Pride Online

Chapter 575: Announcing The War Part I

“I didn’t think that there’d be a hideout in the middle of the desert.”

Wisana’s gentle voice sounded while he was walking around the town that was surrounded by the mountains in the middle of the desert as if they were the walls.

There were torches around that lit up the paths. In the middle of it, there was the biggest oasis around here. There was a waterfall surrounded by trees that looked like palm trees and coconut trees.

The buildings around were built from stones. There were about twenty of them. And there were also a lot of tents. There were a lot of people here. There were even restaurants, shops, and hospitals!

“We should be able to rest here.”

Viper was walking beside him. He sent everyone the information from his screen. It was an image of a small area in the desert.

“Here’s not exactly a tourist attraction nor a good place to train for levels.” He said. “At least the ambush is out of the question since the monsters around here are huge.”

“Dysandwal’s one of them.”

Maysa said. Viper laughed happily.

“We don’t usually encounter it, though. How should I say this? If you’re not extremely unlucky, that is.”

Maysa laughed and glanced at Wisana. She thought that if that was the case, the man was probably the cause of the bad luck. Wisana knew what Maysa was thinking and scratched his cheek.

The sky started to turn darker. The sun was setting, letting the moon take its place. The long journey was over after Alexander flew through the gap between the mountains.

The Nemesis was inside the small base of the Desert Warrior. It was pretty intriguing. While Alexander was waiting for the repair in the village, technician players surrounded it with interest.

The wounded had been sent to the hospital and the rest of them had already gone straight to restaurants. There were only the leaders who were following Viper since he asked them to meet someone first.

“How long have you been together like this?” Wisana said.

“Since the last war at Tristan,” Viper said. “After the rules of the war have changed, I led my people out of the Rate Pirate. Valentine wanted us to be with her, but I refused.”

“Why?” Wisana asked.

Viper smiled and shrugged.

“Because it’s boring there.”

Wisana looked Maysa in the eyes, puzzled.

“As you may know, the Bunny Burner loves to be in defensive mode. I’m the tank. That’s it.”

“And don’t you think joining hands would be a good balance and intimidating for the enemy?” Maysa said with a cute smile.

Viper laughed at her naivety.

“It’s true, but it’s not fun if you’re too perfect, young lady. It’s like a cheat mode in a game.”

Maysa smiled at what he said.

“So, you gathered these independent players and formed a different group?” She asked.

“Yes.” The man nodded. “These people are indies who want to join the war. Even without the crystal, it doesn’t mean they’re useless, right?”

Wisana pouted.

“The rules of the war are shit,” Viper said. “People with the crystal are like the main characters in the war and ones without it are only great supporting characters or stupid NPCs you meet along the way.”

Tunwa laughed at the metaphor. The girls giggled. Wisana could only smile a little.

“And that was the business that you wanted to talk about?” Wisana asked.

“Well...” Viper shrugged. “As you may know, those without a crystal can’t do much here. They even need to collect those stupid points to challenge the crystal barer for it.”

“So, you’re saying you want our crystal to be an entry ticket for them to challenge the others?”

“That’s right.” Viper smiled.

Again, Wisana looked Maysa in the eye.

“That’s why they were so happy to see us.” Maysa sighed. “It was like we were movie stars or something.”

Viper smiled and turned to her.

“They’re truly happy,” Viper said. “You’re like a key to a chance for them to be able to join the war again.”

“Are you sure?” Wisana interrupted. “If they want to join us, I’m alright with it. The problem is, we have a lot of enemies, though. You may want to reconsider it.”

The older man let out a good laugh.

“Let me guess, more than half of them are targeting you specifically, Vincent?”

Wisana halted. Maysa covered her mouth and laughed.

“Don’t worry. This is war, so sooner or later we’ll have to fight each other. And not only me who agreed to join the Nemesis but also our leader. That’s why we want to be allies.”

“Your leader...?” Wisana raised his eyebrow.

“Yes, the person I’m taking you to. Actually, you’ve met her already, haven’t you?” Viper smiled. “Ms. Baron. She established this army and decided everything for us. Believe me, if she wasn’t good, she wouldn’t be able to rise above me.”

Wisana smiled in a way that no one could know what he was thinking.

“Then, I hope we get along well.”

“Don’t worry.” Viper nodded. “Ms. Baron really wants to see you. Ah, maybe you’ll get to see familiar faces here, too.”

“Familiar faces?”

The man looked at Maysa confusingly.

“There’s one more thing that you should be aware of, Vincent,” Viper said.

“What is it?”

“Don’t ever want to pry into Ms. Baron’s past and don’t ask about her face. There was a person who tried to take her mask off and he ended up getting treated in a hospital for two weeks.”

The audience unintentionally swallowed their saliva. They had already witnessed the woman’s abilities. Wisana could only nod so quickly that Viper beamed at him. He took everyone up the narrow stairs at the foot of the hill that led to the top.

While walking up the stairs, Wisana wondered how long it took these people to build this town. Viper said that it had been about two weeks. Everyone cried out, “What!?” altogether.

“Why so fast?” Tunwa exclaimed.

“The building system during the war is like this,” Viper said. “In the war, there’s an online real estate trading system. With money, you can have a building in two days or about a month without.”

“That means the one with funds is at the lead. That’s cheating.” Wisana said.

“Not usually. Real estates like hospitals, restaurants, item shops, or weapon shops require high levels to be able to purchase. I can’t even buy a hospital or a weapon shop.”

The rest of them looked at each other.

“I’m so sorry, but if you don’t mind me asking... what level are you at, Mr. Viper?” Waree asked.

“Me? Mmm... 177.”

The “Huh?!” was louder this time.

“Even level 177 is considered low?” Wisana cried.

“It’s like that. That’s why armies with money but no levels aren’t able to purchase these things. It’s a balance in the game.” Viper grinned.

“And who bought the hospital and the weapon shop?”