Chapter 85: This world really had gone insane!

Chapter 85: This world really had gone insane!"Seriously?" Emily and Isabella exclaimed in surprise. Emily quickly broke into a relieved grin. "Well, that’s one less thing to worry about then." After a brief pause, she continued, "Oh right, Ethan, I’ll be heading to Dunmire soon to finish my hero quest, so I probably won’t be back for a while. If you need anything, just message me in-game." "Got it," Ethan nodded with a smile. Beep beep, beep beep beep... Suddenly, Isabella’s communicator started buzzing. She glanced down, startled, and saw it was her dad, William. "Hey Dad, what’s up?" "Oh, okay, I’ll let him know right away..." Isabella hung up and turned to Ethan. "Ethan, my dad wants to see you. Sounds like it’s pretty urgent." "Sure, where should I meet him?" Ethan agreed without hesitation. "He said he’s coming over here right now. Shouldn’t take long," Isabella replied. "Alright, let’s wait for Mr. Carter then," Ethan nodded, settling in to wait. Not long after, William hurriedly appeared before Ethan. "Mr. Carter, what’s going on?" Ethan asked. "Lady Scarlet Queen asked me to pass some things along to you—as an apology," William explained, quickly initiating a trade request and handing over everything Scarlet Queen had entrusted to him. "This is..." Ethan paused, genuinely surprised as he saw the items: five million gold coins, fifty units of each of the six major resources, two single-use Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, and two Level 1 Strategic Artifacts with both offensive and defensive capabilities. Vanguard Dagger, Level 1 Strategic Artifact, grants +5 attack attribute points. Stormguard Vest, Level 1 Strategic Artifact, grants +8 defense attribute points. "Wow, she’s really generous," Ethan remarked, impressed. Without hesitation, he handed the two Tier 2 Magic Scrolls back to William. "Mr. Carter, you should keep these." "What? No, I couldn’t possibly—" William began to protest, but Ethan cut him off gently. "Mr. Carter, you know my current strength. These scrolls won’t really help me much. It’d be a waste for me to keep them, so please, take them." "Well...alright then," William finally agreed, looking slightly embarrassed. "I’ll shamelessly accept your kindness." "Come on, Mr. Carter, if you keep being so formal, Isabella might start ignoring me," Ethan joked lightly. He then turned and handed the Vanguard Dagger and Stormguard Vest directly to Isabella. "Here, Isabella, these two Strategic Artifacts are yours." Level 1 Strategic Artifacts weren’t particularly useful to him anyway. Better to give them to Isabella. After all, she’s his girlfriend—if he didn’t spoil her, who would? This time, Isabella didn’t refuse. Instead, she smiled softly and accepted the artifacts gracefully. Raising her eyes to meet Ethan’s gaze, she spoke gently, her voice playful and intimate, "When you’re free, let me know in-game... I’ll come over to your place." "Absolutely!" Ethan felt a thrill run through him and nodded enthusiastically. Then, turning his attention to Cicero, who was still nestled comfortably in Isabella’s arms, Ethan said softly, "Cicero, let’s go." Roar! With a resonant dragon cry, Cicero leaped from Isabella’s embrace onto the ground. In an instant, he transformed into his flying form, carrying Ethan skyward and disappearing swiftly into the clouds above. In mere moments, they vanished completely, leaving Isabella and Emily standing there, their expressions complicated and somewhat downcast. William, meanwhile, stood frozen in shock, his jaw practically hitting the floor. "Wha—what was that just now? Was that a...a dragon?!" William stammered, his voice trembling. He felt as if a herd of stampeding buffalo had just trampled through his mind, leaving him utterly bewildered and shaken. Seeing William’s stunned reaction, Isabella and Emily exchanged a knowing glance, both bursting into laughter as they recalled their own similar reactions from earlier. "Hahaha..." "Hahaha, oh my god, hahaha!" Hearing their laughter, William’s facial muscles twitched uncontrollably. After a long pause, he finally muttered to himself, "This world has officially gone crazy!" Truthfully, he’d always felt something was off about that Green Dragon’s sudden appearance earlier. But given the legendary status of a creature like the Green Dragon, he’d never dared to think too deeply about it. Yet now, the most impossible scenario had turned out to be true! The legendary Green Dragon that had wiped out half of Inferno Dragons guild’s forces... actually belonged to Ethan?! This world really had gone insane! Absolutely insane! William couldn’t help but sigh again. But he was a smart man. He knew better than to ask questions about things he shouldn’t—and frankly, there was no point in asking anyway. Thinking this, William shook his head with a wry smile. He decided not to dwell on it anymore. When someone is just slightly ahead of you, you might envy them, feel jealous, or even try to catch up. But when that person soars into the heavens, riding the clouds and ascending beyond your reach, you no longer see them as human—you see them as a god. And what’s the point of worrying about the affairs of gods? It’s meaningless. And completely unnecessary... Meanwhile, the events that unfolded today at the Nocturnal Crescent guild headquarters in Icelight