Victoria Harbour, Downtown, Wilson Street.

The streets are bustling with people, including fishermen selling fish, followers of the Queen of the Sea, boatmen with bare upper bodies, and even groups of gang members.
The players, called "undeads" by the residents of Victoria Harbour, mixed in with the crowd and surprisingly did not feel out of place.

"Victoria's birth is really difficult to play. The upper city won't let us players enter, and the forces in the lower city are a mixed bag, it's a mess."

"If I had known earlier, I would have chosen the Burning Empire. They had just entered the demon war and some people had already reached level 6."

"That's right. Last time I completed the mission successfully, but I was killed by that gang. Even my body was tied up with rocks and thrown to the bottom of the sea. How disrespectful."

"It's just gangsters eating gangsters. Otherwise, this is Erezega's 'Sin City'. This is the kind of spirit we want."

"Haha, my buddy has become the bishop of an underground cult. If I can't make it anymore, I'll go and join him."

"He is the founder of the 'Immortal God Cult'? The one who said that all those who follow him can become immortal?"

"Fuck, there really are idiots who believe this."

Several players chatted as they walked towards a tall tower in the distance that was out of place among the many dilapidated buildings - that was their destination, the Coast Tower.

"Among all the forces in Victoria Harbor, the Coast Tower offers the most generous rewards."

"Yes, and everyone says that the origin of this mysterious NPC is not simple. It is said that the Black Hand Gang and the Blood Sea Cult were destroyed by him."

"We must take this opportunity to improve our favorability. Maybe we'll have a chance to join the Tower of the Coast."

Outside the Coast Tower, the players were crowded here talking among themselves, but they still made way for the main road as requested by the servants inside the tower and waited outside the tower to submit their tasks.

The servant opened the door and said to the outside, "Next."

"Me first, I came here first!"

A tall and strong player pushed through the crowd and rushed into the tower.

Facing the mysterious NPC in a gray robe with a half-smile on his face, the player gave a standard 90-degree bow:

"Master Hermit, we have already discovered some clues about the Dominant God Cult. Please have a look!"

He took out a damp package that smelled fishy from his backpack and handed it to me with both hands.

Inside was the head of Joel Nathan, the tavern owner who had disappeared a few days ago. Due to being exposed to moisture for a long time, it had even rotted and had maggots.

However, the player regarded it as a treasure and even cut off the head of the corpse as a token to be handed over to the hermit.

"As expected of a player..."

Cassius, who had transformed into a "hermit", sighed in his heart, but still accepted the head calmly.

"Very good, Undead, you have completed my mission and you deserve the reward."

"Wow."

The hermit waved his hand casually, and several gold coins appeared on the wooden table in front of the player.

Looking at the glittering gold coins in front of him and the words "Favorability +5" and "Experience +500" displayed on the panel, the player's eyes lit up.

His knees went weak and he knelt on the ground and wailed, "Thank you, Master Hermit, you are my second parent!

I have been lonely and helpless since I was young, with no one to care for me, and I was stranded in Victoria Harbour. It was your Coast Tower that made me feel the warmth of home."

"Go, go, don't waste time here."

Faced with the player's emotional and heart-wrenching words, the maid holding the broom drove him out without hesitation.

In the past few days, she has seen too many undead who want to join the Tower of the Coast. Those who make up stories are considered good, and some even directly perform dramas.

"Next person."

Another player pushed the door open, with a flattering smile on his face. He came up to the hermit and handed him a sack.

"Master Hermit, I went through a lot of trouble and finally found Joel Nathan's hand."

The player opened the sack and found a bloody and somewhat smelly severed hand inside.

Looking at this so-called "clue", the corners of Cassius' mouth twitched slightly, and he thought to himself:

"Good fellow, you're going to tear Jonathan into pieces and collect the reward one by one, right? And you still want to bug me here?"

Thinking of this, the hermit's face darkened, he stared at the player in front of him, and said in a deep voice: "Your companion has already submitted the task to me.

Undead, do not play tricks on me."

"Yes, yes, sir."

The player apologized quickly, looking as if he wanted to cry but couldn't, thinking that he was badly screwed by his teammates.

