Chapter 352 Battle of the Toys 6
Optimus Prime turned to Jazz. "In that case, I will leave that to you, Jazz. You will depart after this meeting." He turned around. "Nightbeat, you will go with Jazz. Look after each other." He paused before continuing. "Before moving on, there is an emergency that I believe we should deal with first." Optimus Prime tossed his gaze toward the location where Mario and the two players were standing. He ordered, "You two, please join us."
Brother Jue and Xiao Tan were not given a choice. The two exchanged a look and walked forward. When they stood at the spot, Optimus Prime asked, "I have not gotten your names."
"Feng Bujue."
"Wang Tanzhi."
They volunteered their game IDs. The toys did not react much to these names like this was a very common name to have. That should be caused by the influence of the system, and it was understandable. Normally, no matter what kind of online game it was, the player's ID would never influence their interaction with the NPCs. Take for example some other famous online game, even if your game ID was called 'Sh*t', after you log into the game, the NPC at the newbie village would smile at you and say, "Your name is 'Sh*t'? What a nice name."
"Gentlemen, based on Mario's report, it has been clear that you are not spies sent by Novel." Optimus Prime said, "But that did not represent that I believe what you said unless you can provide us with more concrete proof to show us the presence of these 'two powerful and evil threats'."
"That is not that hard to do," Feng Bujue answered seriously. "I believe you will meet them on the battlefield soon enough." He added, "They will be the same size as us. They will have humanoid shapes and can produce many different kinds of weapons out of thin air. The key point is… they have very high intelligence. Forgive my honesty, but I believe none of the Novel commanders that you have met in the past will be as cunning as those two."
"Is that so… Then… what about you two?" Optimus Prime asked, "Who are you and why do you want to join Classic?"
"Of course, because we have endless admiration for you that one cannot be put into words," Feng Bujue said shamelessly.
Bumblebee laughed drily. "I wonder this answer is intended to humiliate our intelligence or to show off your shamelessness?"
"Fine, fine… You got me. The two of us and the other two threats are travelers from another world. Due to a certain reason, one of the parties has to die." Feng Bujue explained. "So… After they join Novel, the enemy of the enemy is our friend." The reason was a mixture of truth and falsehood but that made it more believable.
"Humph…" Galvatron scoffed and squeezed the following through his teeth. "In other words, you want to make use of us to kill your nemesis."
"You can see it that way," Feng Bujue admitted, "But… you have to admit, this is a win-win situation."
"No. If you can provide aid to the Classic, then it is a win-win situation," Starscream said darkly, "But the two of you are useless… Hehe… I personally believe we should use you two as a bargaining chip. Perhaps after those two 'powerful and evil threats' get the things they want they will not mix themselves into this war."
Xiao Tan then whispered to Brother Jue, "This toy sure is a cunning one…"
"Ha ha ha ha…" Feng Bujue suddenly guffawed. The toys were stunned, they had no idea what this man was doing. Only Xiao Tan knew that Brother Jue was bluffing. He was using this short period to come up with a conspiracy in his mind…
Feng Bujue laughed for five seconds before he got the plan. He put on a conceited look and said, "So be it… I forgive you for your irrationality and ignorance." He paused. "Even though this might sound like conceit, but I will have to admit my real identity at this moment. In my world, I am the direct disciple of the famous military strategist Alan Smithee[1]."
Erm… how come I have not heard of that before? Xiao Tan thought to himself. This group of NPCs are not that easily fooled. Saying things like that might make things worse…
"I've been a scout, a spy, a soldier, a general and have been involved in large wars and strategies…" Feng Bujue continued to spawn his lies confidently. "But… since I've just arrived here and am not familiar with the current war of this universe and since we were treated as cannon fodder by your group, until now I have decided not to show my true ability."
"Hmm…" Optimus Prime heard the words unsaid. "Even though that sounds like a bunch of balderdash to me… our interaction indeed started with a misunderstanding. I have made some mistakes on the basis of prejudice." He thought for a few seconds. "Since you have said so, how about this…" He turned to look at Jazz and Nightbeat. "Jazz, Nightbeat, when you go to the Lego House, bring these two travelers from another world with you. See if they are of any help."
"Yes sir." Jazz accepted; he never questioned his superior's order. Optimus Prime turned to Feng Bujue and Xiao Tan. "Jazz and Nightbeat are both exceptional scouts. I hope you two are as quick on your mind and feet as you claim and won't hold them back."
At this point, the players heard the system announce, "Side quest triggered." They opened the game menu and under the original side quest, there was a new quest. "Assist Jazz and Nightbeat to investigate the Lego House."
"The chance to prove yourself has been given. I will assign you appropriate roles depending on the result of this investigation," Optimus Prime concluded.
Starscream added with malice, "If you foil this, then the name of that role will be 'bargaining chip', hue hue hue…"
"Can you please not add such a malicious threat after the highest commander has finished his order and ended it with a wicked laugh like that?" Megatron warned.
…
At the same time, at the neutral area, in the shadow about five meters away from the entrance to Lego House, the four members from Novel had already arrived.
These four were all swordsman.
The first wore a crimson kimono with a head of orange-red hair, a wound in the shape of the cross on his left cheek and a reverse blade katana on his waist.
The second wore a dark green kimono, had moss-green hair, with a black bandana. A blade wound slashed through his left eye and three blades were strapped around his waist.
The third wore a black European costume, with chestnut-colored hair, a clean face, and other than the sword, he was carrying a rocket launcher on his back.
The fourth wore blue and black light armor. His golden hair reached his shoulder. He was handsome and had a glowing blade on his back.
As a strategist-type player, the information Laughing Soul obtained from Novel compared to the information Brother Jue got… was heaven and earth in difference. Laughing Soul basically had gotten briefed on all the details pre and post the war of the toys. That naturally included the forces of two parties and their finicky relationship with those in the neutral zone.
Therefore, she predicted correctly that no matter the result of the skirmish tonight, the information about the presence of the Lego helicopters would push the Classic into movement.
Therefore, Laughing Soul sent out the personal guards the Lich King had given her and Passing Rain to set up an ambush for the enemy at the Lego House.
She believed that… be it for investigation or negotiation, Classic wouldn't send a normal soldier to Lego House. There was a high chance it would be a commander or general level character. With the combined power of the four swordsmen, capturing this important hostage alive wouldn't be too hard. After the hostage was captured, she could get information about Brother Jue and Xiao Tan from them and not to mention crucial information about the opposing army.
Of course, Laughing Soul had considered the possibility of Brother Jue and Xiao Tan going to the Lego House themselves. For that, she added an order to her personal guards. If they discovered the 2 among the other party, kill them on the spot…
[1] Alan Smithee (also Allen Smithee) is an official pseudonym used by film directors who wished to disown a project in the years 196 – 2000.