Strategy game? Then I'll have to control you properly.

On the other side, within the raiders' territory.

The raider leader asked in a deep voice, "Still not back?"

The subordinate who came to report bowed hurriedly, his voice tinged with fear as he replied, "Yes, yes! All the other squads have returned to camp with their spoils, but El's squad is the only one that hasn't returned yet, and hasn't sent back a single message."

The raider leader stroked his thick, stiff beard, his brow furrowed, and uttered two words in a low voice: "Strange."

El was one of his most elite troops, a veteran of countless battles and ruthless in his methods. There was no way he couldn't capture a small group of fleeing tribal remnants. The raider leader had never even considered the possibility that his most trusted warriors might be killed by those stray dogs.

The deputy beside him hesitated before guessing, "Could it be that something went wrong during the escort of the prisoners, causing the delay?"

The raider leader shook his head and said in a deep voice, "It's not impossible that monsters roam that area. But even so, a reliable person should be sent back to report."

As soon as he finished speaking, the raider leader stood up and paced back and forth in the simple stone house.

To be frank, the loss of contact with a small squad is hardly a big deal on this dog-eat-dog grassland. After all, he is now the chieftain of a large tribe commanding hundreds of warriors.

He stepped out of his dwelling and saw a village that had expanded several times over compared to his father's time. This was all the wealth he had accumulated over the years by conquering and annexing the surrounding tribes.

The raider leader clenched his fists, his eyes blazing with undisguised greed and ambition. He growled inwardly: Not enough. To devour the surrounding forces, I need greater power, more warriors!

Even though the tribe's size had long surpassed the foundation laid by their ancestors, he still felt it was far from enough. This was both a deep-seated greed and the only law of survival in this land: in a world where the strong prey on the weak, if you didn't want to be devoured, you could only become the most ruthless predator.

The raider chieftain returned to the stone house, spread out the animal hide map, and once again laid out the blueprint for the war of plunder in his mind: the warriors of the tribe were looking forward to new spoils, and the tribe had basically stabilized; it was time to make another move.

To the west, north, and south are tribes and kingdoms stronger than us, so we can only move east. We'll begin our clearing operation around the area that was attacked last time.

This tribe, which expanded rapidly through plunder, had long since reached the point where it would collapse from within if it stopped plundering.

Moreover, the desperados he recruited only cared about spoils of war, and only endless battles could keep these hungry wolves at bay.

◆◆◆

In every corner of this vast grassland, the same tragedy unfolds day and night.

With safe havens becoming increasingly scarce, the weak, unwilling to be swallowed up, have no choice but to leave their homes and flee to more desolate and remote dead zones.

One of the soldiers in the reconnaissance team reined in his horse, pointed to a staggering figure in the distance, and shouted to his comrades, "Look over there! Could they be refugees?"

The reconnaissance team leader looked in the direction he was pointing and said calmly, "It's them. They've already discovered us."

The scout team, sent out of the village on Attila's orders, immediately spurred their horses to approach.

The refugees, seeing the sudden appearance of this group of soldiers clad in iron armor and wielding fine weapons, were too terrified to run away. They knelt down in unison, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

The reconnaissance team leader reined in his galloping horse and addressed the kneeling refugees in a deep voice, "Calm down, everyone. We won't hurt you." Then, his tone shifted, and he asked, "Where did you come from?"

The leader of the refugees trembled violently, his head bowed low, and replied in a tearful voice, "We...we are a tribe from near the Kaz Mountains...We don't know where this is; we just desperately fled here to escape our pursuers..."

The refugees had long since given up struggling, only daring to lower their heads, hoping that the people before them would spare their lives. The scouts, who were also refugees, obeyed Attila's orders without the slightest mistreatment, and led these desperate people back to their village.

That evening, Attila relayed the refugees' testimonies to Lillie verbatim, and said in a deep voice, "The war between the tribes shows no signs of abating. Today, the scouts went further afield and found these seven people; they are all refugees who have fled their homes."

