Chapter 69: Gathering the Troops

"Sophia, what brings you here?" Vicky asked in surprise as she opened the door after hearing the knock, stepping out from the kitchen.

Sophia's face was full of bitterness. She didn't know how to explain the situation.

"Come on in quickly." urged Irving.

The meal was already prepared. While eating, Sophia briefly recounted the attack she experienced on the way and her subsequent encounter with Irving, including details about the military's constructed safe zone.

Since both of them now belonged to Irving's shelter, there was no reason to hold back any information.

"Those bastards are truly despicable." Vicky muttered. She had thought her own experiences were bad enough, but hearing Sophia's story brought a flash of sympathy to her eyes. "So, Sophia, what are your plans now?"

Sophia didn't answer directly. Instead, she looked toward Irving.

Irving shook his head helplessly.

The duplex apartment he lived in, left to him after his parents passed away, was spacious enough for one person. When Vicky moved in, it became just barely fitting. Now with Sophia here, it was starting to feel a bit cramped.

"Stay here for now. There's a guest bedroom upstairs." Irving said, continuing to eat. "If tonight's operation is a success and we can rescue the trapped group, you'll be able to go back."

Starling City was right next to the Capital City, not too far away.

A flash of gratitude appeared in Sophia's eyes, but she couldn't bring herself to smile. The thought of tonight's operation against The Brotherhood of Night Blades filled her with anxiety.

By the time they finished eating, it was already 7 PM.

Irving took a quick shower to wash off the lingering smell of blood, then called James.

Meanwhile, at the Green Ivy Group headquarters.

James was pacing back and forth in his office, while Lily, sitting beside him, was furiously typing on her keyboard, posting on forums. Her inbox was nearly exploding with messages.

[The Green Ivy Group is inviting players to join! Our group is backed by strong players, and we're offering high-level and rare equipment. Join us and conquer the game world together! ]

As soon as the post went up, it quickly climbed to the top of the forum. After Irving left, James called his sister Lily over to handle the recruitment process.

In the game, a player's skills were important, but equipment played a crucial role in maximizing those skills.

Take this example: A level 11 apprentice warrior equipped with a trash-tier item versus a level 9 beginner player equipped with high-level or rare gear. Despite the level advantage, the apprentice warrior would only have a 50% chance of winning.

If they were at the same level, the player with high-level equipment would definitely win!

In the game, as long as a shelter wasn't destroyed, players killed by exotic beasts would revive the next day. However, being killed by another player meant no chance of resurrection, making the quality of equipment a matter of life and death.

Once the Green Ivy Group's recruitment post went live, the forum exploded with responses. Countless players flooded the inbox with private messages, following instructions to submit their basic information.

While busy with recruitment, James received Irving's call. After a brief conversation, he turned to Lily to ask about the current number of recruited players.

"As of just now, we've screened and recruited a total of 234 players."

"Among them, there are 152 players at Lv4, 68 players at Lv5, and 13 players at Lv6," Lily said, her excitement barely contained. However, she couldn't hide a touch of regret as she added, "For now, all of them are specialized in the warrior class..."

James relayed these numbers accurately to Irving.

On the other end of the phone, Irving, fresh out of the shower, nodded. Recruiting over two hundred players in less than a day was already an impressive feat.

To put it into perspective, many other groups had about the same number of players in total, but the Green Ivy Group had achieved this in just one day.

As for mage players... those specializing in that direction were always rare. Any mage who declared their class on the forums would immediately be inundated with invitations from various groups.

"Irving, it's all thanks to the equipment you provided. At this rate, the Green Ivy Group will soon be among the top-tier teams." James said, his voice brimming with excitement.

Without those three hundred-plus pieces of equipment as a foundation, no amount of money James invested could have attracted so many players. Searᴄh the nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Alright." Irving said, frowning slightly as his mind was elsewhere. "In a bit, I'll share a game coordinate with you. At midnight tonight, bring the recruited players to that location."

"Got it." James responded.

Irving had already learned the exact location of The Brotherhood of Night Blades from Sophia. After hanging up the phone, he immediately logged into the game with Vicky and Sophia.

