Chapter 1010: Dragon City’s First Alliance

After arriving outside Dragon City, Ethan didn’t lead everyone inside right away.

The moment the city’s population reached the required threshold, monster spawns would activate throughout the surrounding region. Any player still stranded outside would immediately find themselves facing monsters starting at Level 120, and for many of them, that would be little different from a death sentence.

So Ethan stopped the march outside the city walls and had everyone dismount. The Renegade Alliance’s Warlocks immediately began summoning players in carefully organized waves. They prioritized every member of the Renegade Alliance first, making sure not a single one was left behind before moving on to the affiliated guilds. Only after those groups had safely arrived did they begin bringing over the remaining independent players.

The entire process lasted nearly five hours, and only when everyone had safely gathered outside Dragon City did Ethan finally order the Renegade Alliance to enter. That single decision earned him even more goodwill from the independent players.

Realistically, Ethan had no obligation to wait. He could have summoned only his own forces, marched into the capital immediately, and left everyone else to fend for themselves against the newly spawned monsters.

Instead, he delayed his own guild’s rewards to make sure everyone reached safety first, and that small act of consideration spoke louder than any speech ever could.

[Global Announcement: Dragonspire’s Capital City has been activated! Conquering Guild: Renegade Alliance. As the first capital city activated globally, all Renegade Alliance members receive 500 Gold! Guild Leader receives a bonus level of experience!]

The announcement echoed across the world.

In the next instant, dazzling pillars of golden light erupted throughout Dragon City as more than four hundred thousand Renegade Alliance members leveled up simultaneously.

The spectacular scene left countless players staring in amazement. The experience reward was calculated based on Ethan’s level: his own level immediately rose from 125 to 126, and everyone else received experience equal to the amount he required to advance from 125 to 126, making the reward absurdly generous.

Before entering Dragon City, the lowest-level member of the Renegade Alliance had been Level 87, but after receiving the reward, that player had jumped all the way to Level 101 in one leap. The amount of experience involved was almost unimaginable.

Aside from Ethan, Leo had been the guild’s highest-level player at Level 105, and even he advanced straight to Level 111.

With a single global reward, the overall strength of the Renegade Alliance had increased dramatically. And that wasn’t all: every guild member also received 500 Gold, and for ordinary players, that amount of money was enough to completely change their financial situation. The feeling was indescribable.

The surrounding guilds looked on with obvious envy, yet strangely, none of them felt genuine resentment. After all, they had benefited from Ethan’s actions as well.

Without him leading the way, they never would have reached Dragonspire’s capital so early, let alone shared in the opportunities that came with being among the first players inside.

As soon as everyone entered the city, they rushed toward the Royal Palace; their goal wasn’t sightseeing, it was land.

Every guild wanted a permanent headquarters, and securing prime real estate inside the very first Nation Wars capital would generate enormous profits in the future.

Only a few minutes later, however, guild leaders came streaming back out of the palace wearing unusually complicated expressions.

"The Druid God is ruthless..."

"I just want to know... how much gold did it take to buy practically the entire city’s land?"

"At least a million Gold."

"Probably even more."

"The Renegade Alliance has hundreds of thousands of members. Their daily expenses alone are astronomical. Where did he even get that kind of money?"

Everyone exchanged bewildered looks before helplessly shaking their heads; none of them had the slightest idea how wealthy Ethan truly was.

The wildly successful All-You-Need chain had made him an incredible fortune, but almost nobody knew he was the one behind it.

Having accepted reality, the guild leaders abandoned any hope of purchasing property and instead began scouting locations they could lease from the Renegade Alliance.

Paying rent wasn’t ideal, but there was still plenty of money to be made. After all, they had already been renting shops throughout the Northern Frontier Region.

At least here, they could choose their own locations.

Many of them had long been envious of the three All-You-Need stores and the auction house operating in the Northern Frontier. Those businesses were constantly packed with customers and practically printed money.

With that in mind, everyone headed toward Dragon City’s commercial district. The moment they arrived, they froze. Construction had already begun across the area, with teams of system-hired craftsmen moving back and forth nonstop as brand-new buildings rapidly took shape. Several storefront signs had already been installed.

"Holy... it’s All-You-Need again..." someone muttered in disbelief.

