Sword in hand, I reached the southern gate of the city. I looked at Xu Yang, who was currently defending the gate, and said, "Give me some space, I’m going out for a bit."

"Oh?" Xu Yang was puzzled by my request. "Are you going out to die?"

"Don’t worry!"

I strode out of the gates confidently as I came to face to face with a whole sea of red-named players. But I wasn’t worried, because most of these players belonged to The Monarch Descends. Ling Xueshang stood at the head of this huge crowd of players, her bow held lightly in her hands. Purple Wind Chime, Mo Xiaoxiao, and Ice Lemon had all accompanied her here, and every single one of them was an elite player. As a member of the CGL Hall of Fame, Ling Xueshang would have no problem recruiting a team of elite players.

After all, the CGL Hall of Fame represented a standard of excellence and getting into it was nothing less than a badge of honor, proof of one’s transcendent skill. Therefore, any member of the Hall of Fame was able to attract a crowd of devout followers that would follow them to the ends of the world.

……

As I walked toward Ling Xueshang, I sheathed the Heaven-stealing Sword into the scabbard slung across my back. A huge grin bloomed on my face as I went to greet her.

Ling Xueshang raised a hand and smiled at the guild members gathered behind her. "Stop the attack. From this moment onward, The Monarch Descends has officially entered an alliance with Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls. We’re going to help them defend this territory until this war comes to a close. Lu Chen, it’s your turn to speak."

I nodded my head and laughed. "I won’t be able to speak for any other port, but if we do successfully keep hold of this territory, then the players of The Monarch Descends will enjoy a 20% discount on all repairs, purchases, and teleportation fees in the City of Death. Unfortunately, a 20% discount is the most we can give. If not, we won’t even be able to pay for the land tax."

Ling Xueshang giggled. "Alright, that’s reasonable and 20% is already pretty good! My people will be able to save quite a bit of cash this way!"

"Mn."

I walked up and sent her a guild alliance invitation. In the next instant, the names of Ling Xueshang and her people turned into a friendly shade of orange. They had now officially become allies with us.

I turned around and yelled at Xu Yang, "Open the gates, our friends from The Monarch Descends are coming in!"

A grin of joy appeared on Xu Yang’s face as he replied, "Haha, I got it!"

I breathed a sigh of relief as I led Ling Xueshang and her troops into the city. Thanks to this, we shouldn’t have any issues holding on to this territory.

Ling Xueshang was a woman who was good at both mind games and recruiting experts to her side. Even though The Monarch Descends guild’s average level or power could not be compared to Snowy Cathaya or Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, she had far more people than we did. She wasn’t someone that we could simply ignore.

……

"Xueshang…"

"Hmmm?"

"You should form an alliance with Snowy Cathaya too. Find some time to talk to Wind Fantasy as well, okay?"

"Oh, got it!" Ling Xueshang giggled, causing her fringe to sway as her head bobbed up and down. "Actually, I already had the intention to do so. These days, guilds like Warsky Alliance, Gods of Destruction, and Hegemon Palace have been looking at us with hungry eyes and it’s been hard for us to continue operating independently. Since that’s the case, I’d rather enter an alliance with Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and Snowy Cathaya. That way, we’ll form a triumvirate of power that’ll repel all other guilds and maybe we can actually conquer Sky City like this too!"

I couldn’t help but chuckle as well. "Okay! That doesn’t sound too far-fetched and I gladly welcome what you just said! I’ll contact Wind Fantasy and get her to form an alliance with you! Our next goal will be to conquer all of the other territories spawning around Sky City! Let’s get Snowy Cathaya and The Monarch Descends your own territories where you can establish your seats of power! If we accomplish this, our position in Sky City will be unshakeable…"

Ling Xueshang’s beautiful eyes curved up in delight as she looked at me in a rather demure manner. She replied, "Very good! It looks like Luo River God of the Capital was right after all. Falling Dust really is an ally you can count on! Hmm, you can leave the city’s south gate and west gate to us!"

"Alright, thanks in advance!"

"You’re welcome!"

