I'll fucking burn your dreams!
In the main hall of the Black Star Palace's outer base, a heartfelt roar suddenly rang out, followed by a white beam of light that quickly transformed into a resurrected Legion player with the ID [ Under the Beneath the Flying Clouds], clearly from Huaxia.
There were many players coming and going in the hall. Hearing this loud roar, they all turned their heads and focused their gazes on Beneath the Flying Clouds. They saw his chest heaving rapidly and his face full of resentment.
"What's wrong, bro? Why are you so angry? Who did you do something to?" A veteran player passing by asked, unfazed.
"I was just camped by a group of foreigners, and they even mocked me. This is the third time!" Beneath the Flying Clouds was furious.
"Sigh, it's 4.0 now, and there are players from other factions everywhere. It's not like the previous versions when we were in the Shattered Star Ring. Be careful when you're out there." The veteran player casually remarked, then shook his head and walked away.
Beneath the Flying Clouds's expression was not good.
He's a new player who started playing after version 3.0; he prefers casual gameplay and doesn't like PvP.
In the previous version, before the global server opened, as a legion player, he was mostly surrounded by his own people and rarely encountered attacks from other players, so he had a very comfortable experience. Now, however, the safe environment of the previous version is gone, and he's been maliciously interfered with by players from other factions several times while doing quests, which is incredibly frustrating.
The huge difference between the two versions made him feel very uncomfortable, and he felt that his gaming experience had plummeted.
He glanced around; scattered around were players with foreign IDs, mostly newcomers who had recently joined the guild. A small group of them deliberately scanned the passing guild players, occasionally glancing at him... Such behavior strongly suggested they were "spies" sent in by a foreign guild.
"There have been so many cases of people being ambushed lately, it's probably all the fault of these spies. They leaked my whereabouts, which led to me being ambushed." Beneath the Flying Clouds was convinced he was right and was furious.
He disliked the foreign players who had recently joined the legion, and many Huaxia players shared the same sentiment. In previous versions, the game was much more comfortable because everyone was Huaxia. However, since the arrival of these foreigners, they had to be wary, the internal environment had deteriorated, and many players found the game much more tiring.
Beneath the Flying Clouds was a new player from the previous version. Unlike the veteran players who had a deep affection for their guild, he hadn't invested much time and energy in it. At this point, he couldn't help but think about switching factions.
"I really don't want to encounter that annoying situation of being camped out like a corpse again; it really ruins my mood."
Just as he was thinking this, every player's communicator in the lobby suddenly rang at the same time. The players walking around glanced at each other in surprise, then stopped and looked down to check the messages.
Beneath the Flying Clouds also took out his communicator and, upon closer inspection, discovered it was an announcement from the legion's internal program, and three messages had been sent in a row.
[Legion Announcement ① - Newcomer Preferential Policies]
[To all Legion warriors, We are currently in the midst of a major expansion of the Shattered World, and recently we have recruited many new warriors from other star systems. To help these newcomers quickly integrate into the Legion, we are reinstating our policy of supporting new recruits. When veteran members mentor newcomers on missions, both parties will receive additional benefits. The Legion will provide certain subsidies, including but not limited to Enas, contribution points, ammunition replenishment, free upgrades or repair opportunities, etc. See [Appendix - Benefits Explanation] (fold/expand) for details. We hope everyone will actively help the newcomers... No matter which star system you come from, as long as you join the Black Star Army, we are all trusted comrades—Legion Commander Black Star]
"So that's the policy." Beneath the Flying Clouds's heart stirred.
In the previous version, the Legion recruited a bunch of veteran Russian and Australian players from the Constellation Corridor and issued a similar policy, which was implemented for a period of time and achieved results before the welfare program was temporarily frozen.
The effectiveness of this plan was proven in the previous version. This benefit mobilized the enthusiasm of veteran players to help newcomers, quickly narrowed the gap between new and old players, encouraged making friends, and prevented everyone from playing separately. This allowed veteran Russian and Australian players from the previous version to quickly integrate into the legion.
Nowadays, the veteran Russian and Australian players in the legion are different from the newly joined foreign players; they get along better with the Huaxia players. Han Xiao's renewed proposal is intended to help the newly joined ordinary players from various countries quickly integrate into the legion, feel the warmth of being guided by veteran players, and minimize the barriers caused by unfamiliarity.
Beneath the Flying Clouds wasn't surprised by the announcement, but was somewhat indignant... Many veteran players were being camped and killed, and the guild was actually expecting them to mentor newbies?
Although the spies only made up a small part, he couldn't help but take his anger out on the entire group of new recruits. So, in his eyes, this plan was like being bullied but having to help the bullies, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
"This is outrageous!"
Beneath the Flying Clouds knew he couldn't blame the NPCs, but he couldn't help feeling annoyed.
