"What? The Varangian Warband wants to hog everything!!!"
Before the Siege Spears exploded, the Varangians had crept forward under cover of darkness, escaping the Minisians' notice-but not the eyes of the other players.
There were plenty of players lurking within ten kilometers of White Rock City, far more than either the Varangian Warband or the Minisians imagined. At least a thousand.
The reason so many players had gathered here was simple... coincidence.
For Black-and-White Bear to cross more than two hundred kilometers of enemy territory alone and reach the mission area within ten days was actually remarkably efficient.
Not many other players could manage the same feat.
More players had either set off late, been delayed by obstacles or side quests along the way, or gotten lost...
In short, a great many players were still on the road. When Black-and-White Bear sent out his appeal for help, they happened to be near White Rock City, so they pushed on at full speed, racing toward the city regardless of everything else.
The players responded eagerly, even more eagerly than Black-and-White Bear had expected, because they were passionate about taking White Rock City.
That went for both solo players and members of small warbands. Players from major warbands, on the other hand, continued toward the mission area, showing little interest in White Rock City outside it.
The reason was simple... Tavitsky.
Because of the main quest, the players who had participated in that city's siege back then all held shares in it. Recently, the hottest topic on the player forums had been Tavitsky's development.
Any player with a little foresight could see that, as long as the game stayed in business, Tavitsky was destined to prosper as the story progressed. Players with shares in the city and shops of their own needed