Dark Magician Isekai: Return and make Fantasy World into a VR Game

Wagner pulled the reins to stop his horse, removed his helmet, and exhaled.

His hair was damp with sweat, and the lining inside his armor felt a bit sticky.

Seeing Wagner take off his helmet, the soldiers followed suit, pushing up their visors and loosening the helmet straps to expose their overheated heads.

Wagner surveyed the soldiers; aside from a few who usually couldn't keep up with training that were panting now, the rest still seemed to be in decent shape.

However… Even if the men were fine, the horses weren't.

The eighth month's sun was scorching, and with the frequent skirmishes without sufficient rest in between, even the sturdy and climate-adaptable lizard horses couldn't endure such exertion.

Wagner soothed his somewhat anxious mount by patting it on the neck while, at the same time, making sure to keep tabs on his surroundings.

Less than a hundred meters away, on the road leading to Weisshem, about a hundred undead were scattered around the fields on both sides of the road, glaring at them.

Wagner furrowed his brow. This batch of undead that was blocking the road was more crafty than the previous two. The recent charges of their cavalry hadn't produced any significant results.

Not only that, but there were even skeleton mages among these undead that would discreetly cast dark magic while hiding among the undead swathe. Just a moment ago, a soldier's horse was hit by a slowing spell and was lagging behind. If Wagner hadn't noticed the danger and swiftly turned to do a rescue, the soldier would have been dragged away by the swarming undead.

The attacks of the undead didn't pose much threat to even the horses clad in iron armor. It was only the appearance of skeleton mages that truly made Wagner wary.

Did Charlie Rex send these undead to keep us outside Weisshem? Wagner pondered over the peculiar circumstances. Is this illegitimate bastard really aiming to go against the Bartalis family? Or does Weisshem harbor some secrets that they don't wish for us to discover?

At this point, Wagner had the intention to call a retreat.

Given the commander's cold attitude toward him, it was highly unlikely that Wagner would be assigned an easy task to flaunt his abilities.

Dealing with these easily defeated undead was one thing, but Wagner had no interest in getting himself into more significant trouble.

Wagner eyed the undead remnants, then put on his helmet and gestured to his squad, signaling a withdrawal.

The heavy-armored cavalry squad's retreat was observed by the players…

"What the hell, monsters trying to run? Are they trying to leave from being out of combat for too long??"

"Don't go~"

"Leave the equipment behind~"

Players in the fields on both sides of the road chasing after the retreating cavalry squad shouted out loud and caused a racket.

Furious, Wagner turned his steed and once more led a charge against the undead.

The players at the forefront were instantly wiped out, and those behind scattered and fled.

"Damn, these monsters even know how to employ trickery!"

"Are you kidding! The level of this monster AI is simply cancer!"

Still, this bunch of undead fled too quickly. Despite several charges from the heavily armored cavalry, not that many skeletons were eliminated. Wagner, panting heavily, glared at the undead scattered everywhere, his face twitching with frustration.

They were delayed in this manner for a bit, and Wagner was astonished to discover that… yet another large group of undead were rushing toward them from the direction of Weisshem…

"Has Weisshem become a nest of the undead?!" Wagner was baffled. The information they received from people coming out hadn't mentioned that there were so many undead hiding in their town!

"Retreat!" Without a second thought, Wagner swiftly turned his horse.

The undead that had just scattered everywhere once again started the raucous "YAWAKAKAKA" cries and swarmed up again.

One significant advantage cavalry had over infantry was that four legs outran two. However, this advantage didn't seem to affect the players much—their skeleton frames weighed approximately just over 30 kilograms, even lighter than a large hound. As long as they didn't trip and fall apart on their own, catching up with four-legged creatures was relatively easy.

Soldiers falling behind were tangling with the undead, forcing Wagner to turn back once again to make a rescue.

While grappling with the undead, the "fourth batch" of undead arrived on the battlefield. The number of undead, which had finally been reduced to double digits, rose back up to triple digits…

Both sides seemed to have no solution against the other. And after a brief entanglement, they once more had a face-off while maintaining a safe distance.

