by Cobyboy
Feihren immediately dismissed the misunderstanding as the people were starting to scream and squeal in fear,
"I'm just summoning this to give you all a ride. I'll be taking you home"
Feihren continued as he threw an awkward smile towards these people.
"It's time to pay a visit to that disrupted Empire..."
Epilogue: United Under Feihren's Banner
Soaring high in the skies of the Omod Continent, The Azoic Dragon Fortress made its way towards the New Dragon Empire. It did not take too long for this gigantic mode of transportation to reach its destination, and Feihren arrived before the sun set.
It had been a busy day. Although the 'war' did not take too long, Feihren was already mentally drained from all the happenings involving different parties. Feihren sighed in relief as this should be the last thing that he had to take care of before he could finally rest.
Lucy had left for the Wolfenstein Kingdom. Feihren had instructed her to personally announce and command the procedure of seizing control over the Garudia Kingdom. Although this sounds like another bloody battle, Feihren had specifically commanded to handle things peacefully this time. All that was left within the Garudia kingdom is the meager amount of defense forces that they have left.
There should be the remaining anti-war faction within the Senate of the Garudia Kingdom that would willingly participate in this to lessen the casualties that would occur. Having a kingless kingdom with little to no administration would just attract rebellion or be attacked by another external party. It would be too big of a price to pay for not agreeing to the terms set by the Wolfenstein Kingdom.
The people within the dragon fortress were dead silent as they stared blankly at the figure of Feihren, who was calmly sitting on the balcony, writing something on a bit of parchment as he navigated.
"If the directions that Lucy gave were correct, the New Dragon Empire should be... right about... here." The Azoic Dragon halted as it slowly descended to the ground.
They were still pretty far away from the main fortress of the empire when they landed, but the sudden appearance of the undead dragon had attracted the attention of the Imperial troops as they hurried forth to prepare their defenses.
The citizens of the New Dragon Empire that were within the fortress gasped as they could see the imminent danger coming their way. Feihren had planned to visit this place without antagonizing anything, yet it seems that it would still be impossible for now.
Tossing the rolled parchment to one of the people within the group, Feihren said,
"You don't have any ruling powers for now, hand it over to your Empress or anyone that would seem worthy of the imperial throne. I won't bother you any further."
Feihren was already tired and did not bother to intervene with the affairs of the New Dragon Empire for now. Besides, if the root of all this was Destrian's plot, then it could be said that Feihren had helped them enough. It's up to a fully grown Empire to solve its own disputes and problems.
Avoiding the incoming imperial troops, the Azoic Dragon Fortress rose as it soared back up to the skies, flying in the opposite direction. Feihren headed back to Wolfenstein.
...
Within the few months since the seizing of the Garudia Kingdom, the Wolfenstein kingdom had exponentially grown in terms of trade. This does not only mean that the trade that was coming from the Garudia Kingdom was more effective. This also included the things that Feihren planned out beforehand.
The bridge that they had made on the Jujelei River paid off. More merchants and adventurers alike were actually arriving from the southern gate, which is the main gate of the Wolfenstein Kingdom. This greatly boosted the kingdom's economy.
Aside from this, the route established by the elves within Central Woodlands had lessened the "accidents" that people would encounter. This would then lead more people from Sechua City, and other places that would pass through the Central Woodlands, to arrive safely at the border of the continent. This would mean that they will most likely enter the Wolfenstein Kingdom.
Vera Beaue was the one responsible for the safe path within the Central Woodlands, and Marie, the daughter of Mark, was the one responsible for handling the affairs between Sechua City and the Wolfenstein Kingdom. City Lord Allen was then able to focus on his job of maintaining the stability of the city after the destruction of the black market and the sudden disappearance of the Adventurer's Guild.
...
Although it did not go smoothly at first, the seizing of the Garudia kingdom could easily be categorized as a success.
There was rebellion in the first weeks but it was immediately crushed under the temporary ruling of Lucy. Assigning her to this wasn't a mistake. In fact, it was the best option. Residing within the consciousness of this lady knight was a once powerful being that ruled demons back then, so the ability to actually rule should be in her 'blood'.
It may not be easy to regain the strength of a kingdom that was crippled within a single day, but it could definitely be paved faster if one has the ability and talent to do so.
The winged beast territory of the Garudia Kingdom had gained its liveliness back as stronger flying beasts joined the fray. Led by the lady knight Lucy, more formidable beasts from the mountain ranges started appearing. It was not limited to Griffins and Wyverns anymore.
...
Feihren sat on his throne as he contemplated things while looking at the blank screen...
It seems that Adrian arrived successfully within the Bainzen Empire, but the red dot stopped at a certain spot and hadn't moved any further. The video feedback was also not working anymore...
