Chapter 231: 234 The Edge Of Defeat

"Thank you all for coming."

The voice came from the figure that entered through a secret passage that only just then revealed itself from the colossal dragon statue.

It was a man; dressed in pristine, silver robes and scale-like, quartz armor with flowing, snow-white hair that was kept neatly-kempt by a hairpin. By every metric, his appearance was fair and beautiful; he had the beauty of a princess yet the handsomeness of a prince.

[Hero of Scalyue, Zhuge | Level 47]

The red-haired assassin stayed by one of the pillars, standing alongside his comrades as he kept to himself, merely spectating with his arms folded over his chest.

"Hero", huh? He's certainly got the stats to back a title like that up, Jeong-Hui thought.

All eyes were on him; a couple thousand players were present in the chamber, but it was by no means cramped by their presence.

"I am eternally gratitude to those that have decided to show up," Zhuge said, "I wish all of your kind would have arrived here, but nonetheless, your presence here is a great courtesy to me and the kingdom of Scalyue."

Unnoticed before were additional figures that stood beside Zhuge; figures clad in armor with their faces hidden, who seemed to be bodyguards of some sort for the unknown man.

One of the people in the room abrasively called out, a man with spiky, beige hair, "Who the hell are you? I mean, summoning all of us out here?"

"Stay your tongue–"

One of the guards beside Zhuge said, stepping forward, but the snow-haired one bearing the title of "Hero" held his arm out, stopping them.

"It's alright," Zhuge said, speaking to all of those within the vast, sacred chamber, "I understand you may be confused as to why you're here–both in this chamber and in this land."

A few players called out in response:

"Yeah, you can say that."

"Get on with it."

"What's in it for us? I mean…for whatever you want us to do."

Though a lot of people seemed to have something to say, it was quelled as somebody stepped forward–a man with a level appropriate enough to cause the naysayers to silence.

[Mallan | Level 44]

The sight of the dark-skinned, red-haired man, with a prince-like fairness of his own, and his level, caused murmurs to start between the people in the meeting chamber, but they fell silent.

"If you can explain to us what we have to do to move forward, please do," Mallan said.

Zhuge looked at the man for a moment with his sapphire eyes before nodding, "Of course. First, let me introduce myself. I am Zhuge Shouwei, the acting emperor of Scalyue."

This introduction stirred up a reaction from those in the chamber, even a surprise to the red-haired assassin.

"Acting emperor?" Korain mumbled.

"So he's a big shot? I already knew that," Yeong-Un gloated.

With murmurs settling down, Zhuge continued, "While I am not of the royal bloodline, I am a warrior in which the people of Scalyue trusts. It is due to the unfortunate illness in which the Emperor has been afflicted with that I must lead in his stead–however! This information is a secret."

"A secret? I see," Mallan said, squinting, "Saving face, then?"

"Precisely," Zhuge confirmed, "If the enemy learned of our Emperor's condition, it would spread like wildfire. The morale of the people would diminish and our enemy would take advantage of that."

"Who's this 'enemy"?" A player dressed in full-armor asked.

"Yeah, enemy?" Another asked.

Again, chattering erupted, but silenced as Mallan raised his hand as if invoking quietness throughout the room, allowing the acting emperor to answer.

"I have met with all of you here in secrecy–mainly because that's the least I can do. It was through the will of the warlocks of Scalyue that we made a pact with "God" to request the aid of warriors such as yourself," Zhuge explained, "The enemy we face is the empire of Yinlong–a malicious kingdom built on ruthlessness, evil, and greed."

Though the explanation of a pact with "God" being formed was said, most seemed to understand what was truly happening, and the reason behind it.

"...A pact, huh?" Korain said.

He nodded, "I assume they don't know they're a part of the "Tower"--God had this all planned from the beginning."

It seemed no matter what sort of explanation came, a lot of people were disgruntled, but there were those who simply looked unmoved by any information, like Guozhi, who sat with that same idle expression on his face.

Zhuge continued, "I know it's unfair to involve outsiders in a conflict like this–"

"You're damn right it is!"

