Game: Civilization Paradise

When they saw their boss get hit, Jibo's lackeys all charged forward.

Long Ming saw this and immediately stood up, grabbing a chair and swinging it at one of the charging thugs.

Sang Rui and Kolei also rushed in without a second thought, each felling an opponent with a single, powerful punch.

In just a few moments, all of Jibo's lackeys were on the ground.

Jibo struggled to his feet, grimacing in pain. He looked at Oritta's group and said, his voice a mixture of shock and rage,

"You just wait!"

"Fine, we'll be right here waiting!"

Oritta shot back, his face dark.

He hadn't wanted to cause trouble, but this group had pushed him too far. They actually had the nerve to come over and try to kick them out.

Jibo hastily gathered his lackeys and fled in disgrace.

Then, Oritta looked toward Sang Rui.

Sang Rui understood immediately and left.

Oritta let out a small sigh and turned to Long Ming.

"Mr. Long Ming, my apologies!"

"Not at all. I couldn't stand them either."

Long Ming pulled over a new chair, sat down, and replied with a smile.

Just then, Boss Chen Ge hurried over, looking flustered. He said to Long Ming and the others,

"Those thugs went to get more people! You should leave, quickly."

"Don't worry, Boss. Today, I'd like to see just what kind of trouble they can stir up."

Oritta replied, full of confidence.

"Oh, dear young masters! You don't know how powerful they are. You really should go."

Boss Chen Ge was practically dying of anxiety.

"It's fine, you don't need to worry."

Long Ming added, trying to reassure him.

"Sigh."

Seeing their resolve, Chen Ge just sighed and said no more.

「Half an hour later.」

A brutish man with a fleshy face, a black lion head tattooed on his neck, and a fierce expression burst in. He was leading a group of thugs armed with guns and roared irritably,

"Who was it? Who dared to beat up men from our Black Lion Guild?"

"Brother Kensin, it was them! They're the ones who hit us!"

Jibo, clutching his face, pointed directly at Oritta and his group.

"What nerve! How dar—"

Kensin turned his head to look at Oritta's group and froze.

The entire BBQ restaurant was filled with people in black trench coats—at least thirty of them.

Everyone in the place was now staring at Kensin and his men with unfriendly eyes.

Kensin and his men gulped. This group was a little bigger than they'd anticipated.

"I'm the one who hit them. What are you going to do about it?"

Oritta stood up and replied calmly.

"You're arrogant!"

Kensin didn't back down. Instead, he said viciously,

"Am I?"

Oritta retorted coldly.

At that moment, Sang Rui and the others all stood up, tore off their trench coats to reveal the mechanical armor and firearms they wore underneath, and surrounded Kensin's group.

Kensin and his men were stunned. Every single one of them was wearing second-generation mechanical armor.

"Wh-who are you people?"

Kensin asked, a hint of panic in his voice.

"My name is Oritta, Vice President of the Cloud Sea Guild."

Oritta revealed his identity as he stared at Kensin and his men.

"A tier-three guild!"

Jibo and his men cried out in shock.

After all, a tier-three guild represented a tier-three civilization.

Kensin's face turned pale, but he still tried to stand his ground. "Lord Oritta, even though you're the Vice President of the Cloud Sea Guild, you can't just bully our people. We have the Iron Curtain Guild behind us."

"Even President Dilafa of the Iron Curtain Guild has to be polite to me. What gives you the nerve to use his guild to pressure me? Besides, do you really think you're the only one here with backing?"

Oritta stared coldly at Kensin.

Hearing Oritta's words, Kensin's legs went weak. He immediately began to beg for mercy.

"My lord, we were wrong!"

"Please, just let us go!"

...

"Listen up, all of you. This area belongs to my friend. If you ever come here to cause trouble again, don't blame me for what happens next."

Oritta warned Kensin and his men directly.

"Yes!"

Kensin and his men hurriedly replied.

"Now get the hell out of here!"

Oritta cursed at them.

Kensin and his group scrambled to leave in disgrace.

'It seems a little bit of power is necessary sometimes,' Long Ming thought, watching the scene unfold.

Seeing the matter resolved, Sang Rui had his subordinates stand guard outside, just in case those guys had another brain cramp and brought back more people.

Oritta then turned to Long Ming with a smile.

"All taken care of."

"Thank you!"

"Don't mention it. Let's start the barbecue!"

"Alright! Boss, bring on the charcoal!"

Long Ming shouted to Chen Ge with a smile.

"Right away!"

A beaming Chen Ge swiftly brought over the charcoal and then turned on the projection TV.

Oritta opened a bottle of wine and poured everyone a glass.

"Come on, let's all have a toast!"

"Cheers."

Long Ming and the others raised their glasses and clinked them together.

They drank and grilled meat, the atmosphere growing more and more lively.

「An hour or so later.」

Just as Long Ming and his friends were happily eating,

the projection TV suddenly switched to an official Star Alliance news broadcast.

A female anchor with a refined appearance, dressed in a white shirt and a blue professional suit, appeared on screen. She smiled at the viewers and began to speak.

"Good evening, everyone. I'm Tini from the Star Alliance News Channel, and we're interrupting your broadcast with an important Alliance announcement!"

Hearing Tini's words, Long Ming immediately perked up his ears.

"The Star Alliance's Second Expeditionary Army has successfully defeated the forces of the Insect Race, broken into the Luoying Star Sea, and successfully occupied Luoying Planet."

"The Star Alliance's Third Expeditionary Army has successfully defeated the forces of the Insect Race, broken into the Guangxiao Star Sea, and successfully occupied Guangxiao Planet."

"Although the environments of the Luoying and Guangxiao Star Seas are quite harsh, they contain rich veins of Energy Crystals and deposits of rare metals."

"The Star Alliance has now decided to establish strongholds in these two star seas to continue its interstellar expansion."

"After deliberation, the Star Alliance High Council has decided to open up deep-space travel, permitting interstellar pioneering corporations and major guilds to travel to the Luoying and Guangxiao Star Seas."

...

Long Ming was quite surprised by this. He hadn't expected the Star Alliance to capture two major strategic points and open up interstellar travel.

'They're trying to move people to the front lines.'

'But it makes sense for them to do this. This operation is no different from what happened at Mountain City Mountain back then.'

'Back then, at Mountain City Mountain, the regular army also conquered the territory, and then unaffiliated individuals followed behind to pick up the scraps and establish settlements.'

'The Star Alliance is planning to do the same thing.'

As Long Ming thought this, he turned his head to look at Oritta.

He noticed that Oritta's expression was very calm and asked with some curiosity,

"Oritta, how are you not surprised by such big news?"

"There's nothing to be surprised about. Our guild has been closely monitoring the operational plans of the Expeditionary Army, which is led by the Second and Third Legions, to open up the star seas. We knew from the latest battle reports that victory was near."

Oritta explained to Long Ming with a smile.

"I see."

Long Ming nodded slightly.

"Enough about that. Let's drink!"

Oritta said with a laugh, raising his wine glass.

"Alright!"

Long Ming agreed readily.

...