My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 65: Strategic Retreat

When Fang Zhen saw the strength and composition of the Kobolds in Miner Ding, the corner of his mouth twitched.

This was a nest of Elite Dogmen.

And it was a goddamn dual-boss setup!

Based on Fang Zhen’s gaming experience, a dual-boss fight was an extremely tricky situation. Usually, the two bosses’ abilities would complement each other, covering their weaknesses or enhancing their strengths once they started coordinating.

A classic example was that infamous pair from the Scarlet Monastery in a certain game, mockingly nicknamed the "scum couple" by players.

The moment Fang Zhen laid eyes on the Warhammer Iron Armor Giant Dogman and the Dogman Priest inside Miner Ding, his heart sank.

These two alone, one magic-user and one martial fighter, would be incredibly difficult to deal with.

And on top of that, there were two Armored Dogman Warriors and two Scouts.

Fang Zhen made his judgment in a second: this fight was impossible.

Charging in to force an engagement would be nothing short of suicide.

Even Molotov Cocktails wouldn’t work. It was an open area, so the firebombs wouldn’t be as effective, and the space inside was so large he might not even be able to hit them.

"Fall back!"

Fang Zhen made the snap decision without any hesitation and turned to withdraw.

’This isn’t cowardice, it’s a strategic withdrawal.’

Fang Zhen felt the two strategies were not the same at all.

Getting scared, retreating, and then never daring to try again, leaving you with a psychological scar—that’s cowardice.

But preserving your effective strength, maneuvering through time and space to create new strategic opportunities, and having the confidence to secure victory when the next chance arrives—that’s a strategic withdrawal.

Fang Zhen had clearly assessed that he couldn’t win right now. Making a strategic withdrawal was nothing to be ashamed of.

Fang Zhen waved his arm back, signaling for Quade to retreat quickly. At the same time, he turned for one last, deep look at Miner Ding, committing the environment and the Kobolds’ positions to memory.

Miner Ding was about the same size as Mine Cave A, and the inside was spacious and open.

There were six Kobolds in total: two Armored Dogman Warriors, two Scouts who were both carrying wooden crossbows, one Heavy-Armored Warhammer Dogman, and one Dragon-Scale Dogman Priest.

Fang Zhen also discovered a peculiar area within Miner Ding. It was about ten square meters, and drawn there in blood were symbols that gave off a mysterious and evil feeling, looking like some kind of array. Within the array was a large amount of flesh and blood.

A thought struck Fang Zhen, and he suddenly understood where the flesh and blood from the flayed and butchered Kobold corpses in the main cavern had gone.

’It was all moved to Miner Ding,’ Fang Zhen thought. ’What is that place? A blood sacrifice array?’

He also instantly understood why there were so many Elite Dogmen in Miner Ding.

There was an important array here, so the Heavy-Armored Warhammer Dogman and the other elites were guarding it instead of attending the ceremony held by the Dogman Miners.

Some kind of evil ritual was definitely about to be held here.

Besides that, Fang Zhen also saw that in the depths of Miner Ding, in what was likely the Dogman Priest’s living quarters, there were blankets, a campfire, a candle stand, and a large chest.

The chest was about a cubic meter, wrapped in white iron sheets. It looked well-made and seemed to be full of things.

Fang Zhen’s heart couldn’t help but stir.

He remembered the description of the Kobold’s traits from the dungeon information—they love shiny things, like Gold Coins and gems.

Suddenly, the treasure chest started to look more and more appealing to Fang Zhen.

’Just you wait. Sooner or later, it will all be mine,’ Fang Zhen said to himself.

At that moment, down in Miner Ding, the Dogman Priest had caught its breath. Its eyes, which looked more like a snake’s than a dog’s, suddenly fixed on Fang Zhen’s position as it let out a sharp howl.

The Heavy-Armored Warhammer Dogman and the other Elite Dogmen all whipped their gazes toward Fang Zhen’s location.

Seeing this, Fang Zhen knew his position was exposed.

He didn’t bother trying to stay hidden anymore and yelled to Quade, "Fall back!"

Fang Zhen turned and ran.

The Heavy-Armored Warhammer Dogman and the others let out a volley of furious barks and charged after him.

Fang Zhen quickly ran up the spiral ramp to Mine Cave C.

He was very fast, and with his long legs, he soon caught up to Quade.

Quade was in a much worse state. He was heavily burdened and not very fast—at least, he seemed slower than the heavily armored Dogman Warriors.

