I've already reached the maximum level, and you guys are just starting out?

Chapter 128 Siege of Naya City? A Space Chase! The Lord Has Made His Move Again! (33 words)

A399 area.

Ghost King City, like a giant dragon, coils itself upon the earth.

City center.

It sits amidst swirling black mist, a magnificent palace that resembles a ghostly hell.

The palace hall.

Ostan Zorn, seated high on his throne, hung up the communication, a hint of embarrassment on his face.

"waste!"

He cursed angrily.

Below the throne.

There were also magnificent seats available at this time.

The terrifying aura emanating from the figure sitting cross-legged on it was not much less than that of Austin Zorn.

"how?"

"Is it your sister again?"

On the right-hand side, at the head of the table, stood a thin, bony old man who spoke with a smile.

Quill Hoffman, lord of Quill City, a level 8 refuge, is at the same level as Austin Zorn, the limit of the eighth tier.

"Humph--"

“My Austin family affairs are none of your business, you old geezer!”

Zorn responded coldly.

His sister Natasha has disappointed him for quite some time now.

Over the past few decades, almost none of the things Natasha was asked to do have been successful.

He became increasingly disappointed in his younger sister.

even……

Natasha's failures became the subject of jokes and amusement for the other eighth-tier city lords.

Austin Zorn valued his reputation highly, which is why he treated his half-sister Natasha with such disgust and contempt.

"Let's get back to the main topic!"

Austin Zorn took a deep breath, not wanting to continue this embarrassing topic.

"today--"

"First of all, I would like to thank all the level 8 city lords for giving face to Zorn and gathering here."

Secondly—

"Does anyone have any clues about the sudden riot on Planet A3 seven days ago?"

The words fell.

After a short silence.

The thin old man, Quill Hoffman, was the first to speak.

"All things considered, there are only 168 days left until the promotion begins."

"At such a crucial juncture, if someone truly breaks through that step and reaches the ninth level..."

"This is undoubtedly a huge threat to us."

"so……"

"I'll reveal my rank first."

"I am Quill Hoffman, ranked fifth on the A3 tier leaderboard."

Although the old man had just been joking about Zorn's family affairs, he clearly understood the priorities.

From the moment he opened his mouth, it was clear that he had been prepared all along.

With all eight city lords gathered, the process of elimination is clearly the best way to find the so-called 'ninth rank'.

"Jerwin Hawkins, ranked fourth."

The first person on the left, a blond-haired youth carrying a sword, spoke in a deep, resonant voice.

"Norris Hammond, ranked sixth."

"..."

Not long after.

The city lords in the palace hall all 'revealed' their rankings.

“Auston Zorn, third.”

Zorn finished speaking from his throne.

Silence fell once again in the main hall.

The expressions of the top-ranked figures from Planet A3 were constantly shifting.

"If no one is lying..."

"The first and second officials were not present."

Austin's voice carried a hint of seriousness.

“Nyar City, the old loli from Mole Star, should be one of them.”

Quill Hoffman quickly added.

Can……

"Who's number one?"

This question caused everyone in the hall to frown.

It has been a full fifty years since the last promotion.

The high-level players on Planet A3 are now basically familiar with each other.

Even though they stayed in Naya City year-round and never left their homes, they still managed to learn about Naya through various means.

Can……

Even if Nyarlathotep is in the top two, who is the last one?

"Could it be that after Naya broke through to the ninth rank, her subordinates also received an upgrade?"

"That old loli on Moore Star has quite a few eighth-tier evolvers under her command."

"Some of them are not much weaker than us."

"after all……"

"They were holdouts who had lived on planet A3 for a full 150 years."

Quill Hoffman proposed the conjecture.

The people in the hall were speechless for a moment.

in fact……

After Austin Zorn summoned everyone, but Nyarlathotep did not show up, they had this suspicion in their minds.

"Could it be a newly emerging player?"

