Online: I Can See Health Bars Chapter 1341 - 598: Forum Spectacle
Previously on Online: I Can See Health Bars...
The discussion concludes abruptly.
Impossibly, a few brief sentences managed to ignite a wildfire of engagement, leaving one utterly perplexed.
Fang Yu continued his descent through the subsequent comments...
"What?! We possess a dynasty?"
"Huh? We actually have a nation?"
"Listen here, you two upstairs, you’re serious newbies, aren't you? What did you mistake all those scattered branches of the Foolish Underworld across towns and villages for? Some kind of mom-and-pop franchise? Use that noggin of yours for something other than decoration!"
"Cut the boasting, my Xiang Family has already crushed them into dust. They're merely servants to my family, what right do they have to yap like that!"
The subsequent response eschewed words, instead presenting a crudely drawn picture: a woman, facing the viewer, pointing to the right, her face contorted in an expression of amused disbelief at the utter foolishness of the previous speaker.
"My dude, seriously! You're parading a backwater Foolish Underworld branch like it's something to brag about? If you've got the guts, try crossing paths with the Foolish Underworld in Zuoxing City. I'll gladly show you the true meaning of 'commoners don't mess with the government'!"
Enmity.
Fang Yu could distinctly sense the palpable animosity simmering between Player and Player.
The forum’s ambiance had seemingly morphed from its initial camaraderie and amiable gameplay discussions into a chaotic vortex of one-upmanship, taunts, and general derision.
A slight frown creased Fang Yu’s brow, yet he dismissed it, figuring these replies alone were insufficient to propel the thread to the pinnacle of the trending list.
It wasn't as if a couple of wealthy players were engaging in a proxy war, hiring mercenaries to engage in a virtual flame war, using their very 'feet' to prop up the thread to the top spot.
Scrolling further, Fang Yu’s eyes soon landed on a comment carrying significant weight.
"Firsthand account! What the Original Poster stated is true. I witnessed that very army while on watch duty atop the ramparts of Clockwork City! The formation was colossal! They marched under the crimson banners of Great Xia! The entire procession advanced with such overwhelming grandeur that even demons would likely beat a hasty retreat! However, my friend, the OP exaggerated; there weren't a million men. Certainly nowhere near that figure!"
A reply appeared beneath this declaration.
"That's what happens when you haven't read enough. Do you even grasp the magnitude of 'a million strong'? Imagine gathering every student from a primary and middle school onto a sports field – that's barely over a thousand souls, yet the spectacle is already immense, isn't it? It feels like a sea of humanity. And you're blathering about a 'million-strong army'... Engage your brain and comprehend the sheer scale involved. That's a human tide stretching beyond the horizon, capable of steamrolling anything in its path!"
"Reporting again! I also sighted that army, proceeding resolutely southward. Their destination remains unknown."
"Good grief! Is this genuine or fabricated? Is the Capital dispatching troops to vanquish a Great Demon? Or are they preparing for war against neighboring realms??"
"What war? Our Great Xia Dynasty stands supreme. All surrounding entities are mere trash fodder destined for demonic annihilation; their desperate pleas for assistance have piled up to such an extent that our Great Xia Dynasty can't even be bothered to acknowledge them... I haven't the patience to enlighten you ignorant country bumpkins. Visit the Capital one day, secure yourselves a minor official post, and then you may offer your 'enlightened' perspectives!"
"My, oh my, look at this esteemed individual above. Clearly one of the 'chosen,' eh? What now, have you ascended to become a cyber Celestial Dragon? Groveling at the feet of the Capital as some cur-servant and you believe you've reached the heavens!"
Well, well, well, the gunpowder is indeed thick, isn't it.
No wonder this thread is scorching the charts.
Merely the verbal sparring between the commenters is enough to keep the thread perpetually buoyant, not to mention the central enigma: the precise destination and objective of the Capital's formidable military mobilization.
Proceeding resolutely southward...
Fang Yu possessed a modicum of knowledge regarding this: the border region where they currently resided was situated to the south, albeit slightly towards the southeast.
Initially, Fang Yu had harbored expectations of unearthing genuinely valuable intelligence from this thread; he had certainly not anticipated it would merely be reports concerning the Capital's troop movements.
'The sky is high and the emperor is far away' – if the Capital mobilizes its forces, then so be it; it held little direct consequence for him in this remote locale.
It would be far more prudent to seek information pertinent to Thunder City, and to ascertain if any news regarding Lian Xiaoya had surfaced.
That being said, Fang Yu found himself compelled to scroll through a few more pages of responses within this particular thread.
His curiosity, a persistent itch, was primarily piqued by a single question: with such a sweeping mobilization emanating from the Capital, who precisely was the intended target?
Subsequent replies were mostly place names, with occasional claims of army sightings. However, without in-game screenshots, these were just unverified claims, impossible to confirm. "Could everyone really be this coincidental in spotting the army? The reply timestamps are close together too—within a day or two, they supposedly marched from one city to another large city. Can an army truly move that fast???" Fang Yu mused. As he pondered, others were too. In later replies, some began to suspect the initial posters were fabricating information for attention. More extremely, some local Players pointed out that two of the earlier cities were in diametrically opposite directions, yet the posters claimed to have seen the army within a remarkably short time of each other—making it seem utterly fictitious. For a period, the thread was rife with drama as everyone debated the authenticity of the intel. Seeing that no one could ascertain the army's ultimate destination, Fang Yu lost his patience and left the trending thread. Regardless, the Capital deploying troops was major entertainment, and all the Players treated it as a significant official event, akin to a version update, discussing it with fervent enthusiasm. There was little else to do: most Players, at their current cultivation levels, could barely venture beyond their starting towns, and some might not even possess the strength to go outside the city walls. Consequently, the forum was their sole avenue for news from other regions.