Lillie gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, her eyes showing no fear, only an increasingly resolute will. She replied in a low voice, "...Sooner or later, those guys will come here."

These words, filled with fear and despair, did not deter her; instead, they strengthened her resolve.

She knew better than anyone that suffering would eventually return, and she had to gather enough strength before that day came.

As Lillie carefully adjusted her armor, she silently vowed in her heart: Today, I will finally go to that castle. She was absolutely certain that the great guardian deity would summon her today.

This belief quickly became a reality.

As if waiting for her to be ready, just as her fingertips fastened the clasp of her breastplate, a familiar and irresistible pulling force gripped her.

The wind howled in her ears, and she instinctively closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she found herself in a completely unfamiliar, cold place, no longer the bustling village.

This is the save point where she left yesterday, the very spot where she stopped her journey before entering the ruined village, and that figure was already waiting there as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Lin Miao looked at her, who had just regained her footing and was still somewhat flustered. She controlled her game character to raise her hand and wave it. This was a preset emotional expression action in the game, which could be considered as a greeting.

Lillie was stunned for a moment, and it took her a while to realize that this was a greeting from Him. She was a little dazed, awkwardly raised her hand and waved, and said softly, "Ah, hello?"

Aside from the game's preset actions, Lin Miao had no other way to communicate. He simply stood there quietly watching her, yet inexplicably felt a strange sense of pleasure from this girl who was imitating his greeting.

After a brief greeting, Lin Miao raised his hand and brandished his sword, pointing towards the depths of the village shrouded in mist, or more precisely, towards the towering castle that reached into the sky in the distance.

Having already prepared herself, Lillie immediately drew her sword from her waist. It was no longer the rough iron sword she had used before, but the steel sword she had received as a reward after completing the tutorial, along with the combat technique called "Power Strike".

The sword Lin Miao was pointing at the village was also an identical steel sword; the reward for completing the tutorial was a pair of swords.

The two of them walked heavily into the village together.

This is a place where you can't see a single person, and even the sounds of birds, beasts, and insects have vanished. Thick fog carries a putrid stench, making it so eerie that it sends chills down your spine.

For Lillie, who grew up in a grassland tribe, the villages and castles built of bricks and stones should have been a sight to behold, imbued with exotic mystery and transcending any eerie atmosphere. But reality gave her no time to leisurely appreciate them.

Watching the rotting, ghostly soldiers roar and charge out from behind the dilapidated wooden door, Lillie gripped her steel sword tightly, gritting her teeth and muttering, "Those guys again?!"

The murky eyes of those wandering ghost soldiers were fixed on the two living beings.

Lillie gritted her teeth, drew her sword, and charged into the battle alongside Lin Miao, who was already naturally in a fighting stance.

Her mindset was completely different from when she first encountered these monsters. Even though they were still the most terrifying monsters she had ever seen, now they were nothing more than annoying minions in her eyes. This confidence stemmed from the real power she held in her hands.

As she dodged the enemy's thrusting spear, Lillie's magical power surged within her the instant she swung her sword.

That was no longer just simple physical enhancement, but a violent power about to erupt.

Her sword, wreathed in dazzling golden light, traced an arc and swept out with a fierce shockwave. The wandering soldier who tried to block with his wooden shield was cut in two, shield and all.

Combat skills, which are inherently designed to grant players power beyond reality, have unleashed even more astonishing power in her hands.

However, this confidence in cutting down several attackers with a single strike did not last long.

When Lillie saw dozens of wandering spirits emerging from the ruins all around, her face turned deathly pale.

Just then, Lin Miao, who had been fighting alongside her, turned around without hesitation and rushed into the alley next to her.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lillie immediately drew her sword and followed, retreating together.

