Chapter 31: A Deep Black Beneath the Crimson

Three gusts of wind whistled past Mo Tan, reaching their destination with lightning speed—the posteriors of the three Orc warriors who had just turned to assist their companions in countering Ned.

The heart-wrenching screams proved that Yinna was truly ruthless. In this unhindered volley, she had unleashed her absolute peak performance; the force, speed, and precision were the best she had shown since the battle began.

"A bow drawn in surprise, an arrow piercing the void." Mo Tan, whose composure had nearly shattered earlier, had fully recovered, even quipping a nonsensical verse: "Daisies stained red across the sky~"

Yinna blinked at him, bewildered. "What are you talking about?"

"Pfft!" Shuangye, standing nearby, couldn't help but burst into laughter. She then frowned slightly, muttering, "Why does this drivel sound familiar..."

Mo Tan immediately recalled the teasing message he had sent her when he was Tan Mo. He mentally chided himself for his carelessness and chuckled dryly, "I saw it on the internet. Never mind that for now; Yinna, please suppress those guys on the right! It doesn't have to be too accurate!"

Because Krab and Salazar had knocked the nearest enemy away during Mo Tan's directed coordination, they had opened up a shooting angle for Yinna and reduced the interference she faced. For these few seconds, the Elven Ranger, who had been constantly harassed by the enemy, was temporarily liberated.

"Understood!" Finally able to attack freely, Yinna drew six arrows from her quiver at once, nocked them, and gave a small smile. "How did you manage that?"

As her slender fingers released the string, a small rain of arrows poured out, pinning the Orc soldiers who were preparing to flank Salazar in their tracks.

The rhythm—it had changed at some point...

And it was all because of the few words from the little priest beside her!

Just a few simple instructions had given her, who had been exhausted from running, a chance to breathe. They had created an environment for Ned, who was bearing the brunt of the assault, to duel the shield-bearer one-on-one, and had almost resolved the dire situation where Salazar and Krab were being attacked from both sides.

Yinna could hardly believe it, yet she had no choice but to accept it...

"Captain!" Mo Tan had no time to answer her question. He shouted to Ned across the distance, "Can you finish off your current opponent in ten seconds?"

Ned happened to unleash a cross-shaped flurry of sword strikes, followed by a horizontal and a vertical slash that slammed into the bone heavy shield before him. His reply was concise: "Enough!"

What a joke! He had been holding his own against three or four enemies at once; how could he not handle this slow turtle shell in ten seconds?

Furthermore, the Orc warrior behind the heavy shield was already turning pale. Continuous attacks from weapons enchanted with frost had begun to slow him down, and Ned’s heavy, powerful strikes had nearly sent the shield flying several times...

The shield-bearer, originally responsible for oppressive advancement and cover, was now almost frozen into a sluggish warrior. He had no choice, however. The teammates best positioned to support him were now lying on the ground, each with an arrow stuck in their rear, howling—it looked painful just watching!

"Krab, try to hold your ground! Salazar, move toward us now!" Mo Tan said while casting a Holy Word Shield on Krab. His casting rhythm had slowed down since earlier; partly because the frequency of his teammates' injuries had decreased, and partly because he had begun consciously accumulating mana and faith points.

If he wanted to seize the best moment for a breakthrough, there was little time left to remain stationary and enjoy the talent's effects...

Krab nodded vigorously and let out a roar. His already overly muscular body swelled even further, and he slammed the weapon he had snatched from an enemy into the ground, knocking two enemies—one in front and one behind—to the floor with a boom.

Taking advantage of the opening, Salazar swept the legs of the Orc warrior wielding an iron spear and immediately sprinted toward Mo Tan and the others.

"Hey!" At this moment, Shuangye suddenly turned to Mo Tan and asked, "What about me? What should I be doing now?"

"Recover mana," Mo Tan glanced at her and said softly. "Your mana should be at the bottom; you won't be of much use for the moment."

Shuangye pouted in dissatisfaction. "So you’re the one who can turn the situation around?"

