"If you have more in the future, you can keep selling to us," said Boshita and Rowan after finishing the transaction.
The two hung around for a bit longer, trading useless blueprints and equipment for valuable materials, then departed with their haul.
Meanwhile, the outside world's livestream feed had finally been activated for public viewing.
This high-stakes prize tournament undoubtedly attracted a vast number of viewers who were eager to witness the competition unfold. They were curious about who would eventually claim the massive prize money, and speculation ran wild across the empire.
[This Big Shrimp is truly a great philanthropist! To think that with his strength, he chose to protect most ordinary people instead of hunting them.]
[The fighting is so intense! Look at the players in the East District, they're having battles with dozens of dinosaurs at every turn. It's incredible to watch.]
[I feel like the northern Berserker Alliance might be the final winner. They've already started trying to land on the Dead Island, and once their dinosaur army takes shape in the late game, they'll be invincible!]
[That Lunaria nomadic squad isn't weak either. It seems they're planning to settle near a mountainside, but another player tribe has already occupied the mining area there.]
[There's actually a small group on Crescent Island! They're so relaxed since there isn't a single carnivore on the whole island!]
The camera feed shifted to the East District players and their ongoing struggles.
After Jose escaped his earlier defeat, he quickly began recruiting personnel in the Lava Mines area with renewed determination. The Sun God Squad he established was slowly growing and expanding its territory through careful management.
As they developed their base, they began to progressively explore the dangerous Lava Mines for resources. As his squads' range of activity increased, they gradually clashed with the players of the Black Coffin, who dominated the East District through fear and violence.
One fateful day, a fleet of refugees from the northern coast docked at the shores of the East District seeking sanctuary. They were players from the North District who had fought the Berserker Alliance and ultimately failed, and the remaining twenty survivors had traveled south all the way to this place, hoping for a fresh start.
But they didn't expect that their tracks had long since been discovered by Black Coffin scouts lurking in the jungle. Just as they docked and began to disembark, a legion of Sarcosuchus and Kaprosuchus emerged from the dense forest and quickly entered the water to outflank their retreat. On the shore, players riding Allosaurus and Therizinosaurus also charged forward with their weapons drawn, and the two sides began to engage in a vicious battle on the beach.
Their desperate struggle was spotted by the Sun God squads' scouts in the sky who were patrolling the coastline. As the battle reached a fever pitch with the refugees clearly losing ground, the main force led by Jose arrived from the jungle with perfect timing.
What had been a one-sided hunt suddenly turned into a case of the hunter becoming the hunted. The Sun Gods hit the Black Coffins directly from the rear in a devastating ambush, catching them completely off guard.
After losing a large number of players and main battle dinosaurs, the Black Coffin forces fled in panic toward the center of the island. In this single battle, the Black Coffins suffered a massive blow to their strength and prestige.
Jose absorbed the entire group of players fleeing from the North District into his ranks and completely crippled the Black Coffin's hold on the region, making a huge name for himself in the process. The Sun Gods began integrating the entire player community of the East District under his leadership.
Like this, sixty days passed in a flash.
By this point, the Berserker Alliance had completed the integration of the entire North District under their banner. Their influence had already expanded to the Mangrove Forest, the Volcano Area, and even the Dead Island itself, making them the dominant force in the north.
To the west, the development of the Peace Camp remained mostly near the West Coast in relative safety. Only a few elite players ventured deep into the core territory to gather rare resources.
To the south, the Lunaria squad defeated the squad occupying the mountainside, while also integrating some South District players into their alliance. They crossed a narrow swampland to reach the Mangrove Forest and had begun exploring it with the help of large dinosaurs that could handle the terrain.
In the East District, the Sun Gods completely controlled the entire eastern region through their strategic positioning. Their power was growing ever greater with each passing day.
The remnants of the Black Coffins had completely hidden themselves in the shadows, licking their wounds and plotting revenge.
The northernmost Snow Mountain region saw few players dare to set foot there. The cold and dangers in that area had turned the entire Snow Mountain region into a forbidden zone, with only the most skilled attempting the journey.
