The Divine Arm archers were elite indeed; in moments they'd cleared the 【Level 3 Stockade-Bandit Archers】 from the wall. In the process Zhou Yuan got two experience prompts, the second an assist kill worth 20.
"Right ten steps — clear the archers in the towers."
Army Marshal Cai Cheng pointed with his spear, and the Black Armor at once swept the Divine Arm along. Each wooden tower held two 【Level 3 Stockade-Bandit Archers】; shooting down from on high, their fearsome force nearly drove arrowheads through the hide shields. In a plain exchange, the Divine Arm, even shooting upward, wouldn't be suppressed. The trouble was the towers had only firing-slits, the rest hard logs — so the Divine Arm couldn't drop them quickly, only hold their breath and watch for a chance. But this was no problem for Zhou Yuan; the skill-boost made his shots dead accurate, unaffected by the cramped shield-wall. Finding his moment, he loosed two arrows through two archers' arms, greatly easing the squad's pressure.
"Fine shot. The rest of you ring the left tower; newcomer, finish the arm-wounded archers."
The wounded archers didn't hide; instead they drew short blades to climb down and keep fighting. Zhou Yuan watched the ladders and, lying in wait, slew two of them.
【Ding. Slew Level 3 Stockade-Bandit Archer x2. Experience +60.】
On the other side, the left tower's archers died one by one under four Divine Arm men.
"Black Armor, adjust formation, ready for melee. Divine Arm, take the high slope and loose freely."
No one explained, no one questioned. The veterans shifted smoothly; the Black Armor newcomer didn't even need to turn, just matched his comrades. Only Zhou Yuan, copying the veterans, climbed the steep slope beside them.
"Creak..."
Before long, with the grind of timber, the stockade gate was hauled open from within. Over twenty melee bandits poured out roaring. Seeing the veterans switch to fast-shooting bows, Zhou Yuan likewise swapped to his quicker two-dan.
"Whff, whff, whff..."
A ceaseless stream of arrows rained on the bandits, while the entrenched Black Armor held them off with shield and spear. Ding, ding, ding — the sound of gained experience kept ringing. Shielded in front, supported behind, this little squad was like a professional power-leveling service, letting Zhou Yuan savor the joy of fast leveling. As bandit after bandit fell, he saw several white light-orbs drop to the ground. The satisfaction of gained experience and the anticipation of drops left him keyed up, his bow quickening another notch.
"Cease fire. Black Armor, push and take the gate."
Having cleared the melee bandits, Army Marshal Cai Cheng called no rest; heedless of the wounded, he ordered a swift seizing of the gate. Compared with the Black Armor on the front line, the archers' safety was far higher. Passing the old battleground, Zhou Yuan deliberately bent his head as if studying the difference between realm-demons and men — in truth treading on the orbs one by one to collect the drops.
【Ding. Obtained: long blade x3, long spear x2, rice ball x8, wound salve x2.】
Each orb held a different number of drops, some one kind, some several; rice balls were most plentiful, wound salve the best. A rice ball was a food that slowly restored a little health on use; wound salve a medicine for fast recovery. Without examining the other drops closely, Zhou Yuan took a few steps by the corpses and quickly caught up with his comrades.
"Strange, isn't it — the demons of a heaven-and-earth secret realm turn out to be men."
"Mm. Hard to believe. Just now I half thought we were storming an ordinary mountain stronghold."
"Heh, you'll get used to it. Come again and watch them revive as usual, and you'll stop thinking them men."
The veteran wanted to show off before the newcomer, and Zhou Yuan obligingly played dumb. When they reached the gate, the Black Armor had already set a defensive shield-wall, plainly meaning to use the gate passage to narrow the contact area.
"Two steps forward, hold the gate passage. Divine Arm, loose freely."
The Black Armor advanced two steps, giving the Divine Arm a firing angle. By now the bandits inside swarmed up; again the Black Armor held the line desperately while the Divine Arm stood and shot targets. At such close range the two-dan foot-bows had ample force in the passage; with Zhou Yuan shooting steady and true, all at faces and necks, one arrow per kill became possible. But his firing room was bought by the Black Armor; even with great shields and iron armor, the men braced at the front bled and took wounds.
When the clearing was done again, Army Marshal Cai Cheng ordered rest, had the wounded salve and staunch their wounds and withdraw from the dungeon, and brought in a fresh batch of Black Armor. Zhou Yuan seized the chance to gather new drops — six blades and spears, twelve rice balls, three wound salves.
"Everyone, switch bows. Next we face the stronger demons."
While waiting for the new comrades, Zhou Yuan tallied the kills and found that over two fights they'd slain about sixty bandits. A glance at his panel showed his experience already at 320. Given the situation, he poured it first into Bowstring Control. So much experience shot the skill straight to Level 8, just two levels short of full. (Bowstring Control: Lv1 = 10 exp, Lv2 = 20, ... Lv10 = 100.)
"So to gain experience, you really must grind dungeons. I trained bitterly for days and only got Bowstring Control to Level 4; one round of monster-killing and it's Level 8."
Watching his skill level soar, Zhou Yuan couldn't help his excitement. He had no few skills, and the camp offered blade, spear, and riding techniques to learn too. If he could max them all, he'd surely undergo a complete transformation.
"Army Marshal, Black Armor Four has arrived."
The Black Armor's relief was efficient; before long the second batch reached the gate passage. This time their weapons were hook-sickle spears, their hide shields swapped for iron tower-shields. Using the dungeon's cap to withdraw the wounded mid-fight and bring in fresh strength struck Zhou Yuan as most professional — in another way, it simulated normal players' fast recovery.
"The demon stockade-chief is brutal and fierce; this fight stays a control fight. Divine Arm, hard bows and rapid shooting — kill the demon chief as fast as you can."
"How are you, newcomer — can you hold?"
"Rest easy, Army Marshal. I'm born strong; the foot-bow cost me little."
"Good. Once inside the stockade, each pick favorable ground to shoot; Black Armor, form up to meet the foe."