NOVEL NEXT Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Major Powers Gather
Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Major Powers Gather
"No need," John said, glancing at the players trailing behind. He even recognized a few familiar faces, like Aron.
He didn't consider these people a threat at all.
Ritchie establishing a city? These players could serve as free advertising.
In the forest, monsters occasionally appeared, attacking the players.
John's formidable strength was evident as no monster could withstand his magic attacks.
The soldiers behind him were astonished, whispering among themselves, speculating about John's identity.
"Who is this freak?"
"You don't know? He's the top-ranked Godslayer, the Wrath of the Gods Mage!"
"He's Godslayer?"
The crowd buzzed with excitement, their curiosity about John growing.
"Why does the captain call him boss? Is he more powerful than the captain?"
Several of Ritchie's admirers eyed John with suspicion.
One spoke up, "I heard that when Gaia established Imperial City, it was our captain and Godslayer who destroyed it together."
"How could the two of them manage that? Isn't it said online that the captain led the Flame Legion and took advantage of the situation to destroy Imperial City?"
"Idiot, we're the Flame Legion. Were you even part of that operation?"
"Shh, keep it down. Godslayer is looking this way."
"Hey, do you think we can get Godslayer's autograph?"
...
John was bemused by the chatter behind him, doubting these were the elite soldiers Ritchie had described.
He forged ahead, quickly arriving at The Land of Darkness.
A dark-themed city stood tall.
Ritchie, astonished, exclaimed, "Boss, you've already established a city?"
John didn't elaborate and entered the city.
Inside, there were no monsters.
This was demon race territory, and though John had eradicated the demons, their fearsome reputation remained, deterring any monsters from approaching.
"You'll guard this area," Ritchie instructed his troops. "No players allowed. Anyone who tries to force their way in, kill them without mercy." After issuing his orders, he followed John into the city.
In the city square, John emptied the 2nd-tier equipment he had collected over the days. Slash...
The clinking sound of metal echoed as a small mountain of gear formed.
Thank goodness John had a Storage Ring; otherwise, he couldn't have carried so much.
Ritchie was stunned, asking, "Boss, did you rob some city?"
John replied coolly, "I'll sell these to you at a 20% discount."
"Deal!" Ritchie's eyes sparkled with excitement as he agreed without hesitation.
Most of the equipment was top-quality 2nd-tier gear.
Since most players were around level 20 and hadn't yet reached the 2nd tier, these items would be highly sought after.
Once the Flame Legion soldiers upgraded their gear, Ritchie could make a significant profit from reselling the old equipment.
John continued, "There are also a lot of enhancement stones, embedded gems, and other materials in the warehouse here. You can take care of them."
"No problem," Ritchie replied, his eyes glued to the pile of equipment with a constant smile on his face.
This equipment was enough to arm over four thousand soldiers, significantly boosting the strength of their legion.
However, even with this gear, relying solely on their current strength to withstand the monster tide wasn't realistic.
Ritchie's greatest reliance was on those beasts.
After distributing the equipment, everyone continued their tasks.
Reinforcing the walls, setting traps, digging moats-doing everything possible to impede the monster tide's attack.
John knew these measures would offer little help against the monster tide, but he didn't stop them.
"Captain," a somewhat frail soldier hurried over, noticing John and nodding in acknowledgment before addressing Ritchie respectfully.
"We've scouted the surrounding players. There are over 130,000, with more still arriving. Among them are significant forces like Mike White Family, Demon Emperor's Heavenless Guild, Butcher's City of Sin, and the Griffin Family from the Ancient Martial Arts world!"
"So many?" Ritchie was surprised. Last time Gaia established a city, only around 20,000 adventurers came to watch.
This time, 130,000 had gathered.
But he wasn't worried. With the blood-red demon wolf and other beasts on their side, any weak players causing trouble would be killed without mercy.
"Go keep an eye on them and report any developments immediately," Ritchie ordered, dismissing the soldier. He then turned to John and asked, "Boss, should we take action against these players now?"
The Mike White Family had been causing trouble for the Flame Legion recently, and Ritchie was itching for a fight.
"No need for now," John said, taking out the City Building Order and handing it to Ritchie. "Let's focus on establishing the city."
Ritchie didn't take it immediately. "Boss, you should be the leader of the Flame Guild. With you in charge, no one would dare defy us."
"No need. Just give me the vice-leader position," John declined. He needed to establish his
own force.
A guild leader could only establish one faction, but a vice-leader could hold positions in up to three guilds simultaneously.
