I logged into the game at 11:45 am sharp, Beijing Time. I would be meeting God of War, Flowing Cloud and other India experts 15 minutes later, and I knew better than to be late for the huge gathering that was going to happen in Elephant Canyon.

Swhoosh!

After I appeared inside the tent, I opened the flap and was immediately greeted by glaring sunlight. It took me a few seconds to adjust to the lighting before I crawled out of the tent. A sea of people had already gathered at the large clearing at the center of Elephant Canyon. There had to be millions and millions of them at the very least. I couldn’t imagine what kind of force had compelled all these people to come over when it wasn’t even the Nation War.

"Hi!"

Flowing Cloud abruptly appeared next to me and slapped me on the shoulder. "You sure took your time, Lu Chen. I have been waiting for you."

I smiled. "What would you do if I didn’t come online?"

Killing intent flashed across her features as Flowing Cloud balled her hands into fists. "I would immediately fly to China, find you and beat the crap out of you. That serious enough for you?"

I nodded. "I’m doubtful that you’d be able to beat me, but yeah, it does sound pretty serious."

"Hmph hmph, you’d better don’t give me the chance to prove myself!"

Flowing Cloud gazed into the distance and said, "Come on, we can head over now. By the way, did you know that this is the first time Elephant City has been this lively since the game came out? Seriously!"

I nodded. "Mn."

……

As I followed Flowing Cloud, I set the Ancient Divine Dragon to be summonable at any moment. It was so that I could summon it the second something went wrong and ensure that I wouldn’t be one-shot before I could do anything.

I also summoned the little wolf. The second it spotted Flowing Cloud, the hair on its neck immediately stood on end, as it watched her with wary eyes.

"Yo! Your wolf pet’s pretty cute!"

Flowing Cloud tried to rub the little wolf’s head, but it backed away from her and let out a threatening growl. It was obvious that it still remembered that Flowing Cloud was an enemy. If she was He Yi or Lin Yixin, it would’ve run rings around her miniskirt like a pug.

"Hmph! You dare to bite me?" Flowing Cloud waved her fist playfully at the Phantom Wolf King. Don’t let me catch you alone, or I’ll turn you into hot pot soup tonight, heehee…"

The little wolf returned to my side and stayed close to me. For now, there was no need to bother with Flowing Cloud. I could feel that she had full trust in me though. Out of everyone in the India server, she was the only one who wasn’t on guard around me. I knew it because she wasn’t the type who could hide her true feelings like God of War or Breeze and Rain.

……

Flowing Cloud grabbed my hand and led the way. She said cheerfully to the players in front of us, "Please clear the way, thank you. Don’t push!"

Exclamations of admiration and surprise immediately erupted from the players—

"Ohh, isn’t she our war goddess!? She’s just as beautiful as she looks in the promotional posters…"

"Eh? Who’s that guy she’s holding hands with?"

"He looks like… Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand! He’s that guy who beat the crap out of the Japanese players at Final Duel Valley! He actually came? What the fuck!"

"At the end of the day, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand is still Chinese. To accept him as our king is just… unacceptable. We are the India server! How can we accept a Chinese player as our king? This is unacceptable!"

"Yeah, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand cannot be allowed to become part of our Four Kings. He simply cannot!"

……

"Heehee…" Flowing Cloud looked back at me with a consoling smile on her head. "Feel free to ignore their uninformed comments. Plus, a true leader won’t allow his subjects to sway their opinion easily."

I nodded. "I understand. By the way… Now and Forever will be participating in this coronation ceremony too, right?"

"Mn." Flowing Cloud replied, "What’s wrong? You hate him?"

I smiled. "His former boss is the entire reason I was kicked out of the China server. Do you really think I won’t begrudge him for that?"

"I see. Still, whatever you do, don’t attack him until the coronation ceremony is over, okay?" Flowing Cloud shot me a meaningful look before promising. "You shouldn’t dirty your hands with the blood of scum like him anyway. If you don’t mind, I’ll wipe the floor with myself once the coronation ceremony is over!"

I simply smiled at her and fell silent once more.

……

A while later, we reached the center of the clearing. God of War, Breeze and Rain, Wild King, Dark Clouds Sorrow, Ironscale and more top experts of India were standing on a gigantic altar and looking down on the crowd like they were the Hindu pantheon or something. On the other hand, they were without a doubt the pillars of the India server. It was their presence that made Cyan Earth City and Elephant City as strong as they were; two cities towering above all the others around them.

"Come, the ceremony is about to begin!"

Flowing Cloud suddenly grabbed my hand and shortened our distance to almost non-existent. She paused for a moment, but she turned away and pulled me up the stairs before I could see her expression.

I sucked in a deep breath and followed Flowing Cloud. The Purple Ying Sword hidden in my battle robe was already glowing slightly in anticipation of battle.

God of War smiled when he spotted me from above the altar. He declared loudly, "Everyone, please pipe down for a moment. Our main character of the day has finally shown himself! Please raise your weapons above your heads and welcome the king of the Center and the soon-to-be King of War of India, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand!