"hehe.
The layout of Victoria Harbour is almost complete.”

Looking at the endless stream of players at the entrance of the Coast Tower, Cassius's mouth curled up slightly.

As the popularity of "Erezaigai" increases, players appear across the entire continent of Fianso, and their number is conservatively estimated to be over 10 million.

The players just mentioned were all famous professional players in their previous lives. The team they formed was known as the "Ghost Squad".

This team caused a lot of trouble in the continent of Feanso in the previous life, doing whatever they wanted: for example, the destruction of the holy objects worshipped by the Church of Amaunator and the resulting divine punishment were all done by the mages in this team.

Cassius plans to use Victoria Harbor as a base to establish a new organization through these "undeads" and gradually build an intelligence network to deal with the Mind Flayer's plan.

The Chosen of the Three Deathly Lords stole Karsus's crown from Hell and divided the three Netherstones to control the mind flayers' mastermind.

They want to combine the power of Netherese magic with the mind flayer mastermind and call it the "Master God", hoping to use it to conquer the world.

However, the Mind Flayers are not only being exploited, but they also want to use the Crown of Karsus to find an opportunity to break free from their shackles and restore the glory of the ancient Mind Flayer Empire.

The Goddess of Magic, the God of Justice, the God of the Sun and even the Lord of Hell all added their own strengths, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to gain benefits.

In this complicated situation, it would be irrational to reveal one's true identity rashly.

What the Hermit, or Cassius, has to do is to use the player's hands to destroy the plan, disrupt the situation, and fish in troubled waters to seize the crown of Karsus at the last moment.

According to his plan, by that time, the Burning Embers Empire would have completed its conquest of the Thracian Kingdom, and could advance westwards under the pretext of "fighting the invasion of the Mind Flayers" and take over Victoria Harbor. "Karsus's crown, Victoria Harbor, and the legacy of the Mind Flayer Empire. I want them all."

Thinking of this, the hermit grasped the bronze scepter in his fingers, and a hint of barely perceptible greed flashed in his light green pupils.

Blackrock Mountain in the northeast of Feansuo Continent.

This mountain range at the end of the world stretches for thousands of miles, like a sleeping beast in ancient legends. This is the location of the Mountain Kingdom, the common home of the dwarves.

The mountain is made up of countless hard black rocks, among which are buried countless precious minerals, hence the name "Black Stone Mountain".

Amid the howling cold wind, a majestic fortress stood deep in the winding mountains. This was the capital of the Mountain Kingdom and the greatest fortress of the northern shield dwarves - Avendeldan, which means "the city that never collapses".

Its outer wall is made of weathered boulders, simple and solid, with mosses growing between the cracks, and the traces of time leaving a faint mark on each brick.

The gates of the fortress are forged from solid oak and steel, and the two huge doors are engraved with the emblem of the dwarf royal family - a shield and a hammer intertwined.

The rock walls on both sides of the city gate are carved with heroic stories of the dwarf ancestors, and the door knockers look like two huge iron fists clenched tightly together.

At the top of the fortress stands a nearly 100-meter-high statue of Moradin. This dwarf god is lifelike, as if examining every visitor.

The interior of the fortress is intricate, filled with the unique rough and bold style of the dwarves. Stone corridors connect the rooms, and torches burn high up, casting warm light on the ground.

The busy figures of the dwarves looked particularly vivid in the firelight, and the crisp "dang, dang" sounds of hammers came one after another.

On the tower at the top of the fortress, a dwarf wearing a thick fur coat and a mithril crown looked down at his subjects coming and going at the foot of the mountain with a solemn expression.

His name is Eddard Crane, ruler of Avendeldan and king of the Mountain Kingdom, and he is honored as "King Eddard" by many dwarves in the country.

Behind him, an old dwarf sighed and said, “Your Majesty, the envoys we sent to various places have all returned. The three kingdoms are constantly fighting and have no time to care about our lives.

The elders of Serenia also regard the sacred covenant of thousands of years ago as a joke. The dirty descendants of Gruumsh are about to make a comeback. We..."

His name is Bjorn Reilly, he is over 200 years old and an old minister of the Mountain Kingdom.

