The day after the game update, the leaders of the four major alliances each gathered their affiliated sects to discuss the upcoming "Alliance Raid" event scheduled for that evening.
With the introduction of the four new alliances after the update, the original territory map of the Greater China World had been redivided, assigning each alliance its own jurisdiction.
Among them, the Emperor's Province, located in the Central Plains, controlled the Central State, Bing Province, and Jingchu, boasting the most advantageous geographical position. The Ten Thousand Mile Alliance, allied with the Emperor's Province, claimed Ji Province and Bing Province—originally home to Yan, Zhao, Qi, and Lu—and even incorporated Bashu, long known as the "Land of Abundance," into its sphere of influence!
The Tianbo Mansion, the alliance of Wen Ding Cang Sheng, held the wealthiest regions in the Greater China World, including Jiangnan, Gusu, Yuhang, and Jianghuai. In terms of economic strength, Tianbo Mansion even surpassed the Emperor's Province, which sat in the Central State!
Meanwhile, the Creation Guild's alliance, the Hanjiang City, was situated in the remote lands of White Mountain and Black Water, with its headquarters in Shangjing City along the Long River. Its resources were scarce, making it the weakest of the four alliances in terms of foundation!
However, the sect members of Hanjiang City had one unique advantage over the other three alliances. Perhaps due to the northern people's long-standing reputation for bravery, during the "Alliance Raid" battles, all Hanjiang City sect members automatically received a 20% boost to all attributes!
As for Jiang Yuan and Hamster Pudding, they stepped out of the teleportation array and looked around at the newly added map after the update: "Shangjing City," known as the "Northern River City."
Unlike Ping'an City in the Central Plains, Shangjing City was steeped in a rich exotic atmosphere. First, in terms of architectural style, the roofs of Shangjing's buildings were mostly of the "nine-ridge xieshan" type, with tiles trimmed or inlaid in yellow, green, blue, and gray. The residents' clothing styles also differed greatly from those in the Central Plains. Men typically wore black silk head wraps, collared robes, leather belts, and black leather boots, favoring earthy tones. Besides fabric, their clothes often incorporated fur to withstand the harsh winds and snow. Young women in Shangjing wore straight-collared, left-lapel tunics in black, purple, or dark blue, paired with black-purple pleated skirts embroidered with floral patterns. They tied red or yellow sashes around their waists, letting them hang down to their feet.
"Wow! The women here are dressed so beautifully! Like ethnic minorities!"
Hamster Pudding couldn't help but exclaim as she watched the female residents passing by.
"This game really pays attention to historical accuracy. In ancient times, Shangjing City's Huining Prefecture was the capital of the Jin Dynasty. The architectural styles and the locals' clothing all reflect Jin Dynasty characteristics."
Jiang Yuan, who had studied humanities in high school and had a good grasp of ancient history, explained to Hamster Pudding.
As they chatted and walked, they soon arrived at Huining Prefecture, where the meeting hall had already gathered some high-ranking members from other sects.
"Jiang Yuan, this is Zhang Ergou, the president of the Cloudrise Guild, and next to him is Hua Qiangu, the president of the Hundred Flowers Palace Guild."
Hamster Pudding led Jiang Yuan into the meeting hall and introduced the leaders of the other two sects under the Hanjiang City alliance.
Zhang Ergou was a level 71 mage with average gear—two epic pieces and the rest purple. The only thing that bothered Jiang Yuan was his name; why pick something like Zhang Ergou?
Hua Qiangu, the president of the Hundred Flowers Palace, was a level 68 healer with a pure and charming appearance. But when she spoke, Jiang Yuan nearly fell over!
"Hohoho hahaha! Brother Jiang Yuan, nice to meet ya! I'm Hua Qiangu!"
"What the hell? A burly man?!"
Jiang Yuan was stunned by her rough, Li Kui-like voice, thinking that after all this time playing games, he'd finally encountered a trap (a male player using a female character)!
"Alright, since everyone's here, let's discuss how to handle tonight's raid!"
As the leader of the Hanjiang City's flagship sect, Hamster Pudding naturally took the helm of the meeting. Sitting at the head of the table, she addressed the presidents of the other two sects.
Hearing this, the presidents of Cloudrise and Hundred Flowers Palace, along with their senior members, took their seats. Jiang Yuan also sat down beside Hamster Pudding and joined the discussion about the upcoming alliance raid.
"Let me explain the rules of the alliance raid."
Hamster Pudding looked around and began to elaborate.
Hamster Pudding talked nonstop for a full twenty minutes before Jiang Yuan and the other Hanjiang City sect leaders fully understood the mechanics of the alliance raid.
First, starting at 7 p.m., the flagship sect and its affiliated sects of each alliance would engage in main stronghold and branch stronghold battles. Only after securing their own alliance's main or branch strongholds could the four alliances begin raiding each other.
For the Emperor's Province, the main stronghold was located at Panlong Valley in the Central State, hence called Panlong Valley Main Stronghold. Its branch strongholds were Qixingping Branch in the Central State, Jinwang Temple Branch in Bing Province, and Zhulang Beach Branch in the Jingchu region.
The Ten Thousand Mile Alliance, colluding with the Emperor's Province, had its main stronghold at Longmen Mountain in Ji Province. Its branch strongholds included Wenqu Temple Branch in Qingzhou, Qianfo Cliff Branch in Ji Province, and Chaotian Gorge Branch in the Bashu region.
The Tianbo Mansion, home to the Wen Ding Cang Sheng guild, had its main stronghold at Yanziwu in Gusu. Its branch strongholds were Luoyun Beach Branch in Jiangnan, Yuewang Temple Branch in Yuhang, and Prince Wu's Tomb Branch.
As for Jiang Yuan and his group in Hanjiang City, their main stronghold wasn't in Shangjing City but in Heishui City, a hundred miles away. Their territory also included three branch strongholds: Jiaolong Ridge Branch, Baishan Branch, and Lanyue Terrace Branch.
"President of Cloudrise, President of Hundred Flowers Palace, which two branches would you like to choose for your sects?"
Hamster Pudding had everyone open their character interface's map and asked the other two presidents.
"Our Cloudrise Guild is fine with any choice. We're just a casual guild, mostly scenery enthusiasts with little combat strength, hehe!"
Zhang Ergou laughed awkwardly, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Our Hundred Flowers Palace is the same. Whatever the leader says, we'll follow."
The burly man, Hua Qiangu, said in a gruff voice.
At that moment, Jiang Yuan raised his hand to signal Hamster Pudding. She nodded, and Jiang Yuan offered his suggestion.
"I think the best choices for you two would be Jiaolong Ridge and Baishan branches. Look, these two branches are flanking the Heishui City main stronghold, and their straight-line distances to it are roughly equal. If you pick these, they'll form a pincer formation with the main stronghold. Once the raid starts, no matter which one comes under attack, we can rush to support in the shortest time!"
After Jiang Yuan finished, the other two presidents checked their maps, found his reasoning sound, and nodded in agreement.
Thus, ten hours before the alliance raid, Hanjiang City had preliminarily completed its troop deployment.