The Heavenly Martial Empress Returns: An OP Xianxia Returnee LitRPG

Chapter 98: War Games

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“There it is, the camp,” said Urbosa. “It's probably the largest area where people are living in this entire world, and it can’t even compare to any city we’ve visited so far.”

“Only held together by the God Cultists themselves, by the orders of their God,” sighed Merkite. “Apparently, the Barbarian God doesn’t want it when everyone dies miserably, so this camp is both a way to organize the troops and also to heal those that were wounded and survived.”

“Huh…” I nodded. “Then this beautiful little camp with the three flags—it’s the only damned place where people can rest?”

“Yes, and most of those inside are then forced outside anyways once the War Games begin,” said Urbosa.

“War Games?”

Ding!

[Welcome to the Second Floor, Player Katherine!]

[To complete the Second Floor Trial and be allowed to advance to the Third Floor, you must complete two of the following Requirements]: 

[Participate in the War Games and Win in Any Faction]: [0/3]

[Contribute to the War Games by earning Points]: [0/10.000]

[Slay an enemy Faction General in the War Games]: [0/1]

[Rewards will be given based on your performance and how many Requirements you Complete.]

[There is no time limit, so the Tower God {Battle-Loving Barbarian King} invites you to get comfortable with the camp of the three factions and to learn of the War Games from his faithful believers.]

[Good luck! And may Lady Victory shine upon your path to Glory!]

“So these are the requirements.” I looked at the system notification. “Who else has these?”

“I did as well; I haven’t come here after all,” Seth said, waving away the system notifications. 

“We haven’t completed our requirements either, as we ended up running away with our tribe,” said Urbosa.

“Yeah… This War Game is just too wicked; they treat the lives of people like nothing but a game,” Merkite sighed. 

“D-Do I really need to kill people?” wondered Peperina. “I thought we could always just slay monsters.”

“To earn points, you must slay an enemy faction soldier,” Seth explained. “Usually it's between 500 and 2000 points per foe, depending on how strong they are.”

“A-And these people just die? They won’t revive if it’s a game?” wondered Peperina.

“That’s where the Points come into use; although you can use them to purchase new weapons, skills, and food, you can also use them to revive after death; the costs increase the more times you die and are revived,” Seth explained. “It only works on the second floor, though.”

“So that’s a way this god made so people won’t die so fast, right?” I wondered. “What a wicked bastard; this only incentivizes people to kill each other even more.”

“That’s what the god wants; he’s a barbarian, the embodiment of war and bloodshed.” Urbosa sighed, looking into the skies. “Are you going to slay him right now?”

“I kind of want to explore the place first and learn more about him before anything else,” I said. “Is there a schedule for the War Games?”

“Yes, they start once every week on the seventh day of the week,” said Merkite. “The three factions wage war against each other for that day only, then rest for the following six days. Because there’s a constant surge of Players coming from all other Worlds connected to the tower and Floor 1, there’s never a shortage of new soldiers. Albeit the factions of the three tribes still lead them.”

“Who are these tribes?” I wondered.

“The Orc Horde, the Beast Alliance, and the Thralls. Each one of them offers special perks when you join them,” said Seth. “Based on the faction you choose; you can get exclusive equipment and even skills or items handled for free. Of course, you’re given all of this because you’re expected to fight and die most of the time.”

“It is a very huge contrast to the requirements of the first floor.” I analyzed my surroundings.

“See? And you said we were ruthless and evil! Compared to this floor, Eclipse was the nicest place out there!” said Estrella.

“I wouldn’t go as far as saying that sister... We both did bad things,” Umbra sighed.

“Ugh, shut up already, Umbra! Nobody asked for your opinion!”

“Why are you so harsh with me?”

As the fairy and the little skeleton wyvern discussed, we made our way to the camp. 

They weren’t wrong; to be honest, the second floor was a huge change from the first.

It makes me wonder if it’s the gods who decide the requirements to climb or if it's the tower itself.

“Are the gods the ones to decide the requirements of each floor, Seth?”

“Yes, that’s right; they decide everything. This is why it sometimes changes. Before the Barbarian God of the second floor was born, the requirements were different, I think,” said Seth.

“Our world has been connected to the Tower since ancient times,” said Urbosa. “The gods of old were the Divine Beast Spirits, and they were fair and good. It is said that the requirement to climb the tower was something related to participating in a hunting competition where three factions hunted down wild beasts; the faction with the biggest beasts would win.”

“Now that feels a bit more normal,” said Peperina. “So that evil barbarian God ended up twisting it all into War between people?”

“Indeed,” nodded Merkite. “But we’re here to change that now, right?”

“Of course,” I said. “And we’re here.”

There were several guards in front of the camp; most of them were giant, three-meter-tall orcs packed full of muscles. Their skin colors were varied; some were green, others were red, and a few were gray. It showed how they were from different areas of the world. 

They were usually bald, although some had long hair instead; their hair color varied between red and black, not in between. They had sharp fangs coming from their lower jaws and small, red eyes.

There weren’t only male orcs; there were also many female orcs; their appearances were slightly different, although they had the same size and immense musculature. Although they were a lot like males in terms of their physiques, they still had beautiful curves and large chests. Most ladies had long hair as well, made into braids, yet their expressions were just as serious and domineering as males.

