Players' War Preparations

"Whoosh—"

A large portal slowly opened, and several players walked out with steady steps.

They were dressed in thick camouflage uniforms and wore steel helmets. A Gunsmoke smell of gunpowder emanated from them, and they wore the Holy Symbol the cogwheel of the God of All Machines on their chests.

—Clearly, they are all members of the Church of the Machine God.

Standing at the very front was a blond, blue-eyed white player whose nickname was "Curtis".

"Hahaha, everyone, I've been waiting for you!" The Hobgoblin greeted them with a loud laugh.

The military's cooperation with the Church of the Machine God is exceptionally deep. The two sides share common interests and goals, Dror has long regarded these Starfallers are capable of creating extremely powerful weapons, as "one of their own."

Curtis grasped the Hobgoblin's hand firmly and smiled politely, "Hello, General Dror, I've heard so much about you. I am Curtis, a senior military engineer of the Empire."

This guy wore glasses and looked very refined, but the smile on his face was extremely strange.

In his previous life, Curtis was a well-known figure among players. He believed that "explosion and destruction are art," and even the players considered him a madman.

Although he only entered the Empire in the [2.0 Northern Lands Feng Yun] version, thanks to the Americans' unique arms manufacturing capabilities, he rose through the ranks like a rocket, directly becoming a Grand Sage of the [Source Return Society] under the Church of the Machine God.

Today, the Church of the Machine God has developed into several sub-sects, Guardian Legion, the Intelligence Control Legion, the Source Return Society Order, and the Biochemical Legion. The Source Return Society, to which Curtis belongs, focuses on researching weapons of mass destruction and is affectionately known by players as the "Big Bomb Bastard Concentration Camp."

Curtis's greatest achievement was developing the so-called "Magic Fusion Bomb," which turned a remote Demiplane into a ruin filled with smoke and poisonous fire, and even almost attracted the attention of the gods.

"So it was Curtis."

Upon hearing this familiar name, Dror's face lit up with even greater joy. "I've heard of you. So you're that genius destroyer."

"Great! This mission needs someone like you! Come with me!"

These players followed the Hobgoblin into Avendell Dan, or rather, Wyvern City, and arrived at the combat command center located in the former Dwarf Royal Palace.

A three-dimensional Magic Image appeared on the long table. Dror pointed at the hideous green-skinned monsters and said in a deep voice, "These are our enemies, the Green-skinned Orcs."

They are incredibly strong and fearless, yet possess an extremely terrifying reproductive capacity. According to our intelligence data, the number of orcs on the Ugo Great Prairie has reached over three million.

You know, just a month ago, they only had a population of over 400,000. In just one month, their numbers have increased tenfold! Dror's expression became serious as he said this.

Even the Hobgoblin were somewhat horrified by the sight of the beast tide that stretched like an ocean.

There are too many, absolutely too many!

If those orcs are allowed to develop unchecked, they may unleash a disaster even more terrifying than the demon tide.

The players took out documents from their pockets, carefully browsed them, and occasionally took notes with pens, making a swishing sound as they wrote.

After a moment, Curtis raised his head with a calm expression, adjusted his glasses, and asked, "What is Your Majesty's goal? Is it merely to kill those orcs? Or is it to completely destroy the Ugo Great Prairie, turning it into a scorched wasteland where no living thing can survive, so that the orcs will completely lose their land to live on?"

If the goal is as mentioned earlier, we already have several ready-made solutions that can be implemented at any time.

"The one after that is a bit more challenging and could be a new subject for the Source Return Society." The voice was unusually calm, as if stating a trivial matter, but it made Dror break out in a cold sweat.

"I think we could start by disrupting the stability of the spatial structure, but that would likely affect North Aisel and cause a large-scale spatial collapse."

"Great Sage, your Magic Fusion Bomb hasn't been used in the Prime Material Plane yet. If the yield is controlled, it could be just right."

In a short while, these big shots from the Church of the Machine God had begun to seriously discuss how to "destroy the Ugo Prairie".

"No, no, no, there's no need to go that far."

Dror's lips twitched uncontrollably, cold sweat streamed down his face, and the scales on his arms almost stood on end.

What chilled him even more was that after he said those words, he could clearly see the disappointment and frustration in the eyes of those Starfallers.

