"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
At [BlazingFlame]'s command, over thirty archer players lost a wave of arrows!
Their first focus target—the giant axe–wielding Mitachurl guarding the edge of the camp.
Without any armor or defense, the brute was instantly turned into a porcupine by the storm of arrows.
It let out a miserable roar before collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud!
"Ya!!!"
"YaYa.ika.kundala!!!"
"Mi.muhe.ye!!!"
The Hilichurls inside the camp quickly reacted, shouting and rushing out toward the players!
A tide of Hilichurls poured forth, their numbers easily matching those of the players.
The sight stunned many in the raid.
They had expected the camp to have quite a few monsters—
but this many?!
Fortunately, the players had prepared well before starting the fight.
The front line had dug trenches, laid tripwires, and planted spike traps.
The ground around those traps was littered with sharpened stakes.
So as the Hilichurls charged forward,
they were met only with the cruel fate of being shredded to pieces!
Some players had suggested using flaming arrows to ignite the entire camp.
After all, the Hilichurl structures—watchtowers and huts—were all wooden;
a single spark would set the place ablaze.
But after thinking it through, they realized the camp backed directly onto a dense forest.
If they caused a wildfire, they'd definitely be held responsible by the Flower-Feather Clan's NPCs.
So that plan was scrapped.
Truth be told, most players weren't truly the chaos-bringing "calamity" people made them out to be.
The majority just wanted to level up faster, farm better gear, and enjoy the thrill of wielding power.
Only a few were genuine troublemakers.
Players were called the "Fourth Calamity" not because they sought destruction—
but because their gamer mindset made them unpredictable and inherently disruptive to the world.
That "disruption" wasn't their goal; it was simply a byproduct of their existence.
Still, human nature was complicated—
and there would always be a few who played just to indulge their darker impulses.
They didn't care who got hurt,
as long as they got to wreak havoc.
Liang Chuan, as their summoner,
wanted the players' image in Teyvat to be positive, not abyssal.
He didn't want their name to become synonymous with something that had to be exterminated.
That was why, in the player Account Agreement, he'd implemented strict prohibitions.
Anything excessively "criminal" was off-limits.
And if anyone insisted on doing it?
Depending on the severity—temporary ban, or even permanent account deletion!
Of course, those bans only applied to civilians of Teyvat.
When it came to enemies like the Treasure Hoarders, monsters, or the Abyss,
the system didn't care what the players did.
If someone was capable enough to convince monsters to host a concert for them,
Liang Chuan wouldn't even bat an eye.
By now, the first wave of charging Hilichurls had reached the player's trap zone.
"Snap! Snap! Snap!"
"Pssh! Pssh! Pssh!"
The sounds of collapsing bodies and flesh being pierced filled the air.
The vanguard Hilichurls were nearly wiped out by the traps alone.
Yet the ones behind them stepped right over their corpses and kept charging forward!
Soon, the first head-on clash erupted.
Frontline Tanks were equipped with [Wood Armor], [Wood Helmets], and [Wood Shields]—
a simple three-piece defense set strong enough to absorb the Hilichurls' impact.
Warriors wielded [Silver Swords], [Mercenary Greatswords], and [Iron-tipped Spears]—
two-star weapons that gave them a clear advantage.
Against ordinary Hilichurls, most of their kills were clean one-shots!
The front line was holding well… for now.
But then—
arrows whistled through the air as Hilichurl archers and Samachurls joined the fight.
A rain of bolts struck the players' formation,
instantly injuring several!
Thankfully, the [Shop] function had already been unlocked.
They hurriedly bought medical supplies.
Without them, just pulling those arrows out would've been enough to end their day.
Bandages wrapped, [Minor Healing Potions] and [Energy Drinks] chugged—
injured players could get back into the fight almost immediately.
Yet what really turned the tide against them wasn't the archers.
It was the three Samachurls in the camp.
Each of them has a different element—Anemo, Hydro, and Dendro.
The Anemo Samachurl waved its staff first, conjuring a swirling wind field.
Nearby players were instantly pulled toward its center!
At the same time, the Dendro Samachurl unleashed thorned vines inside the vortex,
lashing and piercing everyone caught within!
And to make matters worse,
the Hydro Samachurl summoned jets of water within the same wind field,
slamming players around with the combined force of the storm.
The seamless combo between the three left the players utterly miserable!
From the rear, [BlazingFlame] shouted desperately into the team voice channel:
"Where are our Assassin players?! Move! Take out those damn Samachurls!"
If those three magic-types kept up their barrage,
the front line would collapse soon—
and once that happened, the backline would be slaughtered!
"My [Gale Step] skill only gets me to the outer edge of the camp!"
"Those Samachurls are dead center, guarded by shield-bearing Hilichurls—I can't reach them!"
That came from a player named [AssassinNo.1FromGardenLane].
"What about the others? We've got fifteen Assassins in the raid, don't we?"
"Yeah, but I'm the only [Stalker] with an invisibility dash!
The rest are either [Jesters]—all they can do is throw fear bombs—
or [Widows], who can only use charm skills!
What are they supposed to do, flirt the Samachurls to death?"
"Wait—don't we have a stealth archer? A [Phantom Bow]?"
"Couldn't he sneak in and snipe at least one of them?"
"He could," replied [HiHello], the Phantom Bow user, "but that's not optimal.
We should take all three out at once.
If I only kill one, we'll alert the others."
"So what now? We just sit here while their mages blow us up?"
[BlazingFlame] frowned, frustrated.
Then—
"Wait! There's a new icon appearing on my map!"
[HiHello] suddenly shouted.
"It's moving toward me—maybe backup's arrived?
Another high-level Assassin?"
"No!" [AssassinNo.1FromGardenLane] yelled in alarm.
"That's not a player icon—it's an NPC!
ID—Liang Chuan!
Holy crap, it's Chuan-ge!!!
We're screwed! If he dies here, the whole game ends!
And when the servers reset for the next test,
who knows if we'll even get our accounts back?!"
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