nyslfriends Chapter 500 Attack
Chapter 500 Attack
Chapter 500 Attack
late at night.
Bright moonlight illuminated the brilliant starry sky, gently scattering down and casting a silvery veil over the undulating sea.
The tiny silhouettes of merchant ships lingered in the depths of the night. Amidst the soft patter of waves crashing against the rocks, an inconspicuous wooden boat quietly docked, leaving a long imprint on the soft sand.
Under the cover of night, Xia Nan and his group of five, including Iron Rock Shield, quietly arrived at Wildberry Cliff Island.
To minimize the possibility of their plan being discovered in advance, they not only scheduled their operation for the dead of night, in the early hours of the morning, but also took the disguised merchant ship they had used to arrive on and circled the island for a long time before arriving at the northwest direction of Wild Berry Cliff.
The terrain here is significantly higher than that on the southeast side of the island, and the shore is riddled with dangerous undercurrents and sharp reefs.
To some extent, it is a natural form of terrain protection.
The Tidebreakers and pirates obviously wouldn't deploy much security on this side of the island.
Xia Nan and his group were also taking advantage of the terrain to sneak in.
As for those jagged reefs and whirlpools and undercurrents... if the visitors are just ordinary fishermen, it could be extremely dangerous.
But when the small boat was carrying five seasoned adventurers who had already achieved their professional ranks, it was no big deal.
Xia Nan didn't even need to use his senses to remind her; the human ranger Sally, who was responsible for guiding the small boat, had already used her experience to avoid all the dangers along the shore and brought the boat to a safe stop on the beach.
They meticulously erased all traces left from their landing on the island and hid the small boat deep in a nearby cave for any eventuality. In the darkness, the group discussed their next plan.
"Tsk tsk, this pirate gang looks pretty big!"
The orc Howl lay sprawled on the ground, utterly devoid of any semblance of decorum, his slightly cloudy eyes gazing at the distant lights rising from the forest.
His captain, the heavily armored hill dwarf Habik, showed no surprise whatsoever, even through his barrel helmet.
"They have a deep connection with the Tide Receding Gang. Many of them were gangsters and henchmen in the Coke Bay, but after leaving the port, they became pirates. It's hard to tell the difference."
To establish and gain a foothold in the Southern Islands, especially in Barracuda Bay, one of the core towns, even a small, ubiquitous organization, requires an astonishing amount of resources.
In this situation, gangsters, or rather adventurers, naturally have to leverage their own advantages to earn some extra money by taking advantage of the vast and complex sea areas between the southern islands.
To some extent, the pirates that the group is about to face are practically the dirty hands of the Tide Receding Gang, responsible for their dirty work in the open sea.
They might even have the same leader.
While on a mission, with no time to explain to the orc, Habak, carrying his prism hammer in one hand, glanced at the ranger Sally beside him, who was wary of their surroundings, and said:
"So, any discoveries?"
Sally shook her head, her already sharp eyes appearing even more focused in the darkness.
"So far, our operation has gone smoothly, and there have been no unexpected situations."
"Next... we can get a little closer and start looking for where Oriel's goods are hidden."
The group's plan was progressing quite smoothly, so there was no need for any last-minute changes.
Xia Nan remained subtly isolated from decision-making and was not trusted by her teammates.
It doesn't really matter.
From the moment his feet left the small boat and stepped onto the land of Wild Berry Cliff, Xia Nan's extremely keen senses allowed him to vaguely sense a familiar aura in the air.
He couldn't be sure, but he secretly became more vigilant.
The group continued forward.
It is worth mentioning that, unlike the previous adventurer teams where the positioning was either to stay behind to protect the core of the team or to roam the flanks to adapt to changing circumstances, this is different.
After discussing with the Iron Rock Shield team, Xia Nan was assigned to a position at the front side of the team.
Half a body length behind the dwarf Habick, he stood side by side with the orc Howl, with Seri and the dwarf wanderer Agu behind him.
On the surface, there seemed to be no problem, but in reality, he felt as if he had been surrounded by several members of the Iron Rock Shield team.
Any unusual movement will be clearly visible to the other party.
