The setting sun was shining with its last rays and was sinking below the horizon. Tizon stared at the crystal tower standing high in the jungle. The surface of the crystal reflected the burning clouds, and the surface was glowing with magnificent luster. Everything seemed to be in a real world.
middle.
She finally turned around and couldn't help but ask: "Ron, is it really worth it for us to do this?"
"Generally speaking, there will be five teams entering the next round," the young man answered without any personal emotion. Ron looked in that direction and said: "But among the total fifty places, the Imperials only occupy at most 10% of them.
Two-thirds. Every time one more team is eliminated, we will have one more chance to score."
More than a dozen steel cables connected the upper end of the crystal and pulled it up. Several working structures were almost stuck in the mud, and the magic engines that drove the joints were also smoking. Finally, the crystal made a loud bang and embedded
in the base.
The person on the other side let go of his hand and sat down panting.
"But I'm worried-" Tizon said, watching this scene from a distance.
"There is no such thing as a free lunch," Ron interrupted her, "This is the price we pay. The Imperial people will not take us on the bus for no reason, let alone our team."
He turned around and said, "We are supporting actors, indeed, but on the other hand, by slowing down the progress, we can more easily deal with the first wave of attacks after dark."
"Why Empire?"
"Because the Imperial people are stronger." Ron asked himself.
The last ray of light disappeared from the sky, and the forest fell into darkness. But the light blue night was still twinkling with starlight, and a beautiful Milky Way stretched across the gaps above the tree canopy.
The young man raised his head and stared at the starry sky, "Let the Imperial people worry about the rest. This is a reasonable deal for us."
…
Juno saw the communication crystal on his chest light up.
He took it off and stared at the red glow inside through the afterglow of the setting sun.
The last ray of light in the forest has disappeared.
In the dark forest, everyone in the team was taking out communication crystals. The red light flashing on the crystals flickered on and off, just like breathing.
"Communication established."
Juno entered: "The coordinates are A44,17,1."
At the same time, almost the same information was delivered to the organizer's backstage. Jerros was still immersed in the shock just now, but his strong professionalism finally brought him back to his senses.
He glanced at the information and said: "The participating teams from the Silver Chain Islands have built the first crystal tower, but their choice is a bit weird. Who are they going to contact? They have wasted too much time on this crystal tower."
"Of course, they can rely on the crystal tower to defend after dark, but this greatly slows down the progress. They waste at least one afternoon, which will make them far behind other teams in terms of progress on the second day. They
Why did you choose to build a crystal tower in the first place?"
Eight hours passed in the sea of trees.
Three hours have passed outside the arena, and noon has passed. The sunshine in Appenande has become stronger and stronger. The arena is silent, and most people are holding their breath.
The sea of trees is falling into the night.
But another piece of news interrupted Jellos's words, and the assistant touched him with his elbow, "Jack, look at this."
"Oh, wait..." Jerros reacted, "The participating teams in the Silver Chain Islands have opened the Ethernet network to the outside world. Let me see who it is, the Empire people. I understand, this is an alliance——"
Jellos immediately paid attention to the movement towards the empire, "If this crystal tower is built on this alliance, then things will become interesting."
He looked at Juno's movements in the picture - this had already happened, but was being specially cut out by the directing team, "So that's it." A flash of surprise flashed in Jellos's eyes.
A map appeared in front of him, with the locations of the various teams accurately marked on it.
If the entire sea of trees is a circular valley with three towers as the center, then the Imperial people are located in the northwest. Next to it are the Aiyinbrok Craftsmen Association and a selected team-Zhuojin.
blade.
The Grand Craftsmen's Association is located southwest of the center, separated from the Imperials by Lotao's main team - the craftsmen delegation of Mirra Palace.
On the southeast side is the Han Ruina Artisan Delegation, a team from the outer sea. Then there are Silver Chain Island, White Tree Society, Lavender and Sanshak Artisan Delegations lined up.
Further north, there are the Kapka and Ancient Tower delegations, almost opposite to the Kaolin people's main team on both sides of the main tower, separated by a natural chasm, and then there are the Taxin Singers - another selected team.
