Lords of the Heavens

Chapter 457 Traitors and Scoundrels
Because he starts as a tyrant, he will not be able to obtain any logistical support from the rear. However, he can acquire refugee soldiers every six months by paying a certain price. From then on, all the lords of the former Kingdom of Locke can freely launch attacks against him. But once he obtains the inheritance of the Orson Empire, he will rebuild the Orson Empire and become Emperor William the Great.

[Friendly reminder: This is a necessary procedure for the reconstruction of the empire. The details may differ, but the process is the same. The rise of an empire will never come from peaceful evolution. Without a throne built on blood sacrifice, there will be no absolute authority to command the world.]

[Friendly reminder: Don't be fooled by Tyrant William. The Empire Reconstruction mission is only a personal territory mission for him, not a mission for all the lords of the Kingdom of Locke. If he can't start the game single-handedly and defeat all the heroes, dominating the world with absolute force and wisdom, he is not worthy of rebuilding the Orson Empire and creating a unified nation.]

[Friendly reminder: If you are exceptionally talented and believe you are destined for greatness, then you too can rise from humble beginnings and become a vagrant to eventually rule the world.]

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[Plot unfolds, global announcement! The former Dukes of Locke, Cadell, and Dusson, though they joined forces to expel the tyrant William I, are now mutually suspicious and lack better means to save the doomed Kingdom of Locke. Driven by the anger of most of the kingdom's smaller lords, they fled to the Ascended Continent, hoping to seize the throne of the Orson Empire and create a unified empire. Alternatively, they could set aside creating a new duchy/province to hinder the reconstruction of the Orson Empire and thus improve their post-mission evaluation.]

[Note: They also received the first-tier mission difficulty, i.e., the Tyrant start. Once they enter the Ascended Continent, they will not receive food supplies from the rear, but they will receive a certain number of refugee soldiers every six months, at a cost.]

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[Plot unfolds, global announcement! The former Royal Guard Commander of the Kingdom of Locke, Marquis Ron, along with fifteen other marquises including the garrison commanders of Thorn Pass, Night Owl, Iron Mountain Pass, and Wally, are unwilling to accept the kingdom's demise and their fate. Therefore, they each lead their own legions and will invade the Ascended Continent in three hours. They need to rebuild new territories and footholds, or, when conditions are right, choose to continue following Tyrant William or one of the other three tyrant-started dukes. Alternatively, they can join the Kingdom of Salion or the Kingdom of Rilimbas, indicating that the same thing is happening simultaneously in these two kingdoms.]

[Note: These fifteen marquises received the second-tier mission difficulty, namely the "treacherous minister" start. After entering the Ascended Continent, their territories in the original Locke Kingdom will be preserved by the Nine Star Council for fifty years. During this period, the territories will develop and operate normally, and all personnel and logistical supplies will be normal, unless they die in the mission in the Ascended Continent.]

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[Plot unfolds, global announcement: Thirty-six earls, including Earl David and Earl Henry, from the former Kingdom of Locke, are unwilling to accept the kingdom's demise or a life of mediocrity. They plan to lead their respective legions into the Ascended Continent in six hours. They must reclaim new territories there and ensure their survival in the chaotic world of warlord conflicts. They can choose to side with a tyrant, a treacherous minister, or rise against the tide—anything is possible!]

[Note: These thirty-six counts received the third-tier mission difficulty, which is the "traitor start." After entering the Ascended Continent, their original kingdom's territory will be preserved by the Nine Star Council for eighty years. During this period, the territory will develop and operate normally, and all personnel and logistical supplies will be normal, unless they die in the chaos.]

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[Plot unfolds, global announcement: Seventy-two viscounts from the former Kingdom of Locke, including Viscount Li Wei, Viscount York, and Viscount Anson, are unwilling to accept the kingdom's demise or their lives of mediocrity. Driven by their ambitions, they plan to lead their respective legions into the Ascending Continent in twelve hours. They must carve out a space in this unfamiliar land, establish settlements, and then carefully navigate the complexities of the situation to ensure their small forces are not crushed to ashes by the attacks of those behemoths. They may pledge allegiance to traitors or treacherous officials, but they are not yet qualified to pledge allegiance to the tyrant's camp.]

[Note: These seventy-two viscounts received the fourth-tier mission difficulty, also known as the "treacherous minister" start. After entering the ascending continent, their original kingdom's territory will be preserved by the Nine Star Council for one hundred years. During this period, the territory will develop and operate normally, and all personnel and logistical supplies will be normal, unless they die in the chaos. If they do not die, when the Ausen Empire is established, they will be pardoned and become ordinary members of the empire, or they may be granted the titles of viscount or baron based on their merits, but they will no longer have any territory; it will only be an honorary title.]

