NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

We hid at the side and remained still for a moment. There were dozens of debris and wrecked walls that served as our wall that kept us undetected. But we did not know when our concealment would last. Since more soldiers came in our direction, we needed to lie low and stay hidden for a while.

Our team did not want to engage with those players head-on, considering the comparison of our weapons. If we fought them with our swords and magic, our party would easily get defeated by their improved armours. Although we had the element of surprise, clashing against those players remained a risky bet.

It was best to strike those soldiers at a better time and wait for them to split up. With that plan, the five of us could stand a chance against lesser players guarding the area.

Wolf also mentioned a guy named Robin. And I could only guess that player played a vital role within Wolf\'s time. However, Wolf did not want to share those memories with me, considering that we did not have that kind of relationship. But this Robin guy clearly told me he was something that we must be wary of in the future.

Those players dressed in ocean blue uniforms walked towards the road patrolling the shelter\'s entrance. All of those players armed themselves with guns that looked more extraordinary than the ones they had when we fought them before.

I could only guess that this platoon was on the elite side of the player\'s groups.

"What\'s our plan?" I asked. "You know these players better than any of us here, Wolf. You better have a plan."

I did not want to lead the party since I would only suggest killing everyone on sight doing nothing. We had limited time to dawdle around the vicinity, especially when these players had the hostage advantage.

Behind the shelter were the dwarves that we needed to save. Among those tiny people was the man who would give us the boat. Draven had that knowledge, and Match and I could not travel to Wonderland without watercraft.

Since Wolf was also a player and a human from a different world, he may have had something in mind that could help us. This situation called for sneaky attacks, and Wolf should read the soldier\'s tactics.

"You\'re a veteran player, right? You should think of something for us to win."

"Shut it, Red. I\'m thinking," Red growled at me, while shaking his head. "There\'s one way to deal with this, but I need your help… specifically, I need Match\'s help. She has powerful spells and quickcast for her abilities. That girl is also the only mage at our party."

"This topic again?" I retorted. "Can you leave Match alone from this dangerous quest?! You keep including her to-,"

"I will do it!"

Before I could even continue my sentence, Match stepped forward and offered herself as the key point of our scheme. I wanted to retort. But Match\'s eyes already met my gaze, telling me she wanted to play a part in this battle.

"You could help us by not going there on the battlefield! Match, you know how worried I become every time I know you\'re risking your life out there, right?" I asked, trying to make sense out of her decisions.

But Match shook her head and explained, "I know. But if I stay on the back lines forever, I would not have the chance to protect you, too. You\'ve always been there for me, Red, when I need you the most. Now it\'s my turn to repay the favour."

Match had become a mature girl throughout her journey. Despite her young age, Match wanted to help anyone in need. She refused to kill anyone, regardless of our opponent wanted to harm us. However, she accidentally killed some players before…. And it remained a mystery to Match.

I finally gave in to my concerns and nodded my head. After witnessing my response, Match painted her face with a smile and hugged my body. I returned her gestures and wrapped my arms around Match, embracing her as I had never embraced from before.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, Red! I will never die, no matter what! Just believe in me, okay?" Match giddy exclaimed.

She prepared her staff and some magic circles around her palms. Within a few seconds, she was all set for battle.

"I will just relay the plan for everyone… All of us will play a vital role in this, so please be careful. If one messes up, we could all suffer the consequences," Wolf briefed us before continuing to the plan. "Now, I want Match to charge her blaze around this corner of the map. These areas have flammable bushes, despite being near the mining area. Although the flames won\'t spread far, that smoke would be enough to catch the attention of those players. If there\'s one thing I know about them, they won\'t let anything slip by…. Well, at least that\'s what I believe."

"Ryoshi, you will shoot your tranquillity arrows at the soldiers-,"

"I WILL WHAT?" Ryoshi shouted. "And aren\'t we calling ourselves with our in-game names, not our real names, Wolf?"

Wolf smacked the pommel of his blade at Ryoshi before he could even finish his sentence. The poor archer caressed his head, palpating the minor bump he had on top of his forehead. If I had to guess right, that strike would leave a scar on Ryoshi\'s face.

"Anyway, Ryoshi... okay, Hunter then. Hunter, I need you to hit those soldiers using your tranquil bow. I brought some herbs you might need along the way. It\'s good for thirty shots, which leaves enough spare, in case you make a mistake. Snow White, I want you to create a distraction. Just waltz around, slam players-BUT DON\'T KILL THEM. Just only create a diversion. Red and I would wrap things up and secure our entrance. We would also compile all the soldiers into one place, with a rope tied around their bodies," Wolf narrated the plot, and looked into all of our eyes. "Any violent reactions? Well, guess what? I don\'t care. We need to go now before those soldiers move around. And to answer your question, Ryoshi. Since I suspect Red and everyone here know our identity, it would be nice if they also knew our names. That would be a fair trade for everyone, right?"

Ryoshi could only groan at Wolf\'s explanations. However, Wolf had the correct assumption, since I paid close attention to their conversation. And like I yearned for earlier, I planned to use their names to my advantage when the time becomes ripe.

But right now, I need to stay focused on our goal. If we lost this fight, we would lose everything.

Just before we could progress to our plan, I grabbed Wolf\'s hand and asked him a question. "How sure are you we would succeed?"

"If we fail, we fail together…. If we lose, we lose together. You need me for this plan, and I need you to make this work."

After our exchange, everyone sprinted to their positions and did as Wolf had told.

Match sent the forest into cinders and continued spitting out flames at the dry forest. The smoke created by the blast alerted some soldiers. Others remained vigilant and continued patrolling the vicinity.

After firing all of her blazing bullets, Match hid behind the stones and waited for two signals. Those cues would come from Snow White and Ryoshi, preparing to take down any soldiers in sight.

As soon as the pebble hit the wall, Match knew that the pair would appear any second.

And the little girl had the right assumption.

A series of arrows flew towards the soldier\'s direction, hitting most of them in one spread shot. However, some of them eluded the attack, despite these arrows coming from behind. But before the players could even react, Snow White emerged at the scene and slammed the guard to the dreamland.

"All eyes on me! The show has just started!" Snow White screamed, and struck another soldier on the ground.

Her actions were not enough to kill anyone present on the battlefield. But just like Ryoshi\'s injuries, those wounds that the soldiers received would also leave a mark on their faces.

After a few seconds, another set of arrows came hovering in their direction. But compared to the ones Ryoshi fired before, the soldiers already knew the same attack. Those guards did not fall for the same trick twice and evaded most of the arrows.

Only a handful of soldiers remained on the battlefield. And that was enough to turn the tides in our favour.

"Are you ready?" Wolf asked, with his eyes still locked at the entrance.

The two of us were against elite guards, with higher ranks than Match and the others fought. This battle would exhaust our energy and arcane, but we had no other choice but to fight them head-on.

"Ready when you are, Wolf," I replied, and prepared my penitent\'s blade.