94: Helpless Blue Flag Country, Extraordinary New Era

The dawn of New Jeju, the light of early morning.

It carried a hint of blood, yet it also held unprecedented hope.

The crushing defeat of Blue Flag Country and the god-like declaration of the Masked Emperor were like a superstorm, crossing the five oceans and sweeping across the entire world in just a few short hours.

News channels in every country, whether traditional media or emerging online platforms, reported on this earth-shattering upheaval in Luo Country with unprecedented coverage and the highest priority.

"Shocking! Mysterious Transcendent Masked Emperor Emerges, Defeating the Blue Flag Country Garrison Single-Handedly!" — Global Times, front-page headline, in bold, blood-red text.

"In-Depth Analysis of the New Jeju Incident: The Rise of Transcendent Power, Is the Global Strategic Landscape Facing a Reshuffle?" — CNN Special Report, several military experts and international relations scholars wore grave expressions.

"Hero or Thug? The Great Debate on Ethics and Order Sparked by the Masked Emperor!" — BBC In-Depth Observation, attempting to interpret the situation from different angles.

"Blue Flag Country Hegemony Meets Its Waterloo in New Jeju! A Victory for Free Wings, or the Rise of Individual Heroism?" — European TV commentator, speaking with impassioned tones.

For a time, terms like "Masked Emperor," "Great Victory at New Jeju," and "War of Transcendents" dominated the trending lists of all global social media platforms.

Countless video clips and combat screenshots were frantically shared.

Lin Fei's figure, bathed in ice and fire, standing proudly, along with his final, overwhelmingly domineering declaration, became a deity in the minds of countless people.

Blue Flag Country, White Star Palace, Supreme Operations Command Room.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it felt as if it could drip water.

The Defense Minister, an old veteran with gray hair and five gold stars on his shoulders, slammed his fist hard onto the massive alloy conference table, making the teacups vibrate and hum.

"A humiliating disgrace! This is a humiliation like none other since the founding of our Blue Flag Country!" He roared, the muscles on his face twisting with rage.

"Apache, that idiot! David, that piece of trash! And those so-called elite internal testers of ours! To be completely wiped out by some nobody who crawled out of nowhere! It has caused our entire Blue Flag Country to lose face!"

The head of the intelligence department, a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses with a grim expression, projected an emergency report onto the holographic screen in the center of the conference room.

"According to all the combat data and witness testimonies we have collected so far, the target, Masked Emperor, primarily uses large-scale, high-burst ice and fire dual-element Spells in combat. At the same time, he possesses extremely powerful physical defense capabilities and is suspected of having mastered a special skill that grants instantaneous damage immunity."

On the screen, the footage of Lin Fei's battle was broken down frame by frame; every release of a skill and every burst of energy was marked with highlighted red lines.

"His mana (magic power) pool is unfathomable, his skill releases have almost no interruptions, and the power is far beyond conventional understanding. Based on model simulations, we have made a preliminary estimate that the personal strength Rank of the Masked Emperor is at least!"

The intelligence chief took a deep breath and with difficulty spat out a number: "Lv60 or higher, possibly even higher."

"Lv60?!" All the high-ranking officials of Blue Flag Country in the operations command room, including the furious Defense Minister, gasped.

The anger on their faces was instantly replaced by a look of incredulous horror.

Lv60!

They knew all too well what this meant.

At a stage where global players were generally still hovering between Lv5 and Lv20, a Transcendent above Lv60 was almost equivalent to a walking nuclear weapon!

"This Rank! How did he achieve it?" A naval admiral muttered to himself, his tone filled with confusion and frustration, "Could it be that he opened some hidden ancient civilization ruin instance? Or did he obtain a deity's Legacy?"

"Now is not the time to investigate how he became stronger!" The Defense Minister's eyes were sinister, his voice like a poisoned blade, "The question now is, how should we respond! How do we get our revenge! Catch that damn guy and dissect him for research!"

A general in charge of strategic weapon deployment said in a deep voice: "Your Excellency Minister, according to the latest threat assessment, if we rashly launch large-scale military retaliation against Luo Country, or even use strategic weapons, once we fail to ensure the complete annihilation of the Masked Emperor, he is very likely to launch indiscriminate retaliatory assassinations against our homeland."

