Conquering OtherWorld Starts With a Game

An Earth person with above-average physical fitness and loads of systematic training could run three kilometers in 7 minutes and 20 seconds (world record for men's 3 km).

Players, though, were far from standard physical fitness; in fact, the physical strength of most players' might not even match that of a robust farmwife. However, the skeletal characters controlled by the players weren't bound by physical or stamina limitations of this world.

With 60% less body weight than a normal person and ignoring the physical and stamina consumption during movement, players controlling skeletal frames could easily surpass the long-distance running limits of world champions, completing three kilometers in under five minutes.

Moreover, their endurance was terrifyingly high. As long as the player didn't get bored and switch to doing something else or was forcibly logged out due to unforeseen circumstances, they could indeed literally run forever without tiring…

In other words, trying to shake off players by riding horses was simply impossible.

The horsemen, who were over two kilometers away from the undead when they made an about-face, frantically spurred their horses into a gallop, only to hear the "clacking" footfall of the undead getting closer by the second, scaring them witless.

"Isn't the start of the war supposed to be tomorrow? Why are there undead today?!"

"I don't know! It was still safe when we left the city this morning!"

"We shouldn't have come out hunting at a time like this!"

This group of horsemen returning from the south rode military-grade lizard horses, with swords and bows hanging from their waists. Their attire was quite casual, some in barefoot riding boots, some with their shirt buttons undone, with even their finely made waistcoats and wool coats carelessly stuffed into the saddlebags.

Such attire would be deemed shabby if worn by the destitute in public, but for these young masters who lived a carefree life, it was considered stylish… Of course, that's under the assumption that there wasn't a string of WAKAKA-screaming undead trailing behind them.

In a moment of desperation, a bare-chested young master with a small ponytail shouted, "Head to the foot of the mountain! Lead these undead there!"

The eyes of the other young masters lit up, and they vigorously whipped their horses, rushing back the way they came.

Weisshem was located to the southwest of Indahl City, and to the south of Indahl was another small town close to Sorensen—Kain Town.

On a map, Kain Town seemed to be closer to the Sorensen Mountains than Weisshem, but unlike the latter, which suffered from bandits, marauders, and wandering beasts, Kain Town had been spared such troubles thanks to a natural barrier formed by the Andis Mountains.

Like a crescent-shaped shield, the Andis Mountains, which were extremely steep and nearly impossible for humans to cross, let alone with vehicles or livestock, protected Kain territory.

The lands of Kain, guarded by the Andis Mountains, which locals considered their guardian deity, was dotted with villages built along the mountainsides, subsisting on farming and hunting. Redwood Village, a traditional small village only a dozen kilometers away from Indahl City, was one such place.

When the panic-stricken young masters, chased by the undead, emerged at one end of the village path, a group of villagers was solemnly carrying a plank covered by a straw mat toward the river at the front of the village.

Seeing a bunch riding on military-grade lizard horses, a young villager, his face and arms marked with whip scars, pointed angrily. "It's them, it's them!"

The villagers, unlike the young man, became anxious rather than angry upon seeing the arrivals.

"Quick, back to the village!" an elder urged, pulling the young man toward the village while gesturing nervously for the others to follow.

Despite their numbers far exceeding that of the young masters, the villagers didn't question the elder's decision and retreated hastily.

Unfortunately, the villagers were too disorganized and the lizard horses too fast. Before the villagers could retreat, the young masters had already crossed the stone bridge over the riverbed in front of the village and charged toward it.

The pursuing undead, emerging from beside the woods, witnessed the young masters they had been chasing for over ten minutes recklessly charging into the village, lashing their whips at the villagers who couldn't scatter in time. Some villagers were knocked down as others ran for cover from the horsewhips.

"They're here! They're here! Run!" One of the horsemen shouted upon seeing the undead approach, warning their companions.

The players, modern individuals from a peaceful country, unaccustomed to such a scene of cavalry charging into crowds, were instantly enraged.

"F*ck! Stop!"

"Damn it! What the hell?!"

At that moment… the names above the horsemen's heads, which had continuously shown as a yellow "Indahl Citizen" when "Identified," turned red.

"Get them!"

In an instant, the players transformed from docile huskies into red-eyed, furious rabbits, charging even more ferociously toward the riders.

At this point, the affluent young masters, believing they had successfully diverted the disaster, had already charged into the only path in the village, planning to make a large loop before returning to Indahl.

The villagers, scattered by the charge of a dozen military-grade lizard horses, suffered numerous injuries. Some lay on the ground with bloodied heads, groaning in pain, while others couldn't stand up due to the agony in their bruised limbs.

The several dungeon undead, crossing the stone bridge and entering the village, caused the villagers to panic. Those still able to move crawled desperately toward any place they could hide.

