Am I the only one streaming Sword Art Online on the entire internet?

"Wait, a mass silence? That doesn't seem right!" Solin shouted out, but no one could hear him, including himself. While the area-wide silence could indeed stop the enemy illusionist's performance, the poisonous fog hadn't been dispelled yet. If they couldn't hear anything, this area was still their home ground for the two enemy units, and their disadvantage hadn't been truly reversed.

However, the next moment he realized where Yuki's confidence came from. Or rather, the real basis for her decision. A swarm of flapping-wing aircraft converged from all directions, gathering in mid-air a short distance away, and then flew towards them together. The poisonous fog that had previously shrouded the area had been largely dispersed by the strong winds created by the flapping-wing aircraft. Although their health was still decreasing, visibility had probably recovered considerably; at least he could see the two figures of the other two through the poisonous fog.

One of them was about the same height as Solin, wearing a bird-beak mask, while the other, about a head shorter, was huddled in his arms.

"Never mind, let's catch those two guys first."

Sorin had already guessed the true identities of the two men, but for the sake of their mission, he had no choice but to capture them first. He charged forward, his weapon having somehow switched to a rapier for close combat, and unleashed the rapier's signature skill, Deceptive Charge.

The man wearing the bird-beak mask raised his hand, as if to cast a spell, but was unable to do so due to the silence effect across the entire area. Then he turned his back, using his body to shield the person who had been cowering in front of him, taking the brunt of Sorin's deceptive charge.

In an instant, three blood-red lights burst forth from the poisonous mist, carrying a hint of eerie beauty. His reaction was also a message to Solin: these two were essentially powerless now; they could simply be surrounded by reinforcements.

"Surround them! Both of them are mages, and they can't cast spells right now!" Yuuki quickly gave the order in the team channel, then ran forward and blocked the two men from behind, pressing the sword in her right hand straight against the other man's back.

Next to arrive were Tich's Silver Golem and Yuna, standing on either side, similarly pointing their weapons at the two. The battle was now essentially over, because even if Xiaoji removed the full-area silence, these two mages couldn't possibly do anything significant under the noses of four melee fighters. Moreover… these two seemed to have no intention of continuing the fight.

The thick green poisonous fog suddenly dissipated, revealing the true faces of the two mysterious figures. The one with light blue hair and delicate features helplessly raised his hands to face Solin, one of which held Solin's bird-beak mask. Beside him stood a silver-haired, silver-eyed girl, trembling slightly with fear, clinging tightly to him.

Yuuki waved to Koki, who snapped her fingers, ending the silence across the entire area. Of course, this was after everyone had gathered around, because Yuuki couldn't guarantee they would surrender easily.

After all, the ability of illusion is still a bit too overpowered.

“You must be the investigators sent by the Senate of Ozoli, right?” The light blue-haired boy tried his best to keep his voice calm, but Solin could still hear the resentment and anger hidden in it. “The silence... it seems they have finally found a way to deal with us. I am willing to go with you, but please do not hurt Xiaohuan.”

"Prag!" the girl cried out anxiously, "Don't do this... don't come any closer!"

She swung her short staff, but the next moment Yuki's precise sword strike knocked the staff from her hand.

"So, the mission's complete, right...? But why do I keep getting this feeling of bullying a kid?" Yuna then flicked the short staff aside with her sword, before looking at Sorin with a puzzled expression. "What do we do now?"

"We'll talk about it later. They're already incapable of resisting anyway." Sorin looked around, then asked seriously, "Yuki, where did you get this mission from?"

“From faction reputation to Honored, all the missions are actually issued by the faction’s leader or second-in-command personally. I thought you knew this information.” Yuki replied without hesitation. “This mission was personally issued by Mr. Dowin.”

“I see… I understand now. So, let me ask you this: can you accept the outcome of this mission failing?” Solin nodded knowingly, then asked a question that everyone found somewhat difficult to accept.

"Why? We finally completed the mission, we can't just let them go because they don't seem like bad guys," Yuuki retorted, puzzled. "Unless you give me a reasonable explanation, Sorin-chan."

"So please don't use such a misleading form of address, Yuuki... I'll tell you the specific reason later, but before that..."

As he said this, he turned his gaze back to Prag and Huan.

"Next, I will ask questions, and you will answer them. Your answers will determine what I do next."

Praggle nodded silently, then replied in a hoarse voice, "Go ahead and say it."

"How did you get to Ravnica? Or rather, did you encounter anything before you came here?" Sorin asked seriously, following his train of thought. "If you didn't encounter anything, did you receive some strange signal guiding you before you came here?"

