章 41: Twilight

A young, well-known journalist prepared to livestream the Siege of Tyo, both on YouTube and his own website.

He already had over ten million viewers in chat, waiting for the stream to begin, breaking his former record by a huge margin. Finally, the time was right, and he began the stream.

"Heeey!" he said in a bold, energetic voice. This was the catchphrase he always used to start his streams. "This is Raphaëlle Bacqué, AKA 'Pro-Streamer.' I'm live from the siege camp outside Tyo, the planetary capital of the planet Era, in the critically acclaimed VRMMORPG you all know and love, Horus!

"All the most powerful guilds in the game are here to plunder the biggest city on the planet! It's one of the biggest community events ever organized in a video game. Over fifty million players have already answered the call! According to our sources, the leaders of the big guilds are also leading this event, but they still haven't settled on a unified plan for their assault!

"In Horus, of course, the usual MMO sandbox elements have been pushed to the extreme. Therefore, nobody can truly predict what will happen after players defeat the main faction of this planet! This was Pro-Streamer, bringing you news from the front lines. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe!"

***

In the biggest tent in the siege camp, the most important players of Horus were gathered to discuss their attack strategy. Unlike in other VRMMORPGs, the guilds, despite their natural rivalry, tended to cooperate to increase their mutual gain.

That was especially true now that the SuperGuilds represented financial interests in the real world. Most were supported by thousands of shareholders as proper corporations, after all. The main goal of the SuperGuilds was not only to become the most powerful and prestigious, but also to make money for their shareholders!

Members of First Order Guilds and SuperGuilds offered their players contracts with salaries and obligations, so their players had more to think about than their own fame and power. This was a consideration which low-tier guild members didn't need to think much about, but it became vital for those who rose through the ranks and became officers.

In the huge command tent, the official spokesmen of the different guilds sat around a central table.

There were, of course, the future 7 Gods of Horus: Arthas, Ceasar, Joker, Lucifer, Mario, Zelda, and Zeus.

These players were already legends in the world of video games, mostly because of their former success in World of Warcraft II. However, they were destined to become even more renowned in the future. Everything they said was followed by countless people, as though they were politicians. And, as every MMO player knew, their legendary rivalry characterized them even more than their skill!

These players all hated each other on a visceral level and never missed an opportunity to gain power over one another—or, sometimes, even just an opportunity to cause them some harm. And since they all frequented the same VRMMORPGs, there were ample opportunities for this subversive behavior.

Yet, each one among them instinctively understood the total difference between their old games and Horus. They all knew that the one who mastered Horus would become a true legend in the world of video games, while the others would only be footnotes on the pages of history.

With this in mind, everyone around that central table tried to exert their influence to ensure their own strategy would be chosen. Of course, many ordinary guild members could technically have their own say, but their voices were completely meaningless compared to the opinions of true legends!

Among all the renowned players in the tent, Lucifer was the most aggressive in his suggestions. "We should use all the players below LvL 5 as cannon fodder," he said in a cold, calculating voice. "This will allow the second, more useful wave to deliver the fatal blow."

Zeus, a much older man with a long, flowing beard, replied after a short pause. Though he was as ambitious as anyone else, he tended to think through his strategies more thoroughly than his younger peers.

"I think that's far, far too risky!" Zeus said at last. He sounded very self-assured, as though he wasn't worried at all that people might think he was a weak coward for such a defensive opinion. "The NPC fortifications are extremely resistant to this sort of strategy. Many small guilds have already tried to force their way through. Each one has been pushed back without difficulty. Rather than that, we should nibble away at their defenses with careful attrition!"

Zelda interrupted him, her voice much more hasty than either Zeus's or Lucifer's. "And why not just lay siege?" she asked. "This game's NPCs have to eat, just like real people. Just wait until the citizens starve to death. Then we'll reap the rewards without a fight!"

Ceasar, who was also present, became angrier and angrier at all this useless bickering. Though he had more respect for Zeus's perspective than for many of the others present, the whole meeting was proving to be as much of a waste of time as he'd expected it would be—more like a business meeting than anything.

Ceasar was on the verge of leaving to attempt another Nightmare dungeon, so he could catch up with that bastard Apophis, when one of his subordinates suddenly whispered in his ear. "One of our patrols has spotted the player Apophis a few kilometers from the siege camp."

Adrenaline rushed through Ceasar, making his hands twitch with the anticipation of a good fight! He knew that if Apophis had changed his mind about joining the siege, it was for a good reason.

So Ceasar stood and said, "It seems we're at a dead end. This conversation is going nowhere. Please be aware that Renovatio Imperii will launch its frontal assault in one hour—with or without the rest of you!"

Everyone began murmuring! What right did Renovatio Imperii have to take the lead?! Furthermore, Ceasar wasn't even a guild leader! Exactly what made him think he had the authority to speak on the behalf of his superiors?

Despite her previous argument to lay siege, Zelda quickly agreed. She tried very hard to be a pragmatic person, so that her natural stubbornness wouldn't give her too much of a disadvantage. "Very well. The Hyrule guild will also launch an assault accompanying Renovatio Imperii."

It was a chain reaction. With their backs to the walls, all the guilds quickly agreed to join the largest land assault in history! Ceasar's departure from the command meeting after giving this announcement caused a real scandal, but it also forced all the warring parties to take a clear stand. Though he hadn't expected this result, Ceasar's decisive action broke the stalemate.

***

Some time later, Apophis was riding his motorcycle on the road to Tyo with Antanria behind him. He squinted his eyes as he noticed a group of players up ahead—all of whom wore Roman-style armor and seemed to be waiting in ambush for someone to cross their path.

Just as Apophis was about to destroy them all with fire, a limousine pulled into view from behind the wreckage of a nearby outpost building which the Tyottings had already abandoned.

Ceasar got out of a limousine just as Apophis pulled his motorcycle to a stop some distance away.

"Hello, Apophis," said Ceasar in a firm, grim voice. "You stop here."