The Pilot Army

As he continued to roar, the man suddenly stopped.

A scene that filled him with dread unfolded before his eyes.

Over a dozen beams of light fell, illuminating the figures of several young girls; each beam focused on a girl playing a different instrument, whether it be strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, or keyboards.

Their figures were slender and enchanting, and the music they performed together was exquisite, sounding like the overture to a grand opening ceremony or a haunting aria played before a final scene of death.

As the performance ended, Tang Xin’s gaze lifted slightly, and all the blue-haired girls turned their eyes toward her simultaneously.

They rose and curtsied, elegantly lifting their skirts in a respectful greeting.

A string-sword with silver-blue patterns extended from the darkness, hovering at the man's neck.

The last thing he saw before death was a face stained with blood, possessing a beauty that took his breath away.

"Congratulations to your team, 'Light-Chaser Garden', for winning this Visiting Battle by Overstepping Authority; you have gained 100 victory points and 100 performance points. Current total points: 800."

": Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! As expected of Little Blue Bird, she’s truly so elegant."

": So pretty!"

": Even though the battle didn't last long, it felt like watching a very long stage play."

": How is this buffer playing like they’re in a stealth class? Killing invisibly, withering life in the darkness."

": Give it a rest! A stealth-class isn't nearly this elegant. This is much closer to a Fate-Playing Musician, though a Fate-Playing Musician’s fights aren't nearly this spectacular to watch."

": Who says a buffer can’t carry? I’m feeling it now! One buffer and four teammates, Mommy’s going to carry you through the arena!"

Bullet screen comments drifted by, accompanied by sparse applause from below the stage.

The stage lights brightened, and Akabane Tsubaki’s eyes sparkled.

"Tang Xin is so elegant when she fights."

"These guys were truly pathetic."

Angelina glanced at the messy stage.

"Good work," Xu Xiaoyou said.

"Yuzu, about Xiao Yi's matter..." Tang Xin looked at Chen Yi, who was still standing in the middle of the stage with a look of unease.

"I’ll help her; we can have the members of Light-Chaser Garden look after her, which will be more reassuring."

Tang Xin breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

"Next, there is only one match left."

Xu Xiaoyou turned her gaze toward the virtual screen in the top-left corner.

On the leaderboard, Light-Chaser Garden was currently in fifth place; all the guilds ranked above them had already finished their Visiting Battle by Overstepping Authority matches.

Aside from Queen's Arms, no other guild had achieved a perfect score of 1000 points yet.

The closest was Winter Dawn at 998 points, only two points away from perfection.

At the same time, on the official live broadcast, Ince had been passionately commentating on Light-Chaser Garden’s battle just a moment ago when someone leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

Ince’s expression turned serious, and he decisively switched the feed.

The scene changed to the other side of Nine Dragons Street, where dozens of armored vehicles were advancing.

Various new models of land-air vehicles, military titans, and armed helicopters escorted them on both sides, while dense swarms of drones buzzed through the sky like a plague of locusts.

A well-proportioned, upright youth stood atop one of the armored vehicles, arms crossed and looking proud.

Two Obsidian Dragonfly B6 light transport aircraft flew low over his head.

The humming of flapping wings accompanied the rumble of steel tracks, and a torrent of iron extended like open wings on either side of him, making the youth look incredibly majestic.

"Dark Gold Rose, did you really think that matter from last time would just blow over?" Nanjiamu sneered.

"You caused our Golden Navigator to suffer heavy losses and even used the alliance to pressure us into giving up our interests."

"You wanted to swallow everything and become a tiger in one bite, didn't you? Fine, fine."

"You really thought we were just soft little sheep to be pushed to the brink? Even a rabbit will bite when cornered!"

"Since you won't give our Golden Navigator a way to live, don't blame us for exploding on you!"

"Today, I’ll let you know that eating too much will lead to choking; however much you swallowed, I’ll make you spit it all back out!"

Nanjiamu raised his arms and shouted:

"Brothers, what is our goal today!"

"Capture Dark Gold Rose alive!"

Incalculable members of the Golden Navigator responded with high spirits.

"Make her apologize for their sins to our fallen brothers!"

Clearly, these usually honest and simple men were still brooding over the incident where Xu Xiaoyou had led Assassin's Creed to ambush them, causing them severe damage.

No one could swallow that insult; after unanimous deliberation by the high-level management of Golden Navigator, they had decided to launch an unannounced war against Light-Chaser Garden officially after the league's opening.

They were determined to make the first battle the final battle, perform a decapitation strike on Dark Gold Rose, and seize Light-Chaser Garden’s interests in the alliance.

Since the other party had used dirty tricks first, their own underhanded tactics were perfectly justified.

A flash of satisfaction crossed Nanjiamu’s eyes.

In terms of elite forces or strategic depth, their Golden Navigator was far inferior to the other major guilds.

However, they possessed deep foundations, many sub-guilds, and vast human resources.

During the Golden Age's Golden Creature invasion event last season, they had proposed the slogan: "Lead the era, expel the Golden, save the falling sky, and shine brilliantly upon the world."

They had used a series of methods to recruit countless people into their sub-guilds; by decentralizing most of their resources, they won over people's hearts, and their total troop count once ballooned to hundreds of thousands.

Because of this, the Pilot Army became an incredibly bright star during the Golden Age, and its image still flickered deep within the hearts of many.

Even though the Golden Age had passed and the guild leader was an easygoing person, causing many sub-guilds to dissolve or become independent, reducing their scale, the influence of the Pilot Army remained.

And now, it was time for them to continue shining brilliantly.

Through a method of simultaneous matching, Nanjiamu ensured that every war zone in Skyline City had at least three hundred of their people.

In contrast, while Light-Chaser Garden had wide influence and abundant funds, their business had only just begun.

Their sub-guilds were still in development; even if a war started, Dark Gold Rose’s line could only count on fewer than a dozen members to come to her support.

Three hundred people armed to the teeth against twenty unarmed individuals—the advantage was his!

Look at this torrent of iron!

Look at these planes and cannons!

See the drones filling the sky!

See the military titans loaded with Wind-Demon Tungsten armor-piercing rounds!

Nanjiamu smiled; he couldn't imagine how he could possibly lose.

Of course, he didn't plan to push Light-Chaser Garden too hard; Nanjiamu hadn't ordered the Golden Navigator members to attack Light-Chaser Garden's people in other war zones.

The guild that had previously tried to play the hegemony card still had a lingering warmth in its corpse; the members of Silent Sequence were still being hunted by the alliance, living a precarious life like rats in the street.

All they wanted was Dark Gold Rose herself; they just wanted that devil to pay the price for her actions!

The official main broadcast screen was almost entirely covered by white bullet screen comments.

": This formation is so familiar... this guild icon... could it be the Pilot Army!"

": Grandpa, I finally see the Pilot Army you told me about!"

": It's back, it's all back—the days of hiding in trenches with the Pilot Army brothers fighting Golden Creatures."

": Wait, I remember Dark Gold Rose is in Nine Dragons Street right now, right? Does this mean Golden Navigator has declared war on Light-Chaser Garden??"

": An unannounced war! How despicable!"

": And here I thought you Navigators looked like honest, decent people, but you're playing dirty after all!"

": ↑ The whole alliance is just a bunch of backstabbers; no one is in a position to judge anyone else."

": An old powerhouse against a rising dark horse guild—who will emerge victorious in this great battle? Let's wait and see!"