【The faction “Sakura Blade Group” (East Region) has declared war on the faction “Glory” (East Region)!】
【The faction “Holy Light Shelter” (West Region) has declared war on the faction “Glory” (East Region)!】
【The faction “Promised Land” (West Region) has declared war on the faction “Glory” (East Region)!】
【The faction “Gospel Expeditionary Force” (West Region) has declared war on the faction “Glory” (East Region)!】
...
Before the cold text of the announcements could even fade, system notifications rained down like hail, flooding the edge of Cheng Shuili’s vision.
There were so many factions declaring war that she couldn't even count them, and she didn't have the time to try.
One thing was clear, however: the system seemed to have divided the world into new grand regions based on the cardinal directions.
This was quite to Cheng Shuili’s liking; the previous arrangement of Dragon Country sub-regions had been messy and confusing, and this was far more intuitive.
At a glance, aside from the Sakura Blade Group in the East, every single faction declaring war on Glory was from the West Region.
Even though Cheng Shuili had anticipated this, feeling it actually happen still brought a sense of resignation.
Furthermore, they acted as if they were organized, focusing their declarations solely on Glory.
It looked as though they had planned from the start to take down this giant of the Dragon Country first.
Cheng Shuili had initially thought that was the extent of their tactics, but the messages in the group chat soon forced her to revise her assessment.
“Someone from the West Region contacted me, claiming to be from the Gospel Expeditionary Force. When I saw the name, I realized it was the same faction that declared war on Glory.”
“They contacted you too? They messaged me as well, claiming to be the premier alliance of the West Region. They said they were only targeting the Crow and only warring with Glory, and they offered me plenty of benefits if I signed a trade agreement with them.”
“I got one too! They even sent over the contract. It didn't say much, just a few clauses, but the gist was that as long as we Dragon Country factions don't interfere, we get a huge payout!”
Cheng Shuili’s eyes narrowed.
Divide, entice, incite internal collapse...
These tactics were even more insidious and efficient than she had expected.
They weren't just focusing their military might on Glory; they were attempting to isolate her economically and diplomatically, even trying to turn potential allies or neutrals against her.
“I received one as well.” Zhan Lang’s voice message carried clear anger. “They want us to sit by and watch as the Crow is besieged so they can achieve their goals. Dream on!”
“We can't just say that,” another faction leader spoke up, their tone hesitant and calculating. “This ten-minute window is just a test, not a full-scale war. The conditions they offered… they really are generous. As long as we do nothing, we get a shipment of supplies and game coins. Glory suffers, and we all benefit. Besides, looking at the situation, Glory is being targeted by so many factions, I’m afraid…”
They didn't finish the sentence, but the implication was clear.
Glory would likely fall, and rather than suffering alongside them, it was better to seize the opportunity to profit and preserve their own strength.
As these messages appeared, the atmosphere in the group chat turned subtle and tense.
Cheng Shuili was almost amused to the point of anger. She had been so busy pulling together the Dragon Country alliance that she had let all sorts of riffraff in.
It was true: if they did nothing now, they would get a payout.
But later, when it was their turn to be besieged, other factions would do nothing and collect a payout too.
In fact, they wouldn't even need to be besieged to be eliminated!
For the first time, Cheng Shuili opened the group chat’s voice function directly. Her voice was calm, yet carried an unshakable chill.
After all, such fools could not be kept around.
She tagged the person who had spoken and said: “You, and anyone else harboring similar thoughts, listen up. Now, leave the alliance and go sign that contract of servitude; I won't stop you. But we have already signed an alliance contract, and you had better be prepared to pay the price for breach of contract.”
“After the ten-minute test ends, if Glory is still standing, I will take the gifts from all the West Region factions that besieged me today and visit each of you who signed that contract. When that time comes, I hope the meager benefits you received are enough to buy your lives.”
“If Glory falls…”
Cheng Shuili’s voice held a trace of near-cruel mockery.
“Then what do you think a pack of wolves that can easily unite to tear apart the strongest will do next? Will they keep sharing the meat with bystanders, or will they casually swallow the ones with the least fat and the softest bones?”