“Before coming here… I was conducting an experiment, and Xiao Huan was with me at the time. The test subject went out of control and attacked Xiao Huan, but I stopped it and was seriously injured in the process. I thought I was going to die, but suddenly a dazzling light flashed on my chest, and the next moment I appeared here—this place is called Ravnica?”

Praggle carefully recalled his experiences before arriving in Ravnica, then answered word by word, "As for the mysterious signal... no, I've never felt anything like it."

“I understand. So the timeline can be confirmed now. The beacon tower has not yet been activated, and the schemer is probably still in Dominaria completing his plan... There is still time.”

"What? What? It's not too late?"

308, Pharaoh God Nico Nico Ni

Perhaps his thoughts were too disjointed, because at least for now, no one, including Yuna and the other members of the Sleeping Knights, understood what Sorin had just said.

“Let me start from the beginning. But first of all, absolutely do not hand them over to Dowin.” Sorin shook his head, then casually pressed his rapier against Prag’s chest. “In this world, a very small number of people will ignite a spark in their hearts for various reasons and gain the ability to travel through time and space. Such people are called Planeswalkers, like these two.”

He sheathed his rapier, then looked toward the New Bluff Tower, his tone suddenly becoming serious.

“Normally, Planeswalkers don’t die in one timeline; they only move to another timeline when they suffer fatal injuries. But… as you’ve sensed, you can’t escape this timeline in a similar way right now. Am I right?”

“Indeed, when we repelled the searchers the first two times, Xiao Huan and I tried to leave, but that force didn't respond to us.” Prag paused for a moment, then looked up at Solin, whose attitude had suddenly changed, and asked in confusion, “But what does that have to do with you helping us?”

"Don't interrupt, this is the important part." Sorin, after hearing Prag's words, chuckled and tapped him on the head with the hilt of his sword, and continued, "This is going to be a long story. I think we still have time, so I'll tell you in detail. Anyway, you don't know what happened before, so this won't involve spoilers."

“Alright, since you put it that way…” Yuki nodded, sheathed her twin swords again, and walked back the way they came. “But this is clearly not a suitable place to tell stories, after all, it’s just too… dirty and messy.”

“I agree, let’s head back first.” Yuna agreed with Yuki’s suggestion. She looked at the other members of the “Sleeping Knights” behind her and found that their attitudes were similar. “Speaking of which, we haven’t explored the First District yet. We were just in New Bluff before…that’s the Tenth District, right?”

“No, District 10 is the territory of the Order of Boros.” Thorin shook his head and corrected, “The places most closely connected to the War of the Spark… should be the three timelines of Caladesh, Amonkai, and Ishalan. First of all, let me mention that the villain we are about to face is that giant dragon with a pair of curved horns that you saw in the trailer, the Pharaoh god Nicoloni… oh no, Nicol Boros.”

“What’s going on with niconiconi…” Darken, who had a relatively low profile, muttered weakly from behind, “And what are all those places called Lakadshu? Why have I never heard of them before, Mr. Sorin?”

“It’s Karadesh, and it’s normal you haven’t heard of it, since you don’t play cards. To put it simply, that brilliant schemer is plotting to gain immense power, and the source of this power is the spark of the Planeswalkers.” As Thorin said this, he deliberately gave a malicious look to the feigning composure of Prag and the trembling Illusion beside him. “Although Planeswalkers don’t die, there’s only one exception: when they lose their spark. In other words, if we send you to Dorwenbane now, the only outcome awaiting you might be death from the loss of your spark.”

"Is...is that so? Will I...die here?" Huan's weak voice trembled, filled with fear, and her beautiful silver pupils suddenly shrank, as if she wanted to curl up into a ball on the spot. "Then what should we do? Mr. Solin...you should have a way, right?"

Prag stopped, bent down and picked Huan up in a princess carry, gently stroking her hair in a very gentle voice.

"It'll be alright, Xiao Huan, I'm here. Don't be afraid."

"It's alright, as long as you don't go up there and get hurt, nothing will happen. A lot of Planeswalkers will be drawn here by the Beacon Tower, including some quite powerful ones." Thorin calmly comforted the couple who were constantly showing off their affection, and then continued his story, "Let's continue with Niconiconi. He obtained the artifact [Time Bridge] in Caladish, which allows non-Planeswalkers to travel through time. In Amonkai, he created his own army of immortals... basically a bunch of mummies. In Isharan, he obtained the artifact [Eternal Sun], which can prevent Planeswalkers from leaving a certain timeline. Finally, he decided to make the entire Ravnica the stage for his conspiracy. That's it."

“So, in that case, our enemy should be someone with great strength and a large army, right?” Yuki briefly summarized what Sorin had just said, then suddenly became worried, “But if we just report the mission as a failure, it will be difficult to explain to Mr. Dowin.”

