Chapter 246 - 245: Target Town

Chapter 246: Chapter 245: Target Town

Jin Chang strode quickly over to Gu Su, the smile on his face growing more genuine, his tone carrying a hint of surprise and delight. "Brother Gu, what brings you here in person? I thought you’d wait for the Graveyard Demon to arrive and come over together."

He clearly hadn’t expected Gu Su to make a special trip. His original plan was to have Li Li arrange for men from outside.

He truly hadn’t imagined Gu Su would rush over the moment he heard the news.

A faint smile played on Gu Su’s lips as he answered candidly, "I heard you were joining forces with the Deceivers to attack a town, so I came to check out the situation and see if I could help."

At this, he raised his gaze slightly, his eyes sweeping over the Deceiver contingent not far away. He added with a smile, "So, how are things? Is there anywhere I can be of use?"

Jin Chang’s face flashed with astonishment. He clearly hadn’t expected Gu Su to be so direct and proactively offer his assistance.

After a brief moment of shock, he immediately recovered and nodded eagerly, his voice urgent and joyous. "Yes, of course!

Brother Gu, your presence is a huge help to us!

Come, let me introduce you. This is the leader of the Grass Thorn Deceiver faction. You can just call him Winter."

As he spoke, Jin Chang stepped aside, guiding the tall, imposing Deceiver from behind him to stand before Gu Su. His voice was full of praise. "Winter is an exceptionally talented and powerful individual.

Through his own courage and wisdom, he single-handedly conquered all the nearby Deceivers affected by the scarecrow anomaly, uniting our once-scattered kind into the Grass Thorn faction you see today.

Furthermore, he has mastered a unique method to both evade pursuit from the scarecrow anomalies and precisely eliminate those monstrous creatures. His Power is not to be underestimated."

After a pause, Jin Chang added, "Even without the help of us players, Winter already had plans to take a town and establish a territory for the Deceivers.

Our arrival just gave him a bit more confidence."

During Jin Chang’s introduction, Winter slowly raised his eyes and let his gaze fall on Gu Su, giving a slight nod in greeting.

His expression was calm, betraying little emotion, and he was surrounded by a steady aura that set him completely apart from the other, slightly restless Deceivers.

Gu Su’s eyes instinctively fell upon Winter, and as he sized him up, he quickly noticed what made him different from the other Deceivers.

Winter’s body was entwined with numerous heavy, iron instruments.

Cold Iron Rings were clamped tightly around his limbs and neck. Even his mouth was half-covered by an iron mask, leaving only a pair of deep, sharp eyes exposed. Faint traces of aberrant energy still lingered on the rings, looking particularly jarring.

Seeing Winter’s peculiar appearance, Gu Su couldn’t help but feel a flicker of surprise.

’By the looks of it, without the restraint of these iron instruments, Winter would have long since been completely corrupted by the scarecrow’s power, turning into a mindless, aberrant scarecrow himself.’

’These Iron Rings must be the key he uses to suppress the aberrant energy within his body and hold on to his own consciousness.’

What surprised Gu Su, however, was that neither Jin Chang beside him nor the other Grass Thorn Deceivers in the distance seemed to find Winter’s Iron Rings strange. Their expressions were casual, clearly accustomed to his appearance.

’I see,’ Gu Su realized. ’They already know about Winter’s condition and have gotten used to it. There shouldn’t be any immediate problems.’

With that, Gu Su withdrew his gaze and gave Winter a slight nod, saying in a level voice, "Leader Winter, hello."

Winter nodded again, a low, guttural sound of acknowledgment rumbling in his throat, as if the Iron Ring was preventing him from speaking clearly.

Gu Su didn’t bother with further pleasantries, smoothly joining Jin Chang and Winter’s conversation. He listened quietly, wanting to get a grasp of the current situation as quickly as possible.

From Jin Chang and Winter’s discussion, Gu Su gradually pieced together the whole story.

Winter had decided to attack the town for two main reasons. On one hand, the arrival of veteran players like Jin Chang had given the Grass Thorn Deceivers the confidence and hope to resist, allowing them to see a path toward escaping their oppression and establishing their own territory.

On the other hand, the number of Grass Thorn Deceivers had now grown to a point where simply hiding in abandoned manors was no longer enough to support so many of their kind.

More critically, as the Grass Thorn Deceivers continued to exist, the pursuit from the scarecrow anomalies grew ever more frantic. Their attacks became fiercer with each wave, and scattered hiding spots could no longer guarantee their safety.

Winter knew very well that if they wanted to truly escape their fate of being hunted, they had to gather all the Deceivers in the vicinity affected by the scarecrow anomaly. Only by uniting into a formidable force could they hope to withstand the scarecrows’ relentless Attacks.

Gu Su understood that Jin Chang and the others’ appearance had merely accelerated Winter’s original plan.

Even without the players’ help, Winter would have eventually led the Grass Thorn Deceivers to take this step. After all, their backs were against the wall; resistance was their only path to survival.

And long before Jin Chang’s group arrived, Winter had already set his sights on a town, the very target of their current attack plan: Trebot.

When Gu Su arrived, Jin Chang, Winter, and the others were gathered around a crude map, repeatedly discussing the specific strategy for assaulting the town.

How to breach the town’s defenses, how to allocate their forces, how to deal with the aberrant guards within the walls—every detail was being discussed meticulously.

Noticing Gu Su listening in, Jin Chang deliberately paused the conversation to explain Trebot’s situation to him. "The town is called Trebot. The name translates to ’little train station.’

It’s actually one of several important transit stations in the Koba Region. Back when the Koba Region was thriving, this place was a major transportation hub."

He paused, then continued, "Back then, all the agricultural products from the nearby villages would be routed through this train station and eventually shipped to the central city of the Koba Region.

There, these products would be processed into cattle feed. The cows fed with it would produce milk, which was then sent to factories, made into various dairy products, and sold."

Recalling Trebot’s former prosperity, Jin Chang’s voice took on a wistful tone. "During the Koba Region’s peak, Trebot also experienced comprehensive development.

The town alone covered an area of 400,000 square meters, a very considerable size.

Besides the core train station, the town was also home to over 5,000 people, with all sorts of functional buildings."

Then, Jin Chang began to list them off in a clear, organized manner: "The town had a general store stocked with all kinds of daily necessities, a tavern for people to rest and drink, a blacksmith’s forge, stables for horses, an inn for travelers, a post office for sending mail, a courthouse to maintain order, a prison to hold criminals, a church and a chapel for worship, a doctor’s clinic to treat the injured, a school for education, as well as a mill for processing grain, a cotton gin, a lumber mill for processing Wood, a brewery, a butcher shop, and so on. It covered nearly every aspect of life and production."

"In addition, not far from the town’s outskirts, there are at least three graveyards of varying styles, where the town’s former residents and passing travelers are buried."

Jin Chang added, his tone returning to normal. "Although the town is completely abandoned now, covered in signs of decay and devoid of its former glory, its sheer size still far surpasses any of the nearby abandoned manors.

If we can successfully take it, many of the buildings can be used after some minor repairs. It would be an absolutely perfect base for us."