89: Chapter 89: 99 lords arrive for the defense; where is Xu Xuan himself?

When they saw that Xu Xuan was the first lord to join the defense battle, lords across the globe all wore expressions of astonishment.

This dog of a man actually wanted to be the first to participate in the defense battle?

Something isn't right!

This is a bit suspicious.

While others were still discussing whether or not to join, Xu Xuan had chosen to participate almost without hesitation.

Did this even require thought?

It wasn't for the so-called protection of all humanity, nor was it to strive for some greater cause for the human race.

In Xu Xuan's eyes, it was all about profit!

At this moment, in the center of the Floating Island, inside the palace that was still under construction.

Xu Xuan sat atop the main hall. Though called a hall, it wasn't actually large; its scale was roughly similar to a clan's ancestral hall.

To describe exactly how big this hall was, it was about the size of those low-budget TV dramas where emperors hold court with only a dozen or so ministers standing below the dais.

With manpower being scarce right now, Xu Xuan wasn't about to waste labor and wealth on large-scale construction just to build a grand palace.

After all... these were all his own resources! Everything spent came from his own wealth, so vanity projects could be set aside for now.

Xu Xuan possessed the Great Xia character of thriftiness and prioritizing utility above all else.

The scene shifted to the imperial court.

Xu Xuan sat alone at the top, while Grand Preceptor Wen, Chi You, and others stood below.

Xu Xuan spoke, "Everyone, I have already passed the information regarding the Undead Scourge to you. Do you have any thoughts?"

Grand Preceptor Wen lightly stroked his beard, his expression solemn. "I believe the King's meaning is perfectly clear. There is no need to care whether other lords are willing to come or not; we must go and resist the Undead Scourge."

"Because we are going for the rewards, not for the so-called protection of the human race. My King, has this old man guessed correctly?"

Hearing Grand Preceptor Wen say this, several generals including Lei Zhenzi, Nezha, Chi You, and Xing Tian showed excited expressions.

So the King was going for the rewards?

Grand Preceptor Wen continued his analysis, "This old official does not understand what a 'system' is, but from previous wars, I have discovered that as long as we continue to fight and defeat alien races, the Heavenly Dao will grant us corresponding rewards."

"And in the information the King just showed us, there are other lords who are also racing against time to develop, wanting to surpass us."

"Therefore, this old official believes that the King's choice to participate in this defense battle is to ensure our country maintains its leading position."

Grand Preceptor Wen was a clever man. Although he was a figure summoned here, he had grasped the rules of this Lord War through these few battles.

Xu Xuan chose to face the Undead Scourge head-on specifically to claim the first kill, or the first victory, in order to collect the rewards.

Seeing that everyone in the court already understood his painstaking efforts, Xu Xuan spoke slowly.

"The War of Ten Thousand Races is like rowing upstream; if you do not advance, you will fall back. While we are developing, other lords are also developing. We must remain cautious at all times and never covet ease and comfort."

The generals below all cupped their hands. "The King speaks with absolute truth!"

"The Undead Scourge has not yet begun. Generals, please return to your posts, hurry to absorb the new technology, and update our equipment!"

"Yes!"

Following Xu Xuan's command, the divine generals like Grand Preceptor Wen in the hall immediately set off to begin work in their respective areas of expertise.

Those meant to repair city defenses did so, those meant to produce iron armor and swords did so, and those meant to train soldiers all went into motion.

Furthermore, last night, a wave of fifty thousand immigrants arrived. Savages coming from all directions reached the island via the elevators and began transforming into the island's citizens; these fifty thousand people also had to be managed.

Fortunately, Xu Xuan had it quite easy as a hands-off boss. He only needed to give general instructions, and the personnel arrangements were all left to Grand Preceptor Wen.

He then looked at the large screen in front of him, which was counting down.

[39 minutes remaining until the Undead Scourge quest begins. At that time, a teleportation gate will open to transport participating lords to the entrance.]

With 39 minutes left on the countdown, lords were joining one after another.

[Undead Scourge Defense Battle · Chat Group]

[Zhou Wu of Great Xia has joined the defense battle.]

[Jack of the United States has joined the defense battle.]

[Miyamoto Takeshi of Japan has joined the defense battle.]

[Zhou Wu: Didn't you all say you didn't want to come? Why are you all here?]

[Miyamoto Takeshi: Suspicious! Since Xu Xuan joined, I'm joining too.]

[Jack: We are the lighthouse of humanity, the chosen people of God! How could we stand by and watch the Undead Scourge invade the whole world, right?]

[Leon of France has joined the defense battle.]

[Li Shunyao of South Korea has joined the defense battle.]

[William of the United Kingdom has joined the defense battle.]

[William: With so many people joining, did you all get some secret intel? Are you all hiding something?]

After Xu Xuan was the first to join, a portion of the people began to get suspicious, feeling that Xu Xuan must know about some benefits in the defense battle, and they didn't want to miss out.

As time passed minute by minute, all of the top 100 lords in the world had chosen to participate in the defense battle.

After all, how does the saying go? You're afraid of your brother suffering, but you're even more afraid of your brother driving a luxury car.

Although the analogy wasn't quite perfect, it reflected the mood of these people—they didn't want the benefits to be monopolized by Xu Xuan.

When the countdown hit 00:00, the system announcement rang out.

[The defense battle teleportation gate has opened. All participating lords, please lead your main force (excluding subordinates) into the defense battle teleportation gate.]

[All lords entering the defense battle will automatically form an alliance and are forbidden from attacking each other.]

At this moment, across the world, a hundred teleportation gates opened one after another, appearing before the lords who had signed up.

The system rules stipulated that one could only bring their own main force; no matter if you were an alliance leader or how many people you had under you, you could only take your own troops.

Under these circumstances, everyone could only lead their own subjects and step into the teleportation gates.

Zhou Wu of Great Xia was currently joining forces with his younger sister, Zhou Mei, to enter the defense battle together.

Before going in, Zhou Wu took a nervous deep breath. "I'm so nervous. I wasn't even this nervous when I fought the orcs before."

Beside him, his sister Zhou Mei covered her mouth and giggled. "Brother, what are you nervous about? You're the leader of the Great Zhou Alliance and ranked third globally. What are you afraid of?"

Zhou Wu said anxiously, "Aren't we about to see Xu Xuan? I don't know what Xu Xuan looks like in person. He's the number one in Great Xia and the number one in the world. Being able to see him in person makes me a bit excited."

Hearing her brother say this, Zhou Mei also began to look forward to it. "Xu Xuan... I really am curious about what he looks like. Only 18 years old, yet he always dominates the global rankings."

"Brother, now that you've said that, I'm getting nervous too!"

At the thought of being able to meet Xu Xuan in person, Zhou Mei's little heart began to thump wildly.

Seeing a spatial crack appear before them, they strode forward and passed through the teleportation gate to the location of the defense battle.

After a period of distorted sensation, the siblings Zhou Wu and Zhou Mei finally saw the situation before them clearly.

The other ninety-plus lords from around the world had also arrived at this place.

Everyone was looking around, peering left and right with curiosity.

"Where is Xu Xuan?"

"Where's Xu Xuan?"

"Why hasn't that kid arrived yet?"

Just as everyone was wondering what Xu Xuan himself looked like, a giant crack appeared in the sky, and a Floating Island slowly emerged from within the rift.

"What is that?"

"Is that support given to us by the system?"

"Holy crap, a Floating Island! That's so cool!!"

In an instant, the gaze of the entire field was focused on that Floating Island.