### Chapter 3: The Shame of Players (Bonus Update)
==============================
Inside Cold Wind Cave,
Lin Nan, having just retrieved the character card of “Feng Yalin,” was lost in thought.
Initially, saving Si Yan was just an act of guilt, and beyond that, she had no intention of gaining anything from her.
Who would’ve thought Si Yan knew the location of the Ji Shen headquarters? Talk about an unexpected jackpot!
Considering that the main storyline quest had plenty of time left, there was no need for her to rush. She could first tackle Cold Wind City’s challenges before making further plans.
Anyway, as long as she didn’t expose her identity, staying in Cold Wind City wasn’t the worst situation.
With the help of that luck-gouging Shiyuan, she had drawn three platinum, five gold, ten silver, and twenty-one bronze character cards.
With cards in hand, her courage had skyrocketed.
Remember, Little Musashi had taken down an 80-level great demon only by self-destructing, relying on her skills!
Now, with a few platinum cards, taking on an 80-level great demon should be a walk in the park, and even holding her own against the Great King of the Split Land wouldn’t be too much of a stretch.
So, after gaining some solid trump cards, her confidence to defend Cold Wind City soared.
If Cold Wind City could keep up its current momentum, everything from living arrangements to basic comforts would pamper her as a Great King. Why bother enduring a life of hardship and sleeping under the stars?
As they say, it’s easier to fall from luxury to poverty than to rise from poverty to luxury.
She had finally succumbed to the temptations of decadence…
However, she absolutely couldn’t waste these precious character cards in the frontlines of a brutal tug-of-war.
She pondered deeply on how to use these cards and when to reveal them.
“Is the Great King still in seclusion?”
Cold Moon asked.
Shiyuan nodded, showing no signs of being flexible on that front.
“Alright, then I’ll take my leave.”
Cold Moon had no pressing matters this time.
She had already assigned the wolf demon and tiger demon to manage the defense of Cold Wind City, and human warriors would soon join the fray.
Faced with the onslaught of White Feather City, the current strength of Cold Wind City could hold off for a while.
The Great King hadn’t given any concrete advice so far, probably to train everyone up.
After all, the Great King often sequestered for cultivation. He couldn’t be expected to handle everything himself. If there was an emergency and they had to call on him every time, what use would they be as subordinates?
Just then, someone reported to her that a dog-headed warrior from the human race was out on the streets convincing everyone to join some matchmaking meetup, offering free dates with demonesses upon signing up.
Quite a few little demons were tempted and joined the matchmaking event.
It was the first time such a thing happened in Cold Wind City, and it made Cold Moon raise her eyebrows in suspicion.
Since wiping out the Evil Merman Cave, the influx of female demons, both from the new recruits and the beauties from the cave, had indeed strengthened Cold Wind City.
But in terms of sheer numbers, there was still a significant lack of available partners for the little demons.
This matchmaking event truly hit a nerve, making it easy to gather recruits.
However, as it stood, she hadn’t detected any sinister motives behind this matchmaking; after all, facing a major enemy, the little demons joining the event were likely just chasing a whim. A date? They’d probably just be hoping to survive till after the battle.
Cold Moon intended to report this development to the Great King, but since he was in seclusion, she decided against it.
She’d just send that dog-headed warrior to the frontlines.
If the leader got taken out, wouldn’t the matchmaking event just fizzle away?
Perfect, that’s the plan.
Thus, while Dog Head Strong Brother was busy promoting his matchmaking crusade, he was already lined up for a not-so-favorable fate, and the Extermination of Immortals Guild would be dragged down with him.
……
Putting aside how the supporters of White Feather City and Cold Wind City bickered in the forums and live streams,
The battle officially kicked off three days into the game maintenance, at noon.
The army of White Feather City stretched for dozens of miles, with eager players volunteering to take the front lines.
After all, Cold Wind City’s meager military strength had left them with quite the impression. Regardless of how some people in the forums hyped everything up,
for players from White Feather City, they had forgotten one crucial phrase: “Power comes from the barrel of a g*n.”
Whether the smack talk was loud wasn’t the point; the real question was who would emerge victorious, with justice favoring the winning side.
So what if the Great King of the Split Land was a big slave master?
The retrogression of social structure in the game by five hundred years didn’t concern any players.
Let them wave their flags in the forums; a swift slap from reality would soon educate them on what “justice only exists within cannon range” really means.
……
“Everyone! Today, our Heavenly Sword Sect guild fires the first shot! It took a great deal of effort from me to secure this from the Lion Demon King.
As long as we break through the first line of defense at Cold Wind City, each of us stands to make 500 Spirit Coins.
The first person to step on the walls of Cold Wind City gets a whopping 5,000 Spirit Coins from the Great King!
Brothers, we can’t waste any time!
If you let this day slip by, you won’t know when you’ll get another chance to cash in like this!
When I give the signal, we charge in and take those useless fools by surprise!”
Li Hanbo raised his beloved Flame Sword, rallying the guild members.
With a full force of eight hundred members, Heavenly Sword Sect was one of the dominant powers among players.
Standing confidently on the high platform, Li Hanbo felt like the ruler of the world, invincible.
The other guild streamers scoffed, looking disgusted.
They hadn’t imagined that Li Hanbo had openly bribed the Lion Demon to snag the forward position, even sending a few female disciples to charm the lion!
This was a new low for player conduct.
Unbelievable, such scandalous tactics.
All this time, players had considered themselves as gods in the game, thinking the lives of their characters were merely a flick of their fingers.
Even if bribing NPCs was on the table, it was just for plot convenience.
If there was ever a chance later, players would be back to take revenge, shouting, “I, Hu Hanzhang, have returned!”
Despite “The Way of Inquiry” being a virtual game that mirrored reality, players still clung to the idea that they were superior to NPCs.
Don’t underestimate the young—once I level up, I’ll be the one crushing you into the ground.
Now, look at this Li Hanbo—a seemingly dashing fellow, but behind the scenes, he was a schemer.
Last night, he secretly brought the frontline commander, the Lion Demon, into their tent for a lavish feast, complete with wine and beautiful women at his service.
The Lion Demon, having never encountered modern persuasion techniques, was no match for Li Hanbo. Within half an hour, they were best buddies, clinking glasses and indulging in revelry.
By the end, the lion was so drunk that he handed over the frontline mission to Li Hanbo.
“Sorry, our guild got the meat, you’ll just have to settle for the soup,” Li Hanbo waved to the crowd, leading his eight hundred members on their expedition.
Meanwhile, the Lion Demon provided them with a thousand little demon minions for the march.
With nearly two thousand people in the frontline, breaking through Cold Wind City’s first line of defense was almost a cakewalk in the eyes of the White Feather City players.
What to do?
If Li Hanbo succeeded, wouldn’t that be the ultimate shame for players?
Suddenly someone suggested, “Just follow the livestream behind them, and give pointers to the Cold Wind City players.”
Everyone was like, “Wow, that’s just downright cruel. Isn’t that stabbing our ally in the back?”
But… we’re totally down for it!
……
p.s.: Reallly now… four more updates! Please vote!