And, Pillars of Stars.
At this point, the fourteen teams are neatly distributed in an even ring, starting from the Imperial Workshop and ending at the Blade of Gold, dividing the valley of the Sea of Trees into fourteen equal parts.
At this moment, the fourteen light points on the screen are moving individually, some are progressing quickly, some are progressing slowly, and others have stopped and are waiting for nightfall.
But there are others who are gathering together——
"The Imperial Workshop contacted their second and third regiments through the first network established here. As we said before, they are very lucky, and the Ayinbrok delegation is nearby."
"Then the Imperial people's adventure is no longer an adventure, but an extremely bold tactical deployment. Let's take a look at the preparations of the Ayinbrok Craftsmen Association——"
"Sure enough, they made the same choice as the Imperial Workshop, directly assembling the flexible structure and preparing for battle."
Jerros took a breath, "The Empire is bound to win the first mechanical tower. If they really complete the rendezvous as soon as possible, then this will no longer be an impossible challenge..."
"Besides, they also completed the construction of the crystal tower through the players from Silver Chain Island, which is another advantage. Their advantage is already very obvious," Jerros's voice was low and full of contagion, "jointly, even
Horizontal, even reversal, this is also a part of the game——"
The coordinates are A44,17,1.
A concise message.
It is passing through the Ethernet veins and being transmitted to each other through the communication crystal.
From Ayinbrok to the birthplace of the Lavender Artisan Guild, in the dark forest, red lights are flickering one by one.
Rogel, from the Ayinbrok Craftsmen Association, was looking at the words that lit up on the screen one by one. Then he covered the communication crystal with his backhand and looked at the others.
"Everyone, let's go——"
Jellos watched this scene silently.
His assistant seized the opportunity and introduced to everyone: "In fact, teams are not prohibited from joining forces with each other in the Spire Trial. The specific rules are as follows..."
It was a detailed document that was many pages long. Its earliest prototype was not born at this moment, but appeared in other events much earlier in history.
Within those similar competitive events, people are already very familiar with it.
Therefore, the assistant only made a rough introduction. The rules allow teams from different regions to compete on a tactical level, but in the final analysis, the goal is to win the game.
"The essence of alliance is a tactical game," Wandering Ma'er also introduced to others in his live broadcast room, "therefore, the content of cooperation must also be completed within the game."
"Essentially, everyone's goal is to win the only victory, so the content of cooperation cannot be excluded in the end," he said. "The definition between cooperation and match-fixing is that factors outside the stadium cannot be substituted -
—”
"The main guarantee of its impartiality comes from Ms. Marland," the wandering horse said while flipping through the thick details, "so you can rest assured that Ms. Justice controls the field of competition and competition, and the people on the field.
All agreements must be completed under her watch——"
He couldn't help but shook his head.
In the early days when the seriousness of the Super Competitive League was irreplaceable, this sentence was completely redundant, but since the frequent scandals in recent years, the audience has become more trusting in gods from another world.
This is ironic enough.
But that's fine, at least fairness is ensured.
He looked into the screen.
The time in the world of the sea of trees and the real time are passing at almost a ratio of four to one. Outside the porthole, the morning and evening line on the huge planet has just passed over France, and the entire British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula are still shrouded in darkness.
middle.
The Atlantic Ocean in North Africa is dotted with dots of lights.
The time on the space station has just passed 14:04 (UTC/GMT+00).
The sun was shining brightly in Appenande.
But in the sea of trees, there is already a quiet world, with all the sounds of silence. The branches and leaves drown out the chirping of insects, the moon rises from the sea, and a silver glow shines on the forest canopy.
Fang Plover stared at the crystal tower that stood up under the moonlight. There was not so much violent movement. It seemed to stand up quietly and grow out of the forest.
Many twinkling lights connect this crystal tower.
When the faint light faded, the metal pipes and bases connected below took shape one by one. The crystal absorbed the etheric veins in the earth, and a beam of light rose from above.
Fang Plover took back the magic gloves.
The communication crystal on his chest and in Luo Wei's hand lit up at the same time.
