Lu Qiuchen stood on a high platform at the top level of the Fiery Sun Fortress, gazing out over the distant battlefield. With the addition of the Royal Knights, the tide of battle was turning against the Empire; signs of defeat were already clear.
Nearby, a string of fire magic erupted from the Mage Tower within the fortress, bombarding the charging Knights’ phalanx. The continuous magical bombardment kicked up clouds of smoke and dust, shrouding a vast area at the center of the battlefield.
Bathed in the dazzling glow of their shields, the Knights burst out from the smoke, completely unharmed by the previous attack, their speed undiminished as they pressed on with their charge.
From several nearby Mage Towers came the sound of imperial slang curses. The mages continued their assault, trying to slow the Knights and buy more time for their own Imperial Infantry Corps to retreat.
After a while, seeing the outcome was decided, Lu Qiuchen stopped paying attention to the battlefield. As a flash of white light passed, her figure vanished, leaving only a single soldier collapsed on the platform.
In the blink of an eye, a new figure appeared in a second-floor room somewhere in the fortress.
The figure walked toward the window, the Imperial Infantry Corps uniform on her body gradually changing as she moved. By the time she reached the window, there was no trace of the uniform left.
This figure was, of course, Lu Qiuchen. She stood in the second-floor guest room of an inn, looking out the window at the demoralized Imperial army that had just suffered defeat.
The Empire of Letachino boasted the greatest overall military strength on the Southern Continent, but in its war with the Knight Nation, it had suffered repeated setbacks. The main reason for this was the Royal Knights.
The Royal Knights numbered just over two hundred in total, and rarely did they all take the field at once. Yet even a small squad of just a few dozen could make a significant impact on the battlefield.
This was not only because the Royal Knights possessed formidable power and had built an undefeated legend over two thousand years, but also because they strictly adhered to the Knight’s Code and possessed a truly noble spirit.
These two factors combined made the Royal Knights the faith of the Knight Nation’s people and the spiritual pillar of its army. Just the sight of the Royal Knights’ emblem on the battlefield was enough to greatly boost the army’s morale.
To eliminate this thorn in their side, the Empire had made many efforts over the past two thousand years, using all kinds of means. Yet the Knights always remembered their code, showing everyone the purity of their souls, and never did anything to tarnish the reputation of their order.
But this was both a strength and a weakness. As time went on, the weight of expectation grew heavier and heavier, and one day it might finally crush them.
When that day came, all the praise would turn into curses, and the spirit of the Royal Knights—and even the entire Knight Nation—could suffer a devastating blow.
Lu Qiuchen had learned all this from the mouths of the Imperial people over these past days. Although the conflict between the two nations had a long history and had now escalated to outright hatred, when Imperial citizens spoke of the Knight Nation, they gnashed their teeth in anger. Yet when it came to the Royal Knights, most still spoke of them with respect.
Lu Qiuchen herself did not possess such a noble soul, as she was the very culprit behind the outbreak of war between the two sides. But that did not stop her from feeling deep respect for these Knights.
If she had a choice, why would she have to play the villain?
She glanced at the System task bar—the time for her appearance was drawing closer.
Lu Qiuchen turned and went downstairs, returning the room to the innkeeper. She still needed to head to the Knight Nation to make some preparations.
*****
Two days later, the new year arrived—New Year’s Day.
In the game, Zhang Cheng swung his sword, and the player in front of him collapsed to the ground. The wound left by the sword was covered in mosaic, and as the player’s HP hit zero, the corpse vanished in a flash of white light.
Two days ago, with the opening of the Faction System, Zhang Cheng had joined the Knight Nation. Every day, he accepted high-experience faction quests and entered the two-nation war Dungeon to fight against players from the opposing faction.
This was a super-large-scale PvP Dungeon, open to all players who had access to the Faction System. Players from other regions didn’t need to travel far just to unlock the map. According to official announcements, this Dungeon could accommodate up to a million players at once.
The terrain of this Dungeon was a direct copy of the battlefield and two fortresses between the two nations, with hundreds of Teleportation Arrays and respawn points set up throughout the map. The respawn points were interlaced, allowing players to quickly find enemies and ensuring intense PvP action.
In this Dungeon, players could respawn infinitely, with only a one-minute respawn timer. Players lost no experience upon death, and pain was disabled in battle—news that thrilled PvP enthusiasts.
The name Scarlet Dawn had also been appearing frequently on the forums these past two days, with most players cursing out the guild.
As the System’s quest completion chime sounded, Zhang Cheng leveled up to 40. He had already met the other requirements for advancement, and now he was promoted to a full Knight.
Zhang Cheng looked around the warehouse he was in. Seeing no other players, he hid behind a large crate to check his new skills.
Upon advancing to a full Knight, Zhang Cheng automatically received a skill called “Command.” With this skill, he could issue brief orders to his companion, or summon them to join him in battle.
Companions could also be seen as combat-capable mounts—an exclusive feature of the Knight class. Other classes could raise pets, but their combat bonuses couldn’t compare to those of a Knight’s companion.
