Chapter 991: The March on Dragon City
Ethan fixed his destination in mind and sprinted straight toward Dragon City’s royal palace.
The moment he entered the city, the entire Northern Frontier Region erupted into chaos.
The Renegade Alliance’s army had already gathered at the southern border. More than 400,000 players stood in formation, and at the center of the massive force sat the fel war machine. The colossal construct stretched over a thousand meters in length, five hundred meters in width, and towered nearly two hundred meters high. An army of that size, accompanied by something so enormous, was impossible to conceal.
Players throughout the Harmony City region immediately began asking the same question: what was happening? Rumors spread at an incredible pace. The answer seemed obvious, but nobody had confirmation. The Renegade Alliance was moving south, but nobody knew whether they intended to launch a direct assault on Dragon City or if this was connected to the quest their guild leader had received.
After all, every player had seen the system announcement when Ethan reached level 125 and received an invitation from the Lord of Dragon City. The notification had been broadcast across the entire server.
The reaction was not limited to the Northern Frontier Region, as the other three regional coalitions were mobilizing as well, for none of them could afford to let the Renegade Alliance leave the north unchallenged.
Their previous clash had left a lasting impression. A coalition army numbering over a million players had been wiped out almost instantly. After reviewing the battle, however, coalition leaders reached a conclusion. The Alliance’s terrifying war machine couldn’t possibly fire those devastating bombs forever.
More importantly, the southern frontier of the Northern Frontier Region was protected by geography. The sea lay to the east, and there were also mountains that blocked the west, leaving only a narrow passage connecting the region to the south. With the Renegade Alliance stationed there, supported by the war machine, the pass had become an almost unbreakable fortress. No matter how many troops the coalition gathered, they had been forced into a frontal assault.
This time around, things were different.
The Alliance was leaving that natural stronghold behind and entering open terrain. Once they crossed into Dragon City’s territory, they would be surrounded by vast plains with nowhere to hide.
The Renegade Alliance only had four hundred thousand players, while the combined strength of the three regional coalitions, if fully mobilized, could reach into the hundreds of millions. On open ground, four hundred thousand players seemed insignificant.
Even if the war machine remained powerful, what could it possibly do against numbers like that? Many players confidently believed the Alliance would simply be overwhelmed, and that possibility was exactly what concerned Ethan.
At least 250,000 Alliance members needed to reach Dragon City safely. Only then would the city’s teleporter activate for the guild. Once operational, it would then connect directly to every fortress controlled by the Alliance. The strategic value alone was enormous, and the future teleportation fees would generate a fortune.
Back at the border, the 400,000 Alliance members stood in perfect formation, waiting in silence, while large crowds had gathered in the distance to watch, though nobody dared approach too closely.
Despite the risks ahead, excitement filled the ranks. Everyone understood that this expedition could become one of the most expensive battles the Alliance had ever fought. Still, the Northern Frontier Region had been peaceful for far too long. Open-world PvP had practically disappeared months ago, and many players were eager for a new challenge.
No region in the world had been fully conquered yet, and if everything went according to plan, they would follow the Druid God and claim yet another world-first achievement. The possibility alone was enough to keep morale high.
Rumors from other regions only added to the excitement. Several factions around the world were reportedly attacking their capital cities every day. On the Carnage Faction side, many players were claiming that Satan’s City would fall within days.
The Carnage Faction possessed advantages that the Survivor Faction lacked. Instead of being divided into separate regional groups, the entire faction operated under a single capital city. Their territory was larger and offered greater room for expansion.
Of course, there were drawbacks. The Carnage map was enormous, travel times were brutal, and much of the landscape remained covered in darkness. Ambushes happened constantly.
Most players believed this was the system’s method of maintaining balance.
Without those limitations, the Carnage Faction’s unified structure would have allowed them to outpace the Survivor Faction by a significant margin.
The culture there was far harsher as well. Players gained experience through killing, while death carried severe experience penalties. Equipment drops were common, making every fight dangerous. After two years of warfare, most Carnage players had accumulated well over a thousand kills, while also suffering hundreds of deaths themselves.
Meanwhile, Ethan remained completely unaware of the growing storm outside, but inside Dragon City’s palace, everything had gone far more smoothly than he expected.
He had originally assumed there would be a lengthy quest chain, perhaps several difficult missions before he could obtain the position of Acting Lord. Instead, the entire process felt strangely automatic.
The NPCs behaved exactly as he expected from a traditional MMORPG.
The old city lord met him briefly, explained that he intended to retire, and informed Ethan that a request had already been submitted to the king. Moments later, Ethan received the authority of Acting Lord.
Afterward, he met the king himself. The ruler sat motionless on his throne, delivering scripted dialogue with all the personality of a quest marker.
No hidden mission, no surprise challenge, no complications.
The only unexpected benefit was access to Dragon City’s land market, and Dragon City real estate was worth far more than anything in Harmony City. Ethan immediately opened the management interface and began purchasing property.
He didn’t hesitate, and one plot after another disappeared from the market.
When he finally finished, he had spent 120,000 gold and acquired every available piece of land in the city.
The result was so absurd that he nearly laughed. Anyone who wanted to establish a shop in Dragon City in the future would have to rent from him.
’Not that I have any immediate plans for all that income,’ he thought. ’Still, there is no such thing as having too much money. Besides, it is not as though the gold is taking up storage space.’
After completing the purchases, Ethan headed toward the teleporter, knowing this would likely be the last time he could use a free teleport to Dragon City.
If fewer than half of the Alliance members succeeded in reaching the city, the route could become inaccessible, leaving him with no choice but to travel back manually. Even while flying, the journey between the Northern Frontier Region and Dragon City would take an entire day.
That was why securing the teleporter had been his highest priority. He needed to claim Dragon City before anyone else could interfere.
Now that the city was under his control, Alliance members who arrived afterward would be protected. The city guards would no longer treat them as hostile intruders the moment they stepped through the gates.