Volume 7: The Terrifying Forest Conspiracy Chapter 13: The Clash Between the Living and the Undead

As the last phantom marksman fell beneath the volley of arrows, Gru appeared before Shadow. Gazing at the figure before him, Shadow slowly spoke, “The tactics you used just now were all those of the phantom marksmen?”

“You could say that. If you had held out a little longer, you might have witnessed the full extent of the strategy,” Gru replied calmly.

“And what good would that have done? It still ends in failure,” Shadow said with a dismissive smile.

“But you can still walk away. My master said that outsiders like you possess the ability to resurrect endlessly,” Gru said with a hint of regret in his eyes as he looked at Shadow.

“Yet by doing so, I cannot even kill a single enemy, can I?”

“That’s true. Even if you learn it, you won’t be proficient enough yet.”

“So what use is that?” Shadow said bitterly. “By the way, what are your subordinates called?”

“Phantom Undead Marksmen.”

“Phantom Undead Marksmen? I see. Next time, I will make sure to win this battle,” Shadow said as he plunged the dagger he carried into his own chest.

As Shadow slowly collapsed, a golden light suddenly shimmered around Gru. In his ear echoed Shadow’s ethereal voice: “Tell your master… sometimes I wish to serve under you. So have him come find me…”

At that moment, Li Bin, who had been worried about Gru, finally arrived. Upon hearing from Gru that the battle had ended, Li Bin was at a loss for what to do next. He muttered, “That was too fast. Only half an hour has passed.”

“We originally planned to drag it out for an hour, but that Shadow was quite desperate,” Gru said with a wry smile, recounting all the details.

When Li Bin heard about the golden light that had surrounded Gru upon his victory and Shadow’s final words, he smiled and asked, “So you’ve already upgraded to an elite hero. How about recruiting that kid as your subordinate?”

“That kid is interesting,” Gru replied, avoiding a direct answer.

Li Bin didn’t press further. He casually released a ghost crow, which bore only one message: “You can come back to me anytime!”

Since the phantom marksmen’s battle ended earlier than expected, Li Bin and his group had more time and forces to strategize against the enemy. After an hour passed, the pursuing troops finally reached the vicinity.

To Li Bin’s surprise, the pursuers advanced cautiously, with the two elven heroes defeated earlier by Gru and Diedre leading the front.

Ent, commanding the elite troops, marched amidst the ranks. Having received news of Shadow's defeat, he grew worried about the journey ahead.

As they neared Li Bin’s ambush zone, Ent seemed to have a thought. He ordered a retreat and called back the two elf heroes.

“Moonshade, Wing, you have fought against the enemy’s phantom marksmen. Tell me, how strong are they?” Ent asked gravely.

“They’re about the same as our phantom marksmen. They both have long range and can use arrow rain and phantom arrows,” Wing, the archer, answered eagerly.

“There’s also triple shot. Without that, their seven squads couldn’t have suppressed Wing’s elite elven marksmen,” Moonshade added.

“How long do you think it would take these phantom marksmen to wipe out Shadow and his troops?” Ent pressed on.

“I don’t know…” Both Moonshade and Wing shook their heads.

“Shadow has already been defeated. We have no idea what’s ahead,” Ent sighed. “There are two possibilities: first, Shadow was easily defeated by his subordinates’ troops, who suffered no losses and are now lying in ambush somewhere; second, although Shadow failed, he took heavy casualties, perhaps even wiping out their main forces. Their current strength is greatly diminished. Which do you think we should believe?”

“If it were me, I’d choose the second possibility,” Wing said confidently. “As an archer, I know the range and strength of phantom marksmen. With equal numbers, the best they can do is inflict mutual damage. Shadow had more phantom marksmen, which would force the enemy to expend even more of their other troops.”

“May I say something?” Annan, who had been trailing at the rear, suddenly spoke up.

“Go ahead,” Ent said disdainfully, glancing at Annan.

“Lord Ent, you know I’m from nearby. In Jinye Village, we breed a second-level unit called Swift Birds. These birds are fast, produced in large numbers, and are perfect for intercepting marksmen’s shots,” Annan said cautiously.

“Swift Birds? I’ve heard of them, but they’re not enough to deal with phantom marksmen,” Ent said casually, though he was beginning to consider the possibility.

After some thought, Ent finally made his decision. “You take the cannon fodder and move forward. I will follow behind with the elite troops.”

Moonshade and Wing, as heroes directly under the Great Green Leaf Alliance, immediately understood Ent’s plan. But Annan, a former player, protested loudly, “No, Lord Ent! What if there’s a trap ahead?”

“If there’s a trap, then plug it yourself,” Ent said, grabbing Annan up.

“But you’ve seen our strength. We’re no match for them,” Annan insisted.

“If you’re no match, then neither am I. I’m a hunter, not a commander.” With that, Ent threw Annan to the ground and led his troops into the dense forest behind.

Annan tried to argue, but Wing stopped him. “Lord Ent’s real strength lies in assassination. He wants us to draw out the enemy’s main forces so he can strike at their leaders.”

“But what if the enemy’s strength isn’t as depleted as we think?” Annan worried.

“Then we’re just unlucky,” Moonshade said. “But I think that chance is slim. I believe Shadow at least took most of their strength down with him.”

Meanwhile, within Li Bin’s ambush zone, news of Ent’s solo attack had reached them. Li Bin nodded with satisfaction. “It seems, as the data said, that Ent is an assassin. Then the next steps can be entrusted to…”

“Leave it to me,” Aermu said for the first time, making a request. From the way he kept glancing toward Shen Ling, Li Bin knew something was up.