……

As The Monarch Descends filtered through the city, I felt my heart leap with joy. Time seemed to trickle by at an inexorably slow pace, but when I checked my watch, I realized that we had already held the city for three hours. The small guilds that lingered around in the outskirts of the territory did not have the firepower to shake the defenses of any of three guilds defending the city. Meanwhile, Li Chengfeng, High Fighting Spirits, and Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun had led the rest of our eliminated guild members to the pass that connected Dragonbone Mountain Range with Howling Wind Plains. They had claimed the area as their hunting grounds and they had even sent some videos over to us.

Li Chengfeng stood in front of the valley with his sword in hand. As he looked at the army of players approaching him, he roared in an undaunted voice, "Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls has claimed this area as our hunting ground, so I’ll have to ask our visiting brothers to make a detour!"

Someone immediately stood out from the crowd and said, "Based on what? Based on the fact that Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls is a powerful guild? Based on the fact that you’re a dragon warrior? We’re going to participate in the territory war, so stop wasting our time and get out of our faces!"

Li Chengfeng stepped aside, only to reveal the array of forces assembled behind him. High Fighting Spirits, Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun, and four thousand members of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls were lined up in battle formation. All of them roared, "We paved these roads and grew these trees! So whoever wants to cross will have to pay a very heavy toll!"

This formation was far too intimidating and guilds both big and small had no choice but to retreat and level in the areas around the Dragonbone Mountain Range. Of course, there were some players who tried to trek across the mountain range itself, but the Level 150 shadow-rank monsters that dwelled in the mountain range were no herbivores, and countless low-level players died within the mountains on this day.

……

As the curtain of night began to fall on the city, a watch tower swayed as bamboo rattled. A charmingly beautiful lady was sitting on top of the rails of the watch tower. She was dressed in a suit of armor and her eyes were filled with longing as she stared out into the night sky. A mesmerizing smile crossed her lips and her long, snowy legs gently swayed as they dangled in front of the bamboo railing. She was a vision of enchanting beauty, and my heart thumped loudly in my chest when I saw her.

"Eve?" I asked as I drew closer to her.

"Hmm?"

He Yi turned to look at me, a smile curling up on her lips. "What’s wrong, Lu Chen?"

"I have a request."

"Speak!" He Yi said as she tilted her head toward me. This awkward angle exposed her ample chest which was already spilling out of her breastplate, the mounds of snowy flesh inexorably drawing in my gaze

I swallowed some saliva as I replied, "Do you think it’s possible for us to give all the members of Snowy Cathaya a big ‘thank you’ gift for their help this time? Can we also give them a fifty percent discount on repairs, shop purchases, and teleportation fees inside this city? The same discount we are going to give our own members."

In truth, 50% of whatever we earned from this territory would be taken by the system as a form of tax. If we gave them a fifty percent discount, it would mean that we wouldn’t be earning a single cent from Snowy Cathaya, and we even had to pay taxes on whatever they bought. Basically, we were going to make a loss if we did this.

He Yi’s beautiful eyes were as tranquil as a placid lake. She blinked, causing her long lashes to beautifully flutter together. She remained silent for a little while longer before her laughter suddenly rang in the air. "Hmmm, I don’t see any problem with that. We really do owe Lin Yixin this time, so this is something that must be done. If not, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls will not be able to look our allies straight in the eye. Lu Chen, that was an excellent suggestion. I was just thinking about how we could compensate them, but thanks to you, I’ve now made my decision."

"Oh."

I nodded my head and replied, "Once we’ve finished conquering this territory, you should focus on leveling. This territory is an undead city, so leave it to me to manage. I will turn this city profitable as quickly as I can."

"Alright! I believe in you!" He Yi giggled as she reached out to touch my arm. "To think that we actually managed to conquer the first territory spawned by Sky City. Hehe, I still find it quite hard to believe!"

"But this is good, our lives will be totally different from now on."

I stared into the distance before I breathed a heavy sigh. "In the past, there were always only the four of us. But now, we have the Dragon Warrior Li Chengfeng, the Dark Archer Beiming Xue, the Undying Knight Gui Guzi, the Berserker High Fighting Spirits, and the Earth Knight Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun. All of these elite generals have joined our guild and we also managed to recruit skilled experts like Chaos Moon, Moonlight Stone, Moon Dew, and Wolf Fang, all of whom fall just short of the elite status. The overall strength of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls is night and day compared to what it was in the past."

