“Nie Yan, what do we do about Half-Demon Angud? He isn’t just going to sit still because we’re fighting Angel Corps and the Century Financial Group,” Bladelight asked, concerned that Nie Yan had forgotten something that definitely could not be ignored.

“Why haven’t the Righteous Faction NPCs taken any action yet? Logically speaking, they should be infuriated with an existence like Angud rampaging around on the surface,” Smoke Stub remarked.

“As long as he’s only targeting our players and not attacking any NPC settlements, the Righteous Faction won’t come out,” Nie Yan explained. These were the system’s rules.

“Then what do we do?”

“Easy. We kill Angud first before declaring war on Angel Corps!” Nie Yan replied, his eyes flashing with an icy cold killing intent.

“How though? Tell us.”

“Boss, we’ll listen to you!”

“I want all of you guys to mobilize half your forces. I’ll give each of you a mission. Sleepy Fox, your goal is the City of Fog. I won’t be able to lend any reinforcements to support you. So, be careful,” Nie Yan said.

“Understood! Leave it to me. We’ll take the City of Fog down!” Sleepy Fox said in high spirits.

Nie Yan continued on with this plan for the guilds in the alliance, “Nightbreak, you and your Radiant Sacred Flame will hit the City of Black Magic in the territory of the taurens.

“Battle Crazed Alliance, you’ll be supporting Radiant Sacred Flame.

“War God Tribe and Sapphire Shrine, your goal is going to be the Forest City in the elven territory.

“Remember this, all of you, if you encounter Angel Corps’ forces, do not engage under any circumstances and withdraw immediately. I’ll have Guo Huai support you with the latest intel.”

“Understood!” Kill Love, Fa Lan, and the others nodded.

“Now for the branch guilds: Mages United, Priests United, Warriors United, Paladins United, and Thieves United. The five of you will be in charge of attacking the six cities under the Century Financial Group’s control.

“All of Asskickers United’s troops will remain on standby and await my commands. Our target is Angel Corps’ territory.

“The other half of our forces will be in charge of defending Okoron against any countertacks by the enemy!” Nie Yan said.

“You’re only bringing our core force? Will they be enough?” Guo Huai asked worriedly.

“Yes. It’s enough,” Nie Yan said confidently.

For the sake of consolidating their rule in the Viridian Empire, Asskickers United had no choice but to rapidly expand, causing their membership to grow to over 500,000. Naturally, there were both good and bad people mixed in. Nie Yan’s true force numbered around only 100,000. They were Asskickers United’s core, having followed him through thick and thin. More importantly, their gear was a cut above the rest. Most of them were wearing twinked gear. Their average level was also around Level 130. They were true elites, any one of them could take on multiple players from other guilds.

His core of 100,000 players was enough. Increased numbers didn’t always translate to increased strength, considering the difficulty in coordinating them and issuing battle commands.

“Charging into Angel Corps’ territory with only a hundred thousand. Damn, as expected of the Mad Rogue.” Sleepy Fox clicked his tongue in admiration.

“Don’t look down on these 100,000 players. Through the course of this year, Nirvana Flame has probably invested at least a billion gold into them, and that’s not even counting all the potions, scrolls, and other consumables we provide them,” Guo Huai chimed in. Nie Yan had put in a lot of blood and sweat into nurturing these players.

“My god! A hundred thousand players and a billion gold?” Everyone was dumbstruck. In other words, that meant Nie Yan had spent at least 10,000 gold on every player.

Normally, 10,000 gold was more than enough to purchase a decent piece of Sub Legendary-grade equipment or a high quality set of Dark Gold-grade equipment!

If Guo Huai’s words were to believed, the battle prowess of the hundred thousand could not be underestimated!

Apart from his core force, Nie Yan still had many tricks up his sleeve. If Soaring Angel would vomit blood if he knew what was coming for him.

Everyone erupted with excitement. It was the dawn of war against Angel Corps! The decisive battle to determine the ruler of the Righteous Faction!

The guild chat flooded with messages discussing the eve of war. The alliance was mobilizing! They could sense the storm brewing in the air.

...

Angel Corps guild headquarters, Soaring Angel received a report from a subordinate.

“Boss, we just received word that Asskickers United is preparing to declare war!”

“Pay close attention to their movements. If there’s any information, report it immediately!” Soaring Angel roared out.

“Yes sir!” The subordinate retreated.

Soaring Angel slumped back into his throne with a brooding expression on his face. Even though he knew this day would arrive eventually, now that it had, he couldn’t describe his current emotions, be it anxiousness and fear or excitement and desire to do battle. This was the life-or-death battle for Angel Corps! If they were defeated, then all his effort up until now would go up in smoke!

