Lords of the Heavens

Chapter 455 Lord, Run! (Bonus Chapter 910 for Alliance Leader's Monthly Ticket Recommendation)

In the spring of the ninth year that Li Wei became a professional player, the long-awaited reconstruction mission of the Orson Empire and the King's Seven Star Territory mission finally began after six months of waiting.

After six months of chaotic fighting, attacks, brawls, and factionalism, it seemed that all the lords and mercenaries in the kingdom were ready.

Then, the relevant information was finally revealed.

[Nationwide Announcement!]

[Your Majesty the King, the great Six-Star Lord hereby solemnly declares that the reconstruction mission of the Orson Empire and the Seven-Star Territory mission will begin in twenty-four hours. The relevant mission rules and wartime laws and regulations for the mission period are hereby promulgated.]

[First, the kingdom plans to add four new provinces: Thorn Province, Blazing Province, Frost Province, and Gale Province. Four new dukes will also be added, while the existing provinces of Ver, Kadel, and Juniper will be upgraded to Grand Duchys, and the three dukes will be promoted to Princes. In addition, twelve new marquises, twenty-four earls, seventy-two viscounts, and three hundred barons are planned.]

[Special Note: These are all original ducal and provincial names from the Kingdom of Grock. We are essentially playing a realistic cosplay game. What we need are these noble titles, not for us to actually become high and mighty nobles. The bottom line of the Alliance of Lords of the Heavens will never change, and we will always adhere to this bottom line without wavering, which is to respect the most basic humanistic care.]

[Many nobles seem to have forgotten this point, so it needs to be reiterated: basic humanistic care includes, first, that extraordinary individuals will not wantonly bully or kill ordinary people without cause; second, that those who die in battle will receive end-of-life care; and third, that individuals can withdraw from the race if they wish.]

[Secondly, this imperial reconstruction mission will take place on a magically vibrant and abundant ascended continent, because the ruins of the Osen Empire are located there. Only by further excavating the ruins of the Osen Empire and finding more ancient noble titles can we gain more power and master more ancient magical knowledge. However, it must be noted that during the excavation of the Osen Empire ruins, we inadvertently triggered a tactical magic bullet, resulting in the entire ascended continent currently being in a state of complete uncertainty.]

[Special Note: This is essentially a vast, completely blank, unknown map. We can only start from one corner and explore the entire map. In the process, we may encounter ferocious Neanderthal barbarians, or other kingdoms coveting the ruins of the Orson Empire. In short, this mission is dangerous, but also very rewarding.]

[Third, the specific rules for this mission will be set according to the five ranks of Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron. However, even mercenaries can participate and receive their own Baron missions. The overall process is more like a survival mission; you will need to explore an unknown map and find suitable territories to occupy.]

[Note: The first tier of this mission is Duke level. His Majesty the King and the three Dukes will each lead an army of 50,000 to occupy the four discovered ruins and fortresses of the Orson Empire ahead of schedule. These fortresses will serve as the four main cities, providing assistance to the other lords and establishing logistical bases and trading posts.]

The second tier is the Marquis level, which requires the leader to be a Marquis and the legion to be no less than 5,000 men. Auxiliary troops are not included in the count. There is no upper limit. Participants at the Marquis level also need to find, explore, and build new territories on the ascended continent. Remember not to advance rashly; it is recommended to proceed step by step.

The third tier is the Earl level, which requires the leader to be an Earl and the legion to be no less than one thousand men, with the same rules as above.

The fourth tier is the Viscount rank, which requires the leader to be a Viscount and the legion to be no less than five hundred men, with the same rules as above.

The fifth tier is the Baron rank, which requires the leader to be a Baron and the legion to be no less than one hundred men, with the same rules as above.

The sixth tier is the pioneering mercenary group, which requires the leader to be a mercenary with at least a five-star professional skill, and the total number of members to be no less than twenty. Once a camp is established and the enemy's attack is successfully repelled, the mercenary leader will be promoted to baron.

[Note: Of the six mission tiers above, except for the first tier, the other five tiers can be undertaken solo or in a team. For example, a marquis can lead ten barons or five viscounts. As long as they are in a team, they can quickly communicate with each other using special item cards.]

[Friendly Reminder: During this Empire Reconstruction Mission, you can call for support from the rear once every six months. The Ministry of the Interior will transport people and supplies for you free of charge. However, no one who has entered the Ascended Continent may leave voluntarily before the Empire Reconstruction Mission is completed, unless they die in battle. Due to the special nature of the Ascended Continent, the number of times you can be resurrected will be greatly reduced once you die in battle, so please act with caution.]

[Fourth, this imperial reconstruction mission is of paramount importance, concerning the rise and fall of the kingdom and the future of everyone. Therefore, while participation in this mission to the Ascended Continent is not mandatory, lords, mercenaries, or free citizens of the main city who do not wish to go will automatically be converted into wartime logistics personnel, regardless of rank or status, and will be under the unified command and dispatch of the Kingdom's Logistics Department.]

[Fifth, during the Empire's reconstruction mission, the Kingdom will cease all other related missions. A wartime system will be implemented within the Kingdom, with everything focused on the front lines. Daily working hours will be increased from the current six hours to thirteen hours, and half of the wages will be forcibly donated to support the front lines.]