But the next moment, he saw two other announcements, and suddenly froze, his eyes widening in shock.
[Legion Announcement ② - Faction Warning List]
[Recently, numerous Immortals have reported to higher command that they were attacked and killed without provocation by Immortals from other factions during missions. After a thorough investigation, the Legion has confirmed these allegations and identified the factions deliberately targeting Legion members. Details can be found in [Appendix - Faction List] (fold/expand). Although the Immortals are fearless in the face of death, I consider the actions of these factions a provocation against the Black Star Army. Therefore, I issue this public warning to these factions: restrain your Immortals, or I will consider it a declaration of war. Don't blame me for personally visiting you for a talk. So, the factions mentioned on the list, please take this matter seriously. I will be monitoring the situation closely. -- Legion Commander Black Star]
[Legion Announcement ③ - Counterattack License]
[Until these forces effectively control their subordinates and prevent surprise attacks on our Immortals, we will take countermeasures. All Legion Immortals warriors are hereby notified that they may launch targeted retaliatory strikes against the aforementioned Immortals members (targets limited to Immortals). Taking a beating without fighting back is not our style. To encourage this behavior, the Legion will provide additional subsidies, including but not limited to Enas, special materials, and contribution points. See [Appendix - Reward List] (collapse/expand) for details. Repeated kills will allow for multiple rewards; however, each battle replay must be uploaded using the Phillip subroutine to earn the reward (replays of the same kill cannot pass review).]
[Meanwhile, for repeat offenders who have repeatedly attacked Legion members, Legion Pursuit orders will be issued. Each kill of a designated wanted person will earn a special reward, as detailed in [Appendix - Pursuit List] (fold/expand). Remember, those who offend Black Star will be punished no matter how far away they are. -- Legion Commander Black Star]
Beneath the Flying Clouds finished reading the two announcements, a commotion arose around him, and many players instantly became excited.
"Holy crap, what's this? The Legion has actually made a move."
"Can player-versus-player combat cause faction shifts?!"
"Hahaha, those idiots, deliberately camping out us? Do they think our legion membership is just for show!"
"So this is what it feels like to have powerful connections. It feels good!"
"The legion commander is truly imposing. Look at him, directly warning the entire faction—that's impressive."
The recent frequent incidents of players camping and taunting corpses have frustrated many Legion players, but they are helpless as no one is organizing them, so they can only look after themselves and pray that they don't encounter malicious players from other factions.
But now, the Black Star Army has directly issued a faction announcement with very domineering wording, stating that it can retaliate against the opposing faction. This attitude immediately made many Legion players feel relieved.
The fact that killing players from these factions also yielded rewards immediately motivated everyone.
Han Xiao's three announcements were a comprehensive attack. First, he used the Black Star Army to intimidate others, and then he took a high-level approach to warn the factions of these troublemaking clubs, making them a hindrance to his cause.
Secondly, a full-scale counterattack is permitted, mobilizing all players in the legion to hunt down players from these factions. This not only allows players to vent their frustration and enhances their sense of factional identity, but also enables veteran and new players to fight side by side, quickly bridging the gap between them.
Furthermore, by dragging new players from various countries into the fray and binding them together, it becomes much more difficult for foreign clubs to incite discrimination—incite national discrimination? But your own country's ordinary players are also targeting you; why not criticize them too?
The troublemaking clubs have limited manpower, which is only annoying to Legion players. However, if all Legion players were to turn around and hunt down opposing players from these factions, they could easily overwhelm the opposing faction. In this way, some ordinary players from these factions would become too bothered and choose to switch factions, thus weakening the player base of these factions and expanding their own pool of resources, turning the tables on them.
The third method is to issue internal warrants for the arrest of some aggressive rival players, so that more people can see the consequences of provoking a legion. This will make some players hesitant to act, thereby reducing the number of players who want to cause trouble together and minimizing the manpower available to these clubs.
Beneath the Flying Clouds was overjoyed. He turned his head and glanced around, only to see many players who looked like spies with stiff expressions.
Seeing this scene, Beneath the Flying Clouds felt all his pent-up resentment released, and he felt completely refreshed. His sense of belonging to the faction increased by 1+1 without him even realizing it.
"Haha, this is the cycle of karma! No one escapes Black Star's fate!"
He burst into laughter Beneath the Flying Clouds, his heart pounding with excitement.
This casual gamer is now itching to get started, eager to team up and start hacking and slashing.
--From today onwards, Black Star is my big brother. Anyone who dares to mess with the Legion, I'll fight them!
The three announcements from the Black Star Army immediately stirred up a storm among the player community.
Players are no strangers to this type of mission; isn't this just faction warfare?!
Legion players went into a frenzy, with many abandoning normal quests and calling on friends to form teams and head towards the factions on the list, like locusts swarming out of the country.