After the communication was established, the next step was to contact Kapka and the people from the Guta Craftsmen Association, and send a message to Weiyu and others who stayed behind.
Fang Yu turned around and said to his senior sister, "Sister Luo Wei, do you plan to stay here or continue moving forward with me? I prefer you to come with me. The fairy doll can further extend its control distance through the crystal tower. You
It’s not safe to stay here alone.”
"I'm with you, Ed."
"Then please senior sister, please contact other people while walking."
Luo Wei nodded.
Only then did Fang Plover look away from the crystal tower. He looked to the north, where a dark, slender tower stood over the forest.
Further away, dots of firelight occasionally flashed in the forest. It should be that other participating teams had come into contact with the mechanical creatures here. After nightfall, the tower began to expand.
The forest is becoming dangerous.
"The Kaolin people also built their crystal tower," Jerros also noticed this scene, and he was a little silent. Because the method of this Dragon Alchemist was so simple and unpretentious——
In fact, the other party built this crystal tower by himself in less than half an hour.
Even if Jerros had the intention to insert something, he didn't know where to start at the moment, because everything was ordinary, and it would have taken more effort for the two of them to come from elsewhere.
It was as if he came here, raised his hand, and the crystal tower appeared.
The fairy in the opponent's team didn't even help.
Jellos recalled the arduous process of the players on Silver Chain Island building the crystal tower. They even experienced a battle in the middle, and it took a full afternoon to barely build the spire.
He didn't know what to say for a moment.
Is it too quick to praise the Dragon Alchemist?
But what else does he need to say? Normal people are watching this game with their knees, and they should have seen something at this moment.
But Jellos continued instinctively, "Players Ed and Luo Wei left this crystal tower and moved on."
The assistant on the side couldn't help but interjected, "Don't they leave one person to protect the crystal tower?"
Jellos couldn't help but look at the young assistant.
"Is this necessary?" He smiled bitterly and shook his head. "The cost of them leaving manpower to protect this crystal tower is not as good as building another one."
After saying this, Jellos was a little speechless.
The two couldn't help but look at each other in silence.
But precisely because of this, the atmosphere on the field seems to be becoming special.
On the one hand, there is the aggressiveness of the imperial people, and the united Oshu people seem to be creating an invisible network on this field. This is a strength they have rarely shown in previous games.
The Imperial people are showing a must-win mentality towards this game.
On the other side, there is the person in front of me.
"Where did the Cowlings find this guy..."
Jellos couldn't help but muttered that his professionalism itself would not allow him to make such a mistake, but at this moment, no one actually criticized the main commentator on the field.
Because this is the voice of almost everyone present.
But professionals are professionals after all, and Jellos soon realized that he might be about to see a battle between dragons and tigers, "But the Imperials have already arrived at the Mechanical Tower first -"
He kept paying attention to the other side, and then he opened his mouth to analyze.
The Empire's progress is very fast, and Gemini's strength is not weak in the first place. Although the first-order flexible structures they created only used the limited resources at hand, half of the four structures were aliens.
Some of them have not even been seen by the audience. They seem to be secret blueprints belonging only to the Sacrament Guild or the Gray Domain Guild. These blueprints are of little use in the confrontation between the big guilds.
But in such a league, it can often have miraculous effects. Large guilds often have such technical reserves, and the clubs behind them strictly guard the secrets of technology for this reason.
Fang Plover did not have this need because he was not born in a big guild and was free and unfettered.
Several craftsmen in the Imperial Workshop were using their flexible structures almost regardless of losses. The garrison strength of the first mechanical tower was not strong, and there were only about twenty or thirty mechanical life forms on the periphery.
Although they have an absolute advantage in terms of numbers, they are ultimately much inferior to the craftsmen in terms of intelligence, and the command of the steeple is no more than that.
The Imperials used clever methods to lure them out one by one, attacking in the east and west, and it took them two hours to clean up the surrounding machinery.
At this time, they also lost the last flexible structure on hand, including the parts that were later recovered and replenished. They also invested nearly a dozen flexible structures in the battle.
If there are no more reinforcements, they will have no choice but to stop tonight, or even withdraw from the surveillance range of the minaret, and return to a farther place to replenish and establish an advance base.
