting of Magical Artifacts, only requiring reheating the artifact billets and adding materials to engrave, without making much sound. Everyone can give it a try, as we've already made many artifact billets, plenty to go around!"
"I'm sure you battled a lot of crows during the day, so go ahead and try crafting; you might hit a jackpot and make something big! It'll be more convenient for tomorrow's monster hunting."
With these words, everyone thought it made sense.
After all, they fought the crow swarm just to forge!
The main quest at Sword Casting Manor was forging!
Monster-hunting... that's just for materials.
Now, why not have a bit of fun, try to craft some weapons, see if they have good or bad luck, and get some sleep after?
So a group of enthusiastic people headed to the second-floor blacksmith shop, turning it into a pseudo casino of sorts.
After sending them off, Daojiu, Su Yuniang, and several team leaders began summarizing the day's battle conditions.
Jiucai Rong frowned deeply: "At night, our defenses have too many vulnerabilities. I don't think this is a designer oversight."
Daojiu also nodded, having showcased superior technique, he was the top blacksmith in the forge and said, "Do they expect us to complete some main quest to be active at night?"
They wanted to vent, what game only lets you play from morning eight to night seven?
And what would His Excellency's schedule be?
Su Yuniang analyzed: "Indeed, we need to be active at night, forging, patrolling; that would be the normal operations of Nightfall Manor."
In reality, they just wanted to play longer.
"So, there must be a way for us to operate at night." Everyone felt a sense of urgency rising within them.