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

As expected, the judgment that equipment could be obtained through Monster Hunter was correct.

These are magically enhanced mutant byproduct weapons that can effectively shatter the hard armor of enemies, even when used by ordinary soldiers.

Their arrows pierced straight through the bodies of the approaching giant ants, and the soldiers who had been keeping their distance while firing immediately charged forward and engaged in hand-to-hand combat the moment their arrows ran out.

Those who lack experience will inevitably feel unfamiliar with the game, as they have mostly engaged in battles on horseback.

However, riding a horse can be disadvantageous when facing monsters that resemble giant insects, such as the Corruptor and the Malfunction.

Therefore, they dismounted and lined up in formation to meet the enemy as infantry.

Although some people had their shields and weapons caught in the sharp, powerful jaws, when the monster bit one person, the others immediately used their spears to pierce the monster's throat from the side.

"Fortunately, they didn't continue their attack."

Although there were several casualties, our army ultimately succeeded in suppressing the enemy.

The warriors, equipped with hunter weapons, actively used their skills and equipment to kill the ant that appeared to be the leader through encirclement tactics. The remaining monsters were also annihilated after the soldiers fought fiercely with gritted teeth.

The tension eased slightly, but I still dared not let my guard down.

After all, the enemy might launch a third or fourth wave of attacks.

However, even as time passed, a new invasion did not begin.

"..."

Shocked by the unexpected scale of the battle, Attila arrived too late with reinforcements.

He wore an embarrassed and guilty expression on his face for failing to provide timely support, but Lauren, who had successfully led the troops to complete the defense, shook his head and said it was nothing to worry about.

It's understandable that I'd be worried.

Looking at Attila's stiff face, Lin Miao roughly guessed what he was thinking.

Although the enemy was successfully annihilated, the impact of their repeated attacks should not be underestimated.

Regardless of the enemy's strength, if their numbers continue to increase, the war will inevitably turn into a war of attrition.

This is definitely not good news for us. Unless we can continuously recruit new residents from the outside, it's simply impossible to wage a war of attrition against those monsters of unknown origin.

No, judging from the frantic rate at which they multiply in the recently wiped-out nests, a war of attrition is a situation that must be avoided under any circumstances.

"No way, not again!?"

And that's not all. Things have come to this point and can no longer be explained by coincidence.

Just as they finished dealing with the second wave of attackers, the third wave immediately followed.

With the addition of reinforcements, our forces now exceed one hundred, which should be more than enough to deal with a small group of a dozen or so.

But both the residents on the screen and Lin Miao knew perfectly well that this was far from the end.

Their numbers will definitely continue to increase, and the enemy will become stronger. We must resolve this as soon as possible if there is a way.

[Li Sushang: You mean the enemy is invading from the same direction repeatedly?]

"Their attack patterns are becoming more diverse. They could be regular invasions through rifts, or they could devour local forces and then establish their nests. We need to be prepared to defend against them."

After successfully repelling the third wave of the insect swarm's attack, Lin Miao informed Li Sushang of this information.

Sharing intelligence with her is of great benefit to our current investigation into the malfunctioning entities of our main enemy.

From sporadic, small-scale raids, to hordes of enemies emerging if not eliminated in time, and now to wave-like, continuous attacks.

Attack methods targeting players are becoming increasingly sophisticated and diverse, forcing even Lin Miao to be distracted by these changes.

[Li Sushang: I just conquered a Zerg hive...]

"It might not be long before a monster horde appears there too."

After communicating with Li Sushang, whose progress was slightly slower than hers, Lin Miao was able to roughly figure out the pattern.

The fact that leaked faulty entities attacked locals to build nests may be accidental, but the distribution of the faulty entity nests that need to be conquered clearly shows a certain fixed pattern.

"I just thought I could finally catch my breath..."

After ending her chat with Li Sushang, Lin Miao hurriedly logged into the game.

It was assumed that the local residents had performed admirably in their fight against competing forces, and that they could relax a little—but this idea was far from correct.

We need to speed things up.

After logging into Lillie's Dark Souls game, Lin Miao gave her a thumbs-up in response to her greeting and then started controlling her character.

Judging from the unusual behavior of the malfunctioning components, they probably need more assistance from games and programs.

To balance all of those, you must first complete the current game.

The only saving grace is that as Lillie grows, her physical strength is also increasing rapidly.

