Building a Gaming Empire From Scratch

Half were flowing with molten lava, the earth cracked, and plants withered.

Half were dense with rivers, swampy, and trees twisted.

Only the border between the two forces retained the original ecological scenery.

But now, the rivers were spreading and eroding, turning the dry cracked earth into wetlands, lowering the temperature, and clearing the choking smoke and dust. Red-hot lava started to solidify…

On this island, the territory of “fire” was shrinking constantly.

This meant that the Molten Mountain Dragon was at a disadvantage in this long struggle!

The process was not obvious and had been occurring subtly. Players in the midst of it were unlikely to realize.

It wasn’t until this morning when, led by William, the players attempted to encircle and eliminate the mutated Wind God Wyvern, that they saw the clearly imbalanced power distribution from the bird’s-eye view in the sky.

Through his live streaming, the players discovered this significant clue.

They easily came to a conclusion:

The volcanic eruption triggered by the Molten Mountain Dragon during the previous battle was not without cost.

The drop in health bar was not merely a numerical change but caused real damage.

After the Molten Mountain Dragon suffered this damage, the balance of power with Phase Willow was broken!

By the way, the campaign to eliminate the mutated Wind God Wyvern was successful despite terrible sacrifices.

This was thanks to the “magic” grappling hooks defying the law of physics. Dozens of people hooked onto the monster, shouting and being dragged through the air at high speeds.

Once thrown off, they would basically die.

Yet, as the Wind God Wyvern gained control of the “wind” power and further increased its already impressive speed, people were constantly flung off, creating a grand sight of heavenly maidens scattering flowers.

The casualties were staggering, but the visual effects were top-notch.

Moreover, the casualties didn’t matter. One of the players’ major advantages was their sheer numbers.

As many people were shaken off, even more ascended again wearing wing suits!

After more than half an hour of entanglement, the stamina of the pterosaur was almost depleted, forcing it to land and rest.

This action determined its ultimate fate, death.

…

After the campaign to eliminate the Wind God Wyvern, William and other participating players changed jobs and transformed into recon soldiers. They would take a look at the power range of the Molten Mountain Dragon and Phase Willow from the sky every once in a while.

Some bosses calculated the terrain changes’ speed based on their observation, predicting that by 6:40 pm, the Molten Mountain Dragon’s territory would shrink to just its lair.

At that time, a fierce battle could likely break out again.

That would be the best time to eliminate it!

Now all players who were keeping an eye on the situation were rubbing their hands, preparing for the second campaign.

“So, Phase Willow and Molten Mountain Dragon will fight each other. If the players don’t intervene, Phase Willow will win but be severely injured in the process. Then the players will seize the opportunity to strike and secure a victory?”

Camille Victoria guessed.

“It’s also possible that the players may help the weaker side, cooperating with the Molten Mountain Dragon to take out Phase Willow first and then harvesting the Molten Mountain Dragon.”

Lincoln had already started watching “Hunter vs. Iron-blooded Warrior · Highlights”, but he continued to offer his comments: “But no matter which side they choose, they’d better keep the death interval short.”

“!” Camille Victoria suddenly widened her eyes.

She realized from Lincoln’s words that there was a catch!

*

At 7 pm, the territory of the Molten Mountain Dragon had been completely surrounded by the eroded rivers, almost as the Boss had predicted.

The main error was that as the Molten Mountain Dragon’s territory got smaller, the erosion rate became slower as well.

Maybe that’s why, half an hour ago, Phase Willow had stopped staying in place and began its slow march instead.

By now, the two huge creatures were less than a kilometer apart.

Given their size, they would be in close combat with just one sprint!

Being suppressed to this distance, the Molten Mountain Dragon, which had been lying on the ground recovering its condition, finally stood up with a roar and issued a furious growl towards Phase Willow.

Thick smoke poured out of the volcano on its back, and the remaining lava under its feet began to boil again, rushing towards the river and causing a large amount of steam where the lava met the water.

Phase Willow also showed no weakness, its nine snakeheads let out a shrill, chilling hiss during their frenzied dance. Waves rolled in from all sides, pressing down on the Molten Mountain Dragon’s burning lava.

Although a large amount of water evaporated, under the absolute advantage of their location, the poisonous water flowed continuously—

If this continued, the Molten Mountain Dragon would undoubtedly fall first!

So, the Molten Mountain Dragon did not hesitate any longer. The thick rock layer on its back cracked open by itself, and molten lava flowed out.

Carrying this lava, this blood, it took a step and collided harshly with Phase Willow!

Phase Willow did not back off; it covered its entire body with the highly toxic water and met the attack head-on!

As fire met water, the earth moaned.

The Molten Mountain Dragon and Phase Willow began their second battle!

*

As the Molten Mountain Dragon and Phase Willow fought with earth-shaking intensity, the player expedition that had assembled early at the edge of the battlefield was also ready to strike.

However, there was still no general consensus on which side to help.

That’s because there were too many players gathered here, and the noise on Dinosaur Island’s public channel had already reached a level where normal communication was almost impossible.

A large number of teams, small groups, and solo players barely gathered together here.

Even the principle of “don’t rush to intervene, wait until both sides have low health to decide” couldn’t be fully implemented—

Many players were already so excited by the huge battle unfolding before them that they couldn’t help but lift their weapons and charge in.

With a leader, naturally, there were even more people being incited to join the fray.

Eventually, nearly 80% of the solo players rushed in, which was already enough power to affect the outcome of the battle.

As for who to attack?

Many people still remembered being abused by the Molten Mountain Dragon yesterday and wanted to get even right away.

Also, since the Molten Mountain Dragon was already at a disadvantage, it was common sense in Jianghu to beat a drowning dog.

As a result, the balance of the battlefield was constantly tipping in favor of Phase Willow.

A large number of player teams and small groups could no longer hold back and hurriedly charged into the battlefield. A small number went to hit the Molten Mountain Dragon to cash in on damages, while most tried to attack Phase Willow to try to level the tilting scale, ideally making both sides perish together.

The battlefield became even more chaotic.

The burning lava, the cold poison water, the thick smoke, the poisonous gas, the shaking and cracking earth, and the lava in the sky being cooled and solidified by the water and falling on the crowd…

The harshness of the environment had more than doubled!

The players’ survival difficulty continued to climb, with many people dying and being resurrected to rejoin the battlefield.

Within a one-kilometer radius, a meat grinder had taken full effect.

Somewhere along the line, the grand background music began to play in everyone’s ears, celebrating the fire and death.

After a week of brewing, the Battle of Dinosaur Island finally reached its climax!