Xia Nan could understand that this was a relatively safe stance taken by the others because they didn't trust him.
But at the same time, it was precisely because of their actions that he, surrounded by others, inevitably began to think about what to do in the worst-case scenario.
Well, we still need to deal with that wandering swordsman first.
Such experienced and composed ranged attackers would be troublesome to keep around; they need to be eliminated at the very beginning of the battle.
Fortunately, given the opponent's professional role, their margin for error is relatively low, and their decent agility and speed are completely inadequate compared to my [Fang Hunt].
Xia Nan was confident that he could cut off his opponent's head within three seconds of the battle starting.
Then there was Agu, the dwarf wanderer.
Although the other party is usually not very noticeable and rarely speaks, their actual level of danger is second only to the ranger Selene, and they also need to be dealt with first.
Xia Nan's perception attribute, which is in the double digits, is the nemesis of these low-level wanderers. If he seizes the opportunity and launches a surprise attack using [Gravity Control] and [Heavy Tide] before the opponent notices, he should be able to achieve good results.
After dealing with these two, the remaining dwarves and orcs, whose movements were relatively slow and whose fighting style was completely countered by Xia Nan, were almost no longer a threat.
He kept his mind focused on the task at hand, and pondered this in his heart.
Sally, who was lagging behind the group and keeping a close eye on Xia Nan's movements, felt a chill run down her spine. She felt the evening wind was icy cold and wondered what was going on.
From the perspective of the Iron Rock Shield squad, there was certainly nothing wrong with what they did.
On the other hand, perhaps... it's not a good thing to deepen Xia Nan's vigilance in this way.
……
……
It was late at night.
The firewood, wreathed in orange flames, crackled and popped intermittently, while the air was filled with the rustling of tree branches and the white noise of the tide crashing against the rocks.
Two pirate henchmen, dressed in standard leather armor but looking rather nonchalant, were guarding either side of a wooden door.
Through the crack in the door, one could vaguely glimpse the stairs leading underground behind the wooden door, which appeared to be a simple dungeon.
"Hahoo..."
The younger-looking henchman stretched lazily, causing the one-handed sword hanging at his waist to sway from side to side, making a soft sound as it collided with his armor.
It was the most tiring time of day, and coupled with spending the day drinking and playing with his colleagues without much rest, this henchman could barely keep his eyelids open.
Standing still, his body swayed as if he were about to fall asleep standing up at any moment.
"I really can't take it anymore. I'm going to find a place to rest for a while. You can cover for me for two hours. If anyone asks, just say I went to pee and then come back to wake me up."
Yawning incessantly, as if he couldn't hold on any longer, he rubbed his already red eyes hard and called out to his colleague beside him.
In contrast, the pirate henchman next to him, although he looked slightly more mature and had a full beard, was clearly not a kind person who could do this kind of work.
Seeing that his teammates wanted to rest and left the work to him alone, he immediately stopped working, and his voice rose slightly as well:
Why should I be the one to cover for you?
"You think I'm not sleepy? Unless..."
The bearded man gave a knowing smile, held up his hand, and showed the other man an "8". "Eight copper coins!?"
"Are you crazy for money?"
"If I were really willing to spend this much money, I would have had others take over tonight. Why would I have to hold on until now?"
Seeing his colleague's greed, the young man had no choice but to give up. He stood there and stretched his body a few times, as if trying to sober up, but he complained under his breath.
"If you really want to make money, you should go back to Suyu Bay."
"The Shark Gang offended some big shot before, and all the high-ranking members were killed. The gang is now using their territory to do things."
"If you can actually get approved, you can easily make a little extra money and live a carefree life."
Hearing him say that, the bearded man couldn't help but spit angrily on the ground next to him.
"You think I don't want to?"
"If I could stay in Suyu Bay, who would want to come to this godforsaken place where you can't even see a woman all day long?"
"The reason we can't go back is because we don't have any connections!"
His complaints seemed to strike a chord with his colleague, causing the young man's initial resentment towards the other person to dissipate somewhat, and he took the initiative to offer words of comfort:
"Dude, don't get too hung up on this."
