Upon hearing Lin Yu's sudden words, everyone in the escort team turned their heads in unison.

Yue Zhenqiao was even more shocked upon hearing this: "What did you say? How could they start attacking again? Weren't they just scared out of their wits not long ago?"

If it were at the very beginning, hearing Lin Yu suddenly say this, Yue Zhenqiao would have been highly suspicious, thinking it was nonsense, as there were currently no unusual movements or signs from the Mountain Demons on either side.

But after seeing Li Nian take action earlier...

For Lin Yu, who was traveling with Li Nian, Yue Zhenqiao naturally held a bit more trust and bias.

And Lin Yu immediately provided a reasonable reason convincing enough to persuade Yue Zhenqiao.

"Because a particularly large one is coming, behind the ridge to the right rear, charging over... It will probably arrive in at most a few more breaths."

Hearing this, Yue Zhenqiao was greatly horrified.

"Now even the Mountain Demon leader has appeared?! Form up! Everyone, rein in the horses and close ranks, prepare to face the enemy!"

All the dart masters also had drastic changes in their expressions, starting to form their formation again, preparing to deal with the demonic creatures.

However, compared to the previous formation, this one was more conservative—they almost used the three large escort carts as the center, encircling them in layers with weapons pointed outward, forming a formation like an iron bucket.

And the moment the dart masters finished forming their ranks, as if to prove Lin Yu's words were true, an unprecedentedly high-pitched and resonant Mountain Demon cry rang out from the nearby mountains on the right.

"Xia—!"

Immediately after, hundreds of Mountain Demons cried out in unison, their voices so loud they almost shook the mountain rocks.

From the bare, crimson mountain rocks, a boulder the size of a banquet table for ten flew out, landing far away like a cannonball, smashing onto the road near the escort team.

"Boom!"

Although the boulder's aim was slightly off, the violent tremor caused by its landing still made many dart masters stagger and sway.

Especially those dart masters who were already injured, many fell directly to the ground, knocked senseless and unable to get up for a moment.

Then, from the direction the boulder came from, a giant Mountain Demon, at least three times larger than the others, leaped out, brandishing a huge stone club in its hand.

"Xia!"

The giant Mountain Demon roared again, and with this roar, all the Mountain Demons that had been following and fearing them along the way seemed to be inspired, reigniting their fighting spirit, and began their strange cries in unison once more.

The Mountain Demons, big and small, charged towards the direction of the caravan while roaring.

Yue Zhenqiao's face flushed crimson as he cursed out loud: "A pack of beasts, they've all gone mad—if they want to fight us to the death, then we'll fight them to the death, let these beasts know our power!"

These words also slightly boosted the morale of the dart masters: "Understood!"

After speaking, Yue Zhenqiao couldn't help but glance in Li Nian's direction.

Lin Yu also looked at Li Nian: "Can you one-shot the big one?"

"Not a chance, probably wouldn't even get into range to activate my ability before being turned into dumpling filling," Li Nian said in a relaxed tone, revealing her utility knife and pushing the blade out notch by notch, "However, if you have a way to deal with the small ones, I can slowly grind the big one to death with this knife."

Flying Knife, who had been awed by Li Nian's professional skill and hadn't voiced any opinions until now, finally couldn't hold back: "How long will it take to kill something that big with that knife of yours?!"

In Flying Knife's view, even if this whole knife were plunged into a "vital spot," it probably wouldn't be of much use!

Li Nian pouted: "Well then, what? Rely on these NPCs?"

"They've already started saying things like 'fight them to the death'... Anyone who could actually be relied upon definitely wouldn't say such things before the fight even starts."

Lin Yu looked at Li Nian and shrugged, chiming in: "Alright, I'll handle the big one then."

He knew that while Li Nian might truly not be able to one-shot the Mountain Demon leader, and dealing with it might be a bit troublesome, she was definitely not at the point of needing to grind it down with a small knife.

She intended for him to show off in front of their employer.

Of course, Lin Yu had originally planned to deal with this Mountain Demon leader himself.

But he didn't plan to do it alone through brute force—although Lin Yu could do it, he didn't want to reveal too much.

It would be best to take down this big guy using methods that fit the persona and abilities of 'Zhu Ming.'

So, Lin Yu spoke again.

"Of course, I don't have a way to handle it alone... At least not quickly. To prevent excessive losses for this escort team, I still need assistance from both of you."

As Lin Yu spoke, Flying Knife quickly interjected: "Whatever you need, just say it."

"Control that thing for a while, not too long, a few seconds... no, one second is enough."

Lin Yu pointed at the Mountain Demon leader as he spoke.

At this moment, the Mountain Demon leader had already reached the forefront of the group, raising and swinging its stone club, causing several dart masters to scream and fall, spitting blood.

Flying Knife's expression turned grave: "Alright... can do!"

He turned and pulled two cards from his chest.

"And also... get me a bow and arrow set."

"Easy."

As soon as Li Nian's words fell, she handed Lin Yu a hunting bow and a quiver.

Lin Yu looked at Li Nian in shock.

"You're way too fast, aren't you?"

He had just said it, and Li Nian had already stolen them!

Li Nian shrugged, pointing at a dart master lying unconscious ahead: "He's already down anyway, just a handy thing to do."

Lin Yu once again felt a bit of admiration for Li Nian's professional skill.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Flying Knife also spoke.

"I'm ready here too."

As a 'Referee' and a 'Second Tier' player, even though most of his items were damaged, Flying Knife still possessed his inherent 'Class' abilities and his Class Items and Specialized Items.

And Lin Yu was very confident that the reason he could create a situation where the Mountain Demon leader would be controlled was precisely this.

He didn't even need Specialized Items.

The Referee's initial ability is "to establish a simple prohibition that immediately takes effect on everyone within a range," including prohibiting the use of certain types of items, limiting a certain activity range, and so on.

And the Referee's two 'First Tier' Class Items are the Whistle and the Penalty Card!

The Whistle's function is to nullify a certain effect or ability that is currently active or being activated.

The Penalty Card's function is to randomly show a "red card" or a "yellow card" to the target.

A "red card" causes the target to be immediately knocked back, while a "yellow card" causes the target to be briefly immobilized.

Without a doubt, both are indeed powerful "control effects"!

It wasn't hard for Lin Yu to guess why Flying Knife had become so panicked after losing his fixed teammates.

He must have specialized himself into an extreme "control role." Once he lost coordination, he could easily fall into the predicament of "insufficient lethality."

And as the Mountain Demon raised its stone club high again, Flying Knife activated the Penalty Card.

"Foul!"

Flying Knife shouted loudly, raising the Penalty Card in his hand, and a yellow card face appeared.

The next moment, the Mountain Demon's figure froze in place.

Lin Yu also let out a long sigh of relief.

"Good..."

He drew the bowstring to its full extent, nocking three arrows at once.

Then...

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The bowstring vibrated like the strumming of a zither, three arrows fired in rapid succession, heading straight for the Mountain Demon leader's body!