Absolute Destiny Game
Chapter 691 - 58: Empty Fort Strategy?

Chapter 691: Chapter 58: Empty Fort Strategy?

Is this Black Wind Mountain? Indeed, it truly deserves its reputation as the largest sinister force on the Luoyang Plain, giving off an evil vibe just by looking at it.

Everyone gazed at the towering pitch-black mountain range before them, feeling somewhat daunted in their hearts.

The dark mass of the mountain lay like a wild beast on the plain, with howling winds like the wails of ghosts, adding a touch of terror to the atmosphere.

Between the steep mountainsides, a zigzagging path extended all the way to the peak, with groups of three to five mountain bandits and minor monsters common in sight; through the mist, one could vaguely see the gates and outer walls of the stockade.

No wonder Black Wind Mountain hasn’t been conquered after all this time.

Just this terrain alone is deadly enough.

"You see what I mean, this place isn’t easy to attack," said Little White Dragon with some schadenfreude. He had led the Luoyang Branch to attempt clearing this area several times, but each time they retreated at the foot of the mountain, only able to attack the small outposts around it.

Previously mocked by people from other branches for not even being able to conquer a monster’s lair, he was quite frustrated, but now it seemed there was a chance to clear his name.

Nobody spoke up, but they could not help but agree with this.

In such treacherous terrain, the enemy merely had to shoot arrows from high above, making it almost impossible to attack upwards.

Ordinary physical players, even with their excellent Qinggong and high Martial Arts, still had to abide by the laws of physics; to fight uphill in such terrain was too dangerous and not worth it.

But this time, the situation was different.

Xiao Jie said with a slight smile, "No big problem, this narrow mountain path may seem easy to defend and hard to attack, but it actually limits the numerical advantage of the bandits. After all, they have thousands of men, while we players only have two to three hundred. If it comes to a large-scale battle, we would surely be outnumbered.

Now, if the fight is up close, we players actually have an advantage.

Especially since our levels and strength are a bit higher on average.

The first order of business is to make it up the mountain.

The first task, the path-clearing team, needs ten people, each earning 30 points, starting from here all the way to the stockade’s gate. Those wanting to participate, start signing up."

With the terrain not allowing for a large force to spread out, a small elite team had to be dispatched, and these ten would need to possess both formidable strength and courage; naturally, those in charge of path-clearing would be given a reward.

Immediately, everyone eagerly signed up, still in the outer circle of the stockade; although the mountain path was steep, the guards were all low-level minor monsters. It was an opportunity to earn free points.

Xiao Jie obviously chose the best candidates, and soon Hao Mie, Heroic No Equal, Drunken Sword Immortal, I Want to Be Immortal, Ye Luo... all unsurprisingly made the cut, followed by five others over level 30, quickly forming the ten-member squad.

"Let’s go, everyone!"

Following Xiao Jie’s command, the ten of them displayed their Qinggong and ascended towards the peak. Shouts and killing cries rose continuously, moving upwards, signaling that the battle was also shifting higher up the mountain.

Xiao Jie observed and led the rest of the troops up after the squad. Along the way, the ground was strewn with the bodies of the bandits.

Though the terrain was steep, the outer-circle bandits were only at level 18-19, no match for the team of level 30 experts, who simply steamrolled their way up.

The squad quickly reached the entrance of the stockade, where the terrain was somewhat more open, barely able to fit over a hundred people.

Perhaps the game’s creators extended a little mercy to the players.

Xiao Jie placed the strongest team at the forefront, with the rest of the troops spreading out along the mountain path.

Xiao Jie had expected a tightly-guarded scene, but to his surprise, the gates of the stockade stood wide open, eerily empty without a single bandit in sight.

Huh, is this some kind of empty fortress strategy?

"What do you think this is all about?" Xiao Jie inquired for opinions.

"Could it be that they are playing an empty fortress trick on us?"

"It’s possible there’s an ambush."

"For sure there’s an ambush."

"Could it be that the mountain bandits of Black Wind Mountain have heard something and fled in advance?"

The crowd was abuzz with various speculations, but no consensus was reached.

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Jie knew that it was certainly not safe to just rush in; what if it was an ambush?

"The second task, I need a volunteer to scout the stockade. This task may be dangerous. Who’ll take it—50 points."

"I’ll do it!"

"I’ll do it!"

An Ran and Ye Luo spoke up at the same time.

The others didn’t vie for the role. The stockade clearly had issues. The one to rush in first would be in the most danger.

Without some real capability, few would dare to take on this job.

Xiao Jie hesitated for a moment, "An Ran, you go. According to information, there are people who specialize in ghost spells in Black Wind Mountain. Ye Luo, even though you can activate Nihility Form, if you are discovered inside, you are still in danger.

In the air, you would be much safer.

But don’t get too close, An Ran, they have a Divine Archer BOSS who could shoot you down, which would be bad. Just scout out the stockade’s terrain clearly."

"Don’t worry, I understand."

An Ran took a running jump, transforming into a Snowy Owl soaring into the Clouds.

Hovering over the mountain stronghold, she circled and swooped down, scouting and taking continuous pictures.

Soon, more than a dozen photos were sent to the group chat.

