About an hour later, the river rounded a bend, and the faint sounds of clashing weapons and shouts drifted from ahead; it sounded like a battle of considerable scale.
The two sisters exchanged a look, suppressed their presence, and crept forward, using the trees as cover.
Parting a dense patch of reeds, the sight before them made them stop in their tracks.
Ahead was a clearing in the forest, and in it stood a crude Hobgoblin village, enclosed by rough wooden fences and mud walls! It was far larger than the scattered stragglers outside the Hobgoblin "castle" they had wiped out earlier. Inside, it was bustling with at least twenty or thirty Hobgoblins, including many [Hobgoblin Warrior Lv.20-22] wielding iron weapons and wearing tattered leather armor, and even a few [Hobgoblin Shaman Lv.23] hiding in the back, brandishing bone staves.
Attacking this village was a strange, full four-person squad.
A [Berserker Lv.22] wielding a giant axe stood at the very front, roaring as he hacked at the wooden fence; an [element Mage Lv.21] chanted in the back, fireballs and ice spikes landing precisely among the group of Hobgoblins behind the fence; a [Ranger Lv.20] moved with agility, circling the perimeter, arrows targeting the Hobgoblin Shamans and any ranged units attempting to throw short spears; the final member, a [Paladin Lv.21], guarded the Mage, standing alert with a shield, occasionally stepping forward to support the Berserker with a war hammer.
This squad coordinated well, their offensive was fierce, and their levels were quite impressive; they were clearly not candidates from Sim City—The two sisters were familiar with or recognized basically all the top students from Sim City who were above level 20.
"It's a team from another city." Selene lowered her voice, her tone filled with a hint of curiosity, "It seems this Domain randomly dropped candidates from different cities into different areas."
However, just as that squad was about to breach the outer fence and charge into the village, the Paladin at the back of the group seemed to sense something. He whipped his head around, his sharp gaze instantly locking onto the patch of reeds where The two sisters were hiding!
"Alert! Someone's behind us!" the Paladin barked, his voice carrying clearly across the battlefield.
Almost the moment he spoke, the Berserker and Ranger, who were in the middle of a fierce assault, froze. Without hesitation, they abandoned their suppression of the Hobgoblins and retreated rapidly, regrouping with the Mage and Paladin. The four of them instantly shifted to a defensive stance, the Berserker and Paladin holding the front, while the Mage and Ranger stayed in the back, watching the direction of Celeste and Selene with suspicion and undisguised wariness. Their reactions were lightning-fast, and their formation shift was smooth and practiced; they were clearly well-trained and extremely wary of the "mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" scenario.
The Hobgoblins in the village, who had been crying for their mothers under the assault, didn't understand what was happening, but they seized the opportunity to breathe. They huddled behind the broken fence, chattering away, not daring to charge out just yet.
For a moment, the scene became rather bizarre.
On one side was the strange, full four-person squad, standing in battle formation as if facing a formidable enemy.
On the other side were The two sisters, who had just appeared and numbered only two (one of whom was still holding a pink staff).
Between them stood a group of shaken Hobgoblins, watching and waiting.
Celeste looked at their guarded posture, which clearly screamed, "You must be here to steal our kills/steal our points/stab us in the back," then looked at the brand-new, glaringly shiny shield in her sister's hand, and finally looked down at the equally brand-new pink staff in her own hand...
She felt it was necessary to clarify. She was really just passing by, and happened to be watching the excitement.
Thus, under the tense gaze of the four, Celeste raised her empty left hand, signaling that she had no hostile intent.
"Don't be nervous, we're just passing by." Her voice was as calm as possible, "Carry on, we're leaving now."
Selene also cooperatively relaxed her combat stance, leaning her shield against her shoulder, and flashed a friendly smile: "Yeah, that's right, we're just here to watch the show, you guys keep fighting."
However, the four of them didn't relax; instead, they became even more vigilant.
The Paladin captain snorted: "Passing by? At a time like this? Just when we're about to breach the village?"
The Berserker sneered: "At least come up with a decent excuse! The two sisters alone in the Domain 'passing by' a Hobgoblin village? Who are you trying to fool!"
The Mage narrowed his eyes, the elemental glow on his staff intensifying: "Captain, they must be stalling for time, waiting for us and the Hobgoblins to wear each other out!"
The Ranger's arrow tip shifted slightly, locking onto Celeste: "Or waiting for their teammates to flank us."
Celeste sighed helplessly: "We really only have two people, and we really are just passing by. Do we look like we're here to steal your points?"
Selene nodded repeatedly: "Exactly, exactly, if we wanted to steal points, we would have attacked already, why would we waste time talking to you?"
The Paladin captain was now even more convinced of his judgment: "As expected! They're testing our defensive weaknesses! Don't be fooled, everyone!"
After repeating this several times, no matter how The two sisters explained, the others were convinced they had ill intentions. Celeste's patience finally ran out.
She took a deep breath, turned to look at Selene, and her tone turned dangerous: "Selene, I suddenly feel a bit annoyed."
Selene pouted as well: "Sister, me too. We explained nicely for so long, and they didn't believe a single word."
