Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 52 - 48: Coordination is Here!

Chapter 52: Chapter 48: Coordination is Here!

It was easier to handle the situation once someone took the lead.

The other three scholars were also inspired and began shouting on the battlefield.

"Clad in golden armor after a hundred battles in the yellow sand!"

"Ice-cold steeds enter dreams amidst the river’s frost!"

"The horn calls us back to join the encampment!"

"The wheels rumble, the horses whistle..."

The last phrase had just been half-shouted when Chu Ge and the other two scholars glanced over in unison. The scholar immediately realized something was wrong and quickly shut his mouth.

This had just exposed his lack of poetic skill!

Shouting the wrong meanings in poems wasn’t acceptable either!

Seeing Chu Ge succeed, the scholars racked their brains to recall military and frontier poems; regardless of their usefulness, they shouted them out anyhow.

Fortunately, even if they shouted incorrectly, there was no penalty or reduction of the buffs on their allies.

As long as the sentiment was correct and it was declared with great integrity, it could directly affect their comrades.

Of course, what specific effects it had remained unclear.

Sometimes the effects were obvious: the phrase "Fight alongside you" could reduce damage and share the burden, "Clad in golden armor after a hundred battles in the yellow sand" seemed to enhance the defense of armor, but some effects were less noticeable, possibly affecting the mental state.

But no matter what, these scholars were indeed putting in great effort; they could feel that as the buffs were activated, part of some force within them also depleted.

It felt like the fatigue and weakness that comes after overthinking.

"So it means that adding buffs to others also consumes righteous energy?

"That makes sense, if this could stack indefinitely, it would be invincible.

"Hey, everyone, don’t rush to shout; wait for the right moment!"

Chu Ge realized the issue and hastily warned, but it was already too late.

The other three scholars had shouted in disorder, all now ashen-faced and gasping for air, clearly having exerted themselves too much and feeling depleted.

Chu Ge was somewhat helpless; they really couldn’t keep calm!

Had they just used up their energy bars just like that?

But fortunately, it seemed they could squeeze out a bit of righteous energy after a little rest.

Regardless, after all that chaotic shouting, various buffs were added on, proving to be effective; now it was up to the other players to see how well they could fight.

However, their joy was short-lived as someone suddenly shouted, "Run!"

Turning around, the scholars were quite frightened.

To their shock, the Eastern Barbarian General had turned his horse around, wielding a cross spear, and charged toward them!

Clearly, his target was these scholars, undoubtedly having noticed that the scholars could buff others and aiming to cut down the support lines first.

"Help, help, help!"

The scholars shouted as they ran; their bodies felt drained from all the shouting, but they had no choice but to muster their spirits and escape—after all, no one wanted to be truly stabbed by a cross spear.

But their professions weren’t known for physical strength, and running from a four-legged warhorse was impossible; soon, the Eastern Barbarian General closed in!

Meng Yuan saw this and knew there was no other option.

The others were too far away; no one could make it in time. With four scholars nearby, he was the only Ranger—it seemed he had to face the challenge.

He steeled himself and charged forward.

"Brave warrior!"

While running and looking back, Chu Ge witnessed the Ranger player boldly confronting the Eastern Barbarian General’s horse, moved by the misunderstanding he had had earlier.

Initially, the four scholars thought this Ranger player that lingered around them was cowardly, never stepping forward to fight. Now, they realized he wasn’t cowardly; this was called having awareness in group fights—protecting the back lines!

The Eastern Barbarian General’s warhorse neighed loudly, rearing up on its hind legs, while the General himself brandished the cross spear in his hand, smashing it down towards Meng Yuan!

There was no denying, the scene was rather tragic.

A lone Ranger wielding a Longsword, facing the tall and mighty Eastern Barbarian General—if the scene had frozen there, it could have been used directly for a game’s promotional poster.

It looked as if the Ranger player had everything under control.

Could his Longsword really block the crushing blow of the cross spear?

This scene was indeed very picturesque, leaving everyone with the vague impression, "This Ranger player seems to be a master."

However, the next second, Meng Yuan, who had seemed ready to engage in a life-or-death battle with the Eastern Barbarian General by holding his sword with both hands, suddenly lost his composure. He violently threw his sword at the Eastern Barbarian General’s face and then clumsily rolled away on the spot!

The Eastern Barbarian General was stunned for a moment as the Longsword clattered onto his heavy armor, causing no physical damage.

