1536

The ground outside the territory hall was full of mounts and players. Li Chengfeng, Gui Guzi and more were busy rallying the Dragonlight Cavalrymen into organized groups. Judging from the eager looks on everyone’s faces, they had been looking forward to this inevitable war for quite some time already. The previous Nation War was so long ago that they had almost acclimatized to the bland days of grinding. Almost. This Nation War would probably be unlike all the Nation Wars that had happened before though, and the main reason for that was the divine players and Ancient Divine Skills.

……

"You’re here, Lu Chen!" Li Chengeng walked up to me and reported, "There is a small problem I need to talk to you about. Our main and subguilds combined have a total of 177k Dragonlight Cavalrymen, but because the war had started earlier than expected, less than 50% of them are online right now. The workers are working, the students are studying, and the truants received the message too late and are unable to make an escape just yet. What should we do?"

I nodded. "It’s fine. If possible, I’m not planning to use the Dragonlight Cavalry during the first 24 hours of the war anyway. Tell those who are online to teleport to Dawn City first. I have great plans that will require their presence later!"

"No problem!"

Beside me, Chaos Moon said, "What about the lower-tier cavalrymen? You know, the common mounts that every guild has such as the Profound Wolf Cavalry. Ah, the Profound Wolf is a Level 210 Earth Rank mount that can be captured at Sky Forest. Bloody Mercenaries and some of our subguilds combined own a total of 100k Profound Wolves. We also have over 200k Thunder Cavalrymen. Their mounts are the even-more-common Level 190 Earth Rank Thunder Beasts. On a side note, 90k Dragonlight Archers and 110k Holy Mages are available right now."

I was pleasantly surprised to hear this. "Damn, I didn’t know we were this strong now. Good. Tell everyone to teleport to Dawn City, march toward Fortress of the Iron Halberd, and assist the NPCs in the defense. But not the Dragonlight Cavalrymen. They are to stand by and await orders."

"Okay. Beauty Stranger is already setting up her defense at Dawn City. We should head over and meet up with her now."

"Okay!"

……

Our troops marched into the teleportation formation and teleported to Dawn City. Although Dawn City was just a tier 2 city, there wasn’t a single player in the world who hadn’t heard of its name. After all, it was the city where the epic conclusion of the first Nation War had occurred.

Instead of following my players into the teleportation formation, I opted to wait until everyone was gone. Murong Mingyue, He Yi, Beiming Xue and Lian Xin stayed by my side as well. Finally, Lian Xin couldn’t stop herself from asking, "What are we waiting for, big bro?"

I grinned at her and said, "I want to lay a safety net just in case the enemy pulls off something unexpected."

"It’s unusual for you to hide things from us. Can you tell us about this ‘safety net’ now?"

I chuckled and took out a golden stone from my bag. It was none other than the Teleportation Divine Crystal I had obtained from the Purgatory. Silently, I set the 100-yard radius area in front of the territory hall as the initial teleportation point and canceled the terminal at the sixth floor of the Purgatory. Now, I could teleport reinforcements from Dark Moon City to my location anytime I wanted. This was why the Teleportation Divine Crystal was so important. Distance was practically a non-existent issue for as long as it was functional. It was my trump card for this Nation War!

He Yi was an intelligent woman, so she figured out my plan the moment she realized what the item was. She couldn’t help a chuckle and said, "I’m feeling much more confident about our chances now…"

I smirked. "Now, now, it won’t do to get complacent before the Nation War even begins. Let’s check out the Northern Alliance’s movements first. To the Fortress of the Iron Halberd!"

“Mn!"

……

"Oh right, big bro. Look!" Suddenly, Lian Xin pulled my arm to draw my attention.

"Look, what?" I admired her pretty features for a moment before breaking into a grin. "Oh! Did your chest grow to a new size, Little Xin? Hmm, I think it’s bigger, but it’s not that much bigger…"

Lian Xin stomped her foot angrily. "Pervert! That’s not what I meant! Look closely…"

"Of course…"

Lian Xin slowly floated into the air. Just as she was about to rise high enough for me to glimpse her pink undies, she came to a stop. It was then I noticed that an invisible shield of divine energy was surrounding her body. It was the visual effect of Unusual Physique! Fuck me, when did Lian Xin become a god?!

"When did you ascend, Little Xin?" I exclaimed in surprise.

She dropped back to the ground and said with a smile, "Last night, of course. I gave it a go around midnight and got super lucky!"

