Chapter 034: Battle of the Caravan

Dongfang Sijis' statement about not participating in battles is not a joke; he truly regards himself as an outsider.
In the afternoon, the merchant convoy entered the valley and soon encountered an attack from a pack of wolves. The captain of the guards, Datar, led the combat personnel and fought fiercely with the wolves.
Don't question why, knowing there are enemy caravans in the valley, they still charge right in.
In the Third Fantasy World, battles occur as frequently as everyday life.
Many times, even when you know there is danger ahead, you need to muster the courage to face it.
The seasoned members of long-distance caravans handle battles with ease, and even the seven or eight-year-old Kele tries his best to protect the cargo.
Dongfang Siqi watched the entire event from the sidelines.
Even when a member of the caravan was injured and fell back, he did not step forward to help, his indifferent gaze resembling that of a soulless machine.
The sounds of battle, wolf howls, roars, and cries filled the air, as Dongfang Siqi witnessed a clash between life and death unfold before his eyes.
战斗中护卫长达塔尔浴血奋战冲锋在队伍最前面，巨剑大开大合，看似笨重鲁莽的技巧却是最有效的对狼群造成杀伤力。
"Swordsmanship!"
Combat techniques distinguish from skills.
Skills refer to attacks that cause a certain qualitative change upon activation.
In the Third Fantasy World, having just skills is not enough; the real combat method for players is what is referred to as "basic attacks," or "normal strikes."
Players can learn various styles of "combat techniques," which is to say, swordsmanship, through different avenues.
For example, the basic sword techniques of the Divine Realm Church.
The popular Cross Sword Technique among the army of the Yosel Principality.
Alternatively, there's the Step Slash of the Warrior Guild, the Spirit Sword Strike of the Assassin Guild, and the Ranger Combat Technique of the Archer Guild, among others.
Different sword techniques grant players various actions; you can think of them as combo moves for normal attacks. Some might slash left and then right, while others perform a strike with each step, and some have steps so elusive that it's hard to defend against.
Among the various swordsmanship techniques, the ones players are most likely to encounter are basic swordsmanship and cross swordsmanship.
The two share similar movements, consisting of a slash, a hack, and a chop.
Players colloquially refer to it as the "Three Axes".
The caravan guard captain Datar uses a variant of the cross sword technique: the Imperial Crusade Technique.
Whether players or natives, the use of flat-swing moves or sword techniques largely indicates their affiliated faction.
The Imperial Crusader Swordsmanship was the signature swordsmanship of the Stark Empire in its heyday. After the empire's split and downfall, this swordsmanship was simplified into the Cross Swordsmanship that is now widely practiced in the armies of various principalities.
The swordsmanship of the original Empire's Crusaders is only inherited in a few noble families.
In other words.
The true identity of the merchant convoy's guard captain, Datal, is likely to be a knight under the command of a certain noble.
A noble knight has now become a smuggler!
What a big secret.
And secrets often represent missions.
If Dongfang Sijie has the leisure, he could indeed dig up quite a few benefits from Datar.
Unfortunately, don’t mention Datar, Uncle Cantona, who has more secrets, has suggested more than once that Eastern Four Seasons should accept his legacy, but Eastern Four Seasons has managed to deal with it.
The swordsmanship of the Imperial Crusaders is highly aesthetic, and every move by Datar carries a violent beauty, which is worlds apart from the childish fighting style that most players currently only know, which is simply hacking away indiscriminately.
If Dongfang Sij Seasons were to capture this scene of battle and submit it to the forum, they would surely earn a nice sum in clicks.
After watching for a while, Dongfang Sij's brows couldn't help but slightly furrow.
Something seems off!
The behavior of the wolf pack is a bit abnormal.
It's not strange to have wolf packs in the wild; it's expected that caravans passing through this hilly area might encounter trouble.
What’s odd is that the number of wolves attacking the caravan seems a bit excessive, and the pack's bloodthirstiness appears to be excessively stimulated, making them overly violent!
东方四季首先想到的是狼群中有上位“头狼”在指挥。
狼群里有头狼存在也正常。
东方四季很容易就在战场边缘找到了它的身影。
The size of a wolf pack and the fighting power it exhibits are largely influenced by its alpha wolf.
However, what's puzzling is that no matter how one looks at it, the alpha wolf seems nothing special; its size is only slightly larger than that of an ordinary wild wolf.
In Third Fantasy World, there is a common feature among wild monsters: the more powerful the monster, the larger its size tends to be. If you see a super-sized wolf beast that stands over ten meters tall, you shouldn't be surprised.
Since it is the lead wolf in the pack, its size must at least exceed that of its companions by two to three times, clearly displaying who is the king of the group just by standing there.
After searching a few rounds, Dongfang Sijie only saw this strange one, which was in the position of the lead wolf but completely lacked the aura of a leader.
Moreover, lacking the composure of the lead wolf, he couldn't hold back his agitation and let out a low growl, eager to charge out.
A flicker of mild surprise flashed in his eyes.
Noticing something was off, Dongfang Siqi chose not to alert Datar, but instead lowered her gaze and shrank back into the truck bed.
```htmlThe guiding principle of Eastern Four Seasons is always that it is better to do less than to do more.
Avoiding a certain chain reaction as much as possible.
Although...
It's impossible to completely avoid it anyway.