If this kept up, Quade was bound to be caught. Given the Kobolds’ brutality, he would likely die a horrible death.

Seeing this, Fang Zhen immediately judged that Quade would be overtaken.

Although Quade was only his Attendant, and strictly speaking, they didn’t have much of a personal relationship, Fang Zhen didn’t want to watch him die like this.

"Quade, get down!" Fang Zhen shouted.

Quade didn’t know why, but he had one great quality: he was truly loyal.

Even though the situation was critical and Quade sensed that one wrong move could get him killed, upon hearing Fang Zhen’s command, he obeyed without a second thought. He immediately stopped running and squatted on the ground.

Fang Zhen ran to Quade’s position, placed the Dragon Gall Crossbow and Anti-Riot Shield on the ground, and pulled a Molotov Cocktail from the backpack on Quade’s back.

The Molotov Cocktails had all been taken out of their foam packaging during the fight in the tunnel and were stuffed into the side pockets of the backpack for easy access.

Fang Zhen took out a Windproof Lighter and quickly lit the fuse of the Molotov Cocktail in his hand.

The cloth strip caught fire. Fang Zhen turned and hurled it forcefully down the spiral ramp below.

SMASH.

WHOOSH!

The bottle shattered, gasoline splashed out, and the burning cloth ignited the fuel, causing it to erupt in an instant and form a sea of fire on the ramp.

One end of the ramp was engulfed in flames. The fire, mixed with white sugar, was extremely sticky, and the blaze burned fiercely.

The Kobolds from Miner Ding charged onto the ramp but were blocked by the flames. Unable to pursue Fang Zhen, they could only bark in fury.

Fang Zhen picked up the Dragon Gall Crossbow and Shield from the ground, slapped Quade on the back, and shouted, "Go! Get through the tunnel ahead and wait for me at the exit!"

Quade immediately stood up. Without a word, he shouldered the backpack, grabbed his long spear, and ran.

But Fang Zhen didn’t leave with him.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he casually picked up the Dragon Gall Crossbow.

Fang Zhen recalled the feeling of his combat intuition.

His combat intuition, which had faded during the previous fight, seemed to be off cooldown. As Fang Zhen recalled the feeling, he instantly found the state of mind needed to capture that combat inspiration.

He raised the Dragon Gall Crossbow and, with the flames blocking his view, relied entirely on intuition as he abruptly pulled the trigger.

A steel ball shot out!

PFFT!

Fang Zhen could hear the sound of the steel ball sinking into soft flesh. He just didn’t know if it had hit a Kobold’s eye or its throat.

"AWOOO!"

The next moment, Fang Zhen heard the agonized howl of a Kobold.

"Nice!"

Fang Zhen’s spirits soared.

Even though he had decided on a strategic withdrawal, Fang Zhen wasn’t the type to take a hit without dishing one back. Seeing an opportunity, he was determined to take one down if he could.

’Every one I kill counts!’

Fang Zhen reloaded the crossbow, squatted slightly, and leveled the Dragon Gall Crossbow, preparing to try another shot based on pure luck.

Unfortunately, his combat intuition could only perfectly capture moments of combat inspiration when they appeared; it couldn’t actively create that inspiration.

At that moment, Fang Zhen didn’t have the intuitive feeling of a guaranteed hit.

The Kobolds below had also gotten smarter. They didn’t rush forward, but instead barked from a distance, separated by the wall of fire.

Fang Zhen sighed, knowing the opportunity was lost.

He acted decisively, immediately grabbing his Anti-Riot Shield and Dragon Gall Crossbow, then turned and ran toward the tunnel.

Fang Zhen was tall with long legs, so he ran very fast. By the time he passed through the connecting passage between Mine Cave C and Miner Ding, he had caught up with Quade.

Fang Zhen was much more composed now.

He put the Shield and crossbow down, and from Quade’s backpack, he took out another Molotov Cocktail—the last one.

"You run ahead. Wait for me outside the mine," Fang Zhen said to Quade. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Receiving his orders, Quade immediately turned and ran toward the mine exit.

Fang Zhen, however, waited calmly.

After another twenty-odd seconds, Fang Zhen heard Kobolds howling in Mine Cave C, the sound growing closer and closer.

It seemed the fire on the ramp had gone out, and the Kobolds were pursuing them with candles.

Fang Zhen judged the distance by the sound. When they were close enough, he used the Windproof Lighter to ignite the last Molotov Cocktail and threw it into the mine tunnel.