Facing the howling, charging vengeful spirit, she drew her sword and unleashed her skill.

A flash of cold light, and the frost wraiths, who were just grunts, were instantly cleaved in two and fell to the ground.

Even with this fighting stance, her fatigue level, as shown on the status bar, hardly decreased.

She seems capable of fighting all day long if she wants to.

◆◆◆

"What happened outside?"

They were kindred spirits. Having spent so much time with Lin Miao, Lillie's perception and observation skills improved rapidly.

Especially because of the long time they spent together, her ability to interpret Lin Miao's actions and infer his intentions far surpassed that of any other resident.

In her view, Lin Miao was absent-minded once again.

There's only one reason: something must have happened outside.

However, if it were a really big deal, they would definitely send her, the strongest warrior, to fight, so Lillie was concerned but not too worried.

"Tsk, here we go again."

On the way to the frozen fortress, the enemy attacked again.

Previously a farmer who had turned into a vengeful spirit, he has now become a frost-covered vengeful spirit transformed from an armed soldier, his eyes gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light.

Lin Miao was the first to raise her staff and cast a spell, firing a fireball wrapped in ice to crush the enemy.

Taking advantage of the moment, Lillie burst into the enemy ranks, her golden holy sword gleaming as she swung it down, cleaving the enemy's body in two.

The divine power that awakened within her completely purified and dispelled the power of the vengeful spirits.

"The heroes who have inherited the will of the gods have finally arrived."

A figure was slowly walking towards them.

"Who are you?"

Seeing the opponent's translucent body with shattered armor and a damaged head, Lillie couldn't help but shudder.

But when she turned to look at him, she found that Lin Miao didn't seem to care at all about the suddenly appearing ghost.

"He's just a restless, vengeful spirit."

Witnessing this, Lillie quickly regained her composure.

Since Lin Miao remained silent, it meant that she already knew about this matter.

"A beautiful female knight favored by the gods. Demons roam ahead; did you come knowing this?"

At that moment, Lillie straightened her back and answered without hesitation, "Exactly."

Since she was summoned to this world to gain unimaginable power, she must pay a price. Her mission is to defeat the demon lords who are the final bosses of the game.

This isn't difficult at all, since we've already solved it twice.

"It seems you only know one side of the story. It is indeed a demon, but it is a genuine, undeniable entity."

"What does that mean...?"

The vengeful spirit sneered at her answer, then revealed a terrifying expression and began to tremble violently.

Lillie, who thought she understood demons, was shaken by the word "genuine".

Lillie instinctively looked at Lin Miao, only to find that even he, who had been calmly listening to the other person, now had a slightly strange expression.

As if startled, Lin Miao suddenly took a step toward the vengeful spirit, assuming a gesture as if to strike up a conversation.

"Be careful of your body; perhaps even divine power is powerless against that darkness..."

After the vengeful spirit finished speaking, it gradually became blurred and eventually disappeared without a trace.

Lillie stood silently, watching Lin Miao, who remained motionless and frozen.

Something's wrong; something must have gone wrong earlier in the game.

In reality, Lin Miao, sitting in front of the screen, was sweating profusely, her fingers hovering over the keyboard, unable to press any keys.

Logically, the NPCs we just encountered shouldn't have disappeared like this. After all the quests were completed, and as the frost on the fortress dissipated, they should have been given a proper send-off.

The deviation in the game's plot made Lin Miao suspect that there was some kind of variable ahead.

"Bug?"

The only thing we need to decide right now is whether to continue, regardless of whether it's true or false.

"Those cunning bastards."

Lin Miao let out a self-deprecating sneer in the room.

If you stop here due to concerns, Lillie's growth points and the game will become unusable.

If the enemy deliberately infiltrated the game to target this point, it's a truly insidious yet efficient strategy, since players can't become stronger if they leave the game.

"Please believe me. No matter what lies ahead, I will win."

Lillie spoke cautiously to Lin Miao, though of course her voice couldn't penetrate the monitor.

"You're asking for my trust, aren't you?"

But seeing her looking directly into his eyes, Lin Miao finally put her hands back on the keyboard.

The boss of Chapter 3 is undoubtedly the demon lord who corrupted the fortress's master.

This creature possessed the body of a border Count, attempting to bring its true form to this place.

But what if this plan goes wrong?