Wagner felt a splitting headache just looking at the vast army of undead that couldn't be driven away, whereas, on the players' end, they felt this was a very poor experience.

"Run for half an hour, battle for 30 seconds. Is this even a game?!"

"The weapon I just bought broke after two swings. I'm so unlucky!"

"Is there a badass knight that can tank these monsters? We totally can't hold them up at all!"

"Tank, my ass! Everyone dies as soon as they go up!"

Amid the players' complaints and grumbles, a melodious voice broke through the noise, "Qingyue, Qingyue, are you here yet?"

Unceasing Entropy had perished in the previous round of skirmishes and made the painstaking run back to the battlefield. She had only just joined back up with her team when she heard Blossoming Strokes' voice and promptly responded, "I'm here!"

Blossoming Strokes, with Give Me Medicine in tow, squeezed over to where Unceasing Entropy's team was and greeted familiar faces like Yang Ying and Tang Jia.

"Where's Ji Tang? Isn't Ji Tang with you guys?"

"No, he isn't. Ji Tang had matters to attend to," replied Unceasing Entropy.

"Alright." Blossoming Strokes also wasn't too bothered by Ji Tang's absence. "Qingyue, any thoughts on this bunch of elite monsters?"

"It's all cavalry, and we can't just confront them head-on. We have to get these monsters dismounted first if we want to fight them," Unceasing Entropy said. "These elite monsters aren't immune to Slowdown. Previously, I attempted slowing down the horses and having our members manually pull the monsters off their mounts… Unfortunately, we weren't successful."

"I saw that, too." Blossoming Strokes nodded enthusiastically. "Slowdown can only affect one target at a time. If we slow down only one target, the other elite monsters will come to the target's rescue. If we could slow down several simultaneously, those elite monsters wouldn't be able to rescue all, right? This way, we might have a chance to reduce the elite monster count."

The monsters in this game were different from those of traditional games; defeated monsters didn't respawn as quickly. It was challenging to deal with these elite monsters when they were grouped up, so gradually reducing their numbers was a strategy—this was a common tactic similar to clearing small monsters before tackling a boss in traditional games.

Without the slightest hesitation, Unceasing Entropy extended the hand of friendship.

Having recruited a reliable teammate in Unceasing Entropy, Blossoming Strokes now had five mages on hand (including herself and the healer player in their team that had just recently successfully done the job advancement) and enthusiastically went seeking out Brother Lahong.

Mage apprentices were considered the hardest among the professions available to players. Their job reputation was hard to earn; Lord Yang demanded expensive materials, and the job advancement quest was extremely difficult to clear.

Since the launch of "OtherWorld" one month ago, the number of mage players in the game could be counted with one's fingers.

Among these less than ten mages, there was still the reclusive Ou Huang, who never accepted group quests…

In any case, Blossoming Strokes managed to recruit the mages among unaffiliated players that she could persuade (Unceasing Entropy and Win By Grinding). Brother Lahong, who had only two mages on his side, had no reason to refuse. As soon as they met, an elite team was quickly formed.

"After the vanguard engages in battle, we seven mages will mix in the crowd and approach. From left to right, we'll each claim a target and simultaneously cast Slowdown. Remember, stagger the casting, and don't cast on the same target."

With the elite team assembled, Blossoming Strokes took command and immediately began drawing up the battle plan. "Next, Brother Lahong's knight team, try getting close to the monsters affected by Slowdown and seize the opportunity to strike."

"Don't worry!" Brother Lahong patted his chest confidently.

Due to Brother Lahong's early investment in the undead horse, their side had the most knight players with the best equipment—their knights could take turns leading the undead horse into Poisonous Marshlands to lure monsters, specifically targeting those who dropped abundant materials. In terms of both profit and efficiency, they were unparalleled compared to other monster-hunting teams. The responsibility of leading the knight team undoubtedly fell to Brother Lahong.

"Lastly, Sis Ying's warrior team." Blossoming Strokes glanced at Yang Ying. "The elite monster's commander is entrusted to you guys. Any questions?"