I slapped my head. "Now that you mention it, is there anyone else who ascended last night besides you?"

Beiming Xue answered, "There are a total of three people who ascended last night. One of them is Little Xin, the other is Shabby Castle of the England server, and the last one is Purple Thunder of the Japan server…"

"Huh. The Japan server has three divine players now?" I frowned.

He Yi assured me, "Don’t worry. Candle Dragon, Warsky Alliance, Soul Battle Robes, Snowy Cathaya and Purple Lily are among the guilds who’ll be attacking Swallow Ear Canton. Our number of divine players absolutely exceeds theirs!"

"That’s true. There should be nothing Red Maple can do against Yiyi, Candlelight Shadow and Farewell Song combined!"

"Yeah. Let’s go, shall we?"

"Yeah!"

……

We stepped through the teleportation formation together and appeared in the bustling Dawn City. The war was on the horizon, and the tier 2 city was crowded like never before. To avoid the crowd, I carried Murong Mingyue, and He Yi carried Pure Love to the sky. Beiming Xue rode her Fire Phoenix, and Lian Xin could fly on her own thanks to her new ability, Flight. These days, almost all of us possessed the ability to fly.

I pointed a finger at the black fortress at the end of the canyon and said, "Let’s fly straight to Fortress of the Iron Halberd. If the battle has already begun, even better. I don’t mind earning contribution points sooner and getting a headstart."

He Yi chuckled. "Yeah. Let’s make every second count!"

I looked at the Nation War UI and noted that a ridiculous amount of countries were participating in this Nation War. This was, without exaggeration, a great war that involved the entire continent. The Center, the Northern Alliance, India, Swallow Ear Canton, Frostsword City, Chaotic 27 and more were all participating in this war. It also meant that anyone who died on a map under these servers for whatever reason wouldn't be able to log into the game for 3 days. Therefore, the non-combat players such as traders and such were all holed up inside their respective main cities. The last thing they wanted was to be caught in a random battle they wanted no part of and die[1].

It took us less than five minutes to cross the distance between Dawn City and Fortress of the Iron Halberd. The ramparts were already full of players, and the large majority of them belonged to Blazing Hot Lips. This time, Blazing Hot Lips’ forces would be the main force of a battle.

Swhoosh!

I landed gently on the rampart and set Murong Mingyue on her feet. A faint milky scent brushed against my nostrils.

A few meters away, Stranger of Three Lifetimes shot me a smile and said, "You’re finally here, Lu Chen. According to Hot and Sour Noodles, our guilds are supposed to be working together and guarding Fortress of the Iron Halberd this time. Do give us your full cooperation, okay?"

I raised my eyebrows. "But of course, Momo. Quick question, how many people can you bring over?"

"Assuming that everyone is online, about 1.5 million in total. What about Ancient Sword?"

"Our normal online rate is 80%, and we have 29 subguilds in total. Roughly speaking, we can easily muster a force of 2 million players, and they all enjoy the buffs of the War Temple. We’re amazing, right?"

"Er, yeah, but the question is, is it enough to stop the formidable army of the Northern Alliance? Look closely…"

Stranger of Three Lifetimes pointed toward the outskirts, and I looked. I sucked in a deep breath. The map some distance away from Fortress of the Iron Halberd was completely jam-packed with red dots. I had no doubt that the Northern Alliance had mobilized practically all of their players. There were at least 20 million enemy players on the canyon plains alone, and we defenders numbered 10 million at most. It was because the majority of our forces had left to kick Swallow Ear Canton’s ass.

……

"So? Still confident that we can hold the fortress?" Moonkiss asked me smilingly while playing her dagger.

I curled my lips. "Sure. Their army is massive, but do you see their divine players anywhere? Vienna’s Sorrow, Shabby Castle?"

"Not yet, no." Stranger of Three Lifetimes blinked. "I checked the identities of the guilds standing before us, and they are second or third–rate at most; the equal of our Mad Dragon, Flower Room, and Pop Culture. Personally, I agree that these people are only here to donate their contribution points, but at the same time… I’m also anxious as to the whereabouts of the Northern Alliance’s main force."

I clenched my fists. "I know. Hero Alliance is our greatest threat. We cannot rest easy until they are truly removed from our side."

