Sequence 2

"That's about it."

Most of the players in Nine Provinces were fighting against the players in the Prison Rock arena.

Lu Xiu, who has been mentioned frequently, is finally ready.

Lu Xiu's preparations were certainly not about preparing any equipment or the like.

Its main purpose is intelligence gathering.

Lu Xiu spent some time browsing through the forum posts, focusing on the top players in Prison Rock who were worth being wary of, as well as their various unique skill systems.

During this time, she also sent a message to Yan Fushou, asking if their Strategy Group had encountered any noteworthy top players from Prison Rock during yesterday's arena battles.

After all, it comes down to the frequency of encountering High Sequence enemies.

The Strategy Group members must be the best.

And in fact, she was right. After the first round of matching, according to Jian Li and others, they encountered familiar faces.

Obviously.

The top players from both sides will then clash for a month.

Upon learning that Lu Xiu wanted the list of top players from Prison Rock and wanted to fight a recapture battle, they...

Yan Fushou was shocked and immediately sent him a communication window, advising her not to act impulsively. There was no need to try to take it back in the early stages, as the situation was still unstable and areas would inevitably fall. Taking it back now would be pointless.

However, upon learning that Lu Xiu wanted to understand how the dungeon operated in the arena, they discovered that neither the attacking nor defending side could be matched.

Yan Fushou remained silent.

He had prepared a whole speech, but in the end, Lu Xiu's irrefutable reason left him speechless.

After asking further questions...

In the end, he could only send Lu Xiu a list of top players in Prison Rock compiled by the Strategy Group, along with a skill analysis, with a belly full of doubts. He also told Lu Xiu to be careful and not to feel pressured whether she succeeded or failed.

And at this moment.

Lu Xiu had already finished reviewing the list of top players in Prison Rock.

"Interesting."

Lu Xiu closed the interface and muttered something to herself.

Then jump directly to the situation map.

Ready.

Let's officially take it back.

Lu Xiu looked at the situation map and roughly went through the rules of the recapture battle in her mind.

The recapture battle is 1v1.

The system is probably designed this way to provide space for top players from both sides to showcase their individual skills and influence the course of the battle, in addition to the large-scale group matchmaking battles that occur every two hours.

The specific rules for the recapture battle are related to another garrison-bound gameplay element.

Simply put...

During the arena battle, if the attacking side wins and successfully occupies a certain area, one of their members will automatically become the defender.

And this guardian can be freely changed within the region.

For example, if the winner is a player with a sequence of 12, with proper negotiation, it is entirely possible to change the player to a player with a sequence of 21 during the short protection period.

The guardian can normally do whatever they want, but if an enemy player launches a recapture attempt on this area, the system will forcibly pull the guardian, temporarily reset their status to its best, and put them into the arena to fight.

Even though the "Guardian" is currently engaged in battles in other arenas.

certainly.

To prevent the occupying side from wearing down the defenders, the recapture operation also comes at a cost, the biggest being Survival Points and faction morale.

There's not much to say about the Survival Points; if you win, you get double the points back, and if you lose, they're confiscated.

As for faction morale, simply put, each recapture battle will cause a change in faction morale. If the recapture is successful, all attributes of all friendly players will increase by 1%, while all attributes of all enemy players will decrease by 1%.

vice versa.

The morale of each faction changes dynamically based on the recapture situation of both sides, and the attribute increases and decreases can be cumulative.

To put it simply, it's basically a one-on-one duel before the battle.

It is foreseeable.

This late-game playstyle should be the main battleground for top players.

Should we keep our core forces at home to ensure the already captured positions are secure? Or should we go all out and let our top players commit all their resources to conquer even more areas?

This will likely become a key decision point later on.

Lu Xiu found it quite interesting.

However, the pressure is probably considerable for top players.

After all, one failure affects all players.

This is also why Yan Fushou told her not to put too much pressure on herself.

I'm just afraid she'll lose and get flamed by some players.

The situation is still unclear, with both sides probing each other's strengths and weaknesses. The high-ranking officials of Nine Provinces and Prison Rock have tacitly agreed to avoid a recapture battle.