◆◆◆

Lin Miao knew that turning left here would lead to the optimal route. Ultimately, the game had a fixed optimal route, and even though the system was distorted due to Lillie's presence, this core route remained intact.

As he watched the strategy guide progress steadily, he slayed the endless stream of enemies to clear the way, while precisely searching for an escape route.

Although Lillie, equipped with combat skills, possessed considerable fighting prowess and wouldn't have faced much difficulty in a direct confrontation, Lin Miao had already confirmed that she simply couldn't withstand prolonged, high-intensity combat. Besides, this was a point in the story where escape was inevitable, so there was no need to act recklessly.

Following the top-ranked guide on the forum, even in this intricate medieval town, he was able to easily find the stone house that served as both a save point and a safe haven.

Before long, the heavy stone door came into view, revealing a sturdy building resembling a church.

Lin Miao pushed open the door without hesitation and went inside, first confirming the passage leading to the depths inside.

When Lillie rushed in, he immediately blocked the door with the wooden bolt behind it.

Almost simultaneously, as a reward for reaching the safe zone, a brand new Elemental Bottle was automatically added to his inventory.

Lillie, who had just leaned against the wall to catch her breath, heard a series of bangings and screams coming from outside the door. Startled, she instinctively covered her mouth, her voice filled with barely concealed panic: "...What's going on?"

Even though Lin Miao knew this was a safe zone set up by the game and that monsters couldn't get in, to Lillie, those roaring monsters were real, and every impact outside the door was tugging at her nerves.

Having already memorized the locations of the props, Lin Miao headed straight to the second floor of the church and found the key prop, the "Cleric's Diary," in a hidden room.

It was a small booklet, about the size of a palm, with text translated by the system, recording in the first person how the village was gradually devoured by the curse of immortality and eroded by the abyss.

To be honest, the game's plot was never within Lin Miao's scope of concern; to him, it was just a clichéd dark fantasy setting.

He just wanted to advance the story as quickly as possible, so that Lillie could gain more experience, better equipment, and stronger skills. Therefore, he had no intention of touching the side quests scattered throughout the village.

But when he collected all the props and walked out of the small room, he suddenly realized that his idea might be wrong.

Noticing his gaze, Lillie hurriedly forced an awkward smile and quickly turned away.

Lin Miao looked in the direction she had been staring at and saw the bodies of a mother and child lying on the ground outside the window.

Even though they had been dead for a long time, due to the immortality curse that spread throughout the village, the two corpses remained perfectly preserved in the way they had embraced before they died.

It wasn't just these two bodies. The entire village, and even the castle behind it, was filled with such remains.

Lin Miao knew better than anyone that as the story progressed, these remains would also turn into immortal monsters and pounce on the players.

Just yesterday, he saw her troubles in a system notification.

Lillie yearns for revenge.

She desires revenge against the rival tribe that murdered her mother, friends, teacher, and companions, and for this, she craves greater power.

At this moment, Lin Miao could finally truly imagine what the girl was feeling as she looked at the scene before her. He still remembered Lillie's helpless expression when she first spoke to the dying NPC knight yesterday.

To Lin Miao, everything here was nothing more than a string of code on a monitor, a game.

But for Lillie, the blood, death, and despair here are all realities that are within reach.

Lin Miao sighed softly to herself, raised her hand to signal Lillie, and took the lead, silently gesturing for her to follow.

Right now, we need to move the plot forward first.

Their goal was to be fully prepared to enter the castle, which was full of enemies and even occupied by a powerful boss.

Going underground now is to avoid the surging tide of wandering spirits outside, and also to prepare for the fierce battle to come.

The two followed the steps below the church and entered the cold, damp underground passage.

They had only taken a few steps when a flickering light appeared in the darkness at the end of the passage.

Accompanied by a low, murky roar, a monstrous creature, its body twisted and holding a torch, slowly emerged from the shadows.

Those were torch spirits, stronger than ordinary spirits, and the first enemies they encountered after entering the underground.