Chapter 171.1: Borrowing Your Thick Skin
Right now, it was dusk in OtherWorld, yet for the players on Earth, it was early morning.
It was a weekday, and those who could afford to be online were the truly hardcore gamerseither those part of a studio or freelancers like Yang Ying, who made a living from the game.
Yang Ying had logged in at nine, immediately checking her friends list to find only Orange Cat active.
Orange Cat had ventured into trying out the trading caravan gameplay mode and had invited Yang Ying along. However, Yang Ying couldn't bear to miss the weekend events and the lucrative earnings they brought; many players sought enchantments for their gear, and Yang Ying could rake in substantial sums each weekend, sometimes even hitting the thousand-yuan mark, making it an opportunity too good to miss.
With no buddies online, Yang Ying pondered her next move and decided to brush up on her lifestyle class skills. Following in the footsteps of the renowned Ou Huang, she too had picked up the butcher's trade, though her progress had been slow due to her focus on earning money, leaving her still at the level of a mere apprentice.
Before Yang Ying made it to Life Alley, online players with a battlefield rank of Elite Soldier or higher received a system message
[System Announcement]: Soldiers fighting to defend Taranthan, Lieutenant Wagner Pitt and Captain Kenn need your assistance. Please hurry to Exile Town town hall and receive a combat mission.
The phrase "combat mission" immediately perked Yang Ying up. She instantly tossed aside her plans to improve her butchery skills and made a dash to the town hall.
The battlefield had been open for about five days (Earth time), and quite a number of PvP players had reached the rank of Elite Soldiers. And among this group, a large portion of them were hardcore players. By the time Yang Ying arrived at the town hall, over a dozen others had already gathered.
"Sis Ying, you came! Over here!" Blossoming Strokes spotted Yang Ying and immediately sent a party invite to her.
"Blossom, you guys are here too." Yang Ying, who had been worrying about having to fend for herself with her usual buddies all offline, happily joined Blossoming Strokes' party.
"Sis Ying, did you get the mission too?" Give Me Medicine chimed in from the side. He was older than Yang Ying, but like everyone else, got accustomed to calling Yang Ying "Sis Ying."
"Ah? Yeah?" Yang Ying didn't really understand this question. "Otherwise I wouldn't have known to come here."
"See, I already said it, only those with Elite Soldier rank or higher can receive this mission," Qin Guan remarked. "I told you earlier that ranking up in the battlefield would pay off, but you just weren't willing to commit."
"It's not that I didn't want to. I came to the battlefield after clearing Poisonous Marshlands Isn't it only a few day's difference?" Give Me Medicine muttered.
"Alright, at least you can follow along even without receiving the mission. Worst-case scenario is missing out on the system's honor rewards, no big deal," Blossoming Strokes smoothed things over.
Give Me Medicine nodded. Even without honor point rewards, a combat mission was very much worth participating in!
While they were conversing, Guileless Gale from Brother Lahong's faction made his way through the crowd. "Vanilla, Brother Meds, Blossom, I have something to discuss."
"What?" Qin Guan was surprised by the sudden approach.
"I was thinking, how about we merge into one team for this? We've had a few combat missions before, and the enemies were always tough. I think it's best if we join forces."
Qin Guan glanced at Blossoming Strokes, who nodded, prompting him to respond, "Sounds fine. Who's going to lead?"
"Of course it's" Guileless Gale began, looking toward Yang Ying, then pausing. "Wait, where's Unceasing Entropy?"
"She's got classes. It's Monday," Yang Ying explained.
"Um" Guileless Gale scratched his skull. "How about Sis Ying be the leader?"
"Huh? Me?" Yang Ying was surprised.
Blossoming Strokes, fully aware of Guileless Gale's reservations, quickly chimed in, "That'll work. Sis Ying can lead. We'll include everyone who received the mission and anyone else willing to join. How does that sound?"
Her last question was directed at Qin Guan, who didn't hesitate and immediately transferred the group leadership to Yang Ying.
In large player cooperatives, being the leader didn't mean having full command and control. Rather, it was a subtle privilege to sway decisions and potentially unsettle those less favored For example, intentionally delaying invites to certain individuals.
Qin Guan and Lahong were both considered good leaders, though they had a minor flaw of occasionally losing their temper and stirring up trouble. More importantly, there were those around them that would cause disturbances in such a setting.
To prevent any issues, it was best to select someone who wouldn't act impulsively and whom most people couldn't easily find fault with to take on the role of the group leader.
Though Yang Ying had joined Qin Guan's blood alliance, everyone knew she was closely aligned with Unceasing Entropy. Coupled with her experience leading weekend instance raids and a reputation for honest online and offline transactions, she was deemed the optimal choice in Unceasing Entropy's absence.
With Yang Ying now at the helm, the once rival factions under Qin Guan and Brother Lahong were united under a single banner. As the players rallied together, the NPCs within the town hall began to stir into action.
Wagner Pitt and Kenn, the two quartermaster NPCs that players had both adored and hated in recent days, stepped forward. In tandem, they recited a tale, the gist of which had a knightly order of the Radiant Sun Church harboring years of grievances against the Lord of Taranthan and Undead Race Resurrection Mentor, Yang.
Not long ago, they even dispatched scouts to infiltrate Weisshem in an attempt to kidnap some clerks from the town hall. Having their plot foiled and their faces unveiled, a confrontation became inevitable
Among the players, only a handful of lore enthusiasts paid any attention to the NPCs' ramblings. As Wagner and Kenn narrated the backstory with deep-seated grievances, most of the players were busy chatting among themselves
"Was there ever such a plotline quest in Weisshem? Who did it?"
"I don't remember hearing anyone taking up such a quest over there."
"Don't tell me someone accepted and completed it in secret?"
"But that doesn't make sense either. Who would miss the chance to flaunt receiving a worldview breakthrough quest on the forum?"
"Isn't a knightly order just church cavalry? Are we about to clash with the church's knights?" A player realized something was amiss. "Whoa, does this confirm that Taranthan is antagonistic?!"
"What's the big deal? Do we, a bunch of skeletons, look like the good guys?"
"Yeah, our faction leader is still a black mage!"
"It's not quite like that. In foreign games, religious figures are often portrayed as righteous, and even if they are vilified, they can still be redeemed, as if faith makes them go crazy. In contrast, for domestic games, it's more in line with our national conditions to have religious groups as antagonists," argued another player. "This religious order is definitely not comprised of good folks. Once we complete the combat mission and advance the plot, I bet some scandalous revelations will come to light."
"Hold on, isn't the pretty boy with Yang also from the church?"
"You're clueless, aren't you? The pretty boy is from the Church of Prosperity, while this church is from the Radiant Sun Church!" A player, convinced of the antagonistic nature of the church, proudly explained, "I reckon this domestic game will surely go the route of dividing and conquering religious factions. Legitimate faiths will survive, but the bad ones will be eradicated as cults"
As Wagner and Kenn persisted in their "plotline narrative," ostensibly unaffected by the clamor of the undead, their voices trembled ever so slightly
They had indeed stumbled upon some earth-shattering revelations
So, this was Yang's grand plan! He's aiming to even purge the orthodox faiths?!
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