Stranger of Three Lifetimes glanced at the Dragonlight Cavalrymen riding into Fortress of Iron Fortress and said smilingly, "I bet Vienna’s Sorrow thinks the same thing about Ancient Sword as well. They can never rest easy until Ancient Sword is kicked out of this war!"

"Anyway, let’s cut the chit-chat and begin organizing the defenses, shall we?"

"Yeah. You guard the east, and we guard the west. How does that sound?"

"Works for me!"

I looked at the enemy’s forces again and discovered that they were growing restless. I said, "It looks like the battle will begin in 30 minutes at most. Let’s not waste any more time!"

"Agreed!"

I took to the sky once more, waved my hand and ordered loudly, "All Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls players, this will be your first order! The Dragonlight Cavalry will be resting for now! I want 50,000 magic knight Thunder and Profound Wolf Cavalrymen to form a shield formation outside the fortress! Holy Mages and Dragonlight Archers, get onto the ramparts and towers and be ready to Far Shot your attacks at any moment! Also, our defense zone is the east side wall! High Fighting Spirits, choose 50k elite Dragonlight Cavalrymen and be ready to ride out the gates with me at any moment!"

High Fighting Spirits raised his axe and responded, "Got it!"

……

After I landed back on the rampart, I said to He Yi, "Eve, tell Xu Yang to teleport in our siege weapons. Fortress of the Iron Halberd have wide walls, which is wide enough to set up the siege weapons. We’ll blast the enemy to death with White Marsh Catapults!"

He Yi nodded smilingly. "Got it."

……

At the distance, a Level 255 magic knight abruptly raised his sword high and shouted, "The time for vengeance has finally arrived! Prepare to attack! Today’s the day we uproot Fortress of the Iron Halberd, carve our way into the hinterland of the China server, and sweep all of the natives!"

I felt very confident as I looked at the Dragonlight Archers and Holy Mages behind me. I unsheathed the Xuanyuan Sword and shouted, "Prepare for battle! Take out all targets who dare to approach within 200 yards of our walls!"

1. T/N: wow, so my speculation from a long time ago where players can declare to be a non-participant of the war isn’t a thing. This absolutely wouldn’t fly in a real game lol

E/N: Yeah, that’s how war works. Men between 18 and 60 can’t leave Ukraine right now for example. ☜

The ground outside the territory hall was full of mounts and players. Li Chengfeng, Gui Guzi and more were busy rallying the Dragonlight Cavalrymen into organized groups. Judging from the eager looks on everyone’s faces, they had been looking forward to this inevitable war for quite some time already. The previous Nation War was so long ago that they had almost acclimatized to the bland days of grinding. Almost. This Nation War would probably be unlike all the Nation Wars that had happened before though, and the main reason for that was the divine players and Ancient Divine Skills.

……

"You’re here, Lu Chen!" Li Chengeng walked up to me and reported, "There is a small problem I need to talk to you about. Our main and subguilds combined have a total of 177k Dragonlight Cavalrymen, but because the war had started earlier than expected, less than 50% of them are online right now. The workers are working, the students are studying, and the truants received the message too late and are unable to make an escape just yet. What should we do?"

I nodded. "It’s fine. If possible, I’m not planning to use the Dragonlight Cavalry during the first 24 hours of the war anyway. Tell those who are online to teleport to Dawn City first. I have great plans that will require their presence later!"

"No problem!"

Beside me, Chaos Moon said, "What about the lower-tier cavalrymen? You know, the common mounts that every guild has such as the Profound Wolf Cavalry. Ah, the Profound Wolf is a Level 210 Earth Rank mount that can be captured at Sky Forest. Bloody Mercenaries and some of our subguilds combined own a total of 100k Profound Wolves. We also have over 200k Thunder Cavalrymen. Their mounts are the even-more-common Level 190 Earth Rank Thunder Beasts. On a side note, 90k Dragonlight Archers and 110k Holy Mages are available right now."

I was pleasantly surprised to hear this. "Damn, I didn’t know we were this strong now. Good. Tell everyone to teleport to Dawn City, march toward Fortress of the Iron Halberd, and assist the NPCs in the defense. But not the Dragonlight Cavalrymen. They are to stand by and await orders."

"Okay. Beauty Stranger is already setting up her defense at Dawn City. We should head over and meet up with her now."

"Okay!"

……

Our troops marched into the teleportation formation and teleported to Dawn City. Although Dawn City was just a tier 2 city, there wasn’t a single player in the world who hadn’t heard of its name. After all, it was the city where the epic conclusion of the first Nation War had occurred.

