Chapter 12 Clouds of War

The game ended early not long after we left the competition map, because the last remaining team came back gloriously. There were originally five teams in the competition area, but four teams were suddenly missing. The remaining teams could only collect points by collecting soul stones. Unfortunately, the difficulty of collecting soul stones during the competition was shared by everyone. In other words, no matter which team we get the stone, the next task will become difficult. It just so happens that we and the Gun God Alliance got a bunch of soul stones in one breath. The remaining team will go to find the stone, and the difficulty will be natural. It’s an infinite rise, so it’s normal for them to hang back so quickly.

The system tallied the points for us. Our guild ranked first, the Holy Spear Alliance ranked second, and the last guild that failed ranked third. As for the two guilds that we failed, of course they were directly eliminated. The system prompts that the final test of the next phase will be conducted using special tasks, and the specific execution method will suddenly start at any point in time within a period of time. Just like the first phase, the system will probably be lax in our three guilds. time to conduct a surprise attack, otherwise there would be no need not to tell us any information.

After announcing the results of the battle, it was time to distribute the prizes. There are many bonus items this time, some of which are optional. The first item among the non-optional items is for all participants to upgrade to three levels, and the percentage of experience points after the upgrade will remain unchanged. I was level 982 before, but this time I was raised to level 985, which is a huge advantage. Players of my level need astronomical amounts of experience every time they level up. The purpose of replenishing levels is useful for us even if we don’t directly add attributes. In addition, because I had two sizes in the same body, I took advantage of it. I actually got two copies of this third level, and the big and small sizes were upgraded at the same time.

The second non-optional reward is an experience card for each person. This thing is actually a leveling area specially prepared for you. Activate the card when you see fit, and then you can send yourself into the mission space. This kind of mission space is independent and not connected to the normal map. The monsters in it are also completely designed according to personal characteristics, which is especially suitable for card users to practice. For example, it would be very difficult for professional priest players to level up. It would be difficult for them to level up without someone to bring them. However, in this kind of card, the system will modify the monster attributes so that priests can also play easily, so in this thing Leveling up inside will be much faster than outside. Moreover, this kind of card also has the option of experience multiplier, it depends on how you decide. The higher the experience multiplier you choose, the stronger the enemy. If you are not afraid of being thrown out without being able to kill a single monster, you can consider having a super experience with ten thousand times the experience. Of course, I won't do that.

The third reward is ten good guy cards per person. This kind of good guy card is also a magic equipment. Just burn it when using it. After the card is lit, it will continue to burn for an hour. During this period, attacking any enemy will not increase the evil value, and third-party NPCs will never 'step in' to help your enemies. It will only help you attack your enemies. Of course, if it's in the other party's city, that won't work. Because this thing is only useful for third-party NPCs, not for hostile force NPCs.

The last two are optional bonuses. The first is to choose a special piece of equipment. The system gives us a long list of options for us to decide. Anyway, each person can only have one, so it doesn’t matter if it’s repeated. Another optional reward is a bunch of pills. The so-called optional reward is actually almost like a wild guess. There are at least a hundred pills in that pile, and each one has a different effect. What you get depends on luck. What reassures us a little is that all the pills here only have benefits, at least they won't be poisonous or anything like that.

After receiving the fixed rewards, everyone begins to choose their own optional rewards. A space door appeared in front of me. After walking in, I entered a large armory. Everything I saw were optional items. As long as I took any of them and left the armory, I had chosen. As for picking up a few more items, that's simply impossible, because you can't pick them up unless you put down the item you're holding.

Originally, I planned to get the most expensive equipment, after all, what I have on me is top quality. This kind of mission will not give too exaggerated prizes, and there will be no equipment that surpasses my own. I can even go back and sell the most expensive ones. However, this idea could not be realized, because the eternal sword spirit suddenly took a fancy to a sword hanging on the wall and insisted on merging with that sword. I had no choice but to take the sword out.

This sword looks very strange. It has no entity. Except for the hilt, the whole thing is a sword-shaped black mist. I tried it with my hands. You can actually pass through it. It's a complete shadow. Sometimes if you use more force, the mist that makes up the sword body will be completely blown away, and it will take a long time before it can regroup.

"Eternity. What do you want this thing for? You are already strong. Even if you still want to fuse, you don't have to use such a weak sword, right?"