[Sixth, after all lords or pioneering groups participating in the Empire Reconstruction Mission are teleported to the Ascended Continent, they will be taken over by the Nine Star Council of the Alliance of Celestial Lords. That is, the Nine Star Council will issue an Ascended Exploration Card. In order to ensure fairness, future Ascended Exploration Missions will be supervised by the Nine Star Council, which will also distribute rewards on their behalf.]

[Seven, because the Nine Star Council may adjust the mission rules for the sake of mission safety, but the overall changes will not be significant.]

[8. Special note: Free citizens of all territories have three options: First, join the army to participate in the reconstruction of the empire and always follow your lord; second, leave the lordship and become a tavern mercenary, or join a free roadside pioneering group to gamble on whether you can become a baron; third, under the witness of the Nine Star Council, migrate to a planet free from magic pollution and live as an ordinary person.]

[Ninth, all nobles must fully consult with these free men and must not resort to intimidation or threats.]

Long live the Kingdom! For the Empire! Forward!

-

At this moment, in the conference room on the third floor of the Blazing City territory, Li Wei, Second Aunt, Li Yue, Hathaway, Zhao Xuanxuan, Thomas, and others were watching the national announcement with more than sixty knights, lords, and mid-level managers of the Blazing Territory, including Nelson, Lenos, Zhao Qingshan, Mark, Javier, Benjamin, Grant, Santiago, Sith, Pol, Jocelyn, and Chekhov.

Yes, everyone is treated equally now. The shackles that once bound free citizens are gone. As long as they are willing, they are truly free. They have three paths to choose from, giving them a great deal of freedom.

This is truly a fatal blow.

This cut off the escape route for all the noble lords of the kingdoms in one fell swoop.

In other words, every lord who wants to enter the ascended continent will definitely take all the free people and soldiers he can with him, otherwise there is a risk of unforeseen changes.

However, if they stayed, they would face the wartime system and would not even be able to retain their noble status, becoming a logistics staff member in the kingdom's logistics department.

As expected, this is a battle royale competition targeting the kingdom's lords! It could also be called the Lord's Run Competition.

At this moment, a golden light shone down from the ceiling. This was the warning golden light from the Kingdom's Ministry of Law, used to urge and supervise whether the lord acted in accordance with the rules.

Before Li Wei could even speak, a member of the Kingdom's Ministry of Law emerged from the golden light, snatched Li Wei's prestige card, and used it to send a message to all the free citizens of the territory, offering three choices: those willing to follow the lord should stand on the left, and those willing to venture out on their own and form their own pioneering groups should stand on the right.

Tired of loving anymore, I'll go to a planet untouched by magic and live as an ordinary person. Even the planet's appearance is revealed: a beautiful blue planet…

The good news is that the Prestige Stone remains unmoved, suggesting that Li Wei's three hundred guards, including their families, have not received any information from the kingdom. It seems that the Prestige Stone is incompatible with the current kingdom system.

"Sir, may I form a pioneering group based on my family?"

At this moment, Nelson excitedly asked, "Our chance has finally come! We are no longer under the rule of the dog lord! We want to be lords too!"

"Yes, you can!"

The man smiled and said, "You just need to apply for resignation from your knighthood and return the weapons, armor, and warhorses issued to you by the lord. You can't take the knighthood title with you either."

“Thank you, sir, we understand.” At this moment, Nelson was already impatient, but he still bowed to Li Wei. “Sir, thank you for rescuing us from the apocalyptic era and for raising us with care. However, our contributions to the Blazing Territory, and the fact that we have served you like slaves for so many years, are enough to repay your kindness. Now, our family will build and expand our own territory. Goodbye.”

The next moment, starting with Nelson, his son Santiago, daughter Isabel, son-in-law Javier, along with his several wives, other children, in-laws, and other familiar free citizen executives, a total of 54 people, all renounced their citizenship.

These are all mid-to-high-level members of the Blazing Territory.

Following closely behind, Lenos, along with his son Benjamin, also chose to renounce their citizenship. How could serving others be better than being a lord themselves?
In the blink of an eye, nearly three hundred core members of the Blazing Flame Territory had retreated, including one hundred and five heavy cavalrymen.

Even if they had to leave behind their weapons, armor, and warhorses, they were determined to withdraw, because they firmly believed that with their strength, they could achieve the same success starting from scratch.

Then, more than fifty heavily armored cavalrymen transformed from centaurs and more than sixty heavily armored infantrymen transformed from half-pigmen and half-bullmen chose to become ordinary people. They had suffered greatly from magic and no longer wanted to return to the battlefield. They preferred to lord it over the ordinary world.

Of course, they probably didn't know that, based on the most basic humanistic concern, their memories would be erased, and their individual strength would be weakened as much as possible to a state close to that of an ordinary person—that is, physically healthy, but not exceeding the standard.

In short, after all the commotion, Li Wei's Flame Legion lost more than two hundred men.

He was helpless against it, because at this moment he was not the only one experiencing this; the entire kingdom, all the self-righteous noble lords, were being weakened in this way.

Yes, that's right. At this moment, all the lords can see a table with the list of lords participating in the mission and the list of pioneering groups. In just a few minutes, the number of pioneering mercenary groups has increased from just over a thousand to more than ten thousand.

All the lords were being bled dry by the king, who was holding them by the neck!

After these pioneering groups suffered setbacks, they would inevitably be absorbed into the King and the three dukes.

The Lord's Chicken Dinner Tournament has officially begun!

(End of this chapter)