Chapter 1022 - Demons
In a small-scale surface war without the participation of any Calamity Grades, thousands of Grade Bs were enough to dominate a battle.
While the Ursa Civilization had four to five times the number of Supers in their base, in front of the suicidal players, they were just sacrifices, exploding into fireworks of dazzling light and heat as the aberrations imploded, finally merging into a whole, a pile of ashes.
The extreme evolution and self-imploding tactics were the two trump cards of the players. In their eyes, their life was just for that second of brightness and illumination, transforming themselves into matches and burning to warm others. This act was so ‘noble’ that it would literally make people cry.
The large number of Grade Bs in this battle provided the players with an overwhelming advantage, and with the help of the New Moon Financial Group, there was no suspense left in this battle. The resource base was quickly captured by the players, and Hundejab and the officers in the base were captured alive.
At this moment, the base was filled with explosions, and the ground and the structures had scorch marks. Some of the New Moon Financial Group and the guilds were clearing the battlefield, counting their loot. At the center of the base, Hundejab and the group of captives squatted there, holding their heads with both their hands as they were surrounded by a group of players.
“How is it? Should we get rid of all these people?” The Vice-Captain of Rivervale, Evil Sword, turned his head to look at Frenzied Sword.
“Hmm...” Frenzied Sword sighed. “Let me think about it.”
The joint forces of these guilds attacked a separate resource base, and this particular raid was led by Frenzied Sword of Rivervale.
When they were fighting, they obviously did not care about the people, but now that they had defeated the enemy, it was time for the professional players to farm experience. This was one of the missions of the guild to provide resources for the professional players.
Maple Moon glanced at Hundejab and the others, blinking. “Should I first ask them for their names and see if it triggers a mission?”
Hearing this, the rest had agreed to her plan.
Maple Moon approached the group of captives, asking, “Who here is the commander?”
The group started to stir, but the majority seemed as though they were unwilling to betray their superior. However, Hundejab gritted his teeth and said, “I’m in charge of this base. The name’s Hundejab. You are the forces employed by the New Moon Financial Group, right? What are your origins?”
His shock had still not subsided. There were thousands of Grade B supers! Where did they appear from? They disintegrated the line of defense that he felt was so solid, so how could they be an unknown organization in the mercenary world!
Maple Moon smiled secretly but pretended to be nonchalant as she replied, “We’re the Rivervale Guild, previously part of the Immortal troop from the Black Star Army. We’re currently an affiliated armed force to the army.
Ka!
This news struck like a thunderbolt on a sunny day. Hundejab and the rest were stunned, their expressions filled with disbelief. He did not even expect to hear the name of ‘Black Star’ from these people.
The New Moon Financial Group actually got acquainted with the Black Star Army?
Hundejab had an expression of shock, and his mental state was in a disarray. He initially still had some anger in his heart, but it all dissipated in a flash, only leaving behind feelings of panic.
His first thought was to think it unreal, but when he thought back to the anomalous situation on the battlefield, he had a sudden realization.
No wonder it seemed that some of them had died but reappeared. He did not understand it at the start, but he figured out that if they were originally the famous Immortal troops of the Black Star Army, then their origins were not falsified!
“Y-you guys...”
Facing the influence of Black Star, Hundejab could not remain stubborn, and the confidence he harbored from being part of a Star System Civilization was completely crushed.
If even he was so befuddled, then the other captives were worse, trembling all over in fear.
Maple Moon thought for a while and felt that she had to voluntarily trigger the mission. Thus, she asked, “Is there anything you want us to do for you?”
Hearing this, everyone froze in shock and despair.
We’re finished. They’re now asking us for our last wishes!
Feeling the atmosphere fill up in fear, Hundejab gritted his teeth and turned back to shout, “None of you should be begging them for mercy! Dying on the battlefield is our honor!”
historical
Even while he was battling, he had psychologically prepared to sacrifice himself. At this point, his intention resurfaced.
Maple Moon scratched her head and honestly said, “Why don’t you all just start begging me? Maybe I’ll let you all go.”
“Dream on! Even if I’m faced with death, I will not let you fool with us!”
“Uh... are you really not going to struggle? It might actually work.”
“Devil! Demon! You’re all delusional!”
And thus, a scenario began that left the New Moon Financial Group’s members in utter shock. They witnessed the captives begging to be put to death at all costs, while the capturers were the ones persuading them to beg for mercy.
However, at this time, the New Moon Financial Group saw quite a few expressions of conflicting emotions on the captives’ faces. Immediately, their bodies shivered as they guessed what the Immortals were aiming at.
The Immortals were actually trying to divide the enemy... what a scary bunch!
Because not everyone was as stubborn as Hundejab, there were a few that stood up, and under the angered glare of Hundejab, they began to plead for mercy.
Looking at her interface, Maple Moon saw the mission [XX’s Plead] appear. The conditions were that they would obtain a small amount of experience if they allowed them to go free. She turned to look at Frenzied Sword. “Should we do this mission or not?”
“While the experience is low, it’s still something. Just do it.” Frenzied Sword nodded.
Hearing that, Maple Moon let those that pleaded move to the side, which prompted even more captives to begin begging for mercy, seeing that there was a precedent.
Some of them triggered the missions, but some of them could not. Thus, the players appeared to be choosing vegetables at a market, selecting the captives to put aside.
“The rest of them don’t have any missions available; do it.”
Without any hesitation, the players turned into executioners, killing those stubborn people such as Hundejab and the elites. Although most of them were weak, they had bonuses because of their identities. The experience obtained through killing them was reasonable, and this would even increase their final rating for the Planet Harker mission.
