Chapter 146: The Stirring Murlocs
"Blub blub blub!"
The endless shouting gathered into a cacophony of noise, causing the soldiers on the walls to frown.
As far as the eye could see, countless murlocs were gathering along the riverbank.
They crowded together in layers, bickering and fighting, creating an irritating commotion.
In the distance, the pioneers gathered together, preparing to retreat from the farmland.
Just then, as if receiving a command, the murlocs packed along the riverbank began to charge towards the gathering humans.
Seeing this, Jifan's pupils contracted, and he raised his voice to call out to Old John on the other side:
"Boss, those murlocs are moving, they're about to attack us!"
Tossing aside the used communication scroll, Old John drew his longsword and, with a stern gaze sweeping over everyone, spoke firmly:
"Defend the territory, defend our home!"
"Defend the territory, defend our home!"
The soldiers' unified shout echoed along the walls, carrying into the town.
Inside, they heard the responding cries of support, bringing a smile to every soldier's face.
An indescribable feeling surged through Elio, sending chills up her spine.
Her shouts, though, were filled with absolute sincerity.
Before she knew it, she had found an excuse for herself—her people deserved a better life.
The city gates gradually closed, leaving just enough of a gap for soldiers to pass through.
Led by Old John, the soldiers marched out in formation.
Captain Sean, busy gathering the pioneers, called his patrol soldiers to form a defensive line, preparing to repel the incoming murlocs.
At the same time, he instructed the pioneers to take a detour and enter the city from the other side.
The throng of murlocs surged forward like a tidal wave. In the sunlight, Elio got her first good look at these enemies.
The first thing that caught her eye was a massive mouth full of fangs, with sparse, sharp teeth still holding remnants of algae and other food scraps.
Their emerald-green scales covered their bodies, interspersed with mottled patches of varying shades.
Unlike the long, slender limbs of kobolds, the murlocs had short, stocky limbs with webbed fingers.
The weapons in their hands were in poor condition and extremely varied.
Rusty, broken swords weren't unusual; elongated stones and bones were also common. Elio even saw a murloc wielding a fossilized fish as a weapon.
Most of the murlocs wore no armor, relying only on their weak scales as their only form of protection.
Individually, murlocs were incredibly weak in battle; even kobolds or goblins of the same level could easily defeat them.
But when the number of murlocs swelled to an uncountable mass, it filled most people with fear.
Their awkward steps carried them towards the patrol soldiers' defensive line, emboldened by their sheer numbers, shouting incessantly.
Captain Sean drew his longsword, pushing aside his inner turmoil as he watched the swarm of murlocs rush towards them. He shouted in a low voice:
"Spears up! Forward!"
The 100 patrol soldiers, fearless, obeyed the command, leveling their spears and advancing.
Half of the patrol soldiers were regulars and already professional warriors. Dealing with murlocs with nearly zero challenge rating, they easily overwhelmed them.
The advancing line of steel spears instantly killed more than 50 murlocs upon contact!
Many sharp spearheads pierced through the bodies of one murloc and into the next.
Captain Sean, experienced in dealing with murlocs, did not order a further advance, instead shouting loudly:
"Soldiers on the flanks, fall back! Form a defensive ring!"
The soldiers, thoroughly trained, had no desire to play the hero and quickly followed orders, forming a tight circle.
Two lines of soldiers, one inside and one out, stood two paces apart, the perfect distance to maximize the force of their thrusts.
Despite the seemingly endless murloc swarm, the soldiers remained calm.
Under Captain Sean's orders, the two lines alternated between thrusting, retreating, gathering strength, and thrusting again!
Thrust!
Crack!
The formation, resembling a steel porcupine, instantly inflicted heavy casualties on the murlocs that surrounded them.
The dense crowd of murlocs was pierced and killed, yet more still howled and surged forward.
Captain Sean frowned, sensing that something was off about these murlocs.
Typically, after losing dozens of their kind, these cowardly creatures would scatter in panic.
But now?
They were pressing the attack despite the threat of death.
Something was wrong!
With growing concern, Captain Sean didn't hesitate to order the soldiers to kill and hold off the murlocs while slowly shifting the formation closer to the city.
The murlocs were endless, but the soldiers' safety was paramount!
However, some of the murlocs also seemed to catch onto his plan.
With a sharp screech, a dark red aura spread out from the murlocs.
All the murlocs touched by the aura turned bloodshot, their bodies swelling in size.
Their sharp screeches deepened into guttural growls, and their attacks became even more frenzied.
They no longer cared about dying or the spears in their path, howling as they charged. Some even trampled over their own kind in an attempt to leap over the spear wall.
The pressure on the soldiers suddenly increased.
The thrusts of their spears were no longer sufficient to hold back the swarm. Once a murloc breached the line, someone had to deal with it directly.
Slashing down two murlocs, Captain Sean decisively ordered:
"Tighten formation! One squad draw swords and deal with the ones that break through."
With Captain Sean's quick thinking, the soldiers managed to stabilize their footing once more.
But with the formation packed tightly, their movement slowed significantly.
Glancing at the increasing number of murlocs pressing in, Captain Sean couldn't help but feel regret.
"We'll definitely have to bring shields on patrol from now on, no matter how tiring!"
The murlocs crowded closer and closer, and the patrol soldiers' formation inched forward slower and slower.
If the soldiers exhausted their strength, they could easily be overwhelmed and dragged down by the murlocs.
Most players had met a bitter end this way!
Just then, a sharp whistle rang out, drawing everyone's attention.
A lithe figure dashed from the supporting soldier ranks at high speed.
She held two curved blades and, the moment she collided with the murloc swarm, began to spin her entire body.
The twin gleaming blades effortlessly sliced through the murlocs' fragile bodies, creating a thick mist of blood.
The swirling blood was whipped into a terrifying crimson tornado by the spinning figure.
Every murloc that came into contact with the crimson tornado was shredded to pieces, and the once-dense murloc horde was torn apart, leaving a bloody path.
Terrifying!
Ferocious!
Old John instinctively widened his eyes, but quickly seized the opportunity and led his team in a charge.