I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Finally, after sending a message to Feng Yu and the others, Lu Ban picked up the crowbar and opened the system interface.

After experiencing the bountiful rewards of the [Alienation] difficulty level, Lu Ban felt that he could no longer accept the small water pipe of the [Erosion] difficulty level. His whole being had transformed into the shape of the [Alienation] difficulty level, and he was unable to extricate himself.

Therefore, he decisively chose the [Alienation] difficulty level.

"Speaking of which, how will these differences in difficulty be reflected in the alien realm?"

Lu Ban suddenly became curious.

For example, in games, difficulty mostly affects the monster's health and damage, and sometimes there are differences in ability and type, but the quests in Silent Lands can't possibly change the creature patterns of the Otherworld, right?

Could it be due to the different birth points?

Like this mission, it seems that the Black Tower's deployment in the Black Forest is divided into front and rear lines. Perhaps the [Alienation] difficulty level is on the front line, while the [Mortal] difficulty level is guarding the warehouse in the rear.

Oh, there's no [Mortal] difficulty level. That's fine then.

Lu Ban saw that the lowest level of this task was [Contamination], which meant that as long as one entered the alien realm where the task was located, there was a possibility of being contaminated by indescribable things, making it a relatively difficult task.

To be honest, even on Earth, facing a pack of wolves or a herd of wild animals, even a group of well-trained soldiers might not be able to escape unscathed, let alone in a foreign land.

This level of difficulty is reasonable.

The images on the computer suddenly zoomed in, and a chilling wind blew from the depths of the forest, causing Lu Ban to shiver involuntarily.

The howl of some kind of monster rang in my ears, and characters made of ice and snow appeared.

[Enter the Silent Land?]

【whether】

Lu Ban reached out and touched the [Yes].

In an instant, the wind and snow intensified, making it impossible to open one's eyes. Lu Ban felt his hands and feet were frozen stiff, and even his breath turned into frost.

Lu Ban felt his blood rapidly cooling down, and everything around him was covered by wind and snow.

The flow of time in the Silent Land is different from that in the outside world.

The time ratio for this trip is 1.5:1.

[Onward to the Land of Night]

The icy feeling dissipated for a moment, and Lu Ban heard the monster's howl lingering in his ears, unable to disappear for a long time. Around him, pure white and pitch-black light intertwined, mixed with dark red glow.

Lu Ban felt dizzy. No matter how many times he had traveled to other worlds, he could not get rid of this dizziness. It was not just weightlessness, but the feeling of rejection brought about by being detached from one world and entering another.

When Lu Ban came to her senses, she felt a chill on her cheek.

He found himself lying prone in the snow, the warmth of his cheeks melting some of the ice and snow, forming a moist trickle.

Lu Ban did not make any rash moves. He stood up abruptly and glanced at his side.

The person wearing a gray-white cloak was not far from him, also lying prostrate on the snow. They were like statues, hidden in the white snow.

This is a forest, where the towering trees are more robust than any old tree Lu Ban has ever seen. Each tree trunk is over three meters tall, and they are more like towering stone pillars than trees.

Among these massive trees, there were also some smaller trees, which were larger than most of the trees Lu Ban had ever seen. The vibrant life of this forest had not diminished because of the snow cover, but in this silence, something more dangerous seemed to be brewing.

Lu Ban saw that the person next to him was holding a crossbow and aiming it forward. He glanced at himself and saw that he also had a crossbow next to him.

Without much effort, Lu Ban quickly mastered how to use the crossbow.

Some say that the use of crossbows marked the decline of the knightly era, as a crossbowman who had only been trained for a few days could easily kill a well-equipped knight. In retrospect, there is indeed some truth to that.

A flash of inspiration struck him. He stared ahead, and in the dark depths, something seemed to be approaching, carrying a dangerous aura, like a lurking predator.

Lu Ban could feel the earth trembling; something that did not belong to humankind was approaching.

The next moment, Lu Ban heard a low growl.

Surprisingly, the sound came from directly in front of Lu Ban, less than five meters away.

Prior to this, Lu Ban had no idea that there were monsters there.

He saw that it was a creature similar to a wolfhound, but with six legs, like a large worm. Its gray fur was stained with dirt, and its four pupils were blood red. It bared its sharp teeth and pounced on Lu Ban.

At the same time, Lu Ban saw that the swirling snowflakes formed the system's cold and indifferent text.

【Land of Night】

[In the year of prosperity and frosty leaves, the blood moon is approaching.]

The prophecy of the Observatory has come true; the demonic tide is imminent. The outposts of the Black Tower are ablaze with signal fires, and the candlelight representing civilization flickers precariously in the dark forest.

[In the fortress deep within the decaying forest, an unusual anomaly has occurred. Perhaps more terrifying than the swarming monsters of the demonic tide is the human heart.]

Pick up your weapon; in the ice and snow, only the warmth of metal brings peace of mind.

[Mission Requirement: Survive until the demonic tide ends]

[Difficulty: Alienation]

Chapter 260 Ranger

Without much time to think about the mission, Lu Ban raised the crossbow with one hand and simultaneously materialized the [Last Words] with the other.

bang——

Before Lu Ban could pull the trigger, the gray wolf crashed into an invisible, transparent barrier.

bang bang bang-

Lu Ban saw that several similar monsters had crashed into the barrier, trying to break through but unable to move forward.

