CHAPTER 651: CHAPTER 536: SANDSTORM

The howling wind sounded like wolf wails, blowing across the land with a ghostly cheer.

The flags on the earthen walls were swayed uncontrollably by the gale, some even snapped from the flagpoles.

The sky was an ominous gray, with sand and gravel dancing wildly in the air, leaving the tents rustling ominously.

A sandstorm was coming...

For the Death Desert, already strewn with yellow sands, sandstorms were a common occurrence.

After the Death Desert storyline opened, players weren’t strangers to it either.

However, encountering such a huge sandstorm was indeed a first.

The world turned dim and chaotic, filled with flying sands and rolling stones.

It was clearly daytime, yet the entire world seemed to plunge into night.

Nature’s Heart Guild headquarters.

Li Mu sat in his tent, listening to the whistling wind slapping against the canvas.

He glanced at the game’s system time, walked to the tent entrance, and cautiously lifted a corner...

With his movement, the fierce wind rushed in, carrying dense yellow sand, striking his face like raindrops.

In an instant, Li Mu felt a sharp pain on his face, overwhelmed by a suffocating sensation.

He coughed a few times and quickly closed the tent door, adjusting his pain sensitivity to a lower setting.

Already in mere moments, a layer of yellow sand had accumulated on the ground.

Spitting out the sand that had gotten into his mouth while coughing, Li Mu couldn’t help but curse,

"Damn this weather... It’s a real waste of time."

"What’s good about Elf Kingdom," he thought.

*Sometimes it chased realism so much that it brought all sorts of inconvenience.*

Take this sandstorm weather for instance. Once it started, it would last for half a day to a full day.

During this period, players couldn’t go outside; otherwise, they would experience what sandstorm suffocation felt like.

If unlucky, they might end up going GG, sent back to the World Tree...

It couldn’t be helped.

No matter how powerful players became, they still needed to breathe normally.

Such extreme weather made it impossible to breathe, and even silver-level players could suffocate to death if staying out too long.

And there were precedents for this...

He sighed heavily, shaking his head in resignation.

It had been two days since the Half-Beasts’ attack.

After their aggressive move ended in a disastrous defeat, the Half-Beasts, seemingly intimidated, holed up inside and outside Sandstorm City, unwilling to venture out again.

Meanwhile, players could only pick up their previous strategy, starting to attack the nearby Half-Beast Tribes.

Today, Li Mu initially planned to lead the guild members out to search for Half-Beast Tribes available for raids.

But it seemed like those plans were dashed now...

The sandstorm had come.

Players could only stay obediently in their tents, use pre-dug tunnels to teleport back to the Elf Forest, or go offline to wait until the storm passed before reentering the game...

This wouldn’t be too bad.

With accelerated thinking, even staying in the tent, players could find a thousand ways to entertain themselves.

Watching series, playing cards, doing homework, chatting and coding, or reading novels, anything was possible.

The fourfold thinking acceleration made many things exhilarating, equivalent to gaining three times more time for free.

However, Li Mu was pondering over another matter...

"With war spoils becoming scarcer, the guild camaraderie is starting to disintegrate, we can’t delay any longer."

He shook his head.

The war had been going on in the game for months.

The army had been dispatched for over half a month.

During this time, attracted by high mission rewards and abundant spoils, players maintained astonishing solidarity, fighting more fiercely with each battle.

However, as the war dragged on, many things had their limits...

Such as the players’ enthusiasm.

Their enthusiasm was primarily driven by interests.

As the number of fightable Half-Beast Tribes dwindled, it was evident that everyone’s fervor was diminishing.

Moreover, though the previous battle secured a beautiful victory, some players who didn’t see much action didn’t find it satisfying enough...

With layers stacking up, instances of players leaving the camp had started to occur over the past two days.

This was outside of Li Mu’s expectations.

A victory, though repelling the Half-Beast Army, also exhausted the players’ camaraderie...

Of course, there were solutions.

Continue finding fightable Half-Beast Tribes.

As long as there were more gains, players would choose to stay, just like they did ten days ago.

However, the players had raided viciously the previous days, and nearly all the nearby tribes had been plundered.

Those fortunate enough not to have been visited yet were mostly retreating in whole tribes.

Especially after the Half-Beasts’ attack failed...

So... players found less and less spoils.

The spoils couldn’t meet the players’ demands, so it was normal for some to choose to return to the Elf Forest or Underworld to grind monsters.

Seizing the chance to return to the Elf Forest for some fun, wasn’t that appealing?

Why stay here waiting in vain?

Wait until the decisive battle, then rush over!

That’s what many thought.

However, dispersing was easy, regrouping was hard.

The distance here to the Elf Forest was too far, coupled with the Half-Beasts’ faith interference, even though players had dug a five-kilometer-long tunnel with Earth Cave Spiders and successfully set up the Teleportation Array in the north, the teleportation capability remained laughable...

