Conquering OtherWorld Starts With a Game

"Weisshem isn't the kind of place where you can come and go as you please," Yang Qiu said. "Now that you're here, you have two choices. One is to live a normal life and work hard, and if you have the ability, you might have a future better than that of a wandering mercenary with no fixed abode. Two, you can become materials for undead resurrection."

Of the three, the youngest started to tremble…

Clearly, the intimidation factor of this black mage was much greater than that of the ascetic who had arrested them. People who could bravely sacrifice themselves when a knife was at their throats were few and far between. These three men, at least, were primary mercenaries who occasionally dabbled in robbery. They weren't brave warriors and quickly confessed their origins in quivering voices.

Previously, these three had mentioned they were "scouting for an employer." It wasn't all a lie; they were part of a legit mercenary group from the south, and the reason they had appeared in Weisshem was to undertake a job for their employer to escort a caravan through the Sorensen Mountains to trade with Eastern and Northern merchants in Indahl.

During Yang Qiu's advancement in the Sorensen Mountains, this caravan had entered Weisshem territory. They had originally planned to rest and resupply in the town as usual and enjoy some "entertainment." However, as they passed a small village to the southwest, an observant member of the caravan discovered that the villagers possessed fabric that was of better quality and more exquisite than the Kenyan cloth brought by Northern merchants.

In this continent, merchants who dared to do business across multiple nations often had ties to banditry. They would conduct business honestly in big cities, but in the defenseless countryside, they tended not to adhere to the norms of civilized people.

Upon discovering that every household had this fabric that was superior to Kenyan cloth, the caravan's owner didn't waste any time. He seized control of the village, looted all the fabric, and declared that he would send the villagers to Indahl on charges of collective theft. Of course, the purpose of taking over the village was not related to "righting wrongs," and the caravan owner only wanted to find out how the villagers had acquired the fabric.

The terrified villagers couldn't resist the aggression of the merchant caravan and honestly divulged the source of the fabric…

Just that villagers had their own smarts. They who resented the caravan's pillaging didn't provide a clear picture of Weisshem's situation, omitting the presence of the undead and the black magician who supported the new lord, Rex.

Without the black magician and lively undead, the new lord, Rex, who hailed from elsewhere and had no local support, would find that his abundant stash of exquisite fabrics to be easy pickings for the taking.

Of course, the merchant caravan boss wasn't foolish enough to believe the villager's words entirely. Before taking action, he sent these unfortunate trio to scout out the situation.

If Weisshem was truly vacant, and the new lord, Rex, didn't have a proper defense force, there was no reason not to reach out and take this free windfall; on the other hand, if the ignorant villagers were unaware of the new lord's strength, they could claim that they were simply exploring ahead before the arrival of their caravan.

Upon understanding the situation, a quest titled [Save the Village] appeared in Yang Qiu's mind.

The mercenary group, along with the merchant caravan that employed them, consisted of over two hundred, nearly three hundred individuals. These professional mercenaries didn't possess any equipment as exquisite as the city defense force of Indahl, but their combat capabilities were nothing to scoff at. Additionally, the caravan itself had a decent fighting force. Reliably taking down the entire group and rescuing the "hostages" required more than just the current two-hundred-over players online at the moment.

Yang Qiu cast a glance at Hal and his comrades and contemplated, but these few had to serve as NPCs on the town's main street in the future. Meanwhile, the ten or so at Exile Town were already swamped with dealing players and the routine maintenance of old houses.

Thus, he asked Jerome, "How is the training of those city defense soldiers going?"

Jerome immediately pointed to the model prisoner team having standard work meals—they were all there.

Yang Qiu was very satisfied. "Good. Bring half of them out for me. I would like to use them for two days."

———

In Exile Town, Qin Guan, who had sacrificed everything to obtain the Book of the Undead, clutched the item like a treasure and was about to deliver an uplifting speech to his comrades, who had collectively gathered funds, when several lines of yellow text appeared on the player panel—

[System Announcement] Weisshem Local Defense: An illegal armed force has entered Weisshem territory, seizing Lakeside Village and holding 321 villages captive. Players, please quickly head to Weisshem Town Hall to receive the defense quest.

