Chapter 62: The Major Alliances Mobilize in Full Force! That SSS-Rank Hero Is Mine!

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: The Major Alliances Mobilize in Full Force! That SSS-Rank Hero Is Mine!

In the Elven Tree City along the eastern coast.

A player dressed as a female elf sat with her legs crossed, casually tossing a grape into her mouth as she watched her subordinates at work with an amused smile.

"See?"

She spat out the grape stem and continued, "I told you nobody was going to sit still."

"Pass down my orders."

"Recall every Lord affiliated with our alliance."

"I want to see all of them here before noon tomorrow."

...

Orders were being issued one after another, but the most aggressive response came from the Judgment Alliance.

After giving his instructions, Augustus suddenly felt that something was still missing.

After all, this was the only known SSS-Rank Hero.

Even across the main territories of Godfall Continent, SSS-Rank Heroes were exceedingly rare.

Raine Augustus slowly raised his hand and swiped across the air, bringing up a blue interface visible only to members of the alliance.

[Judgment Alliance · Internal Channel]

He lightly tapped the interface with his finger.

Immediately, a bold, pinned message appeared at the very top of the internal channel, visible to all sixty-six Lords and every online player in the alliance.

[Raine Augustus: Everyone, listen up.]

[Effective immediately, double the progress of all hunting and conquest missions.]

[By tomorrow morning, I want to see every single one of your battle reports showing twice the results of your original plans.]

[Anyone who falls behind will be removed from the alliance roster. Leave on your own.]

The moment the message was sent, a notification chimed simultaneously on the panels of all sixty-six Lords affiliated with the Judgment Alliance.

A flood of replies instantly appeared.

"Understood, My Lord!"

"Team Five acknowledges!"

"We guarantee completion!"

Raine expressionlessly swiped away the flood of replies.

He didn’t bother responding. Instead, he opened a private chat with a specific contact.

The contact’s name was unmistakable.

[Deputy Alliance Leader · Gareth]

He was the second-most influential figure in the Judgment Alliance’s Novice Continent.

Although his name never appeared on the public rankings, everyone within the alliance knew that his position was second only to Augustus.

Even Augustus occasionally took his advice.

Augustus typed out several messages and sent them.

[Augustus: Gareth.]

[Augustus: Accelerate the training of all cavalry units immediately.]

[Augustus: If you run short of funds, draw from the alliance treasury.]

[Augustus: Within two days, I want to see a cavalry legion capable of smashing through any formation.]

The other party responded almost immediately.

[Gareth: Understood.]

After closing his conversation with Gareth, Augustus opened another contact.

This was a player who rarely attracted much attention within the alliance, mainly because his talent was rather unconventional.

[Mason · Bruno]

The talent he had awakened was a relatively rare engineering-type talent called [Master Craftsman’s Hand].

His greatest strength was constructing camps, crossbow towers, trenches, and various defensive fortifications in an extremely short period of time.

[Raine Augustus: Bruno.]

[Bring every engineering unit currently available to the alliance, along with all our blueprints and construction materials. Depart immediately.]

[Target: G-7, the location where the Hero’s Tomb will descend on the sixth day.]

[Construct a fortified camp around its arrival point.]

[Before nightfall, I want to see a fully functional forward base capable of accommodating troops, storing supplies, and providing defensive cover.]

[Don’t worry about the resources. The entire alliance has your back.]

Bruno’s reply was filled with barely concealed excitement.

[Bruno: Yes, My Lord! I’ll start construction tonight!]

Only after finishing all these arrangements did Augustus finally close the interface.

...

Meanwhile, at Dark-0914, inside John’s territory.

Second floor of the castle.

John stood by the window, watching everything unfold.

Of course, he couldn’t see the Judgment Alliance’s internal channel.

However, he could observe the changing atmosphere on the World Channel.

Among the messages that had previously been filled with complaints and desperate cries for help, a different kind of conversation was gradually emerging.

"Brothers, did you all receive the headquarters’ notification?"

"Received. We’re gathering tomorrow."

"What are they planning? Are we really going all-in now?"

John casually waved his hand and closed the World Channel.

Although he couldn’t see exactly what the major alliances were planning, the information leaked by their members made one thing clear.

The major alliances were already making their preparations.

"These people are really getting desperate."

John muttered to himself.

He understood the Judgment Alliance fairly well.

Or rather, he understood how all these alliances operated.

Once the Novice Period ended, all the Novice Continents would be merged into the main map.

By then, every grudge accumulated during the Novice Period, along with all the resources and rankings they had obtained, would carry over with them.

On the Novice Continent, the Judgment Alliance was effectively under the command of a single Young Alliance Leader.

But once they reached the main map, he would have the backing of his entire family, along with the players and resources the alliance had accumulated over generations.

And they would undoubtedly settle every grudge from the Novice Period.

"If I take my time developing, wait for them to catch their breath, consolidate their resources, and then come looking for me with the full backing of Godfall Continent..."

John narrowed his eyes.

That would put him at a serious disadvantage.

His only advantage right now was that he was still on the Novice Continent, temporarily separated from those major alliances, while his development speed far surpassed everyone else’s.

Before those old monsters could extend their reach here, he needed to become even stronger.

"That Hero’s Tomb at G-7..."

John shifted his gaze toward the countdown displayed in the center of the map.

"Looks like securing it is absolutely necessary."

The night wind swept past, gently brushing against the hem of his clothes.

Just as John was lost in thought, a pair of soft arms gently wrapped around him from behind.

A warm body pressed against his back, while long burgundy hair fluttered in the night breeze, brushing against his cheek.

"My Lord."

Sylvie rested her chin lightly on John’s shoulder. Her voice was soft, though an unmistakable trace of worry lingered beneath it.

"You’ve been standing here alone for quite some time."

John didn’t turn around.

"...You’re still awake?"

"I couldn’t sleep."

The girl’s arms tightened slightly around his waist.

"My Lord, no matter what happens, I’ll always be here. I’ll stay by your side, even if... even if things still end the same way in the end..."

John’s body stiffened slightly.

He understood exactly what she meant.

He raised his hand and gently patted the small hand resting against his waist.

"Don’t worry. It won’t happen this time."

Sylvie remained silent for a long while.

Then John felt the slightest movement of her chin against his shoulder.

"Mm."

She continued holding him from behind, standing there with him for a long time.

John finally let out a breath. He reached back, gently took her hand, turned around, and led her toward the bed.

"Come on. Let’s get some sleep."

...

The morning of the fifth day.

The sky had yet to brighten, but everyone in the castle was already in position.

"Bladeborne."

"Present."

John looked at him and issued his orders.

"Today, you’ll continue exploring with Sylvie."

He opened the map and drew a circle with his fingertip around the unexplored gray areas.

"Sylvie can sense the locations of Resource Plots. Your mission remains the same: gather resources and copy every high-grade Resource Plot you encounter along the way back to our territory."

Sylvie immediately straightened up. Her burgundy ponytail swayed as her eyes lit up.

"Understood, My Lord!"

Bladeborne likewise responded in a deep voice.

"Don’t worry. I’ll take care of things."

"Good."

John turned toward the others.

"Ophelia, Raistlin, Bladeborne’s fellow heroes, the dragon knight legion, Corpse Exploders, and the Mage Corps will all accompany me."

"Today, we’re done farming ordinary monsters."

His fingertip landed on several dark purple markers on the map, which Sylvie had detected and marked the previous night.

"We’re going to hunt down those bosses."