Although she said that, she had no objections to Mo Tan's decision.

Shuangye was smart; otherwise, she wouldn't have been known as a hacker legend alongside Mo Tan in reality under the name 'Black Sun'. However, high intelligence didn't mean she was proficient in everything. Even if she could create an AI called 'NAVI' single-handedly, it didn't mean she could reach the pinnacle of tactical command. Not to mention the pinnacle, it was already an effort for her—suffering from mild social anxiety—to converse normally with everyone.

That comment earlier was less of a complaint toward Mo Tan and more of a desire to hear an affirmative answer from him.

"I don't know." Mo Tan saw that Ned, not far away, had successfully felled the sluggish... shield-bearing warrior with a single sword stroke. He calmly raised his hands and cast a Holy Heal on Krab...

"But I will do my best!"

Salazar had arrived at the side of the three, standing in a spot Mo Tan had intentionally left open. With Yinna and Shuangye, the four now formed a diamond formation.

The Lizardman Monk was at the front, with Mo Tan and Shuangye on his left and right. Yinna was at the back, facing away from everyone, drawing her bow to hold back the approaching enemies.

Ned was the furthest away, but he faced the fewest enemies. Krab was positioned between Ned and the diamond formation, facing the greatest number of enemies and the most attacks, but thanks to Mo Tan’s all-out support, he hadn't fallen behind.

"Very good!" Mo Tan stared at the enemies approaching Krab's rear from the four o'clock position and whispered, "Almost there..."

Another Prayer of Resilience was cast on Krab. At the same time, the 'Bloodthirst' that Krab had used twice before reached its limit, and his body, which had been a size larger than usual, instantly returned to its original stature.

"Captain, retreat to Krab's side and help him out!" Mo Tan shouted. "Yinna, suppress those in the back for a moment."

...

Ned pulled his longsword back and leaped to Krab's side. Before landing, he spun in mid-air and executed a heavy slash, felling the Orc warrior who was just about to swing his hammer.

Yinna's slender fingers already had several bloody welts from the bowstring, but those arrows, aimed at tricky angles, still forced the enemies behind to remain stalled.

The next second...

"Salazar! You take the front! Send the nearest one in that row of idiots flying!"

*Bang!* The unique burst of a monk's explosive power allowed Salazar to drive his fist into the target's waist in less than a second. The airborne Orc warrior knocked over two of his companions who were attempting to flank Krab, and the three muscular brutes rolled into a heap.

"Shuangye, move parallel to me! Use your instant spells to stop those guys on the right who just crawled up!"

"OK!"

Mo Tan followed closely behind Salazar. Before his voice had even faded, he saw several fireballs streak past his body, tracing scorching arcs in the air before curving to strike behind the three enemies who had just crawled up while clutching their rear ends.

Well, it was actually their backsides again...

"Yinna, ignore those in the back!" Mo Tan cast the Holy Heal, which had just finished cooling down, on Yinna and shouted, "Contain the guy to Shuangye's right; don't let him get close."

Five seconds later, all members of the Fenrir Squad had gathered together, and the surrounding encirclement, which hadn't been tight to begin with, was now in tatters.

"Do you mind if I overstep my bounds again?" Mo Tan smiled slightly at Ned.

The latter rolled his eyes. "Get on with it! We might actually make it out alive today because of you!"

"No problem~" Under the setting sun, Mo Tan turned around. Pale golden holy light radiated from his fingertips. His expression was calm and gentle, a smile in his eyes. "With everyone here, I can do it!"

The talent effect 'Pious' was activated once again.

[Of course I can do it~]

"Krab! Retreat to the back! You have less than a minute to rest!"

[Even if I am currently just a mediocre, lazy, conformist, dime-a-dozen, plain-looking...]

"Captain, switch positions with Yinna. Don't rush in; wait for them to come to you!"

[Ordinary person!]

"Shuangye, sweep the floor with Fireball! Watch your mana! Yes, yes, I know you’ve calculated it perfectly..."