The undead moved incredibly fast, reaching the inside of the village in just a few seconds… then leaped over the villages scattered all around and chased after the riders like the wind.

Villages: "…??"

The young masters, having fled to the other end of the village, heard the ominous "clacking" and even more intense "WAKAWAKA" cries again, which almost drove them mad.

"Why are they here again?"

"Aren't they blind!"

"O Lady Gold Coin!!"

The trampled village path wasn't very wide, and the young masters' escape speed was limited by their comrades in front, preventing them from fully accelerating. On the other hand, the wanderer players, when activating the Windwalk spell, gained a 30% speed boost for eight seconds. As a result, a dozen or so wanderers quickly caught up to the rear of the young masters' horses.

Each of these young masters was physically strong, had received basic martial training, and carried weapons. If they had decided to fight back desperately, they might have inflicted significant casualties on the undead or even allowed a few of their party to escape.

However, these individuals were used to facing nothing more formidable than unarmed farmers, so mustering the courage to fight a real enemy was a bit too much for them…

With two seconds left on her Windwalk, Jia Luo forcefully leaped onto one of their horses, bravely wrapping her arms around the rider's waist and pulling forcefully to the side.

The wanderer beside her immediately understood and jumped up to grab the man's arms and used his body weight to drag him down.

Another wanderer player at the side quickly lent a helping hand…

The ensnared young master, arms flailing, let out a desperate cry of "Save me! Ahhh!" as he was helplessly dragged off his horse and pinned to the ground by the undead.

Players were just too proficient at pulling riders off their steeds… As Jia Luo succeeded on her end, other wanderer players who followed suit also smoothly reaped their rewards.

Just as the wanderer players were adeptly flipping over several horsemen, the players of this vanguard team all received several lines of yellow text in their information panels:

———

Player Unceasing Entropy's group have triggered the hidden quest [Suspicious Hunters]

While wandering outside Indahl's west gate, you accidentally encounter a hunting party returning to the city.

These people seem to have respectable statuses, but you feel that there's something off. It's still early, and there isn't any game on their saddles, so why are they returning so soon?

After spotting you, they flee in panic. Driven by curiosity, you give chase and discover these people recklessly entering a village and injuring villagers without any regard.

There must be a shameful sin hiding behind these people, and you're determined to uncover the truth.

Suspicious Hunters: 4/13

———

"Hidden quest, huh!" The players were overjoyed.

"Quick, chase them! There are nine more!"

"Those with Windwalk on cooldown, watch the captives!"

After Windwalk ended, there's a lingering 15-second debuff that reduced speed by 30%. Jia Luo, with her thigh bone wedged against a captive's neck, started binding him while calling out to her sprinting companions, "Don't worry, they won't get away!"

Gathering the captured and having an auction to split the spoils after a battle were a routine the players were all too familiar with…

At the other end of the village's narrow path, which becomes even more rugged and uneven outside the village, the horsemen who failed to avert this disaster couldn't possibly shake off the undead that could maintain full speed on most terrains. (After all, they had honed their survival skills under the jaws of the giant rat at Exile Town's gate.)

In just a few minutes, they were all captured, along with their mounts, becoming the players' "quest items."

The players joyfully gathered the captives, confiscated the weapons hung on the saddles, auctioned them off on the spot, and then, while waiting for the NPC contingent to arrive, began brainstorming about the newly triggered hidden quest…

On the town road over 20 kilometers from Indahl where Yang Qiu was riding in a carriage with the main force, he calmly began drafting the quest text on the spot…

These husky-like players were bound to interact with the locals sooner or later. To prevent the players' entertainment from severely disrupting the lives of locals, Yang Qiu had to take precautions—this expeditionary quest, dispatched during the siege, was Yang Qiu's experiment.

Rather than rigorously guarding against players' gaming behavior, it's correct to delineate a safe line for players' gaming activities and allow them to happily game away within that threshold.

So, what constituted safe gaming behavior?

It's the elimination of violence and the maintenance of peace under the guise of hidden quests.

With the administrative resources at Yang Qiu's disposal, solving the security problems of the entire Indahl territory was obviously a drop in the bucket. Rather than that, it made more sense to make good use of the excessive energy and headache-inducing curiosity of the players, guide and regulate them properly, and turn these players into free voluntary militia for Indahl. That would be a win-win.

The only issue was the need for long haul monitoring of the imprint matrix… If all his time were spent on this, Yang Qiu wouldn't be able to do anything else.

And monitoring the imprint matrix required above-average mental strength, a firm will incapable of being influenced by players' unrestrained actions, rich life experience, and a strong sense of morality. Most people really couldn't handle this task… even if Yang Qiu gave them the authority.

Of course, this wasn't much of a problem. When Yang Qiu decided to use this method to make good use of the players' energy while enriching the game content, he already had the perfect candidate in mind.