Chapter 438

"Although we don't know who they are, judging from their armor and weapons, they're probably from the Valla Empire's army."

After receiving a warning from Gerald, who died in battle, Edward quickly sent Gou Dan to investigate.

Since the event had just started, everyone's Flame Points were still lacking. Their temporary sacred spells that could be cast three times a day were not enough to get them through the depths of the volcanic zone, which was why Gou Dan had to circle around the edge of the zone, which took him some time.

The army had already pitched their tents, and it was obvious that they were going to engage in a long battle.

"Of course, the main reason is that the name above their heads is' Valla Empire's Secret Execution Corps'." Gou Dan added.

"Does the Valla Empire have such an army?" Joe asked in confusion, scratching his head like a gorilla.

"Not on the surface."

Leah Yakaran, the Princess of War who had rushed to support the event replied. "There are five armies in the Valla Empire on the surface: the Valla Regular Army, the Valla Noble Army whose members are mostly nobles and used for ceremonial tasks, the Border Garrison who are stationed at the nation's borders and keep an eye on the intentions of several dukes, the Valla Imperial Guard whose basic duty is to protect the imperial family and the imperial capital, and the Valla Blitzkrieg Squad who are responsible for swift reactions and roaming the nation for purging."

"After all, they have the word 'secret' in their name, which means they are definitely a force the Valla Empire is grooming in secret. Isn't it normal to claim that there is a sixth army out of five?"

Edward, however, was unconcerned. He looked at the projected map with a serious expression. "All I want to know is why they are here!"

At this point, the Players had accumulated a decent amount of wealth.

Still, Xi Wei's policy of keeping a low profile and not baring his fangs at surrounding factions had caused many to misunderstand the Players' overall combat ability, believing them to be a new religion with a few champions. In fact, only a few of the Valla Empire's hierarchy realized how frightening the Players were — in fact, they already had the ability to threaten or even topple most factions around them.

If the Players were to clash directly with the secret army before they officially flipped the table, the Players' faction would definitely be exposed — why would they want to be a wolf if they could stand as a nation's army!?

Although it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it would definitely be a hindrance to the Players in the future.

"Moreover, we would suffer heavy losses if we fought them head-on. The army had reared some subspecies at the time, and while they weren't the most terrifying of beings, they were still difficult to handle … Many Players would probably be on cooldown for their resurrection."

Gou Dan said solemnly to Edward with a Versailles expression that said 'Valla's secret execution squad was wiped out, but we Players are going to be locked in a small black hut for three days!'.

"What their names?" Seeing that Edward was deep in thought, the Warrior Princess Leah asked Gou Dan, "I mean, what about the color of their names?"

"Yellow with a little red in it," Goudan replied.

"Neutral but hostile, huh." Lia nodded.

"Oh, sorry. I think it should be red with a little yellow in it." Goudan immediately corrected himself.

The girl narrowed her eyes and stared at him, while the latter whistled as if it had nothing to do with him.

"They are," Leah, "''t God," t, "Edward't." they "he" t, "they killed.

"After all, they killed our people. How can we let them get away with it!"

Joe shouted, spreading his arms and holding the giant's toe aloft, unbeknownst to him that it made him look even more like a silverback gorilla.

"The wood elves had killed a few Players before, but they are now our allies." Jessica reminded him.

Joe, who was halfway through his demonstration, was stunned. He didn't know whether he should continue or not.

"So we're in favor of war, right?" Edward confirmed with Leah.

Although he wasn't her subordinate, both of them were basically equal among the players, especially after the appearance of the Round Table.

"I'll go to Sky Horizon and ask for the opinion of the other Round Table members, but most of them would be in favor of war." Leah nodded.

After all, players had to grind their way up to Levels. The members of the Round Table were also record holders and could be said to be publicly acknowledged as powerhouses.

"Before that, we'll investigate their intentions as soon as possible." Edward assured Leah as well.

After watching Leah the Warrior Princess leave, Edward gathered the other Players who were nearby.

Standing on top of a boulder, he revealed the current information of his investigation to the Players.

"A mysterious faction has appeared at the outskirts of the volcanic zone, and it seems that they're quite hostile!"

"Oh …" The Players didn't have to worry, unsure of what to do.

"But we've found out who the enemy is. It's Valla's secret party!"

"Oh!" The Players were excited, all of them rubbing their palms.

"They have numbers, and they're rearing draconic beasts. They're quite powerful."

"Oh …" The Players all lowered their heads in thought, considering a strategy to take down the enemy's party.

"But there are many first-rate Players gathered here, and they're no match for us!"

"Oh!" The Players cheered in unison.

"We don't know what their intentions are, but they might have some sort of plan, perhaps even a plot against the gods!"

"Oh …" The Players couldn't help becoming nervous at that, unsure of what to do.

"But that doesn't mean anything to us. The God of Games has marked them as enemies!"

"Oh!" The players were eager to try it out.

"Some of our brethren were ambushed by them and died gloriously in battle."

"Oh …" The players sighed and mourned for the player who had died in battle.

"But the dead Player was Marni Wilf!"

"Oh —!"

The Players erupted in their most passionate and emotional cheers, their faces brimming with excitement and joy as if they'd heard news of some celebration, and couldn't help clapping and cheering.

Seeing this scene, a smile appeared on Edward's face.

With the hearts of the people at his disposal, things were settled.