"Could it be some sort of magic interference? It should be signal jamming... that doesn't exist here right?" Feihren pondered as he tinkered through how the spy drone worked within this world.
"It seems that it would take time before I could see who this Jason is huh... Although it seems that he's pretty familiar with me... So I should also be familiar with him perhaps...? Then I guess I'll actually be meeting an old friend here huh."
Feihren wasn't skeptical in the least bit about Jason being able to exist in this world. He was actually happy as it seems that it should be possible to see familiar faces here... After all, he shouldn't be that unique and special to be granted an exclusive transmigration.
...
The area of the Wolfenstein Kingdom grew exponentially, spanning from the New Coboro Village up to the usurped Garudia Kingdom, to the elven forest, and up to Sechua City. This was all now under the ruling of the Wolfenstein Kingdom, under the banner of their new king.
Special Chapter: Gaia's Paradox World Tournament (Part One of Four)
[Gaia's Paradox World Tournament]
United Nation's Convention Center Dome. 6th of August, 2215.
It spanned over 600,000 square feet, with an enormous seating capacity of 80,000 people. One of the biggest events in man's gaming history is about to take place in the largest arena in the world. Within this gigantic dome, an annual event unlike any other is about to unfold.
Loud cheering echoed throughout the arena for an event which many fans within the gaming industry were waiting for the entire year. It had been 3 years since the launching of Gaia's Paradox, and it has been the second time that a tournament of this magnitude would happen in its history.
Professionals, veterans, talented players, prodigies, and super rookies coming from different countries and nationalities, all gathered in this momentous time as they try their best for a chance to compete at the main event.
As a very popular VR game, Gaia's Paradox had never been restricted to which type of players would be given an opportunity to be able to join the tournament. Unlike the common tournament formats of team games, where teams with 5 members compete, this tournament has a better format of its own to utilize one's strategic planning and skill fully.
Regional Qualifiers from all over the world would take place to filter the best players within a country. A maximum of 20 people from each
area would represent their country during the event where thousands of people would be gathered just to fight in single elimination matches. Although these 20 people represent a single country, this was a battle royale game where one has to show his own prowess. As such, these games were terribly difficult, even for the most progressive of countries, as all they could do is show support for all of their competitors.
Free-for-All Deathmatch (Round Robin)
Within the gaming arena, thousands of players would be randomly divided into 50 different groups.
These teams would only have a single winner each. Around 80 players would be spawned at a uniform distance from the center of the map. Each player would then have the option to capture the center grounds, which would automatically make then win the entire map, or kill the other 79 players to be the last man standing.
Ample preparations were needed by players before engaging in the battle.
One restriction was the limited utilities a user could carry. At most they could carry 10 items, regardless of whether it was healing or tactical. Second is the number of weapons the player could use, which was a maximum of 2 range weapons and a single melee weapon. The entire map was also level restricted, which means that nobody would have any advantage from their high levels, as they would all have the same health value. This was clearly a map designed to push one to use their instincts and skill to outwit and defeat each and every opponent.
August 6, 2215 (Day 1 of the 3-day tournament) The deathmatch elimination games began.
It was 9 A.M. yet the entire arena was already bustling with spectators.
The 50 different maps were spaced out throughout the day. The first 25 games were held in the morning till 2 in the afternoon, the other 25 was concluded by 7 in the evening. It was a tireless day for the enthusiastic fans of the different prominent players within the games.
From all the 25 games in the morning, 3 of these had the highest spectator count of all the streaming platforms within the arena. Luckily, none of these highly anticipated games were played together, so the said maps were highly watched due to the players within it.
(Morning set games, Game #13.)
This game was highly anticipated due to the raw amount of Chinese fans streaming the game. The main reason for the hype was because this map contained 7 people that represented China. Loud cheering was heard within the dome as the game concluded with an obvious winner, a Chinese professional gamer, Ru Shi.
(Morning set games, Game #17.)
A 'son of heaven' was the focus for this game. A 16-year-old gaming prodigy, Kibito Rem. Without breaking a sweat, he ended the map with an astonishing time of 12 minutes. The 80 person map was finished, just like that.
(Morning set games, Game #24.)
Before the end of the morning games, another highly anticipated game took place, but it was all due to the enormous fan base of one specific gaming veteran, Bai Zi Wang. At the age of 37, he had tried multiple VRMMO games and had dominated competitions for some of them. As such, a really large group of people support him every time he tries to transfer and be a godly figure within another game.
