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Distantly, they could hear the neighing of centaurs.

“Guild Master, I’ve surveyed the area. It’s a minor stronghold. It doesn’t look like a village, more like a small gathering place for centaurs.” Shadow Dance exclaimed over the voice chat.

“This forest is rather large. From the video we know that this is just one of six peripheral outposts surrounding the first boss’s base, with a lot of open land in between. There are centaur patrols, though not as frequent as at the outposts. I noticed the previous players simply detoured these zones, killing only a small number of centaurs and managing to reach the first boss’s area.” Li Jie explained.

“I too was puzzled before watching the video. Even though the first boss won’t be too tough, to kill him in just one day seemed too easy. It’s now clear that they simply sidestepped the encounters, essentially going straight to attacking the boss. The first boss certainly wouldn’t be too hard; as long as they’d accumulated ample equipment, it wouldn’t be surprising to get past this boss,” the Unparalleled Demoness surmised.

“Let’s also take a detour and go kill the boss,” Wide-eyed Mengmeng eagerly suggested. “Under our big brother’s command, we’ll soon catch up with the progress of the Devil Alliance. By then, let’s see if they can still be so arrogant,” Wide-eyed Mengming proposed.

All eyes turned to Li Yao, who was quick to ask: “Doesn’t this seem a bit strange to you?”

“Strange how?” Li Jie inquired.

Li Yao pointed out: “Think about it, wouldn’t it be too easy for us just to bypass all these mobs? Do you think the game design is faulty in allowing this?”

“Impossible, they wouldn’t overlook such an important aspect in a mainline dungeon.” Fruit Knight fervently disagreed.

Others nodded in agreement with Li Yao as he continued, “If it isn’t a design oversight, then there must be a reason for allowing this sort of strategy. The question is what?”

Everyone exchanged puzzled glances until newcomer Mu Zi cautiously suggested, “Maybe it’s meant to keep us guessing?”

Happiness is a Disease also chimed in: “Maybe it’s just a ploy to confuse us.”

Li Yao shook his head, replying, “Unlikely. Even if the designers had this intention, it still wouldn’t explain why the main program permits such an approach. Don’t forget about the concept of fantasy realness. The centaurs must have a reason for their positioning.”

The Unparalleled Demoness furrowed her brow, countering, “Given your confidence, it seems like you’ve figured something out.”

Li Yao nodded, responding, “It’s just a guess. When I entered the dungeon earlier, I released a fire hawk and this is what it reported back.”

Li Yao marked six points and drew a small circle in the middle. “These six points represent six outposts, and the circle in the middle depicts a small village where Khan’s tents are located. Do you see anything?”

“A hexagram.” Li Jie, Qin Feng Yi, and the Unparalleled Demoness replied in unison.

“Exactly, it seems to be forming an array. But why would they set up an array?” Li Yao shook his head and continued, “Although we don’t know, I’ve decided not to bypass, but instead to wipe out one outpost to see what we might discover.”

“Wipe out an outpost?” The team gasped in astonishment. This news was shocking. It was daunting just imagining how much time it would take to clear even one outpost, let alone all six.

“Won’t this delay us?” Li Jie asked, her brow furrowed.

“Don’t worry. Even if this does waste a bit of time, I’m confident we’ll get the world-first kill. Not even if the Devil Alliance is very powerful, it’s impossible for them to kill the boss in a short time.” was Li Yao’s reassurance.

“I also think there’s something fishy about these outposts. Why don’t we try clearing one outpost?” Unparalleled Demoness concurred.

“In that case, Shadow Dance, brief us on the situation at the outposts,” ordered Li Yao.

“The outposts are pretty straightforward. There are four high grounds around each outpost with centaurs patrolling from above. In the middle is a small gathering ground with approximately three thousand inhabitants,” Shadow Dance reported.

Li Jie frowned: “There are so many centaurs in just one outpost. That’s certainly unusual.”

The team seemed to unanimously agree, if every outpost shared this structure, then that is almost eighteen thousand troops. This number possibly comprises a significant bulk of their tribal forces.

The Unparalleled Demoness asked: “Are all these three thousand troops silver elites?”

Shadow Dance said: “I randomly appraised plenty, all silver elites, and starred ones at that.”

The group gasped in shock. So many silver elites, even starred silver elites—it was downright horrifying.

Twentieth-level silver elites were already daunting, not to mention starred ones. Their offense, defense, and vitality were all at the pinnacle.

Although they were now all elite professions, gaining a star still required completing an extremely difficult task.

“There are barely twenty of us; rushing forward would be suicide.” Wide-eyed Mengmeng looked at Li Yao and asked, “What should we do?”

Li Yao replied, “I’ve mentioned before that this is a war-themed dungeon, so I’ve come fully prepared. Follow me.”

Li Yao led the team toward the outpost, easily clearing away the two or three small groups they came across on the way.

They came to a clearing where Li Yao began to unload various items from his backpack, forming a large pile.

“What’s this?” Li Jie questioned.

While assembling the items, Li Yao replied, “I borrowed these five crossbows and a plague catapult from the lady officer. I have to return them after use.”

“You have quite the influence.” The team was speechless, these kind of military supplies were tightly controlled. Even if someone managed to borrow them, they would require a cart to transport them. They couldn’t just carry them around like Li Yao.

Li Yao himself didn’t know how to build a catapult or a crossbow, he could only assemble them.

If a guild wanted to borrow even one crossbow, they would have to pay a steep price. Only Li Yao could manage to borrow so many in one go.

Li Yao worked swiftly, taking about five minutes to assemble each one. It took him half an hour to finish all the preparations. The catapult was positioned on a small hill, and the crossbows were placed at various locations.

He then said, “Shortly, I will command the fire hawk to ignite a fire in an outpost. This will provoke a portion of the centaurs to rush out. Those of you I assigned earlier, control the crossbows diligently and keep firing. Particularly, the Demoness, if you fail to aim the plague catapult at the crowd of centaurs, we will be in big trouble.”

“Don’t worry,” the Unparalleled Demoness responded, “It’s not as difficult as it seems.”

“Good, then. The rest of you, come with me to an open terrain. We are about to start the attack,” Li Yao announced, leading the way.

With the confidence instilled by the crossbows and plague catapult, the members of Starfire quickly formed a battle line.

Suddenly, a blazing red silhouette swooped towards the outpost, followed by a shower of fiery feathers.

Roars erupted from within the outpost as the fire hawk circled around, scattering a ring of flames before flying straight towards Li Yao’s position.

The centaurs were quick to respond. The thunderous noise of chaotic hooves reverberated through the air…