Chapter 90-2: The Correct Way to Patch Up Weaknesses (2) |
Meanwhile, on the forums, some players had already taken notice of the battle between the Black Tide and the Swarm.
[Live broadcast of an absolutely epic battlefield, this is too insane! More intense than a holographic movie! Hurry up and come to my stream to watch!]
Poster: Assassin Walking the Razor’s Edge.
Content: Black Tide VS Swarm Clash – Livestream Link (Jump).
—
Entering the stream, the player under Guide’s sub-body perspective was using the Duskhaze Inherited Soul, switching into shadow form to observe the battle from a distance.
On-screen, two endless torrents crashed into each other, the entire land trembling from their conflict.
The chatroom was buzzing with activity:
Is This a Beaver?: Holy crap, this is way too intense! Looks like our player faction has yet another new enemy. From Guide’s analysis, this Swarm is just a small portion of the full force. In the future we’re gonna face tons of powerful enemy factions.
Darkness Approaches: The brother upstairs is spot on, that’s my thought too. In the game’s setting, the player faction is just one among many. In unexplored regions, other races are also fighting brutal resource wars… Also, while everyone’s here, anyone got spare Sacrificial Power to sell? I’ve died twice in a row soloing outside the village. Logged in for 10 minutes, got locked in timeout for 2 hours. I’m about to go insane. (Explorer wipes tears.jpg)
Raging Chicken replies to Darkness Approaches: Whoa, missing person returns! Yesterday people were still speculating on the forums about what happened to you IRL. One bro who knows you said he called and heard you got caught and dragged to Iron Bull City, where 18 Iron Bull race guys ran you through 100 times.
Nemesis of Evil: Wait, aren’t we players supposed to be the protagonists? How did we end up being bystanders? The Swarm and Black Tide don’t even care about us! I’m gonna charge in and show them who’s boss around here!
Divine Wings: The battle’s brutal, but the new Swarm is better than the Evil Entities. Killing them not only gives evolution points and Sacrificial Power but also drops materials you can offer to Emperor’s Sign for more Sacrificial Power. Overall way better rewards than killing same-level Evil Entities. Gonna rally the guild bros for a charge soon.
God King replies to Divine Wings: You idiot. While the Black Tide is too busy to care, we should be hitting the Territory Nodes! Hurry and gather the bros at Emperor’s Mound Village entrance. We’re raiding Gray Mist Forest this run, maybe we can capture the Cloud Field Territory Node, I’ve been eyeing those Spirit Field rewards for ages.
—
After twenty hours, the battle between the Swarm and the Black Tide finally came to an end.
Failing to advance to the Evil Eye Tower, the Swarm warriors withdrew like a receding tide at the Hive Mind’s call, while some Swarm units bypassed the area’s boundary line into the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range to explore and gather information.
This process resembled how players revealed new areas of the map and cleared map fog.
The information gathered by the Swarm warriors was likewise transmitted back to the Hive Mind.
Facing the Swarm’s retreat, the Black Tide under Dinian’s control did not pursue.
Because Dinian discovered that as the Black Tide retracted its forces, the player race began attacking the various Territory Nodes across the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range.
With his base crystal under attack, Dinian flew into a rage and promptly released the Black Tide once again to rampage through the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range, re-engaging the players.
But compared to fighting the players, Dinian felt extremely frustrated.
While fighting the Swarm was difficult, at least devouring the Swarm warriors allowed the Black Tide to grow stronger.
Fighting the players was completely different.
Though the player race’s threat level was far below the Swarm and easier to handle, the Black Tide only suffered losses in the process, it gained no benefit.
Dinian understood that the Black Tide he controlled was still at a low level, and its devouring strength was not yet sufficient to consume the players’ unique life structure.
Only when the Black Tide’s devouring strength reached a certain threshold would it be able to overcome the players’ strange trait of instantly dissolving their life energy back into the world upon death.
Thus, the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range became a chaotic mess.
Players vs. Black Tide Evil Entities.
Players vs. Swarm warriors.
Black Tide Evil Entities vs. Swarm warriors.
A full-blown three-way battle broke out, with all sides regarding the others as enemies.
And this final development into a chaotic three-way war was exactly what Qi Sheng, observing from behind the scenes, wanted to see.
If the Swarm and Black Tide were allowed to keep endlessly grinding each other, both sides’ strength would grow ever more terrifying.
Although the players, protected by the four great rules of Monster World, didn’t need to fear death, their development speed would clearly be hindered.
The game would shift from the current hack-and-slash power fantasy back into a soul-like, high-difficulty growth mode.
—
Later that afternoon, on the same day the war between the Black Tide and the Swarm ended.
As Qi Sheng was quickly browsing the forums, he came across a post that made him both laugh and cry. The players had once again pulled off something ridiculous.