Going back and forth will waste at least one day.
But the crystal tower built on Silver Chain Island worked. An hour later, the Ayinbrok Craftsmen Association arrived, and they had almost the same number of constructs as the Empire's workshops.
In addition, the Ayinbrok people were attacked several times during their previous experience of crossing the miraculous forest, and they obtained a batch of new constructs through recycling.
Adding the two together, it seems that it is only a matter of time before we break into the mechanical tower——
But even so, the Imperial people still spent most of the day's effort.
It took nearly three hours just to see and see in the mechanical tower. During this period, the two teams even went back and forth for a long time without making any progress——
The constructs in the mechanical tower were refreshed too quickly, and in the end the Imperials used an almost suicidal approach to destroy the mechanical furnace inside.
This mechanical tower was captured at the cost of almost losing one man.
"On the first day, at 11:40, 22 seconds, a new record was set," Jerros recorded the time, "The Empire Workshop won the first mechanical tower. This should be the first time in all previous competitions.
first."
"Of course we have to thank technological progress," he said, "but the Empire's own meticulous and bold plans are also inseparable from it. If any link between Silver Chain Island and the Ayinbrok Craftsmen Association is missing, it would be impossible to achieve this.
."
"Perhaps luck also plays a big factor," an assistant said. "There are fourteen teams, and the probability of two or two being together is actually not high. The Imperial people should also be gambling in it."
"you're right."
Jellos responded, but it was just to cooperate with his partner. He silently looked at the other overseas teams that had been silent, and made some guesses in his heart.
There are not only Imperial people in the crystal network established by Silver Chain Island.
As a commentator with many years of experience, he has already vaguely smelled the beginning of a war.
"The Ayinbrok Artisan Guild has lost one man," the assistant added, "but it should be worth it in the eyes of the Imperial people."
"Indeed," Jerros nodded, "the injured player may lose combat effectiveness for three days, but the advantage of the first mechanical tower is more than enough to make up for it-"
"The Imperial people have already distributed the spoils," the assistant said. "They are so lucky. They got the fairy soul and a secondary mechanical artifact from the first crystal tower."
"Let me see, it's No. 65, Taffy Ronal," Jerros praised, "It's not bad, the Empire's desperate effort has been more than half successful. It should be the Ayinbrok Craftsmen Association.
Rogel got the fairy soul, and the Empire Workshop picked up some blueprints and materials."
"It seems that they left the secondary mechanical artifact to other teams. The nature of the alliance in the competition is equal, but the contribution of Silver Chain Island should not be enough to win this secondary mechanical artifact..."
He looked at the actions of the Imperial people and said, "Perhaps the Imperial people have other considerations, but they packed up their things and prepared to set off. As expected, the Imperial people have the idea of supporting war with war."
"They set out for the next mechanical tower," the assistant couldn't help but say, "the next mechanical tower is the 79A spire, which is the same level as this mechanical tower and is only two hours away from here."
The two looked at each other.
The Imperials are deliberately speeding up the game, which is interesting.
This is an unprecedented speed in previous mainland leagues. If other teams cannot keep up with the pace of the Imperials, they may be left behind by a big gap.
What about the other parties?
Jellos actually had several answers in his mind, but for some reason, he accidentally looked at one of the pictures first.
Then he saw that in the sea of trees, Fang Plover and Luo Wei had walked out of the dense forest. At this moment, the dark and slender tower was appearing in front of the two of them.
Reason told Jerosh that the Kaolin people should just come for reconnaissance. Even if there was an elf among them, it would be almost impossible for the two of them to launch an attack on a complete spire.
But out of explanation instinct, Jerros still mentioned, "The Kaolin people have also arrived at the first mechanical tower. It is now 0:30 in the morning. Let's see what players Ed and Luo Wei plan to do.
."
Before he could finish his words, he saw Fang Plover stop and stretch out his hand forward.
A flash of starlight was emerging from the forest - without any hesitation, it rose like a meteor and hit the tall tower directly.
A ‘click’ sound.
The terminal device in Jellos's hand dropped involuntarily and fell to the ground.