War was unavoidable!

Soaring Angel clenched his fists so hard the veins on his arms bulged out. He coldly chuckled, a sinister expression on his face. “Nirvana Flame, if you’ve got the guts, come. You’ve kept me waiting long enough!” He felt confident. The final showdown was finally here, and he’d come prepared.

Glancing at his messages, it appeared the Century Financial Group was also mobilizing.

“A fight to death it is, Nirvana Flame,” Soaring Angel muttered, unable to calm down the emotions stirring in his heart.

Asskickers United and Angel Corps started mobilizing their troops on a large scale. The players of the Righteous Faction were shaken. Two empires were about to go to war. This news was like a bomb going off in their hearts. The flames of this war would sweep through every corner of the Atlanta continent!

The forums exploded with activity, with players from both sides flaming each other, hurling insults and memes.

Asskickers United was the crowd favourite. They had the Mad Rogue! But everyone also knew that Angel Corps was no easy prey. It was impossible to guess what cards they were hiding and how many tricks they had up their sleeve. The question at the heart of it all was which side would remain standing at the end.

In various maps across both empires, the frequency of PKing skyrocketed severalfold. The entire Righteous Faction was in chaos.

Back in Okoron, Nie Yan and the other leaders gradually dispersed and busied themselves with their respective tasks.

“What are you planning to do now?” Bladelight asked.

The entire elite team was gathered here. They all wanted to know the answer to this question.

“I’m going to do a quest.”

Everyone was dumbstruck at Nie Yan’s response, and then started to wonder if this was really the right time for leisurely questing.

“Boss, come on. No more quests!”

“Yeah, every time you go off on a quest, you end up disappearing for months! We’re about to go to war with Angel Corps. We need you here!!”

...

Undying Scoundrel, Summer Bug, and the others were all trying to dissuade Nie Yan. No one wanted him pulling his usual disappearing act on them right now.

“Relax. I’m only going to turn in a quest. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.” Nie Yan chuckled.

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“I’m not going to lie. You really had us there in the first half...”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Undying Scoundrel asked.

“Locate Angud for me. When you find him, do your best to lure him to Okoron and warn me. Don’t engage him, tag and run,” Nie Yan said.

“Understood!”

Nie Yan turned to Xie Yao. She wore angelic white robes and emanated a pure and holy aura.

Xie Yao met Nie Yan’s gaze, her eyes carrying indescribable love and warmth.

Nie Yan had no time for his girlfriend. He turned back to Bladelight and said, “Angud has a lockdown skill. Try not to let him get too close!”

Bladelight and the expedition team set out.

Nie Yan prepared some essentials. His destination was Sinful Gorge, where he found Zennarde Sword over two years ago. After obtaining the Holy Spirit Heart, he could finally rescue War God Kelo. Among all NPCs, he was definitely one of the most powerful Nie Yan had ever encountered, a Level 360 Lord. In comparison, Angud was nothing more than an ant.

Nie Yan had no idea if he could convince War God Kelo to help him deal with Angud. Best case scenario, Kelo would agree, and Angud would no longer be an issue. However, Nie Yan wasn’t banking on it. He only held a faint thread of hope.

Donning a cloak, Nie Yan strolled through the streets of Okoron. He saw guild members passing by him. The city was bustling as usual, but tension was thick in the air.

Once word of the imminent war between Asskickers United and Angel Corps broke out, the market price of medicinal plants spiked by 30%. The cost of various gems, high level equipment, and other items also soared.

Where there is war, there is also profit to be made, and the military-industrial complex roared to life.

This conflict was no longer a simple feud between two guilds. It concerned the future of all the players in the Righteous Faction.

After exiting the city gates, Nie Yan summoned the Darkwing Dragon. Hopping on its back, he took off in the air and soared toward Sinful Gorge.

Sinful Gorge hadn’t changed much. Ever more new players were entering the game. For them, this place was a prime grinding spot.

They were scattered all over the map. However, all of them could see the Darkwing Dragon flying through the sky when they turned their heads up. To them, flying mounts were things they could only dream of.

After passing through a narrow ravine, Nie Yan entered Zennarde’s Cenotaph and headed toward War God Kelo’s prison.

The monsters that spawned here no longer posed any threat to Nie Yan. He slaughtered the Skeleton Dragon Priests and made his way back to the lava region. Looking up ahead, he saw War God Kelo still chained to the stele.