Instead of following my players into the teleportation formation, I opted to wait until everyone was gone. Murong Mingyue, He Yi, Beiming Xue and Lian Xin stayed by my side as well. Finally, Lian Xin couldn’t stop herself from asking, "What are we waiting for, big bro?"

I grinned at her and said, "I want to lay a safety net just in case the enemy pulls off something unexpected."

"It’s unusual for you to hide things from us. Can you tell us about this ‘safety net’ now?"

I chuckled and took out a golden stone from my bag. It was none other than the Teleportation Divine Crystal I had obtained from the Purgatory. Silently, I set the 100-yard radius area in front of the territory hall as the initial teleportation point and canceled the terminal at the sixth floor of the Purgatory. Now, I could teleport reinforcements from Dark Moon City to my location anytime I wanted. This was why the Teleportation Divine Crystal was so important. Distance was practically a non-existent issue for as long as it was functional. It was my trump card for this Nation War!

He Yi was an intelligent woman, so she figured out my plan the moment she realized what the item was. She couldn’t help a chuckle and said, "I’m feeling much more confident about our chances now…"

I smirked. "Now, now, it won’t do to get complacent before the Nation War even begins. Let’s check out the Northern Alliance’s movements first. To the Fortress of the Iron Halberd!"

“Mn!"

……

"Oh right, big bro. Look!" Suddenly, Lian Xin pulled my arm to draw my attention.

"Look, what?" I admired her pretty features for a moment before breaking into a grin. "Oh! Did your chest grow to a new size, Little Xin? Hmm, I think it’s bigger, but it’s not that much bigger…"

Lian Xin stomped her foot angrily. "Pervert! That’s not what I meant! Look closely…"

"Of course…"

Lian Xin slowly floated into the air. Just as she was about to rise high enough for me to glimpse her pink undies, she came to a stop. It was then I noticed that an invisible shield of divine energy was surrounding her body. It was the visual effect of Unusual Physique! Fuck me, when did Lian Xin become a god?!

"When did you ascend, Little Xin?" I exclaimed in surprise.

She dropped back to the ground and said with a smile, "Last night, of course. I gave it a go around midnight and got super lucky!"

I slapped my head. "Now that you mention it, is there anyone else who ascended last night besides you?"

Beiming Xue answered, "There are a total of three people who ascended last night. One of them is Little Xin, the other is Shabby Castle of the England server, and the last one is Purple Thunder of the Japan server…"

"Huh. The Japan server has three divine players now?" I frowned.

He Yi assured me, "Don’t worry. Candle Dragon, Warsky Alliance, Soul Battle Robes, Snowy Cathaya and Purple Lily are among the guilds who’ll be attacking Swallow Ear Canton. Our number of divine players absolutely exceeds theirs!"

"That’s true. There should be nothing Red Maple can do against Yiyi, Candlelight Shadow and Farewell Song combined!"

"Yeah. Let’s go, shall we?"

"Yeah!"

……

We stepped through the teleportation formation together and appeared in the bustling Dawn City. The war was on the horizon, and the tier 2 city was crowded like never before. To avoid the crowd, I carried Murong Mingyue, and He Yi carried Pure Love to the sky. Beiming Xue rode her Fire Phoenix, and Lian Xin could fly on her own thanks to her new ability, Flight. These days, almost all of us possessed the ability to fly.

I pointed a finger at the black fortress at the end of the canyon and said, "Let’s fly straight to Fortress of the Iron Halberd. If the battle has already begun, even better. I don’t mind earning contribution points sooner and getting a headstart."

He Yi chuckled. "Yeah. Let’s make every second count!"

I looked at the Nation War UI and noted that a ridiculous amount of countries were participating in this Nation War. This was, without exaggeration, a great war that involved the entire continent. The Center, the Northern Alliance, India, Swallow Ear Canton, Frostsword City, Chaotic 27 and more were all participating in this war. It also meant that anyone who died on a map under these servers for whatever reason wouldn't be able to log into the game for 3 days. Therefore, the non-combat players such as traders and such were all holed up inside their respective main cities. The last thing they wanted was to be caught in a random battle they wanted no part of and die[1].

It took us less than five minutes to cross the distance between Dawn City and Fortress of the Iron Halberd. The ramparts were already full of players, and the large majority of them belonged to Blazing Hot Lips. This time, Blazing Hot Lips’ forces would be the main force of a battle.

