After a full day of discussion, the base group finally reached a decision: wait for Tran Lac to come back. Given the current situation, they had not yet worked out any viable way to stop the enemy from continuing its attacks. The opponent not only possessed overwhelming strength but could hide behind the curtain, leaving them facing an unseen enemy. Rather than acting rashly and pushing themselves into danger, it was better to wait for the one person who could turn the tide to come home.
Moreover, according to what Chris recounted, the event to come was the true threat they all needed to fear most — the Blood Moon!
Just how terrifying was this event? Simply put: in the period before the Blood Moon descended, the monsters would gradually grow stronger, appearing across all manner of levels. Their numbers would swell at a dizzying rate, too many to count. Terrifying still, during the preparation phase for the Blood Moon, these monsters would be empowered, no longer fearing or being scorched by the sunlight as before.
All of it was to prepare for a bombardment of horrifying scale: packs numbering in the thousands, even tens of thousands, would simultaneously attack the world for a full week without pause. Once the event officially began, the world would sink into eternal night, the sky dyed red as blood. Every notion of time seemed to lose its meaning — only when a full seven days had passed would the event officially end.
For Chris, the Blood Moon was both a windfall and a calamity. On one hand, it was a rare chance to harvest vast amounts of experience and resources. On the other, the scale and danger of the assault could make any base without sufficient defensive power pay a heavy price. Yet the reason people could hardly refuse this event was its mechanic of removing the experience-level cap. With a chance to earn so much EXP and equipment, who could stay unmoved?
While everyone was still hard at training their combat, a colossal figure suddenly appeared in the sky above the base. The black shadow descended rapidly, carrying a pressure that made everyone below look up despite themselves.
When they saw clearly who had returned, the tension on everyone's faces dissolved at once, replaced by joy they could barely hide.
Tran Lac was back!
The moment they saw him, the weariness and anxiety that had accumulated in everyone's hearts over the past two days seemed to lighten considerably. They rushed over, one after another throwing their arms around him, as if just confirming with their own eyes that he had returned safe would let them set down all their unease for a while.
Tran Lac looked at the familiar faces crowding around him, and warmth rose in his heart despite himself. However, he had little time to savor this reunion. Before long, Galahad came over and began recounting, in full detail, everything that had happened while he was away — from the enemy's attack to the speculations about the one behind the curtain.
-"Is that so? Looks like we've picked up another enemy, then?"
After hearing Galahad out, Tran Lac narrowed his eyes slightly, and the information about the mastermind's level — 51 — immediately surfaced in his mind.
Level 51!
Compared to his current level 30, that gap was by no means small. Yet Tran Lac did not grow overly anxious about it. On level alone he was indeed at a disadvantage, but battle had never been decided by the numbers on a status board alone. Relying on the advantages he held, he had every confidence to face the opponent head-on — provided the man's class was not some absurdly overpowered type with defense or vitality far beyond the ordinary.
In other words, fighting above his level was not an impossible feat for Tran Lac.
But what truly concerned him at this moment was not the newly appeared enemy — it was the Blood Moon event about to descend.
In his previous life, when he played 「The Endless Classman」, he had witnessed this event more than once. He knew exactly how brutal the world became once the Blood Moon began, and he also knew just how great the opportunities hidden inside that event were.
Thinking of the massive experience and the countless equipment that could be gained, the corners of Tran Lac's mouth curled up despite himself. In his eyes, an event that terrified everyone else was nothing short of a grand feast prepared for those with the strength to take part.
Experience, resources, equipment — even the chance to close the level gap with those stronger. An event like that — how could he not be thrilled?
But excitement was not blindness.
Tran Lac understood that his current situation was worlds apart from his previous life. This time, he was no longer a player who could charge into the battlefield at will and test different tactics by respawning. Beside him stood companions — people who had been through so much together, people who had placed their trust in him.
More importantly, once someone died in this world, that death would no longer be a simple respawn as in a game.
