Alliance City's Situation

Hill marveled endlessly at the bald man's thick skin. As expected, anyone who could become the leader of a major player guild had a black heart.

Adrian stood and asked Falan, "The ship is almost there. Should we invite Knight Spencer and the others aboard?"

Falan looked at the Undead, somewhat hesitant.

Xiao Liuliu quickly caught on. "We'll chat among ourselves."

After thinking it over, Falan still said to Adrian, "Invite them aboard. They should want to see what's happening below."

Perfect Baldhead asked, "Are we there already? Can we go out on deck?"

Falan nodded. "Go ahead, but be careful of attacks."

Perfect Baldhead waved dismissively. "It's fine. We're not afraid of dying once we're here."

Xiao Liuliu smacked him on the head. "If you revive now, you definitely won't be in Alliance City!"

Dream Awake, Don't See You raised her tablet. "A hundred li farther back, Asking Sword, Young Wanderer Under Heaven's priests have temporarily built an altar. We can revive there."

"What about Qingcheng's side?"

"Lu Huayu just logged in to apologize. He said his fiancée had a moment of impulsiveness. She's crying and saying she'll delete her account to apologize. He went to comfort her, and later he'll apologize to everyone together with his fiancée," Qian Yuyu said, holding her tablet. "He also said he hopes everyone won't blame the people in his guild. They knew nothing. His beloved fiancée did this on her own without even telling him. But he'll still take responsibility.

He hoped his guild members could forgive him for bringing the guild to this ending. If they still couldn't forgive him, he understood and wished those who left well.

He would soon return and lead the members who still followed him to atone for their sins."

"Ah! That familiar, passive-aggressive Eunuch Lu writing style! He's so slick at shirking responsibility." Perfect Baldhead sighed. "I always feel so out of place compared to people like this. I really am such a good person!"

Hill was not at all surprised that every member of Black Rose was calling him shameless. Even Perfect Baldhead's beloved wife was the same; Xiao Liuliu could barely restrain herself and had hidden off to one side.

"Young Master found that military overseer!" Rainfall on the Mortal Realm, who was also looking at a tablet, shouted.

"Where?" Knight Spencer strode over.

"He was slightly injured. Asking Sword, Young Wanderer Under Heaven's guild leader took him to the temporary camp," Rainfall on the Mortal Realm promptly answered.

Knight Spencer turned to Falan. "Master Falan, could you take us to the camp?"

"Of course, no problem." Falan said, "Would you like to take a look at Alliance City first?"

Spencer nodded. "Sorry to trouble you, Master Falan. I want to see the city's current state."

Perfect Baldhead hesitated before asking, "Knight Spencer, what will happen to the guilds that defended the city?"

"They will lose their merit for defending the city, but their previous merits remain." Spencer said expressionlessly, "However, under Salar's rules, nobles whose cities are breached have no right to reclaim their territories."

The Black Rose players began talking among themselves.

"Does this count as losing the woman and the kingdom?"

"A beauty trap that left both sides wounded?"

"Asking Sword is really miserable! Qingcheng deserves it, though."

"Aren't the other three guilds the truly miserable ones? At least Asking Sword will leave its name in history!"

Hill looked at Old School Striking King, who had said Asking Sword would leave its name in history, and felt deep respect for the woman.

"I need to ask Young Master whether he plans to change the guild's name." Perfect Baldhead pulled out his tablet, intending to deliver the final blow.

Watching the Undead head out to enjoy the scenery on deck, Adrian tugged at Hill. "If I heard correctly earlier, they said they were on good terms with Asking Sword?"

Spencer and Falan both looked at Hill.

Hill nodded. "Friendly guilds. Just a tiny step short of being allies."

Judging from their expressions, they all seemed to think that meant the guilds were about to become enemies.

Hill carefully chose his words. "If they were enemies, they would mock them in public chat. Even strangers would ridicule them. This sort of private teasing means they're on very good terms."

"Even between two city lords?" Spencer asked hesitantly. "Of the king's former guards, only Vander remained. He needs to contact the Undead there in Keslote. Although he told me not to care about what the Undead said when dealing with them.

But if we're arranging a counterattack, we have to interact with them!"

"Their relationship is relatively equal. They're all children of the gods, after all!" Hill said. "A city lord merely has a bit more glory. That's why they speak so casually. It's completely different from the relationships among us nobles."

Hill hesitated, wondering whether that explanation would be all right.

Knight Spencer looked troubled. "Then how should I treat the guilds that failed?"

"Just handle things impartially." Hill could only answer that way.

Spencer sighed. "No wonder the king sent me to handle this. Those who curse failed people as trash will probably cause trouble, won't they?"

The Spencer Family was famous for handling matters impartially. They were too lazy to deal with interpersonal relationships and did not enjoy cursing or beating people.

No matter how wrong the Undead were, they were still William's people. Even without Hill's words, Knight Spencer would have handled them politely.

"My gods, was the battle this bad?"

"This city is completely ruined!"

"The people from the Noble Temple are still living in tents!"

Listening to the Undead's loud discussions outside, Falan and Knight Spencer walked out together. Hill followed behind Spencer's attendants and was the last to leave.

Through gaps in the endless white clouds beneath the floating ship, they could see the broken, desolate Alliance City.

