At Final Duel Valley, it was all blood and death.

The bodies had piled up like hills, and at the center of them was Li Chengfeng swinging his Dark Blade and killing the first-rate experts from Elephant City and Purple Grape City. His HP kept falling despite his skills and health potions, and his once pristine white battle garment was completely drenched in blood and riddled in blade tears or arrow holes. Heaven knows how many people he had killed judging from the sheer amount of bodies beside his feet.

Red Maple, Purple Thunder and Cyan Frost worked together to cut down the remaining Dragonlight Cavalrymen one by one. Despite that, Li Chengfeng let out an unyielding roar and kept fighting until finally, Red Maple deleted his remaining HP. Unwilling to fall just like that, he flung his Dark Blade one last time and greatly damaged the heaven’s warrior.

Thud...

Li Chengfeng’s eyes turned murkier as he slowly collapsed to his knees. He said through his dry, cracked lips, "This is as far as I go, Lu Chen, my brother…"

Swhoosh. His soul flew toward Sky City, and his body erupted into a floor of equipment and potions.

A cool breeze brushed against his blood-drenched battle garment. He didn’t fall despite kneeling on the ground and clutching the Dark Blade.

Suddenly, Heaven’s Rain rushed Red Maple from behind, stabbed him once and killed him with Triple Slash, adding him to the hill of corpses beneath her feet. The heaven’s warrior hadn’t noticed her until it was too late because he was flabbergasted at Li Chengfeng’s final display of determination. Sword buried into Red Maple’s back, the Knight General suddenly collapsed to her knees as she stared at the approaching enemies all around her with blurry eyes. She was the only Chinese player left in the valley now. Eyes brimming with tears, she looked to the east and sobbed, "Have you abandoned us, big brother Lu Chen?"

The cold wind only added to the hopelessness of the situation.

……

Unable to bear watching the video any longer, I closed the window and dropped to my knees. My entire body was shaking with guilt and self-blame. I might never be able to repay this favor for a lifetime.

Hot and Sour Noodles slapped my shoulder gently and said, "Don’t be sad, Lu Chen. We are all doing what we’re supposed to do. The reason we call each other brothers is because we are willing to sacrifice for each other without any regret, aren’t we?"

I clenched my right fist and punched the ground so hard that it caused a small cloud of dust. Eye burning with anger, I said, "Purple Grape City must go down, or I’ll never be able to face Li, Little Rain and everyone again!"

Beside me, He Yi nodded. "Mn!"

……

I grabbed the Purple Ying Sword and climbed back onto my mount. I asked, "How many people do we have left?"

Hot and Sour Noodles looked around us before answering, "Including Candle Dragon and Warsky Alliance, there are only seven to eight thousand of us in total. Everyone else is dead!"

I said, "It’s fine, Purple Grape City doesn’t have many players left either. Now come on, it’s time we cut off the king’s head and take revenge for our comrades!"

"Mn!"

We got up our mounts and raced straight toward Purple Grape City.

A while later, we arrived at the foot of the city that had long lost its former glory, its walls riddled in holes and its streets almost devoid of people. Only a scarce amount of Chinese and Japanese players were still fighting each other.

We ran straight toward the palace and discovered that there were still tens of thousands of Chinese players fighting the NPC legions. Red Maple and God’s Domain’s departure meant that there was no one left in the city who were capable of leading the defenders. The news of Red Maple’s death only served to demoralize them even more.

……

"It’s Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand! Candlelight Shadow and the Fruit Knife Goddess are here too!"

Our comrades noticed us immediately and automatically opened up a way to the palace hall for us. We raced there just in time to find a group of Blazing Hot Lips players fighting the king and last boss of this palace. He was a very old man, and he only had a small amount of HP left. He was lying on the ground and breathing heavily.

Stranger of Three Lifetimes raised her scepter and ordered, "Out of the way! This boss belongs to Lu Chen!"

The Blazing Hot Lips players immediately obeyed.

I walked forward unhesitatingly and planted one foot on the old king’s back. Then, I unsheathed the Purple Ying Sword and sent his head flying across the floor. Now, the fate of Purple Grape City truly lay in my hands.

I had two choices. One, I could occupy the city and claim it as China’s. Two, I could abandon the city and destroy it.

I looked up from the ground and stared at the glowing, jade-like totem pole right in front of me. It was the royal symbol of Purple Grape City. If I destroyed it, Purple Grape City would be wiped off the map.

……

Pa!

My mind was set. I planted a foot on the royal symbol and raised my sword.

It was at this moment someone called out to me from the crowd. "Stop!"

"Hmm?"

I turned around and saw a person stepping out of the crowd. He was none other than the guild leader of Sword Lord of Jianghu, a magic knight called "Qiu Dragon”. He smiled at me and asked, "Do you remember me, Lu Chen?"

My eyes turned steely. "You are?"

"I’m Tang Long. Do you remember me now?" His smile turned meaningful.