Xiao Jie opened the photos one by one for review. The terrain of Black Wind Mountain was star-shaped, with a massive flat-topped mountain in the center. Within a depression on the mountain peak, a huge mountain stronghold had been constructed. The stronghold was built upon the mountaintop’s rocky edges, encircled by a round wooden fence. Inside the fence lay various buildings in disarray, mostly makeshift wooden structures with thickly thatched roofs, looking very crude—clearly designed for the ordinary mountain bandits’ rank and file.

These buildings were arranged in concentric circles, totaling three layers. The distribution pattern seemed to conceal some mystery, faintly revealing a certain shape.

In the innermost part of the stronghold was a vast Martial Arts Arena, but it was empty, with not a single bandit in sight.

Around the main peak were five more perilous peaks, each connected to the main peak by mountain paths, with five smaller forts constructed atop them.

Apparently, the five leaders each occupied a small fort, while the large stronghold was used as a garrison for the ordinary bandits. It was unclear why nobody was visible at that time.

The surrounding five perilous peaks were too steep, practically impossible to climb. One could only begin by attacking the Main Camp, and then move to conquer the small forts surrounding it.

Xiao Jie pondered over the map, calculating in his mind.

Once players enter the Main Camp and subsequently the Martial Arts Arena, they would be trapped like a turtle in a jar. If enemies were hiding in the surrounding buildings and launched a simultaneous attack from all directions on the ground, it would be dangerous.

After all, players differ in strength. The experts would be alright, even if they encountered a chaotic siege, they could forcibly fight their way out. But those newbies over ten levels might suffer countless casualties.

The best course of action was to proceed cautiously, advancing from one building to the next. Although slow, this approach would minimize danger.

"The third task: recruit a cleaning team, five people in a group, a total of 50 people needed for ten groups.

The task of the cleaning team is to scout and clear each building for any potential monsters. The cleaning task will earn 20 points. Those who want to sign up, come forward."

This time, many more people signed up. Soon, fifty individuals were gathered, all Level 20 and above, forming a backbone of the players. Divided into groups of five, they prepared to take action.

Xiao Jie first led a team of archers to take over the stronghold’s gates and village wall, and then instructed the cleaning teams to begin slowly clearing the buildings on both sides.

A player wielding a battle axe smashed open the doors, while the other four lay in ambush on either side of the door.

Bang! The door of a mountain bandit wooden hut was blasted open, and several bandits inside immediately rushed out.

"Just as expected, an ambush!"

"Kill!"

Clang clang clang! A flash of arcs and shadows of the blade, and in the blink of an eye, all were chopped down to the ground.

Since they came prepared and coordinated well, and these huts couldn’t hide too many bandits, there wasn’t much danger.

Xiao Jie had found the stronghold somewhat strange at first, but now seeing bandits being searched and eliminated from these huts one group after another, he too breathed a sigh of relief.

Indeed, there was an ambush—but good thing he was careful enough.

With this, they just needed to clear their way through slowly.

——————

At this moment, inside the Ju Yiting of Black Wind Mountain, the five leaders watched the players’ movements through a water basin.

These were the Black Wind Mountain’s Five Tigers.

"Didn’t expect these returnees to be so vigilant, being this cautious, they even discovered the ambush."

"Luckily, eldest brother is superior in skill and had early arrangements in place. No matter how cautious these returnees are, it’s useless. Even if they resolved the surface ambush, once the elder brother implements his plan, he will make sure they won’t return."

"Elder brother, your plan is indeed brilliant, but with so many of our brothers dead, it doesn’t feel too good, does it?"

"Humph, why is third brother acting like a fretful woman? The merciful can’t command armies. In battle, there are always casualties. As long as we eliminate these returnees, Luoyang Plain will still be our territory. Once we retake the villages, we can have as many underlings as we want."

The leaders expressed their views, all except the Great Village Chief, Demon Sweeping King Li Gun, who remained silent.

When the four others noticed and cast inquiring glances at Li Gun, he spoke with a heavy tone, "Among these returnees, there are quite a few experts. While my plan might work, this battle may not be easy."

Hearing Li Gun say this, the others were surprised and their expressions turned solemn.

An odd voice suddenly broke the silence in the hall, "Haven’t the leaders decided yet? These returnees are the greediest, and wherever they pass, not a single blade of grass remains. A thousand years ago, the apocalyptic catastrophe predicted by the ancients should be attributed to these people.

Now, the fate of Black Wind Mountain hinges on the decision of the Great Village Chief. Why not ally with our Demon Star Tower? Striking from the north and south, we can join forces for a grand undertaking."

The leaders looked over at the guest seated among them, all frowning.

This ’person’, only somewhat humanoid, was enveloped in a huge, thick black cloak, significantly misshapen with a height over two meters. He was hunched over, with a sunken chest and humpback, bulges under the cloak indicating unknown objects carried on the back or an excessively deformed body.

Even with the cloak, the figure still looked extremely odd.

He wore a mask, which had four holes revealing three red eyes.

Mysterious Man (Demon Star Tower Envoy): Level 38 BOSS. Life Value: 5400.

PS: Recommending a friend’s new book "Life of Dungeon: Starting with Skill Mutation".