Global Game: Developing a Knight Clan

Chapter 522: Chapter 106: The Players Move, the Ancient God Emerges

The Old Royal Capital was located in the Central Region of the Old Kingdom.

The Central Region was mostly plains, a wide, open expanse of flat land.

There were no natural defenses to speak of, so warfare depended entirely on the walls of its cities.

Once Ed led the main force of the Salvation Army past the fortress, a decisive battle was inevitable.

Of course, the Divine Guard Army would certainly not choose to fight near the Old Royal Capital.

The chosen location was, naturally, a plain not far from the fortress.

On the open plain, nothing could be concealed.

This was true even for troop formations.

A Transcendent could see every troop movement clearly just by looking down from the sky.

Therefore, this decisive battle would come down to the speed and responsiveness of each side’s commanders in maneuvering their forces.

Of course, it would also be a test of the soldiers’ will to fight.

Beneath the blazing sun.

A sea of military banners fluttered in the wind.

The main forces of the Salvation Army and the Divine Guard Army faced each other on the vast, open wilderness.

The Salvation Army numbered two hundred thousand strong.

The Divine Guard Army, four hundred and fifty thousand.

The numbers claimed by both sides, however, added up to over one and a half million.

A battle of a million soldiers?

The perfectly aligned formations and the glint of armor and steel created the overwhelming atmosphere of a truly epic battlefield.

"Still, there’s nothing like a war between mortals to get the blood pumping!"

"Of course, with Extraordinary Power restricted, watching a general take on a thousand men... you can’t deny it has that classic historical epic feel."

"It’s a shame, though."

"All these people... we can’t just let them die like this."

"The Star Empire needs people. Saving them should give us a nice rating boost, too."

At that moment, high in the sky above, all the Players in this Kingdom had already gathered.

There were over twenty of them in all.

Not a huge number, but not a small one, either.

After all, only ten thousand Players had been deployed to this world in total.

Scattered across countless Kingdoms, Empires, and the like all over the world, having more than twenty Players in one area was considered a lot.

"That’s true, but..."

"...which side are we going to make an example of?"

"The Divine Guard Army? Or the Salvation Army?"

A Player asked.

"Is that even a question? We go after the Divine Guard Army, obviously!"

"Damn it, isn’t that Inspector from the Titan Divine Race holing up in the Old Royal Capital with the Divine Guard Army?"

"To put it bluntly, that guy is indirectly controlling the Divine Guard Army."

One Player said frankly.

"I guess there’s not much to discuss, then. Going after the Divine Guard Army makes sense."

"But we still need to hash out who this Kingdom ultimately belongs to."

"I’ll be straight with you all. My current role is with a faction in the eastern part of the Old Kingdom. My mission used to forbid me from interfering with the natives, but that restriction is gone now."

"I won’t beat around the bush. The eastern region isn’t unified yet, but if the Western Salvation Army gets control of this entire Kingdom, my eastern faction will need a dukedom at the very least!"

"Yeah, that’s right!"

"That has to be guaranteed. The factions we’re all tied to must be given good positions."

"What do you two have to say about that?"

At that, all the Players turned to look at the two who were with the Salvation Army.

What could the two Players from the Salvation Army possibly say?

In their private chat, the two of them were cursing up a storm.

"Goddammit, are these guys trying to strong-arm us?"

"But there’s nothing we can do about it."

It was true.

With the quest system’s restrictions gone, even though the Star Road was about to be completed, it wasn’t finished yet.

Besides, even once the Star Road was complete, the great war between the Star Empire and the Titan Race was on such a scale that no one would notice a tiny ant like the Salvation Army.

Therefore, it was all too easy for Players to seize benefits for themselves at a time like this.

Don’t like someone? Have them killed!

Then, prop up a local faction on the planet that is friendly to you—or is one you control directly—and help them take power.

Even if the Star Empire came to rule the planet later on.

Whatever profits the Players had secured would remain theirs.

This was considered one of the Star Empire’s unspoken rules for Players.

Anything the Players could "scavenge" before the Star Empire officially took control of the natives was theirs to keep.

After all, the Star Empire didn’t force its Vassal Kingdoms, or even its Vassal Empires, to adopt the same system of governance.

As long as these Empires, Kingdoms, and so on could guarantee that the Star Empire’s edicts were enforced without obstruction, that was enough.

Of course, one unchangeable requirement of the Star Empire was that all Vassal factions had to periodically contribute a certain number of their people to become citizens of the Star Empire.

To be blunt, the Star Empire’s current model was essentially to use others’ resources to get what it wanted.

Directly managing too many planets and territories was simply not worth the cost and effort.

It was better to delegate authority and let the Vassal worlds manage themselves.

The Star Empire had only one core demand.

They had to ensure that population growth was their number one priority.

They also had to guarantee that no major chaos or widespread public discontent would arise under their rule.

As long as those two conditions were met, the Star Empire didn’t care how its Vassal factions ran things.

If they did well, that was a happy bonus.

And if they failed?

If they failed, they would simply be removed. The Star Empire would send its own Nobility and citizens to take over the faction’s entire operation.

This served as a logical and perfectly justifiable way for the Empire to centralize its power.

After all, in the words of the Star Empire itself...

"The Empire has been more than tolerant, but since you cannot guarantee peace and prosperity for your subjects..."

"...it proves you either lack the Ability, or you are nothing more than parasites."