Eternity vibrated in my hand and responded to my question: "What I want is not as simple as this sword. What I want is its special attributes. The name of this sword is Soul Killing, and it only targets the incorporeal." It has an effect on undead creatures, and when faced with the undead, its lethality is many times more powerful than ordinary weapons. But this cannot completely cover up its weaknesses. This sword is completely useless when faced with physical weapons, because it is simply useless. It can’t hurt anyone. However, once I fully integrate with it, it will be different.”

"What's the difference?"

"After fusing it, I will gain the ability to blur. In the past, master, when you encountered an enemy whose weapons were far different from mine, you would cut off the opponent's weapon directly, but among the people we have encountered for so long, this is not the case. Everyone is holding junk weapons, and some people’s weapons are also very strong. At this time, I often have to attack multiple times to cause damage to the opponent. Isn’t this terrible?”

"It's bad, but it can't be helped! Besides, I don't rely on your sharpness to fight. Even though you are strong, I still rely on my own skills to fight. In the past, you couldn't cut iron like clay. Aren’t I using it just as well?”

"That's true, but after fusing this sword, I can gain the ability to blur, and you no longer have to worry about other people's weapons. Don't talk about weapons that are not as good as mine, even if the other party is sharper than me, we Don't be afraid, because I can blur it at will. For example, if the opponent is wearing an invincible armor, you can't penetrate it. At this time, I can blur it. Once I blur the armor, it can't block my shadow, and Once the phantom enters the opponent's body, I can quickly materialize and directly damage the opponent's internal organs, what do you think of this?"

"Don't you mean to ignore defense?"

"General equipment that ignores defense is actually just an attribute. It only partially ignores defense. I am different. I can really completely ignore the opponent's defense and attack. In the future, you want me to hold up the enemy's weapons. I can hold it. If you want me to penetrate other people's shields and armors, I can penetrate them. Nothing can stop me. You can even cut the person behind the other person through a person without hurting the person in front. .Wouldn’t it be very convenient in case of something like kidnapping a hostage?”

"That's true. Then you should fuse it quickly! I've taken it out for you anyway."

"Of course I want to fuse right away, but don't you have anything to do now?" Eternal asked seriously.

"What can happen to me?"

Eternal immediately said: "Then let's talk about it first. The fusion will take more than thirty hours. During this period, I will be completely unusable. You have to think carefully. If there is a situation that requires fighting, it is best to avoid it first. , or make do with other weapons for a while."

"Don't worry. I still have the Blade Claw and the Moon Blade. If I can't, I can switch to the Silver Moon state and use the staff."

"Then I will start to fuse. Okay, I will call you." After Eternal said, it immediately exploded into red threads all over the sky like a bomb, and then completely enveloped the sword exuding black mist with a hula. , then quickly contracted into a ball shape, rolled back and jumped onto my back into the groove prepared for him. It seems that Eternity will be useless within thirty hours.

After solving the equipment reward, the next step is the medicine reward. This is simple. Anyway, I don’t know which one is better, and I don’t even need to compare them. Just take one. My luck was neither good nor bad. I got an experience medicine, which doubled all the experience points I gained within seven days after taking it. It happens that we are about to build a forward base in the United States and start a fight with the Americans. This kind of large-scale war will escalate the fastest. Then if I get double experience, I might be able to reach level 1,000 within seven days.

After everyone finished deciding on their own reward projects, we convened a simple meeting with the guild backbone, and finally decided to place the newly rewarded replica of Isinger between Eureka City and Koramas City. And named it Panshi City, which means indestructible. In reality, this is the Sequoia National Park in the United States. The terrain is relatively flat and there are no too high mountains. However, in the game, this place is completely full of hills. Moreover, there is a large area of ​​dense primitive jungle nearby, which is definitely not a place suitable for large groups to fight. Placing a city in such a place can ensure maximum defensive security. Anyone who wants to attack the city must first clear these mountains, otherwise large corps will not be able to deploy at all. In addition, not far to the east of here is the most famous West Coast Mountain Line in the United States. The continuous mountainous areas will make it very troublesome to gather large groups. Even if they cannot reduce the number of enemies, they can at least stretch their force lines very long. Reduce the enemy's attack power per unit time.

