Guild Tournament

Compared to individual competitions, the major guilds and clubs pay more attention to guild competitions.

Compared to individual competitions, which offer more honor-based rewards, guild wars offer much more substantial prizes.

The victorious guild will not only earn the prestigious title of "Champion Guild," but will also gain priority in various special missions! They may even receive the benefits of being a direct descendant of the Empire.

Due to the requirement for the number of participants, smaller guilds were not qualified to compete in the guild tournament. As a result, the guild tournament became extremely brutal from the Preliminary Round onwards, with only ten teams able to enter the final.

In this grand event, the most eye-catching teams are undoubtedly the few powerhouses: Royal Authority, Church of the Machine God, Magic Coin, and Sword Pavilion.

They were collectively referred to as the "Four Great Powerhouses" by forum users.

The first three are all established guilds that rose to prominence during the Internal Beta period, and each has real-world backing.

Sword Pavilion, on the other hand, emerged as a dark horse after its open beta launch, attracting a large number of Chinese players with its unique "wuxia style" and shining brightly in the Northern Lands War.

Its leader, Tian Xingjian, was even granted the title of Earl for his outstanding military achievements.

Those who unfortunately encounter these powerful guilds are naturally extremely unlucky.

To this day, the four powerhouses have maintained a 100% win rate in the Preliminary Round, with almost every match being a crushing victory.

It is an indisputable fact that guilds that start earlier are more likely to gain an advantage in the competition for resources. However, there are also many dark horses that have emerged in the guild competition.

For example, the new guild "Roman Era," led by player "Augustus," has thousands of members, most of whom are staunch Roman enthusiasts.

It is said that their original guild was called "Roman Empire," but it was changed to its current name after being summoned by the imperial authorities.

The red team in this ongoing guild war is [Roman Era].

The commentator's voice rang out:

"The red team is the well-known guild, Roman Era, and you can see that they have perfectly replicated the image of the Roman legions."

At the venue, players from the [Roman Era] wore steel helmets decorated with red horsehair plumes, red or white robes, and segmented breastplates.

They carried short swords, spears, and rectangular shields emblazoned with eagle patterns, and wore military casual shoes.

Eagle flags surrounded by golden wreaths fluttered in the hall.

"Long live Rome! Long live Caesar!"

"Liberty, equality, law! Glory to Rome!"

At the very front of the army, Augustus, as a centurion, raised the eagle banner and shouted slogans.

The players behind them, armed with square shields and carrying heavy javelins, short swords, spears, and other weapons, formed three neat rows, looking quite imposing.

They perfectly replicated the Roman phalanx and even applied it to the battlefield; it's simply top-notch cosplay.

After discussing the Roman Era, the narrator moved on to the other side of the battle. "On the red side is the Shu Mountain Immortal Sect, whose motto is 'A hall full of flowers intoxicates three thousand guests, a single sword chills fourteen provinces.'"

"They are equally determined to win this match."

The Shu Mountain Immortal Sect – you can tell what kind of guild this is just from its name.

Like [Roman Era], [Shu Mountain Immortal Sect] is also a cosplay-style guild that focuses on immersion and features an Eastern cultivation style.

It was also a dark horse guild that emerged after the public beta.

Interestingly, since there are no cultivators in "Erezege," most of the members of this guild are Sorcerer or mages.

They used Tenser's Floating Disk, Greater Magic Weapon, and Light Spell on their "Sword of Immortals" to create the effect of a sword immortal.

The guild leader, [Taiqing Zhenren], with his white hair and white Daoist robe, looked at the Roman phalanx opposite him, shrugged and said, "Hmph, mere Western barbarians are nothing to fear."

"Let us slay them with our immortal swords!"

"The president is awesome!"

"What guild leader? Taiqing Zhenren is the sect Sect Leader of my Shu Mountain Immortal Sect! You should say, 'Sect Leader is mighty!'"

"The Sect Leader is mighty!"

"Our Shu Mountain Immortal Sect will surely achieve a resounding victory and seize the championship!"

"A hall full of flowers intoxicates three thousand guests; a single sword's frost chills fourteen provinces!"

Players from the [Shu Mountain Immortal Sect] rode on flying swords, hovering in mid-air, looking down at the Roman phalanx opposite them.

The players of [Roman Era] were not to be outdone. Holding square shields, they looked up at the enemies in mid-air, their eyes filled with fierce fighting spirit.

The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, but the duel between the "sword immortal" and the "Roman legion" seemed strange no matter how you looked at it.

It has a bit of a "Guan Gong Battles the Aliens" feel to it.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

"The match begins!"