Under these circumstances, it would be too conspicuous for Lu Xiu to launch a recapture operation.

But Lu Xiu personally felt that it wasn't a big problem.

This is only the second day since the arena opened; Prison Rock certainly wouldn't put the top players in the "Guardian" position.

Lu Xiu collected her thoughts and focused her gaze back on the situation map.

Her pale fingers slid lightly across the screen, passing over the center and finally hovering over a red dot on the edge—[Occupied Area 05].

Click gently.

The window popped up immediately after the click.

[You are initiating a territory recapture operation!]

[Current target: Area 05. ]

[Locking on the designated enemy defender]

[Note: To initiate this recapture operation, you will need to deduct 50,000 Survival Points as collateral. If you lose, all survival points will be forfeited!]

[Note: The outcome of this battle will trigger dynamic fluctuations in "faction morale," directly affecting the attributes of all players in the area.]

[Battle Mode: 1v1!]

[Confirm initiation of recapture?]

Lu Xiu blinked and clicked "Yes".

A 30-second countdown appeared.

At the same time.

Inside a regular fighting ring, a fierce battle is raging.

Accompanied by a piercing metallic scraping sound and sparks flying everywhere.

A level 20 Prison Rock player, wielding a serrated greatsword, clashed solidly with a Nine Provinces player, then used the violent recoil to leap backward, creating a safe distance.

Just as he was about to take a deep breath, regroup, and continue charging forward.

A notification box suddenly popped up.

He glanced at it subconsciously, then suddenly froze, looking at his teammate beside him. "Someone in Nine Provinces has launched a recapture operation! And the challenger's sequence number is only 2."

Upon hearing this, several of his teammates turned their heads sharply.

"What the hell?!"

"There's a mole within the Nine Provinces high command?! Sequence 2?!"

"What kind of recapture battle is this crappy formation doing? Are they just here to demoralize their troops?!"

"Players with this rank might not even be matched with in regular matchmaking! We don't even have many players with such a low rank in Prison Rock! This rank is going to play a recapture battle? Are you kidding me?"

"With such a low rank, where did all these Survival Points come from? Has the ruler of Nine Provinces made a move?"

The level 20 Prison Rock player's expression became even stranger upon hearing his teammates' words. "And it shows that the challenger's ID is ---- Lu Xiu."

"What the hell?!"

This time, the one who exclaimed in surprise was the Nine Provinces player who had just clashed swords with him, his face full of murderous intent.

Upon hearing the name Lu Xiu, all the other players from Nine Provinces stopped in their tracks, as if they had seen a ghost.

The entire battlefield came to a brief standstill.

After a brief moment of shock and bewilderment...

The player named Prison Rock, who was designated as the guardian of Area 05, suddenly burst into laughter.

"It seems your renowned core Architect from Nine Provinces is quite confident in her abilities. With such a low rank, she still dares to launch a recapture operation. After hearing about the results of the special event, I wanted to meet your Architect, but I didn't expect her rank to be so low. It seems Zane and Ray aren't exactly innocent."

He slung his serrated broadsword over his shoulder, his eyes gleaming with excitement at the prospect of reaping a huge victory, and grinned arrogantly at the Nine Provinces player opposite him.

"I'll gladly accept this free boost to the faction's morale."

Next.

He pressed confirm, then turned to his teammates. "You guys stay here and keep playing, I'm going to get there first."

The moment the words left his mouth.

The beam of light, forcibly pulled by the system, crashed down, instantly engulfing the guardian of Prison Rock.

At the same time.

The countdown on Lu Xiu's side has also reached zero.

Boom!

The instant the countdown reached zero, a white teleportation beam pierced through the ceiling, completely enveloping Lu Xiu.

Next.

Accompanied by a system notification sound unlike any other, as loud as the tolling of a bell, it rang out.

Whether they were in Nine Provinces, Prison Rock, or fighting in the arena, all the players saw the system announcement.

[Nine Provinces launches its first recapture operation!]

[Challenge Faction: Nine Provinces]

[Challenger: Lu Xiu (Sequence 2)!]

[Defense Faction: Prison Rock]

[Guardian: Blood Dusk (Sequence 20)!]

