469 Stronghold in Unknown Fores (1/2)
[SourceOfDawn: Polio, Phoenix, and Frangipani… Hmm… They aren't big BOSSES, they are Sherlie's pet names ╭∩╮( ̄▽̄)╭∩╮]
[PeacefulPickaxeHandle: Yggdrasill has been targeted. Even Jesus can't save it now.]
[SlagNest: I suddenly thought of Mana replenishment (Manual Comedy).]
…
The content updates in version 0.39 were numerous. In the coming future, there would be more new content. In order to implement the Open Beta Testing, the gamers of Victoria City and Eternal Kingdom had to cooperate to take over Yggdrasill.
This was what the gamers speculated. If they had Yggdrasill, then the game could implement Open Beta. The Yggdrasill Plot had been triggered by Dragonborn's Strange Encounter Mission.
The gamers didn't know the location of Dragonborn, but they knew it was only a matter of time.
There were many updates, like a new map at Eternal Kingdom for the Unknown Forest. It didn't mean that the forest was called Unknown Forest. The lazy game officials were simply too lazy to give the forest a proper name. The gamers were used to the laziness of the game officials. Most of the names on the maps were given by the gamers, including the various areas in the Dungeon and the Sighing Wilderness, where the Ogre Fortress was located. After discussion, the gamers suggested using Moonlight Forest, but the name was already used by the forest at Victoria City.
The gamers couldn't come up with a good name.
All the Guilds had sent their members to the forest. As such, there were ten Beetlemons that serviced the route between Eternal Kingdom and the Unknown Forest.
If a Beetlemon could only carry 100 gamers, ten Beetlemons could only carry 1,000 gamers. However, there were 5,000 gamers in Eternal Kingdom. There was no consideration for the fact that an Orc's body was much larger than a Gnome. Perhaps a Beetlemon wasn't able to ferry 100 Orcs. Most of the Guild members organized their Darting Birds and formed groups to ferry their members to the entrance of the forest. However, this method wasn't feasible for non-affiliated gamers.
Marco Polo's post had stated clearly that the entrance was pitch dark. It wasn't suitable for Darting Birds to go in, as they would panic in the dark environment. Many gamers complained about the darkness phobia of Darting Birds when the birds were living in the Underworld. The gamers had no choice, as it was a game setting. The end was a steep cliff, and the gamers could climb down, but the Darting Birds were unable to do so. A lone non-affiliated gamer wouldn't know where to put his Darting Bird.
Marco Polo, who was a lone adventurer, lost his Darting Bird and equipment.
The gamers of Eternal Kingdom couldn't steal each other's rides. If a gamer had a Darting Bird and another gamer killed the owner, the second gamer was unable to take the Darting Bird. Of course, he could choose to kill the Darting Bird.
For opposing factions, the gamers could steal each other's rides. For example, gamers of Victoria City could kill the owners of the Darting Birds and take their rides.
This fact was confirmed at the Sighing Wilderness.
The Pioneer Alliance organized its members to explore the Unknown Forest. As a 500-member Guild, it organized a group with 300 members, each having a Darting Bird. They also arranged for extra tens of Darting Birds to carry loot and necessities such as tents, lamps, food, and water.
The gamers knew that there was hunger and exhaustion in the game. If the gamers didn't eat and rest sufficiently, their combat power would be greatly diminished. There was even some food that had a special BUFF that increased their agility. That was what the food description said. However, it wasn't clear whether the food was effective.
Most of the gamers believed the food to be effective, though there wasn't an attribute panel for confirmation. Could the description be used to deceive the gamers?
After the battle between the Pioneer Alliance and Changan City, the Pioneer Alliance was able to have a sizable force. One reason was that there were more rich gamers in the Pioneer Alliance. The other main reason was that after attacking the two Changan City Strongholds, they pillaged the enemy's resources and captured their high-ranking members.
Arthur didn't want to build a Stronghold in the wilderness to imprison the high-ranking members of Changan City. He found a convenient location to imprison them and got some Guild members to keep watch. He didn't care how long they were imprisoned. Arthur was nonchalant about whether Changan City was willing to spend money to rescue the prisoners.
The imprisonment was a method to tarnish the Guild's reputation and serve as a warning. It wasn't meant to keep them locked up for a long time.
There were 300 Pioneer Alliance members and other allied Guild members that made up the five to six hundred members that set off from Eternal Kingdom towards the Unknown Forest.
The contingent looked like a long Dragon. Under good management of the Guilds, the contingent traveled orderly towards the destination. There was no way unaffiliated gamers could have such an orderly contingent.
As it was a large contingent, the speed wasn't as fast as Marco Polo's traveling speed. The 600-member contingent traveled for half a day before it arrived at the entrance of the Unknown Forest. One hundred of the members went offline for various reasons, but they weren't abandoned. Instead, they were placed on the backs of the Darting Birds or tied to the carts. If they were left on the road, their equipment would be stolen.
The Darting Birds couldn't be stolen, but if a piece of equipment wasn't Soulbound, it could be stolen.
It was almost night time when they arrived at the entrance of the Unknown Forest. It was also the time when most of the gamers were online. Most of the unaffiliated gamers would choose to take the Beetlemons and go offline to do other stuff. When they got online again, they would have arrived at a Beetlemon stop. Even if the Beetlemon arrived early, their friends would inform them via messaging. Then they would go online immediately and dismount from the Beetlemon. The gamers were safe from attacks and stealing when they were on the Beetlemon.
More gamers were online at night. When Arthur and his members arrived at the Unknown Forest, there was a vast crowd at the narrow tunnel.
It wasn't a good choice to set up camp at the tunnel entrance. Arthur ordered half the members to stay, while the rest of the members escorted the Darting Birds back. They could then return to the Unknown Forest via the Teleport Portal, which would be built shortly.
Arthur and half of his members proceeded into the tunnel to explore the Unknown Forest.