"Mn."

He Yi smiled at me appreciatively as she said, "Actually, the thing that’s made me most happy… is your return. With you by my side, I won’t feel lonely anymore…"

"Boss…"

After she stared at me for a while, He Yi suddenly let out a soft snort through her nose as she started giggling. "This really is like a mushy soap opera…"

"As if, I nearly threw up in my mouth when you said those words. Okay, you can continue admiring the scenery, I’m going to go down and keep on killing!"

"Mmm. Be careful!"

After I drew my sword, I bodily leaped from the top of the watchtower. However, I immediately realised something the instant I jumped into the air.

Fuck, I’m too high up. I’m gonna die from fall damage!

I made a somersault in the air as I landed on the ground with a thud. My body sank half a meter into the ground, but I managed to land stably.

However, my landing did frighten Chaos Moon. My body had slammed into the ground right in front of her, and her pretty face was pale from shock. "Dammit, Lu Chen! Where the hell did you jump out from!? You nearly scared me half to death!"

"Heh…"

I didn’t reply. Instead, I rushed forward and swept my sword toward those weaklings from guilds who had grossly overestimated themselves. The Heaven-stealing sword danced in the air, and I barely needed any healing from the priests in the back. Health potions and my 14% life steal were more than enough to outheal any damage I took. I rampaged amid the horde of players and no one could stop me.

……

I rushed around killing players for more than an hour and I used War Crush and Thousand Ice Slash more times than I could count. I also lost track of the amount of players I’d killed. My longsword was stained with fresh blood and my cloak had turned a bloody red as it stuck to my armor in a cloying, sticky mess. The ends of it had been shredded into rags, a sign that its durability had dropped to insufficient levels.

I swiftly inspected all of my equipment. The Heaven-stealing Sword only had 37% durability left while my God Suppressing Necklace and God Suppressing Helmet only had 29%. As for the rest of my Dark Gold–grade items, they all had less than 5% durability left. They were all about to break. My repair costs were going to be astronomical this time!

There were still ten minutes left on the timer by the time I returned to the city, but there was nothing else I needed to concern myself with.

Li Chengfeng ran toward the city with his sword in hand. After that, he leaned against the wooden fence surrounding our territory and lazily doffed his helmet. He shot me a glance before saying, "What are you looking at?"

I replied, "Aren’t you going to chase after our enemies?"

"My weapon’s durability is shot, and my legguards and boots are about to be wrecked as well. If I continue fighting, I’ll be running around in my underwear…"

"……"

I chortled with laughter. "Good luck to you then."

Li Chengfeng grinned. "I’m actually still in decent shape. I heard that Gui Guzi had been knocked about too badly and that he’s been running around with just his shield and his undies. He’s managed to catch the eye of many an enemy maiden…"

I: "..."

……

This battle had been incredibly fierce and our supplies had nearly run dry. I even had to pass some health potions to Xu Yang and Du Thirteen. My inventory was big and I had more health potions than most players, so I could afford to do so. But I heard that the players of Snowy Cathaya basically fought until they ran out of weapons and supplies. Shadow Chanel kept using Thunder Dragon Breath to one-shot her enemies and I already lost track of the amount of Magic Consumables I had given her. A top-notch mage really used up money like water. If a guild didn’t have enough resources, there was no way they could support a super mage like her.

A few moments passed before the system notice bell finally reverberated in the skies of Sky City. This battle had finally come to a close, and Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls had emerged as the victor!

Ding~!

System Announcement: Congratulations Guild Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls for being the first official occupants of Territory 001. All members of the guild will gain 50% EXP of their level. The guild leader will be awarded rewards for their guild: “Convenience Stone” x5, “Cyanfire Gem” x5, “Dragonstone Gem” x5, “Berserk Gem” x5, “Dragonblood Gem” x5, “Beast Haste Gem” x5!