"Yeah–don't drag us into your mess!"

Though some were outward in their distaste for this information, they were merely the loud minority that was quickly silenced as Mallan glanced back, shooting a glare at those that spoke out.

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"I understand your frustrations well, truly," Zhuge said, "However, you will all be treated with utmost respect within Scalyue. You have my word–you will be fed, given homes to sleep in, whatever it is–if you fight in this battle. I know I am not simply dragging you into this fight against your will."

"--?" Mallan looked at him.

"'God' was clear in his message. You are all on a path through a series of trials; this is one of them. Though it may be fate that you were brought here, and your destiny to fight–I want to welcome you with open arms and work alongside you," Zhuge said.

It was a surprise to the red-haired man, and to many others in the room at the fact that the acting emperor seemed to know that much.

He knows…we have to fight anyway? So this is all a formality, then, he thought.

"I know the condition that must be met in order for you all to ascend to your next trial," Zhuge announced, speaking loudly now.

Those words were enough to silence any hecklers as they all listened in closely; in this foreign world devoid of information, they were about to receive what was the most pivotal information of it all.

Zhuge's voice boomed, "In order to ascend from this world, the emperor of Yinlong–Jiao-Long–will need to be slain, and the Yinlong Dragon Tablet destroyed!"

Immediately, this announcement caused chatter throughout the room as many players began discussing what this meant.

"Emperor? Like him?"

"Dragon Tablet? Is this like an 'RPG' or something?...Wait, it totally is already."

"Sounds like a pain."

"I'm down."

"Shut up!"

–Now, it was Guozhi who finally stepped forward, standing by Mallan as one of the few that was confident enough to stand before the acting emperor with his own words.

"I've been to Yinglong–specifically, I've seen those colossal walls around the capital," Guozhi said, "What you're saying we must do isn't going to be a simple task."

Zhuge nodded, seeming a little surprised that the man had seen the enemy capital, "That's correct. In order to reach Emperor Jiao-Long, you will likely have to vanquish the 'Twelve Winged Generals'--that's a task that not even Scalyue has been able to achieve as a nation."

"I've defeated one of them," Guozhi said.

"What?" Zhuge's eyes widened.

Most players didn't understand what this meant, as the identity and strength of the Twelve Generals wasn't common knowledge, but Zhuge knew well what kind of accomplishment this was.

"...I can tell, you're not lying," Zhuge said.

"--" Guozhi looked at him.

"I see," Zhuge smiled, "How fortunate that we've been blessed with such capable allies. What's your name?"

"Guozhi," the man calmly said.

"Guozhi? I see. I will keep in direct contact with you–and you?" Zhuge said, looking over at the red-haired man.

The dark-skinned player glanced over with his bored expression, "Mallan."

"Mallan? I see. Henceforth, you two will be the representatives of your people," Zhuge said, "I will invite you two to my keep for strategic discussions–I trust that you two will relay this to the others here."

"Fine by me," Guozhi said.

"Sounds like a pain, but sure," Mallan nodded.

For the red-haired assassin, who was able to listen in closely, unlike the others who could only pick up half of what was being said, it felt like he was being left out, but he also didn't mind missing out on extra responsibility.

…Two level forty players–yeah, I'll leave that kind of stuff to them, he thought.

Zhuge raised his azure fan up as his snowy locks cascaded down his shoulders, "This concluded the Advent Dawn! From this day on, the Yinlong Empire is your enemy! We will stand together against their imperialism! I suggest you rest well and train your bodies–a war is ahead of us all!"

It was with that that the true nature of the first floor revealed itself at last:

[The War Between Two Kingdoms]

–

[Wildlands of Yinglong | Sol & Xiaodan]

Held by the undead fiends, Sol and Xiaodan were pressed back-to-back, having to desperately attack to gain what little space they could. Though having to continuously move back, they were separated from Tsukikage, being pressed by the swarm of undead.

"Did you feel that?! It just got really cold-!" Sol shouted.

"Yeah! I think that was Tsukikage!" Xiaodan replied.

"--Let's just hope he wins!" He added.

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