"Attention, everyone—gather here immediately!"
Hearing the system prompt, Hamster Pudding immediately sent a coordinate in the guild channel, summoning all members of the three sects to assemble.
Once most of the members from the three sects had gathered, Hamster Pudding found a higher platform and stepped onto it.
Hamster Pudding looked at the thousands of players before him, all wearing the Cold River City guild uniforms—these were the vital foundation for revitalizing Cold River City.
"Everyone, please quiet down!"
Hamster Pudding raised both hands and pressed them downward slightly, gradually silencing the crowd's chatter, and began the pre-battle mobilization.
"Brothers and sisters, in five minutes, we'll face a joint attack from the Emperor's Domain and the Ten Thousand League. In their eyes, Cold River City is the easiest target among the four guilds! I want to ask you all—are you willing to be treated like a soft persimmon, squeezed and bullied by anyone?"
Hamster Pudding spoke with fervor, shouting loudly to all the Cold River City guild members below.
Hearing this question, aside from the Creation Guild players who answered in unison, "No!" the players from Cloudrise and Hundred Flowers Palace lowered their heads and chose silence!
"Brothers from Cloudrise and Hundred Flowers Palace, lift your heads!"
Seeing this, Hamster Pudding pointed at the players from Cloudrise and Hundred Flowers Palace and roared!
This roar directly shook the players from Cloudrise and Hundred Flowers Palace, who had considered themselves slackers, and they all raised their heads to look at the only female leader among the four guilds!
"Brothers from Cloudrise and Hundred Flowers Palace, do you really think you're just slackers? Do you truly want to be trampled underfoot for the rest of your lives? Hah, the word 'slacker' is just an excuse you use to numb yourselves. In my eyes, there's a more fitting term for you—cowards!"
Jiang Yuan never expected Hamster Pudding to be so bold, calling them cowards in front of over a thousand people from two guilds! Jiang Yuan thought: Isn't she afraid of stirring up conflict?
Sure enough, after Hamster Pudding finished, Jiang Yuan noticed that many players from Cloudrise and Hundred Flowers Palace showed indignant expressions.
"Brothers, I know there's a gap between us and the Emperor's Domain and Ten Thousand League, but it's not so wide that we lack the courage to fight! If you're scared, if you're timid, you can sit out tonight's guild raid. I, Hamster Pudding, promise the leaders of Cloudrise and Hundred Flowers Palace here and now—if we win, not a single resource you're owed will be missing! I just want to tell you, none of my Creation brothers are cowards. Am I right, Creation brothers?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
After Hamster Pudding finished, the Creation Guild players below shouted excitedly at the top of their lungs!
"Attention all squad leaders, disband all teams and reform! Tonight, let Creation test just how strong the Emperor's Domain and Ten Thousand League really are!"
Hamster Pudding pulled an even harsher move, directly disbanding the teams and excluding nearly 1,600 players from Cloudrise and Hundred Flowers Palace!
With less than a minute left before the guild raid began, the situation had devolved to this point, cutting Cold River City's already strained defensive force in half!
Jiang Yuan received a team invite from Hamster Pudding and joined. Due to the unexpected turn, the original "cutting off the supply" plan couldn't be executed, and Jiang Yuan began formulating a second battle strategy in his mind.
"Ding! The guild raid is about to begin. Please enter the instance map as soon as possible!"
The system prompt sounded, and Hamster Pudding jumped off the platform, walking straight past Cloudrise leader Zhang Ergou and Hundred Flowers Palace leader Hua Qian'gu without even glancing at them. She approached the teleport NPC and led all Creation Guild members into the instance map.
The scene before Jiang Yuan began to warp. As the ripples faded, the view gradually cleared, and Jiang Yuan found himself in an ancient city!
Since Jiang Yuan hadn't participated in the Blackwater City headquarters battle before, he looked around and noticed the city's layout was similar to Anyang Town, except the Blackwater City before him only had an East Gate and a North Gate, with the south and west sides backed against mountains.
Jiang Yuan and Hamster Pudding slowly ascended the city wall and were stunned by the scene outside!
Outside the Blackwater City headquarters, there were countless heads packed together, two distinct factions. One side bore the "Emperor" icon on their heads, wearing black-and-red guild uniforms—it was the Emperor's Domain, led by the Overlord Guild. The other side had a traditional "Ten Thousand" character on their heads, wearing dark yellow guild uniforms that from a distance looked like piles of...
The combined forces of the Emperor's Domain and Ten Thousand League exceeded 15,000 people. It seemed they had gone all out for this guild raid!
"Boss, that's way too many people, right?"
On the city wall, the 5th squad leader, an 83-level assassin player, looked at the Emperor's Domain and Ten Thousand League forces below, then stared at Hamster Pudding in shock and asked.
"This battle won't be easy!"
Hamster Pudding nodded at the 5th squad leader, his expression grim, and sighed.
"Don't worry, boss. The brothers will fight to the death to stop them from entering the city!"
The 5th squad leader's eyes showed determination as he assured Hamster Pudding.
"Jiang Yuan, I'll take a thousand to hold the East Gate. The rest are yours—you should be able to hold the North Gate."
The Creation Guild had about 1,800 members total. Hamster Pudding gave Jiang Yuan a thousand and kept only eight hundred to defend the East Gate, which faced both major guilds.
"No! The East Gate is critical. If it falls, it could directly lead to the collapse of the guild raid. You know my strength. Give me five hundred, and the rest of you defend the East Gate with me."
Jiang Yuan shook his head. Once the East Gate was breached, the Emperor's Domain and Ten Thousand League could charge straight in, even station troops to block Creation Guild's respawned players from re-entering through the East Gate to reinforce.
"Then be careful!"
Back in Anyang Town, Hamster Pudding had witnessed Jiang Yuan's defensive prowess. With thousands of summoned beasts, Jiang Yuan could truly achieve "one man holding the pass, ten thousand unable to break through!"
"Don't worry. With me here, no matter how many they have, they won't get in!"
Jiang Yuan smiled confidently, saying this to Hamster Pudding.
But what Jiang Yuan didn't know was that the Emperor's Domain and Ten Thousand League had already prepared a trump card specifically aimed at him!