"What a pity."

"Yes, these kinds of mundane daily tasks don't need us at all."

"Tsk, I'm not going to need that space bomb again."

Dror forced a smile and said, "You are all talents of the Empire, but you don't need to use all your talents this time. Besides the threat of the orcs, the Empire also needs the Ugo Great Prairie as pasture."

These are madmen! These Starfallers are all complete madmen!

Even a warlike race like the Hobgoblin only think about how to conquer the world, not how to destroy everything like these players.

In the face of these ruthless players, the Hobgoblin seemed to have become lawful and good sheep.

Curtis smiled and replied, "General, in that case, let's use some novel 'toys' for our experiments. After all, we can't waste these millions of live targets."

"Give them all White Phosphorus Bomb, Incendiary Bomb, Thermobaric Bomb- Fuel Air Explosive, Napalm Bomb. I'm going to treat these orcs to a barbecue."

"Alright, go ahead and do your thing." Although Dror didn't know much about these weapons, just from their names he knew that these things were definitely not "toys".

"Great Sage, why don't we use biological weapons?" another player asked.

Curtis shook his head. "I've observed the experiments of that Biological Sage. These orcs have very peculiar life forms; they can even use toxins as an energy source."

From my observation, fire is the best way to deal with them. I really enjoy the screams they make as they struggle in the flames, and their corpses seem to emit a smell similar to burning vegetation.

Listening to the players' discussion, Dror became increasingly dumbfounded, lamenting that he had been too kind. North Aisel, Dragon Head City.

Wyvern hovered low in the sky, Half-Red Dragon and Tiefling Guard patrolled back and forth on the city walls, and in the center of the city, towering buildings made of reinforced concrete were under construction, with black smoke rising from the outskirts. After more than a month of renovation, the city had taken on a strong "imperial" feel, quite different from the Collins of the past.

After conquering North Aisel, more and more players flocked to Dragon Head City, becoming a new driving force for the city's development, while the original citizens became cogs in this massive machine.

"Noodles!"

"Aww—"

With a loud dragon roar, the Wyvern flapped its wings and landed on the rooftop Dragon Landing Field.

The knight on the dragon's back was fully armed, wearing a suit of red and black armor, the emblem of the Dragonblood Earl of the Embers of the Burned Empire, and a silver longsword engraved with a Wyvern hanging at his waist, looking majestic.

The newbie players watched with envy, crowding around the Wyvern and exclaiming in amazement, stunned by the Wyvern Knight's coolness and handsomeness.

"So handsome!"

"Look, it's Dragon Knight!"

"Is this the Red Scale Conqueror of the Empire? So cool! It's a pity I joined too late, there are no spots left."

"He's so handsome! My ideal man is a peerless hero. One day he will come to marry me, clad in Red Armor Saint Cloth and riding Wyvern."

"This Wyvern should be able to carry more than one person, right? Boss, can I sit behind you?"

Some female players even looked on with adoration, rubbing their hands excitedly, wishing they could jump onto the dragon's back and embrace the Wyvern Knight as they soared together.

Surrounded by a group of newbie players, Steamed Bun waved to the crowd and exclaimed triumphantly, "Haha, it seems my handsomeness is inside and out, even armor can't hide it! Well, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you an extra reward! Let me show you my true colors!"

Steamed Bun slowly lifted the thick mask, his lips curling up into a wicked smile that he thought made him look as handsome as Peng Yuyan and comparable to Wu Yanzu.

In an instant, the entire venue fell silent.

Immediately afterwards, strange expressions appeared on the faces of the newbie players present, and the female player from before was stunned in place, and gently shattered.

"Damn it, can you please not show your face?!"

"Indeed, a man's charm comes from a woman's imagination. Can I take back what I just said?"

Seeing the disappointed faces of the newbie players, Steamed Bun's smile also froze awkwardly on his face.

The scene he imagined—a crowd cheering and surrounded by girls—did not materialize.

The female player even took a few steps back with a disappointed look, creating some distance, and muttered, "Um, well, according to the new regulations of the Empire, it seems that Wyvern dragons carrying people are restricted, so I won't be with you for now."

"Hmm, his equipment looks pretty good."

