Rein faintly understood Weilun's plan.
Murlocs bully the weak and fear the strong, refraining from attacking robust humans if only a few of them are present, but upon seeing frail women and children, they immediately howl and, brandishing their weapons, commence the hunt.
Therefore, Weilun intended to use the lean Matteo as bait to lure out the murlocs from their tribe and then encircle and kill them.
Rein nodded, a very prudent scheme, allowing for an immediate retreat should any contingency arise.
Wouldn't it work to just attack the murloc tribe directly?
It's not that it wouldn't work, but that it would be pointless!
When murlocs encounter insurmountable enemies or danger, they will immediately dive into nearby waters, either to gather more murlocs for a counterattack or hide in the water until the formidable enemies leave.
Therefore, if they can't annihilate a large number of murlocs in one go, considering their extremely high reproductive rate, the waters will soon be teeming with murlocs again!
"Let's go, let's take out these few murlocs first!" Weilun was pleased with Rein's amiable attitude, turned to speak with the other Night Watchmen, and began to stealthily approach the murlocs.
However, after only a few steps, Weilun turned his head to Rein and said, "You know... Rein, you can rest for a while, we can handle these murlocs with just our bows and arrows."
After saying this, Weilun also took down the bow and arrows from his back and gestured.
This made Rein pause; he glanced at the other Night Watchmen and instantly understood, scratching his head and smiling, "Alright, Captain Weilun, then I'll support you from the rear."
He had come with only the dual-handed greatsword wrapped in sheepskin, having brought no bow and arrows at all.
It wasn't really about Rein being lazy, but because, with his LV2 basic archery, it was a bit embarrassing to show off.
Weilun was aware of this too, hence he didn't remind Rein before they set off.
Of course, the main reason was that Rein wouldn't consider wasting precious Skill Points on basic archery skills in the short term.
Thus, Rein was left alone at the back, watching ten elite Night Watchmen slowly advance in a semi-encirclement formation. Once they reached shooting distance, they notched their bows and took aim.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
After a flurry of arrows whistled through the air,
the four murlocs fell to the ground!
Rein's eyes brightened; he finally realized why Lord Hamilton had sent the Night Watchmen instead of the peace officers and guards from Flashgold Town.
The archery skills of the Night Watchmen were generally a notch above those of the others.
They were indeed perfectly suited for battling the murlocs.
Rein stepped forward and began to carefully examine these humanoid creatures that Captain Weilun considered not very intelligent.
These murlocs were about one and a half meters in length, covered with fine and slippery scales, seemingly having decent defensive power.
They had bulbous eyes protruding from their fish heads and large mouths filled with sharp teeth, from which a foul stench emanated.
Both hands and feet had webs, and they held a variety of poor-quality weapons, primarily shoddy fish spears, greatswords, and short spears; none wielded short bows, and their equipment was quite crude.
Rein even went so far as to poke the other side with the hilt of a sword. Sure enough, the layer of scales on the murloc's surface had protection akin to a single layer of leather armor.
Of course, if he were to strike with the fine steel greatsword in his hand, the difference with or without that layer of scales would be nonexistent.
"Rein, this is the distinctive mark of the Sinfin Murlocs; look!"
Captain Weilun flipped over one of the dead murlocs, revealing a long dorsal fin that ran down the center of the murloc's back. The fin, peppered with occasional sharp spines, was a dark gray color.
"Different features among murlocs represent different tribes, and sometimes the disparity in strength can be significant."
"For instance, on the coastline near Fishing Port Town, the Blackgill fish people live, and their strength surpasses that of the Eviltail fish people by not just a little. Moreover, even within the same species of fish people, the strength of each tribe varies greatly."
Rein listened intently at the side, nodding from time to time.
He could tell that Captain Weilun was passing on his experience to him.
"Let's go, following the fish people's tracks should lead us quickly to their encampment."
Alongside a small river upstream from Glimmer Lake, Rein and his group followed the webbed footprints left by the fish people on the bank, searching upstream.
Soon, they found the tracks growing more concentrated.
Before them on the riverbank, they saw over a dozen newly built stilt houses made of branches and thatch, and the camp was bustling with the shadowy figures of many short individuals. Clearly, this was the 'headquarters' of the Eviltail fish people.
Looking at the small Eviltail fish people tribe of no less than a hundred before him, Weilun couldn't help but frown and said, "This group of Eviltail fish people has relocated their entire tribe here, there are plenty more than expected!"
"I fear we will have a tough time dealing with them, this is quite different from what the reconnaissance report indicated."
"Captain Weilun, what did the reconnaissance report say, that their numbers weren't this many?" Rein asked curiously.
Weilun shook his head and said, "The report mentioned small bands of Eviltail fish people being spotted upstream of Glimmer Lake, typically in groups of thirty to fifty. But this group, there are far too many, at least a hundred by estimation."
"Let's abandon this for now, and wait for Lord Hamilton to recover from his injuries. It would be most prudent for him to take action," Weilun suggested with a thoughtful frown.
Rein glanced at the display on his panel showing the Night Watchman Profession Level lv1 (87/100) and the Giant Bear Sword Technique lv2 (269/300).
Both were about to level up, and withdrawing now didn't sit well with Rein at all.
Thus, Rein inquired again, "Captain Weilun, although their numbers are a bit high, the individual strength of the fish people isn't strong. Would it be so difficult to kill them?"
"That's the thing... It's not about just eliminating some of the fish people, but trying to annihilate them as completely as possible. With so many of them, even if we took them down one arrow at a time, it would take quite a long while," Weilun said with a furrowed brow.
"According to the original plan, you were to cut off their escape route, which I fear would put tremendous pressure on you, Rein."
He was worried Rein couldn't withstand it!
Hearing Weilun explain it this way, Rein's brow smoothed out.
Rein saw things differently.
Firstly, this group of Eviltail fish people didn't possess ranged weapons like bows and arrows, and his own practice of the Giant Bear Sword Technique was particularly well-suited for handling such melee fights.
Furthermore, his strength had improved since the battle with the jackal men.
The increase of two Spirit Points allowed Rein to grasp more details in combat, making it less likely for him to get injured.
So, Rein said with a smile, "Captain Weilun, I have confidence in myself, let's give it a try. There shouldn't be a problem."
Upon hearing Rein volunteer so readily, Weilun was momentarily stunned.
But looking into Rein's serious eyes, he realized this was no joke.
Moreover, as the person who would be facing the most pressure in the battle, if Rein was prepared to give it a try and he insisted on retreating, it would be quite demoralizing.
So, after pondering for a moment, Weilun slapped Rein's shoulder firmly and said in a deep voice, "Alright! Since you're confident, Rein, let's give it our all. But remember, if we can't hold them off, retreat immediately."
"Come on, let's set up a trap here, just in case we need to pull back."
The Night Watchmen elite got to work immediately at Weilun's signal.
In no time at all, they had set up several spike traps and trip ropes and carefully marked each one to prevent their own from accidentally triggering them.