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**Flowerdance City — within the City Lord’s council chamber.**

“Kalonis, are you certain these Redflame Stones will actually work?” The voice was deep and steady, belonging to a middle-aged man seated at the head of the table.

“Of course, My Lord,” replied the young man called Kalonis, nodding confidently.

“I’ve already tested them myself. The Redflame Stones hold immense magical power, ordinary Magic Crystals can’t even compare! Just a month ago, I detonated a portion of a Redflame Stone’s energy and blew those damned undead to dust! Not even their ashes were left. That’s the only reason I survived.” Kalonis spoke animatedly, gesturing as if reliving the event.

“Is that so… Veno, what do you think?” The middle-aged man turned to the other man standing nearby.

Veno didn’t answer right away. After a moment, he shook his head.

“No. I admit these Redflame Stones contain terrifying energy. If used for our Magic Crystal Cannons, they would indeed strengthen our city’s defenses. But to take them for an active offensive, such a move is far too reckless! We know nothing of the enemy’s true strength, and those cannons aren’t easily transported. Should anything go wrong with them on the field, we’d be marching straight to our deaths!”

“Hahaha! So this is the famous General Veno, the so-called master of defense? Seems the rumors were exaggerated,” Kalonis said mockingly, spreading his hands in feigned disappointment. “Have all those years of defending made you forget how to attack?”

“You—!”

“Kalonis, that’s enough!” The City Lord’s tone was stern as he cut him off.

“Alright, alright—hmph. Regarding the Magic Crystal Cannons, I already have a solution.” Kalonis unfurled a map onto the table. “Look here. The five human frontier cities form an inverted V-shaped formation, and Flowerdance City sits right at the sharp tip of that wedge.”

“As a military stronghold, General Veno’s defensive strategy is understandable. Holding this city for several years is no small feat. However… this kind of stalemate can’t last forever. We must strike back and make those b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲ understand we’re not to be trifled with!”

“We don’t need a large force. Five thousand elite soldiers will do! Each squad of a hundred will carry one Magic Crystal Cannon. With that firepower, there’s no need to fear any opponent.”

“No, that won’t work! The cannons move too slowly. How could they possibly keep up with the marching speed of the troops?” Veno frowned.

“As for that,” Kalonis said smugly, “I’ve taken an adventurer’s suggestion and modified the cannons into four detachable parts, the cannon body, the cannon head, the Redflame Stone chamber, and the coolant system used for rapid heat dispersal. I tested it myself. With enough manpower, they can be reassembled in under thirty seconds.”

Veno took a deep breath. “So you’ve been planning this all along.”

Kalonis ignored him and turned to the City Lord. “My Lord, what is your decision?”

“…”

***

Meanwhile, Cloudsworn and his team stumbled upon a strange camp. A few white-skinned Goblins stood guard outside.

He didn’t order his members to attack immediately. Drawing on his many years of online gaming experience, he suspected it might be a neutral camp. And indeed, his guess proved correct, the Goblins made no move to attack them.

‘Excellent!’ Cloudsworn’s eyes lit up with delight. A neutral camp, this could only mean one thing: unique quests, completely different from those in the main cities! And if there happened to be an NPC merchant here, they wouldn’t even need to return to town for supplies; they could keep grinding in this area endlessly at full pace!

In other words, if they could make use of this camp’s conveniences, their guild could gain a massive early-game advantage and rapidly increase its overall combat power.

The Goblins showed no hostility, so the team began talking to every NPC they could find, taking on all sorts of gathering and resource-collection quests. It seemed this camp was still in its early stages of development.

“Boss! I found a merchant!” someone suddenly called out.

Cloudsworn hurried over and saw…a Gnome.

‘A Gnome? In a Goblin camp?’ he thought in surprise. Still, he brushed it aside quickly after noticing that the Gnome not only provided equipment repairs but also sold all sorts of peculiar trinkets, though all were outrageously expensive.

“LastBlade, call in everyone above level fifteen. Looks like we’ll be staying here for a few days.”

“Got it.”

Before long, the Rainflower Guild discovered the place as well.

In less than an hour, over three hundred high-level players had gathered across the Crimson Plains. Everyone was working hard to develop this new faction.

Naturally, the situation startled Nangong and the others. They had only gone out to level for a bit, and when they returned, their home had been taken over!?¹ However, after getting closer, they realized that this group meant no harm.

It seemed that since the migration storyline had ended, the Gray Wolves no longer attacked players proactively. Even so, they couldn’t understand human language, which meant communication was impossible.

A few players tried attacking the wolves, only to be instantly turned into pincushions by the Snowfeather Goblins’ arrows.

That was enough of a warning for everyone else. The Goblins and Gray Wolves were clearly allies. Anyone trying to stir up trouble would have to think twice about their strength, especially with that terrifying giant beetle still around. In the end, everyone decided it was safer to just stick to their quests.

And so, the coordinates of Crimson Plains were exposed. Soon, almost every high-level player from Wynwater City came to take a look. Many even decided to stay. Although Crimson Plains itself had few monsters, the three adjacent maps were filled with high-level Epic monsters, and if one ventured deeper, even Unique-grade monsters could be found. It was practically a leveling paradise!

Thanks to that, the Snowfeather Goblins and Gray Wolves’ homeland began developing at lightning speed.

***

By afternoon, the rankings had shifted once again.

No one knew what Windblossom had done, but in a single day, she’d jumped three levels, reaching Level 25, and even surpassing Zane to claim second place.

Aside from the top three, every other name on the list belonged to a mage. It couldn’t be helped, anyone who stocked up enough potions and camped all day in Crimson Plains, completing collection quests along the way, would see their experience pour in like a river of gold.

Even the lowest-ranked player on the leaderboard was Level 23. Endless Sea had been pushed off the list. It was worth noting, however, that with Thundercloud and Pyrestorm’s combined explosive power, Shiu had climbed to fourth place at Level 24.

Then, at 4:26 PM, a sudden world announcement interrupted everyone’s grinding.

The first Unique Boss kill was already taken!? The announcement sent shockwaves across the entire player base.

Hardly anyone had ever seen an Evolution Stone, and most players had no clue what it was even used for. But the Ring of Fortune was different. A Level 25 Unique-grade item, and quite possibly the only one that existed in the entire game.

Ordinary players already struggled just to handle Rare monsters, let alone high-tier Bosses. Even Epic Bosses had outrageously high stats, and given the astronomical prices of Epic Gear on the market, a Unique Gear had to possess terrifying special traits or immensely powerful attributes.

But the most important reward of all—was the Guild Creation Token!

No matter who used it first, that person and their guild would instantly become the center of attention. Their growth would skyrocket, because until the next token appeared, they would be the only guild in the entire server!