"Indeed, he's a top-tier player. This set of equipment must cost over a hundred Gold Coin."

"Well, his appearance is a bit... well, it's hard to describe."

Why did everyone fall silent as soon as they saw my face? Am I really that ugly? Even if I, Steamed Bun, am not exactly handsome, I can still be considered good-looking, or at least plain-looking! At this moment, Steamed Bun felt like crying but had no tears. The whispers of the players were like sharp blades, mercilessly piercing his heart.

After a long pause, he finally mustered the courage to utter a sentence: "A beautiful appearance is a dime a dozen, but an interesting soul is one in a million. Can't you feel my soul-stirring handsomeness?"

The surrounding air grew cold again, and under Steamed Bun's sorrowful gaze, the female player from before shook her head with exceptional determination.

Suddenly, someone in the distance pointed at Steamed Bun and said, "Holy crap, isn't that Steamed Bun the Old Thief? He hasn't updated his videos in over half a year!"

"It really is him!"

"Look at that smug face of his, that's Steamed Bun!"

"Damn, I can hardly remember what he looks like anymore. This guy hasn't updated in who knows how long!"

"Kill that old pigeon!"

Immediately, veteran and new players from the vicinity gathered around excitedly, some even wielding heavy hammers and battle axes, ready to vent their frustration at being stood up for more than half a year.

"You're Steamed Bun? That content creator who makes Erezege gameplay videos?"

"I remember now, I got into this fandom by watching his videos! This guy just doesn't have any memorable features."

Finally, some of the new players recognized him and started chattering about it.

"Oh, I see, you were just doing it for the sake of the show!"

Will we be on camera?

Steamed Bun was internally wailing, but he still managed a forced smile and replied, "Oh right, of course I did it on purpose, I wanted to record some fun footage!"

No wonder you talk so narcissistically!

"Hahaha, I thought you really thought you were handsome!"

"Yeah, I was so embarrassed I couldn't say a word. Turns out it was all for the sake of the show!"

Amidst the cheerful laughter of the newbie players, Steamed Bun silently turned his back and gazed into the distance. In the bleak cold wind, a weathered expression appeared on his face.

Lies cannot hurt people; the truth is the sharpest weapon.

Meanwhile, the longtime viewers crowded around, making the area impossible to move, and angrily shouted, "Steamed Bun, where's your new video?! Where did you post it?!"

"Steamed Bun, you stood me up again!"

"You damned eunuch!"

"I'm doing it, I'm doing it, please stop yelling!" Steamed Bun dodged the eggs thrown at him.

His face flushed red, veins bulging on his forehead, as he argued, "Can this kind of research be called pigeon research? Research!"

Then came a string of incomprehensible phrases, such as "creating better videos for the audience" and "ten years of honing a sword," which made everyone burst into laughter.

"Aww—"

A resounding dragon roar echoed through the sky, and another huge shadow was cast down. A Wyvern was seen circling and descending from high above.

This Wyvern was covered in heavy silver armor and tied with a red ribbon, making it even more imposing than Steamed Bun's mount.

"Who is this? He looks much more handsome than Steamed Bun!"

"His mount is fully equipped, and it's even rare-grade! Where did this rich guy come from!"

"Boom!"

Amidst billowing dust, heavily armored knights riding Wyvern also landed on the Dragon Landing Field, their movements even more effortless than Steamed Bun.

The knight lifted his visor and shouted towards the Steamed Bun not far away, "New War Quest, are you in?"

"Wow, it looks so familiar!"

"Hey, that looks like S God! A super big shot!"

"Holy crap, Single? He was the runner-up in last year's World League! A god-like figure Contend Against a large guild with his solo player status!!"

"This Wyvern Knight is so handsome! I never expected his face under the visor to look like that! It's S Da! I've liked him for a long time, I really want to sit behind him."

In an instant, all the players abandoned the Steamed Bun, and even the female player found a new object of her infatuation, instantly becoming a ten-year fan of the other person.

Seeing this desolate scene, Steamed Bun turned his head away and said irritably, "Let's go! Let's do a mission! These vulgar and shallow mortals are only attracted to pretty faces."

"Aww—"

Two Wyvern flapped their wings in succession, took off into the air, and flew one after the other toward the northeast.