Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

Fortunately, with the enhancement from Blessing + Spirit’s Heart, Kurei’s damage was already enough to kill the wild boar in a single hit.

At the very moment he slew it, his Level, which had originally been 24, suddenly flickered. Upon taking a closer look, it had become 25.

*He had leveled up just by killing a wild boar!??*

“Miss, I feel like I’ve gotten stronger!” Kurei exclaimed excitedly as he returned, Venomfang Sword in hand.

“…” Zane did not answer. Instead, he lowered his head and fell into thought.

There was no doubt that NPCs could also gain experience through combat. However, battles between them and monsters did not yield any loot, aside from certain special quest items.

If he simply sent the soldiers over like this, the new recruits would inevitably end up as cannon fodder.

Moreover, he had heard that the new commanders of the other cities were all rather hot-tempered. Seeing soldiers like these, they might even take action on the spot to discipline them and restore military morale.

It was not out of the question that they might directly strip Kurei of his military authority.

Ultimately, it was because of his intervention that the storyline of Wynwater City had undergone such a drastic change. Perhaps these people could have lived perfectly well in Wynwater City instead of going to Flowerdance City to throw their lives away.

“Miss? What’s wrong?”

“I was thinking… Never mind, it’s nothing.” Zane shook his head.

“…I’m sorry.” Kurei felt deeply ashamed. “I even needed someone to help me deal with a single wild boar. Someone like me isn’t worthy of commanding these soldiers.”

“No. Commanding troops depends on strategy and the ability to adapt, not physical strength.”

Of course, if his combat ability was too weak, there was a very real possibility that the enemy would simply assassinate him. However, Zane would never say that to his face. It would be troublesome if he dealt a blow to his confidence.

“I understand that…” Kurei clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. “But I know my own capabilities better than anyone. On the way here, I worried countless times about whether we could successfully reclaim Flowerdance City, and whether they… would be able to return safely. Miss, if possible… please, you take these…”

“No.”

“…” Kurei’s body stiffened. His spirits sank as he said dejectedly, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said something like that.”

*This is bad.* Zane had not expected a single wild boar to completely crush his psychological defenses.

Perhaps this kind of situation was simply too heavy a burden for a deputy commander. The battle just now had merely been the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

Besides that, Zane had also picked up on another piece of information.

“Kurei, every city will send several thousand troops to attack. All you need to do is cooperate with them and the adventurers to reclaim Flowerdance City. I heard that the other cities have experts sent by the Imperial City. With them there, nothing major should happen.”

“…Mm.” He nodded, but his expression remained downcast.

At this point, Zane could confirm it. The deputy commander was beginning to doubt whether the siege could succeed.

After all, the scene of the Undead Centaurs storming into the city and slaughtering everyone in their path was still fresh in his mind. The defenders had been cut down like weeds, leaving behind a bloody nightmare.

“How about this? You should still lead the troops yourself. I can give you a small suggestion.”

“A… small suggestion?” Kurei’s eyes filled with immense confusion.

***

The journey was incredibly dull. Aside from the wild boar they encountered at the beginning, they barely saw any monsters afterward. Some of the players even wondered whether it would have been better to simply teleport directly to Thousand Crag City.

Incidentally, the teleportation circles had a limit on the number of NPCs they could transport at once, and ordinary soldiers would also suffer physical discomfort from teleportation.

“Zane, are we really just going to follow them like this? This is so boring,” Shiu complained as he followed behind the main body of NPC troops.

“Don’t rush. Didn’t you guys accept a quest?”

The quest in question was the escort mission Kurei had issued at the beginning, inviting the adventurers to travel alongside the army. It was rated A.

An A-rank quest was certainly inferior to an S-rank one, but it was not something that could be completed casually. Therefore, there was no way the journey would remain uneventful.

“But we haven’t even seen a shadow of anything yet.”
“Wait a little longer. It’ll be here soon.”
“How do you know?”
“Hehe, that’s a secret.”

Meanwhile, Starry had followed Windblossom and left the main force far behind, advancing well ahead of them. Although the other guilds had also sent people ahead to scout the road, their Movement Speed was far inferior to these two.

After all, while out of combat, Starry’s equipment alone provided a 56% Movement Speed bonus, while her full-Dexterity attribute allocation gave her nearly another 20% Movement Speed. At this point, she could practically sprint along even in her normal state.

Windblossom’s equipment also leaned heavily toward Movement Speed. Of course, there was no way she could be faster than Starry, who was wearing the Windwalker Cloak.

“Starry, slow down and wait for me!” Windblossom called from behind as she watched the distance between them steadily grow.

Starry controlled her pace and maintained a position running alongside her.

“What kind of equipment are you wearing? Even I, a Ranger with a full-Dexterity build, can’t keep up with you…” she panted.

Starry said nothing and casually sent her the attributes of the Windwalker Cloak.

The moment Windblossom saw its Special Effect, her eyes lit up. “Windwalker… and with the armor’s inherent 5% Movement Speed, that brings it to 25%! This equipment could still be used even in the late game! And this Windwalker Cloak is so white and fantasy-looking. It even has an otherworldly aura to it. It looks beautiful when worn, too!”

“Does it…?” Starry had not paid much attention to its appearance before. She had simply thought its attributes were good, so she had continued wearing it.

“Of course! If I had such a good-looking cosmetic outfit, I’d definitely keep it.”

“If you like it, I’ll give it to you once I reach Level 35,” Starry said casually.

“Eh? Really? Setting the appearance aside, just the Windwalker effect alone makes it perfectly reasonable to treat this as an Epic-grade item.”

“The Special Effect is pretty good for traveling around the map… But you shared the SS-rank quest with us, so compared to that, this isn’t much. Consider it my return gift.”

“…Mm-hmm! Then I’ll thank you in advance!”

“Speaking of that…” Starry suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“What…” Windblossom turned around, only to see a vast, densely packed mass of black undead stretching across the distant horizon. They were packed so tightly together that it was impossible to determine their exact number.

Wasn’t the Shadow Overlord seriously wounded? Why did he still have such a massive army? Could it be that he had already recovered?

“Taking the city… might not be as easy as we thought,” Windblossom said with a long sigh.

“…”

***

To the west-northwest of Thousand Crag City, a full five thousand robust soldiers were arrayed across the plains. The players stood at the opposite end, having been warned not to approach within 100 yards of the NPC army.

Ignoring the adventurers’ complaints, the man standing at the very front of the army had short, light-purple hair and held a red-and-yellow demon-slaying blade in his hand. Its golden-gray engravings shimmered with a faint light.

He said nothing, his expression grim to the point of being frightening.

Unable to hold back any longer, the squad leader beside him asked, “Lord Commander, could they… have run into some trouble along the way?”

“Hmph! Absolutely impossible!” the commander snorted coldly. “They’re already a full half a day past the agreed-upon time, and even the elven reinforcements are almost here. That useless Miroi boasted endlessly before, claiming they’d be the first to arrive, yet he’s made tens of thousands of people waste their time waiting here!”