The crowd stared silently before another player finally voiced the conclusion everyone had been reaching. "Could the All-You-Need chain actually belong to the Druid God?"

No one argued; the more they thought about it, the more it made sense.

Very few people had ever seen the owner behind the Demonic Siege Engine business, so there had never been any concrete evidence linking the company to Ethan.

Now, however, the pieces seemed to fit together perfectly.

Nearby, the Mad Engineer hurried from one construction site to another, enthusiastically directing groups of system craftsmen while making sure every building matched Ethan’s blueprints.

One guild leader sighed. "Well... looks like the best locations are already spoken for. Let’s see what secondary districts are still available."

The others nodded and scattered in different directions. Before long, construction projects had spread across the entire city, and Dragon City was changing almost by the hour. A new era had officially begun, the Nation Wars had finally arrived, and Ethan had no intention of letting anyone else claim victory.

Standing atop the city walls as he watched Dragon City develop exactly as he had envisioned, Ethan finally turned his attention elsewhere.

It was time to contact Little Horn in the Southern Frontier Region, so he opened a private communication channel.

"Legend! You finally called." Little Horn answered almost instantly. "So, how are we doing this?"

Straight to the point, just as always. Ethan laughed.

"I like that. First, unite every guild in the Southern Frontier Region. Once you’ve secured the region, bring everyone to Dragon City. After Dragonspire is completely unified, we’ll start sweeping through the neighboring nations."

He laid out his entire strategy without hiding anything, and on the other end, Little Horn frowned.

"Unite every guild?"

He was indeed the strongest guild leader in the Southern Frontier Region, but strongest didn’t mean uncontested.

Several rival guilds were powerful enough to challenge him, and persuading them to submit peacefully was little more than wishful thinking.

The only realistic option was war; he would have to defeat them until their guilds collapsed, then absorb the surviving members. Normally, he wouldn’t hesitate, but the problem was timing.

If the other major guilds recognized the threat and temporarily united against him, his own guild could easily become the one crushed instead.

"Losing confidence already?" Ethan asked with an amused chuckle.

"I’m being realistic," Little Horn replied honestly. "Unless you’re planning to lend me some troops."

He didn’t bother pretending to be fearless; there was no point putting on an act in front of Ethan.

Ethan laughed again. "I don’t have soldiers to spare."

Little Horn sighed. "...Then I..."

"But I can give you something better," Ethan interrupted with a smile. "What about my formation?"

Little Horn fell silent. "...Wait." His voice suddenly changed. "The Grinder Formation? You’re saying... you created it yourself?" Hope, disbelief, and nervous anticipation all mixed together in his voice.

Ethan deliberately paused before answering. "If I said I created it, would you believe me? And if I said the idea was originally yours, would you believe that instead?"

Little Horn was speechless. After several long seconds, he finally answered. "No."

Ethan burst into laughter.

"Then don’t overthink it. Let’s just say the concept came from you, and I simply refined it into a complete battlefield formation. I’m not interested in taking anyone’s credit."

"I may not be able to send you soldiers, but I can give you the Grinder Formation in its entirety. Every formation change, every pivot point, every squad assignment, every tactical variation. Nothing held back."

"So..." He grinned. "Do you still think you can’t conquer the Southern Frontier Region?"

Little Horn remained silent for a moment. This time, however, it wasn’t because he was hesitating; he was imagining the possibilities.

No one understood the potential of the Grinder Formation better than he did. If Ethan truly handed over the complete version without reservation, its effectiveness in large-scale warfare would increase several times over.

The temptation was impossible to resist. "Deal." His answer came without the slightest hesitation. "With the complete Grinder Formation, I’ll crush every guild in the Southern Frontier Region. Just wait for my good news."

Before Ethan could reply, Little Horn disconnected. Ethan smiled to himself; another powerful ally had practically fallen into his lap.

In truth, the Grinder Formation had originally been Little Horn’s creation in the previous timeline. Ethan had merely perfected it with knowledge from the future, so giving it back now cost him nothing while earning Little Horn’s complete trust. It was an exceptionally worthwhile trade.

Besides, the Southern Frontier Region specialized in ranged classes.

Once those players were fully organized under a single command, they would become one of the most terrifying armies on the battlefield during the later stages of the Nation Wars.