In addition to competing for the Overlord’s Tokens, the participants were also permitted to clash with one another and wage war in order to eliminate their rivals.
Furthermore, every participant would receive certain advantages based on their current ranking. Five different privileges were available for them to choose from.
John thought to himself,
"I am ranked first, which means I can select three of the five privileges."
"That is an enormous advantage."
Aside from John, the participants ranked within the top ten could choose only two privileges.
Those ranked even lower received a pitiful single choice.
After finishing the explanation, the will of the universe gave the participants time to consider their decisions.
How could the speed of thought possessed by these powerhouses possibly be compared to that of ordinary mortals?
In an instant, they understood the implications of the rules.
The situation they feared most had finally occurred.
What concerned them most were the participants occupying the highest positions on the leaderboard.
The Skyvault Consortium alone held one-third of all the remaining places.
Moreover, those at the top of the ranking possessed far more freedom in how they could arrange their starting conditions.
The members of the Skyvault Consortium would undoubtedly choose to cooperate.
Once they formed a unified group, they would become a devastating threat to every other participant.
At that moment, several powerhouses exchanged glances without saying a word.
Through those brief looks alone, they understood what the others were thinking.
The voice of the will of the universe continued to resound.
[The deliberation period has ended.]
[All participants must now make their pre-competition selections.]
[Attention: There is no limit to the number of participants who may choose the same map.]
[Each participant may select no more than one kingdom map.]
As the announcement sounded, a complete map of the great world appeared before every participant.
The world map was divided into fifteen differently colored territories, each corresponding to a separate kingdom.
Whenever someone focused their attention on a particular region, detailed information about that kingdom immediately appeared.
The information included its total population, standing military strength, level of development, available resources, cultural environment, and every other factor relevant to their decision.
Five translucent options also appeared above the map.
They could just as easily be described as five different advantages—or five starting cheats.
Once the map and the available privileges appeared, the participants stopped concealing their intentions and began discussing their options openly.
John focused on the world map.
After reviewing the information concerning all fifteen kingdoms, he gradually narrowed down the region he preferred.
He silently analyzed the situation.
"This mortal great world contains three broad types of civilizations: maritime kingdoms, continental kingdoms, and nomadic kingdoms."
"Each type possesses different advantages."
"The primary advantage of the nomadic kingdoms is the immense size of their territories."
"Nearly every citizen can fight, and their lands contain abundant natural resources."
"However, their population is far too scattered."
"Extracting those resources would be extremely difficult."
"Their civilization, economy, and technological development are also relatively primitive, while their mortality rates are extremely high."
"Whether the inhabitants survive largely depends on the weather and natural environment."
"The continental kingdoms possess highly developed civilizations and technology."
"They use their resources efficiently, extraction is relatively easy, and their populations are concentrated."
"However, the conflicts within their territories are far too numerous."
"They contain many internal factions, and the relationships between them are extraordinarily complicated."
"Furthermore, most of the wealth is controlled by a small minority, while resentment among the common people is already reaching a boiling point."
"For me, that would actually be a fairly suitable destination."
"Then there are the maritime kingdoms."
"Their economies are extremely powerful."
"The quality of their soldiers is high, they possess sufficient manpower, and their resources are also abundant."
"Their technological and civilizational development ranks just below that of the continental kingdoms."
"Their disadvantages are their relatively small populations and the large number of complex internal factions."
"Conflicts between the various forces occur far too frequently."
"They are essentially places where everyone grows through uncontrolled competition."
"Such environments are well suited to powerhouses who prefer developing amid chaos."
Overall, each of the three major civilization types contained five kingdoms, making fifteen kingdoms in total.
John did not immediately make his selection.
He first wanted to hear the opinions of his companions.
He opened the group chat and asked them directly.
Holly had barely examined the map.
She was still struggling to decide which two privileges she should choose.
She immediately replied,
"I will follow whatever you decide, Guild Leader!"
Odelle, meanwhile, had already begun conducting a serious analysis.
"I think the maritime civilizations are the best option."
"We are already familiar with conflicts of this kind."
"Struggles for authority and political power are nothing new to us."
"To claim the position of Overlord, we will inevitably have to overthrow the existing system."
"The weaknesses of the nomadic civilizations are far too obvious."
"Their development depends almost entirely on favorable weather and natural conditions, while their underlying foundation is too weak."
"The advantages and disadvantages of the continental civilizations are relatively balanced."
"However, when we consider the cultural inertia that has accumulated over a long period, seizing political power within a continental kingdom would face greater resistance than doing so within a maritime kingdom."
"The maritime civilizations are the most suitable for us."
"They have developed through uncontrolled competition, so strength is the only truth."
"We would not need to worry about the food shortages and survival problems faced by nomadic civilizations."
"Nor would we have to overcome the deeply rooted cultural traditions of the continental civilizations."
"If we lack supplies, we seize them."
"If we lack soldiers, we take them from someone else."
"We seize money, food, and territory."
"Everything can be advanced through plunder."
"Relying on plunder would allow us to develop extremely quickly, expanding like a rolling snowball."
"Therefore, I recommend choosing the maritime civilization."
"I agree with Odelle," Hilt said thoughtfully.
"This is a competition."
"In a competition, the most important things are results and speed."
"Since maritime civilizations are simple and direct, with everything determined by force and plunder, they will naturally allow us to develop faster than slowly managing farmland and accumulating resources."
John nodded as he listened.
Odelle’s conclusion was exactly the same as his own.
This was merely a competition.
Slowly developing agriculture and infrastructure would take far too long.
It would be much faster to rely on strength and plunder.
Naturally, the maritime civilizations were the best choice.
After reaching this conclusion, John asked,
"Do you want to enter the same map as me, or should we spread ourselves across different kingdoms?"
"Let Holly enter the same kingdom as you," Odelle replied. "Both of you should choose the Lothar Kingdom."
"I will choose the Maria Kingdom, while Hilt will choose the Bonn Kingdom."
"The four of us can work together to occupy three of the maritime kingdoms first."
"Afterward, we only need to conquer one more maritime kingdom to satisfy the conditions required for all four of us to enter the top eight."
"That should not be particularly difficult."
"Agreed," Hilt said.
"Guild Leader possesses three selections, while Holly possesses two."
"Together, the two of you have five selections, which means you can choose all five types of privileges between you."
"Your development speed will undoubtedly be extremely fast."
"Whether we cooperate directly afterward or act separately, arranging our plans will be much easier."
John had been thinking along the same lines.
"Very well."
"The four of us will all choose maritime civilizations and enter three separate maritime kingdoms."
After saying this, John contacted Holly directly.
Holly possessed two starting privilege selections.
John had already decided how they should distribute their choices.
For his own three privileges, he intended to select an exclusive skill, starting wealth, and the right to choose his map.
"Holly, choose the right to select your own map."
"Choose the Lothar Kingdom."
"For your second privilege, choose social status."
"Oh! All right, all right!"
Holly immediately responded after hearing his instructions.