"Judging by the strength he has displayed and his arrogant declaration of 'not minding coming to Blue Flag Country in person,' this is not impossible. If a top-tier Transcendent with a true combat power above Lv60 is determined to carry out assassinations, the consequences would be unimaginable." This general's forehead seeped with cold sweat, "By then, I am afraid that everyone present here will no longer be able to sleep or eat in peace."

Dead silence.

A long, dead silence.

In the operations command room, one could hear a pin drop.

The fire of revenge and the fear for their own safety clashed fiercely in the hearts of these big shots who were usually high and mighty.

In the end, the Defense Minister slumped back into his chair, looking as if he had aged a dozen years in an instant.

"Damn it!" He squeezed the words out through his teeth, his voice hoarse, "Withdraw the troops."

"Withdraw from Luo Country entirely. At the same time, issue a diplomatic statement strongly condemning the terrorist attack against our garrison in Luo Country, and reserve all rights to hold them accountable."

The Defense Minister rubbed his temples, his tone filled with unwillingness and frustration, "Externally, just claim that the Masked Emperor is a super weapon secretly cultivated by Free Wings, and shift the responsibility onto them."

"As for that Masked Emperor," a bone-deep hatred flashed in the Defense Minister's eyes, "Intelligence department, spare no cost to collect all information on him! I want to know who he is and what his weaknesses are! One day, we will make him pay a bloody price for what he did today!"

"Yes! Your Excellency Minister!"

The news of the Blue Flag Country's troop withdrawal was like a spring breeze, quickly dispersing the haze that had shrouded Luo Country for years.

The long-suppressed humiliation and anger turned into the purest joy and carnival.

In major cities across Luo Country, countless citizens spontaneously took to the streets, waving the Luo Country flag and singing songs of freedom, celebrating this long-overdue victory.

New Jeju became an ocean of joy.

In the square in front of the municipal building, citizens and players gathered spontaneously.

They cleared away the wreckage left by the war, helped the wounded, and also enthusiastically discussed the future of Luo Country.

The fall of Lee Seung-ki's Puppet government and the collapse of the Blue Flag Country's forces left a huge power vacuum in Luo Country.

Who would lead this country toward a new future? The answer was almost obvious.

"I propose! Let the Thousand Wings Guild lead us!" A respected elder in New Jeju raised his arms and shouted first, "It was the Thousand Wings Guild, it was His Excellency the Masked Emperor, who led us to defeat the invaders and won us our freedom! They have the capability and the qualifications to lead us!"

"That's right! Support the Thousand Wings Guild!"

"Long live the Thousand Wings Guild! Long live the Masked Emperor!"

"We believe in Thousand Wings! We believe they can lead us toward democracy and prosperity!"

In the square, the thunderous response rose and fell.

The will of millions of players, coupled with the expectations of countless ordinary citizens, formed an unstoppable torrent.

In the end, at an ad-hoc public assembly attended by representatives of major player guilds and citizen representatives, the Thousand Wings Guild was officially elected as the core leadership of the Luo Country Provisional Management Committee, responsible for forming a new government and managing national affairs.

The member of Guild No. 698, the Masked Emperor, would serve as President, holding the final decision-making power on major events.

As for Silver Fox, one of the main persons in charge of the Thousand Wings Guild in New Jeju, he would serve as Prime Minister.

Other high-ranking guild members would serve as members of parliament and other positions.

Lin Fei was not interested in power; in the future, if he cleared a few more layers of the Node Tower, he might be able to traverse the Void Realm with his Physical Body and rule the universe.

Being the master of a small country was fine for him to act as an Overseer for a while.

More matters would still have to be managed by professional talents like Silver Fox and Li Wuxuan.

Amidst thunderous applause, Silver Fox, representing the Thousand Wings Guild, accepted this heavy responsibility.

He stood on the high platform, looking at the faces full of hope and trust below, and felt a myriad of emotions in his heart.

"The Thousand Wings Guild will certainly not fail this trust!"