The canyon instantly erupted with thunderous shouts. Some were cheers, and some were furious swearings. Clearly, the Indian people weren’t exactly the most united people in the world, and they had a lot of negative things to say about me, their foreign "king”. Of course, none of their protests mattered in the face of the dominant authority that was God of War.

Pa!

When my boots reached the top of the limestone-made altar, God of War and I exchanged a look with one another. He walked up to me and extended his hand, saying, "Welcome, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand!"

I gave his hand a firm shake but took two steps backward where Flowing Cloud was immediately after.

……

With that done, God of War abruptly pulled out the sword behind his back and planted it to the bricks between his feet. He roared, "Since ancient times, there is a saying called ‘one good general is harder to find than a thousand soldiers’! I am sure everyone here is aware of Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand’s war achievements as a Center commander. He is without a doubt the hero of the China server, and yet an official who wase supposed to protect him decided to exile him to Final Duel Valley for an entire week! What true hot-blooded male can endure such humiliation!? This was why he decided to leave for greener pastures and join our Elephant City! I, God of War, hereby declare that Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand is my eternal brother after he joins us! May nothing come between us for a lifetime!"

Seemingly affected by his passionate speech, countless players began waving their hands and crying out my and God of War’s names. No wonder he was the king of his country. He definitely knew how to talk a good game.

Next, God of War continued, "When today’s ceremony is done, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand will officially become one of us; a brother! And what do we do to those who hurt our brothers?! That’s right! For him, we can sweep the Center and take revenge for him! For him, we can wipe out Candle Dragon, Warsky Alliance and all those who stand in our way! For him, we can even make him the rightful king of the Center! All he needs to do is to give the word, and it shall be done!"

I said nothing, of course. God of War was doing his best to reel me into his trap, and if I broke composure for even an instant it would truly be over for me. King of the Center? Forget that I wasn’t tempted by such things, even if they followed through on their promise and made me the King of the Center, I would only be a puppet who danced to his tunes, and I was hardly that type of person!

Not that I was going to betray anything. I couldn’t convince myself to do it, much less anyone else!

……

God of War opened his arms and laughed. "Of course, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand isn’t the only who we’re welcoming today. Our son has wandered long and far, but in the end he chose to return to us, and with a great gift no less! Come, let us clap for Now and Forever!"

Now and Forever stepped out of the crowd amid thunderous applause, His robes glowed golden, and he had his Magic Shield turned on. As he walked up the stairs, I could see a striking, inverted red triangle symbol floating above his head. It was a mark of someone who possessed a city map. Motherfucker, I was hoping that I might be wrong, but he was still in possession of the City Map of Daybreak City, and, indirectly, its fate.

Daybreak City was the southernmost city of the Center. In fact, it was just one step away from Thunder Mountain Range. Its value in the Indians’ hands was practically priceless. They could use it like a super carrier and airdrop countless Indian players into the Center. They could also attack any China main city that wasn’t protected by a natural barrier like Dragonbone Mountain Range or Thunder Mountain Range. Therefore, Daybreak City couldn’t be allowed to fall into India’s hands no matter what.

Pa!

A short while later, Now and Forever stopped in front of me and curled his lips. "We meet again, Lu Chen."

I nodded while restraining the impulse to kill him on the spot. It was because Breeze and Rain and Flowing Cloud were standing next to me, ready to act the moment I raised my hand on Now and Forever. The short version was that my chances of killing right here and now were too low. I only had one shot at this, so I would rather wait until my success chance was 100%.

God of War looked behind himself and said, "Chief, you may make the announcement now!"

"Alright!"

The crowd parted, and a Level 172 middle-aged archer stepped out. Three golden stars floated above his head. He was none other than the chief of the India VR department.

The chief stepped forward and said loudly, "The coronation ceremony begins now. First, we would like to invite the pride of the India server and our number one player, God of War! In the name of the VR department, I bestow upon him the title of the "North King"! May he always keep the northern gates to our lands, Cyan Earth City, secure!"

A thunderous applause broke out. As expected, God of War was insanely popular in the India server.

The chief moved on to the next announcement. "Our second king hails from Elephant City, the leader of the king of guilds, Dark Clouds Sorrow! In the name of the VR department, I bestow upon him the title of the "East King"! May he and Dark Clouds always keep the northeast gates to our lands secure!

If it wasn’t obvious enough, Dark Clouds was meant to be the defense line against Japan. It was entirely possible for those wolves to set their sights on Elephant City after losing their own main city, so India would have to be crazy not to keep an eye on them.

Flowing Cloud looked at me and shot me a smile. "Be patient, okay?"

I shot Now and Forever a glance before replying, "I know."

However, Now and Forever taunted me, "Shameful traitor!"

I gritted my teeth but remained where I was. I then plastered a fake smile on my face and taunted back, "That you are!"

Flowing Cloud said quietly, "Calm down. Don’t let him affect you."

I smiled at her again. "Flowing Cloud, you underestimate me too much."

"..." She looked at me in surprise.