By the side, the spectating New Moon Financial Group members avoided looking at the players. “This is too cruel...”
If it were them, they would not dare provoke the Ursa Civilization and would probably have released all of them. However, the Black Star Army was actually so cruel, killing them without batting an eye.
Indeed, all those from the Black Star Army were dangerous characters!
Seeing this scene, those captives who had begged for mercy got nervous. Frenzied Sword allowed them to leave as and when they wished, and only then did they scramble out of the base.
The professional players then turned to their interfaces.
The moment this group of captives had run out of the base, the mission of pleading for mercy had been marked as completed.
“The mission requirements were so relaxed? Oh, then again, it’s just a small mission.” Frenzied Sword scratched his head suspiciously. Turning to look at the rest of the players, they nodded.
Barely three minutes later, the released captives were all gathered once again in the square, their faces full of disbelief.
You released us, then captured us again. What is the meaning of this?
“Let’s try again.” Maple Moon coughed awkwardly. “Is there anyone who wants to plead for mercy?”
Her tone was sincere, but in the ears of the rest around her, it sounded full of ridicule and sarcasm.
Turns out, you were just fooling with us!
Can you not?
You can kill me but not humiliate me. If we had known, we would have followed Hundejab and the rest to choose death on the spot!
The majority chose to remain silent, but a small portion broke through their limits and begged once again for the second time. However, this time, there was no sign of any missions appearing on the players’ interface.
“Seems like it’s a one-off mission.” Evil Sword shook his head, appearing a little regretful.
“I expected that. If this was repeatable, there’d be something wrong.” Maple Moon rolled her eyes.
Frenzied Sword also sighed before drawing his blood-stained sword. “Since that’s the case, there’s no other choice.”
Thirty seconds later, the group once again got their hands on another bunch of experience.
The professional players wiped their hands clean, joining the ranks of players cleaning up the battlefield.
They left behind the group of New Moon Financial Group members, who had witnessed the entire frightening process of ‘fooling the captives before killing them’. All of them had chills in their hearts, and their bodies were frozen in shock.
To give someone hope then break it so ruthlessly, sinking them into absolute despair, those Immortals were just too vicious!
Many of them involuntarily shivered, and looking at each other, they came to a similar conclusion.
They absolutely could not provoke this group of madmen. They were demons!
...
The several groups each attacked a base, all of which ended in victory. Such a record alarmed the other six organizations on Planet Harker, leading to them hurriedly inquiring about the origin of the reinforcements invited by the New Moon Financial Group.
Since the attack had succeeded, there was no need to keep it a secret. The background of the players was soon revealed, and after verifying it, the other organizations were all frightened.
Black Star Army? F*ck your mom, this is someone we cannot afford to provoke!
Not only was their background frightening, the combat strength of this group of Immortals was even more terrifying. With over five thousand Grade Bs, there was nowhere on Planet Harker they could not go to!
The greater one’s name, the longer the shadow cast. Once this news got out, coupled with their battle records, three of the organizations immediately retreated. They felt that this was a hopeless scenario, and thus, they gave up on Planet Harker, recalling all their resource bases.
The remaining three were the two Star System Civilizations as well as another financial group. They were not willing to give up Planet Harker, so they only responded by reducing the bases and shrinking the area of their troops, taking a defensive stance.
However, the players did not take any action to advance and attack immediately. Instead, with the help of the New Moon Financial Group, they occupied the resource bases that they had attacked, resuming the collection of resources.
In one of the largest bases, the core players of the bigger guilds such as Long Sky, Rivervale, and Thunder Storm were standing in front of a warehouse door. Watching the batches of resources being sent in by the transport vehicles, the eyes of the players all turned into the symbol of Enas.
“This is an endless stream of gold!” Jade Green Sky exclaimed with an expression of joy. “Our guild has obtained another huge but stable income channel, and our financial situation has finally improved.”
“It seems that this method of gameplay is indeed correct.” Hao Tian calmly nodded, silently calculating the amount of equipment this sum could be exchanged for.
Everyone was in a good mood, and the majority of the players looked forward to earning more money.
There was no way about it. While the army sold things at a low price, the follow-up consumption was high. Weapons needed to be strengthened, ammunition resupplied, mechanical suits repaired, the Evolution badges recharged, and so on. That all cost Enas!
Their purses were all sucked dry by the sleazy Black Star Army. The players did not lack much, but they sure as f*ck lacked money!
Since the guilds had chosen to establish their base camps in the army’s area, these core players naturally chose to head to the free competition zone to establish a bridgehead, complete missions, and earn more money. Right now, they were getting closer to the right track.
In the eyes of many of the players, their bright future seemed to be waving to them.
...
The guilds established a stronghold on Planet Harker, and the guilds of the other players also found their own opportunities, spreading their leaves and blooming within the Emerald Star Cluster.
After Planet Phiri was destroyed, Hila had found another planet to serve as a stronghold, and she was also participating in the trend of free competition. Right now, most people were actively opening up their maps to occupy mines, and Gorutan also did not have time to find Hila to create trouble.
The player guilds that were affiliated with the army slowly spread within the Emerald Star Cluster. Now that the actions of the Black Star Army were monitored, this movement was discovered by many other organizations.
Many of the organizations were quite curious about the situation in which the Immortals troops had turned into semi-independent affiliated organizations. They did not know what Black Star was planning, so they decided to just silently watch.
As the Chinese players gradually established their strongholds in the free competition zone, the first batch of foreign players finally arrived in the Flickering World after a long journey. The first batch were the Southeast Asian players, who were based near the Blackhole Edge.