Martial Online.

[Report wanted criminals in the nearest outpost!]

A sign wobbled in the wind while pedestrians walked by on the busy street.

Beggars wearing old, dirty clothes and holding out empty hands for spare change were scattered throughout the area.

A few players seemed to take pity on them and tossed a few silver coins into their outstretched hands. They were mostly new players and weren't used to seeing such sights in their peaceful world.

At that moment, a group of older players approached them, their faces stern and disapproving. They kicked the new players out of the way and shouted for the beggars to leave their territory at this very moment.

The players wore black-leathered clothes with spikes on their arms and shoulders. A sigil of roaring engines adorned their backs. They were a formidable sight, and the new players knew better than to challenge them.

"The amount of trash keeps increasing." A brown-haired man leaned on the wall and kicked down the sign about reporting wanted criminals.

He then pulled out a cigarette from his chest pocket, lit it up with a matchstick, and placed it between his lips.

"Isn't that right, boss?" The brown-haired man looked through the window of the building he was leaning against.

On the other side of the window, a black-haired man with wild-looking eyes was seated on a corner table with a newspaper and a cup of coffee in hand.

"…" Motorhero silently sipped on the coffee while skimming through the newspaper.

This place was before known as the 'Cafe of Dreams' and it was often bustling with activity. However, now it had been taken over by Motorhero and his group.

Inside the cafe, many players wearing black-leathered clothes were chatting and laughing. They were sharpening their weapons and preparing for their next raid.

At that moment, a figure appeared in the doorway of the cafe. As soon as the figure appeared, all the laughter and voices disappeared.

The members of the Roaring Engines turned their heads around, and their eyes blazed with fierce intensity.

The figure was a woman with bronze skin and long, flowing black hair. She wore a brown poncho and a wide-brimmed hat, and her eyes seemed to glow with an otherworldly intensity.

Motorhero put the coffee and newspaper down on the table and leaned against the backrest of his chair. He then took out his baseball bat and rested it against his shoulder.

"Who is the man known as Motorhero?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly out of anger.

"That would be me." Motorhero said from the corner of the cafe. "Who might you be, and what brings you to this place? We do not really like your kind here."

"My name is Wildloid." She said and rudely sat down on the same table as Motorhero. "You have been killing players from the Alliance. What the hell is your problem?"

"Heh." Motorhero smirked and crossed his legs like a gangster. "I think Martial Online is one of the greatest creations of mankind, but there is one big problem."

"And what is that?" Wildloid asked with narrowed eyes.

"Martial Company heavily underestimated the influence and popularity of their game." Motorhero narrowed his eyes. "And now, the consequences are here."

"The game has become a breeding ground for toxicity and aggressive behavior among players.

"The reason is simple: there simply isn't enough space to house all the players in the city. The dojos are scarce, and nowadays, one has to build them, which costs a lot of silver, which most players simply do not have.

"That is because of the new players. They are occupying all the nearby hunting grounds, making difficult for anyone to earn anything without going deeper into Crow Forest, where the difficulty has explosive spike.

"The members of your alliance are in the ownership of nearly a hundred dojos. Most of them aren't even in use but act as 'safe house' for the members of the alliance.

"Simply stated, the new players have taken thousands of jobs, resources, and dojos from the veteran players, who could actually have used them for something much more useful.

"I find your kind—the new players—as fucking eyesore." Motorhero leaned closer to the bronze-skinned woman and smirked. "I'll be the 'Hero' who erases you all."

"What a load of horse shit." Wildloid said crudely. "Where else are you expecting us to go? We spawn in one of the major cities because it's safe for new players."

"That's where the game's biggest mistake lies." Motorhero said and leaned back against the chair.

"The new players should spawn in one of the towns and villages. Start small before growing stronger until they are powerful enough to enter one of the major cities.

"Unfortunately, Martial Company underestimated what their game would become.

"I also have a solution for the new player problem. Take the alliance with you, occupy one of the towns, and establish a stronghold there. I don't have a problem with that.

"Make it a safe haven for new players. It will force the new players to move on from Amaterasu and follow you guys there."

"You want us to fight for some scraps in the middle of nowhere?" Wildloid asked angrily and slammed her fist on the table. "To occupy one of the towns, we would have to kill everyone to have enough space for all the new players.

"Then, there aren't simply enough resources for all the players to gain silver and XP. Our alliance only has the power to defeat a small town.

"The stronger and bigger towns have greater security, and even if we had the advantage of numbers, we simply cannot compete with them!"

"That is your problem." Motorhero said casually and took a sip of the coffee. 

"Also, does every player have to grow strong?

"Like in real life, there are weak and strong people. Some people are simply born to be at the bottom of the hierarchy. That is life. However, from these hardships, the truly strong will rise.

"I think this is a very good option for your alliance. In exchange for giving up the futures of hundreds of players, your alliance will gain a hundred, maybe two hundred, strong players.

"That sounds like a win to me."

"Is it war that you want?" Wildloid asked and stood up with anger in her eyes. "You cannot make us leave. Our current position at Amaterasu is more than favorable!

"Why should we lower ourselves and leave this place just because you say so? We are one of the strongest alliances in the city!"

"You trash, never listen." Motorhero slowly stood up. "Your kind only wants freebies, and you're not willing to put in the effort to earn them.

"That is why I hate your kind. You think you deserve the things you have, but you never tried earning them through hardships like others had to. Your alliance has bullied, robbed, and threatened those who are alone."

Squeeze—he squeezed the baseball bat in his hand and lifted it high above his head.

"You fools are a burden to the city, and I will be the 'Hero' that this city needs." Motorhero said in a cold tone.

Wildloid pulled out her falchion. It was a type of sword with a single-edged blade with a wider blade around the tip, making it effective for chopping and slashing.

"The alliance wouldn't have grown this strong if all the players were simply new." Wildloid said coldly with a small smirk. "When I joined this alliance, it was very small and weak, but through many battles, I grew stronger alongside our glorious leader.

"I came here because I knew I would be able to leave with my life intact!"

However, strong, muscular arms suddenly appeared behind her and wrapped around her body, locking her arms in place.

"?!" Wildloid's eyes shook, and she turned around to see a muscular man wearing a black-leathered jacket holding her in a powerful bear hug.

"Ggh, get off me!" She tried shaking him off, but because of the sheer difference in their strength and size, she couldn't do anything.

"Do you have no honor?!" She screamed at Motorhero.

"An honor is for fools." Motorhero said and smashed his baseball bat through Wildloid's face, shattering her skull and causing her to turn lifeless. 

The once vibrant and fierce Wildloid lay motionless on the ground, her life extinguished by the brutal attack.

"It shall be war, then." Motorhero said coldly.