If the army really dispersed, regrouping in a short time would truly be unfeasible.

And now, this dreadful sandstorm was just adding insult to injury.

Thinking this far, Li Mu sighed once again.

Just then, a sudden series of knockings echoed from outside his tent...

Li Mu was startled, instinctively shouting:

"Who’s there?"

Outside the tent, a round of coughing sounded:

"Cough, cough... Brother Mu, it’s me! Transforming Ji Gang!"

Transforming Ji Gang?

Li Mu paused, then opened the tent flap, and immediately, a player wrapped in a cloak and wearing a mask, covered in a layer of sand, slipped inside.

It was Transforming Ji Gang, leader of the Autobot Guild.

The wind carrying yellow sand seeped into the tent; Li Mu quickly closed the tent flap.

Entering the tent, Transforming Ji Gang shed the cloak and removed the mask, while shaking off the sand, he complained:

"This sandstorm is really terrifying... The sand outside is already over half a meter deep, if it blows for a day, I’m afraid our camp will get buried..."

"Yeah, it’s simply terrifying."

Li Mu nodded in agreement.

Yet he wasn’t worried.

Being buried under sand was hardly a problem in a magic-infused game world.

"Here, have some tea to warm up."

Li Mu fetched some floral tea produced in the Elf Forest from his belongings and poured a cup for Transforming Ji Gang.

Transforming Ji Gang’s eyes lit up, eagerly accepting it, while praising:

"Haha, I knew Brother Mu would have good stuff!"

Li Mu chuckled, then said:

"Cut it out. Weren’t you and Little Xian Miao playing Werewolf? What brought you here?"

"Well, as we played, we started discussing the upcoming battle plans, and some ideas came up. I intended to share them directly in the chat group, but I thought it’d be better to discuss face-to-face with Brother Mu. Hehe... Also, give you a little surprise!"

The upcoming battle plans?

Discuss in person?

Li Mu paused.

Before he could respond, another series of knocks came from outside his tent.

"It’s here!"

Transforming Ji Gang finished his tea, then wrapped himself with his makeshift "mask" and opened the tent flap.

Afterward, several more cloaked figures squeezed in.

In the blink of an eye, the small tent was filled to capacity with over ten players...

And their IDs... were the ones Li Mu knew best.

Little Xian Miao, Gugugu, Dongdong, Demacia, Fried Tomato with Eggs...

They were travel-worn, dusty and dirty, covered entirely in sand.

No, wait.

There was an exception.

Like Little Xian Miao.

Unlike the others covered in sand, her clothes were spotless, seemingly untouched by the sandstorm.

Yet, a closer examination of her gear revealed her stunningly stylish and magnificent Magic Robe glimmering with a luminous sheen.

It was an effect only activated by the inherent magic of the robe.

With money comes indulgence, with money one can do as one desires.

Little Xian Miao clung to Gugugu’s arm, squeezing through first, greeting with a grin:

"Hey hey, Brother Mu! We’re here to crash your place!"

Following them, Dongdong’s eyes widened, scanning the tent and gulping down:

"Heard there’s floral tea from Miss Alice here? Where, where? I’m parched!"

"Peh peh peh... This cursed weather, ate a mouthful of dust."

Demacia, who followed closely, wiped his mouth as he coughed and spat out sand.

"You asked for it. Who told you not to wear a mask? It’s a miracle you didn’t suffocate."

Fried Tomato with Eggs rolled his eyes, snarking impolitely.

Thereafter, other key guild leaders arrived successively.

"Make way, hey... you’re stepping on my foot!"

"This place is so small..."

The players chattered lively, turning the previously quiet tent into a bustling scene.

Li Mu: ...

Seeing the sudden assemblage of guild leaders, he was slightly bewildered.

"Why did you all come?"

He asked.

"Hey! Weren’t we playing games and discussing the upcoming battle plans? Everyone had new ideas..."

"Blame Brother Mu for not playing along; otherwise, we’d discuss online."

"Don’t even mention it, discussing battle plans while playing Werewolf, you guys are really something."

"Why didn’t Brother Mu come?"

"Hehe, he definitely didn’t come because he’s bad at it, despite being a streamer."

"No way? A streamer who can’t play Werewolf? In this day and age? Impossible, right?"

Li Mu: ...

With over ten players exchanging banter, the conversation soon derailed.

In the end, Li Mu clapped to regain everyone’s focus.

"Get to the point."

He said.

Players exchanged glances, and finally, Dongdong stepped forward, giggling:

"Brother Mu, any thought of pulling a big stunt after the sandstorm ends?"

"A big stunt?"

Li Mu raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly! After Sandstorm City, we should launch a proactive strike against the Half-Beasts!"

Dongdong stated, punching the air with determination.