“Fence-sitters are the first to be uprooted in a storm.”
“Choose for yourselves.”
These words successfully steadied several wavering factions.
To them, the West Region were outsiders after all. Since they had to follow someone, they might as well follow their own people.
Furthermore, since they had signed the contract with Glory first, no matter how much the West Region promised, it was still intangible, while the penalties for breach of contract were very real. Comparing the two, they naturally preferred to stay the course.
But you cannot talk sense into a fool determined to die. There was indeed one stubborn leader who preferred to breach the contract and leave.
This person’s ID was Long Live the Traitor. He didn't just want to leave; feeling that the bridge was already burned and nothing mattered anymore, he shouted in the group chat:
“What the hell! Do you really think you’re the emperor of the East Region? I’m not serving you anymore! The West Region’s terms are right there, cold hard cash! Following you, Crow, what do you get besides being cannon fodder? You’re threatening me? See if you can survive these ten minutes yourself first! Everyone, take my advice: those who know the times are heroes!”
His voice carried the unique agitation of a gambler, as if leaving the Dragon Country alliance would allow him to immediately climb the ladder of the West Region and prosper from then on.
Cheng Shuili didn't even bother with a sneer. She operated the panel, kicked him from the group chat, pulled up the alliance contract signed with system certification, and clicked on the breach of contract verdict.
This feature was rarely used, but once it was, the system’s reaction was instantaneous!
Almost immediately, a notification panel appeared before every leader who had signed the contract:
【Detection of unilateral breach of contract by signatory “Long Live the Traitor”, accompanied by clear hostile intent.】
【Penalty has taken effect!】
The penalties for this contract had been drafted by the leaders themselves. Unilateral breach with clear hostile intent was the highest tier: the system would deduct 75% of the leader’s personal assets, 50% of the personal assets of core faction members, and all public faction assets.
At the same time, because of this “loss of trust”, the system would notify all future trading partners of this breach.
Almost the moment the system notification popped up, the group chat exploded.
“Hahahaha, serves you right! That’s what you get for being a traitor! Crow-boss is awesome! The contract is awesome!”
“Hiss… that penalty is brutal. It basically sends him back to square one!”
“Brutal? If you aren't brutal to traitors, do you treat them like guests? This is a wake-up call for everyone who wants to be a fence-sitter!”
“Where’s Long Live the Traitor? Why isn't he shouting anymore? Wasn't he loud just a moment ago?”
“Probably crying… he tried to steal a chicken and lost the rice, no, he lost the whole chicken coop!”
...
The entire penalty seemed severe, but Cheng Shuili knew that the latter part was the most devastating.
Because Long Live the Traitor had betrayed the entire Dragon Country alliance.
In just a ten-minute test, players were already showing a clear tendency to group up by region, let alone after the official server merge.
And when that happened, how would a traitor like Long Live the Traitor be treated?
Cheng Shuili didn't have time to dwell on it. The moment the war declaration announcements went out, it meant players from other regions could invade Glory’s territory.
But until she finished dealing with the group chat, Cheng Shuili received no alerts of enemy incursions.
If there were no incursions, they must be exerting force elsewhere.
After the server merge, private messages were enabled.
As expected, Cheng Shuili’s private message page was instantly filled with junk information: begging, fanboying, requests for support, insults, and screen-flooding with meaningless symbols.
Cheng Shuili ignored these messages expressionlessly and told 001 to find messages that might have come from the West Region players who had declared war.
A moment later, 001 actually found one among the thousands of messages.
The sender was a stranger with the ID Prophet Moses.
【Prophet Moses】: Respected leader of the East Region, leader Crow. It is regrettable that we are communicating for the first time in this manner…
His nonsense was extensive, but it boiled down to one meaning:
Although they looked down on Angry Crow Takes Flight, they respected the Glory Safe Zone and the Glory territory.
They did not want to destroy the buildings in this new safe zone, nor did they wish to ruin the iconic structures of Glory’s territory, and they were even less willing to see a territory they had worked hard to conquer turn into ruins.
Therefore, they gave Cheng Shuili five minutes to decide whether she was willing to return to the highway and accept their invitation to a duel.
