Grand Ambitions

The city below was left far behind, and along the way, the flames of various explosions were continuous.

The war cries of players, the roars of vomit monsters, the screeches of Gnawers, and the wails of survivors all drifted away with the wind brushing past her ears.

Xu Xiaoyou sat cross-legged on the shoulder of Zero-Hour Flash; the mecha beneath her sprinted through the medieval-style city, leaving the players along the path staring blankly in place, watching that bolt of silver lightning flash through their vision and stride into the distance.

"Is that Dark Gold Rose?" a mage asked hesitantly, clutching her staff.

"Where did she get a mecha? I recall renting Zero-Hour Flash for a month costs tens of thousands of federal shields, right?"

"She’s already started a guild, why are you worrying about what a big shot does? Watch out, a monster's charging at us, stay behind me!" On a rooftop, a light-elementalist shouted, grabbing the mage girl like a little chick and tossing her behind him before using the cross shield in his hand to smash the head of a pouncing rat-man to a pulp.

Xu Xiaoyou raised the map and leaned back entirely. Not far behind her, a hunched rat-man clambered along the edge of the mecha's shoulder, screeching as it pounced with its sharp claws.

【Gnawer】

【Faction: Pestilence Empire】

【Camp: Absolutely Hostile】

【HP: 100%】

【Pangard residents infected by the Gnawing Parasite miracle; their souls have been eroded by the curse, and they are mired in endless madness, longing to tear apart all living things with their venom-dipped claws.】

Xu Xiaoyou spun her body in place and raised her leg, easily blocking the rat-man's claws before stepping on its face, forcing it back several steps.

She spread the map out flat in her hands.

This map of Pangard was very large; including the lordly fiefs and towns outside the royal city, the peak population approached six hundred thousand, with nearly a hundred outposts in total. There were too many scattered small outposts to list individually down to every street.

Her gaze focused on the 'advanced outposts'.

There were a total of eight advanced outposts in this dungeon, seven of which were inside the royal city: Aliford Brewery, Royal Botanical Garden, Death Avenue, Venomous Sewer, Bastion, King's Castle, Mist Village Harbor, and the prison.

Among them, the Royal Botanical Garden, Venomous Sewer, Bastion, and King's Castle were 'core outposts'; while producing rare loot, the guild points gained from daily occupation were far higher than the other outposts.

Xu Xiaoyou flipped over, cupping her face with her hands, her two legs tracing a sharp silver arc behind her. Before the monsters behind her could even get within half a meter, their chests exploded with bloodstains, and they were repelled once more.

The prison outpost was integrated within the Bastion. The only advanced outpost not in the royal city was Mist Village Harbor, which was over forty kilometers away in a straight line. Even though it was an advanced outpost, not many large guilds were currently eyeing this land; everyone was busy carving out territory in the royal city.

On the world channel, some small guilds were organizing minor alliances with the intention of marching toward Mist Village Harbor.

"Hmm..."

If possible, she naturally wanted to take the advanced outposts in the royal city, but most of them were already claimed. Silent Sequence was organizing an assault on Death Avenue, the King's Clan and Heterogeneous Front were fighting over the Royal Botanical Garden and the brewery respectively, and the Venomous Sewer was not yet unlocked.

The Bastion was a prerequisite for unlocking the King's Castle. She had previously seen the alliance between Daybreak Elegy and Winter Dawn planning to move into the Bastion, but for some reason, there had been no movement, as if they had encountered some sudden trouble.

Something was bothering her.

Someone had mentioned seeing a mutated giant louse in the Royal Botanical Garden earlier. Could it be that this dungeon had a creature similar to a world boss?

She shook her head, temporarily suppressing those thoughts.

With her guild's current scale, even if she captured an advanced outpost at any cost, it would be difficult to hold it afterward. The city was surrounded by powerful enemies and prowling jackals; if she was targeted by another large guild, her hard-earned efforts would just become someone else's prize.

She didn't believe that the name of Dark Gold Rose alone could intimidate those old veterans who had seen many storms. Ultimately, this was Oasis, and those large guilds were essentially no different from real-world families. If their core interests were truly touched, even a madman like Deep Blue Tide wouldn't show any respect.

Mist Village Harbor, which the other large guilds looked down upon, perfectly suited her appetite.

Its location was remote and far from the royal city, making logistics and support far too troublesome for large-scale operations, which hindered their layouts. However, it was just right for Light-Chaser Garden, which had fewer than forty members.

Xu Xiaoyou quickly made her decision. A hideous, foul-smelling face leaned in close, and a flash of cold light appeared as a small blood-slit opened on its face. The head was sliced neatly in half by the long whip in the girl's hand and fell away.

Build high walls, store plenty of grain, and wait for the right time to claim the crown.

Having laid down the strategy for her grand ambitions, Xu Xiaoyou stretched and casually issued a gathering order to the guild channel. She looked at the city walls pressing in like a majestic mountain range in the distance and flashed a smile.

"The wolf pack should wake up now."

...

"She's here!"

Inside Aliford Brewery, a tall figure was sprinting forward at high speed, chased by a dozen players.

"Don't let her get away!"

[Natsume Yuzuri: @All Guild Members, gather at 'Mist Village Harbor' by 7:30 PM tonight.]

Silver Light, who was running at high speed on all fours, flickered with interest in her eyes. Her attention was divided, and she failed to notice the incoming danger.

"Little kitty, I caught you!"

From behind a wooden brewery barrel, a burly man's figure emerged from the darkness, raising a sharp axe to smash it down in front of her.

Out of the sharp neural reflexes of a feline, Silver Light's knees had already bent rapidly before her conscious mind could react, and she instantly leaped backward.

Bang!

The giant axe slammed into the ground in front of her. The brewery barrels on both sides cracked with a snapping sound, bursting on the spot. Dark liquid splashed out, and a rain of dark red wine fell around Silver Light.

She dodged the subsequent attacks with a series of backflips, landing steadily before slowly straightening her body. She licked the wine from her paw pads, her beautiful silver hair flowing down to her waist. The wine-soaked gauze clung to her tall figure, radiating an invisible charm, though a lethal edge was hidden within that allure.

Her dark green pupils were particularly striking in the darkness. The girl's eyes were as calm as water as she watched the sturdy figure approaching her.

"Where do you think you're going, my cute little kitty?"

The burly man licked his fangs excitedly, closing the distance between them step by step.

"Thinking you can run after killing our people? Do you take our Love and Peace guild for a bunch of pushovers?"

Silver Light glanced behind her. The dozen or so pursuers had already blocked her path of retreat, also closing in with ill intentions. The gap between the two rows of brewery barrels was only about three meters wide; she had no way out.