Chapter 1 The Emerald Star Cluster

Free Competition Zone, Emerald Star Cluster, a certain planet.

On a desolate, yellowish-brown wasteland of jagged rocks, hundreds of shuttle-shaped, low-altitude combat vehicles were engaged in a fierce battle, weaving between obstacle-like cliffs and stone peaks, using them as cover.

Blazing beams of light crisscrossed, striking the surrounding cliffs, collapsing towering stone mountains in showers of rubble.

The outer armor of these low-altitude vehicles bore four different faction symbols, one of which was the Jiangcheng guild's emblem, and the other three were the insignias of different foreign clubs.

Jiangcheng was currently in a precarious situation, under attack from these three foreign clubs. They had to fight and flee to avoid being surrounded.

Inside one of the vehicles, Feng Yue stood at the helm, her hands on the spherical control devices exclusive to mechanics. Strands of shimmering mecha force connected her to the devices, turning the spaceship into an extension of her limbs, moving at will. With a nimble spin, she dodged the concentrated fire and fired a main cannon, blasting one of the pursuing vehicles.

However, several visible black shadows flew out of the flames of the exploding vehicle. They were players from the enemy ship. One of the mechanic players threw out a compressed ball, which transformed into a new vehicle, carrying the others as they resumed the chase.

Seeing this, Feng Yue couldn't help but open the team channel and say helplessly, "Dao Dao, there are too many enemies. At this rate, we'll run out of supplies. Should we just die and respawn? We can forget about this batch of resources."

"Hold on a little longer, our allies are on their way."

Kuang Dao focused on dealing with the enemy ships, secretly feeling annoyed.

This planet was originally controlled by a small mining organization. Guilds like Jiangcheng and Changkong cooperated with them, providing armed security in exchange for a share of the mining profits. This was a common practice among player guilds in the Free Competition Zone.

However, several mid-level managers of this mining organization had been bribed by several Southeast Asian foreign clubs, who secretly helped them hide on the planet. When Kuang Dao led his people to routinely receive this batch of resources, the ambushing clubs immediately jumped out, catching Kuang Dao and his team by surprise.

Nowadays, the forms of conflict between players are becoming increasingly complex, and the exploitation of small forces is becoming more and more skillful. They have self-taught means of interacting with NPCs, such as buying off and threatening them. What Kuang Dao encountered this time was just a small skirmish. Larger guilds have already started playing the game of alliances, with all sorts of infiltration, backstabbing, and defections emerging one after another.

The vehicles of the Jiangcheng guild were being blown up one after another. Many players had no choice but to land on the plain. Feng Yue led the mechanic players in organizing a fortress, retaliating against the enemy in the air. The other side also deployed a group of players, and the two sides fought in the wasteland. Due to being outnumbered, Jiangcheng's situation was precarious.

After a period of fighting, several warships suddenly appeared in the depths of space, rapidly approaching. They were the allied guilds of Changkong and others who had come to help. Seeing this, the three foreign clubs immediately took off and returned to their spaceships waiting in outer space. Before the reinforcements arrived, they warped away, their movements were skillful, and it was clear that they had been prepared for this.

"Are you guys alright?"

Hao Tian led the Changkong team to Kuang Dao and his men, glancing at the mess on the ground.

"Sigh, we fell into their trap. This time, we've lost a bit. Some people died several times and lost some experience."

Kuang Dao said helplessly. Players have a limited number of deaths per day, and the punishment gradually increases with each death. Players are not afraid of death, but they want to die for a good reason. Dying without any benefit is naturally a loss.

"Now these foreign clubs are targeting our Huaxia guilds, uniting to target us every now and then," Feng Yue complained.

"There's nothing we can do, who told us we earn the most and have the strongest faction?" Ming Yue Chang Zhong shrugged.

Nowadays, the Huaxia clubs are thriving in the Free Competition Zone, riding on the halo of the Black Star Army, which is accompanied by the targeting of foreign clubs. These clubs' previous plans to provoke national hatred failed, so they could not use the players of their own factions. They had to go into battle themselves, and in recent months they have frequently harassed the Huaxia clubs, with the goal of delaying their development.

Kuang Dao was a little worried: "It's fine usually, but if we are also sniped in the professional league, it will be difficult for us to achieve results in this season."

"If we win this season too, our Huaxia will be a three-time dynasty, exclusively enjoying three sessions of popularity. The clubs of other countries definitely don't want to see this scene," Jiang Yu Luo said lightly.

Participating in competitions is to gain popularity, popularity is traffic, and traffic is profit. The ultimate goal of professional clubs is to make a profit.