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[Plot unfolds, global announcement: The 578 barons of the former Kingdom of Locke will enter the Ascended Continent in 18 hours to find their future. Their mission difficulty is Tier 5, i.e., the Cruel Official start. For specific logistical support details, please refer to the above.]

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[Plot unfolds, global announcement: The leaders of the 13,864 pioneering mercenary groups from the former Kingdom of Locke have decided to lead their people, friends, and neighbors to the Ascending Continent to try their luck. Their mission difficulty is Tier 6, meaning they start as routed soldiers.]

They have no logistical support, but upon defeat or death in battle, they automatically become refugees and can be recruited by players who start with a tyrant.

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[Friendly reminder: Players at difficulty levels four, five, and six will generally be in a newbie protection period for the first three months, during which they will not encounter players at the first three levels. Furthermore, they will generally not encounter Reincarnators or Neanderthal spies for the first three years, and will generally not experience large-scale Neanderthal invasions for the next ten years. This is a protection measure for new players and a concrete manifestation of humanitarian care.]

[Friendly reminder: Theoretically, using the Chaotic World Exploration Card should allow you to view the entire map of the Ascended Continent, but in practice, you need to traverse the entire region for it to appear.] [Friendly reminder: Players starting as Tyrants will have their map locations visible to all other players; players starting as Traitors will have their locations visible to players at lower difficulty levels, and so on. Tyrants are indicated by a skull icon, Traitors by a snake icon, Rebels by a bloody hand icon, Flatterers by a clown icon, Cruel Officials by a poisonous insect icon, and Defeated Soldiers by no icon.]

[Friendly reminder: Upon entering the Ascended Continent, each player will receive a portion of the transparent map as a gift. Players at the first difficulty level will receive a 400 square kilometer transparent map, those at the second difficulty level will receive a 200 square kilometer transparent map, those at the third difficulty level will receive a 100 square kilometer map, those at the fourth difficulty level will receive a 50 square kilometer map, those at the fifth difficulty level will receive a 10 square kilometer map, and those at the sixth difficulty level will receive a 5 square kilometer map. The remaining fog-shrouded map needs to be explored on your own.]

[Friendly reminder: The Nine Star Council will update more mission rules in a timely manner based on the progress of the mission and the gains of players at each level. If a bug is encountered and causes losses, the Nine Star Council will provide appropriate compensation.]

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As these streams of information flowed by, Li Wei instinctively looked up and saw countless divine lights falling from the extremely distant sky. The most conspicuous and the thickest were four purple divine lights, which transformed into four streams of purple energy, their destination unknown.

Then fifteen golden divine lights descended.

Then, in turn, thirty-six blue streaks, seventy-two white streaks, more than five hundred black streaks, and at least tens of thousands of gray, indistinguishable faint lights fell down.

They even made it sound like a serious matter.

Li Wei received a beam of white light, which transformed into a Chaotic World Development Card in his hand. It was the same size as a normal development card, with light blue cloud patterns moving and rising on it, making it look very high-end.

Before he could even check its functions, his incompatible Prestige Stone automatically appeared and naturally merged into the Chaotic World Pioneer Card, turning his white card into a light blue.

A message then appeared.

You have nurtured and gained 407 loyal natives in the Ascended Continent. After successfully building a pioneering camp, your camp members will have the opportunity to regain the 'Unity' buff and enjoy a group sanity increase of 1. The specific condition is that the loyalty of all camp members to you cannot be lower than 60. If the loyalty is lowered, you will only receive the 'Unity and Friendship' buff, or the even lower-level 'Harmony' buff.

That's it!

Those 407 refugees were counted as natives of the ascended continent, which explains why they were incompatible, but they could be integrated into the Chaotic World Expansion Card.

At this moment, Li Wei's heart stirred, and he continued to examine the Chaotic World Development Card, where all the information was readily available.

【Name: Chaotic Era Expansion Card, Non-binding, Guaranteed drop upon kill】

[Rank: White Viscount, 45% away from becoming Blue Earl]

[Status: Not yet activated as the journey to the Ascended Continent has not yet taken place]

[Current holder: Former Viscount Li Wei of the Blazing Flame. Because you currently have a starting position as a treacherous minister, and the Kingdom of Locke has effectively perished, two attributes of your Viscount Liscount title will be randomly removed: Perception -2 and Agility -10! Note: When you rebuild a proper viscount territory in the Ascended Continent, these two removed attributes will be restored. Different starting positions will have this penalty, with Tyrant having the highest penalty and Refugee having the lowest.]

[Currently available feature: Ascendant Continent Map, click to view]

[Currently available feature: Team up. Please select a traitor or treacherous official whom you consider wise, powerful, and just as your leader. After forming a team, you will share information and become part of the same faction, but your faction can only be defined as the rebel faction.]

(End of this chapter)