Chapter Thirty-One: Special Warfare Mechanics

Nightfeather and the others immediately set out for Mount Tai, heading straight toward Mount Tai City.

When everyone learned that Nightfeather and his companions were about to leave once again, only Knowing Human Warmth and Warmth and Coolness expressed a desire to retain them. The others remained silent. Many of them were senior elders in the faction, and quite powerful ones at that. They respected Nightfeather deep in their hearts, but it was merely respect—not worship.

When Knowing Human Warmth saw Nightfeather and the others transform into starlight and vanish before their eyes, he could only shake his head with a bitter smile. He then slowly walked to Warmth and Coolness, placed his right hand on the latter’s shoulder, and said with a smile, “It’s all right. They’ll come back. You have to believe in them. They are the central figures of our Violet Void Illusion Realm. Only with them can we develop further, so they can only walk at the very forefront of Profound Heaven.”

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Nightfeather and the others soon arrived at Mount Tai City. The mountain city had already grown extraordinarily powerful. Its population continued to increase, and it could even be said to be overcrowded.

Just then, Winebound Hero spoke up. “I’m going to find a blacksmith from Eternal Brotherhood who specializes in forging weapons.”

Winebound Hero had already mentioned this to Nightfeather on the way, so Nightfeather understood. He then heard the man continue, “Our Violet Void City needs a capable blacksmith in order to be constructed properly. Only a master-level blacksmith with sufficiently high skill can raise the city’s overall development level. Even if our city is only at Level Two, possessing a blacksmith of master caliber—with highly specialized skills—will significantly increase the output of the city’s buildings. Once we accumulate enough resources to build a dedicated smithy, the blacksmith from Eternal Brotherhood will not only accelerate the construction of Violet Void City, but will also allow us to obtain a free defensive facility every week for the city’s protection.”

Upon hearing Winebound Hero’s words, Nightfeather could not help but freeze for a moment. Then something remarkable happened: after hearing the explanation, he entered an unprecedentedly excited state and said with great interest, “He’s that capable? Why not invite him over, then? I’m beginning to think you might also be quite talented at building cities. I noticed you earlier. You seemed to have opinions of your own, but after seeing our healer and vice leader, you chose to remain silent.”

“They already possess sufficiently impressive city-building abilities, so naturally there was no need for me to interfere,” Winebound Hero replied calmly. Then, perhaps to change the subject—or perhaps because he had suddenly thought of it—he added, “Actually, Ancient World has excellent terrain, and the location we selected could be said to enjoy both favorable timing and advantageous geography. It occupies a natural stronghold and is well suited to becoming a military city with unmatched defensive capabilities. Although you possess permanent ownership of Ancient World, other factions can still attack it during faction conflicts. If they break through, they will be able to seize half of the resources.”

“I understand what you mean.” Nightfeather understood Winebound Hero’s point and nodded in agreement.

When Violet Void City reached Level Five, the terrain of Ancient World would allow it to occupy an area protected by a perilous entrance and advantageous elevations. It would also be surrounded by the ancient forests of Ancient World, with a river flowing nearby. Any force attempting to attack Violet Void City would therefore have to pass through the most dangerous region. That region would even contain long-range defensive machinery capable of protecting the city.

Before entering, the attackers would have to face ambushes from the stealth units and magic units established by the Violet Void Illusion Realm. With favorable timing, advantageous terrain, and united forces all on their side, the cost of attacking Violet Void City would be utterly incalculable. The enemy might even be crippled beyond recovery.

Furthermore, Divine Sorrow contained a special war mechanism known as the Faction War Mode System, triggered by faction forces. It was much like entering a state of world war. A powerful faction could dominate an entire map, becoming a colossal power like a giant dragon coiled across one corner of the world.

However, the special war mechanism of the Faction War Mode System was directed at the monsters in the map’s wilderness zones—in other words, a beast tide assault. Such assaults were naturally terrifying. The monsters’ attributes could be increased by as much as thirty percent. One could imagine how formidable they became under such an enhancement, entering a state of overwhelming strength that was almost impossible to oppose.

Players from the faction had to organize their own forces to stop the beast tide. Under this special war mechanism, the creatures that emerged were countless elite monsters and the most powerful wilderness bosses, so their strength was self-evident.

Their numbers were also five to ten times the total number of players belonging to the faction on that map. The system would evaluate the faction’s capabilities and the combined data of its players, then automatically adjust the number through artificial intelligence within that range.

Killing all those monsters was extremely difficult. The key to this special war mechanism of the Faction War Mode System was to use the city’s defensive machinery to delay them for as long as possible. Once the siege timer ended, the faction would be declared victorious—which also meant victory for the players.

Every player who participated in the Faction War Mode System and survived would receive extremely generous experience rewards, along with three pieces of standard legendary-grade equipment. In terms of rewards alone, it was remarkably lucrative.

The special war mechanism of the Faction War Mode System had been established specifically for cities occupied by faction forces. Naturally, it could also play a decisive role during large-scale player conflicts, serving to intimidate the strength of the players involved.

It was also highly effective when dealing with raids and plundering during faction wars. Yet, looking across the official world of Divine Sorrow, there were many cities with military-grade defenses that still could not withstand attacks from certain supreme powers. Those forces attacked from a position of overwhelming advantage.

In other words: when absolute power was in your hands, every trick and every tactic would turn to dust and vanish from the world.