Whoosh whoosh—

The next moment, the crossbow bolt was fired.

Sparse but deadly arrows pierced the monsters' bodies, their eyes, and their fur; black blood dripped onto the ground, melting the snow and emitting a cold, foul stench.

Lu Ban noticed that the crossbow bolts were sparse because they were fired by three groups of people.

The three groups of people were staggered, with only one-third of them shooting arrows at a time. After one volley was finished, the second group would take over, and those who had just fired would start reloading their crossbows.

A classic medium-range weapon tactic.

However, Lu Ban wasn't quite sure which round he was in. He saw that after three rounds of volley fire, the monsters were almost retreating.

Then he heard a noise behind him, turned around and saw several people wearing heavy armor and cloaks.

Lu Ban, who had just thought the outfit looked familiar, then remembered that it was Xi Ya's attire.

They are monks.

The moment they realized this, an invisible shockwave spread from the hands of those mages.

In an instant, the monsters that had not yet fallen collapsed as if they had been hit head-on by a cannonball, starting from the tip of their noses. Their flesh and blood formed a clear columnar cavity, and their hideous bodies were flung onto the surrounding tree trunks, dripping blood.

Finally, it's time to clean up the mess.

The people worked in groups of three to finish off all the monsters that had fallen to the ground, piercing their bodies with spears three times until they were completely dead.

Lu Ban climbed out of the snow and saw the person next to him patting the snow off his cloak.

"See? I told you there was no danger."

He looked much younger than Lu Ban, probably only sixteen or seventeen years old, with a youthful face and a touch of childishness, but his posture while holding the crossbow was quite standard.

“Birmingham, come help.”

Behind him, an older man called out, and the boy followed.

His name was Birmingham.

Lu Ban had gotten used to it. The names of the people in the Night Kingdom were more Western in style, with some Eastern influences as well, but they were probably all located in remote areas. At least in the Gray Tower and Black Tower, this style of names and customs was more widespread.

Looking around, monster corpses were everywhere, and the gaps in the trees were deep and dark, with only the crystals held by some people emitting light to illuminate the area.

"After we've packed everything up, we'll load it onto the vehicle and head back to the fortress."

"That's what the leading mage said."

Horses pulled the carts, which were loaded with the corpses of monsters. Although they were ferocious, it seemed that the monsters' flesh and blood were an important food source. Lu Ban followed behind Birmingham, listening to him ramble on and on.

"As I said, hunting is not dangerous under normal circumstances. Our tactics are very well-developed, and we will not be in any trouble even if we are ambushed."

He pointed to the line ahead.

The cargo was located in the center, with crossbowmen like Lu Ban and Birmingham on the outer edge, and infantrymen in light armor carrying spears on the outer circle. Mages rode horses and weaved through the ranks, the commander walked at the head of the ranks, and scouts on horseback, light and agile, were scattered in the woods, guarding the surrounding area in three layers.

In this way, even if monsters attack the outermost scouts, the scouts in the middle can still transmit the information back, allowing the team to prepare for battle.

This doesn't even include the constant detection spells used by the mages. Lu Ban had seen Xi Ya's spells, which could at least guarantee that there were no enemies within a hundred meters. Under such a tight intelligence network, it was indeed not easy to be attacked and defeated.

Lu Ban chatted casually with Birmingham on the way and figured out the current situation.

This is a military organization called the Rangers, which is under the Black Tower and is a force specifically used to defend the Black Forest. Lu Ban's unit is a sentry force belonging to Black Fortress, the largest fortress in the Black Forest.

The Rangers are a diverse group, ranging from scions of mage families born in the Grey Tower who know no magic to impoverished families who can't even afford to eat. Anyone who joins the Rangers will receive basic food and clothing, but they will also undergo training and stand on the front lines guarding the Black Forest.

As for the mages, they were military mages sent by the Gray Tower to guard the fortress. According to Lu Ban's observation, their force of about fifty men would be equipped with three mages, but he was not sure if that was too many or too few.

Even the forest rangers themselves seem to be differentiated.

Scouts are equipped with horses and are mostly trained young men who have mastered some unique combat skills.

Most of the infantrymen came from poor families and were equipped with spears, axes, warhammers, etc. They wore leather armor, which could only prevent scratches.

Crossbowmen are derived from infantrymen, promoted based on their performance or prior training in crossbows. They are also equipped with short swords, and some even have tracer arrows that can illuminate an area. In the dark forest where ancient trees tower and block out the sunlight, their role is crucial.

The commander, dressed in chainmail, mounted a horse, and carried a sword, appeared to be in his thirties or forties, with sharp eyes.

None of the three mages were particularly old, perhaps only a year or two older than Lu Ban. What was intriguing was that these mages wore the heaviest armor, like the tin cans worn by medieval knights.

"The town of Heisong is ahead. The people there are very nice. We can rest there for a while."

Birmingham was very outgoing and kept talking about this and that.

It seems that in his mind, Lu Ban was a new recruit, and Birmingham was Lu Ban's older brother.

"Don't worry, I'm here. No one can bully you. Call me 'Big Brother,' and I'll protect you."

Birmingham patted Lu Ban on the shoulder.

"Big brother."