[But that doesn't matter...]

"Yinna, open up your shooting angle! Shoot anyone who gets within five meters of the Captain. Uh, standing on Krab's shoulder? Fine, if you insist..."

[Special enough, yet sufficiently ordinary.]

"Salazar! Guard Shuangye’s right! What? Why don't I use compass directions? Because I can't find North!"

[That’s fine too!]

"Don't worry about that sneaky one trying to flank from behind; I've already noticed him!"

[I can do it!]

"Let him in, then Captain and Salazar switch targets! Yes, that means hit the one in the back!"

[Even as the most ordinary 'me' right now, it’s no problem!]

"Shuangye, step back two paces to make room for Krab. Those guys are already in chaos!"

[Or rather, some things...]

"Charge! Cut through them!"

[Only I can do them well!!]

...

[You have voluntarily disconnected. Please choose whether to reconnect.]

"Do not reconnect."

[Execute wake-up procedure?]

"Yes."

[Received. It is now 1:30 AM on January 3, 2049. You will wake up in one minute.]

Mo Tan did not leave the game pod after waking up. Instead, he let out a satisfied sigh, then quickly closed his eyes, only regaining consciousness ten minutes later.

A predictable headache struck him, causing him to frown in discomfort...

"This sensation is truly not something to be happy about~" He hummed softly, then revealed a pleasant smile. "But then again, I really am amazing..."

He stretched his body slightly, reactivated the game pod that had just entered standby mode, lay down in a comfortable position, and muttered, "The timing is just right." Under the influence of the simulation system, he entered a deep sleep state conducive to logging into the game.

...

[Mental connection detected. Synchronizing personal information...]

[Connection complete. Reading character information.]

[Welcome back, Chaotic Neutral Tan Mo. Loading World of Innocence. Have a good night.]

After regaining consciousness, Mo Tan's vision was still pitch black, but he felt no panic. He shifted his position slightly without making a sound and saw a sliver of light.

The light came through a small hole in front of him, originating from a long-lasting magic crystal lamp.

This was a small living room, and Mo Tan was currently in a wardrobe in the corner.

107 Sweet Orange Trail, in the wardrobe at Dave Sager's home.

"It seems he hasn't returned yet," Mo Tan whispered to himself. "I never expected my first experience hiding in a wardrobe to be in a place like this, and in a single man's wardrobe at that. Truly, life is full of wonders and absurdity."

For the next five minutes, Mo Tan stayed in the wardrobe, bored, occasionally peering out through the hole he had made before logging off, and muttering things that were quite constructive.

Until...

The sound of a door creaking open reached Mo Tan's ears...

The owner of the room had returned.

This was the first time Mo Tan had seen Dave 'in the flesh'. He was dressed in plain robes and looked quite pale. Although he couldn't be called handsome, his thick eyebrows and large eyes were enough to give others a good first impression. If one ignored the hint of evil that often flashed in his eyes when he was alone, this honest appearance would be enough to earn Dave a few points in a knight's examination...

A square face with thick eyebrows and large eyes was always the hallmark of a knight. As for Saints, it was more troublesome; one had to have their own background music at the very least...

Mo Tan had activated his Stealth skill the moment he logged in to minimize his presence. Coupled with his hiding spot in the corner wardrobe, Dave naturally had no idea that an uninvited guest had arrived in his home.

A very... very... very troublesome uninvited guest.

So, after locking the door, Dave immediately let himself go. Specifically, he ripped off his top, and just as Mo Tan, suffering from a misunderstanding, was contemplating blinding himself...

Dave tore off the dense, blood-stained bandages on his body.

Yes, his upper body was wrapped in these things, looking like a mummy the moment he took off his clothes...

From Mo Tan's angle, he could clearly see that although the bandages were covered in dark red bloodstains, Dave's body had no wounds at all.

Not only that, his skin was white with a hint of red...

And in the red, there was a hint of black...

Chapter 31: End