Ed's face was filled with anger, his voice was like thunder, his thick beard seemed to explode, and even his hand holding the steel hammer was shaking.

"How dare those arrogant, corrupt elves do this! Aren't they afraid of punishment from the gods?

If we, the dwarves, had not stationed in the north with our flesh and blood to stop the orcs from marching south several times, would they have been able to live the peaceful life they have now?"

Bjorn stepped forward and handed over a letter written in beautiful handwriting: "Your Majesty, although the elders of Serenia are unwilling to help, their queen is willing to send troops, but we just need to wait."

"Elven Queen?"

The Dwarf King snorted coldly and said disdainfully: "What's the use of her handwritten letter? She is just a puppet pushed forward by the elf elders."

Bjorn reminded in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the 'Twilight Blade' who killed the red dragon alone was a staunch supporter of the Elf Queen. He was a powerful legendary paladin.

If we can win her over, it will be a great help to us."

Aiden's anger subsided a little, and he nodded slightly and said, "That's good, write a letter to the Canary Queen and tell her that we need the support of the Twilight Blade.

However, even a legendary paladin is just one person and cannot completely change the overall situation.

What's more, the orc army is about to arrive, and I'm afraid they will be at the gates of the city in less than half a day."

Ed looked to the north. On the desolate plateau, mottled torrents had already appeared - that was the orc army.

Over the thousands of years, Avenderdan has experienced more than a dozen orc invasions, but it has never been captured, only the fortress has been stained with the blood of the enemies time and time again.

But now, the continent of Feanso is in chaos, and the Mountain Kingdom is fighting alone for the first time without any assistance from human or elven allies.

King Ed clenched the steel hammer in his hand, and said in a sonorous and powerful tone: "Now that things have come to this, we can only rely on ourselves.

Bjorn, go and gather our warriors and have them assemble at the foot of the mountain."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

In just a moment, the Dwarf King arrived on the towering city wall in front of Avenderdan.

At the foot of the mountain, under the gaze of the statue of Moradin, there were dwarf warriors wearing heavy armor and holding war hammers, many of whom were riding argali.

That is the most elite force of the Mountain Kingdom - the Shield Guard.

The dwarves in this army seemed to be shining in the most indestructible armor ever made by the dwarven master craftsmen.

They carried the most sophisticated and heavy war hammers, and almost every soldier among them was a seasoned professional, a loyal follower of King Eddard, and a loyal believer of Moradin.

The Dwarf King looked down at the army below him. He thought for a long time before he uttered a loud voice.

“My people!

Over thousands of years, our mountain kingdom has resisted the orcs' southward advance thirteen times, repeatedly driving those evil followers of Gruumsh into the desolate north.
But now, you should also know that these bastards have made a comeback! They want to occupy the fortress again, want to enslave our brothers and comrades, and want to make us dwarves slaves!
Do you—agree?”

"disagree!"

"Kill them!"

"Drive these gray-skinned bastards back north!"

The dwarf warriors raised their war hammers high and waved their oak shields in anger.

Eddard looked extremely solemn. His eyes swept across the angry faces of every dwarf. He pointed his war hammer into the distance and said in a sad voice:

"Thousands of years ago, the great dwarven god Moradin and the god of the elves defeated Gruumsh together, and Serenia made a sacred oath with us to jointly resist the invasion from the north.

But now, those proud elves have betrayed their alliance! And the humans of Fadlan have long been in chaos.
We need to prove to the world that the great Mountain Kingdom does not need their aid! Even if we fight alone, we dwarves can drive away those orc bastards!"

Aiden's voice became more and more excited. He couldn't help but wave his war hammer and shouted: "My people, behind you is Avenderdan, your relatives and friends. If you don't want to be slaves of the orc bastards, then drive them out!"

"Kick them out!"

"We will destroy the orc bastards!"

The emotions of the dwarf warriors became even more excited, and their voices were earth-shaking, crashing against the rock walls like waves, one after another.

At this time, the orcs' torrent had already appeared several kilometers away. These followers of Gruumsh let out furious war roars and looked greedily at the fortress standing in the mountains. (End of this chapter)