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The second category consisted of players consumed by anxiety.

”Once tonight is over, it’ll be the fourth day. What are we supposed to do when the protective barrier disappears?”

”I’ve already given up. I’ll just wait for the system to eliminate me, then return to the real world and go back to work.”

”Don’t give up, brother! This is our only chance to change our fate! If we leave Godfall Continent, we’ll never be able to enter again!”

The third category was what really caught John’s interest, because it concerned gossip about him.

When he saw his own name appear on the screen, his eyebrows twitched slightly.

”Just who is Tyrant, anyway? I heard someone investigated him. His registered location is the Lower City.”

”No way. Seriously? The Lower City produced someone this powerful?”

”I think he’s probably a scion of some major family. They might be planning something and deliberately registered him in the Lower City to conceal his identity.”

”I have a friend in the Judgment Alliance. Apparently, the alliance’s upper management is holding an emergency meeting about Tyrant right now. They’ve already sent people to make contact with him, but they’re also preparing for the worst-case scenario.”

”What worst-case scenario? If they can’t beat him, they’ll just join him.”

”Are you stupid? People like those in the Judgment Alliance would never lower themselves to beg some unaffiliated player. My guess is that they’re planning to make a move against him.”

”How? We’re still in the Novice Protection Period. Their established players can’t even get in here.”

”Then they’ll just wait until the novice period ends. Once everything merges into Godfall Continent, they’ll be able to act, right? Besides, haven’t you seen the announcements? Several major alliances have already started recruiting, and they’re even giving away Relocation Tokens.”

John’s fingers paused when he reached this part.

Relocation Token.

It was an item that could teleport a territory directly to a designated location.

He continued reading.

Sure enough, after scrolling through a few more messages, he came across the official recruitment announcements.

”Sky Dragon Alliance, Third Division, Expanding Recruitment! New Lords ranked among the top 500 in combat power can claim one Relocation Token and relocate to the Alliance’s...”

”Judgment Alliance—Recruitment Notice for the Apprentice Knight Corps! Open to all Lords who have awakened combat talents of B-Rank or higher. We provide Relocation Tokens, basic resource packs, Unit Altar Stones, and other support! Members receive the benefits and privileges of full alliance membership upon joining!”

”Starlight Guild Recruiting Production-Class Lords! Woodcutting, mining, farming, and blacksmithing specialists will be given priority. Maximum resource allocation and guaranteed passage through the evaluation period!”

One recruitment announcement after another appeared. Every alliance was offering extremely generous terms.

Relocation Tokens were practically standard in every offer.

John sneered.

The same old tricks.

They used the rare Relocation Tokens to lure promising players into the vicinity of their own strongholds, gradually building up a critical mass of people.

More people meant greater strength and better defenses. But it also meant that those players’ territories would become subordinate to the alliance.

Once the evaluation period ended, those who had received Relocation Tokens would either obediently join the alliance and work themselves to the bone for it, or simply be swallowed up by the alliance altogether.

For a century, the alliances and financial conglomerates had used this very strategy to absorb countless unaffiliated players, monopolizing the lifeblood of the entire underground city.

Just as they had done to him.

Just as they had done to Sylvie.

John’s fingers slid lightly across the virtual interface, his gaze growing colder.

Still, having everyone gather in one place wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

It would save him the trouble of hunting them down one by one.

John closed the recruitment announcements and returned to the World Channel, scrolling through a few more pages.

The rest was mostly uninteresting gossip.

He didn’t bother reading for much longer. With a wave of his hand, he closed the system interface and gathered his thoughts.

The hall had grown quiet.

He raised his head and discovered that Ophelia had finished eating. She was leaning back in her chair, one hand resting on the edge of the table and the other supporting her chin. Her dark golden slit pupils were half-closed, and her face wore an expression of complete satisfaction.

The moment she noticed John’s gaze, she immediately straightened up, once again assuming her usual icy demeanor.

John glanced at the system clock.

[Godfall Battlefield Standard Time: 09:30:48]

”Let’s go.”

John stood up and addressed Ophelia.

”We have business to take care of today.”

Ophelia rose at once, placed her right hand against her chest, and bowed slightly.

”Yes, my Lord.”

The two of them left the castle’s main hall.

All the troops were already waiting quietly for their orders.

John walked over to the formation of Dark Knights.

Today’s arrangements would be broadly similar to yesterday’s, with a few minor differences.

John paused briefly.

”Keep the same deployment as yesterday. Today, I’ll leave the Dark Knights under your command. Assign twenty Priests to each squad and continue expanding our exploration range. Clear out every monster stronghold along the way. Additionally...”

He turned to look at Gru, who was standing some distance away.

”You will lead a separate squad. Follow the directions you marked on the map for me yesterday and search the surrounding areas for other human settlements of native survivors.”

”Once you find them, tell them that there is a Lord on this land willing to shelter them. Bring back anyone who wants to come.”

”As for those who refuse...”

John’s tone remained indifferent.

”Don’t force them. Let them make their own choice.”

Hearing this, a flicker of excitement appeared in Gru’s cloudy eyes. He bowed deeply.

”The remaining troops will accompany me.”

After giving his orders, John raised his hand and swept it through the air.

A massive black rift opened in space, and the Legion Dimension silently unfolded.

One thousand undead Dragon Knights marched in orderly formation toward the rift. Their heavy footsteps echoed across the ground before their figures quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Two hundred Undead Frost Mages followed close behind.

Only then did John turn toward the silver-haired Dragonkin standing beside him.

”Ophelia.”

”I’m here, my Lord.”

John ran his finger across the sand table, tracing a route from his territory toward the southeast. His finger eventually stopped at a location slightly south of the map’s center.

There was a marker there.

”Let’s go. Follow the route I’ve marked.”

Ophelia asked no questions.

She stepped back, and a flash of purple light flickered through her dark golden slit pupils. The ground beneath her feet suddenly cracked.

Deep purple flames erupted from within her, engulfing her entire body.

BOOM!

The flames exploded outward.

A gigantic purple crystal dragon, more than a hundred meters long, soared into the sky. Its enormous wings spread wide, blocking the sunlight over nearly half the plaza.

Its dark golden scales reflected countless dazzling flecks of light in the morning sun. Four massive claws struck the ground, each movement causing the earth to tremble faintly.

John leaped forward, using the joints of the dragon’s claws to climb onto its back. He settled securely into the hollow where its neck met its wings.

After sitting down, he checked the coordinates on the system map one more time.

The area ahead was still covered in unexplored gray fog.

Approximately two thousand kilometers away.

John had calculated the distance carefully based on Ophelia’s flight speed.

It was a relatively safe range. As long as they didn’t exceed four thousand kilometers, they could easily make the round trip within a single day.

And his objective was to use the Hero Compass there!

”Let’s move.”

Ophelia released a deep, resonant dragon’s roar, then forcefully beat her enormous wings downward.

BOOM!

The air currents carved two deep trenches into the ground as the hundred-meter dragon rose into the sky, carrying a tremendous wave of pressure with it.

Below, Gru had already begun organizing the villagers into groups.

The Dark Knights divided into five squads, mounted their skeletal warhorses, and spread out around the camp, waiting for the native survivors to join them.

John looked down at his increasingly distant territory, then shifted his gaze toward the horizon ahead.