Chapter 12

Villages that have managed to survive until now all have their own ways of surviving. It's clear that Zhou Tian would have to wait for the other side to make a mistake, which is almost impossible. Therefore, under such circumstances, Zhou Tian had to force the other side to reveal their weaknesses to achieve his goal.

While Zhou Tian indeed lacked the capability to deal with large cities, the current target was merely a small village. Given the strength of such an opponent, Zhou Tian believed he had a fair chance of success if he thought of a plan.

Without mentioning other factors, just based on the size of the village, Zhou Tian did not believe it could sustain the food consumption of so many NPCs. Through long-term observation, Zhou Tian had basically confirmed that while the village produced some of its food, most of the food consumed in the village was purchased from the nearby newbie village.

Thus, given the current situation of the village, Zhou Tian did not need to do anything else; he just needed to cut off the food supply for the NPCs. Even if Zhou Tian did nothing else, he believed the NPCs would try to come out and fight him to the death.

Having thought of a strategy, Zhou Tian immediately put it into action. At his command, the group of half-orc warriors under him immediately took action.

Under Zhou Tian's orders, over a thousand half-orc warriors were directly divided into several groups to block the exit routes of the NPC village. Subsequently, when the residents of the NPC village went out, they mostly encountered attacks from Zhou Tian's half-orc warriors.

Although the strength of the half-orc warriors was not very high, their attacks still caused the NPCs considerable trouble.

There was no need for a decisive victory. Although Zhou Tian's strength had increased significantly compared to before, if he were to engage in a full-scale battle with the NPC village, he would not be a match for them even if his strength were ten times greater. However, as long as the NPCs left the village, Zhou Tian's half-orc warriors would attack them. Even if the NPC army could repel them, they would not need to do anything else.

As a result, although Zhou Tian's half-orc warriors kept losing, the number of people entering and leaving the NPC village sharply decreased.

Although Zhou Tian was not entirely clear about the specific situation of the NPC village, he felt that his actions had had an effect based on the atmosphere.

Although he could not be sure if his feeling was correct, since he had that feeling, Zhou Tian would not give up halfway. Thus, in the stalemate, Zhou Tian used his own methods to gradually wear down the NPCs' patience.

In the end, although Zhou Tian did not take any further drastic actions, his previous arrangements still forced the NPCs to counterattack.

Although the NPCs' lives were not particularly carefree, one thing was certain: before Zhou Tian appeared, the NPC village did not have any major troubles. However, after Zhou Tian became the monster lord of that territory, the NPCs suffered many losses at his hands. If those losses had not shaken their foundation and the NPCs had not known their own strength, they would have already requested assistance from their superior city.

Now, the NPCs' tolerance for Zhou Tian had reached its limit. In this situation, Zhou Tian even blocked their gates directly. How could the NPCs possibly ignore such a provocation?

As a result, after enduring for a while, the NPCs chose to launch an attack against Zhou Tian.

Although the NPCs might not have understood Zhou Tian's intentions, they knew one thing: if Zhou Tian continued to block their gates, their village would inevitably suffer significant impacts. To avoid such a disadvantage, regardless of Zhou Tian's intentions, the NPCs believed it was best to quickly repel him.

Thus, when the NPCs could no longer tolerate the situation, a group of nearly two thousand NPCs emerged from the village and headed straight for Zhou Tian's base without a word.

Zhou Tian, who had been closely monitoring the NPCs, naturally could not ignore their actions. When he learned that the NPCs were heading straight for his base, he could not be completely indifferent. However, when the NPCs took action, Zhou Tian did not immediately move to reinforce his base. After understanding the route of the NPC group, Zhou Tian not only did not stop their actions but also actively cleared the way for them.

Undoubtedly, the NPCs had once again made a mistake in their response.

Monsters, like beasts, regardless of their strength, generally place great importance on their territory. In such a situation, if an enemy enters their territory, the monsters will usually engage in battle, regardless of whether they can defeat the enemy.

If it were other half-orcs, even half-orc leaders, the NPCs' actions would have certainly lured their enemies into a trap. If that were to happen, the battle would truly become a contest of strength.

However, it was clear that the NPCs had misjudged their target. Zhou Tian did not consider his territory important. As long as his strength could improve, he could tolerate the NPCs occupying his territory. Thus, the NPCs' attempt to force Zhou Tian into a decisive battle using this method was bound to fail.

On the contrary, when he saw the NPCs leave, Zhou Tian actually showed a pleased expression.

Even if the population of the NPC village had exceeded ten thousand, after dispatching a group of over two thousand, the number of truly combat-capable members would be reduced to about half. This meant that if the expeditionary NPC group suffered any damage, it could directly shake the foundation of the NPC village.

Of course, Zhou Tian's strength was not enough to deal with that NPC group. He could not even show his face in front of them. The strength disparity was too great, and if the NPCs knew his location, Zhou Tian had no confidence in escaping their pursuit.

However, although Zhou Tian could not handle the NPC group, he was not without resources. Even if Zhou Tian was not a match for the NPC group, if he could mobilize a large number of half-orcs, not only could he eliminate the NPC group, but he could also easily destroy the NPC village.

Zhou Tian did not have the ability to command the half-orcs, but it was not difficult for him to involve other half-orcs in this battle. Although the NPCs would not cooperate, Zhou Tian could use internal means.

Thus, after seeing the NPCs enter his territory, Zhou Tian thought for a moment and immediately commanded his half-orc warriors to take action.

Under Zhou Tian's orders, a small group of more intelligent half-orc warriors left the group and dispersed throughout the half-orc territory.

Although the half-orcs generally had low intelligence, Zhou Tian's half-orc warriors could still lead other half-orc warriors to a specific location.

The subsequent situation was quite simple. Under Zhou Tian's orders, his half-orc warriors acted separately, leading some half-orc warriors from other territories and naturally spreading the information about the NPC group.

Although the NPC group intended to deal with Zhou Tian and had no intention of fighting other half-orc warriors, the other half-orc warriors would not think that way. When the NPC army besieged the beast slaves, half-orc warriors would still mobilize upon receiving the information. Now, when they learned that an NPC army had entered Zhou Tian's territory, even if they did not understand why Zhou Tian had not taken action, the half-orc warriors would not ignore the NPCs.

As a result, after Zhou Tian's arrangements, over a dozen half-orc warriors simultaneously mobilized, and nearly ten thousand half-orc warriors gathered to surround Zhou Tian's territory.

Upon discovering the situation with the half-orc warriors, the NPCs were naturally startled. Without hesitation, they immediately decided to retreat.

However, given the situation, even if the NPCs wanted to retreat, the half-orc warriors would not let them go.

Thus, under Zhou Tian's arrangements, when the half-orc warriors encountered the NPCs, they naturally engaged in battle. Given the situation, if nothing unexpected happened, the NPC group would not stand a chance.

When the situation reached this point, even if the NPCs felt something was wrong, the expeditionary NPC group still sent a distress signal to their village.

Upon receiving the distress signal, the NPC village had no choice but to send reinforcements. After all, they could not ignore the fate of the NPCs who had left, and the village could not afford to lose half of its combat strength in one go.

Thus, after sending reinforcements twice, the NPC village was left with very few combat-capable members.