All-Heavens Game, the Strongest Player

Chapter 31: The First Round of Elimination Ends

"This is outrageous! Mangshan is located in Sizhou, right next to the imperial city. There are many villages inside. If they set fire to the mountain, how many civilians will die?"

Upon receiving the news from Chu Xiu, the feudal lords in their camps were all astonished.

Even Cao Cao, who was known for his ruthless massacres in the original novel, had to admit, "That's too cruel!"

Cao Cao's massacres were directed at enemies and were aimed at dealing with deeply entrenched local clan forces. He was actually quite kind to the ordinary people under his rule.

Otherwise, Cao Wei would not have had so many supporters and so many talented people who followed it wholeheartedly.

But now, Dong Zhuo is completely abandoning the people of Mangshan!
"It's not just Dong Zhuo; most gods regard mortals as ants and don't care about their lives!" Chu Xiu said. "If the ultimate victory could be achieved at the cost of the extinction of all living beings on earth, probably ninety-nine out of a hundred gods would choose victory without hesitation!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan, and the others were all taken aback.

Liu Bei's face showed more worry.

Cao Cao looked into Chu Xiu's eyes and asked, "And what about you, strategist?"

"I'm different!"

Chu Xiu shook his head.

It's not that he's a particularly good person, nor that the players on Blue Star are particularly bad people, but rather that Blue Star doesn't have a Han Dynasty, and doesn't even have the concept of "Han ethnicity," so it's difficult for players to truly immerse themselves in the Three Kingdoms world, and naturally, there's no emotional connection to it.

In their eyes, this is just a game instance; once they leave, everything resets.

But Chu Xiu is different; he is a transmigrator from Earth.

Han Chinese!

It's impossible to treat the people here as game NPCs. The game of multiverses is a real world, not just virtual network data.

He identifies with the people in this world and treats them as real, flesh-and-blood human beings.

"I can't change others, but I will stick to my principles. Perhaps my kindness to the people will be a small weakness, but I firmly believe that those who win the hearts of the people win the world. Treating the people well is not only a virtue, but also a kind of wisdom for emperors to govern their subjects!" Chu Xiu added.

Upon hearing this, both Cao Cao and Liu Bei showed thoughtful expressions.

However, Gongsun Zan, Ma Teng, and the others looked completely bewildered, as if they were listening to gibberish.

As for the two brothers, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, the former praised them with a "well said," but his expression was somewhat perfunctory, clearly indicating that he hadn't really taken it to heart.

As for Yuan Shu, his disdain was practically written all over his face.

If Chu Xiu weren't so highly respected that he couldn't afford to offend him, he would at most utter a remark like "How can a lowly commoner decide the fate of the world?" and then have someone come and "throw Chu Xiu out."

"We can't let him succeed in burning the mountain, otherwise we'll have captured Hulao Pass for nothing!" Jia Tong said.

Then, Guo Liang spoke up, saying, "Not only that, we must also launch a preemptive strike before they burn the mountain, using elite cavalry to launch a lightning raid and completely annihilate Dong Zhuo!"

Upon hearing this, the feudal lords remained silent and all looked at Chu Xiu.

Now, in Hulao Pass, he is the true commander-in-chief and the chief strategist of the nineteen allied forces!
"Alright, let's take the initiative and send our elite cavalry for a surprise attack!"

Chu Xiu did not refute Guo Liang's suggestion.

Even though he knew perfectly well that Guo Liang harbored selfish motives and wanted to take heads by relying on the bravery of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei during the elite cavalry raid.

Even though he knew that if he were to launch a surprise attack, the White Horse Cavalry would be indispensable.

Because of Liu Bei's relationship with Gongsun Zan, the White Horse Cavalry is currently suffering from Guo Liang's passive situation. The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, as well as Cao Ren and his men, are not getting many kills.

But that's the big picture.

If we don't do this, we won't be able to stop Dong Zhuo from setting fire to the mountain. "We'll take as many heads as we can, but if we don't, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future!"

Before leaving, Chu Xiu specifically sought out Cao Ren and said, "But there is one thing you must do well. After you capture Luoyang, do not rush into the city. First, escort one of the people I sent from Luoyang to my side!"

This startled Cao Ren, who asked in confusion, "Who is it?"

"A child, used to keep Lü Bu in check!"

As Chu Xiu spoke, his attention turned to the imperial capital, Luoyang, and the palace where Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, resided—there, a woman had already taken control of the situation and was ruling from behind a curtain.

The two guard commanders have just led a large army to replace the palace guards.

The two men, one wielding a large sword and resembling Guan Yu, and the other wielding a silver spear and resembling Zhao Yun, were indeed two players.

With the addition of the woman who ruled from behind the curtain, there were exactly three of them in a team.

While most players were focused on Hulao Pass, they went against the grain and occupied the court. The woman even impersonated a concubine of the deceased Emperor Ling of Han, adopted the nine-year-old Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, as her son, and became the Empress Dowager with the title "Zetian"!
They were discussing how to deal with the feudal lords at that time.

"We've already located Lü Bu's family and Diao Chan. If we make our move, we can take them down in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!" a guard commander said. "Then, we just need to follow your plan and arrange for his daughter, Lü Wen, to be betrothed to the Emperor. This will ensure Lü Bu's loyalty to the court and make him work for us!"

Every player has their own calculations.

Empress Dowager Wu Zetian's plan was to control Liu Xie with one hand and Lü Bu with the other, to prop up and revitalize the "court," and then use her overwhelming imperial power to suppress all dissent and wipe out all players.

However, despite their meticulous planning, they recruited only from among beggars and vagrants to ensure credibility.

However, by a twist of fate, Chu Xiu's spy was recruited.

"The hatred of having one's wife stolen is too great. Secretly taking away Diaochan or Yan Shi is not feasible, but bringing Lü Bu's daughter as a hostage is just right!"

……

Soon, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, the White Horse Cavalry, and the elite cavalry under the various warlords gathered into an army of 30,000 men, and charged towards Dong Zhuo with lightning speed.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were the first to be affected.

Taking advantage of Guo Liang's passive position, they led the White Horse Cavalry straight to the group of players hiding in Dong Zhuo's camp, and took away two unsuspecting players in the first encounter.

Upon seeing the two long-lost "heads," Guo Liang was so excited he almost cried.

"Finally got the kill!"

But at that moment, the beams of light above everyone's heads went out.

At the same time, a notification sounded in the ears of all players: "The number of players has been reduced to 64. The first round of elimination has ended. The next round of elimination will begin in three months. However, if the number of players is equal to or less than 32 before the elimination begins, the next round of elimination will end immediately after it begins!"

In an instant, Guo Liang's heart, which had been warmed by excitement, cooled down again.

Once the marker disappears, players can easily hide among the enemy army and become much harder to kill!

Although some players will inevitably die in the chaos, it's uncertain who will kill them and whose head will be credited.

"It's so hard for me!"

Guo Liang sighed.

But he felt it was difficult for him, and the Alliance of Exterminators felt it was even more difficult for them—the elimination was over, the mark was gone, so what could threaten Chu Xiu?
Even if they set the mountain on fire, there's no way to tell if he's on the mountain!

"The biggest boss in this game, the truly unbeatable Demon King Chu Xiu, has arrived!"

(End of this chapter)