Jiang Shang and his companions hadn't expected that Iron Hand Immortal Tu Qianqiu did come, but she hadn't come alone.

After all, she was a high-ranking member of the Tianyuan Sect and an old hand in Jianghu, how could she possibly venture into enemy territory alone?

First, Tu Qianqiu had taken the letter from the Three Elements City Lord and consulted with the Sect Master of the Tianyuan Sect. She then branded every single person from Woniuzhai as a bandit and outlaw before bringing five hundred of the Red-Ear Army to take up station in Three Elements City.

The Red-Ear Army was the elite force of the Tianyuan Sect; even the lowest-ranking soldiers were ninth-rank martial artists, and they all mastered a secret technique to surge their Qi-Blood, temporarily boosting their strength by hundreds of pounds, making a ninth-rank martial artist comparable to an eighth-rank. However, the technique caused their Qi-Blood to surge violently, turning their ears bright red, which is how they got their name.

After arriving in Three Elements City, Tu Qianqiu took command, deploying three hundred city defense troops. Taking advantage of Pu Feiling's popularity inherited from Pu Dongyun, she, under the banner of the Yiqi Alliance, expelled Woniuzhai from the alliance and then called on all the allies to join in besieging the 'bandits' of Woniuzhai!

With all of this combined, the players were now facing an army of over a thousand, with more than five hundred being the cream of the crop!

Tu Qianqiu was also knowledgeable about troop deployment and strategy. She stationed her forces to block several key mountain passes and ordered other Martial Arts experts from Three Elements City to patrol the wilderness, killing any outsider they found.

In short, after this series of strategic moves, Jiang Shang's first reaction was one of utter speechlessness.

Especially the actions taken by the Yiqi Alliance, he felt a sense of tragic irony like lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot.

And on the official forums, it was a complete uproar.

[Chen Tianxin: Damn! Thought it was a world BOSS, prepared traps to wait for her but turns out she's an old sly fox, she counter-attacks and besieges us instead, I'm on my knees!]

[Lingling the Foodie: This is too much, I haven't done anything, just wanted to head to the county to buy some soy sauce, and they kill me (sobbing).]

[Evil I: Have all of us been blacklisted? How are we going to replenish our supplies?]

You might think the 'Glitter of the Stars' industrial party looks formidable, but they can't change the harsh reality of Woniuzhai's resource scarcity.

Many materials had to be purchased from the outside world.

Not to mention, with the supply of gunpowder cut off, there's the potential embarrassment of running out of ammo midway through a major battle.

[Wan Donglin: All this is Blood Hand Man Slaughter's fault, come out and kneel to apologize!]

[Blood Hand Man Slaughter: Pah!]

Jiang Shang, reading the forum, was annoyed but also knew that dealing with this situation urgently was pressing, or else the players really might end up trapped to death.

They knew now, more than ever, just how convenient the channels through Three Elements City had been and how tragic it was to be caught by the throat.

[The Man With White Hair: Sorry to have made everyone suffer. We now have two options. The first is to disband and break out, then wander the world, give Woniuzhai to them, and maybe everything will be settled... But if they conduct a large-scale search of the mountains, the secret of Newbie Valley might not be safe...]

[Seek Immortality: We do not accept this choice. We are players, we are calamities... We will never accept surrender or escape. We will fight them to the end. Who are we players afraid of, betting our lives?]

[Wild until Death: Let's fight!]

[Mo Tengyun: Let's fight!]

[Hammy: I want to run away (dog head).]

[Feng Wu: Get lost from above!]

[Shrimp of the Generation: Drag him out and execute him for five minutes!]

...

Xuanming Sky.

After reaching a consensus on the forum, the players agreed on a time to go online.

The number of players in Woniuzhai peaked again, with more than two hundred players gathering together.

"Fellows, our first battle to conquer the world has come."

The 'Glitter of the Stars' were eager to try: "Let the world know that only iron and blood, steam and technology can conquer everything!"

"Cough cough!"

Jiang Shang coughed to signal everyone to be quiet: "Let me set up the tactics. MTs in the front, try your best to protect the Firearms Team and archers behind you. The elite group be ready to counter any surprise attacks from enemy masters... If we encounter a big BOSS or an elite monster we can't deal with, it's time for the suicide squad!"

After all, they're all players, talking too much is useless, the simpler the tactics, the better, as long as it works.

"Kill 'em!"

"Heavenly Punishment Slaughter Thousand Years!"

...

Amidst the tumult, a band of players surged out of Woniuzhai like a bunch of bandits setting off.

With Martial Artist Daoists as elite scouts, the armies in this world were very cautious in their marches, not easily falling into any traps or ambushes.

News of the bandits from Woniuzhai mobilizing spread quickly to Three Elements City.

The countermeasure taken by Tu Qianqiu was very standard, leading the army to an open field in formation, ready to thoroughly eliminate this group of oddities with a righteous force.

This tactic of first blocking the mountain paths, then forcing the bandits to strike first, and facing them with a superior army, was lifted straight from classic tactics used to exterminate bandits and barbarians, a straightforward stratagem.

Once the enemy was forced out of the complex terrain and needed to engage in direct combat, one would have already won half the battle.

After all, the surrounding party always held a substantial advantage.

Hu Kouyi Plain.

The player army and the official army finally met.

"Goodness... at least six to seven hundred people on the opposing side, right? A battle of a thousand levels is already quite rare."

Xie Biqi exclaimed as she looked at the opposition.

Luo Xiaoyi asked curiously, "I thought you wouldn't participate..."

"Yeah, strictly speaking, this is an 'unjust war'... we're in the wrong, but that's the Blood Hand Man Slaughter's problem, not ours,"

Xie Biqi quipped.

What made her even more exasperated was that even if she managed to find Blood Hand Man Slaughter's real-world address, she couldn't punish him—on what charges? Killing an NPC in the game?

Besides, this was not her jurisdiction.

As for selling the information to the likes of Shaobaitou? Her professional ethics wouldn't allow her to do that.

And since the opponent had no criminal record in reality, beyond key surveillance, there was nothing else she could do.

So, feeling quite upset, Xie Biqi still logged in, ready to join this war between the players and the natives to vent her frustrations thoroughly.

"Firearms team, get ready!"

"Archers, get ready!"

Jiang Shang called out loudly, gazing at the Red-Ear Army forming military lines on the other side.

Having long heard of their formidable reputation, he was seeing them in real life for the first time. Looking at the rank after rank of iron-armored warriors, silent and imposing, he couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.

The solemnity and dread of a real army contrasted sharply with the skewed lines and continuous chatter of the disorderly players.

"To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that players can't die, I'd be considering surrendering upon seeing this scene..."

Huang Tianyao also remarked with a sigh.

At that moment, a deep horn sounded from the other side.

Boom!

The steel front line surged forward, and the iron-clad soldiers of the Red-Ear Army let out a roar, their ears and faces becoming as if drenched in blood.

Immediately, donned in iron armor, they strode energetically like a steel torrent, closing in on the players!

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