Cheng Shuili looked at the final paragraph from 【Prophet Moses】, her fingertips tapping lightly on the cold control panel, her face devoid of expression.
Don't want to destroy? Don't hope to ruin? Don't want it to become ruins?
How laughable. Why so confident?
They wanted to seize the fruits of victory while preserving the loot as much as possible, and they even wanted to use this fake duel to make her underestimate them.
Or was it simply to satisfy some ridiculous performance of chivalry?
Or perhaps, was this just another trap to waste her time and attention?
After all, as long as she left her territory, the players who knew her ID would swarm like sharks smelling blood. Then, by using duel cards in a chain, they could easily realize a siege on her as the leader!
No matter how capable Cheng Shuili was, she couldn't beat so many of them combined.
That was what these West Region people thought.
But for Cheng Shuili, this invitation was exactly what she wanted!
If a fight broke out within Glory’s territory, Cheng Shuili would have to hold back even with a rocket launcher; after all, every brick, every tile, and every blade of grass in the territory had been built by her players, and it all represented real resources.
If they really fought in their own backyard, even a win would be a pyrrhic one, and the cost of reconstruction would be steep.
This duel invitation provided her with the perfect opportunity to push the main battlefield outside.
Moreover, who said only the other side could bring a crowd?
Even if those West Region people used duel cards, Cheng Shuili could call people over, and she could call over a lot of people!
The faction had a feature called Cloud-Piercing Arrow; to put it bluntly, it was for “protecting the leader.” Cheng Shuili hadn't used it yet.
But now, wasn't it the perfect time?
The batch of weapons given by the Rat King had been temporarily distributed, and the current Glory was no soft target.
But Cheng Shuili wasn't one to only take hits without thinking of fighting back. Once the situation was confirmed, she immediately opened Ailin’s private messages and told her to mimic the situation of the joint war declaration, taking the rocket launchers and delivering gifts to each of their territories in turn.
Ailin didn't hesitate; the moment the message was sent, an excited voice message replied:
“Boss! I’ve been waiting for this!”
“I’ve long since been annoyed by those snide West Region bastards! Holy Light Shelter, Gospel Expeditionary Force—the names sound like a choir, but they act dirtier than rats in a sewer!”
“Don't worry, Boss. Our squads guarantee we’ll deliver a hot, festive opening gift to every single one of them, enough that even their ancestors’ tablets will be clearly identifiable!”
Cheng Shuili smiled and confidently closed the private message page.
With everything arranged, all that remained was to fight.
She replied to Prophet Moses: “Fine, I accept your duel invitation.”
The message sent, Cheng Shuili returned to her vehicle decisively.
Almost immediately, new vehicles began to appear around hers, one after another like a long dragon, trailing out far down the highway.
But that distance was quickly erased by the roar of engines.
The West Region players formed a perimeter with their vehicles, surrounding Cheng Shuili in the center as if she were a lamb to the slaughter.
Cheng Shuili didn't rush to call for help, waiting patiently for a while.
Because the server merge test only lasted ten minutes, the other side moved quickly too.
A person jumped off the vehicle directly facing hers—a bald man wearing a black tank top covered in patterns. He held a cigarette, and after jumping down, he took a puff before placing the object in his hand on the road.
Cheng Shuili had initially thought this was Prophet Moses, but a voice soon emanated from the object the bald man had placed down: “A wise choice, Miss… Crow.”
Judging by the tone, the guy speaking through the speaker was Prophet Moses.
Cheng Shuili raised an eyebrow; he certainly valued his own life.
Prophet Moses’s voice carried smugness and a hypocritical, feigned pity: “We admire your courage, but it is a pity that you seem to lack the wisdom matching the title of the world’s first.”
“Duel cards can indeed only be used on you once, but that doesn't mean they can't be used on players who have used duel cards on you. You have a saying in the Dragon Country: all is fair in war.”
“Miss Crow, I regret to inform you that you have been deceived.”
Cheng Shuili listened to the declaration, which came from the cheap speaker with artificial smugness. Instead of any anger or panic at being fooled, she slowly curled her lips into a smile.
Rate on N.U.