"These guys..."

Lin Miao led Lillie forward, and couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the towering fortress in front of him.

Although the enemy was densely packed in front of the fortress, their appearance was quite different from that in the strategy video being played nearby.

"!"

Lillie, like Lin Miao, showed a shocked expression.

She stared wide-eyed at Lin Miao, then pointed in a certain direction.

Because in the direction she pointed, monsters covered in black, tumor-like egg sacs appeared.

Some of them don't even stay at the egg stage; their bodies are wriggling with larval-like monsters.

Parasites, that's all Lin Miao could think of when she saw this scene.

The creatures, entirely black and with smooth surfaces, emerged halfway from the monster's body, looking exactly like the insect-like monsters that had just attacked the residents.

"Fighting is the only option left."

Lin Miao placed her hands on the keyboard with a solemn expression.

The only option right now is to fight. If you run away, you'll be unable to continue the game from this moment on.

"The only saving grace is that this is a game world, and I can control my character to unleash skills and beat those bastards to a pulp."

Unlike breaking the screen, which only provides limited help, this time he can dominate the battle.

"..."

Seemingly sensing his thoughts, Lillie gave a knowing smile.

Even if Lin Miao makes mistakes, as an excellent warrior, she will still win the battle.

Anyone who has witnessed her fighting stance will believe it without a doubt.

"Let's go."

Lin Miao controlled her game character, who was holding a staff, and rushed out first, with Lillie close behind.

Upon spotting the two, the enemy immediately pounced on them with hostility.

Although there is a game system here, it is still the real world, so don't expect any forced stun or knockback effects.

Lin Miao estimated the distance and suddenly stopped, activating her skill in an instant.

Scorching flames erupted, dispelling the biting cold.

Those guys ignored the burning body and continued to approach.

Is it due to a faulty component?

Even vengeful spirits wouldn't normally be this crazy.

These are the creatures that should be feeling pain and screaming.

"But these guys won't fall down until their bodies are completely burned to a crisp, just like real zombies. They keep getting closer with their obsession to kill us. They look exactly like those malfunctioning creatures that make you wonder if they are even alive."

"Then let's shoot until we die."

Lin Miao retreated while frantically unleashing her skills.

To be precise, for his character, there is no concept of fatigue. As long as he keeps drinking potions, he can keep attacking until he dies.

"..."

Even Lillie, who usually rushes in first to cut through everything, seems to have understood Lin Miao's intention. Instead of attacking first, she steadily maintains her distance and guards him.

This is a common tactic used in games to lure enemies. It exploits the tendency of enemies to charge blindly, and it can still be perfectly replicated today.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that the monsters, who had finally managed to escape the stupid AI, were parasitized and controlled by the malfunctioning entity, which in turn exposed the unique characteristics of this AI.

"feasible."

Lin Miao, who was completely absorbed in the game, slightly curled the corners of her mouth and continued to retreat and bombard them with magic, but they took the initiative to gather around and take the hits.

"Now."

When the number of enemies reduced in this way is significantly decreased, it's time for our side to counterattack.

Before Lin Miao could speak, Lillie seized the opportunity and rushed forward like lightning, slashing her sword in two as the onrushing enemies surged forward.

The swordsmanship, so different from the game characters, is simple and practical, yet each swing is full of power. Not only the ghosts, but also the malfunctioning entities parasitizing them, are killed by this one blow.

Several parasites struggled to emerge from the Frost Spirit soldier's body and lunged at her, but Lillie either parried with her sword or spread her golden-glowing hands to grab the writhing parasites and crush them.

"If even the grunts are this weak, what about the boss?"

Lin Miao watched as Lillie cleaved the last remaining enemy in two, then looked toward the fortress where a large number of enemies still lingered.

Lin Miao already knew the nature of the third chapter's BOSS. Since all its subordinates had been killed by the malfunctioning entity, that guy would definitely not stand idly by.

In other words, that guy was either in cahoots with the malfunctioning entity, or he was killed by the malfunctioning entity a long time ago.

While Lin Miao was deep in thought, Lillie, having adjusted her breathing, nudged his character, clearly indicating that she wanted to continue clearing out the remaining enemies.

As Lin Miao stepped over the countless scattered corpses on the ground and walked forward, she immediately followed.

At this rate, we should be able to clear out all the enemies near the fortress today.