"Family, I've missed you all so much today!"
"Everyone, calm down, I'll be bringing you the first-person live broadcast from Godslayer Guild in three minutes! Make sure to click the little heart button!"
SirLagsALot stood in front of the camera, live-streaming in real-time. Behind him, the first battlefield, Bone Dragon Stronghold, was visible.
Godslayer Tourist Group 01: "Hold on a second."
SirLagsALot, with the "Godslayer" tag above his head, had officially become a member of Godslayer Guild, even bringing in some colleagues to join as well. Now, he was the human megaphone for promoting the guild's image.
"What's going on? We're starting soon, don't f***ing waste my time!"
SirLagsALot was a bit annoyed and quickly pulled the camera off him to focus on the Bone Dragon Stronghold.
Tourist 2: "The traffic's off. We had over 3 million viewers when we were selling snacks earlier, but now that the big battle is about to start, we're stuck at 4 million+ viewers?"
SirLagsALot froze for a moment: "Are we being throttled by the streaming platform?"
Several colleagues frowned and nodded, then one said, "The US Esports Association is also live-streaming, and they're taking control of the narrative. They're talking shit, and their viewer count is several times ours!"
"Dammit! Does Infinite Dimensions' operations team want to die or something?" SirLagsALot cursed as he opened the esports stream.
The online viewer count there had reached 30 million, while Godslayer had invested 10 million in traffic, and still, their viewers were so low.
The Infinite Dimensions livestream was managed by the official promotional department, and the platform could only take a small commission from that.
From SirLagsALot's professional perspective, something shady was going on.
Commentator Saami: "Welcome to the Godslayer War livestream!"
Commentator TKONE: "Godslayer Guild has been performing very strongly lately. Though their chances are slim, they've definitely caught the attention of global players, especially from the UJ region..."
After saying that, the male commentator smiled meaningfully. The female commentator continued, "For sure. The presence of Godslayer's Guild Leader has, in some ways, negatively affected the game environment."
Commentator TKONE: "Haha, that's right, after all, he has a history."
Commentator TKONE: "Some of you are asking why we aren't mentioning his name. I can't say much here, but let's just say, those who know, know."
Saami: "Yes, he's been involved in some improper actions with Godslayer's Guild Leader across servers, which might cause issues for the relations between US and UJ."
TKONE: "Our association has also received multiple joint complaints from UJ region guilds. Unfortunately... Godslayer's Guild Leader is no longer under our jurisdiction."
The two commentators laughed sarcastically, and their tone made SirLagsALot and his team seethe with anger.
In the livestream's chat, the trolls came out in full force, calling Orson all sorts of insults like "Fake Match King" and "Easy Target Dog."
Anyone who tried to defend Orson immediately got muted and labeled with names like "50-cent army" or "U-shaped lock."
Tourist 2: "Uh-oh, fans are saying they can't find our livestream."
Tourist 1: "Bullshit! The viewer count is still dropping!"
SirLagsALot, furious, made a phone call to the deputy general manager of the official operations team.
"Are you f***ing serious, Director Zhou? We paid you, and you throttle our traffic?"
"Uh... I'm sorry, the esports association has put too much pressure on us. They want exclusive rights for this battle for the stronghold."
"Go die! Too much pressure? Or did they offer you more money?"
SirLagsALot had a short temper and immediately cursed, leading to an argument between the two.
When the viewer count continued to fall, SirLagsALot hung up and reported the situation to Orson.
Orson: "US Esports Association... It's normal. They've pulled this stunt before."
Orson, with a smirk, continued, "The esports association has long been funded by the UJ Golden Crown Consortium. That consortium controls several major guilds, including SSR and Thousand Hands. Since I single-handedly crushed Thousand Hands, it's only natural that they'd attack and mock me in their broadcasts. It's to be expected."
SirLagsALot: "So what should we do? The numbers aren't going up; how can I promote ?"
Orson, calmly: "I'll make a call. You just continue your stream."
He had already achieved his goal: first place on the leaderboards, single-handedly killing the Thousand Hands guild. Now, it was time for Radiant Shuttle to do their part.
"Orson? Aren't you supposed to be busy? The siege is about to begin."
K.D. said, surprised.
Orson: "You play the game?"
"Yeah, occasionally."
Orson was stunned. Considering K.D.'s poker face and serious demeanor, he never imagined that K.D. played Infinite Dimensions too. He laughed and added, "What class? Want me to take you out for some monster grinding?"
"I'm a soldier class, obviously. I'm better off charging straight ahead."
K.D. added with a hint of amusement, "I'm almost level 35 now, working on my awakened class skills."
Orson was shocked. K.D. was almost level 35 already? That would place him in the top 200 of the leaderboard.
Orson: "S-class class [Breaking Peak Blood Axe]?"
When he saw K.D.'s class, Orson nearly jumped out of his seat. He quickly searched for K.D. on the leaderboard and found his ID: "Military No Joking."
The name was typical of someone born in the '80s…
"Wait, he's Military No Joking?" Orson murmured to himself, now realizing the gravity of the situation. K.D. was one of the future top-tier experts and already in the upper-middle ranks.
In the previous life, K.D.'s guild, Soul of Heroes, was a unique case. With 60,000 guild members, they had 10,000 priests, 10,000 knights, 10,000 thieves... Their structure was bizarrely balanced. Most members had B-rank professions, and their warriors were all sword-and-shield types, priests were all healing, and the knights were all holy paladins.
Orson's face changed. He suddenly remembered the old rumors about Soul of Heroes: "A proper army." This guild was incredibly low-key. Even their hard-core modes were kept under wraps, and not many knew their true strength.
Orson realized that not only was he a reborn player, but the government seemed to have already prepared for the crisis ahead.
"By the way, what did you need from me?" K.D. asked, now with a much softer tone than when they first met.
"Nothing major. Just help me handle the US Esports Association. They seem to have an issue with me, and it's affecting my interests."
"Yeah, I'm looking into it. The association isn't clean. But you know how it is—going through the proper channels takes time. As for temporarily blocking the livestream, that's easy."
"Alright, you do your thing. I'll deal with the mess here."
Orson hung up the phone.
One minute later, back in the esports association's livestream:
Commentator TKONE: "Big district announcement! The NPC army has a giant dragon on their side!"
Commentator Saami: "Wow! The Flame Dragon Nest, Earth Dragon Nest, and the Light Dragon Empire's Platinum family are all here! Looks like the battle's already decided, and other players don't even need to get involved!"
Commentator TKONE: "Some people's retribution comes quickly. Don't think temporary glory can erase past mistakes. Everyone, please watch closely…"
Before TKONE could finish his sentence, the livestream screen suddenly went black. He stared, dumbfounded.
A huge message appeared on the screen: "This livestream has been suspended for violating platform rules!"