They would truly die.
For that reason, even though he longed for the Blood Moon in his heart, Tran Lac did not permit himself to take any danger lightly. He could take risks for gain, but he could never casually stake the lives of the people beside him.
After sitting down to chat with everyone for a while, Tran Lac quickly rose and began preparing for the battle to come. He had no intention of wasting the little time remaining on unnecessary discussion. If the Blood Moon was truly as terrifying as Chris said, then from this moment on, the base had to be prepared to the best possible degree.
The first thing he did was reinforce the walls surrounding the base, strengthening the defenses of the inner area. However, that was not yet the centerpiece of his plan.
What Tran Lac truly focused on was the three-way intersection right beside the base.
The terrain there was perfect for deploying heavy equipment. If he made good use of that position, he could establish a long-range defensive line that stopped the monster horde the moment they entered the combat zone, rather than letting them mass their attacks directly against the freshly reinforced walls.
No matter how sturdy those walls were, Tran Lac did not want to stake the entire base's hope on them. Once the number of monsters grew large enough, all they needed was to keep pouring into the same position, and even the most solid defensive line would struggle to avoid being broken through. At that point, if a large horde flooded inside, the consequences would be dire.
So he decided to turn the intersection into the main firepower line, using equipment capable of continuous fire to form a wall of flame that blocked the enemy.
After confirming the positions, Tran Lac immediately opened the system shop.
Thanks to the monsters he had destroyed before, the Ether Crystals he had accumulated now exceeded 760,000. That was no small number, but Tran Lac understood that if he wanted to pass through the Blood Moon safely, this stockpile had to be converted into real combat power as soon as possible.
He began digging pits into the main road, then one by one set up automatic turrets and manual turrets, arranging them into a semicircular arc covering the intersection.
Each position was calculated with care so the turrets could deliver maximum effect, while forming a linked fire zone together. When the monsters entered the firing range, they would face fire from multiple directions at once, and it would be very hard for them to find a gap safe enough to break through.
Naturally, a defensive system like this could not rely on the number of guns alone. Ammunition, the ability to keep operating continuously, and the problem of heat dissipation were all factors that could not be ignored.
Tran Lac had calculated all of that in advance. He prioritized turrets equipped with extremely powerful cooling systems, ensuring they could run for long periods without easily overheating. Even firing day and night without pause, they would maintain stable output under harsh combat conditions.
As for ammunition, the stock prepared inside each turret was enough for it to fire continuously for three days and three nights without resupply. Moreover, thanks to the system shop, Tran Lac could buy more ammunition at any moment — he hardly needed to worry about his firepower being interrupted by a lack of shells.
But the price paid was by no means small.
The Ether Crystals spent on the entire turret system, plus that enormous ammunition reserve, made his freshly accumulated fortune almost evaporate in an instant. From over 760,000 Ether Crystals, the final balance was only 18,472.
If it were anyone else, they would probably be heartbroken to the point of sleeplessness, watching their assets dwindle that fast. But Tran Lac did not hesitate in the slightest.
He knew exactly how worthwhile this investment was.
The Blood Moon was a dangerous event — but also an enormous moneymaking opportunity. As long as he could hold out against the monster tide, the experience and resources gained could well far surpass everything he had paid out. For Tran Lac, spending Ether Crystals in exchange for a strong enough defense system was not waste, but an investment — in the lives of both himself and his companions.
While Tran Lac was busy deploying the defense system, the others could not help being curious about the rows of equipment gradually appearing around the intersection. From the pits dug into the road to the turrets arranged in ranks, everything went far beyond what they had imagined when preparing to face a wave of monsters.
Not a few wanted to ask what he was planning, but looking at how absorbed Tran Lac was, they ultimately chose not to disturb him.
After all, in the present situation, everyone understood one thing very clearly: aside from Tran Lac, no one else could likely turn this dangerous tide — and no one could make them feel safer than he did.