I shivered. Tang Long. Tang Long! I had met him before. He was the vice chief of the China VR department and a very important person in China’s VR gaming industry. No wonder Now and Forever was just the vice leader. At last, the guild leader had finally shown himself.

"Oh, I see. What is your business, vice chief Tang Long?" I asked indifferently.

He shrugged once and said with a smile, "Can you please put down your sword for a moment? I need you to not destroy the jadestone and subsequently Purple Grape City, or our game business relationship with Japan will be severed completely. That is not a good thing for either of our servers."

I was starting to figure out some things. "What do you want then, vice chief Tang Long?"

Tang Long’s face turned serious. "I’ve contacted the Japan server’s person-in-charge and come to an understanding with him. The China server will withdraw from Purple Grape City and return it to the Japanese. In exchange, the Japan server will pledge their loyalty to us and yield to us 25% of their monthly income. As you can see, this is a very serious matter. I implore you to act prudently."

I sucked in a deep breath before asking, "Is it just me, or are you suggesting that we arrive at a compromise with the Japan server?"

"Sometimes a compromise can be a form of attack."

"Like hell it is!"

I growled, "Where were you when Floating Ice City’s players were slaughtered? Where were you when Twelve Musicians’ players were killed again and again? Where were you when White Rose Fortress was destroyed, and our players were savaged by the enemy? The heavens as my witness, I, Lu Chen, have never been afraid of any authority! The blood price must be paid, or I will never be able to face the brothers and sisters I’ve lost!"

"Lu Chen!"

Tang Long’s face turned ugly, and his voice shivered with anger. "Don’t forget that you are a Chinese player! It is your responsibility to obey the VR department! In fact, I’m not negotiating with you, I’m ordering you to abandon any notion of destroying Purple Grape City right now! You should understand the consequences if you continue to commit to this path!"

Everyone shivered in fright when they heard this.

Lin Yixin walked up to Tang Long threateningly. "What did you say? Care to repeat yourself?"

But Tang Long wasn’t afraid of her. "There’s no use trying to persuade me, Lin Yixin. If Lu Chen dares to do what I think he’s planning to do, I can and will remove his very name from the China server. He will lose everything!"

Lin Yixin gritted her teeth. "Who do you think you are, Tang Long?"

The vice chief simply ignored her and looked back at me. "Withdraw your sword now, and we can still fix this, Lu Chen! The VR department will compensate your brothers and sisters for their losses!"

I smiled. "Really? Then pray tell, how are you going to compensate me for breaking my promise to them?"

Tang Long actually lost his words for a moment. A couple of seconds later, he said, "I repeat, if you dare destroy Purple Grape City, I’ll make you regret your decision for the rest of your life!"

……

"Hah… hahaha…"

I laughed for a moment before summoning a purple dragon to my blade. Then, I stabbed the Purple Ying Sword into the jadestone and crushed it into bits!

A system announcement cut through the air—

Ding~!

System Announcement: Attention all players, player "Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand" has killed the regent and chosen to abandon Purple Grape City. Purple Grape City is now abandoned and can be contested by any force. For 15 days, Purple Grape City cannot be attacked by any player. The victor of the War of Purple Grape City is China!"

……

A bunch more reward announcements followed after that, but no one here was paying attention to it right now.

Tang Long turned his back on me and said, "Very well, you are no longer a player of China, Lu Chen. You will see in ten minutes tops!"

……

He Yi blocked his path immediately and questioned him, "What is the meaning of that, Tang Long?"

The vice chief grinded his teeth together. "Don’t blame me for this, President He. Your subordinate is just too foolish, hmph!"

He circled around He Yi and stepped out of the palace hall.

Right before he was about to leave though, a blood-red spear suddenly penetrated his chest and unleashed a flurry skill. A second later, the guild leader dropped dead on the ground.

Gui Guzi wiped the blood from his Spear of the Knight God and spat on his body. "Pooh, fuck you and your bureaucracy!"

……

Suddenly, a new chain of system announcements entered our ears—

Ding~!

System Announcement: Due to official reasons, player "Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand" has been removed from the CGL Hall of Fame!

Ding~!

System Announcement: Due to official reasons, player "Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand" has been stripped of their in-game nationality!

Ding~!

System Announcement: Due to official reasons, player "Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand" has been listed as a wanted person! They will be hunted if they enter any map belonging to the China server!

……

My name turned red right before my eyes. Even the symbol of Sky City on my shoulder was disappearing.

The fucker… actually exiled me from the China server?

The next moment, the system dinged again, and Tang Long’s voice cut across the air—

Ding~!

System Announcement (Player "Qiu Dragon" Shout): Don’t blame anyone for this outcome, Lu Chen! You chose this yourself! I admit that you’re a compassionate and brave man, but you’re absolutely terrible at obeying authority! Starting now, you won’t be able to enter the China server, and Purple Grape City’s players will hunt you down on sight. Let’s see how much longer you can play at being a hero when the dust settles! Speaking of which, any Chinese guild that dares to protect Lu Chen will be treated as accessories to the crime and exiled from the three main cities as well! I am a fair man, and I will punish everyone equally no matter who you are!