Chapter 28: The True Third Wave of Attack

You must not agree lightly.

When Wang Liang heard the request from the leader of the Paladins, a thought flashed through his mind.

On this journey, Zhao Gongming had already explained some of the taboos of the game to Wang Liang. One of them was that within a team, no matter how pitiful someone else sounded or how much you might want to help, you must not casually agree to their requests.

Because in the game, when you accept someone’s request, the system will randomly generate side quests or temporary missions. If you’re playing solo, it’s not a big deal, but in a team, taking on a quest might lead to conflicts with your teammates. One person may need to protect someone, while another is tasked with killing them, and such contradictions can turn teammates against each other.

As Zhao Gongming put it, aside from teammates, everyone else in the game is an NPC. No matter how pathetic they seem, the moment you turn away, they could be living their lives in another world. The same quest may go wrong time and again; when playing solo, you can take temporary missions, but in a team, it’s best not to pick up random tasks.

So, seeing the final glimmer of hope in the Paladin leader’s eyes, Wang Liang shook his head.

Seeing Wang Liang’s response, the leader looked both disappointed and understanding.

He thought for a moment and said, “It’s alright. I can see you’re thoughtful. You saw my attack just now, didn’t you? It’s clear you’re someone who doesn’t want to be protected by others. I only wish to find that hidden realm and discover why it was opened, why it suddenly attacked us.

If you’re willing to help me, I’ll teach you the move I used just now.”

Wang Liang had no intention of agreeing. Was this a joke?

Given the situation before him, Wang Liang could easily judge what was happening. This wasn’t some special hidden realm along the Silk Road; they had simply stumbled upon a random creature attack.

Seeing how Zhao Gongming recognized the waves of monster attacks, it was obvious this was a common event in the game. Perhaps these game NPCs would come up with a plausible explanation, but they were players—players knew these creatures were just passing through, and after defeating the boss, they'd disappear just as suddenly, with no real hidden realm behind it all.

At that moment, Wang Liang finally understood part of Zhao Gongming and the others’ mindset—it was a matter of common sense, an instant kill.

He needed to remember this attitude. In the future, if other players said things he couldn’t understand, he would simply put on this expression and bluff his way through.

Looking at Wang Liang’s expression, the Paladin leader understood his thoughts. He was about to persuade him further when a strange rustling sound suddenly came from nearby.

Wang Liang heard it too. He gripped his Blade of Death and stood up, but saw nothing.

A sense of unease crept over him.

At the same time, Niu Xuanguang and the others noticed something was wrong. Niu Xuanguang immediately shouted, “Wei Ban, fall back!”

Wei Ban and Niu Xuanguang had worked together for so long that he instantly understood what Niu Xuanguang meant.

Among all the players, Wei Ban was both the strongest and the weakest. All his power was concentrated in the ballista mechanism before him. Though formidable enough to stand against a Tyrannosaurus, it had a major weakness—Wei Ban had not yet developed a cockpit.

When his spirit controlled the ballista, his body stood exposed outside, defenseless. Kill him, and the ballista would be useless.

But he couldn’t hide somewhere safe like Wang Liang because those places often had poor visibility. When possessing the ballista, he couldn’t see his own body immediately. If a dagger struck from behind, he wouldn’t even have time to cry out.

At Niu Xuanguang’s shout, Wei Ban realized what was happening and immediately tried to return to his body.

But in the next instant, he sensed something was wrong. Behind his dazed physical body, a gray-skinned dinosaur had appeared out of nowhere.

Compared to the Tyrannosaurus they’d fought earlier, this dinosaur was much smaller, but its eyes gleamed with an intelligence almost human, as if it possessed its own civilization and wisdom.

Its forelimbs, nearly as dexterous as human hands, gripped Wei Ban’s neck, each finger tipped with razor-sharp claws capable of easily ripping through flesh.

Seeing this, Wei Ban immediately relinquished control of the ballista, his spirit returning to his body and lunging forward, trying to escape the dinosaur’s grasp.

But he was still a moment too slow. As he lunged forward, the dinosaur’s claws gripped his neck, and with a single squeeze, its sharp claws tore away half his throat.

Wei Ban never expected to become the first target. Collapsing to the ground, he pressed his hands to his neck, hoping to salvage his life with the game’s data-driven vitality.

But it was already too late.

Though in the game severe injuries still allowed combat, it didn’t mean you could fight with your head missing.

The gray-skinned dinosaur behind him leaped forward, pinning Wei Ban’s shoulders with its claws, then bit down on his head and yanked it off.

Wei Ban’s head was torn away, and in Wang Liang’s and the others’ view, the squad icon in the upper left corner now showed Wei Ban’s portrait grayed out.

“Damn it, it’s a velociraptor. Be careful—they hunt in packs!”

Seeing this, Niu Xuanguang couldn’t help but shout.

There was no time to mourn Wei Ban’s death. They were playing a game; after dying in-game, you simply couldn’t re-enter this world—not actual death. Thus, they felt little sadness.

Instead, the situation before them was daunting. Without Wei Ban, their main tank, fighting ahead would be even harder.

More importantly, when the velociraptors appeared, everyone realized this was the real third wave.

Cursing inwardly, Niu Xuanguang lunged at a nearby velociraptor that had suddenly appeared, disregarding everything else as his longsword and flying sword slashed at the creature.

Wang Liang, meanwhile, saw several velociraptors charging toward him. Gripping his Blade of Death, he prepared to face them head-on.

He could tell these creatures, roughly human-sized, weren’t particularly powerful. Their claws couldn’t pierce the Paladin’s armor. Their greatest strengths were intelligence and teamwork.

But as long as they were all dead, no amount of intelligence or teamwork would matter.