paranoianovel Chapter 43 Initiating the Teamfight
Chapter 43 Initiating the Teamfight
The group rested by the river.
"They're here."
Someone shouted something, and Jiang Ming's gaze passed through the sparse bushes, falling back in the direction he had come from.
Amidst the cacophony of sounds and the crisp cracking of branches being parted, a dozen or so figures emerged from the shadows of the trees.
The one leading the group was Xu Shishi.
She was wearing a sweatshirt with the cuffs torn off, revealing her forearms wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, and her right fist was tightly gripping a black metal knuckle duster that gleamed coldly.
Su Xiaoxiao and a dozen or so girls followed behind him.
They mostly carried mop handles with fruit knives or half a pair of scissors tied to them, or various homemade weapons.
"This is the 'big deal' you were talking about?"
Xu Shishi strode over a protruding rock, her gaze sweeping over the fully armed Jiang Ming squad, finally settling on the crimson battle axe on Wang Yang's shoulder.
His pupils contracted sharply.
Even from several meters away, she could feel the scorching heat emanating from the axe blade.
"Where did you get this axe?"
"Stolen from the monster."
Jiang Ming replied casually, then held up the ghost-faced round shield in front of him with a muffled "thud," which made the ground tremble.
Xu Shishi's eyelids twitched.
Snatched from a monster?
That's quite a show-off!
She didn't dwell on the issue, but turned her gaze to Zhao Yanzhi and the others who were waiting in full force on the other side of the riverbank, her brows furrowing slightly.
"They've even brought in the archery club; it seems this is a tough nut to crack."
"How do we divide it?"
This woman is smart and direct.
Distribution according to work.
Jiang Ming pointed to the desolate woods on the other side of the river.
"Inside is a goblin camp, with about forty monsters, including goblin warriors, goblin thugs, and goblin shamans."
"We'll handle the direct confrontation, while President Zhao will handle the long-range suppression."
"Your task is simple: hold the flanks and prevent any stragglers from reaching the archers' positions."
"I'll go lure the monsters with him later..."
Xu Shishi raised an eyebrow, her gaze lingering for a few seconds on Jiang Ming's blood-stained gear, before glancing at Wang Yang, who was not far away, eager to go on a picnic.
"Luring monsters?"
She astutely grasped the key points.
"Which fat guy is going?"
"Yes, I'm with him." Jiang Ming nodded.
Xu Shishi paused for a moment, seemingly weighing the feasibility of the plan.
Although she hadn't known him for long, she could tell that Jiang Ming was the core of the team, while that fat guy...
Aside from being a bit chubby, it doesn't seem very smart.
"Little one."
Xu Shishi suddenly turned her head and looked at Su Xiaoxiao, who had been hiding behind her, peeking out with a small medicine box in her arms.
"Is your skill ready?"
Su Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment, but her gaze passed over Xu Shishi and landed on Jiang Ming.
Seeing the shocking dark red bloodstains on Jiang Ming's clothes, she felt terrible.
"Okay...okay."
She answered softly, unconsciously taking a half-inch step closer to Jiang Ming.
If we could give him that status effect, he'd probably be a little safer...
"Put one on that fat guy."
Xu Shishi suddenly spoke, pointing her finger at Wang Yang, who was swinging his battle axe with a whooshing sound.
"what?"
Su Xiaoxiao paused, a clear look of surprise and reluctance on her face.
"But I want to..."
"He's better than that fat guy."
Xu Shishi interrupted her, her tone leaving no room for argument.
"Instead of worrying about him, you should worry about whether his teammates can share the damage for him."
Su Xiaoxiao bit her lip, her gaze lingering for a moment between Jiang Ming's cold profile and Wang Yang's fat body.
In the end, he could only sigh in frustration.
"Oh... I understand."
She walked up to Wang Yang, raised her hand, and a soft white light emanated from her palm.
[Improved physical fitness].
A warm ray of light entered Wang Yang's body.
Wang Yang shuddered and let out a comfortable groan.
"This feeling... is amazing!"
He swung his arm and felt his skin become as tough as cowhide, making even the battle axe in his hand feel lighter.
"Thanks, Su, beautiful lady!"
Wang Yang chuckled, completely oblivious to the hint of resentment in the girl's eyes.
"Alright, stop indulging in self-admiration."
Jiang Ming kicked Wang Yang in the butt, making him stagger.
"Let's go, let's get to work."
……
The other side of the river.
The light inside the woods was much dimmer than outside, and the air was thick with the stench of rotting food and excrement.
Jiang Ming and Wang Yang crouched low, using the thick tree trunks as cover, and slowly made their way towards the camp.
The closer you get, the stronger the stench becomes.
Through the gaps in the bushes, the view inside the camp was already clearly visible.
Two goblin warriors were leaning against the wooden stakes at the camp gate, looking rather bored.
They wore simple leather armor, carried spiked maces, and their dark yellow eyes occasionally darted around, gleaming with cruelty.
In front of the largest tent in the center of the camp, an old goblin with a hunched back and a bone cane was lecturing several of his men.
That's the Lv.8 elite monster, the Goblin Shaman.
"Old Jiang, what should we do?"
Wang Yang lowered his voice, his palms were sweaty.
Although I kept saying I wanted to show off, it would be a lie to say I wasn't scared when I actually saw so many monsters gathered together.
"Do you see that shaman?"
Jiang Ming pointed at the old man, then took out a round ball the size of a baby's fist with dark purple patterns on its surface from his pocket.
That was the [Paralysis Smoke Stone] he synthesized in the Dim Woodland.
"I see him. That old man doesn't look like someone to mess with." Wang Yang swallowed hard. "Are you going to throw a rock at him?"
You guessed right, but there's no reward.
As Jiang Ming spoke, he weighed the smoke stone in his hand.
"This thing can release paralyzing smoke. As long as it inhales it, even elite monsters will be stunned for a few seconds."
"Remember, once the smoke goes off, those little guys will definitely spot us."
"Don't look back when the time comes, just run for your life, understand?"
Wang Yang looked at the unremarkable stone in Jiang Ming's hand and nodded heavily: "Got it! This is called initiating a team fight!"
"Get ready."
Jiang Ming took a deep breath, and the muscles in his arms instantly tensed up.
Without the slightest hesitation, he exerted force from his waist and abdomen, and suddenly threw out the [Paralysis Smoke Stone] in his hand.
"Whoosh—"
The sphere sliced through the air with a soft whooshing sound, landing precisely in the center of the camp.
The goblin shaman was brandishing his bone staff, spitting as he berated a few lazy underlings, completely oblivious to the shadow falling over his head.
"Snapped!"
The stone hit the ground and shattered instantly.
"puff--"
A thick cloud of dark purple-gray smoke suddenly exploded, instantly engulfing the shaman and several goblins around him.
"Cough! Cough cough..."
The shaman only had time to let out a startled cry before its hunched body stiffened abruptly the moment it inhaled the smoke.
The movement of waving the bone staff came to an abrupt halt, like a puppet whose pause button had been pressed, frozen in place, unable to even blink.
The paralysis effect has been triggered!