Chapter 322 - 322. Vanguard Troops Advance!
The monsters that were in front of them were large humanoid creatures. They had a broad physique and short legs, Their entire bodies were covered by reddish-brown hair. Their hands were large and they clenched their fists to form knuckles that were no less intimidating than a sledgehammer.
These humanoid monsters were called Violent Ape. It was amongst the ones in Jack's hunting quest list. In the grassland that the army was passing at, there were giant trees situated sparsely. These trees were the Violent Apes' home. When the army approached, the Violent Apes came out from these trees and put on an aggressive posture.
Perhaps it was also because their house tree was there that these Violent Apes did not flee. Either way, Jack did not let this chance go. He gave the order for the army to attack. The soldiers all dismounted and unsummoned their steeds before engaging the monsters.
Most of these Violent Ape was level 30. The proportion between Elite grade and Basic grade within the monster's rank was around forty to sixty. More and more elite-grade monsters could be easily found as the monster's level increased.
Although the monsters' levels were high, the NPC soldiers Jack commanded were also level 30 on average. The squad leaders amongst them were all Elite Human of at least level 35. Combined with the soldiers' numbers which far outnumbered the monsters, they had no problem taking on the apes.
The Violent Apes fought with very simple methods. They mostly relied on their physical strength and used their hands as their main weapons. Their speed was also fast and they fought aggressively. Once they caught onto an opponent, they would club at it incessantly until the opponent was down. Jack doubted if he could fight against such a monster toe to toe with his current level.
Good thing that the soldiers had good cooperation with each other. The ones bearing heavy shields went to intercept the Violent Apes' charge, while their comrades behind used long spears to stab at them. Archers stood behind the melee unit and shot volleys of arrows which traveled in an arc and hit the monsters in front of the melee units. Although rare, there were also mage and healer units within the soldiers' ranks. They stood at the back and used their offensive and healing spells to support the melee units that clashed directly with the Violent Apes.
The players also stayed at the back. Their levels were too low to provide any significant contribution to the fighting soldiers. Still, they gave whatever small aids they could give. Bowler joined the healer units' rank and cast his Heal spell on the front-line soldiers. Flame learned from the archer units and copied the angle of their shots to hit the Violent Apes that were beyond the front-line units.
Jack fearlessly moved forward to get closer to the front line, since he had the highest survivability rate amongst the players. He cast Mana Bullet and Energy Bolts whenever there was an opportunity. He did not dare to use Arcane Turbulence for fear of inflicting friendly fire on the soldiers.
Only melee players like The Man and his underlings were completely useless in this battle. Considering their love for combat, it was really torturous to not be able to join in on the action. The Man tried to sneak closer to the front line, but Jack caught the guy and scolded him back to the rear. He would just get clubbed to death by the Violent Apes if they caught him.
The Man was morose with their situation, but then streams of experience points came in as the Violent Apes started falling. All the players were surprised by the amount of experience they received, except for Jack, who had fought many high-level monsters before. Those Violent Apes were level 30 monsters, after all. Many were even Elite grade. There were around twenty to thirty of the apes in total, not yet counting the ones that were defeated by the other two wings.
It was no wonder that the experiences these low-level players received were enormous, even after being divided by a total of twenty-five of them in the party. Some lowest level members which were level 19, had their level increased to level 20 once the battle was over.
"Bro, this is awesome!" Bowler exclaimed in elation. "I will get to level 21 soon with a couple more battles like now."
Jack smiled at his comment. He was glad that the plan finally worked. Otherwise, he would feel bad for inviting them all into this expedition. Captain Salem went around checking the wounded soldiers. Jack followed him, the troops were his responsibility after all. The ones who were not healed by the healers took out recovery potions and drank them. No one was killed, to Jack's relief. They rested for a bit to let everyone recuperate.
Jack took the chance to message the other two wings. He could see them at a distance but he was not sure of their conditions. They appeared to also have combats just now. He soon received reports that both wings had won the battles without any casualties.
The main army was approaching from the back while they stopped to rest. Jack could see them getting closer. He went another round again to check on everyone. After making sure everyone had rested enough, he gave the command for them to re-summon their steeds. Everyone mounted up and started to gallop at high speed again, putting some distance from the approaching main army.
The cycle continues, as the three vanguard troops continued to engage the monsters to pave a smooth pathway for the main army's march.
Bowler indeed leveled up to level 21 after a few more battles. Many others also leveled up. Jack's level still stayed the same as the amount of experience he received was shared between his two classes, but it should also not long anymore for him to get his level up. If he did not have the Hard-working Achiever title equipped, he would get left behind even further from the others.
The army made a stop once the sun was set and the sky turned dark. Same as the night before, the soldiers started setting up tents for them to rest in. The tents they constructed were large ones that could fit many people inside, unlike the small personal tents that the players possessed.
As a guest to the army, they were also provided such big tent. Three such tents were provided to them, each one could hold a maximum of ten occupants. Jack wondered if players could get their hands on one such tent in the future. This type of tent should be at least rare-grade, right?
He asked Peniel about it, who confirmed that one might get it if one had the chance. However, the tent they were using now was only an uncommon grade, not a rare one. It did not have any special function, its only advantage over the common tent was only its larger occupancy.
The players had dinner together circling a large bonfire outside their tents. Jack and the others who had higher than average cooking skills made the meals.
"Yo, Sunset. I have to ask. Why did you pick a healer class, man?" The Man asked the latest addition of their group.
"What's wrong with being a healer?" Sunset Walking asked in return.
"Yeah, what's wrong with picking a healer class?" Bowler asked as well, since he was also one.
"Well, I just find it strange," The Man said.
"I think what our man here trying to say is, it doesn't suit your hobby," John chimed in. "You see, if you are like our friend Bowler here who enjoys latching onto other people, you being a healer makes much more sense..."
Bowler was about to hurl the meal he held in his hands at John, but Jack caught his arm and said, "I'm not cooking another portion for you if you throw that away."
John never stopped talking, "… but since you enjoy traveling, and the fact that you are alone here when we found you among the army. That shows that you like to travel by yourself. Now, the prospect of survivability for a lone healer traveling through a world filled with monsters is not very bright. Whether in this world or in any other past RPG games, a healer always needs company. Well, at least that is the way for games that use classic pure healer class. There were several games where healers were defiled into having excellent damage-dealing as well but we are not talking about those craps. Anyway, you don't look like a beginner, you should know the limitation of the healer class as well, which will limit your ability to travel alone. Even if you like magic, picking a mage class is more in line with your hobby. So back to The Man's question, why becomes a healer?"