Wayne raised his hand and waved at the man on horseback. The figure seemed to hesitate for a moment, then gently pulled the reins and trotted toward the net cafe.
[Extreme Threat Detected]
[Threat Level: High]
Although the man showed no apparent hostility, the vending machine issued a warning. Just in case, Wayne whispered to Tess, "Go get Chen. Walk slowly, don't run. Act calm. Go, quickly."
Tess turned around and deliberately slowed her pace, feigning relaxation as she headed inside.
The man reached the stable and dismounted with a light, agile flip. He didn't even need to tie the reins; the horse instinctively stayed in the stall, folding its legs to rest on its own.
Wayne studied him closely, his gaze filled with suspicion and wariness. Despite wearing a voluminous, hooded cloak, the man's boots were strapped tightly to his calves, a necessity for long-distance riding. In the process of dismounting, the powerful muscle lines of his thighs and calves were visible, and his arms looked exceptionally thick.
Furthermore, the hammer on his back, while plain in appearance, clearly possessed significant weight. Combined with his tall stature, the man radiated a single, direct impression: raw power.
As the man drew closer, Wayne caught a glimpse of his features beneath the hood—a thick, grey-white beard covering his upper lip, cheeks, and chin. His deep-set eye sockets and dark pupils seemed entirely swallowed by the night.
"Hello, sir. It's quite late, may I ask..."
Just as Wayne started to greet him, a series of echoing, long-winded cries rang out from the distance:
"Prepare yourselves, the bell has tolled!" "Shelter your weak, your young and your old!" "Each must pay the price, for all shall perish!"
The proclamations pierced the quiet night of Goldshire like a sharp blade. Each shout sounded closer than the last, and lights began to flicker on in the nearby town as fires were lit.
Shortly after the sound and light approached, the sharp-eyed Tess pointed at the southeastern sky and shouted, "Look, everyone!"
The other three present didn't need her shout to see it. In the sky, a point of eerie green light was rushing toward the net cafe. Upon closer inspection, it was a knight whose head was a flaming green skull, wielding a sword glowing with red light, riding a warhorse that galloped through the air!
"The Headless Horseman?!" Wayne blurted out, finally understanding why the vending machine had issued a warning.
Hearing this, the man who had just dismounted immediately unslung the massive hammer from his back and dropped into a vigilant combat stance.
Because he moved so suddenly, Chen—who had been rushed out by Tess—thought the man was attacking Wayne. With lightning speed, Chen gathered true qi in his wrists and swung both hands forward in a cross. A circular, serrated wave of true qi, identical to Guile's "Sonic Boom," shot toward the man!
You can even do that?! Wayne was momentarily stunned.
He knew that mastering a game in the net cafe could allow a player to grasp its essence through increased strength and proficiency, enabling them to use moves, skills, or magic that originally only existed in the game in the real world. Wayne himself could use magic from Harry Potter and Heroes of Might and Magic III, and having cleared Monster Hunter, he had unlocked items like Flash Bombs and Sonic Bombs.
But he had never seen someone like Chen, who could replicate a game character's move so perfectly and execute it with such effortless mastery.
In the split second that these thoughts flashed through his mind, the man showed no panic as Chen attacked. A golden light gathered rapidly on his two-handed hammer. With a forceful swing, a golden magical hammer flew out, colliding with Chen's Sonic Boom.
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion echoed. The shockwave generated by the collision of true qi and holy magic forced Wayne and Tess to stumble backward.
By now, the others had rushed out of the building. Arator, running at the front, subconsciously blurted out, "Judgment?! A Paladin!"
Indeed, Wayne saw it too. The man was a Paladin, and an exceptionally powerful one at that, judging by how calmly he had intercepted Chen's attack.
Seeing Chen about to strike again, Wayne shouted, "Wait! He's on our side!"
Just as he finished shouting, the Headless Horseman, flying at high speed, swung his sword at the group. A wave of fire erupted from the blade, scorching the air.
The Paladin seemed unsure of the situation—caught between a Pandaren on the ground and a bizarre knight in the sky—so he held his hammer in a defensive posture without moving.
