"This... this is way too many!"
Yan Zhou swallowed hard, frozen in place.
The number of Level 2 Ogres was overwhelming, several times more than the players present, far beyond his expectations.
And behind those monsters stood a Large Ogre nearly two and a half meters tall, looking extremely menacing, clearly not one to be trifled with.
Li Feng shrank back in fear, "Brother Yan, what do we do? Should we go first?"
Yan Zhou gritted his teeth and said, "Go! Those who go first get the meat. Organize a few more teams to follow us. We must ensure our main force can break through to the core. Our target is the Ogre BOSS in the back!"
Li Feng nodded, "Alright, I'll follow your lead, Brother Yan."
Quickly, Yan Zhou organized an assault team.
"Brothers! Follow me!"
Yan Zhou waved his hand, leading the team forward.
Li Mingliang and Jiang Yuanji noticed the commotion on his side. Seeing him preparing to charge towards the BOSS, they immediately reacted.
"Guys, follow up, we're taking down the BOSS!"
"Charge, grab the BOSS!"
"Hahaha, the BOSS is mine!"
"..."
In an instant, all three groups began advancing towards the Ogre BOSS.
Half an hour later, a system notification arrived:
[Ding! Congratulations to player Yan Zhou for successfully killing the Large Ogre and receiving a reward: Silver Chest *1]
"I killed the BOSS! I killed it!"
Yan Zhou was overjoyed.
"Brother Yan, you're amazing!"
"Oh my god, Yan Zhou is so strong!"
The people below cheered.
Yan Zhou's [Thunderfire] seized the moment, successfully taking the last bit of health from the Large Ogre, completing the kill.
Looking at the Silver Chest in his backpack, Yan Zhou was thrilled.
He hadn't expected that besides the level ranking rewards, killing the Beast Tide BOSS would also yield chest rewards.
Li Mingliang and Jiang Yuanji received the notification too, and they were quite disgruntled.
There was nothing they could do; they had too few people, and both of their God-given Talents were melee types.
If they couldn't break through to the core, they couldn't launch effective attacks.
"Hmph, just you wait!"
Li Mingliang snorted coldly.
Just as everyone was debating the ownership of the BOSS, the Beast Tide refresh notification sounded again:
[Ding! The Large Ogre has been killed. The fifth wave of the Beast Tide is about to arrive. Please prepare, players.]
[10, 9, 8...]
Yan Zhou and the others were shocked.
Even though the BOSS had been killed, more than half of the Ogres on the field remained uncleared.
There were even more monsters than players!
Hearing that the fifth wave of the Beast Tide was about to refresh, the ordinary players began to panic.
"Damn, are you kidding me, another one?"
"This makes no sense, shouldn't the Beast Tide refresh only after clearing the monsters?"
"Yeah, and this time there's no rest period!"
"..."
As the players spoke, energy fluctuations emanated from the teleportation arrays around the field once more.
As the countdown ended, new monsters appeared before the players.
Mummies wrapped in white bandages emerged slowly from the Teleportation Array.
They were smaller than the Ogres, about the size of an average person.
The only visible part, their teeth, were incredibly sharp, like demons crawling up from hell.
[Mummy]
[Level: 3]
[Skill: Bandage Wrap (Enhances defense by 10%)]
Clearly, the Level 3 Mummies were a more formidable monster group than the previous Ogre Beast Tide.
And there were even more of them!
"Damn, how are there still so many!"
Even Yan Zhou, who usually maintained his composure, couldn't help but curse.
The number of Mummies was no less than the Ogres before, perhaps even more.
Looking around, the once spacious athletic field was nearly filled with monsters.
The battlefield, which had barely maintained balance, shifted the moment these monsters appeared.
"Ah! Help, help!"
"So many monsters, I can't take it, let me out!"
"Please, clear a path, my girlfriend is injured!"
"..."
On the distant battlefield, more and more players couldn't hold on and began to flee in panic.
Yan Zhou, using a teammate's shoulder, shouted loudly:
"Brothers, hold the line, don't retreat! Charge! Don't retreat!!!"
At this moment, even Li Mingliang and Jiang Yuanji, who saw him as a rival, made the same choice.
"Don't retreat, anyone who dares to retreat, I'll kill them!"
The three of them were doing their best to control the situation.
But the development of events exceeded everyone's expectations.
After significant casualties in the front lines, players began to panic.
Gradually, the initially organized formation began to collapse.
In the blink of an eye, the favorable situation crumbled.
Neither Yan Zhou nor Li Mingliang could stop this doomed-to-fail battle.
"It's no use, Brother Yan, there are just too many monsters. We should retreat."
Li Feng said, sweating profusely.
Yan Zhou was reluctant, but seeing the team starting to desert, he could only grit his teeth and nod, "Let's go, call all the main force members, we're retreating!"
Li Feng was surprised, "Brother Yan, aren't we calling the other members?"
Yan Zhou said grimly, "How big can South Mountain Academy be? If everyone retreats together, where can we lure the monsters? Do we all die together?"
Li Feng hesitated but nodded.
Yan Zhou's ruthlessness wasn't wrong.
In the apocalypse, nothing is more important than one's own life.
Better to sacrifice others than oneself.
"What a pity..."
Before leaving, Yan Zhou glanced back at the crowded athletic field.
He had thought this would be the start of his glory, but it ended before it began.
Yan Zhou looked into the distance, seeing Li Mingliang and Jiang Yuanji's troops also starting to retreat.
Li Mingliang was smart, choosing to keep only his core team.
But Jiang Yuanji was a fool, still trying to take everyone with him.
"Fine, let them cover our retreat, kill more monsters, and I'll come back once I'm ready!"
Yan Zhou snorted coldly in his heart.
As they retreated, world announcements appeared in golden letters in the sky:
[World Announcement: Yan Nation 14059 Novice Zone has been overrun by monsters and is now Unclaimed Land.]
[World Announcement: Sakura Nation 4568 Novice Zone has been overrun by monsters and is now Unclaimed Land.]
[World Announcement: Lighthouse Nation 14355 Novice Zone has been overrun by monsters and is now Unclaimed Land.]
[...]
Standing on the rooftop closest to the sky, Lin Mo was the first to see the world announcement.
However, his expression showed no surprise, as if he had expected it.
Lin Mo looked at the fleeing crowd on the athletic field and the endless monsters, a cold smile playing on his lips:
"The hunt can finally begin..."