"Now? Didn't you notice the mission is already complete?" Sorin showed Yuki the mission page, where the mission "Clear the First District" was clearly marked "Completed," and everyone in the team had seen their Senate reputation rise significantly. "Although I don't understand the specifics, it should be possible to avoid the associated risks. And I should add that our enemies still include elusive traitors. At least that pretentious Victor will probably become our enemy soon."

"what?!"

Everyone in the group was visibly surprised upon hearing the news. Previously, Sorin had only said they shouldn't easily trust Dorwinbane, but he had never mentioned that the man would become their enemy. However, Sorin simply stood there calmly, waiting for everyone to calm down before pointing to the small, swirling vortex-like object that had appeared in mid-air at some unknown time.

"Looks like we've arrived at just the right time. The show is about to begin."

Suolin revealed a mocking smile, and at the same time, a huge system notification suddenly appeared in everyone's field of vision.

The major event "The End of the Pharaoh" in the "War of Sparks" expansion for Hyperdimensional Fantasy V2.00 will begin in one hour, at which time quests in each region will be available. We look forward to your performance, Hyperdimensional beings.

309. The Battle of Sparks

"Solin... what is that?"

Yuna pointed at the deep vortex in mid-air that was growing larger and larger, a vague sense of unease creeping into her heart.

“The transmission zone, or rather, it’s actually a time-space bridge.” Sorin frowned, pondering once again, “If that’s the case, my previous timeline deduction was still wrong. Now that Nicol Bolas’s army is pressing in, Nimitzer is probably already dead, and we don’t know when he will be resurrected.”

Although the notice stated that there was still an hour before the major event began, Sorin could clearly see, in this somewhat open area, a dark stone altar slowly rising from the ground near the Tenth District—the territory of the Boros Order. Directly above the altar sat a massive dragon—it had enormous curved horns and its eyes gleamed with ferocity.

That was the mastermind behind all the conspiracies, and now he had finally stepped into the limelight, along with his lackeys who had acted as his accomplices.

At the same time, he could see a beam of light piercing the sky, released from the center of a tower in the direction of the Ije Alliance—a beacon capable of summoning planeswalkers from all timelines. The leader of the Ije Alliance, Lalcharek, pinned his hopes on this beacon, expecting it to gather enough powerful individuals to help them defeat Bolas.

However, he is unaware that once the Planeswalkers arrive in the Ravnica spacetime, they will be trapped here by the Immortal Sun, with no possibility of escaping except by defeating Nicol Bolas.

"Is there any way to get a detailed look at the situation over there?" Yuki asked seriously. "It looks like they are our enemies. Things are not good."

“No need to look. In a little while, the Temple of Bolas and the statue of the Pharaoh will appear over there. As for the two traitors standing next to him… one of them is not our enemy, at least she will not be our enemy in the end.” As Sorin spoke, he found the Ten Alliance Office in the tenth district on the map and casually marked it. “Follow me. Right now, the players probably don’t know what to do until they receive a mission, so this period of time is very precious.”

"So you know what to do?" Prag had already put his bird-beak mask back on, a sword gleaming with a green light in his hand, and his left hand tightly gripping Huan's right. "And if I may be frank, Mr. Sorin, since you already know everything, why don't you make it public?"

"I don't know anything about it. I've almost forgotten the plot of the Battle of Sparks. I can't switch to look up information now, so I'll just have to remember what I can." Solin replied irritably, not caring whether the NPC could understand his string of words. "The situation is very complicated right now. There are traitors, and there are traitors who are traitors in the villain's camp... Anyway, go find that ball now. He should be back by now."

"That ball?"

"Jesbelian, the Ten Ships of the Present World... no, the Ten Alliances of the Present World. Anyway, these guys will be the focus of the whole story in a while. Just follow them."

Solin replied quickly, but he was still pondering the possibility: this wasn't just a simple battle of sparks anymore; the countless additional players could bring significant changes to the entire story, potentially altering many things. And from his own perspective… he also wanted to change some things.

For example, saving the man who dedicated his life to upholding justice—Kidin Yura.

"Hurry up, that thing will expand to its maximum size in an hour, then blow up Jess's office, nearby buildings, and everyone nearby. Remember to stay away from it then." Sorin pointed to the slowly expanding vortex-shaped black hole in mid-air, then quickly marked several other things on the map. "The next mission line should be to destroy the New Bluff Tower, shut down the beacon, and close the time-space bridge. We can prepare in advance. And that masked guy, what are your and that little guy's abilities? All I know right now is that you can fart... oh, sorry, I mean release poison mist, and the little guy seems to be an illusionist."

