Chapter 186: 186: Why Choose to Be a Puppet?
"Celestial Descent."
The magic Dragon Curse transformed!
The Flame Dragon!
The magic grew three times in size!
In Sakura District, the explosions rang out one after another. In the blink of an eye, over 400 red-named players from Thousand Hands were obliterated.
The loot that fell was overwhelming. Various items glimmered, creating a scene reminiscent of a treasure vault opening.
"Log off from combat!"
A massive barrage of magic attacks bombarded Sakura District. Naoko's face went pale as she struggled to stay calm.
Charles: "Log off? No way. Who was the idiot who killed me earlier? Eat my arrow!"
Lauren: "What's with running? I just picked up a legendary item, and I haven't even made back the server costs yet. You're not going anywhere!"
Kitagawa and the others were stunned. These low-level accounts, wielding level 10 trash weapons, were now launching a counterattack against them, the first-tier players of the UJ district?
Lauren: "Hey, are you the leader of the Thousand Hands Guild? I'm the president of Bright Galaxy Guild, and honestly, you look pretty ugly."
Lauren: "Tsk tsk, at first glance, your makeup looks clean and pure, but if you look closely, you're just an old hag. Don't tell me you're a shemale?"
Naoko was stunned. She was hailed as a once-in-a-century beauty by Japanese media, yet now a level 12 female swordsman was coming right up to her and using her ultimate move?
"You... you're not even beautiful!" Naoko, despite her poise, was at a loss for words. She could only blush and lose her composure, raising her staff to cast a Holy Light spell, sending Lauren flying.
Naokold was also marked with red.
"Come on! I'm not done yet! Let me try to beat your ancestors again!"
"Ayo, try me, try me! Don't run!" Charles and the others kept shouting as they died, enjoying the chaos. They mocked and taunted, while using their trash weapons to harass the Thousand Hands players, forcing them into combat mode.
This forced many of the Thousand Hands players to be unable to log off, and those who tried to force a logout were left stuck, unable to move. They had no choice but to face Orson's long-range destruction.
The chaos lasted for ten minutes, and Sakura District became a scorched earth. Even though the main city could self-repair, under Orson's continuous AOE attacks, the repair speed slowed to a crawl.
A massive amount of high-quality equipment dropped from Thousand Hands, including over thirty legendary items and an astonishing 400+ hero items.
Such heavy losses sent Naoko into a breakdown. She couldn't figure out how to report this back to her higher-ups.
Her own 30-level legendary gear was lost, along with three legendary pieces of armor and a large sum of gold, all thanks to Lauren's mocking.
"I... request a ceasefire!"
A trembling voice finally sounded in the regional channel.
Naoko's face turned ashen, and she appeared in front of Orson, looking utterly defeated. "I... I represent the Thousand Hands Guild and agree to pay the Tithe."
"Say it louder, I didn't hear you." Orson said calmly, his gaze cold and piercing.
Naoko felt her heart skip a beat. The man before her was of average height, but his eyes were sharp like blades, making it impossible to look him in the eye.
He resembled a demon from hell—no, not a regular player, but a ruthless executioner from the Infinite Dimensions world. A butcher. A killer.
Most players saw Infinite Dimensions as an epoch-making game, treating it with a mindset of play and entertainment.
But this man in front of her… Naoko felt like he wasn't a player at all. He felt like a powerful NPC, one who would crush his enemies at any cost. Everything he said was serious. This wasn't just some game attitude.
"What did you say?" Naoko hesitated, still unable to fully understand Orson's words.
SirLagsALot: "You can't even afford a global megaphone, and you're saying you have sincerity?"
Continue your journey with empire
Naoko: "I... I need to consult with the higher-ups. Please forgive me, I'm sorry."
She nodded and bowed repeatedly to Orson, clearly attempting to log off.
Orson smiled playfully.
Acknowledging the mistake without paying the price—this was the classic tactic of the UJ players. A stubborn refusal to back down!
"You can't leave." Orson said bluntly. Dealing with people like her required being even more ruthless, more aggressive.
"Thousand Hands Guild might escape for a while, but I can guarantee that every hour, I'll be sweeping your guild again," Orson said calmly.
