Chapter 479: Prisoner

There were lots of dangerous beasts hidden in the dark forest, but Steamed Dumpling and George continued to walk for a long period of time without seeing any beasts. They didn't even see any small animals. As they approached Victoria City, it became apparent that there were no small animals, not even small rabbits.

"Did the warriors of Victoria City eat all the animals?" George said jokingly.

Steamed Dumpling didn't expect George to joke. After all, they had gone through life and death and hadn't yet reached a safe place. Who knew when there would be Victorians appearing?

Steamed Dumpling didn't respond. George felt that his joke was inappropriate, so he remained silent as he led the way.

When they ventured deeper into the forest, the frequency that George stopped to find paths became longer.

To evade the Victorians, George didn't use the usual paths. He chose deserted paths that made him lose his way.

George was lost, but he didn't tell Steamed Dumpling. He preferred escaping with a companion.

He remained calm. Fortunately, the forest looked less dense. It seemed like they were going out of the forest.

George couldn't ascertain his location, so he could only take it a step at a time. He couldn't possibly walk out of the King's Territory.

They didn't know that they had walked out of the King's Territory and walked into the territory of Eternal Kingdom. To be precise, it was the Stronghold that the gamers of Eternal Kingdom had built on the Surface World.

When they arrived at the edge of the forest, they hugged each other in excitement.

They thought they would never walk out of the forest. They could even have been caught by the warriors of Victoria City.

"Sir George, thanks to you, I'm able to survive. Though the Duke of York has passed on, I believe the King will remember the Duke's contributions. I won't forget your help!" Steamed Dumpling said excitedly as he looked at the barren surroundings. If they continued walking, they would enter hilly terrain.

He asked, "Sir George, do you know how to proceed from here? Let's go to the nearest town of the Kingdom."

George hesitated before speaking, "Actually, I..."

Strange sounds were heard from the forest behind. They became nervous, thinking the Victorians had caught up with them.

It wasn't the first time they encountered such a situation. They dashed towards a huge rock by the side, but they didn't manage to hide their horses.

The sounds came closer. When they were hidden, four to five people walked to their previous spots.

"I heard some sounds here. Someone was speaking the language of Victoria City." (Dungeon language)

"What's that language? The officials said that it's the Surface World common language, not the language of Victoria City." (Dungeon language)

"As long as you can understand. Why are you so fussy about the details?" (Dungeon language)

"Stop chatting. Let's look around. Wait! There are two horses!" (Dungeon language)

They found the two horses left by Steamed Dumpling and George. There were pieces of luggage on the back of the horses.

Sweat was dripping down the forehead of Steamed Dumpling. He was hesitating about whether to escape. If the enemies rode the horses to pursue him, he wouldn't be able to escape. He should have ridden his horse and fled. As the enemies came stealthily, Steamed Dumpling didn't have the chance to react. Hence, he was trapped in this precarious situation.

Steamed Dumpling regretted chatting with George. That was how he got into this mess.

George was also looking grave. It was as though mixed clay had locked up his brows.

Both of them held their breaths as the enemies led their horses away. The horses snorted uncomfortably, but they couldn't resist because of the reins.

The enemies chatted with a strange language.

"Why are there only horses? We didn't see any of the gamers from Victoria City." (Dungeon language)

"Aren't you happy with the horses? Isn't it better the gamers of Victoria City aren't here? We'll take their horses away." (Dungeon language)

"Stop talking. Arthur and the rest are still waiting for us. Let's hurry back and help them with the trees. The gamers of Victoria City are busy pillaging the York Territory. Let's make haste. If we're discovered by them, it will be troublesome." (Dungeon language)

The enemies seemed to be leaving, but the footsteps didn't sound right. They were approaching the hidden location of Steamed Dumpling and George.

Steamed Dumpling panicked. He stood up and fled without looking back. George followed behind Steamed Dumpling. Whoever was slower would die!

George ran closely behind Steamed Dumpling.

They were blocked by a group of strange creatures.

That was a group of Orcs, Gnomes, and Houndhead Men.

George and Steamed Dumpling were dumbstruck. They had never seen such strange creatures. Orcs and Gnomes hadn't appeared on the Surface World for thousands of years, and the Houndhead Man was a strange and terrifying creature.

"They aren't citizens of Victoria City. They're NPCs!" (Dungeon language)

"That's golden-haired George and Count Steamed Dumpling. I saw photographs and videos of them. That's how they're being called if my memory serves me right." (Dungeon language)

"Wait, George and Count Steamed Dumpling? Aren't they fugitives of Duke Guinevere?" (Dungeon language)

"Are you sure? Are they fugitives? If we capture them, can we exchange them for rewards with Guinevere?" (Dungeon language)

"How can a gamer of Eternal Kingdom obtain the rewards of Victoria City? Good idea. Aren't you afraid of being hacked to death when you enter Victoria City?" (Dungeon language)

"What you said makes sense. I'll be hacked even before meeting Guinevere." (Dungeon language)

The strange creatures were smiling and chatting while pointing at George and Steamed Dumpling.

To George and Steamed Dumpling, they were more horrifying than the warriors of Victoria City. At least they could still communicate with the Victorians, but these creatures had never been seen before. Wait...

Steamed Dumpling was taken aback. His education as a noble taught him about legendary creatures like the Underworld creatures. Thousands of years ago, Michelangelo led his army and tried to conquer the world. Even the Surface World inhabitants heard of this legend before.

