In the morning, an autumn morning, dewdrops dripped in the garden.
Shen Xingchen's delicate face, tinged with languor, emerged from the covers. She lay quietly on the bed, remotely opening the window, listening to the sound of dewdrops outside, and even, it seemed, the sound of flowers blooming. She closed her beautiful eyes to rest for five minutes, suppressing her morning grumpiness before getting up. Her jade-like feet, still unsteady, stumbled into slippers as she went to wash up.
Actually, Shen Xingchen felt a sense of relief. She no longer had to prop up Star River, the super-giant ship in the game. Now, she could just muddle along in the Scarlet Moon Knights. It didn't sound so bad.
After washing up, a maid brought breakfast.
While eating breakfast, Shen Xingchen examined the intricate relationships between the various forces in the two major prefectural cities, Cloud County and Lingbei County. Without pausing her meal, she sent bread into her mouth while her clear, large eyes widened, staring at the relationship diagram of the major powers. It was currently confirmed that the Scarlet Moon Knights, though starting from humble beginnings, had shown remarkable prowess, drawing the ire of the major powers in Cloud County. Both the Glorious Peony and the Azure Knights regarded the Scarlet Moon Knights as thorns in their sides.
Later, Chen Xue managed to recruit the Hot-blooded Youths from Lingbei County. The methods used were unknown, but they had somehow secured the unwavering loyalty of the "Youths Descending to the Mortal Realm," a defiant mercenary leader, towards the Scarlet Moon Knights. Subsequently, the Azure Knights, with hefty sums from Lingbei County, hired the All Evils to join the fray, leading to the current situation where the Scarlet Moon Knights were forcibly driven out of the Titan's Lair map in Cloud County.
The Lair maps were the current top-tier resource maps in the prefectural cities. Being away for too long would inevitably lead to a power gap. While other guilds had many players awakening their class talents, if only two or three people had them, the strength difference would inevitably widen.
She took a sip of milk, her delicate brows furrowed. Thus, the key issue was All Evils. If All Evils could be persuaded to withdraw, the Scarlet Moon Knights, with their own strength, could reclaim the Lair map.
"All Evils… All Evils…"
She held a small piece of bread in her mouth, her hands flying like butterflies as she typed.
Not long after, she found the answer she was looking for. Within the past couple of days, All Evils had almost entirely entered Cloud County. However, it wasn't a complete mobilization; they still left 300 people in the Lingbei County Lair map, employing a rotating development strategy to stubbornly hold onto a portion of the Lair map.
This map accounted for about 15% of the Lingbei County Lair map, essentially the lifeline of All Evils. If this small portion of the Lair map were lost, it would touch upon All Evils' vital interests. And among the Lingbei County factions, All Evils ranked first, with Qin Shi Ming Yue ranking second. Qin Shi Ming Yue's strength was slightly inferior to All Evils', and they had consistently been at a disadvantage, leading to Qin Shi Ming Yue currently guarding their own territory without overstepping, even with All Evils away on expedition.
"Qin Shi Ming Yue…"
Shen Xingchen frowned. This guild was somewhat familiar. A deputy leader of Qin Shi Ming Yue was friends with Shen Xingchen and they had met once. Therefore, Shen Xingchen directly sent a message to this deputy leader: "All Evils' main forces are mostly in Cloud County now. Why aren't you taking advantage of their Lair resources? Don't wait! Even if All Evils returns, there's no need to fear. The Scarlet Moon Knights are willing to form a remote alliance with you. In the future, once we enter the capital city of Yunzhou, we can support each other."
Less than half a minute later, the deputy leader replied: "I heard some gossip that the Goddess lost a bet with Bai Yi in a one-on-one duel and is really leaving Star River for the Scarlet Moon Knights?"
"Yes, it's true."
"Understood!"
The other party stated decisively: "We will take action this morning and seize All Evils' Lair resources. It won't matter even if they return. With the Scarlet Moon Knights helping to tie them down, we have no need to fear All Evils. We can just fight them head-on."
"Good, that's the spirit."
Shen Xingchen smiled slightly. With a single message, the matter was essentially settled.
…
Lin Zhao slept soundly until noon the next day. Waking up just in time for lunch, he wolfed down his meal with everyone before it was time to log back in and fight.
Southeast of Cloud County, in a mid-sized map.
"Swish!"
Login successful. Lin Zhao's character, carrying the Zhan Long Sword and Qing Lu Sword, appeared in the forest. Not far away, Chen Xue and Roman's figures also slowly materialized. As the few of them logged in, the sound of horse hooves came from a distance. It was Lu Han, galloping on a black horse. Dismounting, he said sternly, "Just got word, a fight has broken out in Lingbei County."
"What's the situation?" Lin Zhao asked with a smile.
"There are two major guilds in Lingbei County: All Evils and Qin Shi Ming Yue. Qin Shi Ming Yue has always been one to stay out of trouble and reluctant to fall out with All Evils, so our Youth group has also been unwilling to engage with them. But this morning, the people from Qin Shi Ming Yue seemed to have been injected with chicken blood and started clearing people out of the Lair map, eliminating all the hundreds of people left by All Evils and seizing all of All Evils' resources in the Titan's Lair!"
