The next day, noon.
Lin Zhao woke up leisurely, feeling refreshed after a good night's sleep. He got up just in time for lunch. Wang Ju had prepared a table full of delicious dishes. After eating with everyone, he went online. The first thing he had to do today was to grind monsters and get rid of his red name. However, he had been both PKing and grinding monsters last night, so his sin value was not much left.
...
Yunshang County. The afternoon sun was warm and gentle. Dappled tree shadows shone through the windows of the Grand Cathedral, falling on two resolute and indifferent faces. They were none other than Li Canghai and Xihe Da Guokui of the Azure Knights.
"That's about it."
Li Canghai lit a tobacco he had rolled out of boredom in the game. He took two puffs, exhaled a smoke ring, and looked peaceful and natural. His gaze swept over Xihe Da Guokui, who was slumped with his head down, and he said with a smile, "In just one day and one night, the average level of the Feng character camp has dropped from 54.7 to 50.3, a decrease of more than 4 levels. Furthermore, many people's equipment is already incomplete. Most of this equipment needs to be replenished from the guild's inventory. Do you think you should still insist on your course of action?"
Xihe Da Guokui's expression was somewhat blank. "What else can we do? We've lost face and dignity. Ever since we challenged Bai Yi, we haven't killed Bai Yi even once. This is simply a great humiliation. Moreover, my own flowing gold armor, the Flying Goose Leggings, were also dropped. It's one thing for my brothers to mock me for aiding the enemy, but some people even say I'm sending charcoal in the snow. How can I swallow this?"
"Then what do we do?"
Li Canghai narrowed his eyes, a hint of coldness in them. "Are you going to drag the Azure Knights down with you? To lose face together?"
At this moment, Xihe Da Guokui finally felt a little panicked. He realized that the man in front of him was still the decisive and ruthless character he was. As the boss of the Cangnan Transportation Group, the so-called transportation group was equivalent to an ancient escort agency, with heavy weapons and a powerful armed force. Cangnan Transportation had formed a sizable private army to protect its transportation lines, possessing extremely strong firepower. Over the years, Li Canghai had done many things like killing and arson to achieve his goals. In fact, this was a person who was connected to both the underworld and the legitimate world. In front of such a person, he, Xihe Da Guokui, a mere ordinary player, was nothing.
"Boss..."
Xihe Da Guokui's voice softened instantly. "In the end, our Feng character camp will still obey the overall situation... Boss, whatever you say goes. I'll listen to you."
"That's the way it should be."
Li Canghai stood up and patted Xihe Da Guokui's shoulder. He smiled and said, "A true man knows when to bend and when to stand firm... Currently, the Feng character camp cannot defeat Bai Yi simply because they are crushed in terms of tactics, equipment, and skills. As long as everyone continues to develop at this pace, and if luck is on our side, a few more sword masters who awaken the Sword Lake, then I will pay for everyone to buy flying swords. Will it still be difficult to kill Bai Yi then? It's just a matter of concentrating fire with a few flying swords."
Xihe Da Guokui suddenly understood. "It seems... that's indeed the case..."
"It's not just that."
Li Canghai said coldly, "Your Feng character camp is different from other camps in the Azure Knights. You are a genuine pure heavy armor camp. If you had a few more ranged units, could Bai Yi still move around so freely? He would have been instantly killed long ago."
Xihe Da Guokui clenched his fist. "How about... we get a few squads of ranged units?"
"No need."
Li Canghai shook his head. "Guokui, you have to remember, your Feng character camp is the only pure heavy armor camp among our guild's ten camps. And our guild's name is Azure Knights. There is only one true knight camp, and that is your Feng character camp. In the future, you will be our signboard. If you don't lead an elite cavalry force, who will you be accountable to? In the background story of 'Tianxia', why were the 530,000 Yunzhou cavalry so formidable? Because pure heavy cavalry is powerful. Why were the Death Squad of the Eight Camps of the Tianchi Army formidable? Because they were also uniformly equipped heavy cavalry! You need to define your position. You are the commander of the central army, not a reckless youngster who can't control his temper. Cultivating the mind is not easy, but it must be done. You have to temper your state of mind and truly live up to the title of commander of the Feng character camp."
Xihe Da Guokui trembled all over. At this moment, it was not just excitement, but also gratitude. "Boss, I understand. I'm sorry... I was too impulsive and got carried away in the past few days..."
"It's alright."
Li Canghai smiled. "You and I are good brothers. What's there to say? I will cover the losses of the Feng character camp. You just focus on leading your brothers to catch up in levels. I will dispatch some mages and archers from other camps to help you level up and catch up as soon as possible."
"Mmm!"
Xihe Da Guokui frowned. "What about Bai Yi? I'm afraid Bai Yi won't let this matter rest. They've already fought like this. Once he knows where our Feng character camp is leveling up, will he come seeking revenge?"
"It's fine, leave this to me."
"Okay, then... thank you, boss."
"Don't be so polite, we are brothers!"