"Previously unknown, but suddenly rising to prominence?"

Jevon Hawkins, the city lord of Ten Mile City, suddenly spoke.

"A new player?"

Austin Zorn scoffed upon hearing this.

"The last time a new player logged into Planet A3 was 12 days ago."

"They come from Earth, and the strongest among them now is probably..."

"They've already awakened and become evolved beings?"

The words fell.

A burst of laughter erupted in the main hall.

Everyone present was a level 8 refuge city ruler, each with thousands of subordinate cities under their command, so they naturally had some understanding of the new players on Blue Star.

"The last time a new player logged in was two months ago."

"They come from the planet Tess, the strongest..."

"Fifth tier? And he seems to have become the lord of a level 0 refuge city?"

"..."

Austin Zorn was clearly very familiar with the new players.

He reviewed them one by one, and eliminated them one by one.

to the end.

They've even gone back twenty years...

The result was that all were eliminated.

"Nyarlathotep City is the most likely possibility!"

"That old loli from Moore Star, I haven't been able to contact her for a long time..."

After some discussion, Austin Zorn reached a conclusion.

"so……"

"The real reason I've gathered you all here today is to discuss the plan to besiege Naya City!"

"We both know very well that this promotion is just the beginning."

"Furthermore, after the same planet is upgraded, the game will start in the same area. This is a rule of the Wasteland game. Everyone has been working here for a long time, and they must have learned this information through various means."

"Therefore, even if Naya City doesn't attack us before its advancement, it will pose a great threat to us after its advancement!"

"Although the ninth rank is strong, that old loli hasn't been at her breakthrough for very long."

"We outnumber them and, if necessary, can even lure those ninth-tier infected beings in the restricted area to Naya City!"

"Everyone, what do you think?"

……

……

A337 area.

Naya City remained quietly entrenched.

Twelve days have passed since Nyarlathotep left the city to travel alone.

The millions of Moors in Naya City were unaware of this. Inside the magnificent, palatial city lord's mansion in the heart of Naya City...

Seven equally petite figures stood facing each other.

Before them lay the empty throne of ice and fire.

"Since our king left, he has not sent back any news."

The figure at the head spoke in a low voice, his tone revealing unease and worry.

"Our Queen's strength is unparalleled; there is no being on this planet that can threaten her..."

Someone offered a rebuttal.

But the words just fell.

The leader shook his head.

"Not long ago, a huge disturbance was heard in area A316..."

“Our spies left in that area have reported that a terrifying battle has taken place near one of the refuge cities called Alpha City.”

This statement came out.

The other six people were all taken aback.

They were unaware of this news.

Before leaving, Naya handed the city lord over to the person at the front.

"How scary is it?"

Someone asked.

The spy's exact words were—

"From the figures of the two combatants, he sensed an aura even more terrifying than that of our king..."

"What's even more deadly is—"

"If the battle were evenly matched, it would be fine, but the result was a one-sided... massacre!"

This statement came out.

The other six people in the hall gasped in shock.

Stronger than our king?
Wouldn't that be nine levels?

The ninth tier... were brutally murdered?

this moment.

As they were bewildered, they recalled the words Nyarlathotep had once spoken.

"In the future, we will all be ants."

"Without that man, even if millions of our fellow Moors were promoted, they would only become food for others."

Can……

"Who is that man?"

Where is he now?

"Could it be him, the one from Alpha City?"

The seven eighth-tier evolvers in Naya City had one thought after another.

a long time.

After failing to contact Nyarlathotep, they made a decision.

"Take the initiative!"

"Search the surrounding area and inquire about the Blue Star Refuge City!"

"Our king specifically instructed us—"

"Nya City and its subordinate cities must treat the new players from Earth who have just landed well."

Based on this, we can infer—

"That man must also be from Earth, and he may have already established a refuge city belonging to Earth's civilization!"

"If we find that city, we'll have a chance to find our king!"