Swhoosh!

I landed gently on the rampart and set Murong Mingyue on her feet. A faint milky scent brushed against my nostrils.

A few meters away, Stranger of Three Lifetimes shot me a smile and said, "You’re finally here, Lu Chen. According to Hot and Sour Noodles, our guilds are supposed to be working together and guarding Fortress of the Iron Halberd this time. Do give us your full cooperation, okay?"

I raised my eyebrows. "But of course, Momo. Quick question, how many people can you bring over?"

"Assuming that everyone is online, about 1.5 million in total. What about Ancient Sword?"

"Our normal online rate is 80%, and we have 29 subguilds in total. Roughly speaking, we can easily muster a force of 2 million players, and they all enjoy the buffs of the War Temple. We’re amazing, right?"

"Er, yeah, but the question is, is it enough to stop the formidable army of the Northern Alliance? Look closely…"

Stranger of Three Lifetimes pointed toward the outskirts, and I looked. I sucked in a deep breath. The map some distance away from Fortress of the Iron Halberd was completely jam-packed with red dots. I had no doubt that the Northern Alliance had mobilized practically all of their players. There were at least 20 million enemy players on the canyon plains alone, and we defenders numbered 10 million at most. It was because the majority of our forces had left to kick Swallow Ear Canton’s ass.

……

"So? Still confident that we can hold the fortress?" Moonkiss asked me smilingly while playing her dagger.

I curled my lips. "Sure. Their army is massive, but do you see their divine players anywhere? Vienna’s Sorrow, Shabby Castle?"

"Not yet, no." Stranger of Three Lifetimes blinked. "I checked the identities of the guilds standing before us, and they are second or third–rate at most; the equal of our Mad Dragon, Flower Room, and Pop Culture. Personally, I agree that these people are only here to donate their contribution points, but at the same time… I’m also anxious as to the whereabouts of the Northern Alliance’s main force."

I clenched my fists. "I know. Hero Alliance is our greatest threat. We cannot rest easy until they are truly removed from our side."

Stranger of Three Lifetimes glanced at the Dragonlight Cavalrymen riding into Fortress of Iron Fortress and said smilingly, "I bet Vienna’s Sorrow thinks the same thing about Ancient Sword as well. They can never rest easy until Ancient Sword is kicked out of this war!"

"Anyway, let’s cut the chit-chat and begin organizing the defenses, shall we?"

"Yeah. You guard the east, and we guard the west. How does that sound?"

"Works for me!"

I looked at the enemy’s forces again and discovered that they were growing restless. I said, "It looks like the battle will begin in 30 minutes at most. Let’s not waste any more time!"

"Agreed!"

I took to the sky once more, waved my hand and ordered loudly, "All Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls players, this will be your first order! The Dragonlight Cavalry will be resting for now! I want 50,000 magic knight Thunder and Profound Wolf Cavalrymen to form a shield formation outside the fortress! Holy Mages and Dragonlight Archers, get onto the ramparts and towers and be ready to Far Shot your attacks at any moment! Also, our defense zone is the east side wall! High Fighting Spirits, choose 50k elite Dragonlight Cavalrymen and be ready to ride out the gates with me at any moment!"

High Fighting Spirits raised his axe and responded, "Got it!"

……

After I landed back on the rampart, I said to He Yi, "Eve, tell Xu Yang to teleport in our siege weapons. Fortress of the Iron Halberd have wide walls, which is wide enough to set up the siege weapons. We’ll blast the enemy to death with White Marsh Catapults!"

He Yi nodded smilingly. "Got it."

……

At the distance, a Level 255 magic knight abruptly raised his sword high and shouted, "The time for vengeance has finally arrived! Prepare to attack! Today’s the day we uproot Fortress of the Iron Halberd, carve our way into the hinterland of the China server, and sweep all of the natives!"

I felt very confident as I looked at the Dragonlight Archers and Holy Mages behind me. I unsheathed the Xuanyuan Sword and shouted, "Prepare for battle! Take out all targets who dare to approach within 200 yards of our walls!"

1. T/N: wow, so my speculation from a long time ago where players can declare to be a non-participant of the war isn’t a thing. This absolutely wouldn’t fly in a real game lol

E/N: Yeah, that’s how war works. Men between 18 and 60 can’t leave Ukraine right now for example. ☜