Li Canghai patted his shoulder and saw him off at the Grand Cathedral. After Xihe Da Guokui turned into the pharmacy on the right, Li Canghai's expression instantly became sharp, showing disappointment. A group of idiotic fools, I have to clean up their messes every time. I really don't know what use it is to keep these good-for-nothings around. Recently, the Hot Blood Youth Camp has entered Yunshang County, taking up nearly a third of the leveling resources. The attitude of Splendid Peony has also become increasingly "ambiguous," with frequent minor clashes with the Azure Knights, and even a tendency to lean towards the Hot Blood Youth Camp. This has given Li Canghai a lot of headaches. Yunshang County is now a risky situation, and every step forward is precarious.
He sighed and opened his communicator, sending a voice application request to the stranger, Bai Yi.
"Beep!"
Lin Zhao, who was grinding monsters, answered Li Canghai's call and said with a smile, "Alliance Leader Li Canghai, what a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you? If nothing else, I'll continue leveling up."
"Haha, of course, there's something."
Li Canghai gave an awkward smile and said, "Alliance Leader Bai Yi, my Feng character camp caused you trouble a few days ago. These brats actually ignored my strict orders and got into some conflict with Alliance Leader Bai Yi again. It's my fault for not managing them properly, Li Canghai. It's all my fault, so I've come in person to apologize. How about we let this matter rest here?"
"Sure."
Lin Zhao smiled slightly. "I originally had no prejudice against the Feng character camp. It's just that they wanted to act like beasts themselves, and I couldn't stand it, so I taught them a lesson. Is there any problem with that?"
"No problem, no problem..."
Li Canghai said with a wry smile. "These brats just lack a good beating from society. But Alliance Leader Bai Yi has already given them enough of a beating. Let's just let this matter go. I apologize to you."
"Mmm, I understand."
Lin Zhao said calmly. "However, if the Feng character camp continues to go out of the city to kill gatherers, I will still stop them. After all, I am alone, and I can come and go freely. No matter how we fight, I won't lose."
"Indeed."
Li Canghai was annoyed. "I will strictly discipline them. From today onwards, there will absolutely be no combat players from Yunshang County going out of the city to kill unarmed gatherer players. We major guilds should work together to maintain the safety of Yunshang County, shouldn't we?"
"Alliance Leader Li Canghai is indeed enlightened and understanding."
Lin Zhao gave a dry laugh. "If there's nothing else, I'll continue leveling up."
"Alright!"
...
Around two o'clock in the afternoon, suddenly, a bell sound echoed through the main city—
"Ding!"
System Announcement: Attention all players, the new map of Yunshang County, [Titan's Secret Realm], will be officially opened at 8:00 PM tonight. Entry requirements: Level ≥ 50, each entry requires 10g, and each entry lasts for 240 minutes. Within the new map, the chance of awakening professional talent abilities such as "Sword Lake Awakening," "Artifact Awakening," "Holy Sword Awakening," and "Bloodline Awakening" will be increased to 500% each time a player levels up. In addition, the drop rate in the new map will be increased to 300%. All players are requested to prepare for new challenges!
...
Here it comes, the new map!
Lin Zhao frowned. The opening of this new map, which represented the highest combat power, also meant that a bloody storm was imminent. Moreover, this map would certainly not be very large, and it would not be able to accommodate so many players from Yunshang County, inevitably leading to a series of bloody battles.
"Tsk tsk, it's finally here!"
Zhang Jun said with a smile in the studio chat channel. "I've been waiting for this map for too long!"
"Indeed..."
Ding Chi said somewhat dejectedly, "I'm itching to see A Zhao kill people with flying swords every day!"
Chen Xue said, "After level 50, there is a small chance for players to awaken their class-specific treasures each time they level up. Swordsmen have flying swords, mages, rangers, and other cloth-armored classes have artifacts, Templar Knights have holy swords, and Berserkers have special bloodlines. This map was opened for everyone to fight over..."
Lin Zhao smiled. "Without a doubt, the guild that spends the most time in the Titan's Secret Realm will eventually become stronger. Once the professional talents are awakened, their strength will increase significantly."
"Mmm."
Roman said, "Currently, among the swordsmen in Yunshang County, only my brother seems to have gotten lucky and awakened the Sword Lake. There isn't even a second one, which is inherently unreasonable."
"It won't be the only one from now on."
Chen Xue said, "Everyone level up and complete quests first. Gather before 8 PM, and under the protection of the Youth Camp and Bai Yi Camp, we will enter the Titan's Secret Realm together to compete for development opportunities. Let's strive for Ding Chi and Zhang Jun to awaken the Sword Lake, and Luo Man and I to awaken the Holy Sword, so that everyone will be a formidable opponent!"
"Alright, great speech!"
Ding Chi and Zhang Jun applauded dryly.
Chen Xue rolled her eyes and decided not to bother with them. She glanced at Lin Zhao's avatar. He was busy killing monsters, his expression focused, seemingly using monsters to study kiting techniques. Chen Xue couldn't help but smile contentedly. In the entire studio, only their Alliance Leader looked the most pleasing and comfortable. Our Alliance Leader truly possesses the demeanor of a king!
...