In fact, this location is also a 'forced' choice. Originally, according to our most perfect plan, this rock city should not be close to the coast at all. The American fleet is not as easy to deal with as the little RB's fleet. And the worst thing is that our fleet has to cross the Pacific to fight with them. This battleship is too long, and we will suffer a lot in the fight. Our original plan was to place Rock City in the inland area, which would save a lot of work without having to worry about the battle at sea. However, when we later notified the system to place the city, we were told that the terrain did not match. We asked for help and found out that Essinger is a seaport city with a port, and Rock City is a complete replica of Essinger, so Rock City is also a seaport city. When placing a city, the system can make slight adjustments to the surrounding terrain according to the city's conditions and simulate a suitable location to place the city, but the system cannot change it too exaggeratedly. The uneven coastline system can be adjusted, but it is simply impossible to build a port city where there is no water. Therefore, the system requires that even if we are not close to the sea, it must be at least a large lake or a wide enough river. Anyway, it cannot be without water. water area.

We want to put Rock City inland because we don't want to be harassed by the American fleet. At least our fleet can still compete with the Americans at sea. If we put it on the inner lake or the edge of the river, it will be completely different. Ruined. Americans have warships in their lakes and rivers. Our fleet can't enter the inner lake, and Panshi City will be besieged on all sides by then. It's better to leave it on the beach and still let the fleet help.

After determining the location, we can't throw the city away right away, otherwise the time to defend the land will start counting down immediately, and we have to prepare some things first. The copied Rock City has a complete set of weapons, equipment and war resources, but there is no one there, so once the city is abandoned, it must start to replenish personnel immediately. Fortunately, localized cities can use ordinary domestic teleportation arrays, and we can immigrate quickly. But you have to prepare NPCs in advance, and you have to start transporting them as soon as the city appears.

In addition to ordinary NPCs, what is more important is the movement of combat NPCs. Our guild has made a lot of money during this period, and Rose has also begun to spend money lavishly, introducing heavenly soldiers and generals worth one billion crystal coins from heaven in one breath. When the Jade Emperor heard that he was helping our country to expand territory, he waved his hand and gave me a discount on the original price. As a result, our military strength was doubled. in addition. Heaven seems to attach great importance to our overseas development, and even moved out all the good things at the bottom of the box for us.

When the Heavenly Court handed over the heavenly soldiers, they brought us a Bagua Mirror. It is said to be a super weapon used when the Heavenly Court was established. It is said to be able to summon the ghost army to fight. When I looked at the attributes, I saw what kind of ghost army it was! This thing is completely a spiritual weapon formation that uses the energy of the dead to operate. Anyone who dies in the war within a certain range near it, no matter which side they belong to, will have their souls sucked into the Bagua Mirror to serve as energy source, and then the Bagua Mirror can release ghost soldiers to join the battle. The most perverted thing about this thing is that it can be made in plural. Basically, for every person who dies on the battlefield, there are ten more ghost soldiers on our side. In other words, more and more people will die. However, it is not a heaven-defying thing. Although the ghost soldiers it creates are large in number, their level is not high and they are purely used to cause trouble.

In addition to this mirror, the Jade Emperor also gave me ten carts of talismans. The writing on these talismans is not ghost-suppressing words, but hardness-enhancing spells. The Jade Emperor asked me to stick this thing on the inside of the city wall. It can increase the hardness of the city wall and offset part of the magic damage.

Exploring territory means increasing the guild territory for us, and it also increases their territory for Heaven. That’s why the Jade Emperor was so generous and gave me so many good things by selling and giving away land. In normal times, just this piece of talisman paper might cost hundreds of crystal coins, but now the whole car is given away for free. I wonder where the people are trying to figure out whether the Jade Emperor got a kickback.

Of course, the other allies of the guild cannot be too shabby if Heavenly Court gives them such face. The Monster Alliance sent us hundreds of tons of pills in one go. Originally, I thought it was to strengthen our attributes. I almost ate one, but luckily Shuixu's quick-eyed monster snatched it away. After asking, I found out that this food is not for ordinary players and combat NPCs. Instead, it is given to free NPCs. Under normal circumstances, free NPCs are a group of NPCs with no combat effectiveness at all. They play the role of ordinary citizens in the city, making the game world more real. But this kind of 'medicine' can quickly turn the free NPC that eats it into a savage and cruel monster, with combat power that can compete with players of level 400 or 500. Although the current player levels are generally above level 600, there are so many people! It can be said that free NPCs are available as much as they want, and they don't cost money. If you grab a handful, it will not be a problem to produce hundreds of millions of monsters with these hundreds of tons of medicine. In addition, according to Shui Xu, this thing is not a garbage monster created by light energy. About every 100 people will produce an enhanced version of the monster, which can be as good as a level 600 player. In addition, there may be one super monster for every ten thousand people, whose combat power is approximately equal to that of a level 900 player, or even stronger.