"Calling me 'that masked guy' is incredibly rude. At least call me by my name properly, Mr. Sorin," Prag replied somewhat displeased. "I'm an alchemist, my expertise lies in poison concoction. And Xiao Huan, she..."

"If it's a battle, I'm afraid I won't be able to help much, I'm sorry." Huan was still as timid as before, and her tone was quite hesitant. "You said that we would be facing an enemy called 'The Immortals', right? Those guys shouldn't be affected by illusions, right?"

“Not necessarily, but even if your illusions can’t affect them, you can try to fool the person controlling them,” Sorin replied with a smile. “Also… I suspect some players will receive the Bolas questline. Not all players are trustworthy, so always keep that in mind.”

“I understand that. There are quite a few people in D&D who like to be villains.”

It was Tich who spoke; the honest and unassuming Vidoken artifact maker's tone still conveyed that calm and unhurried feeling.

"Brother Solin...would anyone really do that?" Xiao Ji tilted her head in confusion, seemingly unable to understand the kind of player Solin described. "Don't we all want to be partners in justice?"

"Being a partner of justice... you'll understand when you grow up. It's not easy to be a partner of justice," Sorin advised earnestly. "The only good thing is that this game doesn't have a level system, and as for equipment... I think we should have a chance to get some really powerful equipment."

"Shun?" Yuuki asked curiously, as the game's built-in translation system didn't seem to be translating this dialect-like word into a normal way. "What does that mean?"

"If we have no food or clothing, the enemy will provide it; if we have no guns or cannons, the enemy will make them for us. It's that simple," Solin said confidently. He looked at his location and then resolutely canceled all the markers on the map, except for the spot where he and Yuna had just come from, which was the area of ​​the Sacred Fountain.

"Dowinban came from Caladesh, and that place... is full of treasures. I don't believe this guy has nothing on him."

310. "Ladies and gentlemen, the show is about to begin!"

After the system notification that "a major event will begin in one hour," Solin could see flashing white lights representing players logging in almost every moment. The notification was rather rushed, but thanks to the holiday and the advanced internet, the news spread across all major social media platforms in just ten minutes. Players interested in the event quickly finished their work and logged into the Hyperdimensional Fantasy World wearing their AmuSpheres.

Kirito, a typical internet addict, is no exception. Although he's not quite that powerful in this game yet, he has a group of strong teammates. There are quite a few people standing around him right now, roughly the size of half a raid team from SAO.

"Sorin is online as expected. I knew he wouldn't miss an opportunity like this." Kirito's tone was quite confident, probably because he was quite familiar with Sorin. "But he's probably just a newbie right now. I wonder how difficult this game's event will be."

"It's hard to say, but the last event, the [Elder Dragon Encyclopedia Completion Project], wasn't too difficult. After all, those monsters were from Capcom's Monster Hunter series. Although their skills changed slightly, they were basically the same. As long as you familiarize yourself with them, you can beat them, even if you're a complete beginner." Agil pondered for a while before giving this answer. "However, this event probably won't be so simple. First of all, we don't know much about the enemies' strength, and the terrain in Ravnica is quite complex and chaotic. It might be filled with chaotic street battles in the city..."

"Look, Kirito, what's that?" Asuna suddenly pointed to the huge vortex above the office of the Tenth District Ten Alliance and asked in surprise.

“The Time-Space Bridge, in terms you can understand, is a monster spawn point, or you could say the villains’ headquarters,” Agil explained from the side. “When it fully unfolds, everything nearby will be flattened, and then a large number of blue mummies will emerge from it.”

“Mummy? That doesn’t seem to fit this place at all,” Sinon remarked. “This is supposed to be a cyberpunk city, and mummies… they’re something that only appears in Egyptian mythology.”

“Theoretically speaking, that’s true… We encountered something similar in SAO back then. The thirtieth floor of Aincrad is called Amonkai, which is similar to ancient Egypt.” Kirito recalled his experience in SAO and explained to Sinon, “There were particularly troublesome bosses there, known as ‘gods.’ There were five gods in total. When we broke through to the forty-something floor, one of the gods appeared again.”

"You guessed right, Kirito. Amonkai is on the other side of the time-space bridge."

Aikir pointed to the vortex in the distance. The vortex had not yet fully unfolded, but one could vaguely see what appeared to be endless yellow sand, and an army of immortals arrayed in strict formation on the sand, ready for battle.

"This is going to be tough... This major incident is likely to be very difficult. In any case, everyone should be careful."

------

"Speaking of treasure reminds me of those sad stories. For example, when I was playing a deck of cards and my opponent had no hand, I was thinking about how he could survive against me when he pulled out a Trap Bridge from his pants. When I wanted to know how he could win, he threw a Forgotten Stone onto the table."