### Chapter 3 Return (4)
In the northernmost part of the Sky Void City lies the Taixu City.
Therefore, when Sky Sword City was covered by heavy snow, Taixu City similarly faced a once-in-a-century snowstorm.
Even though the Heavenly Sword Sect quickly closed the city to prevent refugees from entering, the number of NPCs and players inside skyrocketed to a staggering two million—the highest ever!
Taixu City was only half the size of Sky Sword City,
yet it was packed tighter than a can of sardines with nearly two million people.
Outside the city, hundreds of thousands of desperate refugees gathered, merely longing for a warm bowl of soup. The Heavenly Sword Sect felt the pressure mounting.
Luckily, they weren’t like Sky Sword City, which had lost all higher-level control, leaving the whole place in player anarchy.
On top of that, they had implemented an early food rationing system to help the residents. Yet, as time wore on, Taixu City couldn’t help but find itself in a food shortage crisis.
Who could have foreseen such a massive influx of people onto the continent? The stored food was originally just enough for the locals to survive the winter, with maybe a little extra.
But with so many players crashing the party, Taixu City found itself in a tight spot.
One day, they came up with a policy that was bound to stir up some drama.
They decided that player guilds would duel among themselves, with the winners allowed to stay in the city for food rations, while the losers would be kicked out and face the same fate as the refugees.
And just like that, chaos erupted among the players.
No one wanted to end up as the unfortunate sacrificial lamb, so a dozen guilds were huddled together, scheming to take over Taixu City, convinced that the Heavenly Sword Sect must have some hidden reserves they weren’t willing to waste on regular players. This infuriating solution was met with anger.
Dog Head Strong Brother’s Extermination of Immortals Guild initially drew in plenty of players.
But the promised array of beautiful ladies from the Extermination organization never materialized, causing some players with ulterior motives to drop out.
Thanks to the efforts of Li Xiaocong, Si Yan, and Cold Little Rain, the guild did manage to offer slightly better treatment than the others, which kept the core team intact.
But who would have thought the Heavenly Sword Sect would pull such a fast one?
Other guilds were rallying all their forces to attack the Heavenly Sword Sect, and they invited the Extermination of Immortals Guild to join in, leaving Strong Brother in a real pickle.
Since the Heavenly Sword Sect was one of the seven major sects, they had a multitude of skilled players among them.
How could these ordinary players, who had only been in this world for a short time, hope to surpass the expert Golden Core players?
Even if all the guilds banded together, would they really win?
Can a mob outfight a regular army?
He consulted with the other three.
Li Xiaocong said, “I trust what Si Yan says.”
Once adorned in luxury as the main attraction, Si Yan now wore simple clothing, her face lightly made up, giving off an air of tranquility, similar to a serene married woman.
After pondering for a moment, Si Yan replied, “This plan is unwise. Taixu City is not like Sky Sword City. I’ve heard that the Heavenly Sword Sect is trapped in the Small Thousand World, which gave the guilds in Sky Sword City a chance. But the Heavenly Sword Sect has their forces stationed right in the city. To defeat them would at least require ten Golden Core experts.
However, none of the major guilds have anyone above Golden Core.
What do they have to fight against the Heavenly Sword Sect?”
Cold Little Rain chimed in, “Can we just not get involved? Isn’t watching from the sidelines the best option?”
Strong Brother shook his head. “You don’t understand. They’ve set the tone. If any guild decides not to participate, they’ll be put on the elimination list along with us.”
Although Li Xiaocong was a rich kid, after being cut off from the path back to the real world, he’d lost his source of wealth.
His only sustenance now was Si Yan and this family.
He was astounded to find out that the system now allowed actions it previously forbade, even sharing a bed was fine, and he could even have kids in this crazy alternate world.
So, when he heard about the other guilds’ sinister plans, he could hardly contain himself.
He slammed the table and coldly declared, “If they push us too hard, what’s stopping us from throwing in our lot with the Heavenly Sword Sect?”
The rest of them fell silent.
Going against all the guilds wasn’t exactly a bright idea, but the Heavenly Sword Sect wasn’t pushovers either.
Surely, there were guilds trying to have their cake and eat it too, aiming to fish in the murky waters of upheaval brewing in Taixu City.
“I wonder how things are going over in Cold Wind City. If the Princess Witch just sent one or two of her Extermination members to support us, we’d certainly hold our heads high in the city instead of ending up in this embarrassing situation,” Cold Little Rain complained a little.
Strong Brother responded, “Don’t say that in the future. The Princess Witch has her own considerations. Since we’re here waving the flag of Extermination, how could we speak ill of her? We must trust her unconditionally to survive and turn our dire straits into fortune.
Let’s wait a bit longer and hold off on giving them an answer. I believe this situation won’t be straightforward.”
With that decision made, the others fell silent.
The guild’s base was situated in the southwest section of Taixu City. To guard against enemy ambushes, Strong Brother ordered all members to tighten their defenses.
Just when they thought the enemy wouldn’t strike so soon, under the veil of night, at least three to four thousand people armed with various weapons crunched through the snow, charging right up to the Extermination Guild’s entrance.
“Strong Brother, we respect you as a man and a once-beloved entertainment streamer. Today, you get one more chance.
Either surrender completely and join us, or… well, it’ll be curtains for you.”
The leader of the Qilin Guild, a dude nicknamed Bald Man, shouted at the top of his lungs outside the wooden barricade.
Strong Brother quickly replied.
“Don’t fall for the Heavenly Sword Sect’s trick! This is clearly a ploy to incite us to fight among ourselves and reduce the population inside the city. We can’t take the bait.”
Bald Man burst into laughter, “Trick? So what if it is? I’ve been sick of eating plain soup these days. If I wipe you out, maybe the next meal will have some meat!”
“Fool!” Strong Brother growled, “Have you forgotten the might of the Extermination Guild?”
“Hah! Extermination, huh? Don’t think we’re afraid of you! If you’ve got the guts, have them step up and show their faces!”
Bald Man guffawed, “You’re waving around a name, but all you can do is wave a fur banner. Let’s see if the Cold Moon Witch even acknowledges you!”
Strong Brother pulled back from the gap in the wooden barricade.
“Everyone, listen up! As soon as the enemy charges, we fire all arrows at once! Take them down!”
Bald Man waved his hand with a serious face, and the ground suddenly began to tremble violently, as if a behemoth was crawling out from a crack.
This surprise scene sent shockwaves through the Extermination Guild, with some even dropping their bows and crossbows in disbelief.
