Monsters Are Coming

The morning light slanted through the gaps in the blackout curtains, spilling into the room.

Ding Xiao cleared away the dismantled packaging of the nutrient fluid. As he walked back to the game pod, his gaze inadvertently fell on the photos on the wall.

In the first photo, he still bore a somewhat naive smile, holding the championship trophy of "Star Fall Battlefield" with one hand, behind him were ten thousand guild members clad in battle armor, forming a steel torrent.

On the virtual battlefield, they raised their weapons, and the cheers seemingly penetrated through the photo.

In the corner of the photo, the golden embossed game ID "Breaking Ten Thousand Armies" remained clear, like a brand upon past glory.

The second photo was a group shot from the "Eternal Kingdom" era.

This, too, was a game within the Human Clan.

He stood on the commanding platform, behind him was a neatly arranged formation of ten thousand people, flags fluttering, iron armor like a forest.

At that stage, he had shed his youthful immaturity, gaining a semblance of steadiness between his brows, yet his eyes still burned with the desire for victory.

The third photo, however, only contained a handful of people.

It was from the final battle of "Blood Color," where only seven core members remained by his side, with a backdrop of a smoke-filled wasteland.

In the photo, he still stood upright, but the smile on his lips had faded considerably.

This was an incredibly difficult battle, facing off against the top commanders of the Human Clan, nearly leading his legion to complete annihilation, but still clinching victory in the end.

The fourth, fifth, sixth ... every photo was a segment of glorious history.

He quietly stared at these photos, each time his gaze focused, the corresponding memories surged to his mind.

Those years of conquest across worlds, like faded old films streaming through memories.

The days of forming the War Guild, were glory, and also a burden.

Every command felt like walking on a tightrope, where a slight mishap would lead to complete defeat.

He vividly remembered a tactical meeting, the fragmentation after members quarreled, and even more so the sight of comrades turning away for personal gain.

Despite the exhaustion, this phase was also quite fulfilling.

That was his most spirited period, with few adversaries within the Human Clan, wherever the battle flags pointed, there were songs of triumph.

The tactical notebook in his hand was filled with victory records.

Until he crossed the racial barriers and stepped onto the stage of world-level games, discovering the vastness of the starry sky.

This was also the phase where he changed the most.

Commanders from various clans were like shining stars, each race had its forte in the war games.

The Upper Realm Beings' tactics were elusive like fireflies, the blood-feud charges of the Great Barbarian Tribe carried a crushing momentum, the Wood Spirit Clan's protracted battles induced despair... But the one most memorable was that guy from the Moon Eclipse Clan, who could always find the most cunning entry point in his crafted strategies.

Under the moonlight in Sinful Land's Emerald Canyon, he first witnessed what command artistry truly was.

Three hours of strategy games made him realize that his so-called proud command ability was merely the vision of a frog in a well.

With each subsequent encounter with him, he improved, yet each ending was a defeat.

And the opponent chose to quit after the launch of the Monster World.

He still remembered the last conversation, where the opponent expressed abandoning Sinful Land, stating the future battles would be in the Monster World.

The final private message languishing in the chat box read:

If fate allows, see you in the Monster World, by then we might not be adversaries, but allies.

The opponent's withdrawal left Ding Xiao uneasy, yet it gave him a new goal.

He always remembered a phrase the opponent once said:

"The strength of command ability isn't in how many people you can mobilize, but how many people can truly become an extension of your will."

This sentence left Ding Xiao deeply touched.

Reflecting carefully, he suddenly realized that he often found himself powerless in commanding large-scale wars.

These intricate issues stemmed from a personal incapacity to cover the entire battlefield.

Thus, upon obtaining the Monster World qualification, he chose another path, no longer pursuing scale, but striving for extremes.

A refined guild group, a group of like-minded companions, gradually embarking on peak adventures.

In the future, the guild might expand in scale.

But there is a prerequisite for doing so, he must be able to completely control the scale of the warband, then grow together with the guild.

Each recruitment drive is a breakthrough beyond the current limits.

Remarkably, since entering Monster World, his command ability has undergone unimaginable transformations.

The thinking acceleration brought by Brain Overclocking, the battlefield omniscience granted by the Eagle-Headed Demon, the precise positioning by Marked Soul, the weak-point analysis by Spiritual Eyes Attribute... These abilities stacking up gave him a truly seamless command perspective.

He can even meticulously observe each member's breathing rhythm during battles.

As if confirming what that guy said before quitting: Monster World is indeed the future.

Experiencing the contents of Monster World, he deeply understood this sentence.

The previous games, in comparison with Monster World, aren't even in the same dimension.

Apart from the innovation in player ability systems, the external adversaries in Monster World are superior to any prior games.

Especially Earth Thought Bully.

Reviewing the battles led by Divine King with the United Battle Group, substituting in the command perspective, he empathized with Divine King's sense of helplessness and despair.

This Newbie Village boss grows too rapidly.

Since the server opened, players have already eliminated many races and the exploration scope keeps expanding.

Only Earth Thought Bully maintains perpetual dominance, always remaining the ultimate boss in players' eyes, even the Mingwu Clan that appeared recently in the Bright Star Sea Area, possessing multiple Demigod Realm powerhouses, seems less formidable compared to Earth Thought Bully in the players' eyes.