The creatures that followed Michelangelo looked like what Steamed Dumpling and George saw now. Were these creatures from the Underworld?

All the tunnels going into the Underworld were sealed according to legend. Why were there such creatures?

Steamed Dumpling wasn't a staff member of the Church or a savior of the world. He was fearful and wanted to escape. He turned around, but his escape route was blocked by the four Orcs.

The Underworld creatures started to chat. They spoke slowly as they got closer. They looked like they were going to capture Steamed Dumpling and George alive. With their numbers and size, Steamed Dumpling wouldn't be able to last three seconds against them. The Axe of an Orc was larger than Steamed Dumpling.

Previously, the Human world defeated the Underworld by using the Power of Sacred Light. Steamed Dumpling was a Knight, but he didn't possess the power.

"I'm Sir George from the Godly Kingdom. I don't know where you came from. If you can understand me, please go away. This forest is the territory of the Godly Kingdom. We have a powerful army nearby. If you're discovered, you'll be killed."

George attempted to communicate with the creatures, but the gamers of Eternal Kingdom couldn't understand him. The gamers of Eternal Kingdom could use Mandarin to communicate with gamers of Victoria City, but it was impossible to communicate with the Surface World's NPCs.

The gamers of Eternal Kingdom chatted for a while and eventually decided to capture the two NPCs. They weren't sure if they could obtain the bounty, but it could be a Strange Encounter. Victoria City and Eternal Kingdom were two opposing factions. Perhaps, they could form an alliance with their prisoners. They thought of forming an alliance with the Surface World's Humans to fight against Victoria City.

The gamers tried to communicate with George and Steamed Dumpling with their Underworld language, but they were unable to understand. The gamers resorted to body language to communicate.

The gamers' patience wore thin as their communication efforts failed.

"Capture them first." (Dungeon language)

A gamer suggested as he extended his hand towards Steamed Dumpling and George to capture them. But George raised his Longsword and severed the palm of the Orc gamer. Though an Orc's constitution was superior to a Human, the flesh was unable to defend against metal. The palm of the Orc flew high up, crimson blood splattering everywhere.

The Orc gamer didn't expect the two NPCs to fight back. Should the intelligent NPC not be surrendering and offering his equipment? Previously, when the gamers of Victoria City were fighting against the Knights of the Duke, that was how the Knights surrendered. The Knights offered their horses and equipment before being released. The gamers of Victoria City weren't interested in killing NPCs, as the NPCs could provide Strange Encounter Missions. There were no Reputation Points or rewards for killing NPCs. The gamers only wanted equipment, so there was no reason for the gamers to kill the NPCs.

The gamers of Eternal Kingdom had no intention to kill George and Steamed Dumpling, as they could provide Strange Encounter Missions. In fact, NPCs were highly valued by the gamers.

However, it was a different story if the NPCs retaliated.

The gamers unsheathed their weapons and shouted aggressively. They dashed at George and Steamed Dumpling, who raised their Longswords and fought back.

As they thought they were going to die, George and Steamed Dumpling fought valiantly. Their combat skills were unparalleled. The gamers had no intention to kill the NPCs, so many of them were injured during the fight.

Tens of gamers surrounded the NPCs in the fight. Finally, the odds were in the gamers' favor.

George and Steamed Dumpling were powerful against normal Humans, but they couldn't possibly fight against tens of Orcs.

The Orcs weren't afraid of wounds and death. Moreover, Steamed Dumpling and George were exhausted after fleeing for a few days.

Soon, George and Steamed Dumpling were fatigued. An Orc dashed forward and swung his Axe at George's shoulder. George closed his eyes as he awaited his death, but he heard a loud "Pom" sound. The Axe-wielding Orc was knocked down by another Orc who shouted at George. George didn't know what the Orc was shouting about. The Orc threw a Spider Silk rope at George that he had never seen before.

The Orc looked dominant. When he appeared, the creatures that attacked him stopped and stood by the side.

George noticed that there were many Orcs riding Darting Birds on a hill nearby. They were coming towards him. The Orc leader made a gesture of tying up George and pointed at the rope on the ground before putting his hand on his neck and making a killing gesture.

George understood that the Orc leader wanted to humiliate him and tie him up before killing him.

George was a Knight. Though he was being pursued relentlessly by the Victorians, he would never kneel down and be killed by his enemies. He roared angrily and wanted to perish together with his enemies. He raised his Longsword and slashed at the Orc leader. If he was lucky, he could injure and take the Orc leader hostage. He could have a chance to survive.

He was hit on the back of the head and fell to the ground. The last thing he saw was Steamed Dumpling being pushed to the ground by another Orc. It must have been an Orc who hit him on the back of the head.

The Orc who was wielding two Daggers was very weird. He was emitting strange lights as though he was enchanted by Mana. The Orc didn't attack him with the blades of his Daggers. Instead, he used the hilt of a Dagger to hit the back of George's head. The Orc was muttering to himself, but George couldn't understand.

His vision went black, and he fell to the ground.

"What shall we do, Arthur?" BurningChestHair asked Arthur as he looked at the two fallen NPCs.

Arthur wanted George and Steamed Dumpling to tie their own hands. He would then ensure that they weren't killed. But they misunderstood Arthur and attacked. It wasn't a problem, as the other gamers attacked both of them from behind.

"Bring them back and ask Sherlock if there are any Strange Encounter Missions. I feel that Sherlock will be interested in both of them," Arthur said.