After all, a Knight was meant to ride into battle. From ordinary horses to warhorses, warhorses to Pegasi, then from Pegasi to Rare Breeds, and above them, Fantasy Breeds and some special Mutant Breeds—the choices for a Knight’s mount were truly diverse.
Unfortunately, only mounts of Rare Breed or above had offensive capabilities and could become companions. The others merely allowed Knights to move past the awkwardness of being high-level infantry.
The acquisition of this skill tempted Zhang Cheng. Should he use his Wyvern Whistle now?
With an adult Wyvern helping him grind monsters, wouldn’t his leveling speed far outpace everyone else’s?
But after thinking it over, he decided against it. He hadn’t seen any players with a mount above Pegasus in-game yet. Revealing that he had an adult Rare Breed now might not be a good idea.
Over the past few days, Zhang Cheng had browsed the forums and seen that other players had obtained rare items or equipment. One player even got a Gryphon Egg! This lucky player immediately sold it to a wealthy buyer. Rumor had it that the deal was worth nearly seven figures—a sky-high price that made the lucky player rich overnight.
Although the official trade house and gold exchange system hadn’t been opened yet, they weren’t stopping this kind of RMT behavior, either.
As far as Zhang Cheng knew, the company had indeed planned to launch the trading system and currency exchange along with the open beta, but the plan was halted right before launch. There was still no word on when it would be available.
Checking the time, Zhang Cheng prepared to exit the battlefield. After pondering things for a bit, he’d already left combat status and could leave the Dungeon.
Just then, a whistling roar came from the distance, and Zhang Cheng immediately felt a tremendous force slam into his back, sending him flying into the air.
His body spun and tumbled midair, finally slamming hard into the ground. Even though pain was disabled in this Dungeon, being spun helplessly through the air six and a half times didn’t feel great—especially when he landed headfirst.
Zhang Cheng shook his head and got up. The warehouse he’d just been in had mostly collapsed, and the ruins were still covered in ice crystals from a blast of ice magic.
The roof had been completely torn off, and what little remained of the warehouse was tilting dangerously. Even without further interference, it wouldn’t stand much longer.
Ice crystals? Zhang Cheng was startled. Why would there be ice mages here? The Empire’s magus corps were mostly fire mages, while the Knight Nation’s mages were rare and all supported Knights with earth or water magic.
A silver shadow flashed overhead. Zhang Cheng looked up to see a Silver Dragon flying toward the Empire, dropping a string of dazzling spells along the way.
Each spell was thrown into the densest crowds. Any player hit by them instantly turned into a streak of light and vanished.
Zhang Cheng stared blankly at the scene, then noticed the current area chat in the Dungeon was scrolling rapidly.
“Dragon! It just flew right over my head—damn, it felt like watching a fantasy movie!”
“The pressure is insane! The difference between the PV and seeing it in person is huge!”
“Damn it, I was fighting a Knight on the other side for ages, almost had him down, just a sliver of HP left—and suddenly I died! And the kill wasn’t even mine! Shit!”
“I hope this is the Silver Dragon lady from the PV! Silver hair and red eyes, I love it!”
“I just got here, where did the dragon go?”
The forums were abuzz as well. Some people were recording battle videos, hurrying to cut the Silver Dragon footage and post it for views.
The forum posts drew the attention of chat channels in other regions.
“I saw on the forums that there’s a boss on the Knight Nation side.”
“I saw it too, but this map is so huge, who knows if it’ll come our way.”
“I think it’s real. The forum says… I see it!! Damn, I’m black-screened and waiting to respawn…”
The area chat here was lively as well.
Some streamers also caught this hot topic. At that moment, Host Xiao Lu from Game Fengyun happened to be livestreaming on the scene.
“…So, fellow new adventurers, no matter which faction you choose, it’s all fine—oh my god… Silver Dragon!”
Standing at the respawn point in the middle of the battlefield, Xiao Lu, who was answering newbie questions, suddenly covered her mouth in shock.
Today, Xiao Lu had been tasked by her boss to introduce and promote this super-large PvP Dungeon that could supposedly hold a million players at once. Her PvP skills weren’t exactly terrible, but they weren’t great either. Of course, as a professional host, nobody really cared if her skills were a bit lacking.
After being killed by enthusiastic fans several times the moment she left the respawn point, she simply gave up and stayed put. The respawn point had a shield—surely she wouldn’t get killed again, right?
So Xiao Lu stayed there answering questions for the new viewers in her livestream. Thanks to her giving up, everyone in the stream got to watch the entire process of the Silver Dragon flying in from afar.
The Silver Dragon breathed a stream of frost from midair, freezing everything around the respawn point. Moments later, it all shattered into dust, and streaks of white light rose from the ground.
The Silver Dragon seemed quite interested in this respawn point and the humans within. Instead of flying away, it circled overhead twice.
Then the Silver Dragon landed, its form shrinking rapidly within the white light until it became human. A silver-haired, red-eyed beauty appeared before Xiao Lu and the viewers in her stream!
This beauty looked strikingly similar to the girl seen standing atop the Silver Dragon in the open beta PV—it felt just like… that girl’s older sister?