Chapter 594

Whether messenger cavalry or war giants, these plant‑like animals, strictly speaking, can actually be counted as his "children".

Because this technology, from its birth to maturity, and then to its present conversion into usable combat power, was all practiced on Kassidorio.

So when he raised his head and let out a sound as melodious as a song, so that it could hardly be called a dragon's roar any longer, the war knights all erupted.

In the joyful music they sang, they danced, their limbs moving, they clapped and cheered, delighted as if they had seen their father's child.

But if that were all, the players would just pull out their cameras for a group photo, at most adding a line like "I'm there!" and then post it to their social feed—nothing more.

But soon, after a stench so familiar to many players began to emanate from the war giants' bodies, they could no longer laugh.

Because without any warning, the iron armor on the giants' bodies suddenly bulged, and from the gaps countless gorgeous, abnormal flowers sprouted.

And they grew wildly like some twisted, winding monster worm, until they had swollen the giants' bodies into grotesque, bloated monstrosities, showing no sign of stopping.

What's more frightening is that these flowers look eerie, even evoking the image of some horrible parasite, yet they possess a vigorous vitality.

It was as if they were the absolute justice, the sole answer of the Yangyue Star!

Moreover, it wasn't just the war giants; when the flower stalks touched the ground, even the earth was overtaken by this riot of color.

Roots and stems churned, sweet fragrance permeated the air, and a dreamy sea of flowers spread out like spilled paint.

"What the hell is this!"

Although cautious players had already bolted, many unlucky souls were a beat slow and got dragged under and submerged by the sweeping carpet of gorgeous flowers.

As for the fate of those submerged… it's still unclear, but the lower‑right corner of everyone's view was indeed flooded with teammates' death notifications.

"Fuck!"

The pilot in the air, seeing this, couldn't help but curse, and thus failed to notice the gaze of the skeletal dragon far away.

The next moment, like a small bird pierced through the heart by thorns, the jet capable of supersonic cruise instantly turned into a blaze of fire.

Accompanied by a fresh‑green dragon breath slicing the sky, after three days of probing attacks.

On the second Sunday of July in the solar year 546, the full‑scale invasion from the Shen Lin Wang Guo began.

And this day, worthy of being recorded in the Yangyue annals, ended with the total collapse of the western frontier line that the Hui Guang Kingdom had poured all its strength and vast resources into building.

There was nothing to be done—when the skeletal dragon in the sky and the war general on the ground were both level eighty, even the Xiguang Duke's vigor and might were of no avail.

The evil spirit magic dragon was likewise an excellent air‑combat unit; the lone‑tree‑hard‑to‑support aviation squadron only managed to escape its pursuit after sustaining casualties of nearly one‑fifth.

So when both of those legs were cut off by the enemy, and the Hui Guang army behind them didn't even have a wheelchair, the situation instantly became suffocating.

The result of that suffocation was that, out of a hundred thousand defenders, only a mere twenty thousand managed to flee that horrific hellscape with difficulty, while the remaining eighty thousand were all transformed into new messenger cavalry.

And this was merely the largest of the passes; along that winding border line there are dozens of big and small military towns and fortresses!

Thus, after the main forces scattered, in just three days the Hui Guang Kingdom's total of five hundred thousand garrison troops were reaped like wheat before a scythe by the dark‑flame consciousness.

Thus, that night's headline on the Qixia City Daily's front page read outright: "Advances in Magic Technology, Simultaneously Advances in Slaughter Efficiency".

"It's over!"

The court and the populace were shaken, the whole world trembled; frightened, the Hui Guang officials dared not slack off, and hurriedly retreated to the Sun Fortress to hold a small meeting.

It was the same time, the same place; the only change was that a group of military officials, including the Xiguang Duke, had disappeared.

And as the kingdom's paper‑paster, the emperor's beloved grandfather, in such a dire situation even the Arc light Duke couldn't help but sigh again and again.

After all, that was five hundred thousand, five hundred thousand garrison troops!

Although they certainly didn't all die in battle, they have indeed all slipped out of the kingdom's control and are now being transformed into another new military disaster!

Moreover, after the western frontier line fell, the kingdom's next line of defense would now have to be the Guard the Nation Pass in the western part of the capital region.

And then? Then it's Qixia City, where everyone's whole families reside!