Sitting calmly in the truck bed, Eastern Four Seasons listened to the chaos of the battles around.```
The brave battles of the caravan members, Old Kler's command and coordination, and Datal's roars of anger intertwined to create a scene of orderly chaos.
Without needing the reminder from the Eastern Four Seasons, Datal also noticed the unusual wolf pack they were encountering. The captain of the guards ordered him to charge alone, attempting to execute a decapitation tactic by directly aiming for the head wolf.
With Datal leaving, the pressure on the caravan has increased significantly, and the cries of injured members have become more frequent, with Old Kelei's voice sounding angrier than before.
Time has passed a bit longer.
The four seasons in the East have begun to feel somewhat drowsy.
A sudden cheer erupted from the caravan, seemingly indicating that Datar had successfully killed the alpha wolf in the pack.
However, the cheer quickly turned into a wail, as the wolf pack, having lost its leader, did not retreat but instead became more frenzied, injuring several members of the caravan.
The corner of Dongfang Sijie's mouth lifted in a curve, an unexpectedly calm reaction.
This much time was sufficient for him to sort out his thoughts; controlling beasts was not a rare ability.
In this line, the elves' druids are the most typical representatives; they not only can control beasts but also have a way with plants.
Of course, this time targeting the old Krey merchant group is definitely not the elvish druids; on the human side, whether due to innate talent or divine endowment, there are also various kinds of abilities.
The battle between humans and the wolf pack lasted until night fell, with intermittent disturbances continuing after several major assaults from the wolves.
It was expected that the wolf pack, which would gain an advantage from the darkness, would launch another attack.
The result was unexpected.
The wolf pack's attack was abruptly subdued.
The entire battle lasted quite a while, but the actual number of wolves killed wasn't very high.
Aside from Datar, there weren't many fighters in the merchant group; after half a day of fighting, less than fifty wolves were killed.
It seems that there are quite a few, but judging from the scale of the wolf pack's gathering before, they should still have some strength left and can at least organize a few more full-scale attacks.
In contrast, the merchant caravan has everyone injured, with two seriously wounded individuals who clearly won't make it through the night. Even Datar was caught a few times.
The ending, so inexplicably abrupt, instead brought no sense of joy to everyone.
There is a heavy pressure on me, as if someone is watching.
……
"Knock, knock, knock..."
The four seasons of the East quietly open their eyes and look up.
The captain of the guards, Datal, stands by the carriage, his whole body smelling of iron rust, with a gloomy expression.
“What, is it over?” Dongfang Siji’s voice carried a lazy tone, as if he had just woken up.
Seeing this scene, the Guardian Captain’s expression darkened a few shades, his tone somewhat teasing: “I was worried that Mr. Reincarnation might have been scared; it seems I was overthinking it.”
“Ah, it's okay. We're the Celestials, we're pretty resilient; after dying a lot, you just get used to it,” said Dongfang Sìjì with a smile.
Datal's expression showed no reaction.
In the Third Fantasy World, the line between life and death is quite blurred.
Players can be resurrected, and many indigenous people also have revival methods.
Death is not terrifying, but only someone like Eastern Seasons, who can calmly say they have gotten used to death, has the qualification to do so.
“Mr. Reincarnation... still in the car?” Guessing that Datar was trying to ask how someone could sleep so soundly outside while the battle raged on, this guard captain thought for a moment and chose to rephrase the question.
“Hmm.” Dongfang Shijie propped himself up and sat up, adjusting to a more comfortable position, “It was a very intense battle; just watching it was beneficial for me. I really need to thank the Captain of the Guards.”
This isn't just Eastern Four Seasons being polite; although he hasn't actually fought, he has gained a lot of observational experience.
In the early stages, leveling up in Third Fantasy World is that easy.
Later...
Everyone just laughed it off.
Receiving the compliments from the Eastern Four Seasons, Datar didn't seem pleased.
The captain of the guards climbed onto the cart's axle, but his sudden movement tugged at his injuries, making him wince.
Datal and Dongfang Siqi sat side by side, observing the bustling caravan, but the atmosphere was somewhat silent, and the gaze of the head guard revealed a hint of melancholy.
"If the head guard has something to say, feel free to speak; I will do my best to help," Dongfang Siqi said.
Datar gave someone a glance.
At this moment, he generously said he would certainly do his best.
If Oriental Four Seasons had helped during the previous battle, his identity as a descender would have counted as a certain combat strength.
Anyway, he is a sky-born who isn’t afraid of death; charging in to attract the wolf pack's attention might not lead to such a terrible situation.
“Anke can’t hold on any longer!” Datar suddenly said.
“That scout?”
Dongfang Siji thought both of them were done for.
From Datarl's words, it seems the other guard who was most seriously injured in battle survived?
With such severe injuries, it's hard to believe he could recover without the life potion; Dongfang Siji didn't think this caravan had any other means.
Thinking back now, a battle that could be considered disastrous for Shangdu only resulted in two serious injuries; Old Kleit must have invested quite a few precious life potions.
Geez, this treatment can be called preferential; life potions are extremely valuable for both players and the natives.
However, players mostly use it as a consumable for high-tier games.
For the indigenous people, it is a life-saving potion.
Datal stared towards the eastern seasons: "Do you have the life potion? I mean the secret potion!"