"..."
After experiencing shock after shock in this world, everyone had learned how to comfort themselves.
Because they all knew very well that, no matter how unwilling they were, nothing that happened would change according to their will. In this situation, all they could do was adapt, conquer.
At least, beneath danger upon danger, they still possessed all kinds of vitality and opportunities.
Diana watched as, after she finished speaking, the expressions of these territory residents shifted from silent unease to eager excitement, and the sense of discord in her heart grew stronger.
But she still saw that unique aura on them – a hope for the future, and the determination to fight for it.
Really, so different!
They're nothing like the humans in her memories!
She could see the territory's differences, so just now, she hadn't directly mentioned the territory war; now, it seemed maybe it didn't matter if she brought it up!
Thinking that, Diana instinctively glanced at Zhou Bai.
Did she know?
While Diana hesitated, Zhou Bai was listening to the crowd's reactions, and she was acutely aware that now was exactly the right time to let everyone know about the territory war.
Without a trace, she manipulated the Lord panel and sent a task notification to all the residents.
At this point, Zhou Bai had already decided on the future territory management policy: let residents participate in building the territory through a game-like system. Since so many believed the territory was controlled by the system, she would just let them keep thinking that!
Unless absolutely necessary, she wasn't about to take off the Lord disguise.
[Hope Village Residents, you've triggered the territory's first main quest through tailor Diana.]
[Main Quest 1: Territory War]
[Type: Timed quest]
[Introduction: After passing the trial, the territory is now ranked 192 in the area and has unlocked Territory War. In one month, the territory must challenge another territory or accept challenges from other territories.]
[Reward: Unknown]
[Participants: All residents]
Everyone on site quickly received the notification, and in the moment they saw it, they were all a bit stunned.
They'd barely recovered from the shock of learning the truth about this world, and now something new hit them.
"This quest's description isn't very clear!"
"What is Territory War? Do we fight other territories? Where are these other territories?"
"Also, will there be any punishment for failing? It doesn't say!"
"Is it possible that if we fail, our territory will be erased and cease to exist, so the system doesn't tell us?"
"How strong is the territory that's going to fight us?"
"How do we fight? Will the system give us the coordinates of the enemy territory so we can attack?"
"Are the other territories also all Blue Star people?"
"No wonder so many new buildings went up in the territory today, and the fences turned into city walls. Guess we were preparing for this."
"Actually, it's not bad. The territory upgraded so many things, at least."
"So, is our territory strong now or not?"
"Should we ask the NPC?"
"..."
One question after another popped up in their minds; as they spoke, their gazes instantly fell on Diana.
As the freshly hired Hope Village staff member, Diana had temporarily become one of the Hope Village Residents. When everyone else received the message, so did she.
Reading the content, she understood Zhou Bai, the Lord, knew about the territory war. She just hadn't expected Zhou Bai to announce it like this; it was the first time she had seen a Lord operate this way!
She couldn't figure out why Zhou Bai wanted to hide her identity, since Lord Identity was still highly regarded in this world.
But seeing the residents' reactions after hearing the quest, she seemed to understand the advantage of this method.
But as she kept listening, she felt the heat of their gazes land on her again—NPC? Are they talking about her? She remembered they'd mentioned her like this before.
Thinking over their questions, she paused briefly, and then spoke proactively: "Territory war is normal on Stan Continent. But the territories that face off are always the same level: village against village, town against town, city against city. If you lose the war, the enemy can loot your territory's buildings, supplies, even population. Everything is chosen by the victor. Sometimes after being plundered, the territory is in such bad shape it can't resist demon beast invasions anymore. Some territories choose to join the victor's territory and become subordinate territories."
"The same level means if they're Level 3 village and we're Level 1 village, they can still challenge us?"
"Yes." Diana nodded. Being restricted to the same level was already relatively fair.
"Dammit, if a Level 3 village challenges us and we're only Level 1, what do we do?"
"Man, this world really is brutal. Demon beast invasions, territory wars—no chance at quietly growing."
"If there are other territories, can we pick a stronger one to join?"
When this person said that, everyone on site fell silent—they'd realized the same thing.
Zhou Bai knew, and was already prepared. Everyone has selfish motives; if there's a powerful territory where you can be protected, why choose a weak one? After all, backward means getting beat! So as Lord, all she could do was grow the territory as quickly as possible and attract more people to stay.
Besides, you'd still have to find another territory first!
That time gap—she had to seize it as her opportunity.
Diana wasn't surprised to hear this, but she still reminded them: "Big territories have standards for taking people in; ordinary people usually aren't accepted."
These people, well—they were still ordinary. Maybe they're thinking too far ahead.
The crowd instantly snapped out of it.
A thought flashed through their minds immediately.
Have to get to Level 10 as soon as possible.
Feeling she'd been held up here long enough, Diana spoke to the group: "I'm heading to the tailor shop to work. If you want to know anything else, ask me another time!"
With that, Diana left, walking out. While this territory still existed, she'd do her job well and strive to be summoned again in future.
The others followed close behind. Diana, as an NPC, had given them a lot of information. Now that they thought about it—what else could they ask?
And after leaving the Heroic Spirit Hall, Diana spotted from afar the somewhat towering city wall, and was a little dumbfounded.
"Wait, isn't this supposed to be a Level 1 village?"
"Yeah, Level 1 village. We only built the territory three days ago!"
"You said how many days?" Diana asked in disbelief.
"Three days! But the territory changed a lot this morning. Yesterday, our protective shield was just a fence, and a Level 5 demon beast broke in. This morning, everything changed, and a whole bunch of buildings got upgraded."
Speaking, this person saw how shocked Diana looked, and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Is there some issue with our territory?"
Diana fell silent for a moment, then finally said quietly: "This is the first time I've seen a human territory have city walls—a feature usually only seen in towns—while still being a Level 1 village."
It reeks of... money!