There was nothing but ruins before their eyes. Most of the houses had collapsed, and massive chunks of rubble formed mountains of wreckage. The Great Wall facing south, along with the Mage Tower above it, had become shattered remnants.

Clusters of white tents covered the square at the city center. The Noble Coalition that had attacked the city had already moved in.

The walls facing Salar's interior were tall, but they bore no carved defensive magic arrays.

The original city had not been large. The walls facing Salar had long been smashed apart during the players' city-grabbing wars. After the five-guild Alliance was formed, they had expanded extensively inward.

They had only completed the basic infrastructure, intending to properly develop the city after defeating the Noble Coalition.

Perhaps this was for the best. Hill looked at the three Legendary figures guarding the city walls. How long can those three hold out? Dionysio probably won't place his hopes on them.

After searching for a while, he spotted a deep-purple tent in the city center. It seemed that saintess would remain here as well.

Spencer paced back and forth across the ship, occasionally stopping to observe.

Hill heard the members of Black Rose whispering in a corner.

"What's Spencer doing?"

"Looking for a place and an opportunity to counterattack!"

"Wait, is an NPC leading this counterattack?" Demon Sword suddenly shouted.

"Shut up! They can tell when you're talking about them! Whenever you mention NPCs, no matter what you're saying, keep your tone calm, understand?" Old School Striking King scolded him.

"So even if Young Master takes the city back, it won't count? Why is he still so enthusiastic?" Fang Tianhua asked in confusion.

"His skin isn't as thick as Eunuch Lu's!" Rainfall on the Mortal Realm said. "He was originally Alliance City's boss. Now that the city has been lost, he bears the greatest responsibility.

Eunuch Lu can directly dump the blame on a woman, but Young Master can't do that.

If he still wants to keep playing this game, he can only accept his bad luck! Let's see if he still dares to chase girls afterward!"

"So many people still haven't left Asking Sword! He has to earn more merit for their sake." Perfect Baldhead added. "This city will probably belong to the Spencer Family again in the future."

"William is really good at seizing opportunities." Nie Xingchen sighed.

William was probably waiting for you to make a mistake long ago, Hill thought. The Sky Knights of the Spencer Family serve as his guards. William isn't extravagant enough for that. These are Sky Knights forged through battles with Magical Beasts. They're formidable.

Looking at this location, Hill even suspected that William had deliberately placed this five-guild Alliance in this southeastern corner.

This had once been a small city. The players had fought over it for more than a month and reduced it to ruins. Once things stabilized, they rebuilt it into a large city with a seaside harbor.

Now, although the upper sections of the city were shattered, the underground water circulation systems remained completely intact.

Even if the Spencer Family wanted to build one, they could never construct such a complete water supply and drainage system.

Unless they issued quests for the players, but that would cost a great deal.

Hill felt that William had not intended to set the players up. But if they messed things up themselves, he would be happy to reap the benefits.

At last, Spencer straightened and nodded in satisfaction.

He turned and loudly thanked Falan, who had been waiting to one side. "Thank you very much for your help, Master Falan!"

Falan nodded. "You're welcome. It is my honor to do something for Salar. Shall we head to the temporary camp now?"

"Yes." Spencer said, "I'm very glad to hear that Rad is still alive. At least we're no longer completely in the dark."

Falan quickly moved the ship. "There's some activity below. Someone may fly up to investigate."

Through the floating ship's protective barrier, Hill saw a red-haired figure flying up from below.

"A red-haired Legendary Knight," Hill murmured.

Adrian heard him and told him, "He's one of Navarro's people. Their country is far south of us. The nobles there all have red hair."

Salar was gold, while Hephasaldo was gold and brown. Did hair color fade as one traveled north?

Whenever Hill drifted into a daze, he felt that this was a game with very rough settings. But no matter how realistic a game was, it would not have a cycle from birth to death.

He hoped that one day, he would see the truth of this world.

After the ship arrived at the temporary camp, it slowly descended. The Black Rose players hurried over to say goodbye, then jumped down before the ship had even stopped.

Leaning against the ship's railing, Hill heard Perfect Baldhead laughing loudly. "Young Master! Where are you? We came to help!"

No one below responded for a long time.

"Young Master! Come out and entertain your guests! I brought lots of beauties with me!" Perfect Baldhead continued teasing him.

"Perfect Baldhead, you fake loli! Have you gone perverted from playing a female character too long?" At last, furious cursing came from below. "Just hand Liuliu over, then you can get lost!"

"Baldhead, shut up already!" Xiao Liuliu finally could not stand it anymore. "Young Master, William's people are here. They're on the ship. Come out quickly! Ignore Baldhead."

Hill watched the young man hurry out and could not help laughing. Playing a shota character and still trying to chase girls?

No wonder the guild was called Asking Sword, Young Wanderer Under Heaven. Every person who had run out after Young Master was either a loli or a shota.

Perhaps because they were not very old in reality either, their faces were full of youthful chuunibyou energy. When they looked up, they appeared exceptionally spirited.

Spencer walked over, looked at them, and took a deep breath. "Vander told me their appearances do not represent their actual ages or genders. But these ones really are young, aren't they?"

He turned to look at Hill, somewhat despairing. "None of them are older than Bolanio, are they?"

The ship fell silent. No one wanted to answer his question.