Nightfeather also knew that the Violet Void Illusion Realm’s opponent was undoubtedly the First Faction. The latter maintained alliances with more than half of the top ten factions, and some factions were even direct subsidiaries of the First Faction. Its strength was therefore obvious.

During faction war events, different factions could join forces. Nightfeather clearly understood that Violet Void City would face an extremely grim situation in the future. Even without his saying anything, the higher-ups of the Violet Void Illusion Realm knew how serious the matter was. Adding some extra defensive machinery would therefore certainly be worthwhile.

Before long, Nightfeather and Winebound Hero arrived at the blacksmith shop in Mount Tai City. When Winebound Hero entered, he saw a figure browsing the component display cases inside.

As Nightfeather and Winebound Hero stepped into the blacksmith shop, the man seemed to sense a gaze falling upon him.

“You old rascal.”

Winebound Hero’s tone was exceptionally familiar.

Nightfeather could tell that this was only an ordinary blacksmith shop. Since the advanced stages of the Profound Heaven server had not yet been unlocked, the blacksmith shop in Mount Tai City was currently the finest available on any map reached by players. Even so, it seemed somewhat deserted. Apparently, players had yet to place much importance on the blacksmith profession.

The player standing before them had been designed to look rather old. Nightfeather guessed that he was indeed a mature man, perhaps old in both mind and age. Otherwise, this somewhat absent-minded fellow would never have addressed him as an old rascal.

“Why have you come? Is something wrong with your equipment, my Witch King?”

The figure turned around and looked at Winebound Hero. A faint smile curved his lips. Although he glanced at Nightfeather once, his gaze quickly returned to Winebound Hero. Clearly, he did not attach much importance to Nightfeather, though he could vaguely sense that Nightfeather was no ordinary person.

“No. I need to ask you for a favor. This friend of mine is the leader of a faction. He is currently building a faction city and needs a highly skilled master blacksmith to assist him. I know you possess that level of ability, so I hope you’ll go over and help him.

“Although the city has only just begun construction, it is currently the first faction city ever built on the Profound Heaven server. I can guarantee that its future achievements will surpass your imagination.”

“Build a city? You want me to assist you?” The figure suddenly fell silent, clearly sinking into thought. After pondering for a moment, he said, “It makes me nostalgic for the past. But I’m tired now. I no longer wish to participate in large-scale design and construction projects. I’m sorry, my Witch King, but I’m afraid I can only decline your invitation.”

Winebound Hero was naturally startled by the answer. Whenever he had sought this man’s help in the past, the other had never refused. In fact, he had always lent a hand without the slightest impatience.

Winebound Hero felt certain that the man must have a hidden past and said, “Were you isolated because you helped me? I know you once possessed a glory that surpassed everything. I don’t know what happened to you in the past, but I do know that I was the one who held you back. I’m truly sorry.

“That’s why I know you’re unwilling to accept your current situation, and I know you want to return to the peak you once occupied. That is why I insisted on inviting you to help me—and to assist my friend.”

At that moment, the figure slowly lowered his head and drew a deep breath. His expression was cold, but when he faced Winebound Hero, that coldness quietly receded, replaced by a refined and gentle smile.

“All right, you little rascal. There’s no way I can refuse you. I agree to go and help your friend.”

“Haha, I knew you’d be willing to come. Then it’s settled. As for payment, we can discuss it later. We’ll proceed according to your terms and negotiate everything between us.”

Winebound Hero knew that the man would have far too much to say on the subject of payment if they discussed it now, so he merely nodded. He then turned to look at the components displayed in the blacksmith shop.

Seeing this, Winebound Hero turned toward Nightfeather and nodded, clearly indicating that they could leave.

Nightfeather and Winebound Hero then walked out of the blacksmith shop. After reuniting with the others, they headed directly back to Eternal Brotherhood’s faction territory.

Eternal Brotherhood had already been repaired almost completely. As for its merger into the Violet Void Illusion Realm, Nightfeather had been the one to propose it, so the faction as a whole had raised very few objections. Quite a number of members had even chosen to support the decision.

After all, Eternal Brotherhood was itself one of the large factions among the top ten. It also possessed a terrifying PvP expert like the Witch King, Winebound Hero. For the Violet Void Illusion Realm, absorbing such a force would naturally be a tremendous improvement.

However, Eternal Brotherhood no longer had as many members as it once did. After the previous incident, many faction members had chosen to leave Eternal Brotherhood and seek refuge with the First Faction, its allies, or its affiliated factions.

“I imagine you used to live like an emperor, didn’t you? Everyone treated you with the utmost respect. If not for what happened before, Eternal Brotherhood would still be the same Eternal Brotherhood today.”

Nightfeather spoke with a hint of envy. There was no mockery in his words; he genuinely felt the weight of what Eternal Brotherhood had once been.

Winebound Hero lazily basked in the warm sunlight. His entire face carried traces of drowsiness. Eternal Brotherhood was currently safe. Its merger into the Violet Void Illusion Realm would still take some time, but the faction territory had not suffered any further invasions.

That was because the Violet Void Illusion Realm had already made it clear that it and Eternal Brotherhood belonged to the same camp. This meant that Eternal Brotherhood had completely placed itself on the opposite side of the First Faction.

Although many factions were still competing for a place among the top ten, the flames of war had yet to spread to that level. Before Eternal Brotherhood officially merged with the Violet Void Illusion Realm—before everything reached that point—calm still prevailed.

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