Snow Domain Heavenly Lake, camp.
Twenty-one headless corpses lay covered by white cloth within the camp. Lin Zhao examined the state of each corpse before re-covering them. Outside, the weeping of families of fallen soldiers had already begun. Lin Zhao's heart grew heavier, and he turned to lead Xu Zhi, Mu Ya, Chu Yu, Chen Ben, and others into the main tent.
"Confirmed it was people from another world?" he asked.
"Yes!"
A sixth-realm martial artist, still bearing traces of blood, cupped his fist and said solemnly, "Commander Lin, I saw it clearly. Their aura is different from that of our human world, and their speech is very strange; they don't sound like natives at all. Furthermore, every single one of them possesses magical arts. Especially those spirit cultivators, they could summon meteor showers from the sky, incredibly powerful."
It was undeniably confirmed. That was the "Meteor Shower" skill, the Star Mage's level 80 signature move. Many of the players who could come to the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake were the "first batch" of players, and many possessed Meteor Shower. It wasn't surprising.
Chu Yu said, "When we arrived, those people had already fled. There are too many outsiders killing demons outside North Mountain; we couldn't possibly determine which group it was."
"You don't need to investigate anymore."
Lin Zhao frowned. "I will investigate it myself. Regardless, we in the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake will not let this group off lightly."
"Hmph!"
Chen Ben nodded heavily, his eyes filled with hatred. Among the fallen soldiers was a young cavalryman with whom Chen Ben had been very close. They often engaged in fierce chess battles across the "Chu River and Han Border" on a chessboard under a willow tree. That was almost Chen Ben's only source of joy in the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake, besides practicing his fists. Now, his companion was merely a headless corpse, which filled Chen Ben with immense anger.
"Ding!"
At this moment, a message arrived from Shen Xingchen: "Lin Zhao, are you currently busy with the matter of the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake patrol being ambushed?"
"Yes, Xingchen, how did you know?"
"I heard some wind."
Shen Xingchen said, "The news came from Xinghe, my brother told me. Not only the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake, but the Rocky Army and Vermilion Bird Camp were also attacked by players before. The culprit is the 'All Villains' guild, led by their leader Ding Chunqiu himself. Based on my deduction, he must have beheaded these humans as a token of allegiance. If nothing unexpected happens, the All Villains guild is likely to throw their lot in with the Northern Four Clans."
"Understood."
Lin Zhao frowned. "Xingchen, the diplomatic affairs of the Scarlet Moon Knights are your responsibility, so the external intelligence system should be yours as well. Do we have any moles within All Villains? If so, investigate thoroughly to see what All Villains is trying to achieve and what benefits they gain from killing human NPCs."
"Understood."
Shen Xingchen replied, "Don't rush to act yet, and don't contact Ding Chunqiu proactively. Wait until I find out the results. We cannot be passive; we must act proactively."
"Alright, you go investigate."
"Okay."
...
Not long after, Shen Xingchen's message came again.
"Lin Zhao, I've found out."
"Speak."
"Reportedly, All Villains entered the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake to develop a few days ago. Ding Chunqiu led his men directly towards the direction of the Ancestral Mountain of the Northern Demons. It's said there's a Wuzhui Mountain south of the Ancestral Mountain, marked on the map. An eleventh-realm great demon resides on Wuzhui Mountain, though its name wasn't specified. Ding Chunqiu went there with his men to pledge allegiance to this great demon, and the price for the token of allegiance was one hundred human heads. This is the true cause and effect."
"So that's how it is..."
Lin Zhao frowned and said, "Understood. From now on, we need to keep a close eye on All Villains. They might betray humanity entirely and become servants of the demons."
"Highly likely."
Shen Xingchen said, "That's all the information I have. Consider it carefully. If the Scarlet Moon Knights need to mobilize, we are ready at any time. However, my advice is to observe first. Act only after gathering enough information. For a guild like All Villains, filled with scum, we need to strike at their vital points. If we strike, we must kill them outright, leaving them no chance to escape."
"Understood."
Lin Zhao smiled. "You lead everyone to develop well and wait for my call to arms."
"Okay."
...
Soon after, a bell suddenly echoed across the human world.
"Ding!"
System prompt: Congratulations to player [Ding Chunqiu] for successfully becoming a disciple of the demon race [Lu Xiuyuan] (Eleventh-realm cultivator), receiving rewards: Level +1, Charm +2, Demon Race Faction Reputation +50000, Gold Coins +10000!
...
Finally, the masks were truly off. Ding Chunqiu's target of apprenticeship was Lu Xiuyuan. In fact, Lu Xiuyuan, though not a sword cultivator, had some ties to the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake. During the last demon attack on Luoyan Mountain, Lu Xiuyuan participated. Lin Wanhua had severed a head with her sword, and that twelfth-realm demon core had greatly aided Xu Zhi in improving her cultivation.
Furthermore, the reward Ding Chunqiu received explicitly stated Demon Race Faction Reputation, indicating that Lu Xiuyuan's player faction had implicitly shifted allegiance to the demons.
Just then, an argument erupted near North Mountain.
