Surviving The Fourth Calamity

A commotion erupted among the group of mages originally devoid of activity: amidst this image-conscious group of Archmages, there were rare, obvious whispers.

No mage who has made it this far is a fool.

Lucimar’s words were too apparent for anyone not to understand.

But the mages quickly quieted down.

They could grasp another truth: Great Sage Ismael was unaffected.

No matter what troubles Mrs. Demit faced, at least in Aesces, her issues had no impact on the status of this child of the world.

Thus, their thoughts and actions didn’t need to change for the time being.

As for whether the Ismael Family would have any internal issues, what did that have to do with them?

The more chaos the better, ideally, it would be a mess without them having to lift a finger, and the Little Ismaels would turn on each other until few remained standing.

As for whether the Great Sage, upon returning, would be angry enough to cancel all spots... Ha, that’s absolutely impossible.

Someone as self-preserving as Ismael would never waste any opportunity.

At that time, perhaps they could even use the family name to communicate and bring along more of their own people.

"Mobi Chenxin" glanced lightly at his future companions.

Snow Old Dog had Lucimar stir the nobles of the domain before they left, exposing the unreliability of his own mother as simply as possible, hoping the mages would focus on the Great Sage Ismael still fighting at sea.

He accomplished this quite well.

Saying little, yet the expression on his face said it all.

Truly interesting.

"Mobi Chenxin" also really wanted to know the criteria Snow Old Dog used to select NPC lords for families planning to develop domains in this world.

He understood there were neither fools nor naive idealists.

After all, a fool can be persuaded by you, and naturally by others too.

Idealists... that’s even more troublesome.

Fools can be made more honest; they fear pain.

Idealists, however, may suddenly deem them invaders from another world.

If they were to raise a flag of independence, it would truly make these families, who have invested much, bleed!

But it seemed there was a big difference between Lind and Lucimar, both deemed the Wise Ones, yet not on the same level.

Usually, lords don’t affect their Undead Tribe territories much; choosing someone as strong as Lucimar wasn’t necessary.

By his thinking, one should choose someone cunning like Lind... At least until he could suppress the Undead Tribe, he’d be very compliant.

Even if Lucimar needed to do something, transferring the divine rights of the territory would be enough.

Just like how their Undead Tribe did in Toril.

"Mobi Chenxin" blinked, curious but certain he wouldn’t ask that conniving Snow Old Dog.

He had a feeling the answer wasn’t one he’d want to hear.

"Mr. Mo Bi." Lucimar raised his hand, setting up a soundless, invisible soundproof barrier between them, softly calling out, "The domain nobles have already exposed the first noble to send people to beg the Undead Tribe.

As for the mastermind behind the scenes, you probably have some idea... I can see it eight or nine out of ten, observing from above, you probably see it more clearly.

They’re a bit too agitated now; if I act more arrogant, it might provoke some intense reactions... should I continue?"

"Mobi Chenxin" shook his head, "Old Dog said not in the valley.

Retaliation, it should happen after they leave.

Though these people are the backbone of the family, they’re not the family leaders.

Our Undead Tribe, when seeking revenge, always starts from the beginning; a cut in the middle only brings brief cries, nothing of agony.

Of course, it’s because the tedious job of slow cutting isn’t worthy of them.

Lucimar laughed mildly twice, then nodded and removed the barrier.

"Mobi Chenxin" furrowed his brow slightly: the Archmage’s reaction differed from his expectations.

"Mr. Mobi Chenxin, there’ll be trouble in future." ’Lu Huayu,’ who had been observing for long, couldn’t help but smile slightly.

"Mo Bi..." ’Perfect Bald’ hesitated a bit and said, "Old Dog, left is Zhu Meili, and right is the overly astute-looking Lucimar; can Mo Bi handle it?

Though I know you’re trying to teach him, isn’t this a bit... excessive?"

"We’re all hoping to retire in this game." ’Snow Cloud Peak’ leaned back on the sofa, casually crossed his legs, "But young people might not be willing.

Perhaps one day they’ll switch to another game that’s more thrilling.

If that happens, what will become of our Proud Sky Alliance?

Honestly, it’s not these three words I care about.

No matter if it exists in name only, or there ceases to be any name other than here, it doesn’t matter.

But those who’ve been with us for so long, just wanting to try something new, I don’t want them to suddenly be without a home.

Mobi Chenxin is ambitious by nature, and he’s younger than us, definitely willing to try new things.

By that time, he could go to a new world to rule, couldn’t he?

Even if he can’t keep up with others and comes back defeated, it doesn’t matter.

