The female knight froze for a moment, but still nodded.
"Understood. Leave this place to me, Brave Hero."
John said nothing more. He activated Godshadow, and his figure vanished from where he stood.
The moment John disappeared into stealth, the players gathered on the right side instantly erupted into commotion.
They had been secretly watching his every move the whole time.
Now that he had suddenly vanished, it immediately struck a nerve.
"Where did John run off to now? The battle's about to start, and he's already gone?"
"What kind of joke is this? As the highest-level player in our zone, he's actually fleeing before the battle!"
"Damn it, relying on his high Fame to find a bunch of NPCs to die in his place. What a cowardly little rat!"
"The shame of Zone 5!"
John's disappearance was instantly interpreted by them as desertion.
A steady stream of curses rang out.
At the same time, panic began spreading through the player crowd.
No matter how viciously they had cursed him before, deep down they had still hoped John would lead them against the monster tide.
But now that John had suddenly disappeared, it was as if they had lost the pillar that steadied the sea.
For a moment, fear swept through the crowd.
Many players stomped their feet anxiously in terror, completely at a loss.
But in reality—
the stealthed John had already activated Phantom Blink, flashing his way to the highest nearby mountaintop.
From that commanding height, he could clearly observe both Novice Village and the wilderness outside it.
"Now I just need to wait patiently for the prey to come."
John glanced at the sky, dark as if it might drip ink at any moment, then calmly sat down.
Soon, the time reached exactly five o'clock.
The countdown in the sky hit zero.
Bzzzz—!
A deep hum suddenly rang out between heaven and earth.
It was followed by a solemn announcement:
[Attention all players of Zone 5. The world-level mission "Defense of Novice Village" has officially begun!]
[This mission will last for three hours. Survive for three hours, and the mission will be deemed a success!]
[Good luck!]
As the announcement ended, the area ten kilometers outside Novice Village looked as though it had been torn apart by an invisible giant hand.
One jagged black fissure after another appeared in the air.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Terrifying monsters poured out of the cracks like a flood.
The monster tide had arrived on schedule!
At a glance, they were so densely packed that there seemed to be no end in sight.
Most of them were grotesque monsters such as goblins and orks, brandishing crude weapons as they charged forward with wild howls.
The earth itself began to tremble beneath their advance.
Some of the more timid players immediately turned pale with fright, unable even to hold their weapons steady.
Even though they had rehearsed this countless times in their minds, they had never imagined the monster tide would be this enormous.
"How are we supposed to defend against something this terrifying?"
Many players turned ashen-faced, forgetting even how to think.
Only when some of the bolder players stepped forward and nervously cast Detection did the situation begin to shift.
[Goblin Scout] (Lv. 5)
[HP]: 1200
[Attack]: 100
[Defense]: 70
[Skill]: Charge
...
When they saw such mediocre—one could even say trash-tier—stats, the players stared blankly for a second.
Then, in the next moment, they burst into wild excitement and shouted:
"Hahaha! Don't be scared, everyone! These things are just garbage!"
"They're all level 5 and 6 trash mobs. One skill and a whole bunch of them will drop!"
As they shouted, those bolder players were the first to activate their skills and hurl them at the front ranks of the incoming monster tide.
Just as they had said, these monsters that looked so terrifying in formation were nothing more than cannon fodder.
A huge swath was wiped out instantly.
Because of the mission-period bonuses, with EXP doubled, those players leveled up in less than two rounds of combat, golden light rising from their bodies!
The moment everyone saw that, the fear and anxiety that had gripped them vanished, replaced by confidence.
"I thought this monster tide would be terrifying—turns out it's just all for show!"
"I nearly killed myself grinding all day to reach level 15. If I'd known, I would've just farmed inside the monster tide!"
"This is basically free rewards from the game devs! Hahaha, I'm going in first!"
The players who had feared the monsters like tigers just moments ago now looked like starving wolves that had spotted meat.
Howling, they launched themselves forward.
Several thousand players surged into the monster tide without any formation whatsoever, desperately tearing into the share of prey they believed belonged to them.
It had to be said—when profit was involved, these players really could fight ferociously.
The first wave of the monster tide was quickly devoured by them.
After just one wave, the players were stuffed to the brim with gains.
Every single one of them had leveled up at least twice, and each had gotten an additional F-rank piece of equipment.
Some especially lucky players had even dropped D-rank weapons outright.
With victory in the opening clash, the morale of all players skyrocketed, and their confidence swelled.
Some of them even took the initiative to squat near the fissures, waiting for the second wave of the monster tide to appear.
Up on the mountain—
seeing this scene, John shook his head slightly.
"A bunch of idiots."
He turned his gaze toward the village entrance.
Fortunately, the NPC army he had assembled was still holding its position.
And part of the top guilds, those with stronger discipline, had not acted rashly either.
[The second wave of the monster tide is about to arrive.]
After the prompt appeared, the black fissures began to writhe.
Even more monsters poured out from them.
This time, the number of monsters was unchanged, and their level still did not exceed 10.
The players who had still harbored some concern instantly had greedy light flare up in their eyes.
"Get the hell out of the way! I'm taking this wave first!"
"Don't steal them! I was the one who used Detection on these monsters first!"
"Anyone who dares block me—I'll kill him first!"
Because the first two waves of the monster tide had been low-level, and because the mission bonuses doubled EXP and increased drop rates, the second wave had already become a feast in the players' eyes.
The selfish nature of Zone 5's players was laid bare without restraint.
A whole group of them even began turning on one another in the middle of the battle just to compete for the monster tide.
The sight of it was truly ugly.
Very soon,
the second wave of the monster tide was also wiped out clean by the wolf-like players.
After being fed by two consecutive waves, there was no one left on the field below level 10.
Quite a few people had even farmed a full set of equipment and now stood there dressed in it, full of pride and swagger.
Seeing this, even the top guild members in the rear began to feel tempted.
They started requesting permission one after another, wanting to join the battlefield and claim their share as well.
Even several guild leaders were wavering.
After all, the first two waves of the monster tide had practically been free EXP and equipment. Who wouldn't be tempted?
Just then—
the third wave of the monster tide arrived.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
This time, the scale of the wave emerging from the fissures was smaller.
But the monsters that appeared were clearly different.
Their eyes glowed red, and their movements were slow, heavy, and oppressive.
Every step they took made the ground tremble.
Compared with the frenzied, surging tide of the first two waves, this third wave felt deathly still.
"Why are they moving so slowly? This is way too sluggish!"
A level 17 warrior player complained impatiently.
He raised the D-rank greatsword he had just gotten from the earlier waves and pointed it forward.
"Damn it, anyone who wants more EXP and gear, follow me!"
"Hack these slow turtles to death! Level up and get loot!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, that warrior player charged out first.
The crowd behind him, who had already been unable to hold back any longer, immediately rushed after him.
After going through the first two waves, they had long since started treating this mission like a welfare event!
However—
when the warrior player at the very front swung his greatsword at a giant wolf, the damage number that popped up left him completely dumbfounded.
[-30!]