Game’s Dogma

Hades trembled ever so slightly, his gaze also turning weird.

Noticing Hades’ strange reaction, Bloodless Bladester, Everlastor, Soulsmith, and other core members of Underworld shot unfriendly looks at Drako Yau. Everlastor even unsheathed his greatsword again, waiting to strike the moment Hades gave the order.

Drako Yau could feel the malice from the group of players. He squinted his eyes into a cold stare. Everyone around could feel it—they weren’t facing a person, but a never-melting ice cap.

Instigated by his inner dignity as the guild master, Hades almost shook as he roared, ‘What are you doing! Are you trying to go against me? Put your weapons down!’

He immediately accepted the request and asked through private chat, ‘It’s you? Is it really you?’

Drako Yau chuckled, though it was hidden by his mask. ‘Of course it’s me, who else can it be? Looks like you’ve improved a lot.’

Truth be told, Drako Yau was astonished by how much Hades had grown. His aura was almost indiscernible, so much that his presence was completely hidden when he had been in the tent. He was a shadow, shapeless and formless.

Hades made a wry laugh. He should have been happy about getting praised, but that time… the torture that lasted half a day… Thanks to that, Hades still feared him.

‘What, are you not going to let me have a seat inside?’

‘Ahem.’ Hades calmed himself down and clapped his hands. ‘Alright, he’s someone I know. There’s no problems at all, go back to your own stations.’ After instructing his subordinates, Hades gestured to Drako Yau to enter the tent. ‘This way.’

Drako Yau accepted his hospitality and hung Dawnlight over his back before disappearing into the tent.

After Drako Yau entered the tent, Hades followed suit and vanished as well. The crowd were left perplexed as they looked at each other.

Drako Yau looked around the tent, seemingly intrigued.

From the outside, it looked to be a tent that could barely fit a person or two, but upon entering it, the interior was surprisingly large. While it wasn’t on the scale of a mansion, the ceiling height still reached two metres. It was also well lit and furnished.

Hades looked at the crazy bastard as he sized up the tent. Crazy bastard, monster; those were all names Hades had given him.

Drako Yau took off his mask. Hades recognised who he was anyways, so there was no need to disguise himself.

‘This tent’s a good one.’

Hades laughed dryly again. ‘It isn’t that expensive, but it’s still a consumable. It will disappear after being activated for a day. The permanent one’s too expensive.’

He then closely observed Drako Yau’s face again. It seemed ordinary at first glance, but the more he looked at it, the more he felt that he couldn’t get enough of his face. He also had this literary aura of a scholar around him, probably because he had been dealing with books and computers for most of his life. It was impossible to tell from the surface that he was in fact a monster, a beast, a crazy bastard, a sadist…

‘You… are you real? Are you really a player?’

Drako Yau was baffled for a second, but soon started laughing. ‘Of course, what else can I be?’

Despite Hades’ imposing demeanor, he sounded like an idiot right now as he said, ‘I thought you were an NPC and that I encountered some sort of encounter quest.’

Drako Yau laughed as he thought about it. He did indeed give Hades guidance, for no apparent reason to be honest, and even left behind the epic Dagger of Umbra. It was quite similar to an encounter quest.

Drako Yau shook the thought off his mind. It wasn’t the reason he was here for. ‘I’m here for something important. Let’s leave the catching up for later.’

Hades sat on a chair and signalled Drako Yau to have a seat as well. ‘I’m listening.’

‘Are you preparing for the siege now?’ Drako Yau cut to the chase after sitting to the opposite of Hades.

Hades blinked and answered, ‘Of course.’

Out of curiosity, Drako Yau asked, ‘With how strong you are, why are you staying in Evergrand?’

Hade chuckled. It was at that moment he finally displayed his demeanor as the player who once reigned supreme in War of the Daemons, at least part of it. ‘There’s so many players under me now, and neither Empyreon nor Terrafirm can house all of us. Am I supposed to run away with a few other elites? Ha, that I can’t do.’

Drako Yau remained unfazed, but deep down, he was secretly admiring Hades’ attitude. ‘Let’s cooperate.’

‘Hm?’ Hades had a dignified yet troubled look upon hearing his suggestion. If it was just a personal matter, he wouldn’t mind showing fear towards the crazy bastard. But he couldn’t mess around when it concerned his brother-in-arms. ‘Let’s hear it.’

‘Yoda is in a similar situation.’ Drako Yau sat up straight and said slowly, ‘Together we stand strong. That is my suggestion.’

Hades’ eyes flashed. ‘You mean…’

‘Abandon the city!’ Drako Yau said resolutely. ‘Between the two cities, we must give one up.’

Hades couldn’t get the idea into his head right away. ‘Are you saying we’ll abandon a city and let the monsters occupy it?’

Drako Yau nodded. ‘There’s still 10 minutes, quickly go spread the word that every player in Evergrand should head over to Yoda and defend it. That way, we have a 50 per cent chance of succeeding.’

Hades muttered, ‘Just 50 per cent, is it…’

Drako Yau also responded seriously. ‘You don’t get it. This setting, did you not notice? The announcement said from the start that fallen cities will become demon cities.

‘From that alone, it can be said that the system will surely make a city or two fall. These demon cities might even be part of the game itself. They might serve as new dungeons, new grounds for levelling up.

‘From the looks of it, Yoda and Evergrand will have the highest chances of becoming demon cities. Because we’re too weak.’

Drako Yau looked at the time on his phone. ‘There’s 10 minutes left. For every minute you hesitate, our chances of winning will fall by 10 per cent. It’s your decision to make.’

Hades stood up and looked straight into Drako Yau’s eyes with a chilly stare. His imposing demeanor was befitting of a leader. ‘One last question. Why do we, players of Evergrand, have to help Yoda with defending their city? Why don’t the players of Yoda come over and help us instead!

‘Apart from the fact that Empyreon and Terrafirm are full, we also have a strong sense of belonging towards Evergrand, the city where we started out at. We really don’t want to give the city up!’

Drako Yau also stood up and matched Hades’ gaze. ‘The reason is simple, Evergrand has the Underworld guild. You have gathered over 90 per cent of the players who chose to stay in Evergrand. As long as Underworld gives the order, over 90 per cent of all players here will teleport over and defend Yoda. Meanwhile, Yoda only started mustering the players around 10 minutes ago, it’d be nice if half the players join the ranks. The others will probably just do their own thing.

‘You do the maths, adding 90 to 100, or adding 50 to 90.’

Drako Yau took two steps forwards. They now stood just a step apart.

‘You can choose to fall together with the city along with your fellow brothers, losing them one by one as your home city gets destroyed. Or, you can give up your sense of belonging and make a last stand at Yoda. It’s your choice to make.’

Leaving those words behind, Drako Yau donned his mask and left the tent without looking back.