After the second wave of catastrophes, the area around the shelter was in ruins. Large sections of the walls had collapsed, and the ground was littered with deep craters left by fireballs and scorch marks. There were even traces of blood here and there.

However, all the exotic beast corpses had disappeared.

In the game, exotic beast bodies are automatically recycled three hours after death, so there's no need to worry about decomposition.

At this moment, Little Black, having heard some movement, came trotting over with its tail wagging. Following behind it was a group of exotic beasts.

Irving petted Little Black's head affectionately and laughed, "Looks like you're the boss now, huh?"

"Howl..." Little Black seemed to understand, proudly lifting its harmless-looking, cute face and glancing back over its shoulder.

The Stone Golem Giants and Snow Shadow Wolves gathered around, standing in neat rows.

Irving's smile broadened at the sight. With a slight thought, he opened his system information panel.

[Irving]

[Class: Necromancer]

[Novice, Lv: 3]

[Talent: Tenfold Drop Rate]

[Equipment: Evil Source Wand (Legendary, Five-Star), Ice Crystal Heart Robe (Rare, Three-Star), Frost Step Light Cloud Boots (Rare, Three-Star)]

[Hidden Identity: Public Enemy Number One]

[Player enslaved exotic beast count: Stone Golem Giants*11, Snow Shadow Headed Wolf*1, Snow Shadow Wolf*7...]

After the last battle, the number of Snow Shadow Wolves and Stone Golem Giants had dwindled. Besides the eight Stone Golem Giants maintaining the turbine generator, Irving had only eleven exotic beasts that could fight alongside him.

"It's still too few..." Irving thought with a hint of frustration.

The Brotherhood of Night Blades had to be eliminated as soon as possible. The longer they waited, the more difficult it would become.

Although Irving had already informed the Angel Guild about this operation, Aron had conveyed that the Angel Guild could not directly participate in the battle for two main reasons.

Firstly, as an officially established group, the Angel Guild was principled against intervening in conflicts between players.

Secondly, the Angel Guild had not received any distress signals from those enslaved family groups, so they couldn't take action.

This was extremely frustrating. Those enslaved family groups still had their shelters controlled by the Brotherhood of Night Blades. Any one of them who dared to report the situation would be killed instantly, implicating everyone involved.

This situation was like the age-old dilemma of the chicken and the egg.

Despite Aron's assurance that the Angel Guild wouldn't directly engage in the fight, he had promised to discuss with higher authorities to find alternative ways to assist Irving. However, no feedback had been received yet.

Official procedures were always cumbersome, with every action needing approval through multiple layers of bureaucracy.

"Forget it, by the time they come up with a solution, it'll be too late." Irving shook his head. He instructed Vicky and Sophia to start repairing the collapsed walls around the shelter's perimeter.

As for himself, he took Little Black and the exotic beasts to scout outside the shelter.

With more than four hours remaining until the operation, he decided to use the time to see if he could expand his number of exotic beasts. After all, eleven exotic beasts were still too few.

Meanwhile.

In another part of the Other World, inside a castle-like building.

A masked man dressed in black was admiring the sword in his hand. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

The blade of the sword was inlaid with several gemstones and shone brightly, exuding an aura that sent chills down one's spine.

"Master." a black-clad servant hurried in, his face grim. "The operation failed... According to the latest intel, the team we dispatched was almost completely wiped out. Only the team leader survived."

"What did you say?" The masked man's hand, which had been caressing the sword, froze. An incredulous look flashed in his cold eyes. "Impossible. Although that woman is a mage, the team was fully armed, and the team leader is also a mage of considerable strength. How could they all be dead?"

Turning slowly, the masked man fixed his icy gaze on the servant.

Feeling the immense pressure, the servant collapsed to his knees with a thud. Initially, he too couldn't believe the news of the team's near annihilation and had confirmed it multiple times. But the facts were undeniable.

Hurriedly, the servant explained, "It looked like the mission was about to succeed, but suddenly, a young man appeared. And that young man was the very person we've been looking for..."