Fiya: "Ribbit! The royal hunting grounds have no crooked‑neck trees; I don't want to be Chongzhen, I don't want to be Chongzhen's mouth teeth!"

Moreover, the most complicated aspect of the war is that, while it is indeed a war, whatever is involved with it is never just war alone; there are also many state affairs.

If we win, it's easy to say: all is well, the whole nation rejoices, any contradiction can be temporarily covered up, and the state's longevity could easily exceed a hundred years.

But if we lose……

No need to guess; first to fall into chaos is the already panic‑stricken western border, where defeat collapses like a mountain, and everyone's world comes crashing down!

From nobles to wealthy commoners, anyone who could run was doing so, so that even before dawn the area outside the Guard the Nation Pass was already packed with refugees seeking to flee inside to escape disaster.

Then there are the northeastern nobles, who have always been at odds with the Royal Capital faction, harboring ambitions of a second minister, and who are increasingly dropping the pretense.

Heh, this one is a heavyweight; previously he pretended to be deaf and dumb, feigning ignorance of the royal orders, but now he has suddenly regained his ability to communicate.

Moreover, they all jointly sent envoys into the Royal Capital, shamelessly urging Her Majesty the Queen to flee… no, rather, to take advantage of the abundant autumn game and hurry east on a hunt.

"Hunt your mother's head!"

Damn, if this were back then, not even Anton VI.

This ill‑intentioned bunch of vermin can't even get past the Royal Capital faction's checkpoint, and will be beaten out of Qixia City by a sudden wave of mysterious assailants wielding clubs.

But now Fiya is already flushed, and she can only reply in a soft voice: "Mm‑hm, okay, dear, this side already knows—welcome to come again next time."

There's nothing to be done; the total annihilation of that five‑hundred‑thousand‑strong army really hurt, and the Royal Capital faction has been drained of both its reserves and its morale.

If at this point we provoke the opposition faction, letting them strike ruthlessly and black‑heartedly, dealing a vicious blow, then Hui Guang would truly be finished!

"Hah, a useless blond‑haired girl."

But even if Fiya tries to put the big picture first, upon hearing that middle‑aged man—the leader of the envoy group, presumably the young master of the Xiaoguang family—let out a soft snort, she still clenched her fists.

"Wait for me, I'm going to kill you all……"

But just as the Royal Capital faction and the opposition were locked in a sustainable stalemate, the Shen Lin people launched a massive invasion, the westerners fled en masse, and Fiya, furious, was beating her pillow in the sleeping chamber.

One has to admit, it's truly the case that the important forget things—it seems a group of people have been forgotten by the masters.

"Hello, hello, can you hear me?"

"Oh, good, ladies and gentlemen, good evening! Hehe, we've had a little hiccup here, so let's do an extra broadcast, haha."

When the east wind howls past, only two things cannot fly.

One is a truly clumsy wild boar; even if you bring out a plantain fan and blow hard, it won't fly—it can only lie on the ground, frantically spinning in circles.

One kind is a monkey clinging to the ground; no matter how many good or bad words you say, they still won't fly, just wanting to guard their own one mu and three fen of land and steal peaches.

Therefore, even though Double Moon Struggle has been around for over two years since its launch, not every star player makes a fortune.

Even among those one hundred closed-beta players, several chose to withdraw at critical moments, playing it safe.

For example, Qiang Ge, after a period of popularity in battle, joined the Foreign Affairs Bureau and thus became an official who lives off the imperial stipend.

For example, Fu Le, after using the game to get through his midlife crisis, did not choose to go further but instead returned to family.

Death God remains hot thanks to all sorts of death‑seeking stunts and plenty of game guides, but going two years without scandal is already pretty hardcore.

Besides those early‑famous Yangyue Belt stars, there are also a few elders who have stuck with the game from the beginning and chosen to continue living peacefully.

Please... you... collect 6... 9... books...!

For example, those two guys who like playing music are considered the first wave of micro‑influencers in Double Moon Struggle, and they happen to live in the same dorm.

Note: These two are the ones at the end of the first volume and the beginning of the second volume, meaning the world line has converged.

Since they were able to decisively give up the chance to resell activation codes for a profit of several million when the game entered closed beta, they also dragged their other two roommates into the pit.

Now that the game has gradually flourished and the environment has become ever more colorful, they naturally can stay true to their original intentions and maintain a normal development trajectory.

