The coordination between the two NPCs, Dorothy and Helu, was naturally quite professional. They communicated with each other using quick and concise phrases, especially Mage Helu, whose rhythmic instructions and callouts indicated that this was far from his first time doing such things.
It’s said that this type of infiltration operation was originally developed by the Circle Tower, and after being refined during the Ten-Year War, it had formed into a rather mature model. Naturally, Lady Adele wanted to try out this “new-style tactics” after taking over the Blood Rat Gang.
From what we can see now, the effect is quite good.
However, there were some issues with the coordination between Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry and Frostfang Claw.
But this problem wasn’t with the mode of operation or the corresponding skills of the two. Even if little players haven’t eaten pork, they’ve seen pigs run, everyone’s familiar with special operations.
The lack of smooth coordination between the two was purely because Frostfang Claw was socially anxious, while Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry was a chatterbox.
The discomfort of these two working together goes without saying.
Now, Frostfang Claw, who had already infiltrated the gnoll camp to complete the quest, faced not only the threat from the gnolls and their trained bloodthirsty hyenas but also had to constantly endure the pressure of “bombardment of nonsense” that Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry brought him on a mental level.
Especially when Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry vividly described some overly vivid details of that “bug” he had encountered before, Frostfang Claw really wanted to abandon the mission right now, rush out, and give that chatterbox a good beating!
It’s not that he didn’t like hearing these things that all men enjoy, but the problem was that now wasn’t the time, damn it!
Brother, I’m surrounded by tens of thousands of gnolls, one wrong step and I’ll be done for. Can you not add to my pressure right now, okay?
“We’ve reached the first checkpoint! It’s 200 steps ahead of you, there’s a tent storing miscellaneous items that’s suitable for burying the positioning crystal. But be careful, there are patrol barbarians riding dire wolves around.
The time interval is about 5-10 minutes.”
Although Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry, this chatterbox, still seemed somewhat reluctant to stop, he was quite reliable when it came time to do the real work. He cautiously reminded:
“The design of this instance is quite interesting. It looks chaotic on the surface, but in reality, the gnolls have placed patrols in various areas.
They’re always advancing along fixed routes. If we were to tackle this instance later, these would be like ‘patrol monsters’. I’m now very suspicious that this instance must have some kind of ‘special mechanism’, otherwise just the terrifying number of monsters would be enough to drive people crazy.
Even if we players were all Super Saiyans, we probably couldn’t handle so many gnolls.
Do you see the position I’m pointing out to you?
It’s right in front!”
“Entering now, please wait,” Frostfang Claw replied briefly. Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry immediately reminded:
“Stop! Wait a moment, a patrol is turning this way. By the way, can you do the Black Iron Trial now? I see there are quite a few elites in this instance, why don’t I find you an easy one to deal with later?”
“No! It will leave traces.”
Frostfang Claw was somewhat tempted.
After all, with his personality that doesn’t like to be in the spotlight, he’s not very fond of participating in Fight Club activities. But the elites in the wild have been mostly cleared by that group of overachieving little players, causing his quest to be stuck here. However, the rationality from being a thief quickly suppressed this idea.
Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry, however, was somewhat disapproving of his companion’s excessive caution. He reminded:
“Since we started, I’ve seen many gnolls fighting in the camp more than once, and those barbarians don’t care at all. It seems to be their tradition. So as long as you disguise the murder scene well enough, no one will discover it.”
“Let’s talk about that after completing the mission! You keep an eye out for me.”
Frostfang Claw replied, and Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry also entered “energy-saving mode” and quieted down.
A few minutes later, when Frostfang Claw took out a small shovel and began to bury the positioning crystal personally made by Lady Tris in the miscellaneous items shed, he fixed the perspective of the Eagle Eye spell to conduct large-scale positioning reconnaissance for the infiltrator.
While the two were cooperating in their actions, Lady Dorothy had already entered another area deep in the large camp. Few gnolls set foot here, but it had indeed been cleared out into a quiet area.
In the night, you could still see several Wolfsbane vampires disguised as human bandits, walking back and forth around. Dorothy stopped and, with the blessing of the Night Mother, stayed here waiting for Helu’s further reconnaissance.