The referee's words had barely faded when the fight was about to begin.

"Long live Rome!"

"Pierce these fragile creatures!"

[Roman Era] The first rank of the phalanx advanced first, charging with square shields and hurling heavy javelins.

Players from the Shushan Sword Sect quickly cast School of Abjuration spells, and shields shimmering with spiritual light appeared in mid-air, blocking the heavy javelins.

No, it can't be called magic; according to them, it should be called "Daoist magic."

"You little kid!"

[Taiqing Zhenren] snorted coldly, and then chanted incantations in a pretentious manner, successively unleashing Tenser's Floating Disk, Haste Spell, and Greater Magic Weapon.

No, it should be called the Sword Control Technique.

Several gleaming flying swords attacked from mid-air, transforming into streaks of sword light that slashed directly at the Roman Era player.

"Whoosh—"

The square shield was cut open, and the Roman player behind it was also beheaded.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Flying swords danced in the air, their flashes crisscrossing, causing numerous casualties among the players of [Roman Era].

However, players in the back rows of the formation also threw javelins, hitting many Shu Mountain Immortal Sect players who had not yet mastered their spells.

The players plummeted from mid-air with cries of agony, easily killed by the Roman Era short-sword soldiers charging ahead.

The fierce battle is still ongoing.

However, the [Shu Mountain Immortal Sect] are not true cultivators; they are merely a product of a group of mages and Sorcerer cosplaying.

Many players are not high level and cannot maintain the Levitation Spell for long, so they fall from the sky.

Meanwhile, the players of "Roman Era" followed a pre-arranged plan, charging and retreating in waves.

Their tactics were quite simple: take turns resting and cover each other, achieving good results with minimal losses.

One by one, the "Sword Immortals" fell from the sky, and the [Shu Mountain Immortal Sect] gradually lost ground.

"This is Heaven's will to destroy me, not a fault of my own in battle!"

Finally, with a mournful cry from player [Taiqing Zhenren] and the battle cries of the [Roman Era] players, this guild war came to an end.

"The winner of this match is—[Roman Era]!"

"Long live Rome!"

"Jingluo sheds tears!"

"Oh oh oh oh oh!"

From the stands, Steamed Bun watched the intense battle below and couldn't help but exclaim, "Strange, this is fucking strange!"

"The two guilds have such strange art styles that when they fight, it gives me the feeling of entering a Frankenstein's monster game."

The Born Battle Maniac, who had just returned from the players' stand, rubbed his bald head and chuckled, "This is ' Erezege,' the game with the highest degree of freedom. It's normal for these people to do anything."

"Really."

The steamed Steamed Bun nodded knowingly.

These insane guys can even create something like Fire Dwarf loli, what else can't they do? The most outrageous group has to be the Cult of the Church of the Machine God, who take cosplay to the spiritual level and truly put their doctrine of "Omniscient Pursuit" into practice.

Even the guild leader, [Steel Frenzy], was unaware of how far the guild's top members had progressed in their tech advancements.

It's quite absurd that someone has reportedly seen blueprints for tanks, fighter jets, and even intercontinental ballistic missiles in an armory.

Thinking about this, Steamed Bun asked curiously, "Which guild do you think will win the championship?"

"The Church of the Machine God".

Singo and the Born Battle Maniac answered in unison.

Steamed Bun was immediately surprised. "Are you so sure that even a long-established powerhouse like Royal Authority has no chance of winning the championship?"

"Absolutely not."

Singo waved his hand and said decisively.

"Why? I feel like Royal Authority's group isn't weak either. That rich guild leader is using real money as rewards."

Singo said mysteriously, "Do you know who's behind the Church of the Machine God?"

Before Steamed Bun could answer, he said to himself, "It's the Empire! You could even say it's His Majesty the Emperor himself."

"As far as I know, the Church of the Machine God has access to the Empire's highest-level technology and secrets, and also enjoys a great deal of privilege. Many of the Church of the Machine God's high-ranking members hold important positions in the Empire's Technology Department and Military Department."

"With such top-tier resources, the Church of the Machine God can attract the most talented people, and many big names in the real world have been poached by them."

Singo said calmly, "Let's put it this way, the Church of the Machine God doesn't need to go all out in this guild tournament."

"They only need to pull something out of their arsenal to crush the other so-called 'elite' teams and easily win the championship."

Wow, that's awesome?

Steamed Bun was somewhat surprised, as the "Four Great Families" had always been evenly matched on the forum.

I never expected that there would be such a big difference in skill between them, according to Singo. Professional players really do have an information gap with ordinary players.