Therefore, when the game entered open beta, the four of them did not accept the ten‑million‑level big contracts from agencies, nor did they sign lucrative MCN contracts.

Instead, they registered a social media account called 'Four Wander Poets', formed a band of the same name, and began updating their low‑budget travels in Yangyue World.

Today, goblins in the Barbarian Wilds sing a work chant; tomorrow, at Jueqiao Pass, they write love poems for passing youths; the day after, they might run to the eastern part of the kingdom to spread satirical sayings mocking nobles.

After touring around, accumulating millions of fans per stream and tens of millions across the whole network, they finally arrived at the western border of the kingdom.

Although everything was initially fine, this land, though long neglected, began to flourish after the Royal Capital introduced new policies, filling it with warm hope.

Moreover, by the time they arrived, it was already this summer, and many basic livelihood issues had been solved by the players, so the video pace was quite lively.

Hehe, okay, today a passing kid fed me bread… uh, it would be even better if I didn't have fur.

As for the old king assassinated in March and the new king who just ascended the throne in May… sorry, those events are too distant and have nothing to do with the people here.

It's a pity that changes in the situation might not affect ordinary people's lives, but it's unlikely that they have no relation at all.

So, they hadn't even enjoyed a few days in the western border when, while earning today's lodging by singing for the crowd in the tavern, they heard the bad news about the Deep Forest incident.

All of us brothers have received nine years of compulsory education and studied Chinese and foreign history, so we immediately realized something was wrong.

Holy crap, could something be about to happen?

Then came the Deep Forest's top‑level change, which is bizarre to a degree thousands of times greater than Radiant Light, along with the sudden declaration of war.

It's laughable—at first they were still optimistic, thinking the situation wasn't serious and that with our players' help, the Deep Forest hounds would be driven off as quickly as the Wolf King's Court.

Gee, even if worse comes to worst, we've got Xi Jueye—he's an over‑eighty‑level master, the old master won't flip over!

But facts prove that popping champagne at halftime is a no‑go; the happier you chat and laugh now, the harder the eventual slap in the face will hit.

So hehe, guess what? In less than three days, the situation took a sudden turn for the worse, and Xi Jueye lost!

Not only did Xi Jueye lose, but several of the player‑sent support planes were also shot down, shattering the myth that Earth's technology is invincible.

Bad news: the internet now has a meme making fun of the Four Wander Poets group, enough to compile into a Book of Songs.

Worse news: the already tense atmosphere, with everyone fearing the enemy like tigers, has seen the Radiant Light western border completely collapse.

Even though the inn where we brothers could sit down and eat a meal in peace yesterday hadn't even made it to tomorrow, by midnight a gang of rioters had already arrived to wreck the place.

Bold, who are you people!

If it weren't for the fact that we brothers have picked up some skills along the way, with an average level of nearly forty, we might have been stopped right here.

With just a couple of punches and kicks, before we could even surround them to kick, a dozen or so bandits all turned into kneeling, begging-for-mercy emasculations.

Hey hey, lords, please let us go—we're just a bunch of farmers.

After all, we're still ordinary people; most players can't kill indiscriminately without reason, act on whim, or draw their swords at the slightest displeasure.

Otherwise, with that blade flashing bright before their eyes, how could they possibly just subdue the enemy and then stop?

And precisely because of this mercy, seeing the rioters kneeling in a heap with several bags of grain and money scattered around, they found themselves in a dilemma.

Because, according to what those bandits said, they were actually a group of old farmers who could no longer make a living.

They just wanted to snatch a little something before leaving, so they could take their families and flee to escape disaster and avoid calamity.

I never meant to hurt anyone, let alone kill; I just took a little, was about to leave, but who knew I'd accidentally startled the four big brothers.

Ah… well… then we…

Don't rush!

Even at the critical moment, Aige, who serves as the dorm head and lead singer and normally handles the account operations, remained comparatively calm.

Brothers, don't forget we're just travelers who acted bravely; this inn does have an owner!

One of life's wisdoms: when faced with a tough problem, what do you do? Don't think about solving it—just pawn it off on someone else, right!

Yeah, where's the boss? Let him decide; we shouldn't overstep.

But just then, everyone discovered with surprise… Eh! After all the commotion, why hasn't that fat boss come out?

They searched the small inn all around, and discovered that not only was the boss missing, but his entire family, along with the waiters and cooks, had all vanished!