Players had used Identify on Wagner Pitt, and the information displayed in red above his head read "City Defense Force officer"…

Yang Ying didn't dare make claims that were too bold. "We'll do our best. That monster is fierce and has crazy good AI. I can't guarantee how long we can hold him back."

"Just buying some time for Brother Lahong's knight team is good enough. If they can pull away a few, the pressure on us in the next round would be significantly reduced," said Blossoming Strokes. "If nobody has any questions, let's get ready."

Having experienced the "torture" of the Inner Demon dungeon instance, being wiped out three times in succession was nothing but a trivial matter for players. There were no death penalties, no forced offline contemplation, and the monsters weren't unpleasant looking. Furthermore, their attack methods weren't surprising, and this event didn't seem like it had the possibility of causing psychological trauma.

Not only was there a lack of psychological trauma, but players also used their own experiences or witnessed the demise of their comrades to understand the "attack patterns" of these elite monsters. The heavily armored cavalry had the highest burst damage when charging in a group and, although powerful, could only run in a straight line.

As long as players avoided the frontal trampling of the hooves and evaded skillfully, they wouldn't be easily taken down.

The vanguard made of players from the wanderer class, including Give Me Medicine and Study Obsessed, went up first. When the elite monsters initiated the first wave of charges, players quickly scattered, jumping into the harvested wheat fields on both sides of the road. They moved agilely, flanking the rear of the enemy and striking randomly.

The seven mage apprentice players blended in amongst the largest group of wanderer players, and when the wanderers engaged the enemies in a hit-and-run, the mages raised their crude wooden staves simultaneously and cast Slowdown on the selected targets.

The knight players that were slower by a bit charged at the targets affected by Slowdown.

"We're up!" Yang Ying waited until the first wave of cavalry had charged several meters and was drawn further away by the wanderer players, creating a gap, before she herself launched a charge and rushed toward the most challenging elite monster commander.

The Charge skill in a warrior player's skill panel could only charge targets within an 85-meter distance and was completely different from a true cavalry's charge in terms of power and destructive force.

However, this simplified version of the Charge skill, plagiarized from an alchemical puppet's rune, also had its advantages: As long as there was enough rage value (mental power) to activate the rune, the skill didn't require any preparation and could be used regardless of the original action or posture.

When discussing tactics and how to deploy their troop formations, players did so openly and confidently in front of the armored cavalry.

These sort of rampant actions of deploying troops directly in front of the enemy wasn't perceived as wrong by players like Unceasing Entropy and Blossoming Strokes, who were the critical thinkers among the players. After all, were there any gamers who hadn't discussed tactics in front of a boss during a dungeon run before?

Witnessing such a scene infuriated the cavalrymen—even if they couldn't understand the undead language, just observing these undead rearrange their formation boldly while occasionally gesturing at them was enough to understand what they were up to.

Wagner Pitt had already decided to not continue clashing with these undead so as to avoid incurring the wrath of that noble-born illegitimate son that had a black mage backing him (given the continuous influx of the undead, Wagner judged that the black mage himself was in Weisshem).

But, upon witnessing this sight, he no longer was in any rush to retreat and felt it necessary to eliminate these undead that were underestimating them.

As players made their move, Wagner initiated a ferocious charge.

Then, much to his surprise, he found that this bunch of undead was even more troublesome than the previous three batches! (a colossal misunderstanding) They knew how to split the battlefield, divide their forces, and sneak around to attack the cavalry squad's weak points!

After charging through several dozen undead that couldn't evade in time, Wagner tugged the reins of his steed, coming to a halt, and roared for his troops to reinforce the rear.

When he turned his horse, Wagner saw about ten undead, apparently lagging behind, running toward him.

Wagner didn't care about these few skeletons that were separated from the undead army, and he certainly didn't feel any danger. He believed he could still emerge unscathed even if he faced over ten undead alone. Moreover, he had his soldiers by his side.