"Moreover, in today's powerful families, the Royal Authority is already shaky and it is difficult to maintain its current position."

"Born Battle Maniac" added with a laugh.

"What do you mean by that?"

Steamed Bun was even more surprised. In the discussion threads among the forum users, Royal Authority had always been a strong contender for the strongest guild and had a large number of fans.

"In the early stages of the game, when there aren't many players, their strategy of using money to pave the way and having the entire guild serve the rich players can still be somewhat effective," said the Born Battle Maniac.

"Now, ' Erezege ' has more than 400,000 players, and those top guilds have thousands of members."

"At this point, the drawbacks of the Royal Authority system, such as inefficiency, strong individualism, and uneven distribution, gradually became apparent."

"No matter how much money their wealthy chairman spends, after it's divided among thousands of people, there's not much left. The current Royal Authority is just a paper tiger propped up by money, and its decline is already predictable."

"So that's how it is."

"Wow, is this the world of professional bosses?"

Steamed Bun nodded thoughtfully.

Singo suddenly turned around, smiling, and said, "The Preliminary Round are almost over, and there are only a few guilds left, including the Church of the Machine God. It looks like we're about to see something interesting."

"Huh? Is the next match starting so soon?"

"Red side, Roman Era."

As we were talking, the next match was about to begin, and the red team was still playing the "Roman Era".

Having just won a resounding victory, they were in high spirits and full of energy.

The guild leader, Augustus, actually applied directly to the officials to skip the halftime break.

He wanted to capitalize on the momentum of his recent victory, take down his next opponent in one fell swoop, and advance directly to the knockout stage.

Furthermore, players of the [Roman Era] game have also taken some kind of elixir that stimulates fighting spirit and makes them more courageous, and they don't want to waste this precious effect.

"Long live Rome!"

"Glory to Rome!"

Augustus, waving his eagle banner, stood at the very front of the formation, beaming with pride.

"Blue team, Church of the Machine God."

The referee's calm announcement echoed across the battlefield.

The Church of the Machine God?

Augustus's smile froze slightly, but he forced himself to maintain his composure and said:

"Fellow Roman warriors! Do not fear this seemingly powerful enemy. Remember how you swore an oath to each other before me: We will not leave the battlefield until we are victorious!"

As a die-hard fan of Luo, I will continue cosplaying even if it means death!

"Boom!"

"Boom! Boom!"

Several tall armored vehicles appeared on the opposite side, advancing like a wall of steel.

Behind the armored forces, players pushed heavy cannons, their dark muzzles sending chills down one's spine.

Further back came the lightly armed infantry. The players from the Church of the Machine God wore heavy protective suits and carried machine guns and flamethrowers. Their faces, covered by glass domes, showed relaxed expressions.

The two sides are facing off, but there seems to be at least a thousand-year gap in equipment.

"Holy crap."

"President, how about we surrender? Losing to the Church of the Machine God doesn't seem so shameful."

Augustus gritted his teeth and planted the eagle banner in his hand into the ground.

"No, the Romans never surrender! Even if they lose, they will die in battle!"

"The match begins!"

No sooner had the referee finished speaking than the players from the Church of the Machine God loaded their cannons and fired.

"Boom!"

The cannons roared, and the ground shook.

A massive explosion occurred above the formation, and the flying shrapnel and streaks of flame instantly killed more than a dozen players from the [Roman Era] game.

The specially made square shield could block arrows, but not bullets.

Meanwhile, the Arcane Armor at the front of the Church of the Machine God army began to advance rapidly, like a group of steel behemoths, crushing over menacingly.

"Boom!"

"Flesh and blood are weak and feeble, while machinery soars!"

"The bell tolls once! Push the lever, start the piston and pump... The bell tolls twice! Press the button, the engine ignites, the turbine is set ablaze, life is injected... The bell tolls three times! Sing in unison, praise the God of All Machines!"

The battle had only just begun, and under the onslaught of the Church of the Machine God's firepower, the Roman Era had already lost more than half its forces.

There's simply no way to win.

This is a complete equipment annihilation, it's like a modern army fighting primitive people, or the Trisolarans fighting Earthlings.

"Referee!"

"I... I surrender!"

Amid the roar of cannon fire, Augustus suddenly shouted.

Someone in the audience deliberately asked, "Didn't the Romans never surrender?"

"Yeah, how come they behaved so quickly?"

Augustus countered, "This is merely a strategic retreat."

"Friends of the Roman Era, do not be discouraged, for we will return like lightning!"

He muttered to himself, "Isn't Italy also Rome? Surrendering is perfectly normal."

It seems that this Augustus was not a staunch fundamentalist.