Although the combat power can be said to be very good, the monster beast is actually just a auxiliary means. According to Shui Xu, monster beasts have no intelligence at all and only rely on instinct to fight. Therefore, once they fight, they will not distinguish between ourselves and the enemy. Except for monster beasts who will not fight with each other, they will not recognize anyone. However, Rose quickly worked out a way for us to maximize the monster's ability, which was to transport it by air and throw it into the enemy's base camp. When that time comes, we will see which guild comes to attack the city, and we will throw a bunch of monsters into the city where their guild belongs. If the lair is in a hurry, we will see if they continue to stay and fight with us or go back to put out the fire. In addition, it is also a good idea to directly airdrop the monsters into the center or rear of the enemy's position. Anyway, these guys have no brains. Being surrounded will not affect their morale, but will only cause them to cause greater chaos.

After the demons and Heavenly Court expressed their opinions, China's Dark Temple and Light Temple also expressed their opinions respectively. However, these two families are not very strong in their own right, and their relationship with us is not sure, so they don't give much. The Dark Temple has added a thousand shadow killers to us, specifically to help us assassinate enemy leaders. In comparison, the Temple of Light is more practical. It has added 100,000 priests to us in one breath. Although it has no combat effectiveness, it can make our forward troops more durable and have a great impact on the battle situation.

After running the Heavenly Court, we started to run the major guilds respectively. Hong Yue was in charge of the Hot Blood Alliance, Rose was in charge of the Northern Alliance, and I sent the Iron Crusaders. These three major allies had to win over us no matter what. The final result was slightly different from what was expected. Feng Yin Piaomiao is a hot-blooded person anyway. After being strongly encouraged by Hong Yue, this sister, she completely jumped on our tank. When the time comes, all guild players will be dispatched and a large number of NPCs will be purchased to participate in the war. Not to mention Ashford's Iron Crusaders. When they heard that they could fight with the Americans, the entire guild seemed very excited. These guys had long wanted to fight the Americans to test their combat effectiveness. Finally got the chance. You can get money for helping us fight, and the Americans can't anger them. After all, they are just helpers. Even if the Americans find trouble, they are looking for us, and they will not be found. Ashford promised to dispatch the entire fleet and more than 80% of the players in the guild. In addition, he will mobilize a large number of defensive weapons and NPC legions to assist us in the battle.

The only problem was with the Northern Alliance. Several major forces within the Northern Alliance have serious differences of opinion with each other. Some people believe that it is not appropriate to start a war with the Americans prematurely and that good cooperative relations should be maintained for the time being. Another party believes that a forward base will only make the Americans face up to our strength, and will not really annoy them. It can make the Americans pay more attention to us, so they support sending troops. There is also a group of centrists who have been undecided and want to fight but are afraid of getting into trouble.

Rose and Yanyu talked for a whole day. Yanyu still wanted to join the war, but their guild was different from ours. The Northern Alliance is a bit like the original Anti-Japanese United Front. It is a guild alliance composed of multiple guilds. It is not exactly a guild. Its internal affiliation is not too strict, and it cannot decide things like our guild. However, Yanyu at least promised to mobilize his men to participate in the battle, but it was uncertain how many people could come.

We also know the difficulties of misty rain. He is different from us. Our guild is supported by Rose's strong economic skills and my absolute strength. Such a guild has a strong sense of belonging. It can be said that members can hit wherever I point. Feng Yin Piaomiao's blood alliance was formed by a group of like-minded people, including Feng Yin Piaomiao himself, a strong man in charge of the economy, so unified command was naturally no problem. Ashford's Iron Crusade was established entirely with Ashford's own money. It was completely like a sole proprietorship owned by him. As long as he was happy, no one could say anything. But Yanyu is different. The development of the Northern Alliance is based on the background that companies outside the game discovered in-game business opportunities and poured into the game. It can be said that the Northern Alliance is a defense force established by a business group to protect its own economic interests. Its leader should actually be money, not people. Yanyu is just a temporary person, and his orders are not absolute. Of course no one will object to his intentions when they can see the benefits, but if they can't see the direct benefits, the companies behind him may not be willing to support him. There is nothing that can be done about it.

After three days of busy work, everything was finally ready. Eternity had also recovered from the fusion. It was time to fight.