Sophie's plan was like this.
If his memory served him correctly, the Guard Team in Buqi at this time should be led by the renowned old soldier—Madden, who, like Brand's grandfather, had experienced the November War.
Sophie knew him because this NPC in the game would teach travelers the 'Investigation' skill.
But what truly made this old soldier famous was that, during the first Black Rose War, he made a huge mistake as the local guard captain of Buqi by misjudging Madara's army's intentions.
He thought the other side was merely conducting the usual border invasion, so he initially relocated Buqi's villagers. He had a chance to counterattack and repel the vanguard of the Undead Army, retreating in an orderly fashion afterwards.
Unfortunately, that opportunity slipped through his fingers.
He was supposed to become a hero of the Kingdom but ultimately walked a darker path. Sophie felt both sympathy and curiosity toward such a person.
Sympathy for the latter part of his life, and curiosity about how he initially detected Madara's Undead Army ahead of time. After all, this was the only variable in the entire Golan-Elsen Region.
"Could it be because of me?" An unlikely thought suddenly popped into Sophie's mind.
But he immediately dismissed this absurd notion.
Now he needed to change history, he had to find a way to warn the other side. Fire, in military regulations, symbolized a warning and invasion. Sophie could only hope the other side was clear-headed enough—
There were pounding sounds outside the door, every second felt steeped in a tense atmosphere.
"Brand, they are about to come in!" Romantic tightly gripped the Stone Worker's Hammer with both hands, her pretty face frowning as she stared intently at the kitchen door, as if afraid it might be broken open at any moment.
Sophie didn't have the spare capacity to consider this; if the skeleton soldiers swarmed in, they would be doomed. But hearing Miss Merchant's shout, he still couldn't help but glance back at the door:
The kitchen door made a creaking sound as sharp swords incessantly pierced and withdrew. Madara's sharp swords shone like a beast's fangs. Outside, something suddenly slammed into the door with a loud bang, causing a layer of dust to fall from the ceiling.
The wooden door moaned and creaked, and the cracks widened significantly—
"Calm down, calm down, just pretend it's still a game. Sophie, think carefully about the tasks you have accomplished, this is nothing compared to those..."
He took a deep breath to calm his mind, while wrapping an oil-soaked cloth around a bundle of straw and firewood, then fastening it tightly with a rubber band. He was adept at this; making a homemade torch was a basic skill in the game, although it wasn't considered basic craftsmanship.
The conditions were relatively favorable. He also knew how to make those torches that only burned for five minutes, recalling how he had tried it once in the underground tunnels of Nuocan and Hain with dried lichen and shrubs.
But he didn't have much time left. Soon the door made another loud bang, and the door frame emitted a cracking sound as lime splashed, then settled.
"Brand!" Romantic felt her heart leap to her throat, her bright eyes blinking.
"I'm here, don't worry, hang in there a little longer." Sophie himself was already drenched in sweat. He had sawed several times on the flint with an iron rod, sparks flying wildly, but the torch just wouldn't light—
After all, there were still some differences between reality and the game.
The immense force of the skeleton soldiers first caused the door latch to give way, breaking with a snap. The wooden door tilted but didn't fully open.
A bare-boned hand reached in from outside, trying to break the door latch from inside.
The girl merchant was startled, she immediately raised the hammer and swung at it, but with a thud, hitting the bones only created a crack—Madara's skeleton soldiers felt no pain, it merely paused slightly before continuing to pull the latch.
Romantic was stunned for a moment upon seeing this, momentarily forgetting the hammer in her hand.
"Brand, Brand, what do we do..." she asked nervously.
At this moment, the fire finally lit up.
And the door latch dropped to the ground with a clang at the same time.
The door opened wide, and a skeleton soldier holding a treasure sword stepped in, turning its head. The black eye sockets, alight with two flickering red flames, locked onto the two pale-faced young people.