SirLagsALot: "Hahaha, I'll just stream every hour."
Orson made a gesture, summoning The Flame Dragon. His staff shone brightly.
UJ players were fond of self-destructive acts, and Orson wouldn't make the same mistake again. He could use forced displacement and knockback skills to interrupt any attempts at self-suicide.
Naoko's expression changed between uncertainty and anger. She began contacting reinforcements in the channel.
Thousand Hands had up to eight S-tier professionals and a top 50 ranked powerhouse like Shimoji.
However, since Orson began destroying Sakura District, Shimoji, Kawakita, and the others hadn't appeared.
"They're ignoring you, aren't they?" Orson spotted through her movements in an instant.
Naoko felt a chill down her spine. With a forced calmness, she said, "As you said, they're not online."
Orson smiled at her. "It's not a coincidence they're not online. They saw I'm here, and they don't think it's worth rescuing you."
"I'm the leader of the Thousand Hands Guild!" Naoko clearly understood the implication but still held onto a sliver of hope.
"No, you're a sacrificial pawn. To be exact, they've stopped betting on you," Orson's words cut deep. He raised his hand, directing her attention to Sakura District, still slowly repairing itself.
This was her "achievement."
Two thousand people in her guild, and nearly every single one had been tricked into becoming red-named. Gear and items dropped one after another. And they fought without any ability to fight back.
In essence, Naoko was just an ordinary player with some luck and the ability to command. If it weren't for the powerful S-tier summoner, she would have never risen to the position of guild leader.
Naoko's mental defenses shattered. She continued nodding desperately, her voice shaking: "I... I don't know what to do. I'm really sorry."
Kitagawa: "Naoko, we only accept a ceasefire, not being enslaved! The guild will not support any decision you make!"
Sabalu: "Wait until Shimoji-sama comes back. If they don't accept a ceasefire, we'll just force a logout and die again!"
Several Thousand Hands guild members stood up to speak, rejecting Naoko's claim that she agreed to the Tithe.
"No matter what promises she made to you, we can't make any decisions yet."
Kitagawa walked forward, followed by Charles, who was still shooting arrows at him.
Charles: "Don't even think about running. You killed me three times! When have I ever taken this kind of insult? Ask Orgod—didn't I once call him out and tell him to his face..."
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Charles fired a barrage of arrows, nearly no damage, but the insult was ridiculous.
"Bastard!" Kitagawa was furious, but he had no way of dealing with Charles, this persistent pest.
Kitagawa: "If we need to negotiate, then wait until after the Monster Siege!"
With a sly grin, Kitagawa left. According to his intel, tomorrow would be a disastrous day for the Godslayer Guild. At that point, even the US Triple Crown winner would have no way out.
In that case, any talk of negotiations would be pointless.
"In this world, strength is everything."
Orson ignored Kitagawa's words, his eyes moving to the hesitant Naoko.
Kitagawa furrowed his brows and said to Naoko: "If you agree, I believe you're no longer fit to be the guild leader."
"I... haven't done anything wrong." Naoko's eyes sparkled with tears, but she shot Kitagawa a defiant look.
This UJ girl was incredibly naive. With Yamata no Orochi at her side, she had foolishly defined herself as the guild mascot.
She was too soft-hearted to kill? Too weak to control the guild?
"You have the potential to eliminate them. Why choose to be a puppet?"
"You're the guild leader. Can they really force you out?" Orson smiled faintly, his mind games in full swing.
"Naoko!"
Kitagawa saw the situation worsening and noticed Naoko holding a global megaphone item.
His brows furrowed as he drew his bow and locked onto Naoko.
The UJ district players couldn't afford to lose face!
And the parent company of Thousand Hands would never accept such an insult!
Orson, however, seemed to ignore it all, his voice light as he said: "Crush those who defy you. Then, you'll have enough power to talk to me on equal terms."
Suddenly, an eerie surge of magic elements erupted, and a massive, terrifying figure took shape behind Naoko.
Eight monstrous heads snarled!
SirLagsALot: "Uh
oh! She's delayed the summoning cooldown!"