“Look, even the boss himself didn’t stay in Suyu Bay. He came out with us. Judging from the gang’s recent activities, they might have some new business to do.”
When he mentioned the words "new business," he subconsciously glanced towards the wooden door, then quickly looked away.
"When the time comes, we'll follow the boss around. Even if we don't get any meat, we can at least get a couple of sips of soup."
Seeing the lingering resentment on the bearded man's face, the young man suddenly glanced around nervously, as if he were doing something wrong. Seeing that no one was around, he cautiously leaned forward, covered his mouth with his hand, and said mysteriously:
"Just last night, I went to the eldest brother's room to deliver some wine to him, and guess what I saw?"
Before the other person could reply, he couldn't contain his urge to speak, and with a hint of excitement on his face, he said urgently:
"It has several pairs of arms, its body is covered in scales, and it crawled out of the sea..."
The bearded man's attention was clearly drawn to the secrets revealed by the young man, and he became completely absorbed.
But just as the other party was about to get to the most crucial point...
It was extremely abrupt.
Behind the young man, in the depths of the night, a blurry black shadow seemed to flash by.
His fluent speech abruptly stopped, and the wonderful expression on his face seemed to have been paused.
He froze for a moment, then frowned and twisted.
Time was too short; the bearded man hadn't even realized what had happened.
next second.
"Sizzle."
Hot, foul-smelling blood splattered onto his face as the sharp tip of a short dagger, gleaming coldly, pierced through the young man's chest.
Pupils suddenly contracted!
The bearded man's expression also froze, and his originally tightly closed mouth involuntarily opened, a warning shout about to come out of his throat.
But just as the sound was about to burst from his mouth, a calloused hand emerged from the darkness behind him and firmly covered his open mouth.
The roar, which was originally filled with shock and anger, turned into a panicked and helpless "uh-uh" sound.
laugh--
The edge of the blade swept across the neck, severing the bearded man's throat.
The intense pain and his survival instinct made him instinctively reach up with both hands to pull away the arms covering his mouth.
It appears slender, yet it is as solid and unshakeable as an iron hoop.
One second, two seconds...
The breath of life was quickly lost along with the gushing blood from his neck.
The bearded man twitched twice in a final burst of energy, his eyes went unfocused, and his body was silently laid back on the ground.
She casually wiped the blood off the blade on his clothes, nodded to Agu, the dwarf wanderer who had also dealt with the young pirate, and then fastened the short sword back to her waist.
At the same time, Xia Nan, Habik, and Haoge emerged from the nearby bushes and approached the two.
This place is located on the edge of the entire pirate base and is not a particularly important location, as can be seen from the fact that only two henchmen are stationed here.
There are many similar small campsites throughout the island.
"Captain, it's my problem."
Seeing Habike approaching, Sally immediately took the initiative to admit her mistake.
According to the original plan, the bearded pirate she had just killed was actually supposed to be kept alive to interrogate her about the situation on the island.
The other party's reaction was too strong, and Sally was afraid that the noise he made would attract the attention of others, so she took action and completely severed his neck.
"It's nothing, we can catch another one later."
Habik said casually, but his gaze had already passed over the two corpses on the ground and was fixed on the wooden door they were guarding.
They had been observing the area around the pirate stronghold for some time and found that there were many similar setups, with almost every small camp garrisoned by two or three henchmen.
This piqued the dwarves' curiosity.
Thinking it over, he waved to his teammates beside him and headed towards the door.
No lock-picking skills are required.
The wooden door wasn't very sturdy to begin with, but when the orc grabbed the edge of the door and pulled hard, it was torn open like paper.
The earthen steps leading underground are exposed.
"This is……"
The dwarf's expression showed some surprise.
At the same time, Xia Nan, who was in the group, also carefully observed the environment behind the door.
The mud and stone steps lead underground, but the walls on both sides still bear the marks of shovels and chisels. The damp mud is filled with gravel and tree roots, making it very rudimentary and clearly indicating that it was only recently dug and built.
A distinct stench emanated from the air, accompanied by faint human voices emanating from deep within.
"Perhaps... it's a dungeon?"
(End of this chapter)