Ashen Dragon-Chapter 551 - 20 The Player

And to think this was just minutes after the servers went live, the number of players at the venue was still skyrocketing.

Witnessing this incredible spectacle, they couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Holy shit? It’s exactly like in the promotional video!”

“I’m so pumped up!”

“Long Live the Ashen Empire!”

“Ahhh—”

“Long Live His Majesty Cassius, for the Empire!”

The tunes of military music were stirring and spirited, and even Mantou was caught up in the fervent atmosphere. He raised his hands and shouted at the top of his lungs, “For the Empire!”

Meanwhile, far away, the Emperor of the Crimson Dragon stood atop a massive boulder, spreading his broad wings and gazing down at everything with his pale golden eyes.

He seemed to notice the players appearing on the plains, casting a scrutinizing look at them.

Then, that giant maw filled with sharp fangs slowly opened, emitting a clear and even voice.

“Welcome back, Starfallen.”

Hearing the greeting from the camp leader, the players’ emotions were reignited, even exploding, growing more intense.

“Long Live His Majesty Cassius!”

“Emperor Kai is invincible!”

“I want to touch His Majesty Cassius’s…”

Mantou looked up at the distant Red Dragon and, placing his fist over his heart, gave a perfect “Loyalty Salute.”

“This sense of belonging is off the charts…”

“Howl~~”

A familiar roar echoed from the sky, and Mantou immediately looked up in surprise, exclaiming, “Noodle!”

The Bipedal Wyvern raised its slender neck and let out a gratifying shriek, circling in the air before making a smooth landing.

It grasped the earth with its feet and bowed its head obediently, lying down before Mantou.

“Long time no see, Noodle.”

As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and this was true even for mounts.

“You’ve been eating well, huh, put on a bit of weight.”

Mantou affectionately stroked the Bipedal Wyvern’s long neck, then grabbed the saddle’s handle and leaped onto its back.

“Noodle, take off!”

“Howl—”

The Bipedal Wyvern leaped up, flapping its wings and ascending in a spiral, letting out a loud howl.

Mantou gazed at the magnificent City of Isdalia in the distance, feeling a surge of emotions, as if his heart were filled with myriad valleys and ravines.

Erezer, I’m back!

New players looked up at Mantou in the sky, pointing at his Bipedal Wyvern mount and exclaimed, “What the heck, how can he ride a dragon?”

Another new player said, “I heard him say something, and that wyvern let him ride it, something like… Noodle?”

“Huh? That’s insane, there’s a command for that?”

“Noodle—”

“Noodle! Noodle!”

“Noodle! Why doesn’t the command work?”

For a moment, many new players began shouting at the top of their lungs, their eyes filled with hope as they looked up at the Bipedal Wyvern circling in the sky.

A veteran player standing nearby cast a sideways glance at them, with a look as if he was watching fools: “That’s the freaking Red Scale Conqueror’s mount!”

“He’s calling his mount by name, what are you yelling for?”

“Ow?”

High above, the Bipedal Wyvern cocked its head to one side, gazing at the players on the ground with a puzzled growl.

“So realistic!”

“There’s even a sense of pain?”

“Hahaha! You can actually pull down pants!”

“I’ve waited a year, and I’m finally playing Erezer! Don’t stop me, I’m not crazy!”

On the ground, the number of players had already surpassed a hundred thousand in a mere few minutes, and it was still climbing.

They roared like savages, and there were plenty who stripped naked and ran around chaotically.

Originally solemn and majestic, the atmosphere at the venue suddenly became somewhat amiss, thankfully the parade had ended, and the Imperial People were already accustomed to the Starfallen’s madness.

In the stands, a little Tiefling girl curiously watched the Starfallen and tugged at her mother’s clothes.

“Mommy, what are they doing?”

The Tiefling mother covered her little Tiefling’s eyes and whispered gently, “Nina, don’t pick up bad habits from those crazies.

Remember, just be loyal to His Majesty and the Empire like your father who works in the Imperial Army, and don’t follow these wrongful paths.”

…

On the high platform, Cassius looked down at the venue, watching the players frolic on the wilderness with the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.

“There are so many players this time…”

In Cassius’s memory, even though “Erezer” was a huge hit in version 2.0, there were only a few million players online at the start of the server.

Even fewer had chosen the original map, the Anzeta Great Wilderness, as their spawn point since it was already fully explored by players.

But under the influence of Cassius, most of the veteran players were tied to the chariot of the Empire.

Unwilling to give up their original assets and status, they had no choice but to continue choosing the Empire as their spawn point.

The new players, influenced by trailers and veteran players’ guides, also became extremely interested in the Ashen Empire, the “protagonist camp” of version 1.0.

Cassius’s gaze shone brightly as he watched the new players exhale a puff of sulfur-tinged white smoke.

“If the trend continues, the number of players joining the Empire will easily reach two million.”

“And the total number of players— is likely to break through the ten-million mark.”

It’s worth noting that the Kings’ Strife version opened over three hundred respawn points, and having one-fifth of the players choose the Empire was already a considerable number.

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This was far beyond Cassius’s expectations.

In the past world, most players chose the Fadlan countries, where the war was most intense, according to the guides; they divided into different camps and fought against each other.

But now, the Ashen Empire had undoubtedly become the camp that attracted the most players and had the greatest impact on the player community.

“Two million players…

While it can provide ample momentum for the development of the Empire, it’s still a bit troublesome, and it’ll likely cause quite a bit of chaos.”

In the third census initiated months ago by Prime Minister Ramp, the total population of the Ashen Empire had reached 8.47 million.

And now, two million players had surged in, amounting to one quarter of the Empire’s total population!

Such a large number of “idle wanderers” would definitely have a huge impact on the society of the Empire, and the conflict between Starfallen and natives would intensify.

The competition for jobs, the resistance of the natives, and the chaos in the social order were almost inevitable, and the series of social problems that would arise were equally severe.

For the current state of the Empire, expansion was imminent, and Cassius urgently needed to find an outlet for the players to vent their excess energy.

Demons were his first target.

However, it was necessary to maintain the most basic order first so that they could better combat the demons.

Thinking this, Cassius called out softly, “Mezulash.”

Soon, the overall Commander of the Imperial Army and head of the Imperial intelligence agency, as well as the leader of the Tiefling Tribe, appeared before the Red Dragon.

He had held a high position for many years, controlling the Empire’s internal and external secret services, eradicating enemies in the dark for the Empire

Now, this Tiefling Holy Warrior’s, who was the most low-profile of the Empire’s three Dukes, hands were already stained with blood, and he had become even more silent and reticent, always silently completing the tasks given by the Red Dragon.

At this moment, Mezulash kneeled on one knee and said respectfully, “Master, what are your orders?”

“There’s something you should be quite familiar with: manage these Starfallen who have just come from the Otherworld, and teach them the rules of the Empire.

However, we have a few more Starfallen this time, approximately… two million.”

Mezulash raised his head, and even his usually impassive face showed a hint of shock he couldn’t hide.

He was accustomed to controlling and concealing his emotions, but the number this time was indeed staggering.

How many?

Two million?

A quarter of the total population! And all of them are madmen who don’t care about life or death!

In an instant, cold sweat streamed down the forehead of the Tiefling leader and dripped off his chin.

Although Mezulash was filled with thoughts, he still responded in a deep voice, “Yes, Master.”