City were only just beginning to ripple outward, their impact soon to be felt far and wide! For most ordinary players, Whitestone getting forcibly PK’d and losing levels, and Scarlet Legion personally showing up to apologize, didn’t really shake them up much. Because for the average gamer, this whole thing was way above their heads—so high-level that they couldn’t even begin to relate to it. They just couldn’t feel the impact at all. But for those elite players with a bit of status, power, and skill above the rest, Whitestone getting PK’d down levels and Scarlet Legion personally apologizing was like a magnitude-ten earthquake! Scarlet Legion wasn’t just any guild—they were one of North America’s top ten guilds, dominating the gaming scene for decades! Even globally, their name carried serious weight. Because of this, Scarlet Legion had connections everywhere, with a complicated web of powerful backers and influential allies. Practically every major force in North America had ties with them. Yet despite all that, when one of their own got PK’d and lost levels, Scarlet Legion didn’t retaliate—instead, they actually went to apologize in person! Nobody could believe it! But that wasn’t even the craziest part. The real shocker came the very next day after Scarlet Legion’s apology, when news leaked out: Whitestone—a core figure of Sterling Group and a top-ranking member of Scarlet Legion—had been continuously killed until their level dropped to zero! And the ones who did it weren’t outsiders— it was Sterling Group and Scarlet Legion themselves! Even more terrifying was what happened less than two days later: another massive bombshell dropped. Sterling Group, one of North America’s most famous mega-corporations, suddenly announced bankruptcy and disbanded completely! When this news broke, the entire North American gaming community was shaken to its core! Even overseas, people heard about it, and the global gaming community exploded into chaos! "Whitestone got killed all the way back to level zero—and Scarlet Legion and Sterling Group did it themselves? And now Sterling Group is bankrupt and disbanded? What the hell? How is that even possible?" "Nothing’s impossible, man. The internet’s going crazy right now. Clearly, they messed with someone way out of their league." "Someone even Scarlet Legion can’t afford to offend? Are we talking Lich’s Covenant or maybe someone from the military? This is insane! How could something like this even happen?" "You just don’t know the full story." "Then tell me—what exactly happened?" "Do you have any idea who Scarlet Legion sent to apologize?" "What do you mean?" "All their top commanders showed up. Even Scarlet Queen herself went personally!" "What?! You’re messing with me, right? Scarlet Queen herself? No way!" "I was in Icelight City that night—I saw it with my own eyes!" "So you’re saying whoever they offended didn’t even give Scarlet Queen face, forcing her to personally destroy Whitestone and dissolve Sterling Group? Come on, we all know Scarlet Queen’s personality. Even if Caesar, the so-called ’Overlord,’ showed up, he wouldn’t have that kind of pull!" "What if I told you there was also a Tier 11 Unicorn involved?" "A Tier 11 Unicorn? What are you talking about?" "I’m telling you, when I was watching in Icelight City that night, I swear I caught a glimpse of a Tier 11 Unicorn!" "A Tier 11 Unicorn? Sure, and I’ve got a Tier 13 Green Dragon parked in my backyard. Are you sleep-deprived or something? Even the military doesn’t have Tier 11 units. Did some big shot from Europe or the Middle East suddenly show up here?" "Hey, the guy above isn’t lying. I was there too—I saw that Tier 11 Unicorn myself." "Holy crap..." "A real Tier 11 Unicorn?!" "Oh my god...this is insane..." "No wonder Scarlet Queen’s reputation didn’t matter. Do you realize what a Tier 11 unit means? Even Lich’s Covenant would have to show some respect!" "Come on, that’s a bit exaggerated. Lich’s Covenant has deep roots; I doubt they’d bow down just because of one Tier 11 Unicorn." "But still, this is huge news! Does this mean North America finally has its first Tier 11 unit? Who has that kind of power? The military?" "I heard it’s some group called Draconic Pact." "Draconic Pact? Anyone heard of them? Why have I never heard that name before?" "Me neither..." "Probably because we’re not high-level enough to know. Only a truly top-tier powerhouse could get their hands on a Tier 11 unit. But hey, this is great news! It means from now on, North America can finally stand tall when facing Europe and the Middle East!" "A Tier 11 unit...that’s practically the equivalent of having nukes back in the old days..." ... The forums exploded that night, buzzing with excitement and heated discussions. But beneath all the chaos was a sense of pride and joy. Ever since the global era of "Glory Lords X" began, nuclear weapons became obsolete, and everyone had to start from scratch. Throughout this process, North America’s gaming journey hadn’t exactly been smooth sailing. After years of development, Europe and the Middle East had emerged as the strongest gaming regions, followed by Australia and Southeast Asia. North America was stuck trailing behind. Being weaker meant having to keep their heads down and speak softly. It was frustrating, humiliating even—but there was nothing they could do about it. Until now. ...