Emperor Game: Starting with the Tyrant Playstyle

The way of emperors since ancient times: Those who followed good counsel, governed diligently, and brought peace to their country and people were called wise rulers. Those who waged war without restraint, expanded their territory, and achieved feats of arms that went down in history were called powerful rulers. Those who ruled through inaction, exempted officials from punishment, and fostered a flourishing culture were called benevolent rulers. There were also those who swept away the old and ushered in the new, wielded life and death decisively, and sought to set the world right through their own efforts alone. If they succeeded, ruling the Eight Directions and commanding the world, they were called sage rulers. But if they failed, their government died with them and their cause vanished, and they were smeared as tyrants. In 2025, a supposedly one-hundred-percent realistic full-dive online game, *The World*, appeared out of nowhere. Players could become the leader of a small faction and run it as they pleased, waging war on all sides without restraint, welcoming the worthy and developing culture, or allowing the people to recover and building a rich, powerful nation. Or they could undertake massive construction projects, impose exorbitant taxes, throw their weight around, and indulge themselves without limit. Some even awakened special fetishes and carried on the beastly ways of the Gao emperors of Northern Qi. Zhao Zheng returned from a century in the future. Called a tyrant, he believed he had failed because he had not killed ruthlessly enough. To kill one is a crime; to slaughter ten thousand is to be a hero. Slaughter nine million, and you are the greatest hero of all. To kill is to protect life; to destroy karma is not to kill people. Where goodness reaches, I have no taboos.