The International League is the only large-scale public event where professional teams can increase their popularity. Apart from this, where else is there a platform with so much attention for professional teams to shine?

Therefore, if Huaxia dominates, it is equivalent to blocking their path to wealth. The clubs of other countries are unwilling to only drink some soup, and some people can't even get a sip, so some people will do whatever it takes to attack strong enemies. Everyone is a competitor, and if one side is too strong, the others will definitely unite to snipe them, which is understandable.

"Di di di--"

Just then, everyone's communicators rang at the same time.

Everyone looked at each other in surprise, looked at their respective communicators, and after seeing the message clearly, they were all slightly stunned.

"Black Star Cup?"

On the communicator was a freshly released legion announcement:

[Legion Announcement - Black Star Cup All-Army League Call-up Order]

[To the entire legion, the Black Star Army has always been on the road of rapid development. With the expansion of our business, our personnel scale is getting larger and larger. In order to enhance the understanding between members of various departments, enhance cohesion, and also to select talents in various fields, the legion has decided to hold a parade-like event. From now on, we will begin to prepare for the first Black Star Cup All-Army League. For details, see [Appendix - Competition Rules] (Fold/Expand). As long as you are a member of the legion, you can participate. As long as you achieve excellent results, the legion will not be stingy with rewards. You are welcome to participate enthusiastically - Legion Commander, Black Star]

Just looking at the content of the announcement, everyone didn't feel anything special, but when they opened the appendix, the dense content unfolded before their eyes, and everyone's eyes became brighter and brighter, and they were all surprised by the scale of the Black Star Cup.

"My God, the scale of this legion event is too big!" Feng Yue covered her mouth, her face full of surprise.

"And you can apply for your own projects?!" Shan Guang Chao Fan's eyes widened.

Just by looking at the introduction, the players present were already excited and itchy.

Compared with the scale of the Black Star Cup, the international competition had become a small fight.

Kuang Dao and Hao Tian looked at each other, and both thought of more.

"This is a good opportunity to increase popularity!" Kuang Dao said excitedly, "There will definitely be no shortage of attention for this kind of event, and there are nearly 10 million legion players as a natural audience."

"That's right, although it's an event held by NPCs, as long as the attention is there, it can also bring traffic, replace the role of international competitions, and even have a better effect!" Hao Tian agreed.

Hearing this, everyone's eyes changed, and the way they looked at this announcement was like seeing a huge windfall.

Everyone realized that this was probably a new platform for professional players to shine, and there were far more projects than in international competitions, which could bring extremely high exposure.

Although clubs from other factions cannot participate, which means that the Huaxia clubs have no opponents, and the confrontation is not as intense as in international competitions, but on the other hand, isn't this an opportunity for legion players to exclusively gain exposure?

Especially in the early and mid-stages of the version, the professional league is still far away, and many players need an entertainment program to pass the time, and the Black Star Cup League happens to fill this gap!

If the attention is high enough, they are even willing to prepare for the Black Star Cup with the enthusiasm they have for international competitions, and turn the accumulated experience and wealth into combat power in advance, spending crazily.

What are we saving money for? It's to spend it at the right time!

Such a good opportunity has fallen on our Huaxia clubs again...

Thinking of this, everyone felt a surge of heat flowing through their hearts, and a strange sense of emotion welled up.

--Black Star is probably a party member!

...

"Black Star Cup?!"

Seeing the legion's external announcement, many foreign clubs were sour.

Every club could see that this was an excellent opportunity for exposure, just the stage they needed.

However, only members of the Black Star Army could participate in the Black Star Cup. These clubs, which belonged to other factions, could only watch such a good opportunity slip through their fingers.

It was like watching the neighboring village get rich and build villas, while they could only guard their mud house and a small plot of land, envying the big fish and big meat of others all day long.

If it was just a simple mission reward, these foreign clubs could still bear it, but now that they had encountered such an opportunity for exposure, the faith of many clubs in not switching sides was shaken.

Why is Black Star so skilled at poking our G-spot!

Should we... just give in?

...

"What is this Black Star guy doing?"

On the other side, some Super-As were puzzled by Han Xiao's actions.

In the eyes of these people, such large-scale events are not only costly and time-consuming, but also take up the working hours of their subordinates.

But after thinking about it, many Super-As felt that they understood Black Star's good intentions - with the development of the Association, the opportunities for us to take action personally may become less and less, which is not conducive to maintaining our personal deterrent power. Black Star may be looking for a new way to show the outside world our fists.

Many Super-As secretly sighed.

The vice president is really thinking far ahead, he is really a pragmatic man who seeks benefits for us...