━━━━━━ POV ━━━━━━━


  The temporary leader of the coalition was frowning as he kept staring at the Pumpkin Farm.

  "Did they catch him yet?"

  "Afraid not, Sir! They're still chasing."

  "Goddammit, all this trouble for two players and an NPC?! It's utterly crazy!"

  When was the last time they had been so humiliated? So long that he couldn't remember! But just as he grumbled, a shadow of a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

  In the distance, he could see the reinforcements.

  Two powerful-looking NPCs were coming over with axes large on their shoulders. They wore rough clothing, and both looked like they could cleave any tree in half easily.

  "This is the place? Alright." They both glanced at the farm overrun by the vegetation.

  They were both lumberjacks and, as such, would cut trees but could also take care of vines. Hiring them had been such a pain, but it would be worth it! Without waiting, they decisively headed toward the farm.

  As Pumpkin Girl noticed them, she couldn't help but gasp slightly. Still, that didn't affect her fighting spirit as she unhesitantly ordered her vines to intercept them!

  The green tentacles reached toward the men with incredible speed, trying to restrain them. They were a moving catastrophe as far as she was concerned!

  — Slash! —


  The two lumberjacks mercilessly swung their axes, a single slash destroying all the vines in the vicinity. The men simply kept progressing one step at a time as if killer robots from the future.

  They were evil incarnate for the monk, pets, and Pumpkin Girl.

  "Woo!" (Take that!)

  Moon Moon hurriedly called a torrent of flaming chickens above their heads, but yet another swing of the axe extinguished it entirely. It didn't even stop them for an instant!

  The sieging army and the captives were already rejoicing and patting themselves on the back. Hiring the lumberjacks had been such a genius idea!

  They couldn't wait to see that girl suffer the same ordeal as them, to become as helpless. This would be sweet justice at work!

  The lumberjacks were 50 steps away from her. That's when she realized that her magic would be 100% useless against them.

  An ordinary girl would have despaired or begged for mercy, but not her. Without hesitating, she started throwing pumpkins.

  Many couldn't help but chuckle seeing this. As if that would do anything?! Talk about a useless effort! Soon she'd be finished and—


  "Wait up! What do you guys think you're doing?!" A man thundered, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. He looked valiant and was wearing the militia's uniform.

  "Out of the way." One lumberjack uttered.

  "Out of the way?! Are you going against the militia?!" The militia guy shouted with wild abandon.

  His drunken friend had made him practice this catchphrase earlier just for this moment. He still wasn't 100% sure what was happening, but all he knew was that Jack (totally a spy) needed help!

  His current objective was to stall for time. He didn't say anything else as he stared directly at the opponents, his back straight and shoulders wide.

  — Stare! —


  At this moment, they felt slightly uncomfortable. Attacking the militia would cause endless trouble even for them.

  Should they keep going or simply turn back?

  Minutes elapsed in complete silence, everyone holding their breath. But that's when a player came running with new information:

  "He's alone! The militia hasn't planned to defend the farm. He's acting on his own!" He shouted excitedly.

  Militia guy's face instantly betrayed his shock at the truth being known so fast. His reaction was enough to confirm everything, as he utterly failed to put on a poker face!

  "Out of the way!" A lumberjack growled.

  This time it wasn't a request but a threat. If he didn't comply, the man's axe would be stained with his blood. This would be the end of the Pumpkin Farm and—


  "Hold it! What are you doing putting your filthy paws on a farm?!" A man with one dirty hoe shouted, his straw hat trembling in anger.

  The captives' sighs were deep. Why did someone always have to interrupt their rescue?! But this time, the lumberjacks only chuckled.

  "Do you think we're dumb?" They kept walking and slashing.

  They knew that there was no way that the farmer association would be involved in such a mess! Helping a kidnapping? No way! But suddenly the man rushed to stand in front of them!

  "As I SAID, the farmer association is protecting this place! Now back up!!" The man waved his hand and suddenly power flowed toward the ground, revitalizing the sliced vines.

  He even gave a reassuring glance at Pumpkin Girl, who couldn't help but gasp in surprise. They were helping, why?! But then she realized that it had to be his doing!

  The invaders couldn't believe their eyes. What the heck was wrong here?! But luckily, they still had one hand to play.

  "Activate the Anti-Communication Formation!" Their current leader ordered, with many mages getting to work.

  This would make it impossible for anyone inside to send messages using the system. It was a trick the mage in town had taught them on a whim.

  He then sent a message to his men:

  – Forsaken Hero: Tell that fucker to give up: we have his lover. If he wants to see her again, he better obediently come out from the mist!

  Unable to verify the veracity of the news, their enemy would quickly lose his mind from the worry. It was just a matter of time before he surrendered!

  This was a fantastic combo of misinformation and grasping unto an enemy's weakness! It was bound to work!

  – Forsaken Hero: How is it going?

  – Lil Forsaken: Sir, he's begging us not to torture her while in tears…but he's still not coming out. He's saying that he mist is where he belongs now if his love is gone….

  – Forsaken Hero: Tell him she's not dead, just captured!

  – Lil Forsaken: I tried, Sir! But he keeps bawling and ASADADAWFGRH

  – Forsaken Hero: What happened?!

  – Forsaken Hero: Are you there?!

  – Lil Forsaken: Sir, we were wiped! He came completely out of nowhere, and we lost track of him!!

  How the fuck did that even happen?! They had lost versus one guy?! That's when the man hardened his gaze. They still had one last card to play.

  He confidently approached the Pumpkin Farm, cackling:

  "Hahaha, we captured him! What will you do now? The longer it takes you to capitulate, the more we'll torture him! Think about his well-being!" He shouted threateningly.

  But all that followed was a crystalline laugh, one tinged with ridicule. Trying to scare her? Please! She had complete trust in him!

  It didn't help that a man known as the local Scammer showed up a second later. He seemingly carelessly addressed the army, a huge smile on his face:

  "Hello everyone, I come to bring a message of peace! My master is willing to hand the captives over peacefully. He doesn't need much either. Just a few golds per head."

  Few golds per head?! Who was he trying to scam?!

  But then they realized something scarier….his master?! How the fuck had he converted him?! Even a beggar still remained a powerful NPC.

  Also, where was he right now?! This was already giving them a headache…


  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━


  [A/N] Hype! Feb Mass Release Time! ??

  When you try to bluff but it's not working….