[Mode: Deathmatch (1v1)]

The outcome of the battle will directly determine the morale of both sides in their respective regions.

Coordination Bureau.

Yan Fushou looked at the announcement, noting the vastly different ranks of the two sides in the conflict, and his lips twitched.

to be honest.

He had only just realized that Lu Xiu's ranking was so low—after all, anyone who knew her deeds would probably subconsciously overlook her ranking.

The combat strength and order of battle are misaligned to this extent.

No wonder their offense and defense are mismatched.

A certain arena.

Having just eliminated three Prison Rock players and preparing to besiege Gran, Du Shu and his group paused slightly and looked up at the sky.

"Lu Xiu? Recapture Battle? She's only at Sequence 2?"

Du Shu's eyes were filled with astonishment; for a moment, he didn't know what to be surprised about.

Across from him, Gran, who had been struggling to hold on, paused for a few seconds after seeing the announcement, then suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Hahaha! Cough cough----Sequence 2?! Go fight Blood Dusk?!"

Gran almost laughed until tears streamed down his face, "Have you Nine Provinces gone mad? Or have your Architect gone mad?!"

Inside another arena, a fierce battle was raging.

Gallagher glanced at the system announcement, slammed his weapon to the ground, and threw his head back, laughing loudly, "Sequence 2 going to fight a recapture operation?"

He looked at Jian Li opposite him. "Is this the famous core Architect of your Nine Provinces? Seriously? Your Architect are this brave?"

Faced with Gallagher's mockery.

Jian Li looked at Gallagher calmly and slowly raised her hand.

As she moved, a layer of fine scales slowly emerged on her fair and slender arms.

However, Shen Nian, who was standing to the side, was not so polite.

She took a step forward, carrying the exaggeratedly long sword that was almost as tall as her in one hand, the blade drawing a string of ear-piercing sparks on the ground.

"You're smiling so confidently?"

Shen Nian tilted her head and looked at Gallagher: "Since you look down on us Sequence 2 Architect so much, why didn't you choose an SS-rank dungeon for today's arena battle?"

She paused, her tone dripping with mockery. "Is there none?"

Gallagher's laughter abruptly stopped, then slowly ceased.

----Realized that something was wrong.

And not just these two places.

Almost all players were brought to a brief standstill by this sudden and absurd announcement.

The Nine Provinces players were completely bewildered.

The players in the Prison Rock area laughed loudly and without restraint.

no way.

Lu Xiu's ranking is far too low.

That's a difference of a full eighteen ranks!

This means that Lu Xiu's overall attributes are at least 18 points lower than her opponent's!

This huge gap is something no normal player would think they could overcome.

Because the gap was so huge, like an ant trying to shake a tree, many players in Prison Rock even forgot that the dungeons that tortured them to the point of death and crushed their pride yesterday were created by Lu Xiu, who was only at Sequence 2.

Nine Provinces Forum.

Everyone was discussing the rewards from the arena, but the moment the announcement appeared, everyone stopped talking.

Instead, countless new posts Take Their Place.

[Holy crap! Lu Xiu? Is it that Lu Xiu? The Recapture Battle?]

[Wait, why is Lu Xiu's sequence only 2? Is this a bug? This doesn't seem right, does it? Why is it so low?]

[Foolish Lu Xiu! Just stay in the safe zone and do the dungeon! Leave the fighting and killing to us! Why did you suddenly start a recapture battle? And you're only level 2!]

[Is Lu Xiu's rank really that low? That's outrageous!]

[No, have you guys forgotten about Lu Xiu's dungeons? She cleared those dungeons for the first time! We've even seen clips of her confirming her clears. How could someone like that be weak?]

[I know she's strong, but her rank is just too low! Unbelievable! How am I supposed to fight her? Her base stats are 18 points lower!]

[Indeed—that was too impulsive. I hope Lu Xiu doesn't break down after losing. Victory and defeat are common in war. Don't be sad because of the numerical difference. Losing 1% of all attributes is okay, but please don't let it discourage you from doing dungeons—although I don't know why you suddenly went to fight the recapture battle.]

[Damn, it's easy for the person upstairs to talk when they're not the one suffering.]

[----]