96 Unfortunate timing (1/2)

A player named Thunderous rushed toward another Flying Demon whose HP was dangerously low. He did not immediately attack. He waited for the NPC soldier to strike first and then swiftly followed up, landing the killing blow. Thunderous instantly leveled up.

”What are you doing? Didn't the captain tell you to go and meet the princess' team?” shouted the NPC soldier whose target was just killed.

Thunderous smiled and replied: ”We are helping you to kill these demons faster. Our strength alone is not enough to deal with such demons, we will be useless if we are the only one protecting the princess anyway; we might as well help you get here quicker.”

Similar scenes were taking place all over the clearing. The players were patient and did not want to miss the great source of exp! The main reason they took this mission was to avoid the penalty of not participating. However, the reward of the quest was only 10000 exp. Just by killing two Flying Demons, they would earn as much DP as completing the quest.

There was no penalty for failing the quest or at the very least, the quest description did not mention any.

Li Wei commanded his horse to advance. He repositioned himself to get a better aim. He was not the only one, the two mages of the team also readied their spells.

He threw a throwing needle at one of the Flying Demons but the mages were faster. Before his needle could hit its target, several blue projectiles exploded on the Flying Demon, taking out the rest of its HP.

Li Wei frowned. He briefly looked at the mages but he did not hold any grudges; it was part of the game, they were all trying to kill steal.

'Looks like I won't be getting much now. My fatigue is already at 73% and my Dexterity fell down by two. My throwing needles deal at most 15 damage with the [Weapon Throwing] skill but the mages' spells easily deal 30...'

The mages leveled up and many other players started getting involved in the fight. Li Wei pulled his horse to the side. There were only eight players fighting to land the killing blow but the area felt cramped up.

'Instead of fighting here, would it not be best to head to the princess' group? Maybe they encountered another group of demons like that and with fewer players, it would be easier to farm,' thought Li Wei.

'Furthermore, I doubt the game would allow this. We are essentially forgetting about the quest and taking advantage of it to get some exp.'

He briefly looked at the other players focusing on the demons' HP bar. He then kicked his horse and without a word, departed in the direction of the princess' group.

”Hey, that guy is leaving. Should we follow him?” asked one of the mages.

”Him? Let him go. He already knows he cannot compete for the last hit of the demons. He should not be very confident in his reflexes. Why do we need to give up such a great exp farm?”

However, as soon as the mage spoke, a loud shriek sounded from the sky.

Several Flying demons flew down but this time, they did not aim for the soldier; instead, they attacked the players.

...

Li Wei was unaware of the trouble the players got themselves into. He continued forward and soon, joined the princess' group.

As he expected, they were already engaged in another battle but this time, the demons did not have any wings. Above their head was ”Level 25 One-Horned Demon”. They pale in comparison to the soldiers but there were so many that the soldiers were overwhelmed.

'I was right! The princess' group is going to constantly encounter enemies. The problem is just how long this quest is going to last... Boroughton is not very far but with my fatigue level, I won't make it there,' thought Li Wei.

'The system should not be so heartless. The quest should be completable but since it started late in the middle of the night, everyone's fatigue is high.'

Li Wei looked at the princess who was protected by three maids. 'Tsssk, does she even need our help?' sarcastically murmured Li Wei. The princess was a level 25 NPC and the three maids were all above level 30.

He did not waste too much time and drew his swords. 'The hardest part of the quest should not be very far... All the twenty soldiers are already fighting and a few are injured... Well, I will think about it later. For now, let's try to get some exp.'

A One-Horned Demon roared. It viciously clawed the soldier in front of it, ripping apart its shield. However, another soldier pierced its shell with a long spear.

Li Wei positioned himself next to the soldiers, carefully observing the demon's HP bar displaying 68. He waited and as soon as the demon's HP fell to 25, Li Wei hurried attacked.

His Dark Runic Swords sliced the air toward the One-Horned Demon but to his surprise, Li Wei failed to cut through the demon's tough shell.

”-7”, ”-9”

Two pitiful numbers appeared above the demon. It roared and turned its attention to Li Wei who attracted its aggro with the two attacks. Fortunately, before it could attack, the soldier swiftly beheaded the demon with his spear.

”Be careful, these demons have a tough armor. Just stay near the princess to protect her,” advised the soldier holding the shield. The soldiers did not bother with Li Wei and quickly moved to the next demon.

'Looks like I overestimated myself. Kill stealing monsters is not easy but it will be good practice for the future. The -2 on my strength is not helping either.'

Li Wei was not let down by his failure. He continued to persevere. He failed a few times but eventually, he succeeded:

[System prompt: You have slain a One-Horned Demon. You have gained 5190 exp]

Li Wei's eyes lit up, he finally got his first kill and the amount of exp was more than he could hope for. He quickly crouched next to the demon corpse. ”Collect”

He wore a satisfied expression as he looked at the eight [Demon Horn] and the nine [Demon Shell] in his inventory. Li Wei was not only focused on getting the last kills. He was also traveling across the battlefield, collecting the loot of the dead demons.

[System prompt: You have slain a One-Horned Demon. You have gained 4860 exp]

[System prompt: You have slain a One-Horned Demon. You have gained 5300 exp]

After a few minutes, the loud footsteps of horses sounded in the distance. Several players rushed into the clearing, bringing with them a small pack of hungry beasts.

”Looks like I will have to share the exp with them now...”

About twenty enraged beasts charged at the soldiers entangled with the demons. The soldiers were taken by surprise, causing their HP to drop.

Li Wei quickly reacted and joined the soldiers. He was too weak to deal with the demons but he could hold his ground against a beast.

”Sorry, there are too few of us to deal with this pack,” shouted one of the players with an embarrassed expression.

The battle continued but with the help of the enraged beasts, the demons gradually gained the upper hand. Two of the three maids beside the princess drew their weapons and rushed toward the beasts but despite their strength, they were still unable to turn the tides.

In the distance, Li Wei could already see the bright red eyes of the beasts looking at them. 'This is getting really complicated. I must not die here!'