Chapter 2661: Strong, But Not Too Strong
The obedience test was stated openly by the masked man. It was nothing more than first offering a condition that Isle Nation players could easily accept, increasing the cost of compromise for the Isle Nation side, while also clearing away some obstacles to clearing the instance. After all, stranded players, in order to avoid entering high-risk random instances, would definitely try to sabotage the ticket players' clearance.
However, as an instance that no one had cleared in twenty years, aside from those players who had used special means to leave this district, the remaining ones probably didn't have much fighting spirit. Because the time span was too long, it was difficult for people to maintain a high degree of concentration and sensitivity for decades on end. Therefore, the earlier a player became stranded, the less interference they posed to later ticket players. It was those who had just been stranded for over three months who were in a state of extreme paranoia.
The masked man wanted the Isle Nation players to kill stranded players, but he didn't specify which instance's stranded players. Although District 039 had few countries and few people, there were still some high-level instances. Who knew who the Isle Nation would use to fill the quota?
And the masked man's side didn't seem to care much whether the ones handed over by District 039 were actually stranded players. After all, verification was troublesome, time-consuming, and unnecessary. He just wanted the Isle Nation government and player organizations to bow their heads.
It was hard to say what consequences this storm would bring, but at least for Xu Huo, it wasn't good news. Because the government player told him that Lian Qingkong had gone out to handle urgent business.
Great.
"Really, every five minutes, bodies of outer zone players appear, and more than one at a time," Xiao Mei said gravely, refreshing the messages on the Message Collection Terminal. "There are also bodies of local zone players being thrown out."
"Everything's in chaos."
"Is he trying to clear the instance or start a war between players?"
Outer zone players might not necessarily band together, but faced with this situation, they certainly wouldn't remain passive. Someone was killing them as a bargaining chip for a deal, so they naturally wouldn't sit idly by. And their counterattacks would trigger a new chain reaction, the ripples of slaughter inevitably spreading layer by layer.
Whether it was for clearing the instance was hard to say, but the masked man was definitely here to muddy the waters.
His ultimate bargaining chip was always the National Heirloom Treasure, so the Isle Nation's player organizations had started publicly searching for it again.
Soon, new news of a "suspected National Heirloom Treasure" spread. This time, not only local players but also outer zone players related to the instance became active, swarming to the place where the news originated.
The two hours the masked man had agreed upon quickly passed. Regardless of whether they were outer zone or local players, the death toll increased as time went on, far exceeding the original requirement of one person every five minutes. During this time, the masked man's side did not reappear or make new demands. Until another two hours passed, a video of a player war at the border between the Eternal Tower and the Isle Nation became the number one most-watched on the Message Collection Terminal.
No one knew how the war started, but many execution squad members had arrived from the Eternal Tower side. They seemed to be confronting someone, maintaining a formation and being on guard. The Isle Nation side also had people, but their numbers were less than a third of the other side's, and neither side's focus was on the opposing group.
A darkness shrouded the border between the two countries.
This was clearly not a normal nightfall, because it was spherical. Most of it was over the Eternal Tower, with a small part over the Isle Nation. It looked like a small planet resting on the ground, covering a very large area. Inside, there were faint sounds of shouting and fighting, but the situation inside couldn't be seen from the outside. One could only glimpse the intensity of the slaughter from the occasional players who fled out.
The player who uploaded the video described the situation at the time: "This item is interesting. Besides weakening sound and blocking vision, it should also make the players inside go blind. Almost every player who ran out reacted to the light stimulus."
"If they're all blind and their ears don't work well, I can't imagine how fierce the fighting inside must be. And I think the function of this black sphere is probably far more than just limiting people's senses. The Isle Nation side only sent ten players, eight stayed outside, and the two who went in are probably the Isle Nation's elites..."
Before this speech was finished, another person broke free. Seriously injured and fleeing, he still looked back. No one chased him out, but the black gas that came out with him when he escaped automatically condensed into a sharp blade, which pierced his heart!
When the body hit the ground, the video abruptly ended.
Half an hour later, the Isle Nation government announced that the crisis was resolved. The outer zone players who had taken hostages were all killed, and the hostages had all been rescued. They also demanded that player organizations return to their positions and stop searching for the National Heirloom Treasure. If any local players were found gathering to fight or engaging in duels, they would be punished to the fullest extent according to current laws, with no leniency.
Whether the people were really all rescued was unknown to outsiders, but the undercurrents of war that seemed to be escalating had dissipated.
The Isle Nation government had stepped in to resolve the kidnapping incident and suppressed the restless player organizations.
"No wonder Lian Qingkong was able to suppress so many player organizations back then. He really has to have the strength to back it up," Xiao Mei sighed after reading the discussions on the Message Collection Terminal. She added, "They say Lian Qingkong hasn't personally acted in many years. I wonder if it was him this time. Too bad I've looked at many videos and haven't seen him."
"It might not necessarily be Lian Qingkong," Bei Bao said.
Xiao Mei didn't understand her meaning, but Xu Huo knew she was talking about the descendants of the two surnames. However, this probability was very small. Not to mention that those people had little to do with the descendants of the two surnames, even if they were the real descendants, the players of the two surnames might not actually show up to solve the problem.
Unless the descendants of the two surnames had already cooperated with Lian Qingkong.
Of course, this was not impossible. After all, over hundreds of years, with people scattered, it wasn't strange for like-minded individuals to come together.
The main reason the Isle Nation was in such chaos was that the government was strong, but not too strong.
It was estimated that the situation was similar for the descendants of the two surnames. So neither side could rely on themselves, nor could they rely on the other.
The assassin's advantage lay in patience and concealment.
That was quite consistent with the style of the battle in the video.
But the Eternal Tower side wasn't easy to deal with either. Just as the kidnapping incident was resolved, war broke out at the border between the two countries.
Seeing him frown, Xiao Mei asked, "Have you figured out a way to clear the instance?"
"Do you have a way?" Xu Huo countered.
Xiao Mei spread her hands. "The players of this country are all fighting each other. Getting them to work together is harder than reaching the sky."
"This isn't too difficult," Xu Huo said, but he didn't finish his sentence.
"What do you mean? You have a way?" Xiao Mei perked up. "Whether it works or not, say it first. What if it's feasible?"
Xu Huo glanced at her. "To make two evenly matched people shake hands and make peace is very simple. Just give them a common powerful enemy."
Something that could make the entire Isle Nation unite against a common foe... that would probably only be a war of national annihilation, right?
Xiao Mei swallowed dryly. "You really dare to think."