Chapter 656: Chapter 539: The Final Battle Begins

Morning.

The azure sky seemed to have been washed clean, clear and profound.

The sun gradually rose, and the first ray of sunlight pierced through the white clouds, shining upon the vast Death Desert.

North of Sandstorm City, outside the fortress built by the players.

Rows of player armies, fully armed, were slowly assembling.

From above, the immense camp looked like a giant beast constantly swallowing and spewing out soldiers, operating swiftly.

The sandstorm had passed, and Eve also confirmed the offensive plan of several top guilds through a hidden storyline from the officials.

As usual, the appearance of “hidden missions” once again ignited the players’ enthusiasm, sparking a wave of participation.

The loss of players stopped.

And those who had returned to the Elf Forest due to exhausted enthusiasm also hurried back through the teleportation array…

Outside the players’ camp.

After months of gaming, players became increasingly adept at assembling such a large army.

Soon, a massive dark army formation took shape outside the camp.

This time, players mobilized an army of one hundred thousand.

This was almost the limit for this operation.

Unlike before, the current Blue Star Time was a weekday, half-past six in the evening.

At this time, although many had gotten off work, there were still plenty suffering from overtime.

And they could only look with envy, jealousy, and resentment, sneaking peeks at the players’ not-quite-livestreamed videos during work breaks…

Besides those who couldn’t log in due to real-life reasons, and those who couldn’t temporarily return to the Death Desert, and those in charge of guarding the camp and offline players’ bodies from various guilds, everyone else… came.

A hundred thousand troops…

Perhaps this number was much less than those who initially participated, but after so many days of battle, players had become far different from what they were before.

*Not only had their overall strength vaguely improved, but through various battles, they also developed tactics on the official site specifically against the Half-Beasts.*

*Do not underestimate these tactics.*

*On the Blue Star battlefield, the key reason veterans had higher survival and kill rates than rookies was because veterans accumulated abundant combat experience through battles.*

*And these tactics summarized by players were their combat experience.*

The internet shortened the distance between people, allowing players to freely communicate and progress together.

*This was something the Half-Beasts could not match.*

Among the gathered hundred thousand troops, nearly one-third of the players chose to ride Demon Beasts into battle.

They were the players’ thirty-thousand-strong cavalry force.

Of these, more than half were archer players, while the rest were mostly tank warriors clad in heavy armor.

This was for a reason.

In the Death Desert, players could revive after dying, but equipment could not be recovered, and Demon Beasts were always a valued possession that, once lost, were gone forever.

Therefore, only long-ranged players who could avoid close combat chose to become mobile cavalry archers in the war.

On the other hand, tank warrior players were specifically appointed by various guilds as heavy cavalry.

They wore heavy armor themselves, and the Demon Beasts under them also bore heavy armor modified by Forging Master players. They rode none other than the abundant and dispensable Earth Cave Spiders.

After advancing to Legendary status, the number of Earth Cave Spiders under Spider Queen Rose greatly increased, supporting much of the players’ consumption without issue.

After all, they were all individual beings without independent consciousness, once dead, they were just dead.

And even though these big creatures fought terribly during the day, their load capacity and speed were decent, far superior to the horses and camels captured by the players…

The heavy cavalry players numbered ten thousand.

In the players’ plan, heavy cavalry players would act as the vanguard, foot soldiers as the main force, and cavalry archers would provide mobile support and chasing control, attacking the Half-Beast army stationed outside Sandstorm City.

This strategy was similarly summarized by players based on numerous battles, along with references to war experiences from the cold weapon era on Blue Star.

Outside the camp.

Under her Divine Favored Zero mask, Eve, clad in a black combat skirt and armor, stood on a barren hill, gazing in the direction of Sandstorm City.

Sandstorm City was fully constructed with sturdy Obsidian, leaning against a mountain range at a slightly elevated position, emitting a faint glow under the sunlight.

Eve stared at this city that the Half-Beasts were proud of, watched the movements of Half-Beasts above and below the city walls, with an indescribable expression.

Just then, a respectful voice sounded behind her,

“Lord Ling, in no more than ten minutes, we will complete our assembly. However, the total number of troops deployed this time may not be as large as before, only one hundred thousand.”

It was Li Mu.

Upon hearing him, Eve lightly nodded,

“No matter, that’s already quite impressive.”

By now, the number of players who had accepted the Death Desert war mission was over one hundred fifty thousand. Although one-third fewer players participated this time, the size was still enormous.

This was actually better.

*One hundred thousand versus one hundred fifty thousand, by this point, there was no qualitative difference anymore.*

*Because the key to this war lay in the clash of the True God.*

*If the players were unexpectedly wiped out, keeping a few tens of thousands could minimize the losses.*