The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

Su Mu leaned against the tree trunk and closed his eyes. But his ears were still listening, his nose was still smelling, and his skin was still sensing the movement of the air. He needed rest, but he dared not sleep.

Those people could relax, be smug, be arrogant, but he couldn't. Because he knew that those monsters weren't defeated, but rather driven away by something, or eaten by something. Whatever it was, that thing was stronger than those monsters.

The fire flickered, as if responding to some unseen wind. Lin Xiaohe looked up at Su Mu; her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.

She lowered her head and continued sharpening her knife. Lin Yuwei, holding the silver-spotted leopard cub, felt the little creature in her arms suddenly tense up, its ears perked up, its tail tucked between its legs, emitting a low, warning hiss. She followed the cub's gaze, but saw nothing but darkness.

The night breeze stopped.

The chirping of insects stopped. The entire dense forest seemed to have been paused; all sounds vanished at the same moment, leaving only the crackling of the flickering flames.

Then the ground moved again. This time it was more obvious than before; it wasn't "something moving underground," but rather "something about to emerge from underground." Su Mu opened his eyes.

.......

It was late at night, a short rest, but most people had already fallen into a light sleep.

The fire burned for most of the night, with firewood being added round after round. The flames went from blazing to a dim yellow, and then to a dark red, like a group of trapped beasts struggling in their death throes, making their final crackling sounds.

The watchmen stood at the edge of the defensive line, their eyelids heavy with sleep, but dared not close their eyes. Those resting huddled in their sleeping bags, warming themselves by the fire, their weapons within easy reach.

Most people thought that was the end of the night.

Several waves of harmless attacks, a few level three or four goblins and zombies, were easily repelled by the defense line, with zero casualties. Many people were already thinking... once they reached the safe zone, they would be considered survivors with some strength, having killed dozens of monsters, leveled up several times, and acquired several pieces of equipment. Back on the cable, they would be considered someone of note.

Then the ground shook.

It wasn't the subtle tremor like something turning over underground, but a violent vibration, like something trying to crawl out from underground, that made your feet go numb.

Gravel bounced on the ground, fallen leaves were shaken into the air, and firewood in the fire tumbled out, sparks flying everywhere. The watchman's eyes snapped open, the beam of his flashlight shining into the depths of the dense forest, then his pupils contracted to pinpoints at the end of the beam.

Deep in the dense forest, in the darkness, something was moving. Not just one or two, but a whole swarm. Dense, overwhelming, like a black tide surging from the earth.

"Enemy attack...!"

Before the shouts had even finished, the first wave of attacks arrived.

Instead of monsters charging at you for close combat, it was rocks and fire bottles that flew out of the darkness. The rocks were as big as an adult's fist, and the force with which they were thrown was astonishing; they dented the roof of the car when they hit it, and broke bones when they hit people.

The fire bottle was a simple glass bottle filled with some kind of viscous, burning liquid. When it was smashed on the ground, it would explode into a ball of flame, and if it hit a person, it would instantly burn them into a fireball.

The defense line was torn open in several places in an instant, and screams, shouts and curses mingled together like a pot of boiling porridge.

"Goblin! It's a goblin! But it's twice the size of the previous one!"

"Fire bottle! Get out of the way of the fire bottle!"

"Damn it, my car is smashed to pieces...!"

The beam of the flashlight swept across the darkness, finally illuminating the shapes of the monsters.

Goblins, but unlike the ones we'd encountered before. They were at least twice the size of ordinary goblins, with bulging muscles and skin that wasn't the usual green, but a deeper, darker green, like black jade. They wore simple leather armor and carried stone axes, wooden clubs, and slings. The leader was a full size larger than the others, wearing a crown woven from animal bones and feathers, and carrying a hammer taller than itself.

The hammerhead was stained with dark red blood and bits of flesh; countless people had died beneath it. It stood on a protruding tree root, emitting a sharp, whistling cry as it commanded the goblins to charge, throw darts, and flank.

Someone recognized the monsters. "Aren't these the monsters from Grand Forest in DNF? Goblins, minotaurs, cat demons...aren't these some of the maps in Grand Forest?"

"It really is! The goblins are from the outskirts of Grand Forest, the minotaurs are from the Dark Forest, and the cat demons are from Thunder Ruins... Could we have entered Grand Forest?"

"How strong can the monsters in the game be? With so many professionals like us, why would we be afraid of them?"

The person who said that quickly shut up.

Because the goblins' strength far exceeded their expectations.

Ordinary goblins are between level five and six; the stones thrown from their slings can pierce the metal of armored vehicles. The goblin squad leader is level seven; with a swing of his stone axe, he sent a guild's shield warrior flying, shield and all, leaving a deep crack in the shield and the warrior's arm bent at an unnatural angle.

The goblin leader, a level eight goblin, stood on a tree root and slammed its hammer into the ground, creating a crater. Debris and dirt flew everywhere, and several soldiers closest to it were thrown away by the shockwave, crashing to the ground, bleeding from their mouths and noses, unable to get up.

"Level 8! That goblin leader is level 8!" someone shouted.

"So what if it's level eight? It's not like we haven't played level eight before!"

"You fought a level 8 normal monster; this is a level 8 elite... and it's green!"

The person who shouted fell silent. An eighth-level elite, green-clad. How many people present could possibly take on an eighth-level elite one-on-one?

Guild leaders began organizing their forces to fight back.

Zhang Peng, leading his little zebra, directed his men to form a defensive formation: shield warriors in front, damage dealers in the back, and healers in the middle. His formation was very stable; goblins' fire bottles and rocks slammed into the shields, forcing the shield warriors back, but they did not break apart.

Zhao Derong rushed to the front, swinging the hammer like a windmill in his hand. He smashed the head of a goblin with one blow, smashed the arm of a goblin squad leader with another, and then smashed the goblin leader with a third blow.

The hammers clashed in mid-air, producing a deafening metallic clang. Zhao Derong's hand split open, blood trickling down the hammer handle. The goblin leader swayed, then steadied himself, and the hammer slammed down again.

Zhao Derong gritted his teeth and took the second blow.