But it inexplicably caused some mental damage.

The cross spear of the Eastern Barbarian General, which had seemed certain to hit, missed. It was unclear whether it was because the sword had distracted him or because Meng Yuan’s roll was somewhat lucky.

"Snort!"

A Ranger player couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

In such a tense and exciting battle scene, one should have been more serious. But when he saw Meng Yuan rolling on the ground, he just couldn’t hold it in.

It’s a wonder how such a clumsy player passed the trial.

Meng Yuan, of course, wasn’t in the mood to care about these things because the Eastern Barbarian General, ignoring the scholars, turned his horse around and charged at him again!

Actually, Meng Yuan had only intended to distract the Eastern Barbarian General, especially since the scholars were about to be cut up in the back row. As the only player nearby with combat ability, it seemed wrong not to step in. Still, he never intended to solo the boss and furiously farm gear!

As the cross spear swung down again, Meng Yuan’s hands produced another Longsword and parried the attack.

"Clang!"

A crisp sound rang out, and Meng Yuan’s Longsword was knocked away again, making his hands slightly numb, but luckily, he blocked the attack.

Chu Ge and the others were shocked again.

This Ranger player seemed terrible, but he was bravely blocking the Eastern Barbarian General’s attacks!

So was he really bad or not?

It seems the player community is diverse; not all those who pass challenging instance trials are top players. Some are jokers.

No matter how clumsily, Meng Yuan’s efforts were useful. Even though it only detained the Eastern Barbarian General for half a minute, it was enough for the other players to catch on.

If even such a lousy guy is fighting hard, what excuse do we have not to try our best?

With a "swoosh," a spear flew towards the Eastern Barbarian General!

The Eastern Barbarian General swung his cross spear and parried the incoming spear.

Everyone looked toward where the spear had come from and found Zhao Haiping had thrown his Longsword.

The strike, boosted by the strength of an infantry soldier, was indeed decent. But once the Longsword was thrown, didn’t that leave him with only a shield in hand?

Some players had already imitated Zhao Haiping by throwing their Longswords, but others hadn’t caught on yet.

But the next second, seeing Zhao Haiping’s hand produce another spear, they all suddenly realized.

Ah, the game had already stated that in the "Demon Invasion" MR game mode, players could obtain any melee weapon unlimitedly, including but not limited to sabers, spears, bows, etc.

This was a special mechanic of the mixed reality game mode.

That meant there was really no need to worry about running out of weapons; of course, one should exploit this feature as much as possible!

Though the thrown weapons would disappear after a while, they could still inflict damage on the enemy.

The players, feeling like they had discovered a new world, swept away the initial panic and started forcefully counterattacking the Eastern Barbarian raiders!

In fact, the players’ paper strength was clearly stronger; they had only been disorganized initially due to being unprepared.

But now, with the scholars’ buffs activated, the players not only gained an actual increase in combat power but also a psychological boost, gradually revealing their capability from the instance trial and naturally starting to turn the situation around!

The soldier players realized that, although these Eastern Barbarian raiders looked fierce, yelling and charging with their barbarian blades, they were not that tough.

At least the length of the barbarian blades was no match when the soldiers were equipped with shields and spears.

"Quick, let’s cooperate!"

Although their formation was disrupted, the players could still spontaneously coordinate; two soldier players who were close could have one hold a shield to block and the other use a spear to stab at the back of a raiding Eastern Barbarian from behind. Those who were alone no longer awkwardly confronted the enemy head-on but rather ran, leading the raiders around in circles toward areas with more comrades.

Under the "Resolve to Break the Array" buff, these soldiers could still hold out even in adverse conditions.

The assassin players waited for the right opportunity, observing from the vicinity, and as soon as they found a gap, they immediately rushed in. Once their "Rage of the Common Man" effect successfully triggered, the stabbed raiders were either killed or crippled.

Only those two shadow guards and the general were tough to deal with.

The shadow guards were agile and had various hidden weapons and unknown means of attack, and the Eastern Barbarian General had high attack power and health, making him tough to confront directly.

But no matter, players were never a stubborn group. If this had been a repeatable trial instance, some might still recklessly confront them head-on, but it was a collective event after all. Once dead, one would have to leave the game, and everyone understood the principle "only the living can deal damage."

Surprisingly, they really managed to achieve a perfect coordination!