But, there should be some back-and-forth, a fight to the death, only retreating when necessary!

If he’s defeated in a few moves, it wouldn’t look good on me, right?"

"Do you want to hear what you’re actually saying?" ’Old Age Striking King’ suddenly interjected.

’Perfect Bald’ couldn’t help but laugh to himself.

"Do you really think so highly of Mobi Chenxin?" ’Lu Huayu’ ignored their enigmatic rapport, only asking with a hint of surprise, "Do you think he has the ability to represent Proud Sky Alliance?

You should know, even if it’s not the team you led, as long as the name remains, countless people will want to step on Proud Sky Alliance for their own advancement, right?

Don’t forget, End of the World Romance is still waiting outside!"

"If that fool can’t even manage to play, Mobi Chenxin shouldn’t survive." ’Hard Wind’ casually replied, "He used to give us a hard time with the help of money and Zhu Meili.

But now, isn’t Zhu Meili with Mobi Chenxin?

Compared to that cowardly and shortsighted End of the World Romance, Mobi Chenxin as a boss is much stronger, isn’t he?

Don’t you think Mobi Chenxin can’t afford it?

Right, Young Master."

"Huh? What did you say?" ’Young Master’, who had crammed his enormous body pitifully into a corner, turned his head in confusion, clearly distracted and not listening.

"Our Feng is asking you, between Mobi Chenxin and End of the World Romance, who is wealthier?" ’Cunlü’ bluntly summarized.

’Young Master’ realized, looking up as he thought for a moment: "End of the World Romance is a nouveau riche, he has lots of money and properties, entirely dependent on his family’s Mine Star.

Mobi Chenxin’s family has interplanetary businesses, not top-tier, but their cash flow is stable, so hardly any fluctuations occur.

Moreover, Mobi Chenxin has shares with dividends coming in every year.

But he wouldn’t invest all that money in the game at once.

Hmm... if they compete, it actually might be evenly matched.

After all, Mobi Chenxin has brains while End of the World Romance threw away even the mind borrowed from others."

Though he spoke confusingly, everyone understood.

"True, you can’t expect another Old Dog with such intelligence.

But finding a rich person with brains who wants to invest seriously is indeed rare." ’Perfect Bald’ summed up... in terms of game investment, ’Mobi Chenxin’ might not invest less than the current Apocalyptic Boss.

The Apocalyptic Boss’s money is spent where everyone can see, while Mobi Chenxin uses it to build the family’s ladder structure.

In families like theirs, middle management, which can act as team leaders, may seem plentiful, but they are actually very important... And only a few high-level managers are needed to organize these middle-level managers clearly.

Black Rose sustains a family of hundreds of thousands by relying on those veterans with Baldy for decades, willing to act as leaders and guide newcomers, otherwise, no matter how much strategic planning the Clan Leader does, it’s useless.

Do you really think that just by the Clan Leader issuing an order, the ordinary family members below will obey?

They are all like bosses themselves who can leave if displeased. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Speaking of which, if Paintbrush hadn’t given ’Mobi Chenxin’ such a fatal blow, Black and White Path would’ve caught up with Black Rose, which has been in-game for decades, within a few years.

As for Magic Cult, there’s no comparing it.

"Alright~ talking about this now doesn’t matter." ’Snow Cloud Peak’ sprawled arms over the sofa back, "Mobi Chenxin is indeed the most suitable, but it’s not necessarily him.

We still have time to choose someone!

Let’s train him first.

If he can’t even win over Zhu Meili, previous talks are just nonsense."

’Snow Cloud Peak’ glanced at ’Lu Huayu’: "Road Eunuch, don’t gossip once you’re aware!"

"What does it have to do with me?" ’Lu Huayu’ chuckled, "Past colleagues’ friendship isn’t enough for me to sacrifice so much for him."

"Seems like they’re planning to leave, should we go down and see them off?" ’Battlefield Lightening’ was the only one still considering the current situation.

"Ah... eighteen miles of farewell scenes, better not." ’Snow Cloud Peak’ waved his hand, "Do you really think those people in the desert can last three months?

By that time, we’ll surely gather again.

I’m not interested, those who like to play can go themselves."

"Then let it be." ’Old Age Striking King’ decisively said, "Those leaving today aren’t my life-and-death friends."

"Evening Strolling also left?" ’Cunlü’ regrettably said, "That girl was actually a good partner."

Her style was so alluring and she knew how to create ambiance, she didn’t even need to toss things herself.

"She definitely left." ’Old Age Striking King’ tilted his head, "Not a single one from Black and White Path stayed."