Chapter 5: Discovering the Player

Even though Zhou Tian was somewhat different, he was still merely a Beastman Warrior. If the other Beastman Warriors could vanish mysteriously, then if Zhou Tian encountered similar situations or individuals, he could potentially disappear too.

Disappearance doesn't necessarily indicate something bad. However, without knowing what exactly happened to the vanished Beastman Warriors, Zhou Tian naturally didn't want to leave his own fate to pure luck.

Upon noticing the disappearance of the Beastman Warriors, he didn't show any outward reactions. However, after his usual patrol around his residing area, he started to gather information related to their disappearance.

"The evidence here shows there had been a battle not long ago. But if those missing Beastman Warriors were slain, then why weren't the others nearby alerted? It seems I'll need to monitor this area more closely." Zhou Tian trusted his findings. However, there were many aspects he couldn't figure out based on his current analysis. Under such circumstances, a perplexed Zhou Tian decided to start exploring the area.

Given Beastman Warriors' lax management style, Zhou Tian easily managed to extricate himself from his patrol duties upon deciding to investigate.

Unnoticed by other Beastman Warriors, Zhou Tian's attention was firmly on the area where the warriors vanished.

At first, Zhou Tian didn't discover anything notable. However, after keeping close watch on the area for nearly a week, an unexpected turn of events ensued.

"What on earth is happening?" Upon watching the humans killing an unsuspecting Beastman Warrior while the other warriors dismissed the situation, Zhou Tian was utterly flabbergasted.

"Are those Beastman Warriors blind? They can't even see the enemy so close to them." With human warriors continuing to kill Beastman Warriors nearby while the rest remained oblivious, Zhou Tian was engulfed in a sense of desperation.

Although he was unstable emotionally, Zhou Tian didn't reveal his position immediately. Instead, after noticing the anomaly, Zhou Tian swiftly excused himself from the area, pondering over the situation.

All Beastman Warriors looked alike. Unless the warriors had undergone sufficient slaughters to evolve, no Beastman Warrior would appear noticeably different from the rest.

Based on Zhou Tian's investigation, he didn't believe those Beastman Warriors were genuinely blind. Hence, it could only mean that some unknown power or ability had obstructed the Beastman Warriors, rendering them oblivious to the enemies nearby.

Once this conjecture formed, Zhou Tian immediately felt exhilarated.

If this truly was a game world, then there must be three different groups present.

The strongest group would indubitably be the Monster Group Zhou Tian belonged to. Even though they were constantly repelled in the game, they were the most potent force in Monster Siege in terms of overall performance and strengths. If they were more unified internally, they could have already conquered the world.

The second group that Zhou Tian had encountered was the NPCs in the game. Although these NPCs differed greatly from those in Zhou Tian's gaming memory, Zhou Tian had nonetheless encountered the second group in this world.

The entity that Zhou Tian had not encountered and dreaded was the real protagonist in the gaming universe, the third group in this world – the players from Earth.

Zhou Tian was uncertain about the nature of the players in this world. He was even unsure if players truly existed in this world. However, based on what he had observed, if Zhou Tian had to assign an identity to those people, apart from real game players, he found it hard to believe there could be other beings capable of doing those things in such a small area.

Once Zhou Tian started thinking that way, he suddenly felt an urge to eliminate these players.

Maybe it was because he felt jealous about the players due to his experiences. Or perhaps it was out of consideration for his self-interest. Since killing NPCs confirmed to bring Evolution Experience, Zhou Tian really wanted to see what he would gain if he managed to kill these players.

Once that idea emerged, Zhou Tian started acting without hesitation. As soon as the thought occurred, he began to plot his course of action.

Dealing with those players might be hard indeed, but with the right approach, dealing with them could be easy.

The advantage the players had was that their acts could not be noticed by most of the monsters in this world. In the NPC city, they could purchase various equipment and potions. Even if they were on par in terms of strength, the monsters would usually be worn down by the players.

However, if Zhou Tian wanted to deal with them, their major advantage - being unnoticed by the beasts, would cease to exist. Zhou Tian believed that if he arranged for numerous Beastmen to besiege the area where they were, even if he couldn't see the players, they could still pose a threat.

With a plan in mind, Zhou Tian immediately set it into motion.

Due to Fast Talent equipped by Zhou Tian, along with his wisdom giving him an edge in combat, he became an unofficial small leader within the local Beastman Warriors even without possessing an absolute strength advantage.

Considering Zhou Tian's means, directing a large number of Beastman Warriors could be challenging. However, controlling ten or so Beastman Warriors would not be a problem for him.

In such circumstances, when Zhou Tian was ready to act, he rounded up the Beastman Warriors who he had lured under his command by various tactics.