"Since they're convinced we're going to steal their points..." Celeste slowly raised her pink staff, a dangerous glint flashing in her eyes, "Then if we don't steal them, wouldn't we be at a loss?"
Selene smiled knowingly and raised her shield again, striking a combat pose: "That makes sense! We can't take the blame for nothing!"
Just as the four of them were standing guard, expecting The two sisters to attack them, Celeste suddenly turned around and swung her pink staff, which whistled through the air with heavy force, directly at the broken wooden fence!
"Boom!"
The already precarious wooden fence completely collapsed under this blow, revealing the panicked Hobgoblins behind it.
Selene followed closely behind, shield forward, charging into the group of Hobgoblins like a chariot, while [light of dawn] traced a dazzling arc.
"Look! They really did attack!" the Paladin captain said, shocked and angry, "I knew they were here to steal points!"
The Berserker roared: "Despicable! Clearing the Hobgoblins while we let our guard down!"
The Mage hurriedly chanted a spell: "Quick! Don't let them take them all!"
The four-person squad reacted immediately and charged toward the Hobgoblin village as well.
However, the ensuing battle scene was extremely bizarre—
The two sisters coordinated perfectly, clearing out the Hobgoblins like cutting vegetables. Every strike of Celeste's pink staff carried heavy force, sending the Hobgoblins flying backward as if hit by a giant rock; Selene was like a silver whirlwind, darting back and forth among the enemy, holy light and sword shadows intertwining.
But the four-person squad fought with their hands tied:
The Berserker swung his axe at a Hobgoblin but kept glancing at the surrounding woods, terrified that an ambush might suddenly emerge; the Paladin held his shield but was always distracted, protecting the Mage's back instead of focusing on the enemies in front; the Mage was halfway through a chant when he suddenly felt movement in the side bushes, hurriedly interrupting his spell to turn that way, only to miss his fireball; the Ranger's arrows were even more ridiculous, with half of them shot into empty shadows, as if an enemy could jump out from there at any moment.
"Captain, they must have teammates lurking in the shadows!" the Mage said in a low voice, nervously scanning the surroundings, "These two girls are so strong; their teammates must be even more powerful!"
The Berserker hacked down a Hobgoblin and panted: "That's right, they dare to be so blatant about stealing kills; they must have something to rely on!"
The Paladin captain's expression was grim: "Stay alert, everyone, keep an eye on your surroundings! They must be waiting for us to show a weakness!"
Thus, the four-person squad became even more distracted, fighting the Hobgoblins while constantly guarding against the imagined "ambush." The result was that their combat efficiency was incredibly low, often requiring several hits to finish off a single Hobgoblin.
Conversely, The two sisters were single-minded, coordinating perfectly, and clearing the Hobgoblins at nearly twice the speed.
Celeste performed a sweep, sending three Hobgoblins flying simultaneously; Selene used a shield bash, directly stunning a Hobgoblin Shaman, and then finished it off with a sword strike. The two were like precise, efficient killing machines, and wherever they passed, the Hobgoblins fell one after another.
"Sister, why are they fighting so slowly?" Selene asked, puzzled, after snatching a glance at the four-person squad.
Celeste had also noticed the abnormality and, after a moment of thought, understood the reason, unable to help but chuckle: "They're probably still waiting for our 'teammates'."
Five minutes later, the battle ended.
Of the thirty-plus Hobgoblins in the village, The two sisters had taken care of over twenty, while the four-person squad had handled fewer than ten—and that was only because The two sisters had intentionally left a small portion for them.
Celeste stood with her staff put away and let out a light breath. Selene shook the stains off her sword, still feeling like she hadn't had enough, and looked at the four-person squad, whose faces were ugly.
"What are you looking at?" Selene said irritably, "Didn't you insist that we were going to steal your points?"
Celeste added calmly: "Now that we've finished stealing them, are you satisfied?"
The Paladin captain opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but looking at the Hobgoblin corpses covering the ground and the relaxed posture of The two sisters, he ultimately swallowed his words. He scanned the surroundings vigilantly and whispered: "Don't relax, their teammates might still be nearby."
The Berserker glared at The two sisters unwillingly, but could only lower his voice: "Captain, they stole so many points, are we just going to let it slide?"
"Retreat for now, the situation is unclear, it's not wise to fight hard." The Paladin captain said in a deep voice, "These two girls are so strong, their teammates must be even more extraordinary. We might have already fallen into an encirclement."
The four-person squad maintained their defensive formation and retreated slowly, their eyes still vigilantly scanning the surrounding woods, as if a great army would charge out from there at any moment.
Watching them like this, The two sisters exchanged a smile, turned around with flair, and continued walking forward along the riverbank.
[Ding! Host successfully practiced the philosophy of joy: "Since I've been wrongly accused, I might as well make it real." While trapping the other party in a logical loop, you have gained tangible points, joy value +233! Aha really likes this kind of unashamed anti-trope~ (Mask laughing.jpg)]
Hearing the system prompt, the corners of Celeste's mouth curled up slightly.
It seems... this feeling of simply going along with the mistake after being misunderstood is actually kind of satisfying?