Lin Zhao took his sword and flew out of the camp, landing gracefully on the cliff of North Mountain. Not far away, many players stood on North Mountain. It seemed the matter of Ding Chunqiu joining the demon race had caused a huge uproar. Among them were Su Xinghe of the Xinghe guild, Yi Shi Cang Liang of Cang Long, Shu Mei Jian Qing Feng of Wu Wang, and Yan Yu Han of the Cold City guild, among others. Outside North Mountain, dozens of players from the All Villains guild were restricted from entering the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake.
"We didn't know either..."
A level 102 Paladin from the All Villains guild frowned. "Our leader joining the demon race, what does that have to do with us ordinary members? And our group was never part of the core circle, so we didn't know about their assassination of human NPCs. The ancients had a rule of 'guilty individuals are not to be punished by association,' are you planning to hold us collectively responsible?"
"No collective punishment."
Su Xinghe stood by the cliff edge with his sword, looking down at everyone. He smiled and said, "If you want to enter the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake, if you want the identity of human players, it's simple. Just quit the All Villains guild. Otherwise, we'll kill anyone who tries to come up. From now on, the word 'All Villains' will no longer be tolerated on our human territory."
"Guild Leader Su Xinghe."
A level 100 Nomad MM from All Villains bit her red lip. "We people have contracts with All Villains. The contracts haven't expired, and withdrawing from the guild will result in heavy penalties..."
"No problem."
The one speaking was Yi Shi Cang Liang, the leader of Cang Long. He raised an eyebrow slightly. "Withdraw immediately, every single one. It's just triple the liquidated damages; I'll pay it for you."
"That's right."
Shu Mei Jian Qing Feng's gaze was sharp. "The people of All Villains are not afraid of shame, but we human players are. Did Ding Chunqiu not read the prologue? Have the demons ever done anything good that they are hunted everywhere in this world? And he shamelessly talks about 'just changing the way of playing.' Damn Ding Chunqiu, he's just a trash player. If a person can deny their own identity and bloodline, they're not even human anymore."
Su Xinghe announced, "Our Xinghe guild declares permanent war on All Villains immediately!"
"Count me in."
Yan Yu Han, holding a spear, sneered. "Cold City guild also declares permanent war on All Villains!"
"And Cang Long!"
Yi Shi Cang Liang stood up. "Count us in."
Shu Mei Jian Qing Feng smiled. "Count Wu Wang in as well."
A commander from the Shengtian guild raised his hand. "Our leader is not present, but she asked me to convey a message: Shengtian declares permanent war on All Villains immediately!"
One by one, they announced, and soon, the main guilds of the national server had all declared war on All Villains.
Lin Zhao stepped forward and silently added All Villains to the permanent war list. "Count our Scarlet Moon Knights in. Since Ding Chunqiu doesn't want to be human, let him experience what it's like to have nowhere to belong in this world!"
"Yes, that's right!"
Everyone nodded. At this moment, the top guilds of the entire national server were united as never before. In front of North Mountain, a group of All Villains members, one after another, terminated their contracts and formally withdrew from the All Villains guild.
...
Wuzhui Mountain, a thin twilight enveloped the peaks.
Ding Chunqiu, who had just become Lu Xiuyuan's personal disciple, was in high spirits. Although Lu Xiuyuan was not a sword cultivator, he bestowed upon Ding Chunqiu a quasi-immortal grade sword. It was merely a flying sword embryo, but it was enough for Ding Chunqiu to abandon the first flying sword he purchased from the system store and replace it with this one, immediately beginning to temper it.
Beside him, his entourage, Vice Guild Leaders Qiu Qianren and Jumou Zhi, became disciples of an eleventh-realm demon cultivator under Lu Xiuyuan's command and also received some opportunities. The rest of them all became disciples of Yuan Ying realm and Golden Core realm demon cultivators of Lu Xiuyuan's lineage. With their identities transformed one by one, they had become members of the demon race. Some obtained good magical artifacts that they could refine into their natal items, while others learned some demon race magical arts, which were not the universal skills of the system. These were special skills that would increase their strength day by day.
"Boss!"
Qiu Qianren frowned. "Our brothers in the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake are being attacked by the major guilds of the national server, and many have been forced to leave the guild. What should we do? If this continues, it will be difficult to maintain morale on the All Villains side!"
"No problem."
Ding Chunqiu frowned. "They're just a bunch of hypocritical gentlemen. We don't need to clash with them head-on. Go and arrange for our brothers to leave the guild. There's no need for a mutually destructive fight. Let everyone level up to 100 quickly these few days. Tell them directly, once they reach level 100, come to Wuzhui Mountain. I have arranged a master for each of them. We will directly master the sect system."
"Okay!"
Qiu Qianren revealed a smile.
Ding Chunqiu narrowed his eyes and continued smiling, "Furthermore, let our trustworthy people buy a guild shell. Have the brothers entering White Emperor City join this guild. They will represent our All Villains' strength in the human faction, while we here represent our strength in the demon faction. The two sides will cooperate, and we will consume resources from both sides. By then, everyone will be well-fed, and then we'll see how envious Su Xinghe, Bai Yi, and that group of hypocrites are!"
"Hahahaha~~~"
Everyone burst into laughter. They had made the right choice in following this leader; he was both cultured and martial!