After a while.

A 'City Lord's Decree' spread throughout the entire city of Naya.

The millions of Moorish people in Naya City, along with the thousands of refuge cities under its jurisdiction, all mobilized...

"Blue Star, Refuge City, Help, Goodwill!"

……

……

Drake-3 Wasteland Galaxy.

The S-680 interstellar spaceship constantly leaps and shuttles through the boundless starry sky.

whoosh-

Whizzing--!
A barrage of laser attacks rained down on the spaceship.

Can be biased.

Under Carol's skillful control, the spaceship maneuvered and maneuvered repeatedly, turning danger into safety.

only……

As the ship evaded the enemy, the distance between it and the interstellar fleet behind it gradually decreased.

Inside the cockpit of the S-680 starship, Carol's face was ashen.

She has been hunted by this interstellar fleet for two and a half days!

Carol didn't know how she was locked onto, but even though she repeatedly maneuvered her ship to jump and used celestial bodies in the system to evade, she still couldn't shake off the fleet.

What angered Carol even more was—

This fleet comes from her home planet, the civilization of Celsa!

More precisely, from the 9th Interstellar Refuge of Celsa, the organization she once served!

"why?"

Carol was deeply puzzled.

What does the power struggle at the top have to do with a mere interstellar commander like her?
It was bad enough that they designed their own fleet to be surrounded in the first place, but now they want to wipe them out completely?
Whoosh-!
Another laser beam hurtled in.

In her extreme condition, Carol maneuvers the spaceship to evade.

but……

"Warning!"

"Insufficient energy!"

Inside the cockpit, a glaring red warning light illuminated, accompanied by a rapid mechanical alarm.

"..."

Carol fell silent.

She tried her best.

Through the porthole, she could already see...

The interstellar fleet behind them was steadily closing the distance.

even.

Two complete squadrons of warships have already flown out from the interstellar mothership.

Carol, who was familiar with interstellar warfare, knew all too well that this was a squadron that was carrying out a close-range attack on her ship.

They will breach the S-680's defenses and force their way onto the ship.

"Ah--"

Carol sneered.

If it were just about killing yourself, there would be no need for all this trouble.

Clearly, her former superior, the Ninth Interstellar Refuge of Celsa, intended to capture her alive!
Carol took a deep breath, and the stellar energy within her surged.

Better to be a broken piece of jade than a whole piece of tile.

Even if she dies in battle, she cannot be captured alive and become a dirty pawn in the power struggle among those high-ranking officials!
this moment.

Carol's only regret was that she had not been able to do even the slightest good for the lord who had given her a new life.

She had already discovered the unclaimed planet, but the pursuit by the Celsa fleet disrupted her plans.

Of course, she could have chosen not to show herself, but that would have meant the unclaimed planet would have been discovered and occupied by the Celsa civilization.

"I only hope that in the next life, I can repay the lord..."

Carol murmured to herself and brought the spaceship to a stop.

She turned and walked step by step toward the hatch.

With each step she took, her aura grew stronger.

When we reached the hatch.

Her entire being shone like a dazzling star, unleashing the terrifying pressure of a twelfth-level expert!
"Come and fight!"

Carol, who had spent her life in the military, was quite at peace with her impending death in battle.

but……

next second.

Boom-!
boom-boom—!
Sound cannot travel through the starry sky.

But in Carol's mind, it seemed as if such a voice was ringing out.

"That is……"

"The two fleets have gone out of control and collided with each other?"

"No, more than that..."

"Two squads of soldiers who had just left the fleet and were heading straight for my ship vanished into thin air? Were they forcibly teleported away?"

Carol sensed the familiar spatial fluctuations beyond the starry sky.

She recalled the scene a few days ago when she was 'teleported'!
Familiar fluctuations, familiar scenes.

"Such immense power..."

"Has the lord made his move again...?"

　Sorry I'm late.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)