Nothing special had happened during the afternoon games, it was only the standard amount of viewers. A few brand new player names were given a rise in fame due to some outstanding maneuvers, amazingly snatching the victory by a hair's breadth. Players like Aaron Sanchez from Mexico, Ace from the Americas, and Clau from Russia were the top favorites within the afternoon games.
50 players are now qualified for the 2nd stage of the event, which would technically be the quarterfinals. The long first day of the competition was then concluded.
1-vs-1 Limited-Time Deathmatch
25 games of 1 versus 1 would be held during the second day of the event. The competition would determine the fights by drawing lots. 50 players were then divided into 2 groups. The game's format was simple and would not take much time.
The two opposing players would spawn in a random location within a 4x4-kilometer virtual map. They would then hunt each other down. To avoid too much 'tactical camping', the players would receive a ping of the enemies location every 2-minutes, which lasts for 5 seconds. A player who has stayed more than 5 minutes (Half of the game's time) in the same location would be automatically disqualified. If both players survive the entirety of the 10-minute game, the winner would be calculated base on remaining percentage of HP and distance traveled on the map.
Players would have the same restriction during the Free-for-All deathmatch elimination round.
The matches were set as prominent players came 1 vs 1 with their determined opponent. Amazingly enough, the very first game of the day seems to be one of the most exciting ones to happen today. The first match was: Ace from America against Bai Zi Wang from China.
Map Type: Abandoned Urban Areas
The first two minutes was a standard 'wait for the opponents to make the first move' tactic as both players were just checking their surroundings and estimating the distance at which the opponents might be. The size of the virtual map was quite big on paper, but in a game that is ruled by guns it might as well be knife range. And death could come at the most uncertain of times.
Soon enough, the ping for the player's location then appeared to their respective radars.
A grin appeared on Ace's face as he noticed that Bai Zi Wang was quite a distance from him, which would give him the advantage. He wasn't nicknamed 'The Modern American Sniper' for nothing. He boasts the furthest confirmed sniper kill within any virtual shooter game.
Gaining the high ground was essential for Ace as he rushed towards the closest tall building, hurriedly going to the highest spot within it. Soon enough, he reached the perfect spot for him to do the sniping as he saw the figure of his opponent on the horizon. It was approximately 1 and a half kilometer away from his position. It was an easy shot to take.
*Bang!
A loud clank followed with a bang permeated this desolate city of a virtual map. Ace felt like it was an easy win as he breathed heavily in and out from all the stress that was taking place. It had been a few seconds since he shot yet there was no confirmation that he won the game!
'I... missed?'
He checked the direction in which he had seen his opponent and realized that Bai was, gone? Ace gnashed his teeth as he hurriedly ran down the stairs of this tall building. That missed shot definitely compromised his position and would put him into a disadvantage for as long as he continues to camp the same place. But, he was still thinking about the fact that he missed a perfectly easy shot...
It took over a minute before Ace reached the first floor as he hurriedly opened the entrance...
*Bang!
...Only to meet his defeat. Bai was standing around 30 meters away from the entrance, just waiting for the right moment to shoot. But how had Bai had easily reached the same spot as Ace within a minute? He didn't... The first ping was a [Remote Decoy] deployed by Bai as he used [Signal Jam] on his true location. He was just a few hundred meters away from Ace when he made the shot. Although the decoy sounded overpowered, it only lasts for 3 seconds. If Ace was attentive enough to notice the signal viewed from his radar disappeared 2 seconds earlier than it should, he would've noticed...
The tactic used by Bai was labeled as 'shameless' by the American spectators as the entire arena was in a chaotic mess as multiple arguments arose. The committee that upholds the rules within the tournament then intervened and clarified the situation.
"It was a strategic play that shows the proper ways of utilizing different attention-distracting tactics, which does not violate any of the rules within our tournament. Bai Zi Wang was the clear victor."
The Chinese community was also in the backing of Bai as the commotion grew louder, although nothing could be done as the winner was already decided. People tend to complain about pointless things longer than they should.
Thus, the first map of these chaotic quarterfinals has ended... The next match did not ring that much excitement as people
were still busy discussing and arguing things from the first one. It was only when the nationalities of these 2 players were announced that blood boiled from within the arena.
Ru Shi from China, and... Gama Feihren from the U.S.A
Loud yelling permeated the entirety of the dome as the streaming platforms burst with views. This is not a match of just two players. This was a rematch of two different countries!
Special Chapter: Gaia's Paradox World Tournament (Part Two of Four)
'Gama Feihren?'
Although the people were definitely excited for the second match, it could not be helped that a lot of those people have only heard Ru Shi and the names of the 2 countries involved. But as for the representative of America, not many knew who he was. Regardless, it should be evident that he has skills to back him up as he made it to the quarterfinals.
