Chapter 989: Dragon City in Sight
Ethan stood before the assembled group and swept his gaze across the crowd. "Everyone here started following me back in the Starter Zone, right?"
The group nodded almost in unison. A smile appeared on Ethan’s face. "So, are you getting tired of the Northern Frontier Region yet?"
The moment the words left his mouth, everyone sensed he was building toward something. Excitement spread through the crowd, and more than a few people straightened up expectantly. Ethan let the anticipation hang for a second before continuing. "Then let’s take over Dragonspire. What do you say? Do you have the guts to follow me?"
He said it so casually that it sounded less like a proposal and more like a decision that had already been made. Everyone except Victor and a handful of core members froze for a moment, then the shock quickly turned into excitement.
"Yeah!"
The response came from all directions, loud but scattered. Ethan’s expression immediately hardened. "Sorry, what was that? I didn’t catch it."
The crowd instantly snapped to attention. "YEAH!"
This time the shout came as one voice. Dozens of people roared at once, and the sound echoed across the area. Ethan’s smile returned. "Good. Then I won’t waste time. Suspend all guild activities, head back, get your teams ready, and wait for my orders."
"Yes, sir!"
"Boss, we’re ready anytime!"
The excitement in their voices was impossible to hide. Many of them were already imagining the battle ahead. One after another, teleport stones flashed, and the crowd quickly disappeared until only Ethan and Victor remained.
Ethan looked at him. "Victor. Something on your mind?" He knew Victor would have left with everyone else if there wasn’t a reason to stay.
"Marcus Skeiner is here. He wants to meet you." Victor got straight to the point.
"Marcus?" Ethan frowned. "From Blade Syndicate? Did he come alone?"
Victor shook his head. "The Steele Consortium’s spoiled heir came with him."
"Zachary?" Ethan’s expression darkened immediately.
"Yeah."
"Tch. Then no."
Victor didn’t look surprised by the answer. "Understood. I’ll let Celia know."
Just as Victor was about to leave, Ethan paused to think. A moment later, he spoke again. "Tell Celia to speak with Marcus privately. And tell him this—if he can break free from the Steele Consortium, or even better, if he can put Zachary in his place, then I’d be willing to share some things with him."
Victor gave a small nod. "Understood." A flash of light followed, and he vanished as well.
The area fell silent. Only Ethan remained.
"Dragon City..." A faint chuckle escaped him as he checked his status screen.
Level 124. 99.43% experience.
To every player in Ethereal, there was only one way to take control of a regional capital—siege warfare. Overwhelm the defenders, break through the walls, and seize the city. Ethan knew better. Thanks to the memories from his previous life, he knew there was another path. A much easier path. Instead of battering down the gates, he could simply walk through them. All he had to do was earn the city lord’s favor.
Of course, that method had a requirement. Level 125. The first player in a region to reach Level 125 would receive the regional title of First Warrior and trigger a unique hidden quest—an invitation. The Lord of Dragon City would personally summon the First Warrior for an audience. Most players focused on the rewards from that quest, but they completely overlooked its real value. The city lord was old and preparing to retire, and as part of the quest line, he would appoint the First Warrior as Acting Lord of Dragon City.
That temporary position came with authority. The Acting Lord could grant or deny access to the city, and he could decide which guilds were allowed to establish a presence inside. Ethan was already standing at the doorstep. Only a fraction of a level remained. Once he reached Level 125, he could enter Dragon City, assume the Acting Lord position, authorize the Renegade Alliance’s entry, and secure land for the guild headquarters. Then the entire guild could relocate. They would become the first guild to establish itself in Dragon City.
More importantly, that control would be protected for an entire month. No guild could challenge their position during that period. After the month ended, other guilds would be allowed to contest ownership, but by then the Renegade Alliance would be entrenched within the capital itself. As the defending side, they would have access to every defensive structure in the city, along with the advantages of terrain, positioning, and preparation.
Combined with the Renegade Alliance’s growing strength, Ethan was confident. He had the manpower, he had the resources, and most importantly, he had the plan. Nobody was taking Dragon City away from him. That was the true value of the information he had carried over from his previous life.
As for the final bit of experience he needed, there was only one destination. The Bone Grounds. That was why he had ordered the guild to prepare. Reaching Level 125 wasn’t what concerned him. What came afterward did.
Once the Renegade Alliance began relocating from the Northern Frontier Region, they would have to cross territory controlled by multiple regional coalitions. Any one of them could attempt to intercept the migration. There were no long-range teleport routes available yet, which meant open-world warfare—large-scale warfare.
To unlock Dragon City’s teleportation network, more than half of the guild’s members had to physically reach the city first. That was the real challenge. Not just Ethan, not just the guild’s elite members. More than half of the entire guild needed to cross the map and enter Dragon City’s safe zone. Only then would the city’s teleport permissions unlock and connect the guild fortress directly to the regional capital.
That kind of operation required loyalty, discipline, and determination. Ethan couldn’t personally escort thousands of members across the continent. If there had been a shortcut, he would have used it. Since there wasn’t one, they would simply have to force their way through.
And while they were at it, they might as well show the world exactly what the Renegade Alliance was capable of.
A grin slowly appeared on his face. The Mad Engineer’s creations had been gathering dust for long enough. It was time to unveil them. Those enormous fel war machines sitting near the border were finally going to see action.
Thinking about them, Ethan remembered something strange. The fel war machines in this timeline looked different from the ones he remembered. Much bigger. In his previous life, a standard fel war machine had stood around thirty meters tall, but the current versions looked closer to two hundred meters—a moving fortress. At that size, their footprint was massive, stretching across an area that approached a kilometer in width. The thought made Ethan pause. Exactly how many people could one of those things carry? And if they were fast enough... could he simply load a huge portion of the guild into one and drive straight to Dragon City?
The idea sounded ridiculous. Then again, so did most of the Mad Engineer’s inventions. Ethan made a mental note to look into it later. For now, there was only one priority. Level 125.
He pulled out a teleport stone. A moment later, he arrived in Harmony City and quickly restocked his supplies. No sightseeing and no delays. Once he was finished, he headed directly for the teleporter. He had entered the Bone Grounds only a few days earlier with a team, but this time would be different. He was going in alone.
Solo mode awarded significantly more experience than group mode, but it also came with a brutal increase in difficulty. The dungeon didn’t scale down—it scaled up. For most players, solo mode was a nightmare. So far, nobody had managed to clear it. Ethan wasn’t particularly worried about that. If he was already there for the experience, he might as well take the solo-mode leaderboard too and collect the bonus rewards while he was at it.
With calm, unhurried steps, he approached the dungeon entrance. The normally noisy crowd gradually fell silent as people noticed him. Conversations stopped, recruitment calls died off, and players turned to watch.
As Ethan walked forward, the people gathered around the entrance instinctively moved aside, opening a path without anyone needing to say a word.