In addition to the system-wide announcement, Kael received a private message from Chieftain Korbin the Blade.

  Ullr, we have reliable intel that someone is colluding with The Warchief, Kromgar. They plan to take Starting Village #9999 in a pincer attack. We have to capture it before The Warchief's main forces arrive. We move at 6:30 tonight. Report back ASAP.

  The Warchief, Kromgar. Kael knew that name all too well.

  The very first expansion for Godpath was called The Warchief's Descent, and Kromgar was the undisputed master of the world below level 60.

  From the moment they spawned, players were immersed in quests and lore tied to The Warchief. His "descent" wasn't just a simple monster invasion; it was a massive, server-wide storyline spanning every major city, driven by conspiracy, faction warfare, and political intrigue.

  In the original timeline, after The Warchief’s descent, Kromgar conquered most of the human cities. The world was fractured, creating the Human and Orc factions. Every player, new and old, was given a chance to choose their race and allegiance.

  But this time, because Kael had saved the Blackwind Brotherhood, The Warchief had sensed that something was amiss on this part of the Earth Server. He decided to send an advance force to occupy starter village #9999 and eliminate the potential threat of the Brotherhood.

  As Kael connected the dots, he had a startling realization: the outcome of this battle for Starlight Village would fundamentally alter the main storyline. An unexpected choice to join a small group of outlaws had cascaded into a world-changing event.

  A thrill of excitement coursed through him.

  After logging off, he went down to the first-floor dining room. Lila was sitting quietly at the table, staring blankly at her plate, a fork held motionless in her hand.

  "Lila," Kael said, taking a seat across from her.

  She didn't move, as if she hadn't heard him.

  Kael figured she was just thinking about the game and didn't press it. He'd been grinding for another four hours straight and was starving. He picked up his own bowl of food and wolfed it down in seconds. As he stood to get a second helping, the housekeeper, Maria, came over.

  "Let me get that for you," she said warmly, taking his bowl and heading to the kitchen.

  Kael looked up and noticed that Lila hadn't taken a single bite. "Lila, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

  She looked at him, her mouth opening as if to speak, but then she just shook her head. "No appetite. I'm going back up. See you in-game."

  Kael watched her walk upstairs and sighed.

  A short while later, he logged back in. The moment he zoned into Starlight Village, his jaw dropped. It was completely transformed. The village had been massively expanded, its buildings rebuilt and reinforced. It looked less like a starting zone and more like a fortified town.

  Walls, arrow towers, and other defenses were already under construction around the perimeter. For a moment, Kael felt a flash of déjà vu, remembering his own defense of the Brotherhood's camp just days ago.

  He stepped outside the village gates and saw the changes extended to the surrounding area. The familiar grassy fields were gone, replaced by a flattened, cleared plain. The starter mobs—the rabbits and goats—were nowhere to be seen, leaving only a horde of confused newbies wandering around, brandishing their starter weapons and looking for something to kill.

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  Kael headed toward the Shadowcrag Mountains. The slopes, once quiet, were now crawling with players. The path from the base of the mountain all the way to the Blackwind Brotherhood's fortress was packed. The bandits themselves no longer treated players with hostility.

  As he got closer, a gleaming golden title popped up above Kael’s head: [Fourth Chieftain of the Blackwind Brotherhood].

  Players nearby did a double-take, and whispers erupted.

  "Is that a player or an NPC?"

  "Has to be a player!"

  "Why does he have a 'Fourth Chieftain' title?"

  "Are you serious? You don't know who that is? That's Ullr! Did you not see the videos from the Blackwind defense quest?"

  "I saw them! He fought like a war machine, taking down thousands single-handedly!"

  "The rumor is he's the Dawnbreaker."

  "Wait, what?! I think I saw a clip about that, but I was too focused on the Sunfire Bell stuff."

  "Dude, did you hear? Two days ago, Dawnbreaker single-handedly raided the Oasis of Zafira's territory, stole their treasure, and killed over a thousand of their players on his way out. They say their guild leader literally got sick from rage."

  "Holy crap, for real? Okay, let's give him some space."

  ...

  On his way up, Kael saw that many players now had the title [Brotherhood Vanguard]. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he entered the main hall.

  After their recent victory, the Brotherhood's fortress had undergone significant changes. Even the chieftain's hall had been redecorated, giving it a much more solemn and imposing atmosphere. Kael walked forward and gave a respectful nod to the three chieftains seated at the head of the room. "Brothers."

  Korbin the Blade nodded back. "Have a seat."

  Once seated, Kael got straight to the point. "What's the plan for tonight? What are my orders?"

  "This operation is critical," Korbin began, his voice grave. "It's not just about the fate of our Brotherhood, but the lives of everyone in the nearby towns and villages." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the others. "Tonight, we divide our forces. Bork, you and I will move alone. We'll intercept the reinforcements sent by The Warchief."

  Bork the Ironhide stood, clasping a fist to his chest. "Yes, Chieftain."

  Korbin turned to Kael and Fenris the Fletcher.

  “Fenris, Ullr, you’ll lead the left and right wings. Take our brothers and the allied warriors and hit Starlight Village hard. Make it quick—if the Warchief’s reinforcements link up with the village garrison, we’ll be trapped, and morale will collapse.”

  Kael and Fenris stood and gave a firm nod. "Understood."

  At that moment, a system notification appeared before Kael.

  System: You have been appointed [Right Wing Commander]. You will lead the assault through the eastern gate of Starlight Village.

  [Right Wing Commander]: Command a force of 25,000 players and 5,000 Blackwind Brotherhood warriors.

  Kael quickly inspected the stats on his new title. Nothing. No bonus at all.

  He stared at it in annoyance. Are you fucking kidding me? It doesn't give a single damn stat boost? How the hell am I supposed to fight with this?

  As strong as he was, he was still just a player. Against tens of thousands of enemies, he'd be trampled into dust without a significant advantage.

  Leaving the war room, Kael headed to Thunder Plaza. A massive crowd was gathered around Malcolm, who was handling event registration.

  "What the hell? It costs one gold to sign up? That's a ripoff!"

  "50,000 players means 50,000 gold. Is this event just a gold sink for the devs?"

  "Shut up and get out of the way if you don't want to join. Stop blocking the line."

  "Yeah, seriously. Everyone who did the last Blackwind event made out like bandits. Epic gear drops for everyone."

  "If you can't even afford one gold, you shouldn't be here embarrassing yourself."

  "Heh, our guild leader is covering the fee for all 200 of us. Dropped 200 gold in one go."

  "Whoa, nice! We're all paying our own way."

  "Too bad there's a 200-person limit per guild."

  Just then, a wave of confusion rippled through the applicants.

  "Hey, why isn't my application going through? There are still 10,000 slots left, right?"

  "Yeah, I've been in the queue for ten minutes. What's going on?"

  "Is the system lagging?"

  "Did it bug out?"

  Kael stood off to the side, trying not to draw attention, lest the frustrated mob tear him apart. He quietly opened the application panel only he could see. He filtered for Crimson Bloom applicants and and approved 500 of them—as a reward for their help in the last battle, their guild was granted an extra 300 slots.

  After that, he sorted the remaining thousands of applicants by guild reputation and level, approving the top 10,000 to fill the ranks.

  For the rest of the afternoon, Kael didn't do much else. He borrowed the Sunfire Bell from Elon and simply waited inside the Blackwind fortress.

  Time trickled by, and the sun began to dip below the horizon. Suddenly, the vision of every player within the Blackwind Brotherhood's territory blurred.

  A moment later, they all found themselves standing at the foot of the mountains, assembled for war.