As a formal Detection Spirit Mage from the Circle Tower, Helu’s professional skills were unquestionable.
His use of the Eagle Eye spell now was much more advanced than Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry’s basic spell. Not only could he view the overall situation, but he could also perform “zoom-in” operations to complete subtle reconnaissance and make invisible marks.
“There are 17 Wolfsbane vampires in the camp, all at the Black Iron rank and with strong auras. They should all be faction elites. Besides that, there are an unknown number of Blood Servants. However, these guys have to follow human biological characteristics, so most of them have gone to sleep by now.
What you’re looking for should be in the large tent in the innermost part.
The good news is that there’s no one there, not even guards. The bad news is that I can’t determine when the owner of this place will return, so you need to get in and out quickly!”
Mage Helu’s voice floated by Dorothy’s ear. He warned:
“Lady Adele emphasized that the one commanding the Wolfsbane vampires is a faction leader, which means he’s at least at the White Silver rank. If he happens to appear at an unfortunate time, I think your operation tonight will probably be nine deaths and one life.”
“Shut up! Say something auspicious.”
Dorothy scolded.
She adjusted her breathing, gathering more shadows around her body through the Night Mother’s love for vampires, and then began to move swiftly.
Actually, when it comes to the profession of midnight thief, choosing to join the Blood Vulture Clan isn’t really the correct career direction.
Among the seven vampire clans, the true cream of the crop of dark walkers beloved by midnight basically all come from the Thorn Clan. The Blood Vultures can only be said to be slightly above average among vampires in the field of covert operations.
But the good news is that Murphy’s Crimson Citadel is in a special situation.
Count of White Mountain Andrei is stationed here for a long time, and Andrei, who has always been cultivating his connections, is very willing to impart some professional techniques of the Thorn Clan to his heterogeneous compatriots.
Now is a good time to test these Thorn Nightwalker techniques.
Dorothy slipped into the Wolfsbane vampire camp with quite light steps, using the specially made powder of the Thorn Clan to completely shield her aura without leaving even a trace of smell. With Helu’s help, she entered the core area of the camp like a ghost, and then began searching for the intelligence she needed one tent after another, finally successfully finding the latter’s notebook in Korando’s tent.
This guy really isn’t a proper vampire!
What proper person would maintain the habit of writing a diary every day?
Although she didn’t know where that Wolfsbane Clan faction leader was now, Dorothy knew she had to act immediately.
She reached out to grab the Computation Bead to record the spirit image, but just as she was about to open the diary, another voice that didn’t belong to Mage Helu suddenly sounded in her mind, startling her.
“Don’t move! There’s something on the pages of the book”
“???”
“Keep an eye out for me!”
Frostfang Claw had already locked onto his target.
He spotted a clan-style chest placed next to Kenport’s bone throne and immediately moved to unlock it, but unexpectedly, a note caught his eye:
【This item is equipped with a powerful spirit technique, requires Master-level Trap Disarming to bypass!】
“Damn! Why now of all times?”
Frostfang Claw was very frustrated.
He decisively gave up and turned to leave, but soon he spotted several small boxes decorated with peculiar beast bones on the other side of the tent. Following the principle that a thief never leaves empty-handed, he ran over to check them out.
These boxes didn’t have spirit techniques, so he immediately took out his thief tools and started picking the locks.
Thanks to Dorothy’s careful teaching over this period, this task was no challenge for him.
“Frostfang Claw! Hurry up! Damn it, the BOSS is back! Shit! It’s too late.”
Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry was also anxious and upset, seeing Kenport approaching the tent with his guards. He sighed and said:
“Forget it, this one’s on me! I’ll compensate you for your losses, brother... Huh? What’s going on?”
Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry, who was about to give up, suddenly saw through his Eagle Eye that Kenport and his guards had turned around and rushed towards another side of the camp.
He switched his perspective in surprise and found that a fire had started somewhere in the camp, and as luck would have it, it was right where the gnolls stored their supplies.
This unexpected turn of events excited both Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry and Frostfang Claw.