It was with this mindset that Wagner prepared to turn back. However, at that moment, from the corner of his eye, he saw an undead, seemingly out of nowhere, making an unexpected and entirely unconventional charge toward him.

Of course, Wagner had seen charging techniques before. Compared to the charges he had faced in battles against other professionals, the power of this skeleton was quite pathetic. It clattered into the side of his horse and his right leg, though the horse remained steadfast, while Wagner only swayed slightly.

Before Wagner could comprehend how this skeleton had generated the force in such an unmethodical charge, several more undead, running haphazardly and showing no combat proficiency like the other undead, came in twos and threes, launching unpredictable charges at him…

Players relying on runes had very low combat power indeed. They could only achieve the strength of a proper professional when ten of them teamed up.

However, players had their own advantages, such as having no sensation of pain and being completely indifferent to injury.

At the moment when Yang Ying, who was leading the charge, clattered into Wagner Pitt, Wagner's sword pierced through her right clavicle. The steel plate fish-scale armor, a modern industrial product that Yang Ying wore, couldn't withstand the casual reverse strike of Wagner's sword, indicating his strength.

However, this didn't prove effective. Skeletons were least bothered by piercing injuries. Yang Ying didn't care that the enemy's sword was still stuck in her shoulder. With a simple movement, she skillfully wielded her weapon and used Blade Dance, slashing through the armored kilt at Wagner's left thigh…

Tang Jia, clattered into Wagner slightly after Yang Ying and with great coordination, unleashed Sword Storm, spinning like a high-speed top where she stood. Regardless of the actual damage inflicted, it temporarily intimidated the soldiers who intended to help Wagner.

Qin Guan, Fallen Mulberry Leaves, and a few other warrior players also charged toward Wagner's mount. Regardless of their individual skill levels, these warrior players knew how to use their skills. For a moment, the area around Wagner was filled with chaotic sword flashes, making it difficult for even his loyal squire to get close.

With Wagner Pitt temporarily pinned back and losing his on-the-spot command, chaos descended on most of the cavalry squad that was engaging with the wanderer players.

These soldiers weren't lacking in combat strength, but due to the continuous depletion of stamina and energy during the three previous engagements, coupled with the more than fivefold difference in numbers and the reckless tactics of the undead, they couldn't hold out for long. They quickly became fragmented and unable to hold an effective battle formation.

The heavy cavalry was thrown into disarray, though the players didn't gain much of an advantage either—these heavily armored foes were exceptionally resilient, didn't take much damage even from ten strikes, and would kill a skeleton with a single strike. The flashing of players' respawn lights flicked throughout this brutal battle.

Any other armed group experiencing such a grueling battle would have already crumbled, but the players were surprisingly accepting. For them, facing heavy losses in a boss fight, especially this sort of elite boss in a town defense quest, was perfectly normal.

Not only were they indifferent to casualties, but these players, after successfully luring the elite heavy cavalry into a chaotic melee that was devoid of any technical finesse, also displayed considerable ingenuity by using old tricks…

One soldier thrust his spear at an undead lunging at him. Once thrust out, he couldn't retract it—at least three other undead clutched onto the shaft of his spear tightly, shouting while pulling with all their might.

Fearful of being pulled off his horse, this soldier had no choice but to let go and drew his shortsword for self-defense.

The eyes of an undead zealously hacking at his greaves lit up. With a "WAKAKA" cry, its two skeletal arms hooked onto the soldier's arm, determined to snatch his shortsword.

The bewildered soldier attempted to shake off the undead. However, more undead closed in from all sides—some trying to cut the straps of his greaves, others attempted to take off his shoes, and some climbed up the horse to try and seize his helmet…

The soldier, blanketed by the undead, was shocked, furious and terrified, and screamed desperately.

Brother Lahong, leading the team of knights, took advantage of the chaos and forcibly dismounted four soldiers affected by Slowdown. These soldiers were quickly stripped of their equipment, put in woven bags, and carried away.

When he noticed that the wanderer players were only focused on looting equipment and not capturing people, he got pissed and shouted, "Take the people too! Don't forget the horses!"