Chen was about to fire another wave of qi to dissipate the flames when Amy, who had just reached the entrance, chanted a teleportation spell. She moved Wayne, Tess, and Chen to her side, successfully evading the attack.
The flames hit the ground, spreading out with a wave of heat that ignited the grass. Strangely, four or five pumpkin heads—burning intensely with triangular eyes and eerie smiles—emerged from the fire.
Everyone was bewildered, including Chen, who had traveled ten thousand miles, and Marlin, who had read ten thousand books. As they launched their counterattacks, they wondered where these creatures had come from.
Only Wayne was intimately familiar with this... This was the Hallow's End event that occurred every year in World of Warcraft. The Headless Horseman was a special boss that only appeared during this period. Furthermore, the current year—Year 24 of the Dark Portal—was exactly the year Hallow's End began in the world of Azeroth.
As expected, in this world of swords and magic, a peaceful life was a rare luxury. Most of the time, one surprise after another was the norm.
Seeing his targets vanish, the Headless Horseman pulled his reins, causing his flying steed to climb higher. He shouted into the sky, "Fire consumes all! You are exhausted, without hope of victory! I shall uphold justice!"
Reaching a high altitude, he dove toward the net cafe like a bomber, swinging his sword to unleash more fire.
By now, the Paladin realized the Horseman and Wayne's group were not together. Chen's earlier attack was likely a misunderstanding, thinking he was an accomplice. Although the Paladin preferred not to cause trouble, the irrepressible sense of justice within him drove him to unleash the Light once more. He cast Judgment, turning it into a golden magical warhammer that struck the Headless Horseman.
The Horseman was completely unprepared for this sudden, lightning-fast strike. He wobbled in the air under the heavy blow, pulled his reins, and focused his gaze on the Paladin.
"You?!" the Horseman cried out in surprise. "How have you joined the ranks of the Scourge?! How could someone like you fall so low?! You have betrayed the Light!"
The others, having dispatched the minor pumpkins, were confused by these words. An undead knight—who was nothing but a skull burning with green fire—was claiming that a Paladin overflowing with Holy Light was dead... and had betrayed the Light?
Wayne thought to himself, Is this hidden dialogue? I never heard these lines before...
Meanwhile, Raymond activated the fire-extinguishing system at the counter. With the rumble of the basement generator, water pipes embedded in the external wall began to spray. The stone bricks, already difficult to ignite, were washed by the flowing water until not even a spark remained. Even Wayne hadn't expected this; he gave a thumbs-up to his usually clumsy apprentice.
"Thomas?" The Paladin, who hadn't spoken since his arrival, uttered the name with clear shock, directed at the Headless Horseman.
Hearing this, Chen resumed his combat stance and turned to Wayne. "Are those two actually together?"
"No," Wayne said quickly. "Just focus on the flying one."
Chen raised an eyebrow. "How am I supposed to deal with him flying? I can't fly..."
As they spoke, Amy fired three consecutive "Arcane Blasts," each faster than the last, at the Horseman. However, her strength was clearly not on the level of Chen or the Paladin. Although the spells hit, most of the energy was deflected by the Horseman's flaming sword.
The Headless Horseman then addressed the Paladin: "Yes! It is I! My body is strong and pure! Now, let me heal your dark souls!"
He was about to strike back, but this time, the Paladin didn't swing his hammer. Instead, he gathered Holy Light in his left hand with incredible speed and thrust it forward. The energy slammed into the Horseman instantly.
BOOM!
This seemingly ordinary burst of Holy Light acted as if it were burning the Horseman's entire body to ash.
Arator felt another surge of extreme shock. "Such... such a powerful Exorcism?!"
The Headless Horseman and his steed nearly fell from the sky. Only after struggling with the reins did they regain balance. Despite this, a contemptuous, mocking laugh erupted from the flaming green skull.
"You are so eager to see me fall. But you know not that as long as my head remains, I can avoid all disaster!" "Hahahahahaha!"
With that, he pulled the reins and flew away. His final words to the Paladin were: "Traitor, one day I shall cleanse your soul!"
His disappearance left everyone bewildered, with only the distant sounds of guards and townsfolk shouting as they worked together to put out the fires.