However, some adventurous players seemed to have discovered the strongest squad, which had long been hidden at the northernmost part of Skyglow Peak in total secrecy. But they were very secretive about their operations, and few people ever saw them.
On the Dead Island, the Berserker Alliance was taming apex predators to build their unstoppable army.
Whoosh!
As the ballista fired with a mechanical snap, a chain bola was launched through the air. A Tyrannosaurus Rex that was hunting smaller prey was instantly trapped by the metal chains that wrapped around its massive legs.
It roared while attempting to break free with raw strength. But immediately, a large number of players began shooting with tranquilizer arrows and longneck rifles from elevated positions, and the Tyrannosaurus Rex's torpor rose rapidly.
As it struggled desperately, it broke free from the chains momentarily through sheer force. But another chain was launched immediately to replace it, and the process repeated methodically.
Soon, the Tyrannosaurus Rex collapsed under the sustained assault with a ground-shaking thud.
This was a nearly max-level Tyrannosaurus Rex with exceptional stats. As its capture succeeded, the players of the Berserker Alliance cheered loudly and celebrated their victory.
A massive Tyrannosaurus Rex legion was taking shape that would dominate everyone else.
Inside the Peace Camp, life was still peaceful at this time with no signs of danger.
As time passed, everyone even began to look forward to the days after receiving the prize money and planning what they'd do with their share. Some players had become completely complacent after a long period of ease and safety, growing soft from the protected environment.
They did nothing every day except find something to eat and chat with fellow campers. Aside from the large number of players eliminated at the beginning during the chaos, the population of the Peace Camp remained between two hundred and three hundred as time went on. It remained the largest power on The Island by sheer numbers alone.
But the peace was broken by a player riding an Iguanodon, who fled into the camp in a panic, his mount foaming at the mouth.
"This is bad! Enemies are attacking!"
The ground began to tremble ominously beneath their feet.
A group of players was instantly bewildered and confused. What was happening?
Big Shrimp was the first to receive the news, and he mounted a Pterodactyl without hesitation before soaring into the sky to investigate. In the distance of the forest, a grand army of dinosaurs was marching toward the camp in organized formation.
Over twenty Tyrannosaurus Rexes, more than fifty Allosauruses, plus hundreds of other large and small carnivores converged into a dark, overwhelming force that stretched across the horizon.
"Quick! Everyone assemble and prepare for defense!" Big Shrimp roared as he dove down while quickly gathering his scattered forces.
The camp's horn sounded urgently throughout the settlement in sharp blasts.
The panicked players scurried everywhere in confusion. Some went to find their dinosaurs that were grazing peacefully, some went to move defensive equipment into position, and some were so scared they hid in wooden huts hoping to avoid the battle. The entire camp instantly fell into chaos without any semblance of proper coordination.
Although the Peace Camp had the most people by far, their overall strength was all over the place. Some didn't even have a single carnivore tamed for combat.
"Why... why are there so many dinosaurs?!"
"Where did this dinosaur army come from?!"
In haste, a makeshift legion began to mount a defense at the camp's borders with whatever they could muster. Big Shrimp, leading at the front, brought a group of elites who also possessed quite a few dinosaurs of their own.
Most were primarily Triceratops and Therizinosaurus for defense, along with several Tyrannosaurus Rexes and Allosauruses for offense. Combined with the camp players' miscellaneous dinosaurs of all types, the numbers were quite large. At first glance, the number of creatures in the Peace Camp even seemed to exceed the Berserker Alliance attackers.
But only Big Shrimp knew the bitter truth that his side was only looking intimidating on the surface. The quality of the dinosaurs was simply incomparable to the trained war beasts bearing down on them.
"Brothers, follow me to crush the camp ahead! All Implant cores will be split equally!" the enemy commander roared.
"Charge!"
Roars echoed one after another from the attacking force like thunder.
The scene instantly turned into a massive battlefield engulfed in chaos. The Tyrannosaurus Rexes were the first to burst through the forest while roaring as they charged into the Peace Camp's defensive lines, and their sharp fangs tore through the Triceratops formation in front like paper.