"A use for the divine treasure I just acquired!" Qin Guan rejoiced, nearly jumping for joy. He raised an arm and shouted, "Brothers, follow me! Let's go do something big!"

Those in Qin Guan's faction teleported to Weisshem. When they got there, many scattered players were already present in the town hall courtyard.

Blossoming Strokes spotted Unceasing Entropy and waved to her. "Qingyue, you are online early today!"

"Mm, I didn't have classes this morning." Unceasing Entropy returned a smile. "I got lucky seeing this defense quest the moment I logged in. I heard Boss Vanilla won the Book of the Undead auction?"

Qin Guan was elated, but he maintained a modest tone. "Don't mention it anymore. Obtaining this item bankrupted me, and I'm buried in debt and need to work my *ss off to repay it."

"What do you think of the quest this time?" Blossoming Strokes asked Unceasing Entropy.

"I read the mission description, and it seems to be more challenging than the previous defense quest—" Unceasing Entropy replied.

Before long, Brother Lahong and his companions, who had come to Weisshem early for the fire god sword auction, also arrived.

When Qin Guan saw Brother Lahong and, more importantly, the three fire god swords that Brother Lahong's companions were holding jubilantly, his expression immediately darkened.

Brother Lahong also didn't seem pleased seeing Qin Guan and his gang.

During this auction event, whales weren't able to stir up much of a commotion compared to previously. There wasn't a chance like last where casual whales could snatch the Orb of Deceptions.

This time around, competition for the auction items mainly occurred between two cohesive player blood alliances. It had, after all, been over a month since the server opened, and players had developed relationships. Even the gold farmers preferred selling their coins to familiar acquaintances. Also, the casual whale players themselves had no way of competing against a whole blood alliance.

This direct confrontation over who could spend more money turned the originally minor friction between the two factions much more hostile…

Brother Lahong despised the fact that he didn't have as good a reputation as Qin Guan had with regular players. He hadn't managed to raise enough funds to get the Book of the Undead. On the other hand, Qin Guan was infuriated that Brother Lahong's group had driven up the Book of the Undead's price so high, causing his side to go broke and not even be able to get a whiff of those fire god's swords.

Were it not because there was a significant quest in front of them, the two large factions would have settled the score on the spot.

Sensing the tense air between these two factions, Unceasing Entropy stepped in as a mediator. "Vanilla, Lahong, this quest involves capturing targets and rescuing villagers, so there should be a considerable potential profit. Do you guys think it would be better to pool our resources and form a larger force?"The source of thɪs content is NovelEnglish.net

Brother Lahong readily agreed, saying, "Sure, you can create a raid group and invite our side's players."

His intention was quite clear—he didn't want Qin Guan, who had just deepened their enmity, to be the leader.

Qin Guan didn't show any emotion. He also didn't waste the Book of the Undead's cooldown on Brother Lahong's people. If anyone from his side perished, Qin Guan could leave the raid group and invite his comrades to use it.

Unceasing Entropy sighed. "You two, please take a look at the quest details. The enemies this time are quite formidable. Their numbers are several times more than the elite cavalry monster we faced during the last quest. We really might end up failing if we don't cooperate wholeheartedly."

Brother Lahong and Qin Guan were both silent…

Unceasing Entropy had a sharp intellect and a good track record. She surely wouldn't be trying to deceive them if she said the mission was challenging. However, neither of them were willing to back down.

As the standoff continued, Wagner entered the courtyard with more than 20 soldiers. Due to their equipment being plundered clean by the undead, Wagner and his soldiers of the city defense force were all wearing the same steel plate leather armor as the players and carrying player-exclusive steel knives.

"Ehhh? Aren't these the elite monsters we've encountered before? Are they on our side now?" one player exclaimed in surprise.

Another player, out of habit, used Identify. "Wow, they really are friendly. Their names are in green!"

"Whoa, NPCs who know they can't beat us join us? Are they that intelligent?"

"Awesome!"