Wang Zhifan had just finished refuting the young man in the suit when a faint cry for help from a man suddenly sounded nearby.
"Help me... help me..."
The few of them were instantly startled and turned their heads in the direction of the voice, discovering that the cry for help seemed to be coming from the roof where the overcoat man was lying!
"How did he suddenly come back to life?!"
The long-haired woman in black, who was a Priest class, was the most surprised. She had just pronounced the overcoat man dead, and this development was quite unexpected.
However, she didn’t dwell on it too long and immediately dashed towards the roof. With a running start, she leapt and grabbed onto the eaves, flipping herself onto the roof to reach the side of the overcoat man lying there.
Upon inspection, she realized that the overcoat man indeed had revived, but his injuries were severe. His face was as pale as paper, likely with multiple fractures, rendering him completely immobile. His eyes were slightly open, trying hard to call for help.
"Stop shouting, save your energy."
The long-haired woman advised the man on the roof while waving a fan in her hand, casting a Healing Skill on him.
Strands of faint golden light formed by ancient text flowed from her fan, quickly enveloping the man on the roof. Under the magical glow, his condition visibly began to improve; within seconds, the pallor of his face returned to normal, and a few seconds later, he managed to sit up on his own.
"Hao! You scared me to death! I almost thought you were a goner!"
As the man in the overcoat sat up, the young man in the suit, who had watched the Priest’s healing process from the ground, shouted up to him with visible relief in his voice.
"Well... I was practically dead earlier. I was knocked unconscious and triggered a feigned death skill. Luckily, I regained consciousness quickly, and the Priest was right there."
Sitting on the roof, the overcoat man explained his earlier condition. It wasn’t a misjudgment of his life status by the Priest; rather, he had triggered a death-like camouflage state.
"By the way, is the BOSS dead?"
The overcoat man then asked the young man in the suit about something he was particularly concerned about.
"He said he killed the BOSS."
The young man in the suit glanced at Wang Zhifan standing nearby and replied with irritation.
But at this point, the overcoat man’s face was quite calm towards Wang Zhifan below, even offering a slight smile.
"Warrior brother, we’ll need you for the next stage. Although I’m out of immediate danger, I don’t have much strength left... I don’t even know where my sniper rifle is."
The overcoat man attempted to stand to search for his weapon, but the female Priest player immediately stopped him.
"Try to move as little as possible; my healing can’t completely fix you. You’ll need a perfect restoration after clearing the level to fully recover. As for your sniper rifle, I don’t see it around here."
Wang Zhifan nodded slightly in understanding and replied:
"In that case, just hide up there for now. We’ll handle the remaining bandits."
After saying this, he glanced around, puzzled:
"But where is the Assassin teammate? I’ve only seen him once so far."
If there was one teammate Wang Zhifan was most dissatisfied with, it was the Assassin player with the smiley mask. The Assassin was absent during the fight against the elite and regular bandits, only showing up briefly during the BOSS fight, and now seemed to have vanished into thin air.
"God knows what that guy is up to, likely hiding somewhere slacking off, taking advantage of his class skills."
The young man in the suit agreed with Wang Zhifan; he too had contributed significantly during the battle, having seen the efforts of Wang Zhifan, the overcoat man, and the long-haired woman, but not a trace of the stealthy Assassin since the battle began.
The conversation was interrupted by a sudden clamor coming from the main camp gate.
"Charge!"
"Kill everyone in Qingping Stockade!"
"Kill, kill, kill!"
...
It was clear that the ordinary bandits had slaughtered the stockade’s defenders and were closing in.
"Everyone, let’s move; I’ll provide buffs and healing. We have a chance to kill them all."
The long-haired woman jumped down from the roof to join Wang Zhifan and the young man in the suit, urging them on.
"Sure, let’s go; dealing with them will only take some time."
Wang Zhifan was more confident than the long-haired woman, understanding that the ordinary bandits were only marginally stronger than regular people, and even with just two hundred, he was sure he could handle them himself, albeit at the cost of some time and energy.
"Just make sure to kill as many as you can; my bullets are running low and might not be enough."
The young man in the suit furrowed his brow, checking his rifle’s magazine as he glanced at the approaching bandits.
The three of them swiftly dashed along the gravel path towards the two hundred approaching bandits.
The young man with the rifle led the charge, taking down most of the front-line bandits with his firearm before pulling back to reload.
With several speed and damage-increasing buffs applied by the long-haired woman, Wang Zhifan charged with the Wolf-Slaying Blade into the bandits like a tiger among sheep, unleashing a deadly assault.
He displayed extraordinary strength, moving with such speed that he was a blur, clearing paths through the bandits as if he were a high-speed lawnmower, leaving severed necks and bodies in halves in his wake. His efficiency rivaled that of the young man’s rifle spray.
While Wang Zhifan and the others fought hard to clear the level, the overcoat man sat atop the roof, peering at the emptiness around him with a disgruntled expression, suddenly calling out:
"Give back my sniper rifle!"