[Large District Announcement: Guild Base Battle Concluded!]
A distant bell echoed through the world, signaling the end of the guild base battles. The three major battlefields turned into temporary safe zones, and players from various guilds still engaged in combat were forced to cease their fights with great reluctance.
[Merit List Released!]
"20th place: Slaughter Guild — SlaughterDemon Emperor!"
Kills: 370, Assists: 178, Gained 70 attribute points, 40 skill points, 5 talent points, 20,000 reputation points!"
…
"9th place: Moonlight Guild — Yan Guo Wu Hen!"
Kills: ...
Upon hearing this, Orson raised an eyebrow. The player from Moonlight Guild wasn't Empress, but a warrior player. If he recalled correctly, Yan Guo Wu Hen was an S-tier hidden class. A relatively orthodox sword and shield warrior who had once been a contender for the top warrior in Infinite Dimensions. However, when he underwent his second awakening at level 50, Dragon's Kiss Guild's Skyslasher had taken that title.
"4th place: Dragon's Kiss Guild — Usher!"
When this announcement was made, the players in the world chat fell silent. The so-called "number one god-tier player of Infinite Dimensions," Usher, had only made it to fourth place.
Dragon's Kiss Guild had once held nine bases, but now they were left with only one—the Dragon Breath Fortress, under the protection of the Strategic Trickster.
"That's strange. He only made it to fourth place. Who could possibly be in third? Bradley?" Orson muttered in surprise.
In the past, Dragon's Kiss Guild had dominated the base battles, and it was rare for the top guilds to fight each other in a chaotic manner. Usually, the fierce competition occurred between mid-tier and lower-tier guilds. For a god-tier player to achieve so many kills on his own was quite an unexpected turn of events.
"3rd place: Slaughter Guild — Blank!"
Kills: 1052…
Upon hearing this, Orson nearly spat blood in shock. That woman who had slapped him across the face was now in Slaughter Guild?
"2nd place: Godslayer Guild — Money Traveler!"
…
When Bradley's name appeared on the screen, his guild immediately shouted out:
"I'll ask you this—am I awesome or what?"
"You trash! You're a kill-stealer, just eating up team buffs!" Madman immediately expressed his displeasure. He had stolen plenty of equipment during the base battles, but couldn't get a single kill, which made him extremely frustrated.
Dancing Giant Boobs: "Take that perverted guy out! He didn't do anything but talk all the time!"
"I can testify! This mad vice-president of ours is all talk and no action!"
"Yeah, I've been watching this sleazy dog for 24 hours. He's killed less than me! What gives, calling himself Bradley."
Madman was instantly drowned in a sea of mockery from the girls. He didn't dare to argue back, which made him absolutely furious.
"1st place: Godslayer Guild — Orson!"
Kills: 2360, Assists: 1300, Gained 150 attribute points, 130 skill points, 20 talent points, 150,000 reputation points!
"Evaluation: Dominating the Wilderness!"
Orson's battle results shocked everyone, both members of Godslayer and players from other guilds. Even though people knew he was strong... extremely strong, no one had expected him to rack up so many kills—almost 4,000 kills were directly connected to him. He was single-handedly responsible for wiping out entire guilds. His mere presence caused many enemies to flee.
Player K: "Strategic-level nuclear weapon... Even if I had 4,000 enemies in front of me, I'd need days and nights to kill them all!"
Player XX: "I thought Godslayer was going to be the biggest loser, but now they've turned it all around."
...
Players in the world chat were buzzing with discussion. Most guilds deliberately avoided mentioning "Dragon's Kiss Guild," and for good reason. The alliance between Dragon's Kiss Guild and SSR had resulted in a humiliating defeat. Dragon's Kiss Guild only managed to secure a single base, while SSR didn't capture anything at all. This was a blow to their pride, and everyone expected Usher's behind-the-scenes sponsors to retaliate.
SlaughterDemon Emperor: "No wasted trips—three bases in hand, a pleasure working together!"
ShatteredCrown: "Heh, we only took two, but we certainly enjoyed the kills."
At Bone Dragon Stronghold, Orson reunited with the others and immediately noticed Demon Emperor standing next to Blank, who had an expression of a hunter sizing up her prey.
Blank glanced at him sideways, and Orson couldn't miss the dangerous gleam in her eyes.
Orson awkwardly chuckled. "No wonder you took down bases so fast. You've got her on your side."
Demon Emperor smirked proudly. "I didn't expect it either. I'd call Blank the number one thief in Infinite Dimensions. I'm just here working for her."
An hour before the base battle began, Blank had approached Demon Emperor to ask to join the guild. Slaughter Guild had many talented thieves, and they were curious to see what the top-ranked woman in the game was really capable of. So they challenged her to a one-on-one PK.
Blank didn't say a word and immediately went into red-name mode. She took on six players at once, killing them all with deadly precision. The thieves were left trembling in fear.
"What first place? The last guy who claimed to be the number one archer got knocked offline." Madman grumbled, having never been one to back down from a challenge.
Blank heard the provocation and turned her cold gaze toward Madman. It was clear she wasn't going to let this slide, and she was ready for a one-on-one PK.
Orson grabbed Madman's shoulder and whispered bitterly, "You can't beat her... not at the moment, at least."
Madman gave Orson a resentful look. "If it wasn't for your advice, I'd never have picked this stupid class... I swear, I'm going to teach her a lesson."
"Don't, just do as I say. No need to take her on. Stick to being the strategist, alright?" Orson coaxed, giving Madman a forced smile, steering him away.
Blank sneered. "No guts."
Madman was instantly agitated. "I don't know why, but when I see her, I just want to get back at her. I swear I'm going to kill her a few times just to teach her a lesson!"
Orson sighed. "Let's focus on counting our money and getting some rewards. That's the real deal."
Later, the system message came through:
"You've obtained ownership of the following six bases: Bone Dragon, Xuanwu, Black Wolf, Azure, Roshan, and Chaos Demon."
Orson looked at the six new base ownership certificates in his inventory and then turned to Demon Emperor. "Man, you really know how to make a statement—taking ten bases for yourself."
Demon Emperor laughed heartily. "Haha, this is what they call 'fortune favors the bold.' I sold all my company stock for this game."
Slaughter Spree, the guild vice president, snickered at Orson. "This is my big brother's style. Take notes, Orgod."
Demon Emperor was transparent about his ambitions. Joining Orson's temporary alliance wasn't out of genuine loyalty but because he saw an opportunity and seized it.
Orson didn't pay much attention to Slaughter Spree's antics. He narrowed his eyes, focusing on Demon Emperor. "Aren't you worried Usher will come after you?"
"Come after me? In the game or in real life? He may have money, but I have plenty of brothers. If he dares to come to my turf, he'll die." Demon Emperor laughed cruelly.
Slaughter Spree added, "Yeah, let's see if Usher dares to show up in Tianjiang City. See if he makes it out alive."
Orson nodded slightly. "Sounds about right. Demon Emperor isn't someone to mess with. He's got connections in real life too, so you've got to be careful."
After a brief pause, Orson said, "Well, good luck with that. I'm moving on."
Orson didn't want to say more. He could tell Demon Emperor was a person of real strength, and people like him could quickly become a threat if they grew too powerful. However, as long as Demon Emperor didn't interfere with Orson's plans, everything should be fine.
Then, an announcement echoed through the entire server:
"Tomorrow at 8 PM, an auction will take place for the bases Xuanwu, Black Wolf, Azure, and Roshan. The starting bid for each base is 100,000 gold."