As he spoke, Lu Han smiled faintly: "Starting this morning, people from All Evils have been returning to Lingbei County to contest Lair resources. These guys are both wicked and greedy; they won't easily give up what they've got. According to our assassins' intel, the current All Evils force in the Cloud County Lair map is less than 500."
"An opportunity has arisen."
Lin Zhao took a deep breath and said, "Gather everyone immediately, prepare to enter the Lair map, and attack the Azure Knights' position. Don't worry about All Evils."
"Boss."
Youth Xu Du frowned and said, "Don't worry about All Evils? Won't they attack us?"
"Most likely not."
Lin Zhao shook his head. "All Evils is currently fighting on two fronts. If I were Ding Chunqiu, I'd hope to concentrate my forces to suppress Qin Shi Ming Yue first. So, the forces they left in Cloud County will likely just go through the motions and won't truly fight us to the death. At least they'll have to give an explanation to the Azure Knights."
Chen Xue nodded and smiled, then turned to Lu Han and asked, "What's the situation with Glorious Peony now?"
"Glorious Peony occupies about 10% of the Lair map and is quietly developing, making no moves."
"That's good. We'll concentrate our forces to eliminate the Azure Knights."
"Mm!"
…
In the afternoon, the Scarlet Moon Knights re-entered the Lair map. Over 1,000 members, led by Lin Zhao, Chen Xue, and Lu Han, entered the map from the northern entrance and headed south, returning to the Scarlet Moon Knights' former position. Here, Li Canghai had already deployed over 1,400 Azure Knights troops for development.
At 2:02 PM, Lin Zhao gave the order to attack, and the two sides began to clash in the Lair forest.
In less than half an hour, the Azure Knights' 1,400+ main force began to collapse, unable to withstand the Scarlet Moon Knights' assault. In fact, Lin Zhao alone killed over 90 Azure Knights players, his ID a bloody red. Coupled with the fierce attacks from Chen Xue, Lu Han, Ding Chi, Roman, and Lu Li, the Azure Knights' defeat was within expectations.
At 3 PM, the Scarlet Moon Knights recaptured their position, occupying nearly 20% of the Lair map's resources. But that wasn't all. Under Lin Zhao's leadership, over 600 elite Scarlet Moon Knights continued their assault, relentlessly clearing out the remaining Azure Knights forces in the map, as if they wouldn't stop until the Azure Knights were annihilated within the Lair map.
…
Meanwhile, in the conference room of the Cangnan Transportation Group headquarters building.
"Mr. Li."
A secretary in a white uniform skirt stepped forward, bowed, and whispered into Li Canghai's ear: "The situation is a bit grim. Since this morning, people from the All Evils guild have been secretly withdrawing troops. An hour ago, Bai Yi led the Scarlet Moon Knights back into the Lair and has nearly wiped out our people. Everyone is online now waiting for your orders."
"Damn it!"
Li Canghai slammed his palm on the table, frowning. "I'm in a board meeting! What are these bastards doing? Our troops are clearly three times the size of the Scarlet Moon Knights, yet they couldn't even hold on for an hour."
The little white-skirted secretary pursed her red lips. "There's nothing we can do. The strength is indeed a bit lacking, and the Scarlet Moon Knights are here with a vengeance, fighting with all their might. Some of our people were leveling up, while others were defending, making it easy to be picked off one by one."
"A bunch of good-for-nothings!"
Li Canghai trembled with anger. He stood up and said, "Esteemed directors, some things have happened in the game, and I must log in to handle them now. Please continue the meeting according to the agenda. I will give a summary speech in the group chat tonight."
"Understood, Mr. Li."
A director frowned and said, "Cangnan Transportation has invested a significant amount of capital and human resources into this game. The game is now one of our main businesses, and we will follow Mr. Li to make a fortune from this resource."
"Yes, don't worry!"
Li Canghai took his coat from the little white-skirted secretary and walked out of the conference room with her, his brow furrowed. "You drive, get me home as quickly as possible."
"Okay, should I pack pajamas? Will I be sleeping at your place tonight?"
"Pack them. If we get wiped out by the Scarlet Moon Knights today, having you around will help me cool down."
"Damn, you're wicked… my value to you is just to cool you down?"
"Otherwise? Am I keeping you for free with fifty thousand general currency a month?"
"You're too wicked today…"
The secretary gave him a flirtatious look, but seeing Li Canghai's displeased expression, she didn't say more.
…
"Swish!"
Li Canghai logged in, finding himself in the Lair map. The first thing he saw was a large group of Scarlet Moon Knights cavalry sweeping through like a whirlwind.
"Ah?!"
Li Canghai was horrified. Before he could even activate his protective sword qi, he saw a stunningly beautiful female knight ride towards him and thrust her lance into his mouth. She had a divine sword armor, and her "Casting a Stone to Get a Jade" critical strike dealt over 7,000 damage. With the lance in his mouth, Li Canghai couldn't retreat or speak, and another flying sword pierced his throat from the side.
"Puff—"
A splash of blood bloomed. The esteemed leader of the Azure Knights, upon logging in, was instantly killed by Lin Zhao and Chen Xue.