Late at night, Linde was still awake, lying in bed scrolling through forums.
Through posts and videos from people on the official website, he discovered that the players' current situation wasn't optimistic. Although some players were naturally optimistic, without positive feedback from the game, the only thing keeping them playing was Apocalypse Law Ring's game technology, which far surpassed anything else in the world.
If other game companies broke through the relevant technologies, Apocalypse Law Ring would definitely lose the vast majority of its players in a very short time.
Without the world's favor, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that players were struggling to survive.
He also noticed that the players mainly appeared in the Lande Kingdom region.
A small number appeared in other kingdoms.
Unfortunately, the players' level was too low, and they couldn't even figure out exactly which region they were in, only vaguely knowing that they were within the Lande Kingdom.
The Lande Kingdom is very large.
"Sir," a soldier's voice came with a knock on the door.
Linde sat up, put on his clothes, and grabbed his longsword.
Opening the door, a gust of cold wind hit him in the face, making him squint.
Already a Great Knight, Linde was very strong, with muscles as hard as rock under his clothes. The biting wind couldn't shake him in the slightest.
However, humans' fear of the cold was instinctual, and the night wind always carried a stench of apocalyptic decay, putting people in a constant state of apprehension.
Before the apocalypse, people worshiped the night.
After the apocalypse, no one liked the night.
"What is it?"
The person was Soldier Peer, one of the nine soldiers under his command, his nose frozen red.
When he opened his mouth to speak, large clouds of white breath poured out, covering his head, and then being blown away by a gust of wind.
The difference between the living and the dead in the dark was probably who could breathe.
"Those four Undying ones brought back a corpse."
Those wandering frogs (referencing the game "Traveling Frog," used to describe unpredictable players) really never stop, always managing to stir up trouble.
"A corpse?"
"They also said they discovered traces of ghoul eaters."
Linde's spirits lifted slightly.
It had only been two or three days since the hole appeared in the city wall, and the players had only been around for two or three days.
In that time, Linde and the players had wiped out jackals, gone to Pulei Town to be promoted to Great Knight, and wiped out a wanderer camp.
They had done so much that the investigation of the city wall breach had to be postponed.
In his plan, he had intended to have the players investigate the ghoul eaters, but were they moving too fast?
Linde even wondered to himself: Was I like this when I used to play games? Not obediently following quests, running around everywhere.
A memory suddenly surfaced in his mind: "Let's explore this area later."
Who's putting voice lines in my head?
Oh, I used to do that too. Never mind, then.
Even the actual main quests of the game can't control players. As a non-player character (NPC) without any authority, he shouldn't expect to be able to restrain them.
Linde nodded expressionlessly. "Let's go take a look."
"Yes, sir."
When Linde met the four Undying ones, they were excitedly chatting about something. The cold wind after nightfall was like sharp arrows, enough to penetrate thick fur coats, but the four of them were gesticulating wildly, especially becoming even more excited after seeing Linde arrive.
"Sir, while we were patrolling outside, we accidentally stumbled upon this corpse, and then our investigation revealed that ghoul eaters have been eyeing our territory."
One of the Undying ones was already trying to curry favor.
The faces of several soldiers around them changed slightly. Even though they had heard of ghoul eaters before, they were still somewhat worried now.
Ghoul eaters = calamity.
The apocalyptic disasters, endless and unkillable... who wouldn't be afraid?
Linde looked at the corpse on the ground.
He'd seen too much of it, so he didn't feel like throwing up.
He squatted down and examined the chewed-up head, and also searched and checked other parts, flipping over the corpse's already stiff hand.
The right hand was covered in calluses, and although the left hand was also rough, the location of the calluses was completely different. This was someone who had used a bow for many years.
Tearing open his clothes, there were also scars on his chest and back.
A veteran soldier.
Soldiers in the apocalypse were considered to be among the strong. Soldiers who had experienced life-and-death training were also good at sticking together.
As far as Linde knew, many military groups had formed private forces on the spot after the Lande Kingdom's regime collapsed, using their armed power to forcibly maintain the operation of everything.
Compared to "old nobles" like himself, those "new nobles" who controlled real power were the real rulers.
Coincidentally, there was a "new noble" in the eastern region of Star Dragon Outpost. Compared to him, Linde's difference was akin to a chicken and a tiger.
So, after seeing the corpse, Linde's mood wasn't great.
The territory around him now had a giant-hoofed beast of unknown origin, a group of fleeing wanderers, a group of raiders possibly led by a two-headed ogre, an unknown number of ghoul eaters, and potentially some roaming soldier groups. This didn't even include the defense corps of Pulei Town and the "new noble" lord in the east.
If you put things in the players' terms, if Pulei Town was really a "starter village," he was probably just a monster spawn point.
Things were shaky, to say the least.
Star Dragon Outpost stood bright and exposed on the horizon, as if taunting something.
Under everyone's gaze, Linde stood up. "It's ghoul eaters."
When he spoke, he basically set the final tone—there really were ghoul eaters near Star Dragon Outpost, and they were very close.
The soldiers and players had clearly polarized reactions.
Players: "I knew it, hahaha! Does this mean we get a new quest?"
Soldiers: "Ugh!"
They weren't like the players. They could die, and they couldn't level up by killing monsters. They really didn't want any contact with the disaster monsters.
"Danger is close at hand."
Linde spoke again, drawing everyone's attention to himself. As an "NPC" who also understood "players" very well, he could easily understand the situation of both sides at this time.
Although he could sacrifice the players an infinite number of times, in front of him, the real fighting force wasn't the players, but his nine elite soldiers.
Don't think that the four players killing the wanderer camp seemed impressive. Those people were basically a group of poor wretches who couldn't even fill their stomachs. If the four soldiers of Star Dragon Outpost had gone to kill that group of wanderers today, they wouldn't have had to fight so miserably, and they could have cleared them with minimal injuries.
If it were Linde himself... he alone could turn the ground into a field of charred corpses in a very short time.
Players are physically weak by default; they all start with a "useless" build.
So, the main force for eliminating the ghoul eaters was destined to be himself and his nine soldiers. But the players weren't completely useless; they could use their lives to scout and investigate the enemy's situation.
Adding himself, the players, and the soldiers, there were a total of 14 people.
It was a force to be reckoned with, not enough to deal with the Wanderers perhaps, but taking out the Ghoul Eaters shouldn't be a problem.
Linde had a hunch, and he'd also seen posts. One player, called "Understanding for All," kept saying he was near a Ghoul Eater nest north of Star Dragon Outpost.
He was almost certain that the Ghoul Eater information came from there.
He remembered the numbers weren't that high.
"Undying ones, for the peace of Star Dragon Outpost, go investigate the Ghoul Eaters and report back to me as soon as possible! I need to know the location of their nest."
He turned to the soldiers. "Everyone else, prepare yourselves. Be ready for a fight at any time!"
The soldiers could hear the gravity in Linde's tone.
"Yes, sir!" The soldiers acknowledged the order, holding up their torches and disappearing into the night wind.
The swaying flames struggled like fireflies in the biting wind, flickering in and out of sight. Even though they knew tonight wouldn't be easy, they had to hold firm tonight to be able to sleep peacefully in the future.
But the players were completely different. Linde watched the four players exchange glances, turn and walk out of his sight, and then run back.
"Lord, we've already investigated!"
Linde: "..."
Not even bothering to put on an act. So you're skipping my dialogue, huh?