## Chapter 6: Unifying the Three Races (13)
Half Moon City stands as the frontline for the Human Race against the Monster Race, and every five years, it pulls elites from the Seven Great Sects to tackle the feisty monsters.
Every five years, it’s a new cycle – some newbies show up, while some old-timers pack their bags and leave.
Just beyond the vast desert lies Black Stone City.
On paper, Black Stone City is under Human Race control, but in reality, it’s run by a big ol’ demon who decided it was cooler to side with humans.
Most of the time, it can’t completely tame the monster populace roaming around.
Plenty of monsters, in a bid to stay alive, skip across the desert into human territory looking for food and water like it’s a giant buffet.
Naturally, this creates a bit of a conflict with the humans.
That’s why Half Moon City is there – to keep an eye on things and avoid any monster party crashes.
However, ever since the continent of humans took a nosedive and a slew of players suddenly showed up in the Asking Dao World but couldn’t log out, Half Moon City started to face its own set of little “urgent situations.”
Thank goodness not many players opted to settle on the mountain peaks; hence, Half Moon City has been able to absorb a few players without being overrun by a winter wonderland of frozen corpses.
In this midst of chaos, Luo Ying and White Peach decided to swing by Half Moon City.
Partly for a nostalgic stroll down memory lane, and partly because Cold Moon Witch told them to gather all the human sects in one place. No pressure!
After explaining their intentions to the Sect Leader of the Half Moon Sword Sect, Luo Ying and White Peach were pleasantly shocked that the leader didn’t throw a tantrum. Instead, they happily agreed to their request.
Half Moon City, while a bit off the beaten path, has quite a few acolytes from various sects milling about.
In this disaster, Sky Sword City and Sky Void City took serious hits, and the Flowerless Palace was wiped out during the bl**d of All Spirits debacle, leaving a few terrified survivors clinging to life in Half Moon City like it was their last lifeboat on the Titanic.
And news of the divine punishment was spreading faster than a cat meme on the internet.
They believed that the calamities they faced were merely a dress rehearsal for some divine punishment, a cosmic way to zap them of their power.
If humans continued to be as disorganized as a three-legged chicken at a county fair and didn’t unite against the enemy, well, it was game over for all living beings!
Luo Ying appreciated their willingness to cooperate, but the condition she proposed next left the Half Moon Sword Sect Leader looking as if they’d bitten into a sour lemon.
“In one year, you need to temporarily abandon Half Moon City and take all the supplies with you.”
“What? No way!”
Obeying the orders from the Sky Sword Sect was pushing it to the limit, and now they were expected to leave their comfy little town?
“Not just Half Moon City. Everyone, including us from Sky Sword City, will be moving out.”
Luo Ying went on, “When divine punishment rolls in, if we’re still scattered like confetti, how are we supposed to fight back? We need to gather all three races and pool our powers; maybe we’ll stand a fighting chance.”
The Sect Leader looked like they were trying to swallow a cactus, clearly finding it hard to digest.
So, Luo Ying decided to channel her inner drill sergeant.
“It’s for the survival of everyone in the Asking Dao Continent. If you refuse, don’t say the Sky Sword Sect didn’t show mercy!”
In Half Moon City, excluding the town folk, half of the disciples were from various sects, and they were young, fiery, and bursting with enthusiasm for the impending divine punishment showdown.
Their leader’s indecision left them fuming. Even though the big shots were chitchatting in a private meeting, news spread like wildfire, and disciples rushed over as if it was the hottest ticket in town.
They looked ready to stage a sit-in if their leader didn’t cave.
This was mostly due to White Peach rallying the troops.
At first, people had no idea what really happened to Flowerless Palace, and they hurled insults left and right. The remaining disciples suffered unprecedented humiliation and icy stares.
Once the reality hit everyone, they realized that if it weren’t for Flowerless Palace buying them two extra years, they’d probably be nothing but dust now.
Perhaps out of a sense of guilt, the Second Palace Master from Flowerless Palace made an appearance, and everyone felt inclined to bend to her will, even if it meant stepping out of line to make the Half Moon Sword Sect Leader comply.
In the end, Half Moon City conceded to Luo Ying’s demands.
They would prepare for the relocation by stockpiling food and supplies to prepare for a rainy day, just like a squirrel before winter.
With Half Moon City setting the pace, places like Deficient Moon Valley and the Monster-Catching Tribe followed suit by signing on the dotted line to temporarily pledge allegiance to Sky Sword Sect without fuss.
As for Thousand Bird City? That’s firmly in the monster’s playground, so no worries there.
And Sky Void City? Thanks to the spore invasion from the Small Thousand World, both locals and players had suffered severe casualties, so it looked like the Extermination of Immortals Guild would have to take charge – no extra trips needed for that.
In less than half a month, Luo Ying and her gang wrapped up the task assigned by the princess witch, leaving them feeling pretty chuffed.
The only issue now was that the Human Continent was sprawling, and aside from the main cities of each sect, countless little villages and towns dotted the landscape.
Sure, many villages and towns were ransacked during this famine disaster, but plenty lucky ones managed to escape unscathed, and when spring arrived, they were back to plowing fields, dreaming of bountiful harvests.
Now, convincing them to uproot and move to a completely new place? That would be easier than trying to squeeze toothpaste back into its tube!
Luo Ying knew their attachment to their hometown ran deeper than their fear of d*ath, which made winning them over a priority for the year leading up to the big move.
“Let’s not leave a single soul behind.”
That was the princess witch’s order, and she was determined to fulfill it. Even if it came down to a little “persuasion,” she wouldn’t let these villagers meet their demise under divine wrath for nothing.
…
In Black Stone City.
The entire Ji Shen organization, under the watchful eyes of their guardians, Fu Yetian and Lady Rong Ji, had moved into the Sky Tower.
Before Lin Nan left the Empire, she tasked Ji Shen with creating a power-absorbing formation in the very bottom of Sky Tower.
There were a hundred floors beneath the tower, each boasting a sprawling underground area.
This was exactly why Lin Nan deemed it essential to move everyone to Black Stone City.
Sky Tower was spacious enough to accommodate several hundred thousand, if not millions!
Instead of letting the forthcoming divine punishment wipe out the scattered races one by one, it made more sense to gather everyone in one place and unleash their collective power to push back against the tide.
That was Lin Nan’s grand plan.
The epic saga of the migration of the three races on the Asking Dao Continent was about to unfold.
On this long and arduous journey, people felt both despair and hope.
Even though the depths of Sky Tower were grim and damp, offering nothing resembling the comforts of home, they knew that where there’s a dream, hell could feel like heaven; and where there’s hope, pain could turn into joy.
As long as they could survive, they’d be willing to sacrifice everything…
