Liang Chuan felt absolutely no guilt about running off.
He knew perfectly well—
Those players were bound by a [Player Faction Quest].
They couldn't just log off and disappear.
If not for the threat of getting banned,
they'd have all vanished long ago—
and who would still care about the fate of the [Bioenergy Terminal]?
Only profit and punishment could make players obey his commands.
He certainly didn't expect them to act out of loyalty or camaraderie.
If the situation were reversed,
if he were the player—
he wouldn't risk his life for some NPC either.
And if killing an NPC brought great rewards?
He wouldn't hesitate for a second.
To him, players were nothing more than tools.
Use them when useful.
Abandon them when necessary.
Self-preservation always came first.
After running for some distance, Liang Chuan ran into several more Abyssal creatures.
He immediately activated [Gale Step], vanishing from sight.
Just before the stealth ended, he appeared behind a Hilichurl wielding a crossbow.
Without hesitation, he brought his stone axe down hard on its skull.
BANG!!!
The stealth-breaking double damage bonus from [Gale Step] instantly killed the creature.
Liang Chuan snatched up its crossbow and quiver, then continued his escape.
But no matter which direction he ran, his [Global Map] was littered with red-and-black markers.
[Gale Step] still had thirty seconds left on cooldown.
"What the hell…
I know more Abyssal creatures came out of the gate than usual,
but this many?
The whole forest's crawling with them?
Even the slimes turned into Abyss variants?!"
As he muttered, a nearby Hilichurl lunged at him.
He swung his axe backward and split it open with one strike.
"Weird…
Its EXP gain is only about 5% higher than the normal version.
And it doesn't hit as hard either...
So it's not actually that strong."
A spark of realization flashed through his mind.
"Wait—Abyss energy is infectious!
Whether human or monster, anything can be tainted!
The number of actual Abyss-born monsters from the gate might not be that high.
It's just that these things infected everything else in the forest!"
These newly infected monsters hadn't been fully corrupted yet,
so their strength remained relatively low.
"No wonder fighting those 'Abyss Hilichurls' back at the outpost started feeling easier.
I thought I was getting stronger—
turns out most of them weren't truly enhanced at all."
Understanding that, the weight on his shoulders lightened.
He continued weaving between the encroaching Abyssal creatures,
attacking only when necessary—
fighting not to win, but to stall for time.
Hold.
Just hold.
After about half an hour of dragging things out,
a wave of white markers finally appeared on the Global Map.
Reinforcements from the Flower-Feather Clan had arrived!
Dozens of tribal warriors swooped down from the sky,
mounted on feather-winged saurians known as Yumkasauri.
Each warrior and mount worked in perfect sync—
a single diving strike could bring down an enemy in one blow.
Explosions echoed from the outpost's direction—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Liang Chuan glanced at the map.
That had to be Chasca, blasting away with her heavy gun.
Every thunderous shot cleared clusters of red dots from the map.
"Now that's what I call a hero of the tribe. Her clearing speed's insane!"
He couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Just then, a Huayu warrior landed nearby and asked sincerely:
"Traveler from afar, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine. Thanks for the rescue."
Liang Chuan waved a hand in reply.
"It's our duty," the warrior said warmly.
"You've come to Natlan as guests—
we can't allow you to be harmed within our territory."
Then he added,
"I am Mutota, leader of the Flower-Feather Clan.
If you ever need help, come find me.
There are still many Abyssal creatures to purge, so I must go."
Mutota patted the neck of his Rongyi Dragon,
and the beast spread its colorful wings, soaring back into the fray.
Liang Chuan watched the dragon riders in action—
and couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.
For an outsider like him, taming a Rongyi Dragon wouldn't be easy.
Still… What if he used a [Control Collar] to forcibly subdue one?
Would the Flower-Feather Clan object if he did?
Once the Huayu reinforcements had secured the area,
Liang Chuan made his way back toward the outpost.
At the outskirts, he ran into BlazingFlame and IReallyEatBeef.
"Ah! Chuan-ge! You're alive—that's great!"
BlazingFlame greeted him excitedly.
He remembered the game's rule well:
if Liang Chuan—the "core NPC"—died, all players would fail and lose their accounts.
So when Liang Chuan had fled earlier,
none of them had been angry.
In fact, they found it reassuring.
After all, a "main crystal" that knew when to run for safety
was exactly the kind of NPC they could trust.
"How are things holding up here?"
Liang Chuan asked.
"After your, uh, tactical withdrawal, we scattered and kited the Abyss mobs."
BlazingFlame scratched his head.
"That axe-wielding Hilichurl though—holy crap!
It one-shot that bodyguard player! Head clean off!
We split up to cover the different areas of the outpost.
Not sure how the others are doing."
Liang Chuan frowned and pulled up the Global Map.
The outpost zone was defined by its buildings—
right now there were only three:
the [Bioenergy Terminal], a [Wooden Shelter], and a [Workbench].
That formed a circular area with a 150-meter radius.
Each additional building would expand the radius by 50 meters.
The remaining players, afraid that stepping outside might count as "non-participation,"
had all stayed within the safe zone—
which was why half of them had already died.
Including those three glass-cannon fire mages
that had nearly made Liang Chuan cough blood.
"Told you not to pick fire mages...
Five points in Constitution, Strength, and Agility?
Can't even solo a regular Hilichurl.
Surviving Abyss mobs? That's a miracle."
He shook his head in exasperation.
As for why BlazingFlame was still alive—
well, it was thanks to his buddy IReallyEatBeef,
who had literally carried him on his back during the retreat.
"The Flower-Feather Clan reinforcements are here.
Time to launch a counterattack!"
Liang Chuan jerked his chin toward them.
When the two players hesitated, he barked:
"Move it!!!
What are you standing around for?!
Go help them already!"
He was this close to smacking them on the head.
"It's a perfect chance to farm EXP—
and you're just gonna waste it?!"
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