Though I have to admit, they’re quite attractive.

“Halt.” 

The guards quickly crossed their spears, stopping us from advancing as they eyed our entire group.

“Are you from floor 1? Players from other worlds?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Hmph, then why are you bringing those two with you? They’re from here.”

“We can already tell! They’re deserters!”

The guards pointed at Urbosa and Merkite, their spears overflowing with their Auras of Mana.

“And so what? If they want to participate in your War Games, they can, right?”

“To participate, Deserters have to pay a fee.”

“Yes, pay a fee.”

The green-skinned orcs, one male and one female, smiled maliciously.

Oh, they are trying to scam us, I believe.

“Y-You shameless orcs! Stop this!”

“There are no such rules!”

Urbosa and Merkite tried to argue, but the two wouldn’t budge.

“Of course, how much do you want as a fee?”

“Wait, Bing Xue, you don’t need to pay anything!” said Urbosa.

“Yeah, we can always just come back at another time when these two assholes aren’t here,” said Merkite.

“I don’t think I want to waste my time like that, dear,” I said. “What’s your fee?”

“One hundred thousand credits for both!”

“Yeah, like that, you can step in.”

They were very greedy, weren’t they? That many credits are not easy to come by at all within the Tower.

“Oh, that’s very cheap! You can have all of these if you want,” I smiled, quickly materializing two bags with Credit Coins, and handling them to them.

“Oooh! So much money so easily?!”

“Gahahaha! Stupid human!”

As they laughed, they let us in without issue. Urbosa and Merkite looked slightly sad and disappointed that I ended up paying them.

“I’m surprised; I thought you would have ended up crushing their noses or something.” Urbosa laughed a bit, trying to lighten the mood.

“You didn’t have to pay them.” Merkite sighed.

“Now, now, violence is not always the answer!” I said. “Sometimes, it’s better to scam the scammers, right?”

“Wait, did you scam them?” Seth wondered. “But those were genuine coins.”

“Oh yes, genuinely made out of my own Photon Essence, they’re perfect replicates,” I smiled. “And well, they might disappear in ten minutes from now.”

“EH?!”

“I was never going to give some scammers a dime! But it would be too barbaric to just punch them,” I said. “So I played their game instead. I hope they can enjoy it!”

As we made our way through the camp, we saw all kinds of people. There were thousands of Players here, from all races, probably coming from different worlds.

But there was also a great abundance of the three types of orcs: green, red, and gray-skinned. I noticed slight differences between them aside from skin color.

The green orcs seemed much taller than the rest; they were also mild-mannered and aggressive when provoked but otherwise calm, if not even slightly cunning.

Then there were the red orcs, smaller than the three green ones by a few centimeters; their bodies were much wider, and both males and females had large bellies that sometimes glowed with red color.

They were very temperamental and would rage at one another or at other people who just looked at them; they also seemed like the most religious towards the Barbarian God, and I think they had some sort of fire-breathing ability.

Lastly, the gray-skinned orcs were the smallest, only as tall as a very tall human; their bodies were lankier and quite slender; they all had long black hair; and they seemed silent most of the time. They weren’t as sociable as the rest, only talking with one another.

And then there were the beast people—there were many! A lot of wolves like my wives, but also cats; the Silver Moon Beast tribe has wolves and cats after all. I also saw rabbit people and bird people resembling crows. The tallest and most robust were the giraffes, lions, and tigers.

They all looked so fluffy, though. 

Ah! Right, and lastly, the enigmatic third party, the Thralls. They were beings around the same size as humans, with pale white skin and long white hair, pointy ears, and usually long noses and sharp red eyes.

They had unusually big hands with sharp black claws; they wore black robes and clothes; and they seemed always angry and mysterious.

“The Thralls are people that live in the underground,” said Urbosa. “According to what Grandma has told us, they thrive underground beneath the faint light of giant mushrooms and crystals but are still voracious and ferocious fighters on the surface.”

“They look not so strong, but their strength comes in numbers; they make colonies of millions,” said Merkite. “According to old legends, they were always a constant threat to our people because they fed on blood the most and would hunt down children who, for them, tasted the best.”

“Oh! So they’re like vampires? Prehistoric vampires…” I said. “How interesting! This world, Elios, was it? It is quite incredible; there are so many varied people here!”

“Vampires? What’s that?” wondered Urbosa.

“They are a race of blood-sucking demons,” said Seth. “Before the Tower, in our world, they were also part of our fiction, but they seem to be real beings in the Tower.”

“Oh, so they’re considered demons?” I wondered.

“Yes, or, well, descendants of them,” said Seth. “I have fought a couple of them; they’re incredibly strong, even if their level could be lower than yours. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like there’s any here. They are more common on floors twenty and above. Thralls seem similar, but vampires are even stronger and, well, “refined” in their wicked ways, like demons.”

“Interesting,” said Urbosa. “I could never imagine the Thralls acting refined; they’re all very barbaric and aggressive little midgets.”

“Well, here we are. Is this where we register for the War Games?” I wondered.

We finally arrived at our actual destination: three large buildings separated by the flags representing each faction.

To register for the War Games, it's necessary to choose a faction here.

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