The Black Star Army is currently the first faction in the Shattered World to issue faction war missions. In the Legion players' memories, there was a similar Pursuit order issued when someone switched to the War Realm in the previous version, but compared to now, it's nothing.
This is a massive group sex event involving hundreds of millions of people!
Players are easier to cause trouble than NPCs; you can skip quests, but you can't miss the big events!
Whether you're a veteran player or a new player, your enthusiasm has been ignited!
Especially the new players from various countries who have recently joined are even more enthusiastic than the Huaxia players. Many of them are former members of these factions and are very familiar with the structure of the factions. When it comes to fighting their former allies, they charge faster than anyone else. Many veteran players are willing to bring one or two of these "guides" along.
The opposing factions listed by Han Xiao were all forces that served various troublemaking clubs, came from different star regions, and none of them were particularly powerful. In the Shattered World, they were even less likely to be able to compare with Black Star, a local powerhouse.
Therefore, most of these forces were stunned by the Black Star Army's warning.
--What's going on? Why are you warning us? We haven't messed with you, Black Star!
After investigating, these forces discovered the truth and were furious.
They clearly had no intention of targeting the Black Star Army, yet some of their Immortals acted on their own initiative, inviting this trouble—it's like a tragic injustice!
It's like I was just sitting at home when a mess fell on my head!
Most factions quickly responded to the Black Star Army's warning, hastily and publicly stating to Han Xiao that this was not their intention, that it was just some of their subordinates acting crazy, and that they had no intention of being enemies with the Legion. They pleaded with Han Xiao not to come and talk to them, as their fragile hearts couldn't handle such a surprise.
Internally, this faction strictly controls the actions of the Immortals, making it clear that without their orders, no one is allowed to provoke the Black Star Army, otherwise they will be severely punished. They have also punished some troublemakers... In terms of panel reaction, the punished players lost a lot of faction contribution points and character favorability.
A small group of forces, however, had a more unconventional approach. Considering the Black Star Army's special prestige among the Immortals, they slapped their thighs and came to a conclusion:
--Spies! These underlings who spontaneously caused trouble are all spies sent by the Black Star Army!
The Black Star Army must want to devour us, so they sent spies to deliberately cause trouble, giving them a legitimate reason to attack us!
These clever kids became even more cowardly, declaring, "You can be as cheeky as you want, but I'm not falling for your tricks."
A very small minority of forces have a more unconventional perspective, believing that this is a frame-up, and that these troublemaking Immortals are neither their people nor Black Star's people, but rather people from a third party.
Their goal is to incite conflict between them and the Black Star Army, so that when the two sides fight, a third party can benefit!
Regardless of whether the truth is true or not, this faction insists that it is true.
And the Infinite Financial Group, which is currently most enthusiastic about recruiting players, has become the perfect scapegoat.
Upon seeing this news, Sorokin was completely bewildered.
No problem, I do have such a plan...
But I haven't even started implementing it yet!
Is this what they call prophecy?!
Han Xiao's three announcements stirred up a storm, throwing the entire global server's player community into chaos.
These troublemaking foreign clubs were completely dumbfounded by Han Xiao's three-pronged approach.
... No, we players love and hate each other, so why is it that the NPC faction is reacting the most?!
All we did was attack your Immortals Squad, and you've already blown this out of proportion? Have you no shame?!
Their plan was dealt a heavy blow right after it had begun, almost dying out. Under these circumstances, even if the plan could continue, it would fall far short of its expected results.
The club's top management was immediately at a loss.
If it really came down to a faction war, they wouldn't actually feel like they were at a huge loss. With so many factions combined, even if they couldn't defeat the Black Star Army's players, they could still put up a fight. It would also be a good opportunity to solidify their own faction's ordinary players through faction wars.
However, their faction backed down, not only failing to retaliate but also restraining its players.
They were forbidden from retaliating, so factional warfare never broke out; they were completely on the defensive.
The Black Star Army encouraged players and even issued faction quests, while their own faction not only offered no rewards but also hindered them, making the contrast between the good and bad factions stark.
They knew that being bullied like this would likely discourage ordinary players in their faction, and some might even follow the principle of "if you can't beat them, join them" and switch sides to the Black Star Army to fight back against them.
Everything was planned perfectly, but this unexpected turn of events has left the foreign guild leaders extremely worried, and they have once again deeply realized the importance of currying favor with powerful figures.
There are so many advantages to being in a powerful faction!
However, the most confused were not the clubs, but the ordinary players in their respective factions.
Faced with this situation, countless people are at a loss.
I just got out of bed, haven't even brushed my teeth, and you're telling me I'm being Pursuit millions of players?
What are you doing?!
While the players were having a blast arguing, Hila, who was in the Emerald Star Cluster, received a special communication request.
From the Arcane Church, the leader!