With more time, the thief continued opening the boxes. The first box opened contained some kind of evil-looking magical device made from the skull of who knows what.
Frostfang Claw didn’t have time to examine it closely, so he tossed it into his bag and started on the second box. A few minutes later, he opened it to find two pale bone daggers inside, but daggers made for gnolls felt like a pair of short swords, one long and one short, in his hands.
As the third box was being opened, Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry’s voice became shrill, he shouted:
“Run quickly! The BOSS is really coming back this time!”
“Rip!”
Frostfang Claw didn’t have time to look closely, he grabbed the folded papers inside, tore off a corner and threw it aside, then tossed out two Molotov cocktails to start a fire here, before darting out himself.
“Fire! Fire!”
The gnoll guards screamed as they rushed in to put out the fire. In the chaos, no one noticed the thief running towards the distance, but this time luck was no longer on his side. Soon, the howls of hyenas from the outskirts of the camp indicated that hunters were on his trail.
“Don’t panic, it’s just one gnoll with 3 dogs! That’s an elite! Get him!”
Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry shouted.
Frostfang Claw knew that running like this wasn’t a good option. He steeled himself and turned to pounce on the pursuing gnoll elite hunter. His wrists turned, gripping the two bone short swords he had stolen earlier. As he grasped them, he activated the identification:
Name: Plague’s Fangs – Classic Barbarian Bone Weapon
Quality: Masterwork – 【Souvenir】Commander
Traits: Extreme Poison – Extreme Piercing – Enhanced Bleeding – Enhanced Cutting – Bone Weapon
Special Effect: When hitting, there’s a chance to summon the spirit of the hyena leader “Plague” to impact the enemy, inflicting a 【Fear】effect.
note!
This weapon is a 【Bone Weapon】, weapon degradation speed is doubled when used. Special maintenance methods need to be learned for repairs. Once the weapon is damaged, it is considered permanently destroyed.
Crafter: Rending Claw Clan Plague Shaman Flesh Ripper
Item Description:
【Plague was Kenport’s hyena war pet since childhood, the strongest and most ruthless leader among the bloodthirsty hyenas. Kenport learned from the Rending Claw Clan how to enhance his pets with toxins, making its teeth filled with terrifying venom.
Unfortunately, during Kenport’s power struggle within the clan, Plague died in a warlord challenge.
Its death bought a bright future for its master, and Kenport, who became a warlord, kept Plague’s canine teeth and asked his old friend to craft them into weapons.
This gnoll warlord doesn’t often use it, but undoubtedly, this pair of assassin bone knives is his beloved possession, as if his loyal hyena was still by his side.】
“Impressive!”
Frostfang Claw’s eyes under his nightwalker mask flashed with a cold light, as he pounced towards the gnoll hunter shooting at him in a life-or-death manner.
He couldn’t care about the scene of 3 ferocious hyenas tearing at him, he had to take down this guy before he couldn’t hold on any longer, to complete his Black Iron trial.
But unexpectedly, even minutes later when Frostfang Claw, having exhausted all his tricks and methods, finally cut the gnoll hunter’s throat with the bone knife, the imagined hyena attack still didn’t happen.
He panted heavily as he pulled out the arrow stuck in his chest, collapsing weakly on the ground. Looking up, he saw a pretty yet carefree figure in front of him, playing with her claw dagger while observing him.
“Too substandard!”
Lady Dorothy kicked the corpses of the 3 ferocious hyenas at her feet, she mocked:
“It’s too substandard, whether by thief standards or assassin standards. Luckily you have a good mentor, so, can you forgive me now? My little grudge-holding Frostfang Claw.”
“Hmm”
He nodded, his eyes softening under the mask.
“Awesome, brother!”
Thirty-Year-Old Tobacco Mulberry’s excited shout echoed in his mind.
That guy had witnessed Frostfang Claw’s entire battle, he whistled and said:
“You’re actually a dual-wielding combat rogue! Impressive, impressive, my apologies. But I should get my share... hehe, you took the daggers, so that magical device is mine, right? We really are the perfect partners, unstoppable when we work together, right?”