By the time Wagner finished off Yang Ying, Tang Jia, and the other warrior players holding him, more than half of his soldiers were deprived of their weapons, boots, greaves, helmets, and other equipment by the time he rushed back to reform the formation.

The fleeing undead dispersed in a panic, carrying away six of his soldiers and five lizard horses.

Wagner Pitt: "…"

During this encounter, his side suffered a loss of about a tenth of their combat strength, while the undead experienced casualties of at least 70%.

In theory, they ought to have won.

But Wagner couldn't seem to find any joy. He was so furious that smoke seemed to be coming out of his head.

Gritting his teeth, this still rational officer reluctantly waved his hand, preparing to take this opportunity to retreat.

Seeing the boss about to break away, players that had fled into the fields hurriedly dropped their captives and turned around, shouting and sprinting after the boss.

The scene of a small group of undead latching on, delaying them until a larger group of undead came to their aid, played out once again…

After paying the price of losing several men to repel the undead again, the haughty young squire finally broke down.

"We've killed at least a thousand undead. Why do they keep coming? What exactly are we facing?!" he shouted.

No one answered him. Tired and hungry, Wagner and the other soldiers watched the loitering undead in the near distance and took the lull to stuff dry rations into their mouths to recover some strength.

As long as they didn't retreat, the undead wouldn't tangle with them. Although a skirmish with a large group of undead after a long delay was inevitable, it was still better than having no breather at all.

The remnants of the squad took a break on the town road and could even see the people that had been taken away by the undead; those unlucky comrades who had fallen into the hands of the enemy were tied up in the woods two to three hundred meters away from the road.

Even more infuriating was the fact that some of the undead were even wearing armor parts or wielding weapons stolen from them…

The young squire felt grief and anger. He was a distant relative of the city defense force's commander, and his parents had nearly used up all their assets to bribe the commander to give him a chance to succeed this Bartalis family knight. There was no way he could willingly have his bright future buried here!

I must escape! I have to escape! The young squire plopped down and also started taking out dry rations from his bag and stuffing them into his mouth fiercely. Thoughts were racing through his mind.

Abandoning an entire squad of soldiers… It's Wagner's responsibility! It has nothing to do with me. I must find an opportunity to escape!

Wagner could see through this fellow's intent to desert and have the others take the blame with a single glance. However, being physically and mentally exhausted, he couldn't be bothered to deal with it.

Having lost so many soldiers, Wagner wouldn't escape punishment from the commander even if they managed to escape back to Indahl… Not to mention that the undead seemed to have exposed the intention to capture all of them.

Ten minutes later, a large group of undead appeared on the town road from the direction of Weisshem.

The cavalry squad soldiers, already numbed to this sight, weren't even surprised. They silently mounted their horses and lined up in formation.

This batch of undead (massive misunderstanding) had even more cunning tactics than the previous ones. Even the haughty young squire, who had always avoided fighting the undead and hid behind the others, was knocked unconscious and dragged away by the undead.

At 9:30 a.m. Earth time, 6:00 p.m. OtherWorld time, Rex and Ji Tang, who had been roaming the countryside all day (OtherWorld time), rushed back to Weisshem before it got dark.

As soon as they entered the town hall courtyard, Rex shuddered violently.

Beneath the west courtyard wall were several dozen brawny men neatly tied up.

These men were all very strong, and Rex could confirm with a casual glance every one of them had at least the combat power of a professional or higher.

Such a force of professional combat strength was even sufficient to raid a nobleman's estate.

Rex stared blankly at these men who seemed to be unscathed yet appeared half-dead. Then, he stiffly turned to look at Ji Tang.

"Looks like it's already been resolved," muttered Ji Tang as if he already knew what he was going to see. He threw Rex a casual glance and urged, "Let's go in and take advantage of the fact it isn't dark yet and quickly summarize today's progress."

Rex: "…"

Seeing Ji Tang's reaction, he could roughly confirm who these new prisoners were and why they had ended up in such a sorry state: Not a single one of them even had a boot on their feet! They were all barefooted!