Infinity, The Arcade Age

The hidden task of the Village Defense wasn't actually that difficult. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been categorized as a D-level mission.

Holding off an attack from nearly two hundred enemies and enduring until the protagonist's reinforcements arrived sounded tough, but it wasn't really as hard as it seemed.

The key was to understand what truly constituted a complete village collapse. The answer: everyone would have to be dead for the mission to be considered a failure.

In other words, as long as even one villager was still alive, the task wasn't technically lost!

With that in mind, the mission became much simpler. Whether the village held up or not didn't matter so much. The only thing required was to ensure that at least one villager survived until the protagonist arrived, without allowing them to leave the village or die in the process.

Moreover, once Parsy Village was overrun and set ablaze, the rising smoke would inevitably alert Parsival, who was nearby. He would rush over with his men to assist.

Some clever players, knowing this, could even intentionally set a few houses on fire to produce smoke and draw Parsival in sooner, completing the task faster. This was also a shortcut to earning the white title "The Indomitable Gatekeeper."

However, Qin Ming wasn't one for elaborate strategies or schemes, and this detail hadn't occurred to him. Instead, he'd opted for a more straightforward approach: confronting Scorn head-on and trying to ambush him. And he'd nearly succeeded!

If only he had landed that final blow... Then he could have claimed the world's only green title in the first act.

Dragging the badly wounded militia captain behind him, Qin Ming rushed into the village's most secure building—the church. After tossing the captain to the care of the women hiding there, he drew his revolver and began shooting through the windows, helping the remaining militia and farmers hold off the advancing enemies.

Gunshots rang out, and several swordsmen at the front fell dead on the spot. A heavily armored swordsman who persisted was killed in the second round of bullets.

Faced with Qin Ming's suppressive fire, the pursuing enemies hesitated, unwilling to advance any further. For a brief moment, the hundred-meter-long dirt path in front of the church became the village's last line of defense, a fragile lifeline for the remaining villagers.

But that lifeline was too fragile. Just as the enemy soldiers paused, fearful of Qin Ming's strange weapon, Scorn stormed onto the scene from the rear, still clutching his bleeding eye.

Seeing his men hesitate, the enraged Scorn raised his glaive and, in a wild swing, cut down the two closest swordsmen.

"Why are you all scared?! Charge! Move forward!"

The sight of the frenzied and now berserk Scorn spurred the surrounding soldiers into action. The higher-ranking armored swordsmen roared, yanking nearby swordsmen forward and driving them ahead as meat shields. Together, they launched an all-out assault.

Seeing the enemy swarm in, Qin Ming gritted his teeth, frantically firing from behind the window.

Even though he emptied three full cylinders of bullets, killing several swordsmen, the enemies eventually reached the church. Some climbed through windows, while others smashed at the door or jabbed weapons through the cracks. The enemy launched an all-out, desperate attack.

As the enemies attacked, the villagers defended. Armed with pitchforks and makeshift spears, they stabbed furiously through the windows.

Using the building as a barricade, the battle turned into a siege. The enemies had greater strength, but the villagers had superior numbers.

For a while, it was a stalemate. The swordsmen couldn't break through the windows, and as for the door? It had long been barricaded with furniture and was impossible to breach.

Realizing they couldn't force their way in, the desperate swordsmen began tearing down nearby houses, pulling off doors and wooden planks to hurl at the church's windows. The makeshift projectiles sent the defenders scrambling.

Worse still, after throwing wood for a while, the swordsmen started tossing torches. When they couldn't break in, they decided to burn it down.

Fuel and wood were thrown haphazardly, and soon, flames licked at the church walls, thick smoke rising and choking the defenders inside, making it impossible to maintain their defense.

The villagers had no choice but to retreat to the second floor, intending to use the stairs as their final defensive line.

As the first soldiers broke through the windows and into the church, they rushed toward the stairs—only to be met with a volley of bullets from Qin Ming. Two armored swordsmen fell dead instantly.

Others tried to charge up during Qin Ming's reload, but were met with villagers wielding spears and pitchforks, stabbing wildly from above.

This narrow stairwell proved to be even easier to defend than the windows had been. Qin Ming had even dragged several tables in front of the stairs to create a makeshift barricade.

Fearing Qin Ming's gunfire, the soldiers hesitated. Glancing at one another, they quickly gave up on a direct assault. Instead, they began piling firewood and debris at the base of the stairs, while others lit torches and set the church ablaze.

The fire quickly engulfed the lower level of the church, racing up the wooden structure toward the second floor.

Forced back by the flames, Qin Ming felt the rising heat and couldn't help but scowl.

Defend? What the hell is there left to defend? No matter how strong I am, I can't fight off 200 men!

Why is this mission so damn hard? Is this really a D-level hidden task? Did the Nightmare Space make a mistake?!

Realizing that the flames had reached them and the church was beyond saving, Qin Ming let out a roar and slammed his body against the nearby wall. His immense strength shattered the wooden structure, creating a crude exit.

Standing at the opening, Qin Ming looked down to see a dozen soldiers standing below. They noticed him as well, shouting and calling for reinforcements to prevent his escape.

Taking a deep breath, Qin Ming turned to the villagers behind him.

Looking at the room filled with old men, women, children, and the remaining young men, he spoke in a low voice:

"Everyone, staying here means certain death. The only option now is to break out. Run, as many as you can. I, Hyena, failed to protect you all. I'm sorry. I'll open a path one last time. Once you're down there, whether you live or die will depend on your luck."

With those words, Qin Ming grabbed a three-meter-long wooden log from nearby, leaped through the gap, and crashed into the crowd below.

Before the enemies could react, he was already swinging the log with all his might, smashing through their ranks.

With his strength, breaking through the encirclement wasn't too difficult.

But since he had already accepted the task, Qin Ming felt it was his responsibility to protect at least a couple of villagers as they escaped.

It's a matter of principle, he thought. If I choose to take on something, I need to see it through.

Swinging the log with all his strength, Qin Ming cleared a safe zone amidst the enemies.

Seeing the opportunity, the militia on the second floor glanced at each other, gritted their teeth, and jumped down, weapons in hand.

Following them were the young men, armed with makeshift weapons, ready for one last fight.

(End of Chapter)