"Alright, you'll always be the boss of the Flame Guild," Ritchie agreed, using the City Building Order immediately.
The City of Darkness could only be transferred to Ritchie's control after using the City
Building Order.
[You have used the City Building Order on an unclaimed city. Would you like to rename it?]
"Flame City," Ritchie declared, having already decided on the name.
Buzz!
A glow enveloped the area, and an altar formed in the main square.
This altar was the city's core.
If destroyed, the city would disappear.
[Announcement: Player Ritchie has established Flame City. In one hour, it will face a monster
tide attack. Defend the city for 12 hours to succeed.]
...
Three consecutive announcements echoed throughout the world of Gods.
Ritchie looked at the rising altar, feeling a surge of excitement.
"Captain!" The same soldier returned, saluting respectfully. "A team has arrived, claiming to
be from the Blues Family. They want to help us defend the city."
"The Blues Family?" Ritchie was taken aback and looked at John. This must have something
to do with him.
"Let's go and greet them," John said, heading towards the gate.
The Blues Family was an Ancient Martial Arts family of considerable status, deserving a
personal welcome.
At the gate, a team of three thousand people stood in orderly formation, led by Armstrong.
Sini and Tracy were also among them.
Tracy looked shy, her head lowered, sneaking glances at John.
After last night's events, she still felt like she was in a dream.
But with occasional discomfort reminding her that it was all real.
She wasn't sure how to face John.
"Brother-in-law?" Armstrong stared at John for a while before recognizing him, then warmly
greeted him.
Ritchie looked Armstrong up and down, finding him familiar, then suddenly remembered and exclaimed, "Blues Family's young master, Armstrong!"
"Looks like you must be Ritchie," Armstrong said casually, not surprised that Ritchie
recognized him. He knew the military's capabilities.
Ritchie clasped his fists in gratitude. "Thank you, Young Master Li, for your assistance. I,
Ritchie, won't forget this favor."
Armstrong waved it off. "No problem, I'm helping my brother-in-law."
He winked at John.
He felt a bit exasperated by Armstrong's bluntness.
Ritchie didn't mind, but he noticed something. "Why are all your people melee fighters?"
John observed too. These three thousand Ancient Martial Arts disciples were all warriors, knights, or assassins-pure melee fighters.
For this monster tide defense, players weren't the main force. Most were ranged attackers
positioned on the walls to minimize casualties.
Facing third-tier monsters with second-tier strength was almost suicidal.
Ritchie's father's reinforcements were all ranged fighters.
Armstrong shrugged. "Don't worry, our Ancient Martial Arts disciples aren't afraid of dying."
Ritchie frowned, sensing a slight against his own soldiers' courage.
"Alright, let's head to the walls and formulate our strategy," John interrupted, leading the
way to the city walls.
Sini held onto Tracy, following closely behind John.
The task of formulating the battle strategy was left to Ritchie and Armstrong.
John connected with Death Land and summoned Anna and the others.
Buzz!
With a flash of light, over six hundred powerful elves and two beasts appeared, startling
everyone.
One was the black dragon Avis, and the other was a pure white flood dragon.
John had learned that it was Princess Ada's pet, named Judy.
"Benefactor!" Anna smiled as she approached John, with Black Turtle following behind her.
The old man had a bruised face, clearly beaten, likely by Judy.
With these two seventh-tier powerhouses, John felt more confident about resisting the
monster tide.
"So familiar... This is Skyline Continent! Haha, I'm finally back..." Ada took a deep breath and
laughed maniacally, causing the surrounding soldiers to step back and glance at her
frequently.
Ritchie frowned, moving closer to John and whispering, "Boss, who is this woman?"
"A lunatic, just ignore her," John replied, regretting having let her out.
Ada, overhearing John's words, looked displeased. She raised her head arrogantly and said,
"Your name is Godslayer, right? Are these soldiers you gathered for me?"
"Sort of," John said through gritted teeth, feeling annoyed.
Initially reluctant to subdue this princess, he now wanted to humiliate this haughty woman
using a man's methods to completely conquer her.
But with Judy watching intently, he dared not act rashly.
"Old man," John whispered to Black Turtle, "can you handle this? Can you help me take down
this woman?"
Black Turtle looked embarrassed, glancing at Judy. "Kid, it's tricky. Judy's strength is also
increasing. But I have some tricks. Help me find some herbs, and I can poison them!" John looked at him with disdain. This old man was so shameless, resorting to such underhanded methods when he couldn't win in a fight.